Armada Ad Leads to a Closer Look at Armada Promo Shots Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

That Armada ad earlier sent me down a rabbit hole. I noticed two screens were likely bullshots. In the first, look at the more complex fighter icons, the DEPLOY button, the labeling in the map, the border around enemy space and how everything is named NGC-2877-R (a real lenticular galaxy!). In the second, which only appears on the sales sheet so we only have in lower resolution, the base graphics are missing, the ship order is changed and most interestingly the planet and the system no longer share the same name (hard to read but it looks like 'Planet 75' or similar)! Looking for high resolution scans led me to a surprise reveal: the 3.5" and CD-ROM boxes have two screenshots that switch despite shipping together! It looks like for the CD they replaced two early shots, including the map, with ones from ones much closer to the release build. Next I compared those two some other releases and was surprised to find even more screenshots in the European and Japanese versions! I decided to make a spreadsheet comparing them all. The biggest surprise was this one which is used in the European release. Most of the other changes are upgrading from earlier builds to the finished version... but this one is crazy because that is NOT an Armada cockpit frame! In fact, it doesn't match any known Wing Commander cockpit art. I've talked about these three before but I should mention them too - these are all from an earlier build with significant differences: the control surfaces on the Shok'lar cockpit, especially, but also the use of the Wing Commander III Dralthi model instead of the Armada one!
author avatar

WC3 Livestream Celebrates Upcoming WC3 Milestone Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

We've got a fun video to share today! LOAF participated in a special stream to celebrating the upcoming 30th anniversary of Wing Commander 3. He joined MaruMalandra's Twitch channel to play through The Heart of the Tiger. LOAF was broadcasting live on the camera, but I also really like the idea of Maru's "joystick cam" as well. There's plenty of fun gameplay to watch, but what you really want to follow along for the expert commentary. It runs for almost four hours, so there's lots packed in here! Jump to 10 minute mark to bypass the initial setup.

Check out This ‘90s in a Box Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

AD spotted this new Instagram Reel posted by Microsoft. It features a Sidewinder joystick and a trackball mouse under the caption, "Taking a trip to the '90s." The interviewee explains, "Back in the '90s, everyone wanted to be playing space games like Wing Commander..." and goes on about how popular joysticks were to that end. We know an increasing number of our visitors were born in the 2000s, so it's nice to be able to share an example of people talking about how the WC series was a major force in gaming in this very transformative decade!

Wing Commander Postcard Facto Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

In February 1999, FOX put out a set of Wing Commander postcards to promote the upcoming film. Each features one of the movie's main characters with some pretty flashy graphics and a strange focus on retina scans. These were distributed at conventions, theater lobbies and elsewhere alongside a sweatshirt featuring the nose art and the movie logo down the arm. Origin even had a digital version at the now-defunct wingcommander.com which you could send as an ecard! So be sure and send someone you love a big honking Wing Commander picture today. We've scanned three of the original cards in high resolution and have made them available below. You can also access a 1200 dpi version of the scans here.

The flavor text for Blair and Maniac is taken right from the Confederation Handbook... but it's not at all clear what Angel's facts and figures refer to!

- FLIGHT RECORD -

SQUADRONS LED - / 175 [113]
SHIPS DOWN - / 423
PILOTS LOST - / 56 [T5-34]
author avatar

Work Resumes on Strike Commander Modernization Update Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

About a decade ago, there was a push to modernize Strike Commander and implement a fan remake that could be playable on the then-emerging field of VR/AR headsets. The thought was that it would be similar to the WC4 Remake and be an up-cycling that built on the game's original assets. Eventually the development led by Fabien Sanglard cooled, but with his code publicly available, Remi Leonard has since resumed development over the last couple years. He's put together the beefy video below to show off the latest progress. It's great to see there's still plenty of people out there that appreciate the other Origin franchises!
Progress on the strike commander remake based on fabien sanglard's work (some gameplay footage, conversation, flight simulation, transition, source code available at https://github.com/remileonard/libRealSpace.
Thanks to Vidmaster for the tip!

