Welcome & Happy Birthday! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Welcome and happy birthday! Today's not just about our celebration - we're also celebrating the community's many years of dedication to Wing Commander fandom. As we talked about just a few days ago: "The point of a fandom is not to build a cathedral to a brand but to provide a shared starting point from which you connect with others, expand your thinking and grow to become better people." Like everyone else, we're not out of the woods yet, and there are still many challenges everyone is facing every day. Nevertheless, we wouldn't have made it this far without each other. WC fans have come up with some great things this year that we're excited to share. To set the mood and kick things off, FekLeyrTarg put together this adorable and amazing little short - I love it!

WC4 Remastered Demo Released! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

This is a big one, folks! After years of hard work, the WC4 Fan Remake team is super excited to finally unveil the first playable demo for Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom Remastered. Today's release is a fancy update to the original WC4 Demo released on October 19, 1995. As we've seen through their many technical articles released over the years, it takes a lot of foundation building (design, art, sound, coding, user interface and much more) to reach a milestone like this. Detailed instructions have been published to help people get things going. There's even a snazzy demo trailer below! You can grab the installer package here (900 meg exe). Keep in mind that this is still a beta level artifact and the team very much appreciates your feedback. Give it a try and have fun!
We are supremely proud to announce that the first playable demo of Wing Commander IV - The Price of Freedom: Remastered is now available to download! You can download and play it now from https://wcrespace.com

Every Script at Your Fingertips! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Everyone's got Wedge's website bookmarked for quick access to scripts from the various Wing Commander games... and while that's served us well for decades, we're ready to unveil your first look at something better! LOAF has spent the last year painstakingly extracting the exact text scripts from a wide variety of Wing Commander games. And we don't just mean titles like "WC1" and "WC2." As it turns out, there's differences between disk versus CD editions, console port versus original and so on. There's also more to the game than cutscenes. LOAF's also pulling in comm chatter and other peripheral text. There's still a lot to add, but the magnitude of what's already been gathered is incredible. You can find the live working file here! Enjoy, and let us know what you think!

Missing Wing Commander 2 Music Reorchestrated and Restored Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

FekLeyrTarg is back with some new music for Wing Commander 2. He's identified a couple of missing tracks from the conversion between DOS WC2 and the Kilrathi Saga. In order to restore the pieces, he's researched how George Oldziey reorchestrated the music and done his best attempt to duplicate (with some tips from DMJC). The results sound fantastic to me! The clips have been set up in video form below, but they are also available to download. He doesn't currently have a method to integrate them into the game, but that could be a future project! Fans have done much more impressive things via KS patches so far, but they haven't had these files to work with until now.
One thing missing from the Kilrathi Saga Windows Ports of "Wing Commander" and "Wing Commander II - Vengeance of the Kilrathi" is the legendary OriginFX logo. So I rearranged the original MT-32 MIDI file by Herman Miller and George Sanger similar to how George Oldziey did it with the soundtrack of the first two "Wing Commander" games for "The Kilrathi Saga". Original video by DOS Nostalgia.
One music track missing from the files of the Kilrathi Saga Windows Port of "Wing Commander II - Vengeance of the Kilrathi" is the track "Thrakhath's New Plans", which was supposed to be played during Thrakhath's and Khasra's argument in the intro of "Special Operations 1".

Using Patch93's Roland SC-55 Soundfont, the programs SynthFont 2 and Adobe Audition as well as some full reverb, I rearranged Dana Glover's original MT-32 MIDI track similar to how George Oldziey did it with the other tracks found in "The Kilrathi Saga". Original video upload by Dave Caspermeyer.

Last, but not least, FekLeyr has also highlighted a third issue regarding a pair of Special Operations tracks that actually are included with Kilrathi Saga but don't play. He's put them together here so you can see what the experience should have been like:
In the Kilrathi Saga Windows port of "Wing Commander II - Vengeance of the Kilrathi", two cutscene music tracks are unused in the two Special Operations expansions despite being in the game files and used in the original MS-DOS release. The first track "Mutiny on the Gettysburg" was used in the brig cutscenes in SO1. The second one "The Tribunal" was used for Zack "Jazz" Colson's trial in the intro of SO2.

Original composition by Dana Glover. Reorchestration by George Oldziey. Original video upload by Dave Caspermeyer.

