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Point of Origin: Vol. VI, No. 6
One thing that should be clear in this August 9, 1996 edition of The Point of Origin is that the heart and soul of Origin certainly isn't dead - check out their company-wide assassination game and their award winning raft race rafts... not the only impressive Squid they'll be designing this year!
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!
- What the hell is up with... Product Support?! has both funny and touching stories about Wing Commander support:
According to Evan, the funniest bug recently was in Wing Commander III as part of Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga at this point in the game:
Gameflow K003
Gunnery : Movie 117
The movie where Blair talks to Eisen about shaving is full of bad acting. The only way to bypass it is to process [ESC].
Right now, PS is working on Crusader: No Regret, Gene Wars, Longbow Mission Disk, NATO Fighters Mission Disk for ATF, Privateer 2: The Darkening, Syndicate Wars, and Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga, as well as EA Classics titles BioForge, CyberMage, and Ultima VIII. They soon will be working on Crusader: No Remorse Playstation and Saturn, Dungeon Keeper, U.S. Navy Fighter Platinum, Wing Commander 4 Playstation and are doing ongoing support for Ultima Online and Ultima IX.
Of course, because they're on ORIGIN's front line every day, Customer Service gets to hear plenty of feedback from our customers--the good, the bad, and the ugly. Fortunately, they hear a lot of good, such as this following letter:
Dear Mr. Garriott:
As a long time customer of ORIGIN and an avid fan of your games, I felt I needed to write you directly concerning a recent incident I had with ORIGIN technical support. A couple of weeks ago, I purchased Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom, and must say I was having a great time playing it when at one crucial mission, the game crashed. Being an experienced gamer and a professionally employed systems analyst, I went about the standard system checking and configuration tweaking that often solved the majority of errors. To my chagrin, I still had no luck.
I decided to call ORIGIN Technical Support. I believe it was February 19th (I could be wrong), in hopes ORIGIN's staff could help me. Not only did I receive excellent technical support at a short time wait, I am specifically writing to commend the help of one Jay Allen, the tech who helped me out. I realize it is the job of tech support reps to deal with users' problems, but Jay did much more than this. I gather from our discussion about my system and its configuration he realized I was somewhat experienced as a user. Rather than treating me as, quite frankly, an imbecile, as many game companies' reps do, he treated me with respect and intelligence, humor and a friendly manner.
I understand, again, that it is the duty of a tech support representative to help solve my game problems. It is not, however, his obligation to be friendly to me, to comment on my cool Windows sound files (playing in the background), or to treat my technical problem as a cooperative effort that made me feel more a part of the process. In short, Mr. Allen was the nicest and most helpful person I have ever spoken to in over four years of dealing with computer industry vendors, and I felt he was owed recognition for such conduct.
Sincerely,
Robert C.
Wantagh, N.Y.
- In Ink has all the news that's fit to reprint:
Privateer 2: The Darkening
Strategy Plus: "The interface is wonderfully stylish, with menus which grow and shrink, and animation on nearly every screen. Here it is in all its multimedia splendor."
Computer Gaming World: "The SVGA space combat engine was one of the most impressive we saw at the recent E3 show."
PC Gamer: "With a new space flight engine and a big-budget style, ORIGIN's foothold in the space combat market is sure to remain firm with this baby."
...There are more reviews cropping up for Wing Commander IV for the Macintosh. Joel Enos at Mac Home Journal called WCIV Mac, "An amazing blend of adventure, arcade and flight sim action."
Michael Dixon writes for the Mac Gamer's Ledge, an online magazine for Macintosh gamers. He graded WCIV Mac at 9.5 out of 10. "I praise ORIGIN Systems for getting this well-polished game to the Macintosh platform as quickly as it did. One of the best space combat simulators I've played."
... Finally, a couple of things to look forward to. The October issue of Strategy Plus will feature Privateer 2 on its cover with a preview of the game scheduled for inside. And the October cover of PC Gamer will focus on ORIGIN. Inside, editors are planning a 12 page feature on the company with interviews and pictures from Ultima IX, Ultima Online, Privateer 2 and Crusader: No Regret.
Point of Origin
Vol. VI, No. 6 - August 9, 1996
Contents
Spotlight: Origin Brings Home the Gold Again
Point Man
Kat's Korner of Phun Pfone Phacts
Visit the Company Store
Off the Clock
What the hell is up with... Product Support?!
In Ink
New Hires & Promotions
EOM
News Briefs
The Future
Ticker
[LOAF]
[# 8498]
[Discuss]
[Show comments]
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Update published on February 21, 2008. View all news from that day.
Wing Commander CIC - Visit the front page
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
- 2012-05-04 -- PlaySF magazine has put together a wacky article on Wing Commander and Christopher Blair. From the perspective of an inter-dimensional time traveler, the author jumps back in time to the year AD 2700 within the Wing Commander universe. Once there, he encounters James Taggart and the TCS Midway.
- 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!
- 2012-05-02 -- Are you linked up to get the latest Wing Commander news right as it happens? In addition to the main website and CIC Forums, dedicated Wingnuts can follow the CIC on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and with RSS to stay in the loop as news breaks. In addition to hot stories, followers also see occasional special features and behind-the-scenes updates.
- 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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