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Point of Origin: Vol. V, No. 4
With the Arena artwork finished it looks like we're going to have to do one of these every day until the collection runs out! This is the April 7, 1995 issue of The Point of Origin -- and Wing Commander III is still on everyone's minds.
A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!
- In Ink has even more about WCIII:
Meanwhile the Wing Commander III juggernaut keeps on rolling. On March 22nd, WC3 was featured in a 4 1/2 minute story on NBC's Today Show. Jim Brown, Our Man in Austin (as he's called on the show), put together a nice piece that included interviews with Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell and John Rhys-Davies. Jim spent a day-and-a-half on the set of WC3 last spring and finally put his story on the air. Better late than never, especially when you're dealing with the millions who watch The Today Show. If you haven't seen the program, drop by media relations in the marketing area and check out a copy.
And the WC3 report card continues to show high marks. In Multimedia World, Vince Broady gave Wing Commander III a grade of 5 out of 5. 'Wing Commander III is one of the most addictive games I have played. (It's) a triumphant achievement that delivers a gaming experience that will enthrall you for weeks. Awesome on every level.'
Julie Cohen gave WC3 a rating of 3 1/2 out of 4 in the April edition of Home PC magazine. 'Heart of the Tiger,' she exclaims, 'quickly earns its stripes-and raises the state of computer gamer's art. A fully orchestrated soundtrack makes John Williams' sweeping film scores sound like elevator music.' Kudos to George Oldziey.
What's this, a couple more honors for ORIGIN products??? Throw 'em on the pile. This month Computer Gamine World inducted Ultima Underworld into its Hall of Fame... Underworld joins Ultima III, IV, VI and Wing Commanders I and II in the CGW Hall.
And at ECTS in the UK last month, Wing Commander III received Login Magazine's Game of the Year Award. Login is a Japanese-based computer gaming magazine that is widely distributed in Europe.
- The 1995 SXSW Multimedia Conference, ORIGIN Style! is an article by Wing Commander vet Adam Foshko!:
The crowd gathered around the phosphor screen upon which the multi-colored images danced. Their gazes were transfixed on the characters on the screen, compelling them to follow stories that, like most well-presented productions, took them through a whole series of emotions. In short, they were entertained -- but more than that they were involved. However, this involvement went much farther than the passive watching of, say, the newest television rage or film release. These people were participating in an interactive movie, playing on an IBM -- and they loved it. This was the scene at the 1995 South by Southwest Multimedia Festival that was in action March 14th-15th at Austin's Hyatt Regency.
The scene described above was particularly evident at the booth that ORIGIN had set up in the exhibitor's room, where Wing Commander III and BioForge continued to attract curious conference attendees thirsting for an interactive, yet cinematic, experience. In fact, it was obvious from the onset of the conference that ORIGIN dominated the event, even though many other Austin and other nationally based companies were represented. From the keynote address by Richard Garriott to panel discussions led by Chris Douglas, Randy Buck, Jennie Evans, C.J. Taylor and myself, with topics that covered everything from digital music and interactive movies to marketing strategies for multimedia products, ORIGIN's presence was strongly felt.
As if this wasn't enough, another first for SXSW was the presence of an interactive movie panel at the film potion of the conference. ORIGIN once again let its presence be felt with the attendance of several members of the Wing Commander III team. Throughout the presentation (which, by the way, drew a fairly good crowd) Chris Roberts, Chris Douglas, John McLean, Frank Savage, Galen Svanas and Mark Day fielded questions that ranged from the scripting of Wing Commander III and the rigors of developing interactive products to the potential future of interactive production here and in Los Angeles.
All in all, it is apparent that Austin is quickly becoming a mecca for interactive and multimedia development. It is also abundantly clear from our presence at this conference, and from the response of a public that thirsts for creative and cutting edge entertainment, that ORIGIN stands on the pinnacle of this mecca, poised to take the next big leap forward.
- New Hires adds three familiar names to Wing Commander's roll of honor: "Jason Hughes has just signed on to Chris Roberts' group as a Software Engineer/Gameflow Programmer on Wing IV. Jason comes to us from Motorola, and prior to that studied at UT. His favorite color is 'Nine' [sic], and he's interested in collecting medieval weaponry, so we should all be very careful around Jason (just kidding!). Eric Peterson has also joined Chris' group as an Associate Producer on the Privateer II team. Eric is an avid gamer, who also loves sports, and in a prior life sold computers to the government (is that like being a 'greeting card salesman'?) and was also a stand-up comic for 2 years, hopefully not at the same time:-). We all look forward to hours of laughs with Eric! Pauline Saab is the third addition to Chris' group: she is working as an Advanced Graphics Specialist on Wing Commander IV, and has recently graduated from William Paterson College. Pauline not only loves art, but also sports, and is hoping to get her own horse soon (any pointers, Michelle C.?)."
