GOG Kicks Off Summer Savings Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

It's GOG's Summer Sale Festival, so that means discounts on your favorite Wing Commander and Origin games. It's a 75% savings in most cases, so individual titles (plus expansions and extras!) are $1.49 or the entire series is $11.92, which is a flippin' steal. As we noted earlier in the year, most of the series has Cloud Saves for people using the GOG Galaxy client. We know the vast majority of you already own all these, but if there's one missing from your collection, now's the time to try it. It's also a great opportunity to buy a digital WC gift for friends. Give these other Origin games a try if they're new to you!

All Wings Considered - Episode 15 - LIVE! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The latest episode of ALL WINGS CONSIDERED is live now! All Wings Considered is the CIC's first ever streaming variety show which features news, conversation and gameplay relating to our favorite series. This week's Nav Points include:

  • Going for an ORION in Privateer
  • Ben vs. Ali in the Gauntlet Challenge
  • Kissing in Wing Commander - a history
  • Privateer 2 ship of the week: the Karnenan

Missed the stream? The replay will be available below once it has been processed by YouTube. You can subscribe to the AWC channel for future notifications here.

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Grikath Goes Hunting Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Dark Sentinel is well known for his high quality Nephilim models, but he's back this time with a Kilrathi makeover. His focus this time is the Grikath heavy fighter from Wing Commander 2. For whatever reason, ships from WC2 tend to be underrepresented in fan art and fan projects compared to the other mainline games, and that's quite a shame - some of them are tremendous! The Grikath is a beautiful fighter and very deserving of this slick update. Although the implied lineage suggests a successor to the Gratha, you can also see hints of the Vaktoth in the design. The Gothri gets all the attention at the high end, but the Grikath is actually better protected and has very comparable weaponry. It's not a ship you want to mess with!
There are fighters underrepresented in mods and elsewhere and they need some love. Those that are, like, not as iconic as Dralthi. Yes, today we're talking about Cats.

Behold, Grikath! Done in 6054 polies and 1024x1024 texture, so can be used in pretty much any game or mod around. Weapon loadout was a question, since different sources give different data, but in the end I decided I'm happy with 3x neutron guns (and two more in tail turret) and 6x , be it FoF, dumbfire or torpedo, whatever the tactical situation requires.

Happy Birthday Prophecy Advance! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today marks sixteen years since Wing Commander Prophecy for the Game Boy Advance started shipping. As one of the handful of WC products from the 21st Century, Prophecy Advance holds a special place in our hearts. We actually began covering the game when it was just a tech demo stylized after Wing Commander 1. For over a year, we covered the excitement of its development, which culminated in a lively launch day here at the CIC. After release, some of the CIC staff even flew half way around the world to try out multiplayer. For a full rundown, check out our ten year anniversary memories here and a recent retrospective written by Raylight co-founder Massimiliano Di Monda here. LOAF managed to pick up one of the snazzy Backlit GBA SPs a little while back and got these glorious shots! They sure make you want to dig out your link cables and hop in the tiny cockpit!
Oh that magnificent backlight! Wing Commander Prophecy really shines on an AGS-101 GBA SP.

Morningstar Preps for Another Mission Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Here's another neat Morningstar wallpaper by tkdrobert. Unlike his last piece, this one features the heavy fighter at rest on a flight deck somewhere. It uses Klavs' baseline fighter model again, and this time tkdrobert has added landing gear and a pilot. The hangar reminds me of the asteroid bases from Wing Commander 3, which would be an interesting angle. You can find more of his work at DeviantArt here.
Rendered in Daz3D (IRAY) with post-work done in Photoshop. Model by Hangar.b.productions. Landing gear added by me.

Happy Memorial Day Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The CIC would like to take a moment to wish our visitors a happy and safe Memorial Day this weekend. It might only be a formal holiday for Wingnuts in the US, but the spirit is universal. Please take a moment to join us in appreciating the sacrifice others have made so we can continue to enjoy Wing Commander with you!