Wing Commander Album’s Choir Recording Next Week, Expert Audio Engineer Added to the Mix Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

There's an incredible new update to Origin composer George Oldziey's project to make a new live orchestra Wing Commander album! Mr. Oldziey is traveling to Salt Lake next week to record the choral elements of his new album. He would then transition into the mixing and editing phase. On that front, he's managed to partner with a world renowned audio engineer, Bruce Botnick, who has worked on the audio of numerous Star Trek films and other sci-fi classics. They won't be able to formally begin their work together until early next year, but it still feels to me like the project is on an excellent track. It's still been less than five months since the crowdfunding campaign ended!
Greetings all. I just wanted to post an update about what's happening with this amazing project. I am about to head out to Salt Lake City next week to record the choir parts for the music. I will then have everything recorded and ready for mixing.

However, a wonderful opportunity has presented itself. Bruce Botnick, who was film composer Jerry Goldsmith's recording and mixing engineer (Alien, Star Trek; Motion Picture, etc), has VOLUNTEERED to mix the entire project! I've worked with Bruce before on some projects when I lived in LA and he is indeed amazing. However I was stunned when I asked how much he might charge for mixing the Wing Commander tracks he smiled and just said, "don't worry about it, I just want to make beautiful music with you". Needless to say I was stunned and thrilled at the same time.

The only possible down side is our schedules don't coincide until early January. I'd wanted to get all this out to you before the holidays, but I don't think we can pass on this opportunity. Plus he said he would not only have stereo mixes for us but would throw in Dolby Atmos versions of the music for free for anyone who would have the capability of listening back in that format.

So, I've decided to take Bruce up on his offer. I think overall the benefits outweigh any delay in the project's culmination.

Again, thanks to all of you for your wonderful support. Looking forward to sharing the beautiful sounds when all is said and done.

Musically yours,

George Like

A Big Guide to the Little Guys of Wing Commander Prophecy Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

After having so much fun looking for missiles in the Wing Commander movie, I decided to spend an evening unraveling another blind spot in my understanding: the decoys, drones, buoys and probes of Wing Commander Prophecy! One (or two… or more?) parts of the game's plot have never been particularly clear for me. The game opens with a scene in which a planetological research ship is cracking asteroids with a flight of drones collecting samples for study. As the Devereaux is destroyed, we follow a beacon which rockets off into the distance. Later in the game, Casey must hunt down a Nephilim buoy which is sending a jamming signall. Soon after, Finley is studying a "Confed signal buoy" that she claims he recovered. How do these all go together, if at all? We have extensive documentation of the making of the game so I thought it would be fun to try and sort out all these questions… and in the process, put together an informal guide to the 'little guys' of Wing Commander Prophecy! We'll be covering all the drones, FMV-only spacecraft and cut ships below based on their presence in the game's various art scheduling docs!

Terran and Kilrathi Ships

TOBY Drones Wing Commander Prophecy begins with the TCS Devereaux launching a TOBY drone (named in the manual) flown by someone named Priest aka "Drop Three". He speaks with "Drop One" (Murdoch) and "Drop Two" about their sample gathering mission before his drone is damaged by a shockwave generated by the arriving wormhole and ultimately destroyed when it impacts with the newly arrived Kraken. Priest launches from slot two on the Devereaux, confusing the numbering somewhat and while the other two characters are assumed to be flying similar drones they aren't seen (and of course a strong argument could be made that they aren't really drones since they're clearly piloted). The drones are so striking and were so prevalent in Prophecy's marketing that they feel very important to the player even though they're only seen the once.

At first glance, it always seemed that the TOBY drones were self-explanatory: little parasite spacecraft with remote manipulator arms for the researchers to gather mineral samples for study back aboard their mothership. It may surprise you to know that this was not what the ships were designed for! The original plan for the introduction was to show a pair of scientists inside a little ship which would've been filmed in live action. "Packed with instrumentation; there is barely enough room for its two person (human) crew, MONROE (female, 38, sharp, knowledgeable) and O'NEIL (48, balding, and a longtime colleague.) Sunlight pours through the craft's forward observation dome; illuminating their faces." There was ultimately no budget for the introduction as pitched and it was decided to tell roughly the same story only using in-house CG. With a short deadline to come up with something spectacular, the team repurpose two extant ship designs for totally new jobs.

