Shot
Rear Admiral
I can’t say I expect too many fans of Wing Commander to quite understand the story I’m about to tell. It’s the fact that I couldn't quite grasp the integrity of the opinion as not only a Wing Commander fan, but taking that aside, I couldn’t understand it as just a fan of games, which is what brings me here. I’m really curious on how others might see this situation…and now, the story…
Making videos on YouTube, and watching them long before that, I’ve come into contact with various characters. Some of them sort of end up being better friends than your real friends… Some of them you have to muster up quite the willpower to not go crazy on them.
There’s one guy I’ve known for a long time who loves “a” Wing Commander just as much as any of us, perhaps more. I say “a” because he’s very particular in his tastes. He loves Wing Commander III, that’s it. On my Wing Commander IV review he commented in a way I really didn’t know how to not take offense to. Basically he said he watched the whole thing, loved that I took time to show off the alternate scenes, but also thanked me because it made it clear that he never needs to play it for himself… This in response to a review where although I mention some negative things about Wing4, I make it very clear that it’s a game everyone should play before they die. It’s an important piece of history, perhaps not everyone will dig it, but everyone should play it.
He sometimes uses a still frame of Flint as his avatar. He’s got some very detailed and sad condition where he “knows” he should have been born as particular beautiful and famous women. For the purposes of this writing, I think Flint was the first woman he felt he should have been born as. I don’t pretend to understand that, but I feel for all those that feel.
I mention that because I’m wondering how much his stringent love for Wing3 is dependent on his memoires of childhood. From what I’ve gathered over the years his first experience with Wing Commander was WingIII on the 3DO. He had the 3DO, a not too popular console at the time, and Wing3 was probably the single best game released on that console.
I tend to want to go a little psychological on him because he’s said in the past about how great the 3DO version was, that it was in fact better the original… Which… Is not a fact… This is coming from a guy who adores Wing Commander on the Amiga, I love the dithered 16 colors, I love the music and think it’s better than the MT-32… That’s what I had as a kid and it made me fall in love with Wing Commander. I can love that version for all time and even prefer it, but I can still understand the original is the overall best version…duh…it’s the original… And I play the original on a DOS machine with an MT-32 because I adore it just like I adore the Amiga version. Also, despite Wing1 being my first experience, Wing3 is ultimately my favorite of them all, just like him.
Yes, much like the Amiga with the first Wing Commander, Wing3 on the 3DO is a fantastic port that is worth playing. It’s not identical, it’s still very impressive, but it gives a slightly different experience, and I think that’s what us lovers of Wing Commander are after in a port, something a little different and special. The most obvious thing that’s better with the 3DO is the color clockpit videos, something I very much wish they would have put in DOS.
Now I’m stretching with my years worth of knowledge on this one, but the 3DO might also have thousands of colors compared to DOS having 256. Don’t quote me, that’s just something that seems to be ringing true in my mind. Other than that, (and yeah, the missing Hobbes scene) the biggest plus for the DOS version is simply the resolution. It’s 640x480 SVGA at the best settings, both the video and gameplay. That’s at least double the resolution of the 3DO, which possibly was still using 320x200 or at the most 320x240. It’s so obvious just looking at the screenshots that it does not matter how many colors the 3DO has, you’re getting a better experience with DOS. Now Wing3 could still use 320x200, perhaps the 3DO looked better than that mode, but at 640x480 it’s pretty clear cut in my eyes. I don’t even need to go into missing ground missions, I do believe we can factually say Wing3 on DOS, the original, is the overall best experience.
Again, not trying to put down the 3DO, if the system offered a little more I’d certainly have it and I’m sure I’d enjoy Wing3 on it. Should probably try to emulate it, because I certainly recommend all Wing fans try out the Amiga version, as well others like the SegaCD or SNES, hell, setup Wing Commander on DOS to use EGA graphics, try that one out!
I’m just trying to understand why he so much wants to believe the 3DO version is the best. I tried to tell him about the resolution in a nice way, he wouldn’t have it… It feels like Wing3 is very important not only as a game he connects to this issue of his, but in terms of having the 3DO, perhaps missing out on a lot of games because of that, Wing3 is a very important game to him.
