Wilford Working Notes

Last year, we had occasion to put together a set of working notes on Downtown, celebrating the legacy of a lesser known Wing Commander character to display some of the depth of established lore players might not be familiar with by putting together a thorough in-universe biography and walking through some of the common continuity issues surrounding him. With the recent passing of actor Peter Jason, we thought it would be worthwhile to put together a set of notes on Admiral (or is it Captain?) Wilford.

Character Biography

This writeup is done in the style of a wiki entry and takes into account all existing sources in an attempt to construct a singular story. It does not represent the specific intent of any one author; details on the development of Wilford's character and a discussion of the various changes to the story that have occurred over the years are discussed in further sections below the history.

Daniel Eugene Wilford

"Telamon is such a frontier system that their planets have retained their original discovery numbers, but it's still part of the Border Worlds Union -- all systems are equal in our eyes. If there's a fire to put out there, let's do it." - Vice Admiral Daniel Wilford, UBWN

Daniel Eugene Wilford was a Terran Confederation Space Navy and Union of Border Worlds Navy officer who served during the Kilrathi War, the Back Lance Affair and the Nephilim conflict. Wilord was second in command of the UBWN during the Border Worlds Conflict and captained the TCS Midway during the first battles with the Nephilim.

Wilford's parents were on the first colony ship to settle their planet in the Outer Worlds. Around 2611, he was the first child born on the planet and grew up 500 miles from his nearest neighbor. As a teenager, he passed his college entrance exams with flying colors and was identified by the newly organizing Border Worlds Joint Planetary Defense Force as a candidate for ROTC training. The BWJPDF was formed to coordinate frontier planetary militias against the threats of criminals, terrorists and Kilrathi saboteurs. In the interests of building their own corps of trained officers, they negotiated an agreement with the Terran Confederation military to allow the training of non-citizens as military officers. In 2629, Wilford was commissioned as an active duty Terran Confederation Space Navy officer.

The original intention was that Wilford would serve a four year training tour and then return to the Border Worlds. As the Pilgrim War carried on and the war with the Kilrathi began and expanded, the length of the tour doubled and then tripled. Wilford rapidly rose to the rank of Captain and ultimately served throughout the entire Kilrathi War. He distinguished himself serving in both staff and command assignments and was regarded as an especially capable commander who took interest in supporting his subordinates. During his TCSN service, Wilford married and around 2663 fathered the first of four children. Around 2668, Wilford served aboard the TCS Tarawa under Captain Jason Bondarevsky before the False Peace. Around 2669, he was assigned to take over Enigma sector command and briefed on the black budget research taking place in the Axius System.

When the war ended, he retired from the Terran Confederation Space Navy and retired back to his home in the Border Worlds. Although he initially intended a permanent retirement, he was quickly convinced by Admiral Vance Richards to return to work for the Joint Planetary Defense Force in order to apply his wartime experience to building a modern force. He was commissioned as a Rear Admiral and put in charge of the new fleet's operations. He would prove to be an essential reason the Border Worlds were able to hold out until evidence of the Black Lance conspiracy could be presented.

Thanks to Wilford's leadership, the JPDF was able to quickly develop an effective navy using surplus Confederation weaponry, equipment provided by the Free Republic of the Landreich and unorthodox conversions of obsolete equipment. Within three years, the Border Worlds fleets had been organized into multiple fleets built around six effective carriers and an ever-increasing force of capital ships. Wilford prioritized building experience, seeking to onboard retired veterans of the Kilrathi War in both enlisted and officer roles. He also actively instigated asymmetrical force modifiers including remote jump drives, manned insertion pods and more.

As tensions between the Confederation and the Border Worlds came to a head in 2673, Wilford was made Vice Admiral with orders to organize and then fight the newly-formed Union of Border World Navy to withstand the expected invasion. He would be the second highest ranking officer in the fleet during the conflict, reporting directly to Admiral Richards. Wilford made his flag aboard one of the escort carriers provided by the FRLN with plans to fight from the front. On August 21, he took over full tactical command from Richards.

The first days of the conflict were marked by constant movement from system to system as Wilford rallied forces to deal with the hotspots emerging across the frontier. It quickly became clear that the Confederation intended to precede a full scale invasion with a variety of smaller incursions and flare-ups which would divide and reduce the Border Worlds military. These ranged from backing rebel forces in the ongoing Circean civil war to direct fighting at Lennox to experimenting with a system-blocking jamming device in the key fuel-producing system of Peleus. To counter this, Wilford divided his forces, dispatching the Outer Worlds Fleet built around the BWS Intrepid to help deal with situations. When Colonel Christopher Blair took command of the BWS Intrepid, Wilford became his direct superior and provided the ship its orders directly. He also commanded the Border Worlds marine forces, dispatching Lt. Colonel Dekker's company to the battle in Lennox and then attaching them to the Intrepid. His constant movement proved to be a challenge in organizing his broad commands; he was often unavailable for real time communication and relied instead on issuing orders via recorded messages.

While passing through the Orestes System, Wilford ordered Blair to deal with the situation in Peleus and was pleased by the results. With some of the immediate crises prevented, Wilford decided to make a bold gamble: commit most of his forces to a fleet action in the Speradon System. Speradon was home to covert Confederation factories and support facilities which had been established in the Border Worlds advance of the intended invasion. Wilford reasoned that striking these would claim the initiative, stymie the Confederation's plans to quickly execute the war and provide equipment and munitions desperately needed by the Border Worlds. He ordered the Intrepid to rendezvous with him at Lennox and enlisted Lt. Colonel Tamara Farnsworth, with whom he had served aboard the Intrepid, to plan the three-pronged action. He ultimately transferred his flag aboard the Intrepid for the battle.

Wilford personally fought the Intrepid through the action, suffering several major hits during the successful attack on the factory complex. Afterwards, he coordinated the Intrepid's capture of the first Black Lance "Dragon" fighters. The operation at Speradon was a significant success but it backfired in some ways: the Confederation presented it as further evidence of Border Worlds aggression. Wilford's next task was a dark one: coordinating the medical and military response fo the attack on Telamon. Wilford traveled to Telamon aboard Intrepid and oversaw the work himself. He and Colonel Blair planned the spy mission to Axius and when Blair returned he orchestrated the delaying action through Orestes. Though exhausted by the responsibility and breakneck pace of the race to Earth, Wilford never faulted. He is generally recognized as being one of the most essential figures in the crisis.