Dream Come True: Flying Your Own Centurion Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

FekLeyrTarg was just on a roll this year, so we let him run with yet another cool tech demonstration! He's combined a green screen, the Privateer 3D models archive and some AI-generated scans of his head to create a nifty clip of him flying a Centurion. Not a bad effort at all! There's lots of potential here!
Produced for the Wing Commander CIC's 24th birthday, this is a proof-of-concept of using an AI-generated depth map on a subject in a 3D-generated environment for extra depth and lighting information. Once again, the models used are from the Privateer 3D Archive.

Early Wing Commander Movie Trailer Upgraded Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Back in 1999 a trailer for the Wing Commander movie leaked and broke the internet... or at least the website! This 3 minute trailer featured not just a sneak peak at the highly anticipated video game based movie, but ended up also hiding alternate takes and snippets from deleted scenes that ultimately didn't make it into the final film. That video has only been available in very low quality (and low framerate) DivX video (10 meg avi). First, here's a raw export of the VHS:
...until now. A recently recovered VHS contained an slightly earlier version of this same trailer! While the actual edit on this tape is the same, keen observers will note that this is a slightly earlier version of the trailer than was leaked online as it also features some less-finished CG effects in a few places. I spent some time and effort to remove color noise left over from the VHS capture (over which I had no control or access to). While the capture was more or less properly reverse-telecined I also spent some time attempting to repair the various deinterlacing artifacts and noise. With that, enjoy! And if you're going to party like it's 1999, what better way than to put this on loop and try and spot all the differences between the trailer shots and finished film. Here's my cleaned up version:
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Download Index Refresh Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The Downloads section is where we index all of our downloadable items, from soundtracks and official patches to fan-created tools or enhancements. This time of year is when we usually comb through the news archives to bring our index (in excess of 240 gigabytes!) up to date. We've done a thorough refresh so every file, patch and program is at your fingertips and easy to grab.

Highlights include the French, German and Spanish translations of WC1 DOS, the latest version of WCDX, Prophecy controller profiles for Saitek joysticks, the soundtrack to SegaCD WC1 and ODVS's various HD video packs.

Strategies and Tactics for Simulator Missions! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

This year almost marks 25 years for Wing Commander Prophecy, so we wanted to add a little something in here to recognize that upcoming milestone. This is the "Hint Book" included with the Deluxe Edition of Prophecy. Fans that weren't around in the late '80s and early '90s might not be familiar with how the first strategy guides were literal booklets full hints on how to get through games. This is a small streamlined guide intended as a mini companion to the full scale Prima Official Guide. There was a specific focus on the game's simulator missions as well as general tips. You can download it in one PDF here (13 megs).

Cake! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

And then there was cake! Yum-o. Thanks Lacey!

How Long Have You Been With Us? Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

It's our birthday, and that means it's time for our birthday poll! Sound off and let us know how long you've been visiting the CIC! Last year, we saw that 1 in 6 have been followers since our WC adventures that predated the CIC. Of course, we love our new visitors just as much!

The old poll asked about the different types of major story themes we see throughout the series. It seems like most people like to save the universe in large epics like WC3/4. We can certainly understand why!

Thanks! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

And that's a wrap! It may not have been one of our longest birthday news slates, but hopefully you agree there's been some fantastic stuff here to enjoy. I've talked about it here a number of times already, but many of the key pillars of our tough and tight-knit community are medically high risk - and they're still dealing with a hell of a lot due to the ongoing pandemic, taking care of our families, and the state of things in the world. People successfully forced their way through a lot to get here today, and they'll do it again tomorrow, next week, next month and next year to keep supporting each other.

With this week's milestone behind us, that also means we're entering our 25th year. A quarter century is pretty crazy to think about. We're extremely fortunate that we got to do 2019's birthday party live and in person with LOAF, Ali, ace, Blonde, Dundradal, Joe and myself all together and on camera. None of us could have imagined that it would be one of the last trips that we would take for a long time. It would be lovely to recreate something like that for next year's big event, but that's still a long ways away. The only thing we know for sure is that we'll be here - and we hope you will be too!

You Are Cordially Invited... Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

To the Wing Commander Combat Information Center's 24th birthday celebration! TONIGHT at 7:00 PM Eastern US (4:00 PM Pacific and 11:00 PM GMT) in #Wingnut on Discord!

