News Collection: On This Day in WC News

2020.110 (April 19, 2020)

WC1's Medal System Fully Explained

Ever wonder how medals work in Wing Commander I? Well, I am putting together a guide anyway.It's not uncommon for discussions at the CIC Forums to touch on the concept of "medal points" and how this influences whether you are awarded a certain star or sometimes nothing at all. It often shows up in the news and on Discord too.

2019.109 (April 19, 2019)

Matthew Lillard vs Instagram

The Maniac has become the poster child for social media support hell this month as he found himself locked out of his Instagram account. The saga began on or about April 1 when he got a new phone and was unable to log in. His password resets didn't work and he encountered some baffling "user not found" errors. And despite being an IG-verified celebrity with more than 150,000 followers, he couldn't reach a live support human to get him sorted out.

2018.109 (April 19, 2018)

P2 Ad Highlights Stylish British Prose

Here's a pretty slick Privateer 2 ad from the UK that LOAF recently ran across. Overall, advertisements for The Darkening are some of the most unique and clever out of the whole series. The left page is headlined by a more traditional "Trips worth taking" tagline, but the right side is a bit more tantalizing with extended text and pre-release screenshots. Check it out below!

Wing Commander Meme of the Day: Y'all Got Any More Of That?

Or Ultimate, Tobacco or anything really...

2017.109 (April 19, 2017)

Visual Reference: Wing Commander II Rooms

Wing Commander has, from the start, been called an interactive movie... and the team building the games embraced that in many aspects of the production process. For example, all of the 'talking head' scenes in Wing Commander, Wing Commander II and Privateer were constructed just like film shots, with different camera angles and purpose-built 3D environments (or sets!) When playing the game, your eye tends to follow the characters rather than their environments...

2016.110 (April 19, 2016)

Confed Interceptor Upgraded For Secret Ops

DefianceIndustries has completed his Wasp model with the addition of its massive booster pod. It's now being integrated into the Vision Engine as part of the Secret Ops Model Upgrade pack. In the grand scheme of things, we almost always launch and immediate fire our booster to intercept incoming attackers. This means the vast majority of our time flying Wasps is in the booster-less configuration, but I've always felt like the cut down version of the ship was the one out of the place.

2015.109 (April 19, 2015)

New Utility Boosts Prophecy & Secret Ops Framerate

gr1mre4per has put together a neat new upgrade patch for Wing Commander Prophecy & Secret Ops. There are patches that upgrade the video to DVD quality, enable OpenGL graphics support and even add multiplayer, but the game is still locked at 32 frames per second. grim's patch updates the Prophecy or Secret Ops executable to run at any custom refresh rate, although 60 seems to work the best and provides nice and smooth motion. wcnut reports that it functions on a Mac with a wine wrapper, and it should also be compatible with Standoff or Unknown Enemy.

2014.109 (April 19, 2014)

Wing Commander Games Discounted on GOG

Good Old Games is running a big sale this weekend on its Electronic Arts catalog of games, including the Ultima and Wing Commander franchises! This also includes Strike Commander, Crusader and many other familiar titles. There hasn't been a discount like this since their holiday sale in December, and 60% off is nothing to sneeze at. Each of the individual game packs are $2.

2013.109 (April 19, 2013)

Unknown Enemy Upgrades Still In Work

The Wing Commander Unknown Enemy team announced last year that their original Secret Ops mod would be getting one last big update. It's been more than a decade since fans were originally treated to UE, and there's a whole list of ambitious upgrades that technological expertise within the WC community has made possible since (not the least of which will be incorporating then OpenGL graphical rendering mode used in Wing Commander Standoff). Work on the final update has moved at a somewhat slow pace, but Quarto assures us that progress is still steadily being made. You can help encourage the team to keep moving at the CIC Forums or try out the original game here!

2012.110 (April 19, 2012)

BREAKING NEWS: Ultima VIII on GOG

Good news for Ultima and Origin fans! Ultima VIII: Gold Edition has been released on GOG for $5.99! Included in the package is the game's speech pack and a variety of bonuses such as the game's manual, clue book and map.

Vittek Redux

Back on Crusader Day we already ran an update about Origin developer Mark Vittek's penchant for appearing in multiple franchises--Crusader, Ultima and Privateer. Mark worked on all of those games and his cool name was included in each. Although Mark Vittek was an important part of the Ultima VIII project, I didn't plan to do another update on the same reference for today... unless I could come up with something new.

Introducing the Codex

Ultimate fan site Ultima Aiera has recently evolved into the Ultima Codex. In addition to frequent news updates, the site also has a new Wiki-based information section. Read all about Ultima VIII at the Codex here!

Wing Commander's a Hit!

Since we last posted about GOG sales stats, Wing Commander 4 had shot to the top of the shooter charts! It's also pulled WC1/2, WC3 and I-War 2 up along with it. In addition to the shooter genre, The Price of Freedom has also cracked the "all genres" top ten. Way to go!