With the bilateral peace accord achieved, the Confederation and the new Union of Border Worlds worked quickly to establish a good relationship. They agreed to a compact increasing military exchange and cooperation and allowing officers of all ranks to transfer between militaries should the need arise. Commodore Blair, now Senior Operational Consultant on the Megacarrier Program, recommended to Senator James Taggart, head of the Armed Forces Committee, that Wilford be offered command of the first of the new ships as a symbol of the alliance. Wilford accepted and returned to active duty service in the Terran Confederation Navy as a Captain commanding the TCS Midway (CVX-1). He retained the rank of Rear Admiral in the Union of Border Worlds Naval Reserve.

The Midway was commissioned in late 2680 with orders to test the megacarrier concept using a hand-picked crew. Wilford's tasks would include developing doctrine for commanding a warship twice the size of those used during the Kilrathi War and directly commanding the carrier's expanded Science Division under Lt. Commander Aurora Finley in addition to the usual Navy and Space Forces contingents. He also authored the "From the Captain's Desk" introductory column for Waypoint!, the carrier's onboard Space Force newsletter. In November 2680, Wilford commanded the Midway through her first combat, an operation in the Valgard System to eliminate the Demon's Eye Pack pirates that had been terrorizing the Epsilon Sector.

Wilford was in command of the Midway when the Nephilim emerged at Kilrah. Wilford ordered the Miidway's marine expeditionary unit to investigate the wreck of a Kilrathi cruiser which it was discovered was destroyed by the previously encountered aliens. Over the next weeks, Wilford commanded the Midway behind enemy lines as the invasion unfolded. Working alongside the TCS Eisen, the Midway took on the aliens and pushed their fleet back to Kilrah before destroying the wormhole gate. During the campaign he took particular interest in the career of Lance Casey. He awarded Casey the Flying Cross and Pewter Planet and recommended him for the Silver Star, a promotion to 1st Lieutenant and reassignment to the carrier's elite Black Widows squadron. He eulogized several pilots killed in action in the G'wriss System and approved Commodore Blair's both request to return to the flight roster and his decision to board the wormhole gate.

The difficult campaign left Wilford exhausted and unhappy. After the destruction of the wormhole gate, he returned home to the Border Worlds on leave. The time off helped restore his happiness and he was pleased to return to command the Midway for her victory tour of the Sol Sector. Wilford again fought the Nephilim in the Sirius System, pitting Midway against an enemy carrier group that was attempting to establish supply lines. Midway's Science Division was responsible for determining that if the second wormhole in Proxima were completed it would remain open for the life of the system's binary stars.

Personality

Wilford was particularly proud of his naval service and his colonial heritage. As the first captain of the Midway, he relished the opportunity to show off the ship. He was a man of action, anxious to serve in times of crisis. He was physically imposing and extremely hard driven, focusing on his task before anything else. Colonel Blair noted that he seemed to have exhausted himself by the time of the Telamon attack and that his body seemed to be failing him by the final hours of the race to Earth. He preferred command to staff assignments and was particularly fond of leading from the bridge. He was not easily rattled, having seen a great deal during his lengthy career. He was not a strict observer of military protocols; during the Border Words conflict he often wore cardigans with only a rank pin rather than a uniform.

Wilford was known to be easy going and a dedicated mentor with a reputation for adopting and nurturing promising young officers. He was not particularly timely, arriving late for his own briefing at Speradon. This often prompted his subordinates to attempt to stand out. He did not meet Colonel Christopher Blair during the Kilrathi War but always wanted to.

He is a coffee drinker.

Family

As of 2681, Wilford is married and has four children. The first of his children followed in his footsteps and entered the Terran Confederation Naval Academy as a Union of Border Worlds exchange student in 2681.

Decorations

Wilford wore five ribbons during his service as captain of the TCS Midway.

Behind the Screens

Wilford was played by famed character actor Peter Jason. His character was originally created for Wing Commander IV to replace Captain Eisen as the 'commander,' allowing Eisen to reappear in the third act and save the day with the Mt. St. Helens. He was notable in that all of his appearances were shot separately from the rest of the cast. Like Khan in Star Trek II, he always communicates with the Intrepid via viewscreen (see issues below for a discussion of the greater continuity).

Sadly, he was then called to replace Captain Eisen on the production side in Wing Commander Prophecy. Jason Bernard, who played Eisen, tragically died in October 1996. This effectively left the 'captain' role open for the next game. Instead of simply create a new commanding officer, the Prophecy team decided to bring back Wilford for the role.

Issue: What is his rank?

In Wing Commander IV, Wilford is a Vice Admiral while in Wing Commander Prophecy he is a Captain. While this results from the change in the character's role between games (discussed above), it is presented as intended and was not ever a continuity error! While Wilford is an Admiral in the Border Worlds Navy, he is only a Captain in the TCSN. In Prophecy, he has returned to his original service and rank to command the Midway. This is covered explicitly in Origin's Official Guide to Wing Commander Prophecy and is also mentioned by Paladin in his letter in the Prophecy Gold manual's Secret Ops addition.

That said, there is some confusion around his UBWN rank: the Prophecy guide refers to his permanent rank as Rear Admiral rather than Vice Admiral. This may not have been as intended but it is actually how the Vice Admiral rank works in the United States Navy: it is tied to a specific position and is applied only when an officer is so assigned. Wilford was a Rear Admiral who was made a Vice Admiral while he was in charge of the UBWN; when he went inactive (or was otherwise reassigned) he reverted to Rear Admiral. Note also that Geoffrey Tolwyn has the same issue: he was referred to as a Vice Admiral in The Secret Missions 2 but a Rear Admiral much later.

Issue: What is his first name?

