In 2000, Origin made a second attempt to develop Privateer Online. As part of that project, the development team produced an expansive timeline and updated setting for the game. Privateer Online was to be set in 2710, some 29 years after the end of Wing Commander Secret Ops. Now Justice has helped make available three original concept documents for the game! You can finally read about what becomes of the Confederation in those three decades... as well as the fate of Prophecy-era characters like Casey and Stiletto. It's quite a ride! The fact that they produced a 31 page universe history is simply amazing. The source of the documents is anonymous, but we have confirmed their authenticity. You can find similar behind-the-scenes files in our exciting Document Archive. -- Original update published on May 3, 2006
I especially like what they did with Casey, Akwedon, and The Darkening. And Wing Commander, for that matter. They're good reads, check 'em out!
I thought the Casey situation was way too GE-like and just odd. Casey killing Casey? Ghouls running amock? Very odd indeed. Very interesting read though! Great to have it in WC gray...
The only reference to him in the documents is in a sentance that also explains who he is ("acclaimed Confederation Leader Patrick Taggart").
It's nice to know so many people think Blair is alive. So, did Confed actually found out what the bugs where all about?
What on Earth? This reads like bad fanfiction it seems like everybody dies ( tHElOVEaNIMALS, Saranya Carr, Cavazos, etc.), theres a steltek-nephilim connection, casey gets killed by his clone (what the...?), the darkening is explained away as being a work of fiction is this a late april fools prank?
The last screenshot is the only one that has familiar Wing Commander ships in it. (The screenshots are actually from the 1998 attempt, so they predate StarLancer)
Reading this in an odd way makes me glad it wasn't made...I don't think I would like a game where there's a cult of HOTT and clones running around killing heroes of the confederation. It does seem very fanficish with steltek crsytals and everything else. Just very strange...
The Steltek stuff is a reference to a late Privateer 3 script (posted here recently). Remember that this is the *background* -- designed to establish a setting and factions and so forth that can be then drawn out over expansions like in Ultima Online. The game itself isn't the story of any of these things.
All in all, it's pretty neat. Whoever mentioned it reads like bad fan-fiction is right, but I'm sure this is a rough draft (I hope so anyway.) My favorite was the pirates looking for "goodies" in the base. I was most interested in how they summed up the rest of the Nephilium War/Conflict-- though they don't go into great detail. Quite a find either way. So, my question now is, are we to assume this is canon? I've always wanted to write in the Wing Commander Universe, especially late in the timeline. Though with a background like this it might be hard to suspend disbelief. Buf if sources are confirmed, then I guess we are to assume this is the new canon? I'd be inclined to say it's not, but to acknowledge it as canon might have been.
No it is not canon. Its definitely of interest for its insight into possibilities for the WC universe and the development prophecy but its no more canon than the "official" WC bibles provided to some of the dev teams for previous games and tv series.
I actually think it's good. An online game needs a rich background, even if it sometimes sounds a bit crazy at first reed, and these documents shows that the team actually put great efforts into making the universe more complex that the "Confed vs some enemy" that the single player WC games were about. I actually like the "templates" rebellion concept. I spotted some other fun elements in the doc, such as: wich looks like a wink from the author to Privateer 2 (although it might not be the case, but it's fun nontheless) Really, wouldn't that be the perfect fit for Privateer 2, being a novel/game within the Wing Commander universe ? Really, I love the idea That next one is realy really tasty too !
