The third ending?

Max Gene

Spaceman
I've heard talk of an ending for WCIV where Blair ends the game as a general, as opposed to flight instructor (Panther's morale) or Admiral (Hawk's morale). Is this someone simply getting confused with one of the endings, or is there in fact a third ending that I need to play through again for?
 
I've heard talk of an ending for WCIV where Blair ends the game as a general, as opposed to flight instructor (Panther's morale) or Admiral (Hawk's morale). Is this someone simply getting confused with one of the endings, or is there in fact a third ending that I need to play through again for?

nevermind
 
Wing Commander 4 has 5 endings.
1. You suck at the first few missions. Tolywn retires your ass early.
2. You die... sucks to be you Tolwyn: "Launch the attack"...
3. You eject in a critical mission/screwup in the senate choices: BAD END you get executed.
4. You blow The Super Base to hell and lose your soul along the way: You become a new Space Marshall Tolwyn.
5. You leave Ella alone and don't allow the ends to justify the means. Blair ends up happily instructing pilots on the Intrepid with his pals, and Maniac is still an idiot who Paladin and Blair enjoy putting in his place ;)

The first one is actually interesting... you see Blair wander back into the bar and on the tv there's a TCN newsfeed of the new war showing a bombing run being conducted by some excaliburs. The video footage is actually from the Wing Commander 3 Console editions (psx/3do) (from one of the ground strike missions that were removed from the console versions and replaced with movies.)
 
Maybe he's referring to the novelisation? It's been about a month since I read it, but was Blair not promoted then also? - I'd have to check, but I could have sworn it was the rank of general (or brigadier general) - Please forgive me if I'm mistaken
 
4. You blow The Super Base to hell and lose your soul along the way: You become a new Space Marshall Tolwyn.

That ones more complicated than that - the game looks at how often you side with Hunter or Panther, the superbase is just one of the decisions. Cant remember if it has a higher weighting than the others, but its not enough to get you the evil ending if you side with Panter otherwise.
 
No, the Ella decision has no special weight in the selection of the winning path version. There are three decision points that affect the ending (assuming you don't screw the pooch as per Darkmage's 1-3):
  1. Circe (Panther) or Speradon (Hawk),
  2. "There's always hope" (Panther) or "We die trying" (Hawk), and
  3. "outrun Ella" (Panther) or "destroy Ella" (Hawk).
(I may have the order wrong on the non-Ella choices, been a while since I've played.)

Whichever of the two is at a higher rating after the last of the three decisions determines whether you get the "good" ending (flight instructor, and as per the novel promotion to Brigadier General) or the "bad" one ("evil admiral" ordering in black lances). Which UBW pilot fits which ending is left as an exercise for the reader. :D
 
Why did I play recently the game, chosen to blow up the super-base and... I still got the good ending as a flight instructor?
 
Ah, that makes it much more clear. I figured it was some form of confusion, and I'd known about the 3 "main choices" (which I was thankful for, as I absolutely sucked at the outrun Ella mission, and flashpakked it in both playthroughs). I was hoping it wasn't going to be some complex "Their morale must equal out perfectly, you must record every dialogue choice and fly with them on these missions etc!" sort've thing if there was one. Not worth it.
 
Nah, it's just a two out of three situation.

I actually never flashpack Ella, becuase 1) it's just wrong and 2) "outrun Ella" is the greatest mission in the game. Beating it is the move of a true master (eheheheh).
 
I guess I just didn't have the patience since I wanted to see the endings, WC4's whole missile thing was still bugging me at times (most frustrating experience besides Standoff at times), and I knew I could always replay it later.

Soon...
 
well, You can always take the Dragon on that mission. It helps a lot. And missile evasion is a very important skill in WC4 (the hardest "main game" in the series, IMO).
 
It's actually more complex than just those three choices - there are also points where you can change Hawk or Panther's morale individually. For example, you can 'negate' choosing Circe or Speradon by refusing to help whichever character complains about Maniac.
 
No, the Ella decision has no special weight in the selection of the winning path version. There are three decision points that affect the ending

Nah, it's just a two out of three situation.

Actually, it's not. The Ella decision is weighted differently as the three "main" decisions have both +1/-1 morale modifiers. There are nine possible points in the game that influence the ending.
 
Nah, it's just a two out of three situation.
I actually never flashpack Ella, becuase 1) it's just wrong and 2) "outrun Ella" is the greatest mission in the game. Beating it is the move of a true master (eheheheh).

I agree, the briefing alone is fantastic - all those bogeys closing in on poor Intrepid. It's a favorite of mine.

Panther's reaction worth playing the other cutscene, however.
 
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