Unlike the rank issue discussed above, this is a genuine error. While it is not spoken in the game itself, the Wing Commander IV credits refer to him as Daniel Wilford while Origin's Official Guide to Wing Commander Prophecy calls him Eugene Wilford. This is an issue specific to the guide rather than a broad desire to change his name or imply that he is a different character; both Wing Commander Prophecy's credits and the in-fiction ICIS manual refer to him as Daniel.

Captain/Admiral Wilford suffers from an issue common in Wing Commander lore (though he is an outlier in that it most frequently impacts characters created by Dr. William Forstchen) which is that a later source failed to note that his first name had already been established. For the lack of a better alternative, we propose a standard rule for these situations which says that multiple names are recorded in the order they were decided creatively. Thus Wilford would be Daniel Eugene Wilford, Banbridge would be Wayne Spencer Banbridge and Kruger would be Maximilian Hans Kruger.

Issue: Where was Admiral Wilford during Wing Commander IV?

In the game itself, Wilford completely disappears after ordering the Intrepid to Axius. He simply isn't mentioned again and the surprise of Captain Eisen arriving in the Mt. St. Helens causes the player never to wonder what became of him. In the novel, he arrives aboard the Intrepid for the attack on Speradon and never leaves (unlike Tolwyn in Wing Commander III, he does not take command from Blair). In continuity, he is presumably aboard the Intrepid during the final race to Earth… just standing somewhere else!

Query: What are his ribbons and other costume parts?

In Wing Commander IV, Wilford wears a light blue officer's tunic. His insignia include two Union of Border Worlds shoulder patches, a black WILFORD name tag, two silver collar pips, a silver ADMIRAL rank bar consisting of five squares in a plus shape and a 'wings' pin.

In Wing Commander Prophecy, he has a light blue officer's uniform with black shoes and a black belt. His insignia include two Unified Space Command shoulder patches, a grey WILFORD name tag, two silver collar pips, a solid silver CAPTAIN rank bar and five ribbons in three rows.

We have not been able to identify the source of the ribbon on the first row. It seems to be white/red/light blue/white. The other four seem to be genuine United States military surplus. The second row is a Joint Meritorious Unit Award (with the frame removed) and a Philippine Defense Medal. The third row is another JMUA and an Army of Occupation Medal (worn backwards).

GOG Needs a Shooter Promo

In a shocking turn of events, the Wing Commander games on GOG have been included in yet another big sale! This month's theme is "Shooter Game Promo," which frankly isn't really trying that hard. This time around everything is a whopping 75% off, or $1.49 per package. That's about as cheap as it gets for these releases! You can find all the games at the links below or indexed here.

Reminder: #Wingnut Movie Night Tonight!

This is a reminder that we have another fun #Wingnut movie night planned on Discord this evening! The ongoing theme will be movies that inspired Wing Commander in some way. Tonight's film is Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) which was one of the sources for the Wing Commander's submarine and crew drama elements. You can find details on that as well as how to watch along with us in the announcement post here. The movie will start about 7 PM PST/10 PM EST but feel free to drop by and hang any time!

After Action Report: Silent Running

Greetings WingNuts,

We have watched Silent Running and agree that it's an interesting movie but that it doesn't quite come together (like Wing Commander?). The special effects are incredible, the sets and costumes are excellent, the setup is an excellent story… but it never quite comes together into anything satisfying. A lot of that comes down to the lead, we thought, who ends up being somewhat difficult to root for. It's a movie I'm glad to have seen but it's definitely more cult than classic.

This will be a short report, though, as the movie had no known creative connections to Wing Commander beyond being incorrectly referenced in the film's original treatise. But we did note a few little genre connections! One little coincidence is that both films have acts set in ring systems! Silent Running's director famously used the film as an excuse to do the Saturn special effects he had envisioned for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Meanwhile, Wing Commander's second act battle is set in the "rings of planet 415" in the Dakota System.

The premise of the movie–flying forests out into space to preserve them-did remind me somewhat of one of the copy protection facts about the Goddard colony from The Secret Missions:

Goddard is famous for its Conservation Forest, spread out over 12500 square km. An estimated 7225 varieties of Terran trees have been transplanted to Goddard to prevent their extinction on Earth.

The repair droids that become characters had me thinking about the droids in the original Privateer which kind of work the same way. You get one tiny, static image of your repair droid… but it's your friend every moment you're in the cockpit!

By the way, one fun fact that I love and will preserve here is that in Italy the movie was presented as a sequel to 2001 called 2002: The Second Odyssey. They made some minor changes to connect it to 2001's lore including an introductory voiceover and replacing the ship's computer with the same voice actor that performed HAL (in Italy). And while that seems pretty weird, there is a strong creative connection behind the scenes, with Silent Running directed by Douglas Trumbull who did the SFX on 2001. But then I don't see how that would be like Wing Commander!

Goodbye Thomas Lee

Sad news: Game Developer is reporting that veteran Origin artist Thomas Lee has passed away after a battle with cancer. Early in his storied career, Mr. Lee worked as an artist on a range of projects from The Sims 2 to Final Fantasy IX. Later, he entered the business side of the industry as a development executive where he was fondly remembered. And his game career started in our universe!

In March 1994, Origin was staffing up to cover the unprecedented development needs of the Wing Commander III project. They were desperate for artists, TDAs, quality assurance personnel and more. One of their advertisements caught the attention of Thomas Lee's brother, James Lee, at William Paterson University in New Jersey. James applied for a job as an Advanced Graphics Specialist and during the hiring process ended up getting his brother the same job on the strength of his experience with ALIAS.

The Lees' job was to help build the huge amount of textured 3D models that would populate Wing Commander III's missions. That meant building everything from spaceships to tanks to storage containers and skyscrapers… and building them under the extreme technical limitations of Wing Commander III's early 3D engine. Using the processes and techniques that Paul Steed had developed for Strike Commander and operating with the new style for Wing Commander developed by project art director Chris Douglas, Origin's team of "graphic specialists" worked endless miracles to build a new world.