What are we looking at in the final product? The crab-like space pod was actually designed for a gameplay mechanic that was dropped from the game: capital ship repair. As designed, fleets of drones would be able to skitter around capital ships during defense and attack missions reducing the overall damage. So when the Midway was under siege, repair drones would automatically subtract damage as long as they continued to function… and during capital ship attack missions, you would need to eliminate enemy drones before they could rebuild shield generators, engines, launchers and so on. The feature was dropped from the game fairly late and as a result, a mesh of the original repair drone is still present in the game's files (as is its Nephilim equivalent, see below). The incomplete damage design resulted in one of the game's biggest bugs: the Midway can sustain damage that isn't automatically reset during missions leading to a crash if you try to take off after the ship's launchers have been previously hit. After the capital ship repair feature was cut and the budget for a live action introduction wasn't available, the design became the TOBY drone we're all familiar with!

This just leaves one further question: who is Toby, anyway? Eagle-eyed Wing Commander experts may remember that "TOBI" also appeared in Wing Commander III, the name of the Victory's computer interface and the AI pilot generated by the simulator. What are these references talking about? The original Toby, it turns out, was a dog which belonged to Wing Commander III programmer Alan Perez. Toby would come to work during the development of the game and was beloved by the team… until company policy changed and banned dogs from the office. It's funny how such an ordinary bit of work drama could have such an unexpected impact on the history of the 27th Century!

Distress Beacon In the scene above, the TCS Devereaux launches a distress beacon just before she is destroyed by a Kraken. The beacon launch is very clearly defined and it features pretty detailed shots of both the rocket itself and its launch tube on the research ship. In short, it's clearly supposed to matter! But… does it? Yes: the beacon is intended to be the device which Spyder reports capturing at the end of G'mar G3. During the mission, he contacts Finley to report: "Lieutenant Commander, it's some kind of distress beacon. My computer says it's from a Confed ship, but it's certainly not a newer model. I'm bringing it home." Then, at the end, Anderson repeats this news: "Here's some news, Lieutenant: Delta Wing's retrieved an outlying distress beacon. It's Confed in origin, but not one of the newer models. Even so, it might help us find out a bit more about what we're up against here. And... you're cleared to land." The intended tell was the reference to it being an older model of beacon. It's opaque, though, because it's difficult to immediately connect that back to a ship briefly seen in the introduction.

We went back to earlier game design documents to determine the original plan. In the earliest plans for the game, the player would have picked up the distress beacon themselves in a cut mission after the shipkiller assault. The interaction was moved back to G3 and now happens in the background in the final game. The series description confirms that it is the same distress beacon seen at the start of the game ("The recovery of the distress beacon launched by the doomed Monroe and O'Neil in the Prologue adds further to our heroes' knowledge.") and then the connection would've been explained much more clearly in the next briefing where the game would present to Casey the footage of the intro. The idea here is that the Nephilim's arrival at Kilrah was supposed to be a mystery to the characters themselves and this is where it would've been "revealed". In the final game, this is replaced with a scene where Finley explains she gained this information from the ship killer's database. So the beacon ends up being a bit of an appendix even though the mission designers kept it in there. (The beacon would've also marked an improvement in intel on the aliens, unlocking VDU information and translations of their language. In the finished game this happens much earlier.)

Copernicus It's not quite a 'little guy' but we thought we'd include the 'FMV only' ships in this article. The doomed TCS Devereaux is a Copernicus-class planetological (not a word) research ship. It's destroyed in the introduction and we never really think about it again! Like the drones, the fact that the Devereaux featured prominently in the marketing also felt at odds with its limited role in the story. Another odd cut content element has been found in the portfolio of David Russ: a seeming gameflow menu screen that appears to show the flight deck of the Devereaux complete with a Condor and a TOBY drone ready to launch. It's not known what this was for but it was potentially connected to the game's cut multiplayer scenarios.

Like the TOBY drones, an in-engine version remains in the game's files (though it is broken). And like the TOBY drones, the Copernicus-class originally had a completely different purpose: it was supposed to be a Confederation D-5 Nautilus-class destroyer! In earlier iterations of the game's design, the Midway was supported by a fleet of capital ships that included destroyers, cruisers and a standard fleet carrier. All of these ships had been concepted when the story was changed to cut the Midway off from the rest of the Confederation (though the carrier, now named the TCS Eisen, does appear off screen in act three).

Jump Buoy The standard Confederation jump buoy has gotten an upgrade since Wing Commander IV! The new design looks more like a tiny space station or even a mine.

SAR-23 Condor Shuttle (cut) We see the red (Search & Rescue) and yellow (Refueling) Condors in the finished game but the art list also specifies that the team create a third all purpose shuttle version. There is a Condor shuttle mesh in the game but it is broken and does not display. But the cinematic model was built and appeared in some marketing (though the final coloring may have been more distinct).

