Behind The Blue Screens Of The Scimitar Schematic (September 23, 2016)

[ChrisReid]

Joe Garrity has uncovered another gem from his vast archives. This time he's managed to secure a copy of the original Scimitar master of the blueprints included with Wing Commander 1. You can see how each of the little elements is taped in place prior to mass production - that's how layout was done back in the day! It's neat how everything is all there, plus an extra "top view" floating near the logo. Check out all four original blueprints here.

Origin was well known for the extras in the box, that drew players into the story-line, and Wing Commander was no exception. The first game in the series included 4 blueprints of the fighters the player would fly (and would double for the copy protection). This artifact is the master 'overlay' for the Scimitar medium fighter, used to make these blueprints. With graphics and specs meticulously pasted to a transparency, the item is another unique relic of a classic game.

--
Original update published on September 23, 2016

 

[st3lt3k]

Great find!

Desktop publishing had a long way to go

 

[ChrisReid]

That's what we had to do when I was editor of my school newspaper in 1998-2000. We made most of the content in adobe pagemaker, but then printed it out to tape in pictures and advertisements. Eventually we got a digital camera, but our pics were still mostly from film, and ads were still mailed in. Then we had to take the masters and drive them across town to the print shop for production. That's all unimaginable today - but still within the life of the CIC, for context.

 

[Shades2585]

Very cool find.

 

[Toast]

<3