The entire process was a learning experience. No one was doing real time textured 3D in games, no one was putting the amount of assets into a game that Wing Commander III needed. In the process, the young team members developed a set of first-in-the-industry skills that would propel their careers forward for years. Many would later refer to the experience as "Origin University". Thomas Lee seemed to recognize that, happily remembering those early days when sharing George Oldziey's orchestral project on Facebook:

Our condolences to Mr. Lee's family and friends, this is a true loss. We will close by noting that he lives on in a small way you wouldn't consider: he's credited alongside several other members of the Wing Commander III art team as an interior artist in the Victory Streak manual… which is presented in universe! That means that there's always going to be another Thomas Lee working on art aboard the TCS Victory six hundred years from now. And through that–and his work–we'll keep his memory alive.

Border Worlds: Flag vs. Roundel

The topic of Wing Commander IV's texture files recently came up and a question came up: what's that spiky logo on the side of the Vindicator? If it's intended to be the Border Worlds logo, why is it so different from the circular 'phoenix' seen elsewhere?

The answer is that it's a roundel which represents the Union of Border Worlds Navy! It differs from the more familiar Border Worlds logo which represents the entire Union of Border Worlds. Compare the United States flag to the roundel used on military aircraft, for instance:

The Border Worlds roundel is actually more common than you think. It appears throughout the game, including on many Border Worlds ships (including all the fighters):

It even shows up inside the Intrepid where it's intended to match the FMV... unfortunately the texture is mirrored incorrectly!

It's also pretty distinct in gameflow, where it represents an available mission briefing on and again shows up clearly on the Banshee.

It even appears on two ships cut from the final game but left in the files: a Border Worlds space station and an R-type shuttle in Border Worlds livery.

Its similarity to the band Metallica's ninja star logo also can't be ignored!

The 'flag' logo appears throughout the game, too. It's on the uniform shoulder patches, in the Intrepid's UI and shows as the default comm video for Border Worlds capital ships! I've always liked the amount of thought that went into the logo, with the colonies, a moon, appearing with a phoenix rising from the Confederation star.

The logo must predate the union, though, as it actually makes an appearance in the background of the Wing Commander movie! It's displayed on one of the Tiger Claw's bridge monitors and can be seen most clearly behind Captain Sansky when Blair delivers the message from Tolwyn. It's easier to pick out once you've seen it in BTS footage.

A Brief History of The Darkening

One of the most rousing debates in the history of the Wing Commander fandom is over Privateer 2: The Darkening's name. Many remember that the game was announced as 'The Darkening' and only became a Privateer game close to its release. We aren't here to relitigate the debate over whether that was right or wrong; instead, we're going to try to answer a specific question: when were the multiple decisions to change the name made? To do that, we've put together a brief timeline of Privateer 2's development that we believe tells the story.

Privateer II: Dark Side - Mid-1994 to February 1995

Producer Erin Roberts pitched what would become Privateer 2: The Darkening to Origin in mid-1994. Erin had joined Origin several years earlier, coming from his home in England to Austin to assist his brother finish development of the original Wing Commander. He would go on to join the famed Strike Commander team as Associate Producer. He quickly gained a reputation for being effective in the role, someone with the rare capacity to balance managing a team and moderating the demands of the studio and corporation. He would go on to again serve as Associate Producer on the original Privateer and then as Producer on the Privateer CD-ROM release. During this final project, he famously got so fed up with Electronic Arts cancelling and then restarting development that he stopped checking his company email and had the team finish the game in peace. It would go on to sell well and to form the basis of several major OEM deals; it still generates profit today in digital release! Instead of again joining his brother on Wing Commander III, Erin wanted to return home to England. Electronic Arts had a growing presence in Manchester and he reasoned that with his experience and connections he could build a team that would produce Origin-quality games in Europe instead of Texas. He pitched this idea alongside a new game the team would build, a sequel to Privateer.

At the time, Origin had something of a hub-and-spoke system for financing game development. They would invest significant amounts of money in high risk projects from proven creators and then amortise those high budgets with spinoff games that would reuse technology and other assets. Wing Commander begat Wing Commander II, Ultima VI begat Worlds of Ultima, Strike Commander begat Wings of Glory and Pacific and so on. Erin's pitch was for a second Privateer game that would take advantage of the updated RealSpace engine being created for Wing Commander III. His project would take the bones of Wing Commander III and then, just as the original Privateer built itself on top of Wing Commander I's 3space engine, build a new Privateer where you could trade, dogfight and travel anywhere in an area of the Wing Commander universe. Additionally, the game would use a to-be-determined amount of current buzzword Full Motion Video that could be shot on a much tighter budget in the United Kingdom.

Origin, familiar with Erin's work well beyond his family connection, approved the project and the earliest development of Privateer II began in Manchester in the second half of 1994. Erin quickly assembled a world class team and production of the game began in earnest. The first task was to produce a proof-of-concept prototype which would prove to the powers that be that the new team was capable of adapting and improving on the Wing Commander III engine. This work would be the first step to securing funding for the intended FMV shoot. One offshoot of this work was that the team created a model of the original Privateer's Talon for the demo; it would be added back to the game for a special mission once it was again made part of the Wing Commander universe! As expected, the team proved themselves and Electronic Arts opted to budget three million dollars for the film shoot. It is not known precisely when the title was decided but by January 1995 the project was known as Privateer II: Dark Side.

The game was announced (but not shown) at Winter CES in January 1995. Electronic Arts happily boasted of the promising project just starting to take shape, promising members of the press that they would see the game and its intended-to-be-spectacular film portion later in the year.

• June 12, 1994 - Wing Commander Privateer CD-ROM released.
• Late 1994 - Production of Privateer II: Dark Side begins.
• January 6, 1995 - Privateer II: Dark Side is announced at Winter CES.