But why does he have less than zero want to play or even look into any of the other games? Look, if you love Wing Commander, I can sort of understand why you might not want to look into the competing Star Wars games at the time and vice versa. By no means do I believe Wing fans should be ultimate fan boys and eat up anything Wing Commander, there was no need to buy, and indeed no need to make certain cash in products like Academy or Armada (though there was potential in Armada). But with the likes of Privateer Wing Commander was able to go outside the main series. But forget those other games, why would someone who loves Wing3 so much not only not love any other ones, but appear to actively reject the other games. I try to talk to him about how I played Wing1 on the Amiga first, but then I missed the 2nd one and went to Wing3. Went to Wing 4 and then got the Kilrathi saga where I finally got to play Wing2. I ate Wing2 up despite coming to it late. I’m not saying you have to play the first two to get enjoyment out of the 3rd one, but I am saying playing the 1st two will allow you to have more depth to the emotion. Hobbes betraying means a lot more when you’ve played the two special operations for Wing2. I knew Angel from Wing1 and was sad to see her go in Wing3, but once I played Wing2 the death of Angel sort of made me want to say to hell with both of the women…
I never told him to expect to find a new favorite, I told him my favorite was also Wing3… But I did say I cannot understand why there is no desire for what seems to be your all time favorite game, to play the other games in the series… Which by most accounts, especially for a fan, are all good games. Perhaps you’ll think Wing4 goes a little overboard with the movies, fair enough, but it’s still something special. Perhaps Prophecy does not go far enough with the movies, again, fair – but they still managed something special, warts and all with that one. And yeah, the first two are not exactly marvels to look at today, but hell, they hold up a hell a lot better than most 3Dish stuff from back then. It’s space, you’re not zoomed in on the pixels much, it’s effective, and it was mind blowing for the hardware.
Beyond the gameplay (which is arguably better in the first 2), the actual cut scenes and your base are very well done in terms of pixel art, they do hold up as art to this very day. Wing1 was less about story, more about just making you feel like you were a part of this bigger thing. May not have been a straight forward story, but damn did it let you know those Wingmen, and you felt terrible when they died. And they could all die… It’s a special game… Wing2 adds some strong story, it’s not always perfect, but again, it’s something special, just like Wing3, and after that, Wing4.
Is it all his connection with the 3DO as a kid? With Flint as the love interest? Or is it just one man’s damn opinion and I should be a lot nicer about it all? I can’t help but want to delve into his thought process because it’s so hard for me to make sense of it logically or personally. I’m sure there are a few of you out there who may not care for the 1st two, or Prophecy perhaps. I’m also sure there’s a lot of you who find value in even the Academy game. But I doubt there’s anyone here that loves JUST ONE of the games. Even if that’s how it started, the memories of loving it on the Amiga made me excited for Wing2 even though it wouldn’t be on the Amiga, it made me excited for Wing3 later on… A couple years later, we’ve all moved on in terms of computing power, and I’m one of those select few who got the Kilrathi Saga to play those old ones on Windows. How is it the love of a game could make you want anything less than knowing all you can about those games?
How can you watch a guy praising the drama and absolute space opera that is Wing4 and come away with that being the final nail in the coffin, it’s not worth it… Why wouldn’t you want to play that game yourself? Reviews can help, and my review said you should play it, why wouldn’t you have any desire to play it for yourself?
Not that it would matter, I’m pretty sure even if he did play it he’d just hate the rest of them… I can’t think of a single game I love where I automatically dismissed the rest of the series. There are games where there’s really only one good game while having several in the series, sometimes crap sells… But come on, 5 main games, several add ons, several spin offs… Can you get that far with games that all suck? I have come across many people who got into Might and Magic once it went 3D, and thus they only like MM6-8 (nobody likes 9). They also have no respect or desire to play 1-5… You do understand in order for 6 to get made there had to be some good ones before that, right? In fact the very first one is the only want to get true acclaim everywhere, it had the most awards I mean… The most ugly of them all, the one even fans would look at and shrug, yeah, that’s worth playing… I don’t personally understand those Might and Magic fans for not caring about the older games, but at least you can sort of say the change from 2D to 3D was such a big change that a lot of people might not like the newer or older ones.
Still think they should give them a try… But regardless of game engines, all the Wing Commanders share a hell of a lot in common. Engaging characters, story, interesting space combat that can be frantic – That’s it. Perhaps it’s not for everyone but if you like one of them, you should at least be wanting to explore the other ones I would imagine.
