Some things I like about Wing Commander 4

Even in Wing Commander 4 there are no "empty locations", every place you can go has something for you (with the exception of Eisen's cabin, but you just get a short FMV clip of Blair knocking at the door with no answer).

I just finished replaying WC4 in XP and there were 3 or four scenes in Eisen's Cabin. I also used to think that there were no scenes there but after a replay a while ago I saw three or four scenes in this cabin.

Might be worth it to replay just to see the scenes.

By the way is there anything like mission tree for wing commander 3 and 4 out there. I would like to know that I have played all the missions available and seen al the fmv's. Just seeing the fmv's without the buildup of missions would not be enough.

I tried by going with the bad choices and some times there subtle differences but the game was coming back to the main story line every time.
 
WC4 is mostly linear, though, of course, there are some alternatives. These are what I can remember off the top of my head:

Spoilers abound!

  • How you treat the veteran at the very start of the game has repercussions in the Peleus system (many missions into the game).
  • At least one of the scenes in Eisen's cabin depends on your response to one of your conversations with Catscratch.
  • The most obvious one: choosing to defect to the Border Worlds at the first or second opportunity changes the missions you fly.
  • After the Peleus missions, you have a choice on whether to visit the Circe or Speradon systems.
  • The craft you choose to fly to Telamon has some subtle effects on the enemies you fly against and the cinematics you see on the surface (besides the landing sequence).
  • You can choose between running the Confederation gauntlet the Ella system, or destroying the star base.
  • You can choose between using the Flash-pak on Ella star base (if you choose to attack it) or against the Vesuvius, or not at all.
There may be more, but that's what I can remember right now.
 
Even in Wing Commander 4 there are no "empty locations", every place you can go has something for you (with the exception of Eisen's cabin, but you just get a short FMV clip of Blair knocking at the door with no answer).

I just finished replaying WC4 in XP and there were 3 or four scenes in Eisen's Cabin. I also used to think that there were no scenes there but after a replay a while ago I saw three or four scenes in this cabin.

That's not what I meant. Yes there are scenes in Eisen's Cabin. But only at certain times. The other locations there usually always is something/someone...
 
WC4 is mostly linear, though, of course, there are some alternatives. These are what I can remember off the top of my head:

Here's a few more:

- The Hellespont and Tyr series' are triangular--if you win the first mission then you fly an easier version of the sequel (if the pirate frigate escapes in the scouting mission then you have to go to multiple nav points to look for it in the strike; if you don't get the photos in Tyr then the marines have to land at all three bases instead of just one).

- In both Circe and Speradon you fly two out of three possible missions based on Catscratch-related choices.

- If you stop Dekker from punching Maniac then there will be an extra wave of enemies at your next marine insertion mission (which could be a couple different places).
 
I eventually decided to always side with Dekker, especially in Speradon. On the weapons factory there I once managed to fail the mission because he took so long (which seemed really bizarre to me immediately afterwards - was he actually trying to fail and get his people killed for no good reason, just to prove a point?) I'm still not entirely sure what happened there. I don't think his shuttle got blown up.
 
Maybe you accidentally leeched something--I find that can break the 'insertion' missions (because the next wave of ships won't spawn and it won't trigger the next phase of Dekker saying something and if there's a time limit you'll eventually hit it).
 
Maybe you accidentally leeched something--I find that can break the 'insertion' missions (because the next wave of ships won't spawn and it won't trigger the next phase of Dekker saying something and if there's a time limit you'll eventually hit it).

Yeah, I remember getting angry at the fact that you could only *almost* do the whole game without killing human pilots. You would use your leech guns and missiles and then be forced to kill the defenseless pilots anyway... which just felt worse than just killing them to start with.
 
I eventually decided to always side with Dekker, especially in Speradon. On the weapons factory there I once managed to fail the mission because he took so long (which seemed really bizarre to me immediately afterwards - was he actually trying to fail and get his people killed for no good reason, just to prove a point?) I'm still not entirely sure what happened there. I don't think his shuttle got blown up.

I always sided with Dekker too.