Space Sim First Look: Rebel Galaxy Outlaw Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

We mentioned last week that we'd be spending a little more time introducing up and coming space sims, and there's a very big one that's been a glaring omission until now. Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is an extremely promising Privateer-style shooter sim by Double Damage Games, which includes huge Wing Commander fans Travis Baldree and Howard Day, among others. The team has been on our radar for a couple years thanks to their spectacular 2017 April Fools tease and easter egg blueprints, and now the game is approaching release. It will be available at the Epic Store for PC at around $30 with ports available on at least the Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch. I could talk about stats and features, but you're probably better off just watching the videos below. The first two clips introduce the gameplay and story, and the third video is a lengthy stream with Travis that goes into lots of juicy detail. If you're looking for a modern take on Privateer, this is as close as it gets. The combat looks very satisfying, and there's some nice customization and storyline packed in too. More background is available in their FAQ.
Crank the volume, chamber another round, and burn like hell...

Double Damage Games is happy to announce Rebel Galaxy Outlaw, a blue-collar space combat adventure packed with outlaws, explosions, gleefully unrealistic spaceflight, and a hell of a soundtrack.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is a sort-of-prequel to 2015’s Rebel Galaxy, this time dropping you right into the cockpit and doubling down on the roadhouse vibe of the previous game. It features high-octane space combat, over 20 hours of subspace radio, side activities like billiards and dice poker, plenty of sketchy characters to meet, and sketchier jobs to take on. Nobody’s saving the universe around here - they’d settle for saving a couple of credits.

Rebel Galaxy is an action-packed, swashbuckling space opera. You’ll battle pirates, explore anomalies, befriend aliens, scavenge battle wreckage, mine asteroids, and discover artifacts. Choose your path as a roguish do-gooder, crafty space-trader or power-hungry privateer - or maybe a little of each! Buy larger and more powerful craft with your hard-earned credits, and outfit them with a variety of wicked weaponry and defenses. Set in a galaxy of fantastic sights, and secrets to be found, Rebel Galaxy is above all a space epic of adventure, exploration, and combat.

Rest Your Head on a Space Cat Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Fans watching yesterday's episode of All Wings Considered got a glimpse at LOAF's awesome new Thrakhath pillow. Wingnuts who wanted to grab one for themselves can find the product at Society6 here. There's actually a pile of different products you can get, so if you needed a Kilrathi wall clock, handbag or hoodie, you're in luck! There's also a 30% off coupon if you sign up for their email list.

All Wings Considered - Episode 14 - LIVE! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The latest episode of ALL WINGS CONSIDERED is live now! All Wings Considered is the CIC's first ever streaming variety show which features news, conversation and gameplay relating to our favorite series. This week's Nav Points include:

  • Maxing out our Tarsus in PRIVATEER!
  • Learn to identify the pirate clans
  • Privateer 2 ship of the week: the Shaman

Missed the stream? The replay will be available below once it has been processed by YouTube. You can subscribe to the AWC channel for future notifications here.

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In-Game WC4 Cockpit Upgrade Previewed Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Here's another nifty teaser for the WC4 Fan Remake fan project. We saw DefianceIndustries' immersive Hellcat cockpit a couple months back, and now Pedro has integrated it into game for the first time. It demonstrates a neat effect with the game's familiar HUD being projected in front of the cockpit glass. There appear to be some nice lighting effects as well. The team cautions that there's still a lot of work to go, but things already look promising!
First in-game shot of the cockpit. Still early days

Blair Forms on Vagabond's Wing in Fight to Save The Tick Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Fans have recently rallied to save The Tick after its cancellation by Amazon Studios last week. The superhero show stars François Chau, among many others, who played Vagabond in Wing Commanders 3 and 4. He's been a big voice in the campaign to bring the show back, and he's gotten some major support from Mark Hamill. Far from being a lost cause, the show's creator and cast have announced that they are signed on for more episodes, and their production partners are reportedly looking for another network willing to air a third season. Amazon Prime subscribers can catch the highly rated show for free on Prime Video. Mr. Chau continues to be active in a wide variety of sci-fi shows from Stargate SG1 to Lost to The Expanse to the new X-Files, but it's neat to see him remember his Wing Commander roots like this!


