WC-IV novellization

MjavTheGray

Spaceman
Hello everyone, me here again :)
Hope everyone missed my stupid questions.
Se, here's the one:

With CD version of "Price of Freedom" they distributed a book with the first
chapters of WC-IV book. Starting with Hellcat patrol killed by Seether, and ending with Maniac telling Blair that he was recalled to active duty.
Am I wrong?

The book was never pusblished in Rissua, noone knows why, for it would certainly have success. So the gray Mjav hadn't a chance to read it until a fan-made translation was uploaded to some fan-site. And, having downloaded that translation, poor Mjav had a shock.

The translated book had very little in common with the chapters shipped with the game long ago. The tranports were escorted by Arrows, the prayer of the rookie killed by Seether's men was dropped...

The deeper into book the more awful it became. Now tell me - was the book so different from the initial chapters that Blair was beaten by Seether in the Bar? So that scene with Rachel's last letter to Blair was removed?

Or maybe the book wasn't changed, and Mjav can go kicking the 'translator' ?
 
Now tell me - was the book so different from the initial chapters that Blair was beaten by Seether in the Bar? So that scene with Rachel's last letter to Blair was removed?

All of those were retained in the final draft of the novel.
 
now was that the "Wing Commandr IV the price of Freedom" written by
William R. Forstchen & Ben Ohlander
 
It's pretty common for fighters to change around in the novels as the games aren't completely finished by the time the novel needs to be completed. I'm pretty sure that the Union of Border Worlds flies fighters from Wing Commander II in the novel.
 
So, you guys mean that by the time game was released, the book wasn't ready, and those first chapters were re-written later?
 
So, you guys mean that by the time game was released, the book wasn't ready, and those first chapters were re-written later?

Not to my memory. LOAF may be able to step in and clear this up better than I can - but I'll pull out my novels when I get home from work at give it a good once-over.
 
The novelizations were written off of scripts before the final shooting one, so as to have the book out around the same time as the game.

Though, in the case of WC4N, it was probably also a style decision, given how none of the game UBW fighters got mentioned (IIRC) in the novelization, but were replaced with WC2/3 era cast-off designs.
 
Plus some things that work in the game story would make for a less exciting book, for instance, Blair getting beats from Seether in the bar sets up an animosity nicely.
 
That's not the question me was asking, guys.
The "Intrepid" chapters were never in those booklets shipped with the game, so I am intrested in comparing the firts chapters only.
The final book AND the booklet.
So here's the compasiton list:

1.)
The booklet:
Hellcats fly escort

The "translated" book:
Arrows fly escort

The book:
<unknown to me>

2.)
The booklet:
The rookie prayes before killed by Seether

The "translated" book:
scene dropped

The book:
<unknown to me>

3)
The booklet:
Blair refuses to take part in bar fight, Maniac fills him in
The "translated" book:
Blair get beaten, Maniac rescues him, than fills in
The book:
<unknown>
 
actually that is interesting, i never got round to reading the wc4 booklet so i might have to do that when i'm home next
 
I can only give you information about the official German translation of the novel:

- Arrows escort the transports

- The rookie does pray before being destroyed but it's not really a scene, just a line roughly translated "Hail Mary, full of grace..."

- Rachel's message to Blair is in it

- Blair does intervene in the bar fight and gets beaten up and then saved by Maniac.
 
To re-confirm, there are a number of differences between the booklet included with Wing Commander IV and the final version of the novelization itself. The most obvious one is the change from Hellcats (in the manual) to Arrows (in the published book) for the opening scene. This was an interesting switch, as the game itself uses Hellcats for its version of that scene (in terms of continuity, they're clearly different attacks...).

The novelization was famously delayed and the rumor has always been that this was because an additional edit was requested by Origin Publications. The intent was (and always is) to publish the book alongside the game... and in this case the novel came out some eight or nine months later (remember - we didn't have a perfect Amazon.com to tell us exactly when a new book would street back then!). I can't verify or even speak to the rumor - I think it's equally possible that the delay (and the resulting bad blood) were because Baen had to pull it from a December, 1995 slot after the game itself was delayed three months at the last minute.

In that case, it's quite possible that the changes between the manual and the finished book were just part of the ordinary editorial process. Compare the early online preview chapters of False Colors to the final draft and you'll see similar changes. I was helping to edit the books by that time and can tell you that the 'continuity' pass happens *very* late in the game and results in a lot of changes (that book's manuscript made it through the authors, Baen, Origin and was back to Baen again before we changed things like Doomsday and Sparks having the wrong names...).
 
It's a pity those editors were not WC-fans and didn't know that Arrow was an interceptor, not suited for escort duty at all....
 
It's a pity those editors were not WC-fans and didn't know that Arrow was an interceptor, not suited for escort duty at all....

That's stretching pretty far - you can fly plenty of escort missions in Arrows in Wing Commander III. They're also the *only* fighter you can fly on the various scramble-to-defend missions... and they're the fighter assigned for the Armada gauntlet's single escort mission (escort home two Banshees).

The *actual* thing that's interesting about the change is that it was apparently a conscious decision to differentiate the novel's opening from the game's opening rather than just write off the changes (names of the Hellcat pilots, number of transports, etc.) to artistic license on Mr. Ohlander's part.
 
And, besides, whether a ship is best suited to a task sometimes takes a back seat, as it were, to "what we can spare" or "what's available at the moment". Especially given the post-war economy, Arrows are "good enough" for a supposedly quiet haul, where the most likely encounter will be with some piratical assholes in Razors or Talons. (I mean, hell, we engaged Talons in beat-to-hell civilian freighters playing at "fighter". :p )
 
Mmmm...
Arrow is an *interceptor* isn't she?
Her effective range is quite limited, and it's described in manual somewhere, I am sure.
And the 'cat is a multi-purpose craft, serving as recon fighter in more than one mission, as we see in WC-IV.
So... Which ship's effective range is better for escort duty?
 
Arrow is an *interceptor* isn't she? Her effective range is quite limited, and it's described in manual somewhere, I am sure.

There are two kinds of Arrows. You are thinking of the 'point defense' (short range) version - the 'interceptor' is the patrol variant (the Hellcat is also an interceptor). The Wing Commander III novelization explains the difference: "Red Squadron flew Arrow-class point-defense fighters designed to fly close escort for the carrier and other capital ships. Though limited in range and endurance, they were well-armed for their size. In a close combat situation, they'd be worth their weight in platinum. Blue Squadron flew space superiority fighters, Arrow-class interceptors. These had range, speed, and endurance for long patrol operations or sustained dogfights, but they were rather light when it came to arms and armor." We don't actually ever fly the point defense Arrow - they're only described in passing. The Wing Commander III manual even describes the Arrow you fly in that game as being "a prime choice for escort, fleet defense and reconnaissance missions" (Victory Streak).

So... Which ship's effective range is better for escort duty?

We don't know either of their effective ranges - but that's not the point in this case, either. You don't fly the *best* ship, you fly the ship that you *have* (otherwise, why not an Excalibur?). In this case, Major Vale is part of a single backwater squadron, not the Wing Commander on a fleet carrier who can choose any ship he wants (furthermore, the book makes clear that it isn't even a serious escort mission - his job is to 'show the flag').
 
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