Strike Commander Remake Stuns Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

This is the kind of e-mail you like to find in your inbox: Rémi LEONARD is working on a modernized remake of Strike Commander and there's some wonderful progress to see! Strike Commander was Chris Roberts' major project after the original Wing Commander, a combination of a realistic F-16 simulator and an interactive movie styled after an '80s action flick. It was a great game but one that's often forgotten today.

Hello, I am Rémi LEONARD, currently developing a remake of Strike commander, i wanted to report somes updates in case you are interested.

The project is going well, I have implemented somes of the mission scripts logic (thanks to the mission design documentation of wing commander IV found on CIC. The game is starting to be playable, with the possibility to complete somes missions. I have released a gameplay video of the first mission on my youtube channel.

Strike commander Remake Gameplay First Mission

Feel free to take a look :)

Best regards
Rémi LEONARD.

You bet we're interested! Strike Commander is a wonderful game that deserves a lot more attention than history has given it; I often remark that it's too bad there's not a "Strike Commander News" site equivalent to ours. I can't wait to see more of Rémi's work, I bet it will end up making the game much more accessible to new players!

author avatar

New Wing Commander Album Digitally Released! Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today's a great day! Origin composer George Oldziey has digitally released his second full album of Wing Commander music performed by a live audience! This initial package is available to people who pledged in last year's Kickstarter campaign. The physical CD and vinyl album are still being finalized and should also be available in the near future. For now, existing backers can log in to the update for download links. Everything about George's projects have been an absolute joy to listen to, and this latest release is no exception!
Greetings all. The CD master is about ready to submit for replication. We are currently in the process of deciding on the best way to master the vinyl version. The artwork is complete for both products. We are VERY close to finishing the physical products for volume 2, but in the mean time, here are links to the digital files.

They are in FOUR formats; high resolution WAVE and FLAC files as well as MP3 and AAC compressed files.

Of course these are for all of you who so generously backed this project. I truly hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed orchestrating and recording them. My sincerest gratitude to all of you.

Here's a sample!

Wing Commander Movie Night: Planet of the Apes Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The Wing Commander movie club is home from the (check notes) Bungo Straights and we can confidently say that yes, the Wing Commander movie does owe quite a bit to Run Silent, Run Deep. This week, we're taking the DEDFLASH space/time cruiser back to the future… the distant future of the original Planet of the Apes! You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

The original Planet of the Apes sends Charlton Heston to the distant future as a lone astronaut stranded on a… well, planet of apes. Adapted from Pierre Boulle's novel by the brilliant Rod Sirling, Planet of the Apes' mix of clever plotting, allegory and action helped set a new standard in quality for science fiction blockbusters that had previously been treated more like childrens' fare. It's bold and engaging even when the entire world already knows the twist ending!

With regards to the Wing Commander connection, we normally pick movies that are mentioned as influences in interviews or other behind the scenes narratives. This is one we picked out from a photograph! Look carefully at this image from Wing Commander III's creature workshop which shows the construction of one of the game's Kilrathi masks. One of the references they're using is the album art for the Planet of the Apes soundtrack with a picture of Dr. Zaius! Oh, Dr. Zaius!

Fans suspected as much long before these photos ever surfaced, though; you can't look Wing Commander III Melek in the face without being reminded of those classic apes! If anything, it's more of a surprise that they're using so much material from Wing Commander II as reference.

Planet of the Apes also shares a ship name with Privateer II, the Icarus… but it's not one that's mentioned in the movie. Cool ship, though!

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

You can download a copy of Planet of the Apes 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 2008 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!

author avatar

Wilford Working Notes Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

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).

author avatar

GOG Needs a Shooter Promo Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

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.

author avatar

Reminder: #Wingnut Movie Night Tonight! Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

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!

author avatar

After Action Report: Silent Running Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

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!

I would absolutely murder the rest of the crew to rescue Sully.

author avatar

Goodbye Thomas Lee Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

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.

author avatar

Border Worlds: Flag vs. Roundel Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

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.

author avatar

A Brief History of The Darkening Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

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.

Reporting on the initial announcement of Privateer II was light but word that the game was being discussed filtered to the early internet from the Wing Commander-loving German press.

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.

Cover pages for Draft 5 and Draft 7 of the script.

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.

Privateer TV series bible with rough plans for the two Chris Roberts-produced games. Unfortunately nothing from Tracy Hickman's Privateer 2 pitch has surfaced.

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.

Origin's first formal press release regarding The Darkening. Previous press was managed by Electronic Arts in Europe.

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".

US and European versions of the Wing Commander IV The Darkening advertisement.

  • 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

A bounty of "The Darkening" preview articles resulting from the July 1995 press junket.

Early box explorations for 'The Darkening'.

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).

###

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.
The traditional story is that the change was gradual: first they decided on Privateer: The Darkening and then, with the cancellation of Chris Roberts' Privateer 2 as he left Origin they decided it would be preferable to add the number to this one. It turns out that's not totally true: we've found a copy of the E3 press release that calls the game Privateer 2: The Darkening rather than Privateer: The Darkening. This was obviously a debate that was going on internally at Origin at the time. The release date in this press release was also changed between drafts from October to "the holiday season" before publication.

Draft press release renaming the game Privateer 2: The Darkening for E3 1996. The final version removed the '2'... for now!

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

E3 box mockup for 'Privateer: The Darkening' dated May 13, 1996.

A collection of "Privateer: The Darkening" preview articles mostly resulting from the 1996 E3 showing.

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.

Early European box mockup for 'Privateer 2: The Darkening'.

Final press release for Europe using the release title.

A small fleet of "Privateer 2: The Darkening" preview articles mostly resulting from the 1996 ECTS presentation.

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.

author avatar

Follow or Contact Us

All Wings Considered

Episode 37 - Back to Gemini!
Archived video streams

Forums: Recent Posts

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

Current Poll

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Where to Buy

WCPedia: Recent Contributions

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

Site Staff