Spinning Scimitars, Lively Longbows & Pirouetting Piranhas Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The recent talk about the WC1 Sprite Refresh has gotten a lot of people excited, so here's a closer look at some of the potential assets. The original Wing Commander games worked by arranging and then displaying dozens of potential snaps of each ship from each potential viewing angle in order to simulate 3D. DefianceIndustries and Goliath put these three rotating gifs together to give fans a better sense of how this works. Click each one to see them in motion!
I was playing guinea pig with Goliath's awesome sprite rendering script for Blender. I think we can call it successful. I'll just leave this here....

Morningstars Light up the Night Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Up tonight is a fantastic piece of art by tkdrobert. This one features a pair of Morningstars zooming away from the Concordia or another Confederation class dreadnought set against a colorful backdrop. Although the final results almost look like a painting, the scene was 3D rendered with Klavs' models as a starting point. tkdrobert has done some nice retouching to give it a cool stylized look. Check out more of his work here.
Rendered in Daz3D (IRAY) with post-work done in Photoshop.

Space Sim First Look: Between the Stars Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

It's been quite a while since we regularly covered new space sims as they were introduced, but the industry has still been hard at work putting them together. We're going to try to get back into sharing interesting ones that we come across now and then, which leads us to Between the Stars. The game generates random universes, allows for lots of ship customization and is centered around a big single player story. A ship is outfitted with a variety of systems and multiple crew members, and characters are at risk of permadeath based on the decisions you make. Perhaps most importantly, combat looks pretty neat! Check it out below or find it on Steam.
Between the Stars is a space action video game with traces of RPG, management and roguelike elements. In it, we’ll live our adventure advancing in the universe and upgrading our ship, Captain and crew in order to be able to withstand the space war that is currently being fought.

All Wings Considered - Episode 13 - LIVE! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The latest episode of ALL WINGS CONSIDERED is live now! All Wings Considered is the CIC's first ever streaming variety show which features news, conversation and gameplay relating to our favorite series. This week's Nav Points include:

  • Earning our color scanner in PRIVATEER!
  • Never-before-seen Syd Mead Nephilim art
  • Privateer 2 ship of the week: the Aurora
  • Fleet Action Book Club, Chapters 6 & 7

Missed the stream? The replay will be available below once it has been processed by YouTube. You can subscribe to the AWC channel for future notifications here.

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WC1 Sprite Refresh Improves Blender Script & Tests Piranha Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

There's a nice new update to the WC1 Sprite Refresh project. A lot of work has been done this year on the process for using Blender to create WC1-style sprite models. This should be broadly compatible with different versions of the software, and look for an update soon. Also to whet the appetite of fans anxious for more delicious goodness in the WC1 engine, Goliath has imported a test Piranha. It looks fantastic in the conversion to low-res. We're super impressed with the results!
I owe some long overdue thanks to the CIC and to Wing Commander fans for their consideration of this "sprite refresh" project for the 2018 Fan Project of the Year. Also, I'd like to give an especially huge thank you to my colleagues Howard Day and UnnamedCharacter for their work as their contributions were crucial in getting the results we did. There are so many neat fan projects out there and it is especially cool to have been tied with the Prophecy & Secret Ops Model Upgrade Pack team for second place behind the work of the Maslas Brothers on Wing Commander Flat Universe. Those are both incredible fan projects! So, let me express my thanks for all the interest and support and I hope people will look forward to future developments here.

Anyway, my primary focus on the Blender sprite creation script has been to get it ready for release. That's involved doing some code optimization as well as testing the script on various versions of Blender. I have been able to confirm that the script works on version 2.57 (which released in 2011) and should work on all versions all the way up to the current 2.79b and also 2.8 beta. That's 8 years of blender releases this script should work with so I think that should cover most Blender users, even if you have an old version installed. I found that 2.8 beta would crash quite a bit for me (unrelated to the script) but thankfully the script generated renders without any code modification and hopefully will still be true when 2.8 is out of beta. Once the script is ready, I will post it here along with instructions on how to use it.