Origin Lineup Continues to Grow

Today's release of U8 caps off lengthy list of Origin classics now available on GOG. Complete your collection with the links below! Crusader: No RemorseCrusader: No RegretUltima I, II & IIIUltima IV (Free!

2011.109 (April 19, 2011)

Priv Preview Gives Glimpse of Greatness

Evan let us know that Kultboy has posted scans of a cool sneak peek at Privateer from January 1993. It's a three-page article in the German magazine Power Play. The cover is dedicated to Origin's Ultima Underwold 2 (as well as a game called Erotik Report) and the main piece has inset portions on Chris Roberts and game audio. There's also some very high quality concept and promo images that show off the game's original SVGA aspirations that didn't pan out.

2010.109 (April 19, 2010)

Longbow Born in the Purple

Here's an update to the Collateral Damage Longbow. JasonRocZ has given it some distinctive purple markings in these shots. The wings and upper neutron guns have also been remodeled a bit, and these images show them off pretty well.I redid the wings and some of the textures.

EA Releases Apple iPad Games

To coincide with the launch of the Apple iPad, Electronic Arts has announced the release of five new games for the device. The list includes casual games such as Tetris and Need for Speed, but Mirror's Edge and Command & Conquer Red Alert also made the cut. Although without video cutscenes, Red Alert has impressed players with its classic graphics and sharp interface. Local wifi multiplayer is also possible between iPads, iPhones and the iPod Touch.

2009.109 (April 19, 2009)

Great Day For Privateer 3 Concept Art

Wing Commander Prophecy artist Charles Workman has posted a batch of concept designs that he made for the unreleased Privateer 3. A few of these should look familiar, but these are all worth examining closely. Take the first image for example - the Kilrathi Drakas Command Center/Tavern on G-tok. Both prior versions that the CIC has posted in the past have a blank computer terminal.

Making the Game: Mission SA2

Wing Commander Prophecy's first "gauntlet"! By means of another flight test, Casey and YessMan take on wave after wave of Kilrathi planes. The most interesting thing is the very elegant solution to the need for simulated Nephilim after the aliens are discovered; the Kilrathi simply become Aliens after Series E.These updates are thanks to John "Captain Johnny" Guentzel, who provided several CD image archives of material used by the Wing Commander Prophecy development team!

2008.110 (April 19, 2008)

Heart of Darkets

Here's a big surprise: JasonRocZ has built another new ship for his Wing Commander: Collateral Damage mod. This time it's Wing Commander Arena's Darket Dragonfly... and what else can we say?

Happy Birthday LOAF!

We'd like to wish LOAF a very happy 27th birthday today! You don't have to get him a present, but rest assured that he's hard at work uncovering new Wing Commander treasures to post on your birthday!

2007.109 (April 19, 2007)

First Virtual TacOps Screenshot Released

Mike-L has released the first screenshot for the online version of TacOps, Ironduke's neat WC2-themed tabletop game. This C++ port is still in the preliminary stages, but a basic interface and virtual layout is visible below. Units can be added, deleted and moved around now, and the game board can be manipulated. An AI isn't planned, but two players can hook up along to compete against each other or play custom scenarios.

Happy Birthday LOAF!

The CIC staff and I would like to wish Ben "Bandit (LOAF)" Lesnick a happy 26th birthday! When someone needs to seek out a Wing Commander expert, LOAF is at the very top of everyone's list. He's been a part of the online Wing Commander community for almost fifteen years, and nobody else has shared more knowledge and excitement with fellow fans. This year is no different in that regard, and every day LOAF is busy pumping people up and preparing for the upcoming launch of Wing Commander Arena.

2006.109 (April 19, 2006)

New Ship Shots Day After Day

The Hydra cockpit to be featured in WC Pioneer has just been detailed and polished up. The plain white opaque walls and struts have been replaced with a more distinctive green, and many of the displays, gauges and indicators have had representative filler data added. Howard Day has also generated another fancy 3D VR mock-up of the area for people with QuickTime to check out. Once this ship gets wrapped up, it looks like a more detailed version of Pioneer's Kilrathi Krant medium fighter will be up next.

Happy Birthday LOAF!

Today LOAF turns 25! Although the world's most knowledgeable Wing Commander expert is perfectly content to dream about novel timelines or Zartoth fighters all night, your birthday wishes will help to make this quarter-century event all the more memorable. If you don't see him playing Tomb Raider on YBox Live, he's busy planning elaborate Wing Commander updates to share with you throughout the summer. And if you thought you've seen LOAF before, you haven't seen him advancing on Petersburg!

2005.109 (April 19, 2005)

Prophecy Gets The Music Treatment

A few people were disappointed when we mentioned the last of the music videos last week, but that was specifically referring to Plywood Fiend. We should have one or two more over the next week, and the next one up is AD's combination of Prophecy and "All By Design" by Big Wreck. This one comes in the form of a 10 meg low res clip and a 68 meg high res version.