- A letter in Point Man asks a rhetorical question that will soon be more real than anyone imagines: "What if someone had felt that Chris Roberts was replaceable because Strike was getting a bit late? How would Wing 3 have turned out if Chris wasn't around?"
- The EOM goes to one of Wing Commander's most-loved developers: "This month's nomination for top honors at ORIGIN goes to Anthony (Andy) Sommers, for his tireless efforts in both tracking and solving problems with Wing Commander III, and for providing top-quality customer support for the game. Andy is an extremely versatile performer in QA: he's not only responsible for telephone support, but has also taken on bug tracking and reporting, troubleshooting hardware problems, assisting in creating patches for the game, and working on a team to get Wing III running under OS/2. As you can imagine, a lot of this work was done in Andy's spare time: a true sign of commitment to quality... Andy has been here at ORIGIN for just under a year and has either supervised or assisted testing on an impressive lineup of games: Armada, Wing III, Wing III 3DO, and soon, Wing IV."
- Last, but certainly not least, a photo caption reveals that SWC Mac has shipped: "It's a bouncing baby INIT file! The proud parents of Super Wing Commander for Macintosh celebrate their baby's ship date."
Point of Origin
Vol. V, No. 4 - April 7, 1995
Contents
Spotlight: Geeks o'Plenty! Our Wild Robofest Weekend
In Ink
Off the Clock
EOM
Another little ORIGINite
Point Man
ORIGIN Goes to the European Computer Trade Show
30 Fun Things to Do in an Elevator
Ticker
The 1995 SXSW Multimedia Conference, ORIGIN Style!
New Hires
The Future
[LOAF]
[# 8471]
[Discuss]
[Show comments]
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Update published on February 8, 2008. View all news from that day.
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Official news, fan projects and topics of particular interest to Wing Commander fans.
- Some Ship Viewer Sample Shots Shown
- 2012-05-24 -- BoH_Havoc is continuing to move forward with his online ship viewer based on feedback he's received so far. Here are some new prototype images with the TCS Concordia rendered in the program. Pretty neat!
- Destroyer Destined for Guard Duty
- 2012-05-23 -- Kevin Caccamo's Ralari has taken a huge leap since the last time we saw it. The model has been plated with nice metallic textures that don't overdo the look. Running lights, windows, powered engines and intake glow all add significantly to the presentation here too.
- GOG Talks Space Sims
- 2012-05-22 -- centaurianmudpig spotted a new PlaySF interview with the folks at GOG.com. They discuss the state of the space combat genre and the possibility of releasing expansion packs for Wing Commander games.
- Enigma Mod Measures Out Confed Fleet
- 2012-05-21 -- Here's a new Confed showcase of capships for the Enigma 2666 mod. Each ship's length and scale is still subject to some potential tweaking to sync better with fighters, but the current lineup is displayed below. The TCS Concordia is very far along the design path, as is the Gilgamesh.
- "Sir, if we spot this Fralthi, should we engage?"
- 2012-05-20 -- Now we go from Fralthra to Fralthi WIP images. CMDBob's latest design is a classic Kilrathi light carrier/cruiser. His model has real clean lines and an animated WC1-style set of textures.
- Fearsome Fralthra Filling In Fast
- 2012-05-19 -- Red Baron has started to texture Cybot's Fralthra, and it's quickly turning into quite a work of art. The color scheme already does a great job of evoking Wing Commander 2. He's also scaled a Jalkehi as a point of reference and imagined what the entire fighter complement of the ship might look like.
- Wing Commander Saga Download Reminder
- 2012-05-18 -- If you haven't yet downloaded the long-awaited fan game, now is as good a time as any to get your hands on a copy! The Windows installer weighs in at a hefty 3.4 gigabytes, so we recommend some kind of download manager that can resume paused or failed transfers.
- New RPG Kicks Off
- 2012-05-17 -- The TCS Phoenix has launched and the game has begun in the Wing Commander: From the Ashes forum-based RPG. Some of the first characters have already been defined, and action in the Pentonville System is now in motion. There is also an out-of-character area where new players can ask questions and get situated before they begin role playing.
- Vega Sector Reinforcements Inbound
- 2012-05-16 -- Here's a preview of new designs that Klavs is working to bring to the Shapeways model factory. If all goes according to plan, this foursome may be available in a future bundle pack together. It's an interesting assortment of ships - Rapier, Super Wing Commander Rapier, Scimitar and Dralthi - and they all look fantastic!
- Academy Just Two Weeks Away!
- 2012-05-15 -- Wingnuts now have less than 14 days to prepare for the release of Wing Commander Academy on DVD! All thirteen episodes of the television series will be available in this set starting on May 29, 2012. Barnes & Noble and Deep Discount have some of the lowest prices, and there's still time to order from Amazon.
- Scimitar Prepares to Slice Up a Dralthi
- 2012-05-15 -- And to further get you in the Academy mood, here's another beautiful NinjaLA sketch. The CF-105 Scimitar was the workhorse of the cadets flying off the Tiger's Claw, and soon you'll get to watch them again in the new high quality release!
