Wing Commander Test Footage Reveals Kilrathi Point of View

All the way through pre to post-production, the crew working on the Wing Commander feature film explored the idea of giving the Kilrathi a unique point of view. Before shooting, the crew at Digital Anvil experimented with some basic effects using footage shot around their offices to get a feel for the styles they might like to use.

This clip features some of that early footage plus some of the post-production tests done to hone in on just the right kind of look. Possibly taking inspiration from things such as Predator's heat vision, the Terminator's information readouts, or the POV shots from the Alien's perspective in Alien 3, they ran many different passes with differing levels of distortion and color correction to make various highlights stand out. Keen observers will also notice the statue of Sivar that sits at the heart of the Snakeir bridge.

The crew also explored the idea of giving the Confederation Marines a helmet HUD and infrared enhanced vision. The opening clip is that test (which you'll notice actually is the same shot as the following green Kilrathi view, just treated differently).

Nephilim Carrier Coming to Secret Ops MUP

Look! Up in the stars! It's a Zucchini! It's a battlestar! It's an Osprey... wait... it's a Leviathan! Coming soon to a MUP release near you! We're adding another of Dark Sentinel's buggy masterpieces! Fear the enormity of the Nephilim carrier - packed to the gills with 14 maser and 14 IMREC turrets as well as enough bug fighters to keep you busy for about a year.

These Wasps Pack a Sting... And They're Fast Too!

The Wasp version that was tested in-game copies pretty well the workings of the Prophecy engine. It has a limited amount of Swarmer salvoes that will use different clusters from each shot - using the high-definition Swarmer missile made for the MUP - until it spends all of them and goes back to normal missiles or reloads at the carrier. In addition, it can use its one-time booster to get its top speed multiplied by 5 for a few seconds, giving it the famous capability to intercept bombers or missiles at standoff ranges. Once used, the booster will disappear, to be refurbished for a small resource expense.

Overall, it should fit really well its role, with a focus on the high-value targets and a very fast speed when needed. It will probably be nerfed by a sub-par agility and speed outside boost mode as well as a low fuel reserve to limit its deployment range to the immediate proximity of a carrier.

Oh, and a big thanks to DefianceIndustries and Dark Sentinel for their work on the MUP and for letting me use one of their assets to check the viability of the code.

Know Your ABCs (Amusing Bulgarian Commercials)

Germans Love Their Wing Commander

...with Heinrich Lenhardt (Founder Powerplay, Founder PC Player, Co Founder Gamestar) with Privateer 2 Background - the Bar ;D

Kilrathi Invade German Convention

I think the cosplayers (cosplayerinnen?) are 2 sisters. Totally on point! It looks like there are even paw pads on the paws! They're downright menacing!

WCSO Model Upgrade Pack Gets Enhanced Lighting & Bigger Better Models

So this thread has been quiet for a bit, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy. We're hard at work getting a new package ready as a holiday gift for loyal MUPpets. This new package addresses a number of defects identified in alpha 4.0 as well as adding some improvements to improve stability and a bunch of new graphical options that we intend to implement over the next few releases. One of the improvements we're most keen about is Iridescence. Now bug fighters will reflect different colors depending on their position from you and the angle of the light, giving the Nephilim hulls a more alien appearance as well as finally capturing that chitinous effect we see in the promotional renders! Here is a Work-in-progress shot that Dark Sentinel is working on with the Ray Node. You can expect most of the Bug fighters to get a facelift in the next patch.

Of course we haven't neglected new assets either - Now that we have emit mapping, we're able to really punch up the dated models (starbases especially) As Frosty himself says, "I’ve always wanted to see the Ella starbase, big enough to house the Midway between her landing bays. Supposed to be quite a sight." I'll leave it to you to decide if this qualifies... There will also be a few more assets to announce prior to launch. Stay tuned!

Wing Commander Meme of the Day: Skill Tree

Now how do we weaponize this for the cockpit?