CA-31 Mercury Heavy Cruiser (cut) As mentioned above, Wing Commander Prophecy was originally intended to have a fleet of Confederation support ships. The destroyer became the Copernicus planetological research ship and the cruiser, even less complete, was dropped entirely… until Secret Ops where it had a star turn as the Hades-class TCS Cerberus! An incomplete and non-functional version of the mesh is present in the game files.

CV-8 Poseidon Carrier (cut) Is this the TCS Eisen? Maybe. The Poseidon-class carrier was to be the Confederation's standard carrier and, yes, would've filled the role of the Eisen in the initial design of the game. The Poseidon is still present in the game files labeled internally as 'cruiser'.

Cargo Containers (cut) Is it really a 1990s space sim without big, beautiful and boxy cargo containers? Wing Commander Prophecy was originally intended to have a set of three different Confederation cargo containers which would've been used primarily in multiplayer scenarios. Art direction indicates that the three variants, Red Cross, Ammo and Generic, should each have a distinctive identifying logo so that players can identify them by sight during battles. The variants were apparently not completed but a container remains hidden in the game's files.

Kilrathi Mining Facility (cut) Early art lists call for a Kilrathi Mining Facility which was intended as a setpiece in the game's first act. It was one of the first assets cut and no concept artwork is known to have been prepared.

Nephilim Ships

Decoy Emitter Buoy Types 1 & 2 T'lan Meth E1 "Treasure Hunt" asks the player to identify a jamming source from a collection of eighteen Nephiilm buoys, which include seventeen decoy emitter buoys set up by the Nephilim to hide the jamming device you are seeking. Ten of these are of a wholly alien design, six with a flat top and a longer tendril and four with a more rounded top.

Modified Kilrathi Buoy Finally, the asteroid field of buoys in T'lan Meth E1 includes eight of a third, more distinct object which features a central body with distinctly alien tendrils attached. If you look closely at the main structure of these buoys you will see they feature the Kilrathi Empire's insignia. Seven of these are additional decoy emitter buoys while one of these can be scanned and found to contain the mission-winning jamming device. After the mission, you speak to Finley in the briefing room where she is studying a silver metal tube. She says: "Recognize this? It's the transmission assembly from that Confed signal buoy you guys brought back. Ah! No touch!" Adding confusion, there's still the unresolved beacon from the start of the game. It is not related! The intent is that the object Finley is working on is the "signal buoy" which you have recovered. What's confusing (and in error) is the origin of the probe. The very earliest game designs call for a "Confed Spy Eye (Alien Mods)" to be created for the mission and this description is what the FMV script was based on. Later, however, the design was changed to Kilrathi and a line in a briefing from Rachel was added explaining that "best we can tell the source is a Kilrathi signal buoy that's been rigged with a scrambler." Sadly, this line was also dropped and the change was applied only to the art list (from which the team's artists worked) and never applied to the prop description for Finley's scene. So when Finley refers to a "Confed signal buoy" you aren't really sure what she means since you've only seen a distinctly alien one (that has a Kilrathi portion if you look very closely). What's more, you've only heard it referred to as a "signal buoy" if Stiletto wins the mission instead of you!

Confed Spy Eye (Alien Mods) (cut) Early art lists call for the team to develop a Confederation probe for T'lan Meth E1. This was incorrectly replaced with a Kilrathi version in a snafu discussed above. The game's script does continue to refer to the Midway's network of "spy eyes" although they are never seen and no art is known to have been developed.

Repair Ship See the entry above on TOBY drones for the history of the repair ship mechanic. The Nephilim repair ship survives in the game's files and it's a particularly cool design! While it doesn't show up in fight it DOES appear in the game… a little bit too far away to actually see! Seven of them appear in a cutscene that plays after T'lan Meth E4 showing the wormhole gate under construction. The script reads: "MEANWHILE at Kilrah: Alien ships put towers and structure in place around wormhole." Unfortunately, we never get a clear look at the ships themselves: they're just points of light in the distance buzzing around the wormhole gate structures.