In the meantime, I decided to do something a little fun and create sprites of Prophecy's Piranha to put into Wing Commander, replacing the Hornet. The renders come from the actual Piranha model used in Prophecy and I think the results are pretty neat! I will revisit the Piranha again when I create the script instructions and soon you'll be able to make your own Piranha sprite renders!

Wing Commander Spotted in Progressive Ad Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The perennially asinine world of insurance commercials has a new Wing Commander tie-in. A new Progressive ad titled "Rebel - Birthday" presents a snarky conversation involving a middle aged man living in his parents' home. The directors helped set the scene with a copy of Wing Commander on the shelf. It's between the wooden ship and baseballs. Rather than catering to some type of video game stereotype, hopefully they were just big fans of the game themselves! The 'Wing' was apparently taped over to reduce the risk of setting off any copyright sirens. A 1080p download is available from the Vimeo link below for anyone who wants a closer look. Thanks to doctorcdcs for spotting this! He initially saw it air on Hulu.

Confed Outpost Mupgraded and New Destroyed Hulls Implemented Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The new Confed Outpost destined for the Prophecy and Secret Ops Model Upgrade Pack has been rolled out. It's got some real nice communications gear and lighting features, but even more exciting might be its fancy new damage model. DefianceIndustries is now incorporating gr1mre4per's Prophecy Unlimited tech to allow for dynamically swapping out a a trashed hull skeleton after a ship sustains a fatal amount of damage. Continued deployment will start with a handful of Secret Ops-specific ships as they continue to find clever new ways to make the programming work.
All your base... well you know the rest. Asset #2 for the next patch is done. The SO Outpost (which replaces the WCP starbase). The Outpost is an odd duck, in a world where artificial gravity and faster than light travel is a thing, the outpost relies on good old fashioned spin gravity - many have speculated as to it's purpose: a legacy of a bygone era? A cheap civilian installation? A mammoth revolving space restaurant (which is my favorite). Either way it makes a fun appearance where you have to save it from a nasty Hydra attack. Of course if you fail, you get to see more of the awesome Plunkett cruiser so it's almost worth doing it that way. ;)

Unsung hero update: So while the art usually gets top billing here I forgot to point out in last night's post that the outpost is also making use of a long-asked-for feature in WCP:Unlimited - That of the destroyed hull object. gr1mre4per has done a lot of impressive work making the Vision engine jump through hoops it wasn't intended to do and this was one of the big ones. Using sneaky LOD (That's Level of Detail for you non-game developer types) switching we can cheat Secret Ops into hiding a blown up main hull object until the cap-ship registers as destroyed. At that point (the big white flash when a capship dies) the engine swaps in the destroyed hull. Pretty neat, right?

This also allows us to do more with emit mapping. Prior to this enhancement we have to cheat a bit by using transparent textures and an underlying "emit mesh" which we usually create as a CARGO chunk (which is why sometimes you cycle through sub-targets and see 'Cargo' pop up even though it isn't a pelican or a leatherback). Since the main object doesn't have a destroyed mesh (and the engine didn't allow for it), any emit mapping would remain in place after a ship was destroyed. So windows stay lit, etc. Now the dead hull can have an entirely new set of textures so we can make full use of emit mapping and save on polygons! Win/win I say.

There are a few limits with it:

1. it currently exists in Secret Ops only - We want to back-port this feature to WCP at some point but it's more challenging as the EXEs are different between them. So that means that for now, shared Capship assets between WCP and SO will not make use of it currently; and I don't want to create two full sets of capships between engines as that can cause a bunch of issues with version management (and the 3.1 alpha was an example of what crappy version management can wreak on the players) - and it's also a ton of work.

2. dead hulls have to retain the same basic shape as their non-dead counterparts: This is due to the fact that the dead hull and the live one have to share a collision tree. So if I blow up a carrier and the dead hull is cut in half, ships would still collide with the missing half because the collision tree has to remain the same.

