Updated wcdx Plans Provide Peek at the Future

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Stinger has provided a hypothetical roadmap for the future of wcdx. The program is a massive compatibility patch for Wing Commander Kilrathi Saga, but it doesn't just make the game playable on modern iterations of Windows. The patch fixes a variety of bugs and goes back and adds in features that were present in the original DOS version but broken in Windows 95. While GOG and DOSBox emulation have allowed a new generation of fans easy access to the classic WC games, wcdx is gradually shaping Kilrathi Saga into a definitive way to play. Fans of the program have asked what's next, and Stinger's response is below. Note that he's only one man, so some of the ideas below have a very long time horizon. If something on the list sounds like something you might be able to help with, let him know that you can lend a hand! You can grab the current version 2.2 here. It was recently updated to help improve play in everything from WC1 through Special Operations 2.

Well, there are a few options here:

• I really would like to get cockpit damage fixed, as that's really the final missing feature for WC1.
• I also need to go back through this thread looking for any reported unaddressed bugs (I really should be tracking this in GitHub).
• WC2 has some input issues (clicking during cutscenes sometimes counts as two clicks, for instance), and also appears to stall whenever entering autopilot. It also doesn't play well with non-QWERTY keyboard layouts (I use Dvorak).

Those I think are the most immediate issues to deal with. Looking farther ahead to larger projects:

• I would like to spend some time investigating cutscene timing in WC2.
• People have asked for graphics filters such as pixel smoothing, and I agree that would be a neat feature. This is something simple that others could reasonably handle if they were inclined to contribute to the project.
• Throttle support in WC1 and WC2 would be awesome.
• I could start work on WC3, with the specific goal of supporting ODVS's work on enhanced cutscenes.

There's certainly plenty of work here to stay busy, but time is certainly at a premium and I can't promise that any of these things will happen soon. If there's anyone out there who would like to collaborate, please let me know!