I would imagine I’m speaking to the choir on this so I’ll also ask if any of you have any examples of people you know who might love one game but refuse to look into the others. Does not have to be just Wing Commander, although I am very curious to hear anything anybody has to say about this… Am I just taking too much offence as a lover of so much that is Wing Commander? Love to hear any thoughts on the matter, thanks.
Making videos on YouTube, and watching them long before that, I’ve come into contact with various characters. Some of them sort of end up being better friends than your real friends… Some of them you have to muster up quite the willpower to not go crazy on them.
There’s one guy I’ve known for a long time who loves “a” Wing Commander just as much as any of us, perhaps more. I say “a” because he’s very particular in his tastes. He loves Wing Commander III, that’s it. On my Wing Commander IV review he commented in a way I really didn’t know how to not take offense to. Basically he said he watched the whole thing, loved that I took time to show off the alternate scenes, but also thanked me because it made it clear that he never needs to play it for himself… This in response to a review where although I mention some negative things about Wing4, I make it very clear that it’s a game everyone should play before they die. It’s an important piece of history, perhaps not everyone will dig it, but everyone should play it.
He sometimes uses a still frame of Flint as his avatar. He’s got some very detailed and sad condition where he “knows” he should have been born as particular beautiful and famous women. For the purposes of this writing, I think Flint was the first woman he felt he should have been born as. I don’t pretend to understand that, but I feel for all those that feel.
I mention that because I’m wondering how much his stringent love for Wing3 is dependent on his memoires of childhood. From what I’ve gathered over the years his first experience with Wing Commander was WingIII on the 3DO. He had the 3DO, a not too popular console at the time, and Wing3 was probably the single best game released on that console.
I tend to want to go a little psychological on him because he’s said in the past about how great the 3DO version was, that it was in fact better the original… Which… Is not a fact… This is coming from a guy who adores Wing Commander on the Amiga, I love the dithered 16 colors, I love the music and think it’s better than the MT-32… That’s what I had as a kid and it made me fall in love with Wing Commander. I can love that version for all time and even prefer it, but I can still understand the original is the overall best version…duh…it’s the original… And I play the original on a DOS machine with an MT-32 because I adore it just like I adore the Amiga version. Also, despite Wing1 being my first experience, Wing3 is ultimately my favorite of them all, just like him.
Yes, much like the Amiga with the first Wing Commander, Wing3 on the 3DO is a fantastic port that is worth playing. It’s not identical, it’s still very impressive, but it gives a slightly different experience, and I think that’s what us lovers of Wing Commander are after in a port, something a little different and special. The most obvious thing that’s better with the 3DO is the color clockpit videos, something I very much wish they would have put in DOS.
Now I’m stretching with my years worth of knowledge on this one, but the 3DO might also have thousands of colors compared to DOS having 256. Don’t quote me, that’s just something that seems to be ringing true in my mind. Other than that, (and yeah, the missing Hobbes scene) the biggest plus for the DOS version is simply the resolution. It’s 640x480 SVGA at the best settings, both the video and gameplay. That’s at least double the resolution of the 3DO, which possibly was still using 320x200 or at the most 320x240. It’s so obvious just looking at the screenshots that it does not matter how many colors the 3DO has, you’re getting a better experience with DOS. Now Wing3 could still use 320x200, perhaps the 3DO looked better than that mode, but at 640x480 it’s pretty clear cut in my eyes. I don’t even need to go into missing ground missions, I do believe we can factually say Wing3 on DOS, the original, is the overall best experience.
Again, not trying to put down the 3DO, if the system offered a little more I’d certainly have it and I’m sure I’d enjoy Wing3 on it. Should probably try to emulate it, because I certainly recommend all Wing fans try out the Amiga version, as well others like the SegaCD or SNES, hell, setup Wing Commander on DOS to use EGA graphics, try that one out!
I’m just trying to understand why he so much wants to believe the 3DO version is the best. I tried to tell him about the resolution in a nice way, he wouldn’t have it… It feels like Wing3 is very important not only as a game he connects to this issue of his, but in terms of having the 3DO, perhaps missing out on a lot of games because of that, Wing3 is a very important game to him.
