|
Wing Commander II Memories
In honor of Wing Commander II's upcoming 20th anniversary, we've asked members of the CIC staff to post their memories of the game here. Want to share your own? Post it to the forums and we'll collect them all in a future article!
LOAF:
I remember being given Wing Commander II the Christmas after it came out. My family was celebrating at some relative's house and I was desperate to go home and play the game. It was the 'promotional' release that came with the speech pack and I was terrified that I was going to somehow lose one of the giant stack of diskettes before I could make it home.
It goes without saying that Wing Commander II set a new standard for gaming. I don't know anyone who had a sound card in 1991 and didn't use the introduction to show off what home computers were capable of. It seems impossible now, but just being able to listen to Thrakhath and the Emperor speak was such an amazing sea change.
Everything about the game shined--it hit you in the gut when Spirit died, you cheered when you saved the day... you blushed when Angel kissed you. For all the credit live action gets, I honestly don't think we have ever been closer to the "interactive movie" than those faces in WC2.
It made such difficult choices, too--opening by destroying the Tiger's Claw? What a shock! Refusing to explain what happened to all your original wingmen? That had to be gnawing at the writers, but it grew the universe so much. Swapping the satisfying-but-easy capship runs for the complicated but so much more rewarding torpedo mechanic? Brilliant.
For me, Wing Commander II has also been--and remains!--a 'holy grail'. I'll never forget the first time Captain Johnny showed us his Wing Commander II FM Towns. A port of WC2? With an entirely new cover? I had to get one, and I learned to use a deputy service to purchase Wing Commander items from Japan... which became a very expensive hobby. Today the quest goes on, for Wing Commander II SNES, a game some of Origin's finest developed but that never saw release. There's a prototype out there somewhere--and we're going to find it!
Dundradal:
I’ll always remember when I first started playing Wing Commander 2 in 1995. My dad surprised me one day by bringing a copy of Wing Commander 2 Deluxe he’d found at a swap meet. I was in the middle of playing Privateer for the first time when it arrived. It had to take a back seat for a bit.
When I first played the game, I had not played the original Wing Commander. For me that experience wouldn’t come until later with the arrival of The Kilrathi Saga. When I first played Wing Commander 2 I thought the first mission you flew with Hobbes was impossible. For some reason I simply could not take out the Jalkehi! I remember getting so frustrated I stopped playing for a week, before giving it a try again, and it’s not a hard mission! Then the game’s story and gameplay sucked me in and didn’t let go for a considerable amount of time.
The torpedo run is what sets Wing Commander 2 apart from the rest for me. The game mechanics make it one of the most challenging and rewarding gameplay sequences I’ve encountered. Anti-matter guns firing, flak cannons bursting out rounds, all without afterburners most of the time! Now that’s a challenge! Even the attempt to create those runs in Wing Commander Prophecy pale in comparison to the original.
AD:
For me, Wing Commander 2 will always hold a special place in my heart among all Wing Commander games and product, and while I wish some of the more brilliant flourishes from WC1 made it into the overall design, it's one of those games where you can still pick it up today and be sucked in just as easily by the story and gameplay as ever.
While I had Wing Commander on the peripheral since it was released, it wasn't until Wing Commander 2 that I could really call myself a true Wingnut. My cousin and I would play WC1 on their 286 and eject to see the cutscenes... we weren't particularly good at the game back then. His dad even bought WC2 though I don't really remember playing it. It wasn't until nearly 1994 and Wing Commander 3 was close on the horizon that we found the WC2 deluxe CD somewhere. I took it home and spent the summer playing it on our 386.
Each new mission was a challenge but one that was rewarding. Sometimes I would only make it through one mission a day. It seemed like the more times I died the load time got longer when I went to re-fly the mission. I can't think of nearly any other game that would instill that same kind of dedication in me. To that, I credit the story and art design. From then, there was no question about whether we would be buying Wing Commander 3. It was in my blood and we were going back to play Wing Commander 1 the right way. And as they say, "the rest is history!"
Chris Reid:
The twentieth anniversary year for Wing Commander 2 is a huge milestone for me! It still seems just like yesterday. I played WC1 on the SNES, so WC2 was my first PC Wing Commander. I remember swapping disk after disk and then letting the installer decompress for an hour just to get it installed. Like many other people, I invited friends over just to see the animated intro and hear the real voices throughout. It didn't matter what mission I played - every day I booted up the computer, hit the "resume campaign" button and launched into space. From the quick and light Ferret to the almost-capship Broadsword, the WC2 engine felt so rock solid, and the game's story and atmosphere were perfect. What a great game!
ace:
Wing Commander 2 was great. It's probably the first thing my mind turns to when I think about Wing Commander.
[LOAF]
[# 11028]
[Discuss]
[Show comments]
--
Update published on August 11, 2011. 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.
- Technically It's Called The 'Lance'
- 2012-05-25 -- It's been a great week for fan-made pictures of Wing Commander ships, but it's been even better for real space ship action! The SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station today. It launched into space on Tuesday and conducted a variety of practice maneuvers before becoming the first spacecraft launched by a private company to dock with the ISS.
- 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.
|