Featuring...

  • Explosive antics!
  • A long-awaited experience!
  • Songs you've longed to hear!
  • Your dream come true!
  • Strategies and tactics!
  • Clarity
  • Refreshment(s)
  • Cake?! ...and more!
So join us in Discord, channel #WingNut! You can stop by any time to join the fun!

Toths and Prayers Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Our thoughts are with Salman Rushdie this afternoon. Did you know that he was the basis for the character Hunter Toth in Wing Commander: Privateer? Toth’s VDU image was even taken directly from the dust jacket of The Satanic Verses!
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CIC

Wow, I Never Thought About That... Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we've got a scan helpfully uncovered by the Out of Print Archive. It's a review of the 3DO edition of Super Wing Commander from June 1994. We've seen an uptick in SWC sharing lately, which is nice to see. We always love it when under appreciated parts of the WC universe get their chance to shine. This official remake of WC1 is certainly an oddity, but it's also fascinating in so many ways!
On the subject of SWC, I noticed this tweet was "doing numbers," as the kids say. You've got to be able to laugh at yourself sometimes, and this is a funny exchange. A lot of the comments seem to reference Chris Roberts, and we would like to point out that he wasn't involved in this one.

Happy Birthday CIC! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

We're happy to announce that today officially marks 24 years of operation here at WCNews.com! We first opened our doors in the summer of 1998, and it's been an action-packed thrill ride ever since! Through the highs and the lows, we've been here together for well over two decades now. Sure, despite all odds, we somehow manage to post Wing Commander news here every day, but the point of the site is more than that. It isn't even just about building a massive archive or tribute to a series we like. LOAF summed it up best here:
The point of a fandom is not to build a cathedral to a brand but to provide a shared starting point from which you connect with others, expand your thinking and grow to become better people.
Hopefully each day (all 8,766 of them!) we further those ends a tiny bit more. One way that we do that is to host an epic party around our anniversary every year. It's coming this Saturday: join us in Discord #Wingnut on August 13. Festivities kick off at 7:00 pm EDT (4:00 pm PDT and 11:00 pm GMT). We'll have some cool goodies to share, but it'll also be a great chance for people to catch up with each other. Hope to see you there!
Wing Commander CIC Party Balloons

A Quick Look at a (Physically) Tiny WC Game Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

I don't really watch a lot of YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels or Tik Toks, but I doubt there's a lot of Wing Commander content out there in those formats. There is at least one clip, however, in the form of BigJim's take on Wing Commander Prophecy for the Game Boy Advance. It seems really hard to do any topic justice in 60 seconds, but given that time constraint, this isn't a bad rundown of the game's features. I do cringe at the horizontal content positioned in the middle of a vertical video, but it's still worth a watch!

Mark Hamill Speaks From the WC4 Set Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Today we've got a great video interview with Mark Hamill that comes from "The Disc, Issue 5" of the Interactive Australian Gaming CD-ROM Magazine. It was dug up from the archives and posted by Mr^Burns. The conversation happened on the set of WC4 in 1995. Mr. Hamill talks about how the filming is going and what's new & improved for the sequel to WC3. The actual video portion is tiny postage stamp square in the middle of what would have been an already low res interface, but this would have been a rare treat to be able to see and hear him talking about the games in this era!
The Disc Issue 5 - Interactive Australian Gaming CD-ROM Magazine (1995)

French Translation of WC1 Complete Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

After several months of diligent effort, Greg14 has completed his French Translation of WC1 made with the WC Toolbox. See the game in action is below! French Wingnuts can grab the update package from a link in the description of the YouTube vid below. Greg is continuing to research methods to translate WC2, WC4 and the Kilrathi Saga. You can also find a previously translated update to WC2 here.

One Week to Party Time! Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

We're entering the home stretch here in the lead up to the CIC's 24th Birthday Party. Next Saturday we'll all be gathering in Discord #Wingnut to celebrate with everyone. I'm excited for the cool things that we've got teed up to share, and it'll be wonderful to catch up with so many people again. Stop by on August 13 at 7:00 pm EDT (4:00 pm PDT and 11:00 pm GMT) - or join in any time beforehand to hang out! See you there!

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