Taking a Closer Look at Development Timelines Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

We remember it taking FOREVER for each new Wing Commander game to come out... but how long did it actually take to develop them? It's pretty crazy compared to how long it takes to make a AAA game today!

This is production to release only, though, so it's not the full story. For instance, Chris Roberts spent several months developing the technology behind the original Wing Commander on his own before it became a budgeted Origin project. Similarly, Wing Commander Arena signed off months before it was released and it sat in a crowded XBox Live Arcade release queue. For further comparison, Strike Commander's famously endless delays meant that it spent... 18 months in production! That's nothing today.
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New Animations Show Off Voxel Test of WC1 Models Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we have a couple of neat animation tests by AllTinker. He's exploring the potential use of voxel creations to help update some of the old school designs into 3D models. They take some work to do, but the results are fairly decent for an initial test. This would just be one potential aspect of what Tinker's Confederation project is attempting to do. You can read up on the effort here.
I mentioned a few posts back that I was looking at voxel conversion as a potential option for adding full 3D rotation to the original 2D sprites. My early tests are pretty positive; here's an early (pretty rough) test of the WC1 Dralthi, converted (manually) to voxels from the original sprites. Each one seems like it will take a fair chunk of work, but it seems far from a prohibitive amount... Some will certainly be more difficult than others though.

Post Fundraiser Update on Vinyl Music Album Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Van Burnham has posted an update on the next phase of the campaign to produce a Deluxe vinyl pressing of the WING COMMANDER score. While the initial Indiegogo effort didn’t hit the funding goals necessary to kick off production, Van is working the numbers and determining what it will take to move forward from here. The album was initially projected for next year, so there's still time to work through options and figure out how to close the gap and make this a reality. Of course, Wing Commander fans are nothing if not patient. Stay tuned for future updates!
Hi everybody... thank you so much for supporting this project. I'm incredibly excited to make the Wing Commander orchestral score on deluxe vinyl a reality. That said, it goes without saying that I'm disappointed the campaign did not reach it's minimum funding goal and am in the process of sorting out some issues with this platform as a result. I cannot press the planned quantity of LPs for less than $15K and am deciding whether to do a follow-on fundraising campaign or reduce the quantities for the first production run. Checking with the pressing plant on minimums and metrics now. Please be patient while I work out how best to move forward, should have an update by end of week. Grateful for your support!

Enjoy the WC1&2 Cockpits All Lined Up Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Here are the amazing takeoff and landing sprites from the original Wing Commander. Along with the cockpits these were absolutely essential in establishing the player's ship in their head (and showing-not-telling damage after a mission!).

Here are the Wing Commander II versions:
This is an interesting comparison to the WC2 landing art, the similar (but decidedly different) side views used for the eject cutscenes. They didn't do these for the new ships in the mission disks!
And here's the kind of detail that makes a Chris Roberts game special: when the cockpit slides open you can see just a little strip of the tan cockpit... which matches the side view you have in flight!
You can download a reference pack with dozens of cockpit images from WC1, WC2, WC3, Academy, Armada and Privateer here!
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Exploring Lt. Anderson’s Backstory Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Wing Commander Prophecy veterans: do you remember Lt. Anderson, the TCS Midway's comm officer? He showed up in briefings and other cutscenes as well in dozens of postage stamp videos in-flight.

So, Origin's Official Guide to Wing Commander Prophecy has a surprisingly extensive biography that claims that Anderson traces his lineage back to an RAF pilot who fought in World War II. Is there a historical figure who matches the clues?
We're looking for an RAF pilot (specifically an officer) who defended against the Blitz. Luckily, The Few are extensively memorialized online… which leads us to a clear candidate: Squadron Leader Michael Anderson!
Anderson commanded 604 Squadron during the Battle of Britain flying Bristol Beaufighter night fighters. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down a Heinkel 111 (and two probables). Here's a great painting of that encounter by Mark Postlethwaite!
… and wouldn't you know it, he ended the war as a Wing Commander! Here's a fantastic page with a detailed biography.
Anderson was played by Seth Walther. He went on to guest on a couple TV shows but ultimately became a writer. He often adapts Japanese shows for English audiences, with stacks of credits on shows like Digimon and Power Rangers!
Couple of more continuity polaroids:
Anderson isn't the only WC character with ancestors in the Battle of Britain! In Fleet Action, Admiral Tolwyn claims that "Tolwyns served at Waterloo, on the Somme, in the Battle of Britain, at Minsk and the siege of London and shed their blood heavily in this latest war."
Dr. Forstchen is the master of the sci-fi list, sneaking in future events with ones we know. A second one that's also about Tolwyn's family later in the book: "It had been used by his ancestors when they had stood at Agincourt, Waterloo, the Somme and against Hitler and Zhing."
Not enough to find Tolwyn's ancestor? Luckily (?) there's another reference towards the end of the book: "He thought for a moment of a distant ancestor... who... announced that even if England fell, the Empire, and with it the fleet, would still continue the fight." … which refers to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's June 4, 1940 "we shall fight on the beaches" speech to the House of Commons where he promised that even if England fell the Empire would battle on. You can watch the full speech here:
… so Churchill is a distant relative of Geof Tolwyn and you are all welcome to unpack that on your own. But the resemblance is uncanny! Admit it, you didn't think this was where this post was going to end. Good night, everybody!
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Peacock Changes Potentially Affect WC Academy Viewing Experience Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