- Exotic Designs Hit the Spacelanes
- 2012-05-14 -- ScoobyDoo has put together several more concept renders inspired by a variety of sources. The first is a medium size capship with fighter-carrying ability, and it's followed by a beefier looking take on the Bearcat. The last design is a more unique idea that mixes Wing Commander elements with a Freespace ship.
- Fleets Increase Presence in Enigma
- 2012-05-13 -- Here's a big update for the Enigma 2666 mod. A handful of new pictures show off where the game is at today. Four different capship classes are pictured near a large Confed base, and all the fighters sport updated textures.
- Echo Sector Reopens
- 2012-05-13 -- The world's biggest website dedicated to the Crusader series, Echo Sector, has gotten a big revamp. New features include a streamlined menu interface and increased security. Not all of the links work yet, but more features will come online soon.
- Va ka Garga ka naru ha Garga
- 2012-05-12 -- NinjaLA has sketched a new fearsome Kilrathi. With his latest warrior, Ninja has done a good job of introducing menacing facial features, and this sinister look goes beyond just drawing a humanoid tiger. The armor is inspired by the classic WC2 style with a WC Movie headpiece.
- Kilrathi Destroyer Continues to Take Shape
- 2012-05-11 -- Kevin Caccamo is once again working on a Ralari model. Since we last saw the ship, additional detail has been added to the window areas and secondary structure. It appears to conform to the Claw Marks schematic quite well.
- Wing Commander Stories From The Fatman
- 2012-05-10 -- In recent weeks, Armchair Arcade has been conducting a series of interviews with famous videogame composer George Sanger. The newest issue talks about his and Dave Govett's work on the soundtrack for the original Wing Commander. Well worth a listen!
- Super Rapier Models Ready To Go
- 2012-05-09 -- Klavs has completed design and prototyping of another physical model. His Super Wing Commander Rapier is now available for fellow Wingnuts in 1/600 scale from Shapeways. The image below reveals that, although tiny, the ship packs some incredible detail - very distinctive hull markings and guns!
- WC Saga Soundtrack Released
- 2012-05-08 -- The WC Saga team has released the soundtrack to their Freespace mod. They are also working on a spinoff album based on George Oldziey's tunes from Wing Commander 3. You can grab the Darkest Dawn OST here (187 meg zip).
- Garriott DVD Drops May 15
- 2012-05-08 -- Richard Garriott's Man on a Mission documentary will be released on DVD next Tuesday! This charming film captures Lord British's successful dream to become the world's first second-generation astronaut. Most reviews have been quite positive and the documentary has come highly recommended.
- Paradigm Deployed to Enigma Sector
- 2012-05-07
- New WC Ship Viewer In Development
- 2012-05-06 -- BOC_Havoc has put together a very sharp 3D ship viewer. The program is still in the prototype stages, but you can try out the current build here. The unity web player plugin is needed to see the model.
- Still Worthy of an Honorable Mention
- 2012-05-05 -- There aren't as many gaming sites name dropping Wing Commander as there were a decade ago, but they still pop up all over if you look. Here's a couple from just this week: HotHardware ran a feature on gaming clichés. The story decries the linear nature of modern games that screech to a halt if any losing conditions are met.
- Warren Spector Revisits Origin Memories
- 2012-05-05 -- Yet another Wing Commander mention this week came from an interview with Warren Spector. Metro.co.
- A Trip to the WC Universe is Right
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- Everything's Ship Shape!
- 2012-05-03 -- In recent days WCPedia contributor Iceblade has worked on finalizing a layout for the ship articles on the project. After experimenting with the Broadsword article, and creating a great layout in the process, he's started to implement that layout across the Confederation fighters category. Currently, the F-36 Hornet article is the most complete.
- HUDdle Up and Check Out New Cockpit Displays
- 2012-05-02 -- Aginor is working on a new Wing Commander mod, and this game will be played from the Kilrathi perspective. Although there won't be full dashboard cockpit graphics, each ship will have a unique heads up display. Most games use the same targeting crosshairs and reticle for all ships, but here are some examples of how Wing Commander 4 differentiated its craft.
- Don't Miss an Infoburst!
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- Glance at Mod's Gwynedd Mission
- 2012-05-01 -- Here's some new shots from the Enigma 2666 mod that show off a fighter launch, autopilot fly-by and ship size comparison. Sharp players will quickly recognize the familiar Broadsword/Ferret pairing from the Fralthra Strike at the beginning of WC2 - a very fun mission, if you can keep the Broadswords alive! Here I used the Confederation Class from Klavs and the converted Broadsword from Standoff.
- Rapier Prepped for Production
- 2012-04-30 -- Klavs has finished his Super Wing Commander Rapier, and the result is gorgeous. These ships are now off to a trial at Shapeways 'rapid prototyping' lab. If the design pans out, small physical resin copies may be available to order soon.
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