The Darkening - February 1995 to May 1996

Erin Roberts would spend the next eight months pulling double duty producing both the game in Manchester and putting together the star-studded film shoot at Pinewood Studios. FMV was new and at this time nothing on the scale of Privateer II had been attempted. Roberts was responsible for putting together the director, actors, below the line talent, the studio and more. He also worked directly with (and hired) screenwriter Diane Duane to build the story and the world (a duty shared with the team in Manchester that wrote the game's incredible breadth of text material while the live action material was being shot). It was during this time that the decision was made to step away from the Wing Commander universe: the technology and the idea was so promising that it seemed like it could stand on its own. The name was changed to simply "Darkside" (Draft 5) by April and by the time the shoot began in May (Draft 7) it was known as "The Darkening". The game was still a Wing Commander III technology spinoff but it was no longer expected to take place in the same world.

Another major reason for the change to "The Darkening" was that Chris Roberts, then deep in development of Wing Commander IV, was interested in doing a Privateer sequel himself. This wasn't a case of his stealing the project from his brother; rather, Electronic Arts was looking at Wing Commander IV and interested in pushing a larger, connected multimedia IP going forward. This would lead to things like the animated series and the card game but it was envisioned at first in much grander terms. Chris began development of a fascinating idea to make two Privateer sequels (Privateer 2 and 3) with a TV show that would take place between them. Players would follow one character on TV over the course of the season as they played the first game; then the second game would conclude the overarching story with both characters teaming up. It was a fascinating idea and it got so far as to be passed to a studio in Los Angeles for further development… but in the end it was more transmedia than was possible at the time. Still, Chris continued to plan to follow Wing Commander IV with a second Privateer game and eventually went into preproduction with a story by famed fantasy author Tracy Hickman.

Meanwhile, Electronic Arts conducted the first press junket for The Darkening in July. They allowed reporters to visit the sets at Pinewood Studios during the shoot and then to meet the team in Manchester to see how the game portion was being completed. This resulted in a swath of long form articles praising the imaginative production from July to November, mostly in the European press. These were mostly missed by Wing Commander fans at the time because, of course, they didn't mention Privateer. The game was fully "The Darkening" at this point and so a lot of this was completely ignored. Origin issued a November 1995 press release to support this media push listing the intended release date as simply 1996.

Then, a major change that would delay the game into the second half of 1996: around Christmas the team decided to drop the Wing Commander III engine. They believed it had been pushed to its limits by Wing Commander IV and was not conducive to the game world they wanted to build. Instead, they licensed BRender and converted existing work to the new engine. Two months later, Wing Commander fans would be forced to notice The Darkening when an advertisement for the game was included with the Wing Commander IV play guide…. Promising a now scrapped spring release date. Manchester's marketing artists began the initial development for its visual presence, complete with mockup advertisements and box covers for "The Darkening".

• February 1995 - Preproduction for the film shoot begins.
• April 7, 1995 - Draft 5 of the script is completed; it is called "Darkside".
• May, 1995 - The film shoot begins. Draft 7 of the script is titled "The Darkening".
• July, 1995 - First major press junket (at Pinewood).
• November 1, 1995 - Origin issues press release about the film shoot
• December 1995 - Wing Commander III engine dropped
• February 12 1996 - Wing Commander IV released

Privateer: The Darkening - May to July 1996

And then, some big changes. Chris Roberts left Origin in May 1996 which effectively ended work on his version of Privateer 2 (the Tracy Hickman storied game). The Darkening's next big press exposure was at E3 1996 where it made a big change as well: it was announced as Privateer: The Darkening. Privateer: The Darkening. Marketing artwork, starting to resemble the final version, was created bearing this name and Origin put out this press release. This came as a massive shock to the Wing Commander community which at this point was familiar with the project from the WC4 announcement but which wasn't particularly engaged with it beyond an interest to see what a beloved developer had put together. Frankly, there were a lot of upcoming space sims in 1996! But now this one was a Wing Commander game and the Usenet and #wing-commander went wild!

NEWS RELEASE - Contact Media Relations Department

For immediate release
Contact: David Swofford or Teresa Potts
Origin Media Relations

Privateer: The Darkening Debuts at E3

Los Angeles, Calf., May 16, 1996 - ORIGIN Systems® takes the Privateer® gaming experience to a new frontier with its first European interactive movie.

Privateer: The Darkening creates a new dimension in the Privateer universe by offering SVGA graphics and sophisticated gameplay including several hours of live action video. The Darkening is expected to ship during the holiday season on CD-ROM.

Privateer: The Darkening adopts and enhances the superlative gameplay of the original Privateer, ORIGIN's award-winning space exploration/action game which shipped in 1993. Choose for yourself whether you're in the mood to trade goods, be a scout, bounty hunter, escort, courier or reconnaissance agent. Up to 18 different ships and a wide variety of technology upgrades let you decide which ship can carry the advantages and weapons you'll need in your new career. Hire wingmen and cargo ships to help you blaze a trail across the galaxy as you take on hundreds of missions. As in all ORIGIN Interactive Movies you take control of the lead character, in this case Lev Arris (Clive Owen), and guide him through a multitude of adventures and missions. Its Origins most action-packed interactive movie to date!

Privateer: The Darkening features a top-of-the-line cast starring noted European actors John Hurt, David Warner, Jurgen Prochnow and Clive Owen, as well as American actor Christopher Walken. Filming for The Darkening took place over a six-week period last summer at the famed Pinewood Studios outside of London.

The Storyline

Lev Arris awakens from cryogenic storage, a coldsleep that might have lasted for as long as ten years. He was allegedly suffering from a disease for which (10 years ago) there was no cure. His pod has been pulled from the wreckage of a star-freighter called Canera, which was mysteriously attacked by ships of an unknown origin. He has lost his memory and is now faced with rediscovering his identity by interacting with dangerously devious and sinister characters, some of whom are out to kill him. Arris must endure a roller-coaster journey of bribery, corruption, deception and violence. However, the decisions you make will decide his plight.

ORIGIN Systems develops and publishes state-of-the-art entertainment software. To date, the company has released more than 50 titles, including the award-winning Ultima, Wing COmander, and Crusader series of games. ORIGIN is based in Austin, Texas, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS).