Probe (cut) Here's one that doesn't appear in the finished game: a small, octopus-like Nephilim probe. The probe was created for the original design of G'wriss C1 and then T'lan Meth F6 but the unique mechanic it required was ultimately dropped from the game. The original version of the missions designs reads:

(C1) There will be an alien 'spy eye' probe sitting just outside of the Midway NAV point that the player can destroy if he notices it. If the probe is destroyed, the aliens assault on the Midway wll be less effective, and they will be more likely to break formation and run. (F6a) There is a small probe, not unlike the one in Series C, hovering near the Midway which will provide considerable annoyance to the player until he destroys it. He will have a fairly generous time limit in which to kill this probe, and if he does so, will dramatically change the aliens' attack strategy against the Midway. It should be something the player will remember from Series C, and can be used again later, if necessary. Launch: Near the Midway, there is a small probe which allows aliens to track specific damage to the Midway; with this thing alive, the Alien Command back at the starbase can put specific fighters onto specific areas of the Midway. The player has a very limited time to do this (20 seconds?), and it will be difficult and annoying. If he cannot do it, he is told to go on with the mission anyway. If he lingers, the aliens are able to form more formidable formations at Nav 1. If he destroys it, he goes to Nav 1 and the aliens begin attacking the Midway via a direct frontal assault (much more difficult for them). If he cannot destroy it and goes on, he may be able to take out a good number of aliens, but when they finally make it to the Midway they attack vulnerable areas first, making the mission considerably more difficult. This probe will not figure into the success/failure of the mission proper. Launch: A small probe which whips around quickly and is difficult to kill. It will fly according to a pattern, however, and sharp pilots will be able to see pattern and destroy it.

The followup mission that plays if you chose to attack the Kilrathi was intended to feature three probes instead of one! How close was the probe to appearing in the game? Not only is the model still stored in Prophecy's files but the finished mission still references it! Anderson begins the battle with a comm message: "There's an alien probe in the area. We must assume that it could be used to direct an enemy attack against the Midway. Seek and destroy same."

Alien Mines (cut) Larger scale alien mines were originally intended for Series E where they would have protected a jump point from Confederation capital ships. The mission was changed early (and most of the capital ships dropped) which rendered the mines unnecessary. While they do not appear in the game's files, concept artwork was created.

Floating Turret (cut) In the tradition of Wing Commander IV's turret mines, these alien space emplacements would've created additional challenges during capship strikes. They would've likely had some kind of animated turret or turrets. Their mesh survives in the game's files.

Containers (cut) Like the Confederation containers mentioned above, the Nephilim were originally intended to have alien variants for health, ammo and generic purposes. They would've appeared as additional targets in various capship strike missions. No art is known to exist.

author avatar

A Field Guide to the Weapons of the Wing Commander Movie Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

I recently stopped to think about how I had never really seen anyone criticize what has always been one of my least favorite parts of the Wing Commander movie: the 'broadside' scene where Paladin commands the Tiger Claw to defeat a Fralthi by firing a wave of missiles at them at close range as the ships pass each other. It has always seemed weirdly convenient to me as well as seeming to break the internal logic of the world to me; specifically, WHY does the Tiger's Claw have so many torpedo tubes that face to the side, especially if firing them is some sort of unusual trick that maverick Paladin has strategized for the first time. What are they usually for?!

Lately I've found that if I stop to think around things I don't like I often discover new things to consider. So I decided to start thinking about that scene with a simple task to start unraveling the thread: how many missiles does the Tiger Claw actually fire? Is it the thousand it seems like? I went frame by frame and then looked at the contrails on the shot above and was surprised to realize that it's a total of only twelve missiles.

From there I decided to look at the configuration of the missile launchers ("missile ports" I would learn from the Handbook). I realized that my impression that the tubes ran the length of the ship was also wrong, the "starboard battery" that Gerald refers to is actually a distinct section of the midship's superstructure with several distinct groupings of missile launchers. Then, I noticed something that happens too quickly to pick up: we actually see totally separate torpedoes and missiles on the Tiger Claw. In fact, there are two distinct sets for the torpedo room and the missile room! Because of how the movie was re-edited, they show up very close to each other instead of during separate battles. What that tells me is that there was actually something very intentional here that I had been missing all these years!

So what's the story? It turns out that all of the capital ship missiles fired by the Tiger Claw are intended to be anti-fighter batteries. They're arranged up and down the side of the ship's command center and in an ordinary battle they would be fired and maneuver under their own power to whatever they have been targeted at. Essentially, the movie posits that capital ship torpedoes (and skippers) are for long range fighting, missiles are for middle range battle and then point-defense flak is for close defense. The famous 'depth charge' scene is also a case of a capital ship that fired this sort of missile!

