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Star*Soldier Gloss: Page 2
This is the Star*Soldier gloss for the first letters page:
CONCEPT: These pages are great - the 'letter to the editor' format lets you answer old questions and also gently poke fun at the series and the fans with impunity. As I went into the project I had a list in my head... how do I answer X and Y question, how to I address this continuity error, how do I comment on this. This format allowed me to do a lot of that in one place. We really could have done an entire magazine of letters to the editor - I had to force myself to stop expanding it. (Coming soon - Star*Soldier Letters Magazine. "Dear Star*Soldier, I never thought this would happen to me, but I sighted these two Gothri heavy fighters and...")
REFERENCES-
"Gash Dekker" - It's Dekker the Space Marine from Wing Commander IV and Prophecy (see what I meant by small universe?). Note that the photograph is tiny and fuzzy, which is for two reasons. One I wanted to make sure we had a picture of Dekker in his helmet and armor... which proved hard to find. Two is that I was worried EA legal (or someone) would slap me for using the actors' photographs. Since there was one that I really, really wanted to do (we'll see it later) we fuzzied Dekker up to the point where you can't really recognize him. In the end, no complaints, though.
"Joan's update" - Joan's Fighting Ships, from Wing Commander I and II. I always wondered why they didn't bring JFS back again for 3/4/Prophecy (Chris McCubbin did use it years later in The Confederation Handbook). This was actually the only 'legal' thing ever brought up about this manual. I had to dig up a copy of Claw Marks to prove that the name had been used in WC before (and not related to EA years holding the Jane's license).
"Glory to Sivar" - Sivar is the Kilrathi war/warrior God introduced in Secret Missions 2. You can see here another attempt at expanding the universe without telling a direct story - we learn about a Kilrathi clan war going on right now through this aside rather than by being specifically told about it. I'll admit this: in most cases I didn't plan these out in advance. I just stuck as many as possible in so that fans or future projects could continue these stories if so interested. Star*Soldier is a stew, not a cake.
"hrai" - Kilrathi word for family (with some variation) first introduced in Freedom Flight.
"Sum'n"/"Sihkag" - The Sihkag are one of the eight noble clans as defined by Fleet Action while the Sum'n are not... they're just a system taken from the Wing Commander Universe map. The idea was to show how far the former Empire had been shaken up... with kilra'hra challenging the lower rungs of the nobility.
"Blood Will Tell, 2700/5" - Please note the dedication throughout to establishing that there are other even-more-pretend issues of the pretend magazine out there. Claw Marks fails to do this in a way that has always bugged me - it's the first year (Volume I) of the magazine but also Tooner's comic strip had been running for two years...
"honor-bound to repay you" - shades of Freedom Flight's somewhat silly plot with Kirha swearing allegiance to Hunter and serving him throughout. The fact that a Kil is so happy about a magazine article he read is similarly silly.
"kysh49@sum'n.clan" - Here's my attempt at integrating Kilrathi into the Confederation's email system. Also, I thought it was funny that a Kilrathi might have a number in his email address like a teenager.
"takhar" - Kilrathi word meaning brother of equal rank, from Fleet Action. Remember from Wing Commander IV that Dekker does not hold a grudge against the Kilrathi!
"Privateering licenses" - I mention this at several points. Here's the deal: one thing that bugged me about the original Privateer was that 'privateer' doesn't mean freelancer. A Privateer is/was someone issued a Letter of Marque by a government and told to go interrupt enemy shipping. More often than not they ended up being pirates, but they had some official status. We never see that in WC - so what's the difference between the hero and a mercenary or a merchant? So my retcon here is that the same thing happens in Wing Commander and that's also why you're allowed to buy (cheap!) munitions in that game... we just never see Burrows get his license. Also, I touch on something else here, which is that the former Empire is the equivalent of modern day Russia. If you really want something then a little money can get it for you in Kilrathi space...
"Tiger's Claws" - Ah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah. Hah. Seriously, though, I would like to think I did this in a way that was properly respectful to absolutely no one.
Okay, okay. For those not in the know, this is an adorable (!) way of explaining the one element of the Wing Commander movie that made me genuinely angry (getting the name of the carrier wrong)... while still making fun of myself and others for being angered about it in the first place. I do touch on a few others later in the manual (furless cats, for instance).
"Dolos" - refering to the planet (and the events) seen in the last episode of Wing Commander Academy. I'd love to see that article!
"Tiger Claw" / "Tiger's Claw" - The famed home base in Wing Commander, Secret Missions, Secret Missions 2, Freedom Flight, Wing Commander Academy and the Wing Commander movie.
"Asher C. Lawson" - He's 'Frosty' from the Wing Commander fan community (since made a member of the CIC staff).
"rocketjock@nnconstantinople.gemini.government" - I don't know if anyone picked this up. The double Ns in the email address were intentional, to suggest that the New Constantinople space station in Privateer had been destroyed in the Nephilim War (we talk about damage to Gemini later) and replaced with... NEW New Constantinople.
"Gemini and Hope" - These sectors reference Origin's second attempt at developing Privateer Online. The game would have been set in Gemini and then introduce the newly discovered 'Hope' sector (positioned above it on the current map) for exploration.
"CCSP goons" - The "Confederation Citizen Subsidy Program" from that same Privateer Online attempt. This group was part of an elaborate explanation as to why your ship and character would return if you were shot down. I like the idea that all the cancelled projects are happening somewhere in this timeline (and that we can still comment on how ridiculous some of the ideas were).
"Daniel Sumner" - References a longtime Wing Commander fan, around since Origin's site had its own message board.
"dans@exploratoryservices.avalon" - Exploratory Services was the group charged with exploring new star systems in the original Privateer. Avalon is the sector to the 'left' of Gemini (sort of a commentary on how odd I thought it was that the 'new frontier' Gemini Sector was in the middle of known space on the Wing Commander Universe map). Additionally, DanS was Sumner's online handle.
"Border Worlds conflict" - The events of Wing Commander IV.
"arrival of the Nephilim" - The events of Wing Commander Prophecy.
"Confederate," "country," "unreconstructed," "Colonel," etc. - This is American Civil War-style verbiage which is meant to equate the former Black Lancers with the (post-war) more radical secessionists... Wing Commander's equivalent of the men who started the original KKK.
"Tolwynist" - A... follower of Admiral Tolwyn, I suppose. The entire letter brings up a good point that fans have had many 'moral' discussions about over the years - in the end, exactly what Admiral Tolwyn threatened would happen occured. A powerful race did show up to fight the weakened Confederation... and presumably people in the Wing Commander universe would be having exactly this discussion.
"J. Bielawa" - This is Justin Bielawa, "LeHah" from the Wing Commander music scene. I hope he doesn't mind being a space Nazi.
"Arrow Eclipse" - Finally, something that actually ties Arena to the rest of Wing Commander. Those mysterious cloaking Arrows in WCIV? Eclipses!
"Black Lance" - Admiral Tolwyn's conspiracy group from Wing Commander IV.
"credits" - The unit of money (sometimes) used in Wing Commander. I'm looking at you, "dols". The editor responding to a letter with a death threat is another nod to Sudden Death.
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Update published on August 14, 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
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- 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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