But why does he have less than zero want to play or even look into any of the other games? Look, if you love Wing Commander, I can sort of understand why you might not want to look into the competing Star Wars games at the time and vice versa. By no means do I believe Wing fans should be ultimate fan boys and eat up anything Wing Commander, there was no need to buy, and indeed no need to make certain cash in products like Academy or Armada (though there was potential in Armada). But with the likes of Privateer Wing Commander was able to go outside the main series. But forget those other games, why would someone who loves Wing3 so much not only not love any other ones, but appear to actively reject the other games. I try to talk to him about how I played Wing1 on the Amiga first, but then I missed the 2nd one and went to Wing3. Went to Wing 4 and then got the Kilrathi saga where I finally got to play Wing2. I ate Wing2 up despite coming to it late. I’m not saying you have to play the first two to get enjoyment out of the 3rd one, but I am saying playing the 1st two will allow you to have more depth to the emotion. Hobbes betraying means a lot more when you’ve played the two special operations for Wing2. I knew Angel from Wing1 and was sad to see her go in Wing3, but once I played Wing2 the death of Angel sort of made me want to say to hell with both of the women…
I never told him to expect to find a new favorite, I told him my favorite was also Wing3… But I did say I cannot understand why there is no desire for what seems to be your all time favorite game, to play the other games in the series… Which by most accounts, especially for a fan, are all good games. Perhaps you’ll think Wing4 goes a little overboard with the movies, fair enough, but it’s still something special. Perhaps Prophecy does not go far enough with the movies, again, fair – but they still managed something special, warts and all with that one. And yeah, the first two are not exactly marvels to look at today, but hell, they hold up a hell a lot better than most 3Dish stuff from back then. It’s space, you’re not zoomed in on the pixels much, it’s effective, and it was mind blowing for the hardware.
Beyond the gameplay (which is arguably better in the first 2), the actual cut scenes and your base are very well done in terms of pixel art, they do hold up as art to this very day. Wing1 was less about story, more about just making you feel like you were a part of this bigger thing. May not have been a straight forward story, but damn did it let you know those Wingmen, and you felt terrible when they died. And they could all die… It’s a special game… Wing2 adds some strong story, it’s not always perfect, but again, it’s something special, just like Wing3, and after that, Wing4.
Is it all his connection with the 3DO as a kid? With Flint as the love interest? Or is it just one man’s damn opinion and I should be a lot nicer about it all? I can’t help but want to delve into his thought process because it’s so hard for me to make sense of it logically or personally. I’m sure there are a few of you out there who may not care for the 1st two, or Prophecy perhaps. I’m also sure there’s a lot of you who find value in even the Academy game. But I doubt there’s anyone here that loves JUST ONE of the games. Even if that’s how it started, the memories of loving it on the Amiga made me excited for Wing2 even though it wouldn’t be on the Amiga, it made me excited for Wing3 later on… A couple years later, we’ve all moved on in terms of computing power, and I’m one of those select few who got the Kilrathi Saga to play those old ones on Windows. How is it the love of a game could make you want anything less than knowing all you can about those games?
How can you watch a guy praising the drama and absolute space opera that is Wing4 and come away with that being the final nail in the coffin, it’s not worth it… Why wouldn’t you want to play that game yourself? Reviews can help, and my review said you should play it, why wouldn’t you have any desire to play it for yourself?
Not that it would matter, I’m pretty sure even if he did play it he’d just hate the rest of them… I can’t think of a single game I love where I automatically dismissed the rest of the series. There are games where there’s really only one good game while having several in the series, sometimes crap sells… But come on, 5 main games, several add ons, several spin offs… Can you get that far with games that all suck? I have come across many people who got into Might and Magic once it went 3D, and thus they only like MM6-8 (nobody likes 9). They also have no respect or desire to play 1-5… You do understand in order for 6 to get made there had to be some good ones before that, right? In fact the very first one is the only want to get true acclaim everywhere, it had the most awards I mean… The most ugly of them all, the one even fans would look at and shrug, yeah, that’s worth playing… I don’t personally understand those Might and Magic fans for not caring about the older games, but at least you can sort of say the change from 2D to 3D was such a big change that a lot of people might not like the newer or older ones.
Still think they should give them a try… But regardless of game engines, all the Wing Commanders share a hell of a lot in common. Engaging characters, story, interesting space combat that can be frantic – That’s it. Perhaps it’s not for everyone but if you like one of them, you should at least be wanting to explore the other ones I would imagine.
I would imagine I’m speaking to the choir on this so I’ll also ask if any of you have any examples of people you know who might love one game but refuse to look into the others. Does not have to be just Wing Commander, although I am very curious to hear anything anybody has to say about this… Am I just taking too much offence as a lover of so much that is Wing Commander? Love to hear any thoughts on the matter, thanks.