Similarly, I know that many people were not fans of the Rapier's large nose-mounted neutron gun. And it's interesting to me how many people remember it as a steampunk-esque slug-throwing weapon similar to Star Citizen's Hornet. When you actually stop to watch the weapons, specifically, the Rapier's big drums actually fire a single, centralized energy bolt that's actually colored after the game's neutron guns. Huh!

This all prompted me to put together the guide to the movie's weapons below. We all know how game developers put together a set of guns and weapons that will be used across all the ships in a given game and we all eagerly read about these systems in the manuals going in. Well, the exact same amount of thought went into making a system for the movie's world and the internal logic the film followed… it just passes by in an instant in the background and you never think about it. I hope this gives you a look at how much complexity went into building the world of the movie! Also, a very special thank you to AD for his research into the different Confederation missiles and then Powell and Whistler for their expertise in identifying the original military hardware used in their construction! We have cool conversations like this EVERY DAY in the Discord, folks!

Tiger Claw missile concept artwork provided to movie licensees.

PART ONE: GUNS

Laser Cannons
The laser cannon shoots a green bolt. It is seen used by the Dralthi and the Fralthi's turrets. The Confederation Handbook says that several other capital ships have turreted lasers but they are never seen being fired: the Thrakhra (2), Ralari (2), Sivar (6), Snakeir (6) and Bengal (8). The Handbook does not list turreted lasers on the Fralthi even though they are seen in the film. The Rapier has a pair of wing mounted lasers which are not fired.

Mass-Driver Cannons
The mass driver is never seen fired in the movie. The Broadsword carries three of them: one in the nose and the other two at the top of its vertical stabilizers.

Dual-Pulse Rotary Barrel Neutron Guns
The neutron gun is probably the most iconic weapon in the movie, forming the muzzle of the CF-117 Rapiers. It fires a blue-purple bolt not dissimilar to the one seen in the original game. The Broadsword has three turreted neutron guns, one amidship on top and two at the bottom of its vertical stabilizers. The Diligent also seems to have dual-pulse rotary barrel neutrons installed in its two gun hardpoints (at the tips of its 'wings').

Point-Defense Guns
Flak guns (also called point-defense missiles) are seen fired by the Sivar dreadnaught that Paladin torpedoes. We do not get a good look at the munition itself. The Confederation Handbook reports that every capital ship with the exception of the ConCom has point-defense guns: Ralari (15), Fralthi (18), Bengal (22), Sivar (23), Concordia (30), Snakeir (42), Pegasus (200).

Antimatter Guns
Like the neutron gun, the antimatter gun is very similar to the color seen in the game, a blue-white bolt. They are seen fired by the Concordia at the Kilrathi fleet. The Confederation Handbook says that several capital ships have antimatter guns: Ralari (2), Fralthi (3), Concordia (4) and Pegasus (200). The antimatter guns defending Pegasus are in turrets paired with point-defense missile launchers.

Tractor Beam
A tractor beam is seen used by a Broadsword to rescue Blair at the end of the movie. The Diligent also has a tractor beam mounted directly below its cockpit, though it is not used.

PART TWO: MISSILES

Confederation Fighter Missiles
A variety of missile types are seen aboard the Rapier and stored aboard the Tiger Claw's flight deck at various points. The specific missiles carried by the Rapiers seem to change from mission to mission, with common loadouts being two red (above) and two yellow-tipped (below) or four red-tipped missiles. In the movie, Rapiers seem to carry four visible missiles while the Confederation Handbook says they can carry as many as ten. The novelization notes that Blair is carrying Darts, Spiculums and Pilums at one point. The Broadsword also carries three missiles.

Missile #1: These are the missiles most commonly seen on the Rapiers. They have red tipped warheads with clear stripes. They are built from Soviet R-60 air-to-air missiles.

Missile #2: Variant of Missile #1 with a clear warhead with yellow stripes.These are occasionally mounted on the lower hardpoints on Rapiers.

Missile #3: Pointed missiles with black tips, two red stripes and one yellow. These were built from British Sea Wolf surface-to-air missiles. Seen on carts and racks on the Tiger Claw flight deck.