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ORIGIN, ORIGIN Systems, We Create Worlds, Privateer, and Ultima are registered trademarks and The Darkening, and ORIGIN Interactive Movie are trademarks of ORIGIN Systems, Incl. Electronic Arts is a registered trademark of Electronic Arts Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Well he helped produce Privateer and so The Darkening is very much like Privateer. I think we may even call it Privateer 2. And, you know, it's going to be very much in the Privateer game format. But a lot better designed and thought out and care taken on the gameplay itself. The characters and story haven't got anything to do with Privateer, though. But it looks really, really cool. So, I think it's going to be out this Christmas. I think it's going to do really well.

What we learn here is that the debate over what to name the game was going on for some time before fans had any idea. Most interesting is this clip from a Chris Roberts interview in the June 1996 issue of PC Action. This was most likely shot at ECTS in April before he left Origin and it suggests pretty strongly that he was pushing for the game to be renamed Privateer 2 at that time. Which makes quite a bit of sense: Chris would've wanted to support his brother's project and he was the decider for everything creative and technical about the Wing Commander IP at the time. It wasn't purely a faceless Electronic Arts executive insisting on the change… it was the executives running Origin like Chris Roberts, people whose direction we have always implicitly trusted. (It's also believed that Chris did an uncredited edit on the Privateer 2 intro sequence around this time, again simply to assist his brother's project.)

• April 14 1996 - ECTS; Chris Roberts speaks publicly about possibly renaming the game Privateer 2.
• May 1996 - Chris Roberts leaves Origin to found Digital Anvil.
• May 16 1996 - E3; Origin announces the game as Privateer: The Darkening

Privateer 2: The Darkening - July to December 1996

Less than three months later, the powers that be at Origin changed their mind again. An updated version of the E3 press release was posted to Origin's home page retitling the game Privateer 2: The Darkening. Six weeks later, it was shown at ECTS under that name. And in December the game shipped first in Europe and then the United States.

• July 31, 1996 - The game is officially renamed Privateer 2: The Darkening
• September 8, 1996 - ECTS; the game is shown as Privateer 2: The Darkening
• December 13, 1996 - The game ships in Europe.
• December 28, 1996 - The game ships in the United States.

What does this all tell us? The simple story that the game was 'The Darkening' and then it became 'Privateer 2' right as it was released is true only in the broadest sense. In the end, the game was in development from idea to release for about thirty months and for fifteen of those it had Privateer in the name. That said, the change happened when only a small amount of the setting had been established and so much of the game was indeed created without thought for it being part of the Wing Commander universe.

THAT said, there's no moral to the story, you should decide for yourself how you feel about Privateer 2 and the decision to change its name yourself, understanding that the latter was made without the input of the team that bled to make the game happen. My opinion will always be that Privateer 2 is an incredible game and a worthy addition that expands the Wing Commander universe in some very necessary (if unexpected) directions. At the same time, there's no question in my mind that the internal issues that caused the rift between the Manchester and Austin teams were completely valid… but again, their cause wasn't the team that worked so hard to build the game in the first place.

Wing Commander Movie Night: Run Silent, Run Deep

The Wing Commander movie club has swung back around from the outer planets to finish Silent Running. This week we're going back to World War II for the 1958 submarine film Run Silent, Run Deep. You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

Run Silent, Run Deep is a 1958 action/war film about an American submarine captain desperately pursuing revenge against the Japanese destroyer captain that sunk his last boat. It stars Burt Lancaster as Clarke Gable as the captain and XO at odds over the battle and alongside the previous year's The Enemy Below helped establish the standard beats for a submarine movie. It was directed by Robert Wise who would go on to helm Star Trek: The Motion Picture and it was also heavily referenced in Star Trek's Balance of Terror.

As we discussed last week, Run Silent, Run Deep is almost certainly the movie Chris Roberts meant to reference when he described Wing Commander thusly in the film's initial treatment:

Space combat in this universe follows the tradition of naval warfare in the Pacific during WW II. The two opposing sides maneuver around strategic planets and jump points, playing a deadly game of Silent Running-esque cat and mouse, with certain doom to whoever's located first.

So we will be looking at the film in a pretty broad sense! It will be especially interesting to see how it establishes a lot of the submarine 'tropes' that Wing Commander will continue to use four decades later. The internal chaos aboard the American submarine is also worth looking at as a prototype the Tiger Claw's embattled warriors.

Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?

Run Silent, Run Deep is currently available for free in the US on YouTube. It is streaming on several free services including Roku and PlutoTV. You can also download a copy from the Internet Archive. It is also currently available for rent or purchase on all the standard services. If you would like a physical copy, the movie was released on Blu-Ray in 2024 and remains in print around the world. If you are not able to locate a copy please stop by the Discord and ping a CIC staff member before Friday's showing.

How do we watch the movie together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 10 PM EST. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!

Surprise Uniforms Surface

A Reddit user named BackpackTwo recently posted something pretty interesting to the r/wingcommander subreddit: a photo of some costumes from Wing Commander Prophecy! They explained: "I worked at Origin in the late 90's around the launch of WC Prophecy so I had a few pieces of memorabilia that i had forgotten about when cleaning out the closets." Lucky person! These are Terran Confederation Navy uniforms worn by Seth Walter as comm officer 1st Lt. Anderson and Mindy Hester as science officer Lt. Commander Finley. A great, high resolution look, especially valuable for anyone interested in making their own costumes!

And the Winners Are...

Our first winner for Fan Project of the Year 2024 is WC4 Remastered! Excitement remains high for the fan remake of The Price of Freedom, and the steady drumbeat of comprehensive updates gives Wingnuts high confidence that their patience will be rewarded (in about a year)!

Our second top spot is taken by the combination of AllTinker's two contenders: Originator and Confederation! The Originator tool is a phenomenal program used far and wide to hack into WC code to learn its secrets and extract assets for modern projects. The Confederation endeavor is quasi-related undertaking that leverages this kind of knowledge to enhance Wing Commander 1 with modern updates while retaining the original charm.

Finally, Mac's Lore Videos/Art had a very strong showing this year as well! Wingnuts love his comprehensive WC videos, but there's also plenty of wallpapers and other treats sprinkled between the longer form content to keep people excited.

