RELEASE: Relive the Glory Days with New Autopilot Feature

Discussion in 'Wing Commander Saga' started by Tolwyn, Mar 1, 2007.

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  1. Tolwyn Brigadier General

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    The Wing Commander Saga team is happy to announce a breakthrough. We have finally found a way to implement Wing Commander-style autopilot sequences in Saga. Gone are the days of long, time-accelerated trips. Now, Saga has the ability to offer the flyby sequences that were a central part of the Wing Commander ethos, offering a much shorter wait time between nav points and also a cinematic flair that has always been a trademark of Wing Commander.

    We have decided to make something special to showcase this new feature. We have created a loose remake of the first two missions in Wing Commander 3. Our demo package features the original voice-overs of Mark Hamil, Jason Bernard, and the other classic WC3 actors who were highlighted in the first two missions. Briefing and launch sequences are also included. You can grab the package here.

    [IMG]

    To install the WC 3 Autopilot Tech demo, unrar the file into the Prologue folder. Then, from within the game, go to the campaign select screen, select Autopilot Tech Demo, and then start the campaign by hitting the continue button.

    We have also put together a video clip showcasing the new flyby sequence. You can get it here.
    Tolwyn, Mar 1, 2007
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  2. mustanger Captain

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    I've been loosely playing with the FRED program, and am wondering if this will be hard to implement in custom missions (I assume it is somehow scripted for each autopilot trip), and also if you will release the scripting so that fan made projects can take advantage of the quick autopilot?

    Thanks for your hard work on the mod, it rocks.
    mustanger, Mar 1, 2007
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  3. Tolwyn Brigadier General

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    Well, the amount of scripting depends on the number of ships involved. I'll release a tutorial how to implement the autopilot in not so distant future. I hope, that we'll be able to implement a few additional scripts, that will make the whole process a bit easier.

    For a quick mission, you can simply take one of mine Wing Commander 3 missions and modify them. As long as you stick with two ships, there is no need to modify autopilot scripts. :)
    Tolwyn, Mar 1, 2007
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  4. Stone48420 Cadet

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    Very cool stuff it looks as close to wing commander 3 as possible without actually playing wing 3. Any chance on seeing some of those other models you guys made in game. Like the morningstar,rapier, any of them just kinda want to see more fighters in there. Maybe we could get another peak at that confederation dreadnought ya got hidden some where.:D
    Stone48420, Mar 1, 2007
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  5. Vinman Brigadier General

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    Confed Dreadnought? Do you mean TCS Kennedy, or did I miss something? I'm hoping its the latter! :D

    This is great news, I mean, I could deal with the prologue autopilot system, but anything that brings the game closer to the standard Wing Commander experience will be good to see.

    Thanks for keeping the file size down to a manageable level. Is this roughly the size of future episodes?
    Vinman, Mar 1, 2007
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  6. Sphynx Captain

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    Oh, this isn't actually an episode, just something we put together for fun. The full game will not have an episodic release, but will include the whole full campaign.

    As far as seeing other ships, you'll see. Just give it some time. :)
    Sphynx, Mar 1, 2007
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  7. Vinman Brigadier General

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    Oh, neat! How big is the final download going to be, around a gigabyte?
    Vinman, Mar 1, 2007
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  8. Sphynx Captain

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    Probably.
    Sphynx, Mar 1, 2007
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  9. Howard Day Pioneer Art Monkey

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    There are only two things that bug me. And they're pretty minor. The first is the direction - All the autopilot scenes I remember from the original WCs go from left to right, not right to left. I've probably forgotten some autopilot sequences, but I definately remember the majority of them facing the other way.
    The other bothersome thing is the lack of a flyby sound - something else all the other flybys had. The ships just have this sort of generic rumble that plays the whole way through. I kept feeling like I was missing something important.
    Still, Great work, and I'm glad you got it working!
    Howard Day, Mar 1, 2007
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  10. Tolwyn Brigadier General

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    It is possible to play a sounds, we are yet to include it into the game though :)

    Yeah, I put these two missions together for fun, while working on Hermes missions :) The final release will be probably around 1 GB, it is difficult to say at the moment, as none of the movies and only part of the voice acting is included. Right now, the download size is around 450 mb.
    Tolwyn, Mar 2, 2007
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  11. Chicken Cadet

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    I'm impressed with autopilot flyby.

    First off as Howard pointed out, it's missing the classic flyby sound. Secondly, I almost forgot I wasn't playing Wing Commander 3.
    Chicken, Mar 2, 2007
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  12. Magnum Captain

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    This was really excellent. The minor differences between this and the original are totally trivial compared to the accomplishment of actually getting autopilot as far as I'm concerned. Keep up the good work.
    Magnum, Mar 2, 2007
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  13. Starman© Cadet

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    Indeed, escpecially in WC4 when I remember correctly. WC3 had more of both (also if I remember correctly, it's been a while since I played it). Good thing is, in our version we can set the camera to the mission designers wish, which allows a little more variation of those sequences.

    Yeah, i miss this one too :) But like Tolwyn said, this is currently being worked on. Adding the sound is a work of a few seconds, but there is a small problem with the freespace engine sound. It's there, though not very loud. If we can time it correctly, it should be possible that the scripted sound will overlap the freespace one, then everything will be fine :)
    Starman©, Mar 2, 2007
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  14. Tolwyn Brigadier General

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    correct
    Tolwyn, Mar 2, 2007
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  15. Vinman Brigadier General

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    I thought they went right to left in Wing Commander III

    By the way, great job with the video compression, I didn't even expect there to be videos, judging by the file size, and the videos looked better than they did in WC3!
    Vinman, Mar 2, 2007
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  16. Tolwyn Brigadier General

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    videos are from WC3 PSX compressed with the OGG Theora codec.
    Tolwyn, Mar 2, 2007
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  17. Luxo Guest

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    The autopilot demo is awesome.
    With all the videos and stuff, it almost makes you wish for a complete WC3-Remake... ;-)
    Luxo, Mar 25, 2007
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  18. Mace Brigadier General

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    This feature was needed, good job! :)
    Mace, Mar 25, 2007
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  19. Houkiboshi Captain

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    Ahh, the good old days...

    This gave me an idea... Would anyone be interested in a WC3 remake?... the old videos with the "new" missions:D:D
    Houkiboshi, Jun 10, 2007
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  20. mustanger Captain

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    I would :)

    I can't play my old Wing 3 or 4 anymore (cuz I have a PC now, not a Mac), and I sure do miss those old missions.
    mustanger, Jun 11, 2007
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