Missile #4: A finned missile with a red warhead. These were built from British Seacat surface-to-air missiles.

Missile #5: Gray launchers seen stacked on the deck in various places. These were built from Soviet UB-16 rocket launchers rocket pods but it is not clear whether they are definitely intended to be missile launchers in the movie.

Behind-the-scenes footage has also shown a rack of olive drab Firestreak missiles with their fins removed which are labeled "GAM-6C". These missiles have not been identified in the movie itself; it's possible they were present because they were removed from the English Electric Lightings.

Bomber Torpedoes
The Broadsword bomber carries four external torpedoes slung around its fuselage. Paladin fires them at a Sivar dreadnought during the Kilrathi ambush. These torpedoes are visually distinct from the large ones used by the carrier itself. The Confederation Handbook incorrectly lists the Broadsword as carrying only two torpedoes.

Kilrathi Fighter Missiles
According to the script, the Dralthi 'dive bombing' Pegasus are firing missiles. We don't get a clear view of the munitions. The KF-100 Dralthi has hardpoints for four missiles.

Confederation Capital Ship Missile
The Tiger Claw has port and starboard missile batteries capable of firing an array of ranged defensive missiles; Paladin has twelve of them fired at once to destroy the Fralthi at the end of the movie. Except in the case of Pegasus (300), the Confederation Handbook does not distinguish between missile ports and torpedo tubes. As a result, the Bengal (40) and the Concordia (50) are both listed as having high numbers of torpedo tubes. While the more specific breakdown is unknown for the Concordia, the Tiger Claw deck plans suggest that each missile battery has 16 ports (arranged 3-2-2-3-3-3) for a total of 32. The movie features a unique missile room set on the Tiger Claw which is seen towards the end of the film.

Confederation NX-125 Torpedo
Torpedoes are a larger version of those fired by the Broadswords but instead of locking at close range they are the longest-ranged weapon, fired at the start of a battle. Torpedoes are seen fired from both the Tiger Claw (in both major battles) and the Concordia (in the final fleet ambush). The Tiger Claw has a torpedo room which is distinct from its missile room. The torpedo room is seen preparing weapons before both battles. Four torpedo tubes are mentioned during the movie aboard the Tiger Claw and it is believed it has eight total (though the diagram on the deck plans is not completely clear how they are configured).

Confederation Drone
Drones are seen twice in the movie: one is launched by Pegasus in the opening with a message to Admiral Tolwyn and the second is launched by the Tiger Claw to distract the Kilrathi from its hiding place in an asteroid.

Kilrathi Capital Ship Missile
According to the script, the famous 'depth charge' dropped by the Ralari is actually a missile. A close review of the scene confirms this: after being fired by the Ralari it activates its own thrusters and maneuvers independently to its target. The Confederation Handbook lists missile ports and torpedo tubes together as the latter but lists the Ralari as carrying eight.

Kilrathi Capital Ship Torpedo
Torpedoes are fired by the Sivar in the first battle and then the Fralthi during the finale. The Confederation Handbook lists missile ports and torpedo tubes together as the latter but assigns them to all of the Kilrathi capital ships: Ralari (8), Fralthi (8), Thrakhra (10), Sivar (12) and Snakeir (14).

K459-C Ultra-Long-Range Phased Photon-Cloak Torpedo aka "Skipper Missile"
The Skipper Missile plays a major role in the movie's climax as Angel sacrifices here fighter to destroy one and save the Tiger Claw. The Skipper was entirely computer generated.

author avatar

Wing Leader Improves Explosions & Adds Neat Translation Effect Update ID Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Here's a couple of impressive videos that show off Howard Day's latest graphical wonders in Wing Leader. The first clip is a neat trick where the dashboard text translates from Kilrathi into English as you swap into the cockpit view. There are also some additional sparks and fire effects that accompany damage and destroyed objects. Pretty stuff!
Wing Leader update! Thanks to some goofy-ass string coding and the use of the "Circle Number" Unicode character set (⓪ ① ② ③), I've got auto-translate working in Kilrathi cockpits! Every time the camera angle switches, the text changes to English. It's pretty nifty. Enjoy!
Okay, so I spent some time on Friday to make some sparks for the explosions - I also set up the debris to have flickering fire on it when it first explodes! I'm locking the scale of the facing cards, and scaling/offsetting the UVs to do hardcoded scaled pre-made sprites!

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