Over the next few releases we will be adding in dead hulls for SO-only assets like the Murphy, Vesuvius, and Plunkett to punch up the drama of some of the cutscenes. But this is an engine enhancement that we've long been asking for and was delivered! We're excited to see what else we can do...

New Info on Upcoming Musical Projects! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

There's exciting news about the next phase of composer George Oldziey's musical works! He's now working through the bidding process to price out what it would take to create a second album of live orchestral recordings. To recap: way back in early 2014, Mr. Oldziey kicked off his first campaign to record a live album of his tremendous tracks from Wing Commander 3, 4 and Prophecy. The campaign was successful and the performance was recorded in October of 2014. Fast forward to July 2017 and phase two was kicked off. The second endeavor digitally reorchestrated another round of classical tracks and also conducted a live recording of jazz music from throughout the WC series. Now that those projects have all successfully concluded, he's looking at going back to the full orchestra for another live album. As an extra bonus, he's considering putting a book together that documents this exciting ride - all the way back to his time at Origin in the '90s. This is just an early heads up now, but stay tuned for more info as the project unfolds!
Phase 2 of Wing Commander Orchestral Project Volume 2 to Begin Very Soon!

Greetings all! I wanted to update all of you wonderful people on phase 2 of the volume 2 campaign. As you know, phase 1 has enabled me to finish orchestrating 45 minutes of orchestral music for the next volume as well as have all of it formatted into parts and scores ready for printing. It also yielded the interim goal of the WC Jazz CD.

I am just about finished with completing a budget for recording the orchestra and choir, after obtaining multiple bids from orchestras around the world. I will have that budget completed by week's end, and will launch the new fundraiser shortly thereafter, with a goal of recording late summer or early fall!

Another exciting new development is I've been working on writing a book about composing for the Wing Commander games, as well as the musical journey that prepared me for that adventure. When finished, that book will first be available only to contributors to the volume 2 campaign before it goes online for general sale and consumption. I'm really enjoying recalling those moments, which were some of the most fulfilling of my life, and setting them into prose. I'll keep you posted on that development.

Once again, I thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart for all your encouragement and support, and look forward to going on this next journey with you!

Musically yours,

George

The Warrior King's Saga Begins on Prime Video Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

There’s good news for fans of ridiculous space vikings: Amazon’s streaming service now has the Street Fighter animated series! What they have listed as episode 22 is the start of the insane crossover that ends in Wing Commander Academy. It's free for Prime subscribers. Check it out here. The metadata is lazy though! It’s actually season 2, episode 9 and the real air date was November 16, 1996. You can read all about this bizarre and unique crossover between Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Savage Dragon and Wing Commander here.
22. The Warrior King - For many years a powerful keeper of the peace, the Warrior King finds himself vulnerable - trapped in a vortex.
Wing Commander Academy is still readily available on Amazon for just $8. While there's been a cheap plentiful supply for some time, it's also only a matter of time before it goes out of print. Don't regret skipping out on this, and make sure to add one to your collection!
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All Wings Considered - Episode 12 - LIVE! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The latest episode of ALL WINGS CONSIDERED is live now! All Wings Considered is the CIC's first ever streaming variety show which features news, conversation and gameplay relating to our favorite series. This week's Nav Points include:

  • The start of our epic play through of PRIVATEER!
  • Concept art from big name artists
  • Privateer 2 ship of the week: the Kalrechi
  • Never before seen Privateer and WCM material

Missed the stream? The replay will be available below once it has been processed by YouTube. You can subscribe to the AWC channel for future notifications here.

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Rocky Battle Unfolds Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

DigitalOrgami has put together another gorgeous Wing Commander wallpaper. This one features a spirited chase through a dark asteroid belt. The stars are Klavs' gorgeous Grikath and its Confed pursuer. There's good usage of light and dark, and there's even a sense of anticipation thanks to the missile that's just launched. You can find more of his work at DeviantArt or his WC scenes here.
Thanks to GrahamTG for making this awesome background available. I ended up going way darker than I originally intended, but things kind of led me that way. Also thanks to Adam Burch for the great Wing Commander ships.

