Is Wing Commander 3 worth buying on GoG if I already own it on 3DO?

Discussion in 'General Wing Commander Chat' started by Decay, Jun 16, 2012.

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  1. Decay Master Chief Petty Officer

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    As far as I know. The advantages I would be getting with playing the PC version would be being able to use my flight stick (I don't own the 3DO flight stick as it's rare and expensive as hell), and having better in game graphics. However the 3DO version has the advantage of better cinematics and more of them (missing Hobbes cutscenes).

    Is there any mission on the pc version that arent on the 3DO version such as the planet side missions in Wing Commander 4? I am a hardcore collector so I like to experience all versions of a game even if the differences are slightly minor.

    Maybe some day I will get a 3DO flight stick to play WC3 on 3DO properly, but even with that said, I know the 3DO version runs at a much lower framerate during game play. Yea even though WC3 is super cheap on GoG, I am just asking if it would be worth it already owning the 3DO version. I will be playing it either on my windows XP PC or my Windows 7 64 bit laptop, So as long as the GoG version works perfectly on these two operating systems, I should see no reason as to not invest the $6 to own it.

    Thanks in advance.
    Decay, Jun 16, 2012
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  2. Dundradal They're Everywhere! / Administrator

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    Short answer: Yes.

    Long answer: Hell yes.
    Dundradal, Jun 16, 2012
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  3. AD Finder of things, Doer of stuff

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    Yes there are several planet missions in WC3. The 3DO version had alternate CGI sequences instead. The 3DO missions were also restructured for play on that console so unlike the PSX version which plays just like the PC version the 3DO version plays a bit different. However you do not get the TCN news bursts in the PC version or the hobbes explanation video. I would definitely get it though.
    AD, Jun 16, 2012
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  4. -danr- Commodore

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    All else aside, for the sake of $6, it's worth it to show the powers that be that you're still interested in playing Wing Commander.

    Let alone how much of a snip that is for such a high-production title.
    -danr-, Jun 17, 2012
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  5. Mancubus Captain

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    Not to mention the fact that for this money you also get Fleet Action e-book wich is worth $6 in itself
    Mancubus, Jun 17, 2012
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  6. Mace Rear Admiral

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    You can personally blow up Kilrah, instead of watching an animation of it being done. That alone is worth it any day of the week.
    Mace, Jun 17, 2012
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  7. Decay Master Chief Petty Officer

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    True I totally forgot about that, is it death star trench run style? Cause that's how the 3DO cinematic made it feel haha.
    Decay, Jun 18, 2012
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  8. Nomad Terror Rear Admiral

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    As the other commenters have said, buy it for the experience, buy it for the extras, buy it to show EA people still love Wing Commander.
    Nomad Terror, Jun 18, 2012
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  9. -danr- Commodore

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    Sort of - you can fly over the top of the trench instead of descending into it though, or you can fly the whole mission cloacked (which I think is a glitch but it makes it much easier)...sadly it doesn't' quite capture the spirit of the high speed trench run seen in the 3DO video, but it's still a fun mission given its implications.
    -danr-, Jun 18, 2012
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  10. Dundradal They're Everywhere! / Administrator

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    Yeah each release has included a bunch of cool extras we worked hard on so GOG could add them to the package. From Fleet Action to the strategy guides, those alone are worth the $6!
    Dundradal, Jun 18, 2012
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  11. Bandit LOAF Long Live the Confederation!

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    Absolutely, EVERY mission in Wing Commander III 3DO is different. The entier game was remade to better suit the console; the mechanics were redone so it was more 'arcade': it's easier to shoot down enemy ships and so there are a lot more of them. The PC version is a different experience, with fewer fighters/capital ships that are harder to kill.

    But the missions are just /different/ and playing the one you haven't is like getting fifty more Wing Commander battles you haven't seen before. My favorite example is the Tamayo scramble mission. In the original PC release you defend the Victory against four waves of bombers... and in the 3DO port you defend it against an enemy destroyer and her escort fighters!

    The PC version also looks much better. The 3DO port had its own engine that looks sort of like a cross between Wing Commander II and Wing Commander III VGA. The PC's SVGA mode is much, much sharper.
    Bandit LOAF, Jun 18, 2012
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  12. Decay Master Chief Petty Officer

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    I'm sold.
    Decay, Jun 18, 2012
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  13. AD Finder of things, Doer of stuff

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    With the exception of the FMV... The 3DO video is likely the same resolution as the PC version, but between the releases Origin went back and made use of the advances in video compression to redo all the video. So the FMV in the 3DO version has better color depth and the video is much cleaner looking.
    AD, Jun 18, 2012
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  14. Decay Master Chief Petty Officer

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    Why was there no 3do version quality fmvs injected into Wing3? Cause it's a Dos game?
    Decay, Jun 19, 2012
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  15. AD Finder of things, Doer of stuff

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    They did use the same re-encoding for the PSX version but there just wasn't any easy way to do this back in the day. There was no way people would have downloaded a several GB "patch" in the mid nineties, and sending people disks would have been cost prohibitive.
    AD, Jun 19, 2012
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  16. Ijuin Admiral

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    There are SO many parallels between Wing Commander 3 and Star Wars Episode IV that one wonders if it is intentional:
    • A giant super-gun that can blow up planets in a single shot is put forth as the ultimate weapon to win the war
    • Said super-gun is destroyed because its plans (and weaknesses) were leaked to the opposing side
    • The climax of the game consists of Mark Hamill in a deadly trench run, dogfighting his arch-nemesis while all of his wingmen are shot down, and he must deliver his missile to precisely the right spot in order to win victory for his side.
    Seriously, whenever I fly that mission, I imagine Paladin saying "Blair! Use the Force!" :D
    Ijuin, Jun 19, 2012
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  17. Quarto Unknown Enemy

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    Well, there was KSaga, I suppose - that would actually have been quite a strong bonus, had they improved the videos there.
    Quarto, Jun 19, 2012
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  18. AD Finder of things, Doer of stuff

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    Hehe, you should read the first draft of the WC movie script.
    AD, Jun 19, 2012
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  19. Decay Master Chief Petty Officer

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    I mean has someone found a way to insert the 3do cut scenes into the PC version?
    Decay, Jun 19, 2012
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  20. AD Finder of things, Doer of stuff

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    Yes... but it will be a while before you see any fruit from that effort. Even so, the issue isn't so much putting them into the PC version as it is removing (and decoding) them from the 3DO version.
    AD, Jun 19, 2012
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