Happy Birthday LOAF!

LOAF has managed to do it again! Today he is officially one year older. With the set of images below, aspiring three dimensional modelers can accurately recreate a famous LOAF event that occured on the evening of June 19, 2004!

Viva il Space Papa

Apparently they elected a new pope.

2004.110 (April 19, 2004)

Run Wing Commander 4 DVD Without The DXR Card

This is very exciting news! Chat Zone poster gulikoza has developed a patch that enables the beautiful Wing Commander 4 DVD version to be run in Windows without the Creative Labs DXR decoder hardware. All that is required is unzipping the tiny 32 kb patch into the WC4DVD directory and setting the game's executable to Windows 98 compatibility mode. The folks at Crius.

Happy Birthday LOAF!

LOAF turns another year older today. Bob has submitted a model of the unused fifth Privateer player ship to celebrate. It looks like a piece of cake. (LOAF) The greatest gift of all is friends like you guys.

2002.109 (April 19, 2002)

Happy Birthday, LOAF!

It's true. LOAF turns 21 today which I'm told comes with the ability to buy vast amounts of alcohol and firearms - legally! If you are a freak or even if you aren't you can wish LOAF a happy birthday or ask him to buy you alcohol by emailing him here. Everyone else is!

2001.109 (April 19, 2001)

Happy Birthday LOAF!

In the grand tradition of CIC birthday updates, I invite everyone to join me in wishing the Baron Happy Birthday!

Fantastic Music Update #5

Hurray, it's my birthday -- but the loot is for y'all, here's four orchestral tracks from Wing Commander Prophecy that you probably won't find digging around Napster....Fight to the Finish (0:49, 1.1 mb)Hazardous Duty (2:59, 4.3 mb)Mission to Alien Space (1:47, 2.

That's A-Polling

Action Vault is holding a poll that you've got to vote in! The question: "Which space sim are you looking forward to the most?" Answers include that you're hoping for another Wing Commander or another Privateer -- go show them what the world needs! The poll is located to the lower-right of the site's front page.

It's About the Music

LeHah needs you all to answer this very important question... for very important reasons! E-mail him your responses ASAP...What do tracks would you fans want if EA lets Oldziey do an Orchestral CD?

Choose Your Own Fan Project

The WCMC mod for Unreal Tournament is looking for a new project head; read below for details -- perhaps the new guy won't be so stupid as to use the world's worst hosting service? But seriously, TAKFAW, you had a good run and did a great job -- good luck on whatever's next.As you may or may not know Wing Commander Marine Corps (one of the first fan project ipos) is barely progressing, this is due to lack of time and general bad leadership on my side. That is why I would like to step down as leader and hand the horn to someone else.

Tanj!

The Wing Commander movie's Lieutenant Christopher Blair, Freddie Prinze Jr. is now engaged to Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar... kudos to soul-less Hollywood teen idol relationships! Read all about it here, at SciFi.

Make a Cent, Part 2

Here's part two of RF Burns plans to build his very own Centurion...I plan to publish a complete assembly manual and parts list, as well as draft assembly pages on each part that will need to be crafted from bulk material, such as some of the framing work will need to be crafted by the builder, unless a model company buys the idea and pre-manufactures the individual pieces. The frame itself will be quite a task to build since it must be able to withstand flight wind loads, and hold everything inside. Pictures and small documents will be posted at my web site and hopefully here at the CIC news pages.

Crius.Popular

The numbers are in for the worlds best Privateer 2-based communications server -- Crius.Net now boasts over 50,000 posts in more than 2000 threads by 850 different members. More than 300 people use free @crius.net web-based e-mail accounts.

The Universe Gets a Home

Darkmage's Wing Commander Universe project now has its very own web page -- you can find it at http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/WingCommanderUnivers/main.htm.

2000.110 (April 19, 2000)

Does Wing Commander Deserve a Sequel?

Ainamacar sends word that Gamespot is running an interesting poll. They want to know which game most deserves a sequel according to you. One of the games you can vote for is Wing Commander. Wing Commander's bit was written by Desslock, who also nominated the series.

Red Planet Novelization Update

Peter Telep's official website has been updated with a picture of the cover of his upcoming novel, Red Planet.The novelization of this upcoming science fiction movie is set for an October 2000 release. The movie itself will come out in November. You can find more information on Peter's website.

Shares Boom on Hermes

Tony Knox reports. The stock market on Hermes has unexpectedly boomed, especially in the ores trade. The sudden surge has attracted traders and miners from all across the system, looking to find good prices for their wares.

1999.109 (April 19, 1999)

Trivia Notice

The new Week 22 Trivia Questions are out, however if you sent your answers in during the second half of last week you may not have gotten a score yet. Week 21 Trivia is now over, the Scoreboard will be updated within a day or so with the results. You can find Week 22 Trivia here. On a slightly related note, our @wcnews.