There have been some new developments with the Peacock service this month, and this could affect your access to stream Wing Commander Academy. As you know, Peacock added WCA to its slate of shows back in 2020. Although the series is readily available on DVD for cheap, there are a handful of improvements that make the streaming edition arguably superior, including better music/voice sound balance. A few items fixed on disc were not incorporated, however, and you can read all about these differences here. In 2021 a countdown appeared that implied the show would be moving to a higher paid tier, but this was soon dialed back. The ticker has now reappeared, which suggests it may only remain in its current form until the end of the month. Presumably, the show would remain in either the Premium or possibly Premium Plus category.

On a very much related note, there have also been some big changes in who has access to Peacock and what they pay. Originally people with the popular Comcast Xfinity internet service in the US got free access to the lower paid tier, but it was announced earlier this year that this would be going away for most users. The company recently confirmed that people with Gigabit plans would retain their access for two years until June 2025. People who are Diamond/Platinum level members of the Xfinity Rewards program can also log in to claim a similar deal. Other users have access to a $3/month (rather than the typical $5/month) plan. Finally, there's a limited time deal to get a year of access for $20. And with all of that, this directly pertains to the United States. Other countries may have different levels of visibility, plans and so on, or users may VPN into the US for the access described above. Good luck getting your optimal Academy viewing experience!

Spinning Models Take Rapier & Drakhri to the Next Dimension Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we've got a couple of cool 3D takes by Tore Gettoni. He's taken the 2D sprites from a pair of famous WC2 ships and visualized them in rotating three dimensions as a type of pixel art. The result is a neat hybrid of modern and classic visuals styles. We'd love to see more material like this with a similar aesthetic!

Wing Commander II - TC Fighter F-44 Rapier II

Flying high with my brother @boldyfrenk and his beat straight from the shadiest systems in the Enigma sector

Wing Commander II - Kilrathi Empire Fighter Drakhri

Second joint with my brother @boldyfrenk and his beat recovered from a covert operation behind Kilrah's lines in the Enigma sector

WC3 Fighter Jet Promo Even Larger Than Previously Thought Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

AD has done a little digging and found some interesting new aspects to a wild Wing Commander 3 promotion. We've previously reported about the contest to win a flight aboard a "Russian fighter jet" that was part of the WC3 marketing campaign. It was apparently an even larger event than we knew with French adverts to fly a MiG rather than the Su-27 called out in English fine print (despite them using the same fighter jet image). They do seem to refer to separate trip rewards, however, based on slight differences in what the prize packages entail (different date ranges, mention of spending money, supplemental US trip details, etc). The images below also show how there was a red box sleeve band around certain copies of the game to advertise everything, which is pretty neat. These copies are still listed on eBay for collectors out there! English & French
And here's more detail from our previous posts!

Get a Major WC1 Rundown on YouTube Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we've got a very thorough retrospective by Space Cadet Rewind. He set out to create an elaborate analysis of all the ins and outs of the original Wing Commander, and the resulting video came out to almost two hours! He covers a wide variety of topics including the history of the genre, mechanics of the game, mission rundowns, wingmen profiles, tips for each ship, info on the expansions/ports and more. I'm still going through it myself! If you've got a couple hours to wrap yourself in a thick WC1 blanket, give the clip below a watch!
A longform review/analysis of Wing Commander, the original space sim.

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