Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Sometimes I take a risk with a magazine I see on eBay that purports to have a Wing Commander article that isn't available online. This circa 1997 copy of UK-based PlayStation Solutions magazines (Vol. 1, Issue 5 of the US version) seemed like it might have something worthwhile as it has Wing Commander IV as a cover story and promises a complete guide to the game. The actual article ended up being somewhat disappointing, four pages of information taken mostly from the game's then-active official website. But I scanned a copy for posterity anyway, so enjoy!

The magazine also includes a simple two-page spread for something called an "Electronic Arts Competition" which offers, among other prizes, a copy of Wing Commander IV.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Vox Galactica business analyst Marlon Royce has published a feature piece on October Consortium CEO Lexi October:
"Few figures in the Core Systems command as much quiet influence as Lexi October in recent months."
"Known for identifying promising technologies before rivals recognise their value, October has built a portfolio spanning advanced engineering, pharmaceuticals and personal tech. Exobiological research is the next challenge."
"Her hands-on approach came to light in 3305, when the Consortium rescued struggling tech firm Supratech. The investment stabilised the company after poor sales of its Torc computing system and enabled further development of products such as the Artemis exploration suit."
"October's reputation for discretion was reinforced in 3307 when she hosted an exclusive gathering for the secretive Joker's Deck, attended by political and corporate elites including Zachary

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Despite being a mid-century war movie, Go for Broke! was an interesting experience; if nothing else it was fascinating to see how quickly the government can take a stand against bigotry… when it's in the best interests of geopolitics, of course. For this week, we decided to go with something animated… and the channel overwhelmingly voted for a Gundam movie! So we're going to show the very first one, Mobile Suit Gundam I (1981), which was an adaptation of the first section of episodes from the original 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam series. You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

If you don't already know Gundam, and it seems like a lot of our members do!, it probably looks like a goofy 1970s cartoon. This week will hopefully prove differently as it's actually a very serious science fiction war story that can sit right up there with things like Starship Troopers. And while it didn't become

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Before their was AI slop there was GOG slop! Here's an odd bit of ephemera we thought it would be good to preserve for future generations: the unusual background graphics that GOG created for their Wing Commander store listings. Some of them are clearly modified from official art... while some of them are totally inexplicable, especially the Wing Commander Academy graphic! But they do look pretty arranged like this...

GOG also created their own logos for most of the games, which we've preserved below. If you look closely at them you'll find they really don't match the real titles at all! Note that Prophecy and Armada don't have their own logo graphics; if you look at their store listings you'll see the space is just empty!

Wing Commander I, Wing Commander II and Secret Ops also have unique titles but they're only visible in thumbnail form since they aren't sold individually. The newly created Secret Ops

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Last year, Mac of Mac's Lore created a series of crossover artwork showing characters from something called Girls Frontline 2: Exilium. And now he's added another one to the series!

Lenna & Leva Steal a Sabre - Wing Commander X Girls Frontline 2: Exilium (ArtStation)

F-57 SABRE by Adam Burch/Hangar B Productions
LENNA/UMP9 & LEVA/UMP45 MMD Models by MICA Team/Girls Frontline 2: Exilium
Rendering by Mac’s Lore

"Nee-San, it's Bear's Sabre from that movie, 'First to Kilrah!'"

Wing Commander ships are my equivalent to comfort food in the realm of 3D rendering. All the more reason to do something with one.

(I don't know who the Girls Frontline 2: Exilium girls are but I suspect they mean DOOMSDAY's Sabre.)

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The Wing Commander movie club knew going in that Star Trek II was a timeless classic and… well, it was. It's very hard to argue that it isn't the best Star Trek movie and even when there's no clear behind the screens quote it's pretty obvious that everything from how it envisions a future military academy to the dramatic, imposing capital ship battles influenced Wing Commander and countless other pieces of similar media over the years. Which is to say we had a great time… now we just need to find a little connection to include The Voyage Home and The Final Frontier!

Here's our excuse for including Star Trek II, the Reliant's prefix code that gives us that first jolt of hope after Khan's attack.

This is a little joke I had never noticed before our group viewing: the planet where the Trafalgar is going to ambush the Kilrathi in Chain of Command is "Seti Beta 1" which is a little play on "Ceti Alpha 5"