Announcing the Hall of Fame Winners

Perhaps with little surprise, we are happy to announce our Hall of Fame winner is Klavs! It's been not quite a year since Adam Burch's passing, although we can say definitely that this untimely shock was not the reason for his boost in the polls. Rather, his decades of dedicated service to the community and legacy of assets left to the fans make him a clear winner. Once again, Klavs, we salute you.

Reminder: #Wingnut Movie Night Tonight!

This is a reminder that we have another fun #Wingnut movie night planned on Discord this evening! The ongoing theme will be movies that inspired Wing Commander in some way. Tonight's film is Silent Running (1972) which inspired... maybe nothing in Wing Commander You can find details on that as well as how to watch along with us in the announcement post here. The movie will start about 7 PM PST/10 PM EST but feel free to drop by and hang any time!

After Action Report: Alien

Greetings WingNuts,

We all love Alien! Is there anyone that doesn't love Alien? It holds up so well today, despite how 'slow' the first half is compared to movies today. But you aren't bored slowly creeping through the Nostromo's empty rooms for minutes and minutes at a time… if anything, the quality of the visual world building around you makes you wish you could stop and look around. And then once the movie gets going, you're in.

The biggest connection to Wing Commander is that both Wing Commander II and the Wing Commander movie referred to the Ripley character in adapting Angel. In both cases, it's clear what they were trying to do… but making your love interest a stronger female character doesn't approach Alien's treatment of Ripley as the lead. In the case of Alien, the character wasn't gendered until casting, leaving her the sum of her actions. Wing Commander couldn't really get there!

Here's John Hurt as Kane in Alien and as Joe (Kane!) in Privateer 2: The Darkening. Despite the seventeen years between the two roles he's effortlessly charming in both.

Of course, we've also got the famous seats! Ron Cobb designed these acceleration seats for the Nostromo's bridge and then the Wing Commander II team… borrowed… the design for all of the rear cockpit views!

But that's not the only piece of Ron Cobb art Wing Commander borrowed: Privateer's Galaxy freighter is a tribute to Cobb's Nostromo. The ship is often obscured in the final film…

... but looking at the original concept art makes the connection pretty clear!

Alien also created visuals that are 'tropes' today, imitated unconsciously countless tiems. A little example: the alien being 'spaced' at the end of the film is the standard for something being thrown out an airlock. Here it is in the first episode of Wing Commander Academy!

The Wing Commander movie's official magazine features Peter Lamont talking a little bit about how H.R. Giger's biomechanical sets (seen in Alien on the space jockey derelict) was both an influence and something to specifically avoid for the Kilrathi ship sets. In the final movie, you see so little of them as to make it hard to compare!

As the plot evolved, they became more bionic, or bio-mechanical, though not as much as H.R. Giger's stuff. These were different creatures, not oxygen breathers; they lived in an atmosphere of green mist. Their controls aren't screens but long slits of moving lights which look almost cat-like."

Although the word "bio-mechanical" has been used over the years to describe countless ALIEN knock-offs, Lamont was careful not to fall into that trap with the Kilrathi sets. "Look at Giger's work, like the early ALIEN, and you'll find a lot of repetition [in other films]. We wanted to keep away from that. These ship interiors looked almost like entrails, and the set decorators had a great time creating it."

And then there's the alien itself! It would be a stretch (well, a lie) to say that Alien's magnificent creature inspired Wing Commander's rubber Kilrathi… but Alien did inspire the final edit of the Kilrathi which sought to follow in that film's footsteps by reducing the amount you actually see the Kilrathi to simple flashes until the climax. Wing Commander was shot with multiple cutaways to the Kilrathi planning their attack and that was all dropped in the hopes of making the awkward costumes seem scary. Alien had pioneered this but it wasn't to hide a faulty creature… they had a perfect life form and they knew how to present it!

Lost Origin Music Album Discovered

This is a fascinating little discovery that is about thirty years in the making: a previously unknown promotional album that includes music from Wing Commander III and several other Origin games! It's called Electronic Arts Music Sampler Volume Two and it was produced in 1995 to promote EA's ever-increasingly-professional music departments across four studios. In addition to Wing Commander III, it includes tracks from Bioforge, Wings of Glory, Pacific Strike, Ultima VIII: Pagan and the unreleased Prowler!

Here are the eight Origin-related tracks:

3. Credits/Theme (Wing Commander III) - George Oldziey & Randy Buck

4. Big Band-O-Rama (Pacific Strike) - Paul Baker

9. Medley (Wings of Glory) - Lara Barratt

14. Pagan Medley (Ultima VIII) - Nenad Vugrinec

17. Medley (Bioforge) - John Tipton

19. On the Prowl (Prowler) - Joe Basquez

21. Desert Planet Combat (Prowler) - Joe Basquez

23. Behemoth (Wing Commander III) - George Oldziey

Want copies of the non-Origin tracks? We've ripped a copy for everyone; you can download the entire album in FLAC format here (376 meg).

Why didn't history ever notice this album? We're not sure how rare it is but we have a theory as to why no one noticed: the cover is IDENTICAL to the original Electronic Arts Music Sampler from 1993! Here's a comparison:

Command & Conquer Source Code Released

Exciting news for one of our sister communities: Electronic Arts has released a mountain of Command and Conquer material for fans to explore including source code, modding access and never-before-seen footage of games while they were in development! You can read all of the details in their announcement.

Source code has been posted to Github for the original game, Red Alert, Renegade and Generals Zero Hour! They've also enabled mod support for several games via Steam Workshop and put out this fascinating video:

Once upon a time, Wing Commander and Command & Conquer, both beloved by fans, were effectively friendly rivals with Electronic Arts pitting Origin and Westwood against each other to develop a space MMO. That battle ended tragically for both studios! But it's nice to see a dedication to putting some of that history right… maybe we could see some archival Wing Commander material someday!

WC4 Fan Remake Deploys New Assets to the Masa System

While it’s still possible we’ll hit the February 12, 2026 target, we’re preparing for a slight delay to ensure we have enough time to polish the visuals. So we may be following in the original’s footsteps and delay the release to hit the 30th anniversary year, though possibly not the exact day.

