Display MoreGreetings WingNuts,
The Wing Commander movie club has explored Los Angeles of the… recent past… and if there was ever any doubt, we all love Blade Runner. It's an incredible movie whose aesthetic grabs you from the first frame and carries you through even the film's weaker moments (which include the meat of the climactic third act fight and in the theatrical version we watched the well-intentioned-but-poorly-done narration.
The big story when it comes to Wing Commander is Blade Runner's connection to Privateer's New Detroit environment. We thought it would be fun to walk you through exactly how we go from one of Syd Mead's stunning concept paintings to the finished animation in Privateer.
And here's how that concept was realized by director Ridley Scott:
Here is an excerpt from a March 18 1992 art list by Privateer's lead designer Joel Manners. He describes the planet, then known as New Chicago instead of New Detroit and specifies how each "options screen" should look and what the player should be able to do with it. Street Level, called Main Street at this point, is described: "The main street of New Chicago is a dark, wet, rainy place full of neon signs, traffic (in the air and on the ground) and so on. Blade Runner rip off in the worst way. The player can go to: Weapons dealer, Bar, both guilds, the commodities exchange, the mission computer, and the ship dealer."
Wing Commander Privateer's concept artists used this description to design the screens that would be used in New Detroit. From the composition it's extremely likely they were referencing Syd Mead's concept painting directly. The New Detroit sketches are not credited but several others from this set were signed by the late, great Paul Steed.
Origin Systems' 3D artist Jake Rogers took this sketch and turned it into a 3D environment and animation that was then rendered into what you see in the final game. You can explore these and other 3D models created for the early games via the WC3D Collection Index.
The 3D model has a great deal more detail than could ever have been visible. Take a look at some of the textures which were too small to be seen, including signs on the hotel, a street sign, the elevator button labels and a funny message on the ATM screen!
And here's the final animated screen, credited to Chris Roberts' Wing Commander Privateer!
That wasn't quite the end of the story: just four years later Origin would hire Syd Mead himself to work on Wing Commander Prophecy. If you compare the concept art you'll see that it's a surprisingly short jump from his design for Blade Runner's Spinner to the Nephilim fighters in Wing Commander Prophecy!
Chris Roberts would return to the Blade Runner well one more time. The environment was chosen as a good selling point for some of Star Citizen's first bespoke artwork (distinct from the Wing Commander material reused for the Squadron 42 pitch). Here's the familiar concept piece which was ultimately turned into an interactive previz animation!
Here's the same progression for New Detroit's other Blade Runner inspired options screen, the New Detroit landing pad.
Hangar. The landing berth for the player is located on top of a landing platform which is supported high above the city on a very slender pole. There is a large repair and refueling facility on the edge of the platform, and an elevator attached to the side, but not much else. From here the player can go to the Main Street.
Sully has seen things you people wouldn't believe.