A. Maniac had it coming.

B. He didn't back you up when you took on Seether (Provided you did at the begining of the game).

C. Seriously, who spends a lot of time on Maniac's wing anyway? His coms sounded more serious and realistic in WC3, in 4 they kind of annoyed me. As always, he obeys no orders, and besides the fact that "OMG ITS BIFF FROM BACK TO THE FUTURE!!!" I really don't see much appeal in flying with him. Keep Hawk on your wing if you want a vet pilot, or Primate if you want entertainment.

*Spoiler Alert*
By the way, what happens if you pick "Straighten him out" when dealing with the TCS Liberty vet? I could never bring myself to actually do it. I'm the guy who buys a soldier a drink if he comes into the bar where I'm spending my friday. (Yes I'm aware it's just a game! :p) I gather he gets mad, but what happens when you capture him during the "blind" missions?
 
I actually enjoy flying with Maniac on attack missions. Leave him in the hangar bay during defense/escort missions, however.

I only recently (in my last playthrough of the PSX version) discovered how awesome Primate was.
 
[Maniac] didn't back you up when you took on Seether (Provided you did at the begining of the game).
As per the novelization of WC4, officially he did.

Of course, Blair wussed out in the novel version of the scene, so some people choose to ignore the canon explanation. :p
 
WC4 is mostly linear, though, of course, there are some alternatives. These are what I can remember off the top of my head:

Spoilers abound!

  • How you treat the veteran at the very start of the game has repercussions in the Peleus system (many missions into the game).
  • At least one of the scenes in Eisen's cabin depends on your response to one of your conversations with Catscratch.
  • The most obvious one: choosing to defect to the Border Worlds at the first or second opportunity changes the missions you fly.
  • After the Peleus missions, you have a choice on whether to visit the Circe or Speradon systems.
  • The craft you choose to fly to Telamon has some subtle effects on the enemies you fly against and the cinematics you see on the surface (besides the landing sequence).
  • You can choose between running the Confederation gauntlet the Ella system, or destroying the star base.
  • You can choose between using the Flash-pak on Ella star base (if you choose to attack it) or against the Vesuvius, or not at all.
There may be more, but that's what I can remember right now.

Interesting.
I thought I had nailed all the different options and choices. Never thought to not use the Flash-Pak, does not using it alter anything?
 
Interesting.
I thought I had nailed all the different options and choices. Never thought to not use the Flash-Pak, does not using it alter anything?

Using it against Ella prevents you from using it against the Vesuvius and I believe lowers Panther's morale while increasing Hawk's.

If you don't use it you run a great gauntlet of Confed fighters and capships.
 
WCIV was the first WC game I ever played (on the Playstation back in 1997), but I didn't get to play the superior PC version until my sophomore year in college, around 2004. I love the hell out of it, but looking back, the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. It's mostly just playing through to get to the next movie scene. I thought WC3 had a much better balance of cinematics and gameplay.

Also, I just realized today, after years of being a fan of both, that the TCS Liberty Vet is played by the same guy who played Moco, the bad guy in Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi.
 
Also, I just realized today, after years of being a fan of both, that the TCS Liberty Vet is played by the same guy who played Moco, the bad guy in Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi.

Robert Rodriguez is associated with Wing Commander in a few ways. He is friends with Chris Roberts, was one of the co-founders of Digital Anvil and uses George Oldziey for music in many of his movies!
 
Interesting.
I thought I had nailed all the different options and choices. Never thought to not use the Flash-Pak, does not using it alter anything?

Using it against Ella prevents you from using it against the Vesuvius and I believe lowers Panther's morale while increasing Hawk's.

If you don't use it you run a great gauntlet of Confed fighters and capships.
There is a caveat, however: Because you choose the FP Ella option doesn't mean you actually have to use the FP to kill the station.

If you select to attack Ella but destroy it with conventional weapons instead of flashpaking it, you still have the FP available for the Vesuvius, later.

The only real downside of doing it that way, if you don't mind not getting the extra targets in Ella, is the hit on Panther's morale, but if you don't normally fly with her anyway it's no big loss.
 
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