We plan to have a closed beta by sometime close to the 30th anniversary of the original advertised release date (December 8th this year). The feedback from that build will help determine if we need to adjust our official release date.

Wing Commander Movie Night: Silent Running

The Wing Commander movie club has visited space and attempted to scream; results pending! This week, we're going to be taking another space voyage with the 1972 science fiction film Silent Running. You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

Silent Running is an environmental-themed science fiction film that tells the story of a convoy of spaceships carrying a destroyed Earth's last plant life. It was directed by the man responsible for 2001: A Space Odyssey's spectacular special effects, Douglas Trumbull, on a shoestring budget. Silent Running won critics' hearts but didn't perform at the box office; it has become a cult classic today.

Wing Commander's connection to Silent Running is… pretty much nothing. Here's an excerpt from Chris Roberts' original treatment of the Wing Commander movie where he is trying to explain how he intends for the film to feel:

Space combat in this universe follows the tradition of naval warfare in the Pacific during WW II. The two opposing sides maneuver around strategic planets and jump points, playing a deadly game of Silent Running-esque cat and mouse, with certain doom to whoever's located first.

Now, here's the thing: he almost certainly means Run Silent, Run Deep, a classic submarine movie that has been inspiring science fiction stories since (at least) the original Star Trek's Balance of Terror. As far as we can tell, nothing about the description given here actually ties in to Silent Running. That said, Silent Running is a cult classic with a great message that's well worth our time... so we're going to check it out anyway! (Spoiler warning: we'll check out Run Silent, Run Deep next week.)

There is one small connection to the greater Robertsverse, though: Silent Running's Valley Forge would serve as a significant inspiration for Star Citizen's Endeavour-class science ship. But that's another universe altogether…

Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?

Silent Running is currently available for rent or purchase on all the standard services. If you would like a physical copy, the movie was released on UHD in 2022 and remains in print around the world. If you are not able to locate a copy please stop by the Discord and ping a CIC staff member before Friday's showing.

How do we watch the movie together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 10 PM EST. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!

The Strange Creatures of Wing Commander Academy

Eggs are in the news right now and we thought we'd investigate one thing that's driving up the prices. That's right, it's the Dioscurian Ovizard! These adorable twelve-legged lizards show up in "Lords of the Sky" when the cadets first enter the atmosphere of Dioscuri-2. The ovizard eats the egg and is then startled by the Scimitars' thrusters, prompting it to change color and dart away. That's a lot of biology in a few frames!

Here's their home, from the mission briefing earlier in the episode. Note the Easter eggs in this screenshot, references to Forbidden Planet, Alien and Star Trek!

Their name was introduced in Star*Soldier in a classified ad intended to be from a scientist studying on Dioscuri-2:

Free to Good Home: litter of Dioscurian Ovizards. Stealthy, eggchomping space weirdos are all the rage in Sol!
Contact creid@dioscuri.science

One question remains: what made the nest and the egg in the first place? We don't see any other notable animals on Dioscuri-2... but there are some weird skulls decorating the Dioscurian temple!

We do see some extraterrestrial birds (and butterflies!) on Greenhouse later in the show:

Walken Lets Her Ripper

Actor Christopher Walken recently made headlines when he revealed in an interview that he did not watch streaming video and didn't even own a cell phone. Well, this November 1995 Computer Game Review interview seems to suggest that's nothing new--here he says he's never even seen a CD-ROM (after shooting two of them)! This was published as a sidebar to an article about Ripper (which is now old enough that we should call it Bossman) but he talks about his work on Privateer 2: The Darkening, noting that he shot his role there for two days. And look how much fun he's having on the cover!

A small bonus from this issue: a previously unarchived version of the Wing Commander CTCG release advertisement with the tagline "Available Everywhere!"; sadly, this was not true!

One on One Exclusive Interview with Walken

“This guy can convey a character in a situation so well, it’s just unmatched.”
-Mark Semeret, president, Take 2 Interactive.

CGR: You've been very successful in movies. Why get involved with a CD-ROM project, and how did you get involved?

Christopher Walken: “My agent called me and told me [people] are starting to do this now, there’s a lot of actors doing it.”

CGR: You are doing Ripper and you are doing the Darkening with Origin, yes?

CW: “I-did the Darkening, yeah. It was two days over in England.”

CGR: Is this fun?

CW: “It's different. It's interesting. The one I did before (The Darkening) had sets, this doesn't, but it’s interesting.”

CGR: We've had people tell us that doing an interactive project is just like acting in a movie and that it's nothing like acting in a movie. What's your take?

Cw: “Well, I'm reading my lines off a teleprompter, which is nothing like a movie; but that's only because the job came on such short notice and it’s easier to do the teleprompter thing. For me, it’s a little more like Saturday Night Live, where I read off cue-cards.”

CGR: We've also heard it’s a lot like being on stage.

CW: “Yes, except that I’m reading my lines.”

CGR: Did you know anything about interactive media before these projects?

CW: “No, I can't even turn on a computer. I've never seen a CD-ROM.”

CGR: As an actor, is this as legitimate a medium as television, film or theater?

CW: “Sure. You never know what's going to happen to this—this [medium] is obviously something that's just beginning.”

CGR: Do you worry about getting typecast: You seem to tend toward playing the heavies a lot.

CW: “No.”

CGR: Do you have a favorite role that you've done?

CW: “No.”

GGR: Any projects you wish you hadn't done?

CW: “Oh, sure!” (laughs)

CGR: What are you workifig on after this?

CW: “I don’t know. I had a bunch of things in a row. I did the thing in England [the Darkening] last week, and after tomorrow, I’m unemployed.”

CGR: Would you do another interactive project?

CW: “Sure. It'll be interesting to see what it’s like when it's done, because right now it's just people against blue walls. It’s a whole different ballgame, as far as movies go. Maybe that’s where movies will go, with computerized sets.”

CGR: Is it hard to keep what the Wcharacter knows in mind when in a given scene what he knows could change depending on what the player knows?

CW: “No, the lines are different. I guess it's a good thing I didn't think of that.