Got a little carried away with engine glows, but hey, there's the nebula gas and all the dust from the asteroids, so that's my excuse. :D

Unfortunately, my positioning of ships meant Graham's sun gets lost in the starboard engine glow of the Kilrathi ship, but.... Should probably have gone with some motion blur but didn't think of it until the end, and couldn't work it in anyway that looked good. Hopefully will think of that next time....

Podcasters Analyze WC1 MIDI... and Creed Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

AD recently found a music-related podcast that's profiled Wing Commander 1. They listen to the Sound Blaster basic music and then compare it to the deluxe Roland MT32. The hosts seem to be more versed in music history rather than video game history, which provides for kind of an interesting analysis. They also profile the movie Creed's score in this episode, and they jump back and forth between that and Wing Commander repeatedly, which is certainly an unusual format choice. The whole bit is more than an hour and forty minutes long, but it's always neat to hear some great WC tunes and some fresh admiration thereof as well. Give it a listen here. Afterwards, if this gave you a hankering for Team Fat's masterpiece work, you can buy their Wing One album at Amazon ($7.99) or iTunes ($9.99).
This is episode 18 which is basically our glorious comeback (again) into a more constant rhythm. Let's see how that goes. Anyway we present to you this time the Ludwig Göransson score to the 2015 Film Creed by Ryan Coogler as well as something very special. Do you remember episode 12? (Sure you do, silly old me). Well this was the one where we presented two different versions of the Castlevania 3 soundtrack. This time Krazy Kaptain Khalid does something similar. Here he is himself describing what happened: "So, I more or less glued two mp3 files together, so that they appear as one and I just have to run that one file instead of two. In the beginning of those "combined" files we hear for about the first minute, the version that probably most of PC players in the early 90s heard at home with their Sound Blaster cards, the Ad-Lib or OPL2 version. The second part is the more sophisticated version with the more expensive Roland MT32 General MIDI Synthesizer. If you're interested in that kinda stuff, you should totally check out the youtube channel by "8bit Keys". Great guy, great videos, fun to watch."

He does that with tracks from the 1990 Chris Roberts PC game Wing Commander which were written by George Alistair Sanger aka "The Fat Man".

Check Out Origin's Long Term Plan Circa 1989 Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Here's a fascinating look at Origin's product plan as of 1989, just before Wing Commander changed things. It's amazing what could have been (a Star Wars RPG by Richard Garriott!) and also how far in advance they planned for projects like Ultima Underworld.
  • Bad Blood: released
  • Ultima 6: released
  • Dinosaur Valley: became Ultima Savage Empire
  • Squadron: became Wing Commander
  • Time Travel: became Ultima Martian Dreams (?)
  • Super Heroes: didn't happen
  • Ultima 5 NES: released
  • Ultima Gameboy: became Runes of Virtue
  • Ultima 7: released
  • Car Wars: didn't happen
  • Ultima 6: became Ultima 6 SNES
  • Star Wars: didn't happen
  • The Underground: became Ultima Underworld
  • Ultima adventure game: didn't happen
  • Ultima 7 Spinoff: became Serpent Isle
  • Ultima 8: happened (two years later)
  • Blood & Fog: didn't happen
  • Ultima 7 Spinoff: went into development as Arthurian Legends, ultimately cancelled
After we initially posted this on Twitter, Wing Commander designer/director Siobhan Beeman added this for context:
Honestly, Wing Commander didn't really change this product plan all that much. Super Heroes is the only genuine casualty: IIRC, that would have been Jeff George's project after Bad Blood, and I would have led Martian Dreams, but instead I took WC2 and he took MD.

Car Wars didn't happen for... reasons. (For more information, see Wasteland.) The relative failure of the WoU series killed further games in that line. U7 sluggishness, and the waning of graphical adventures, killed the STUD games.

Hah, actually, yes, now that I think about it, Wing Commander DID kill Star Wars. Not because it kicked off a bitter rivalry with their X-Wing line (tho that kind of also happened 😄), but because it made spending cash on licensed IP much less necessary/attractive.

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Model Upgrade Pack Previews New Panther Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Here's a first look at one of the new fighters being prepped for the next update to the Prophecy & Secret Ops Model Upgrade Pack. The Panther will be a welcome addition since it appears so often in the game - especially Secret Ops. New images below show off DefianceIndustries' original render, some peeks at the ship viewer and finally some in-game views. A shot of the original is also includes so you can see just how advanced the update is!
First of the new batch is ready - The revised Panther is now completed and in the game - and in the next update she'll be yours to fly...

Forbes Explores Star Citizen History Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Forbes magazine has published an interesting article on the ongoing development of Star Citizen. As this also appears in the May 2019 print, the article spends some time initially to catch the reader up on the concept of crowdfunding, the history of Star Citizen and Chris Roberts' background as a game developer and movie producer. There's an update on the game's haul so far. It's taken in some $242 million from players and another $46 million in private investment, so they'll soon cross the $300 million milestone. We noted just six months ago that they hit $200 million, which suggests their revenue intake is still surging ahead at a very strong pace and may have actually accelerated in 2019. Per the game's roadmap, the Squadron 42 campaign beta is still a good year away, and there's significant work yet to go on building out the game's universe. The piece also delves into some of the more controversial aspects of the game's long development cycle, feature creep, Roberts' management style and his personal history. While the author questions whether the game will ever be completed, he also acknowledges there are thousands of fans having fun in what is already available. No matter what happens, it's a sure bet that we're watching gaming history being made here and we'll be continuing to talk about how this saga unfolds for years to come. Check the full article out here.
If you don’t play video games, you probably have never heard of Roberts. But in the world of consoles and controllers, he is Keith Richards: an aging rock star who can still get fans to reach into their pockets. Roberts first gained fame with his early 1990s hit Wing Commander, a space combat series that grossed over $400 million and featured Hollywood stars like Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell. He followed that success by starting his own studio, Digital Anvil, with Microsoft as an investor.
Thanks to demi for the tip!

Don't Sweat the Tomatometer Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Rotten Tomatoes has put together a ranking of 47 movies based on video games. It's an interesting read to see all of the different films represented here, even if the Wing Commander ranking is atrocious. WC comes in at 35th place thanks to its 10% score. I get that it's not the type of film that a professional reviewer is going to rush to thumbs up, and there's plenty of reasons why casual fans may or may not like it, but it's just not that bad. Among the ranks of cringey awful video game movies, it should really be in the upper quarter. You can check out the ranking for yourself here. Thanks to Robin Ward and Gordon Lucas for the tip!

All Wings Considered - Episode 11 - LIVE! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The latest episode of ALL WINGS CONSIDERED is live now! All Wings Considered is the CIC's first ever streaming variety show which features news, conversation and gameplay relating to our favorite series. This week's Nav Points include:

  • Everything you ever wanted to know about the Steltek!
  • Special Operations 1, Series 4: the big finish!
  • Privateer 2 ship of the week: the Skecis Mk II
  • Book Club: Chapters 4 and 5 of Fleet Action

Missed the stream? The replay will be available below once it has been processed by YouTube. You can subscribe to the AWC channel for future notifications here.

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Homeworld Mod Playguide Updated Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

There's a neat new tool for the Homeworld Remastered mod, Flag Commander. L.I.F. has released an update to his player guide. It's a neat 85-page document that profiles all of the ships from the mod's major factions. There's helpful stats and background information for players to read up on. Grab it at the CIC Forums here. L.I.F. has also worked out solutions to a variety of multiplayer bugs, which will be released in a forthcoming update.
A few updates to report over the last week, various bugs solved (thanks to reports from people who actually play the mod in multi!), made the convoy mechanic optional too, but most importantly, a return to the flight system for fighters: instead of building fighters one by one, they're back in flight groups of various sizes. In addition, you can find in the linked file an updated guide to the available units in the mod, for the Wing Commander III and IV eras. I'll add the Wing Commander I and II ones later.

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