Announcing Wing Commander Pioneer (August 11, 2005)

[Grey_Ghost]

you know, it would be cool to make a "real" wc game with this engine. not a privateer one, but a wc game with missions and all that

A remake of WC1&2/Expansions would be great. I can't adjust to playing them in their Pixelated glory anymore.

Was the Drayman a strictly military ship? Seems like THE ship for an ultra serious merchant.

 

[BradMick]

Are you talking about the military ships or the player ships Eder?

Because, i'd say the Corvettes, the Valiant, and the Player ships are all pretty unique, there are nods to stuff in them, yes, but overall unlike a lot stuff in the universe.

As are the Kilrathi craft nice and unique as well.

 

[Eder]

I mean mostly the Corsair, Wildcat and Hauler... well, the only human fighter I'm really fond of is the Minotaur - but that's probably because I love both the Raptor and the Broadsword.

And yes, the Kilrathi ships, the pirate fighter, and the human capships are all really good - it's just the fighters that annoy me... you could probably get away with them if you didn't have the WC1 ships in the game as well, but I think they need a little more character if you're going to be seeing them side by side with those.

You know, more experimentation, less ties with just those four WC1 ships. Throw in some elements of other ships from that era.

 

[BradMick]

well, the only confed ships that will be in this game, and will be pretty much only seen in the only confed system in the landreich are the Hornet and Venture. Since Confed doesn't really have a presence out here in the Landreich at this point in time. We probably should have clarified that.

the ship list goes -

Flyable

Hunchback
Tarsus
Hauler (looking for a name)
Minotaur (looking for a new name)
Fighter (looking for a name)

Non-Flyable

Landreich

Wildcat
Hurricane
Scimitar (the WCA armerment version with 2 lasers)
Corsair
Valiant Class Destroyer
Granicus Class Medium Corvette
Falcon Class Light Corvette

Confed

Hornet
Scimitar (forgot this one, the WC1 version)
Venture
Diligent
Drayman

Kilrathi

Dralthi
Jalthi
Salthi
Dorkir
Lumbari
Ralari
'Viking' Raider Corvette
'Blackgaurd' Raider (formerly the Vralthi)

Other

Pirate Fighter (looking for a name)

'Ship 1'
'Ship 2'

for those wondering 'what is 'ship 1' and 'ship 2'?', you'll know before long. They're some fun ships we've got in the pipe.

 

[Howard Day]

Okay.
So, guys - I see where you're coming from on this, I do. But here's the thing - these ships are finished, completed, and we need to move on to other things. Now we may come back to them in the future - but they're going to stay as is for right now. In other news, we had some minor feedback from various places, and we've decided to change the Landriech colors. The flat, matte black is probably the cause, at least partly, of the ships looking bland. The other thing that occured to me, is that these ships were presented withour any guns/weapons. Now last night I built some generic laser cannons (subject to change slightly) and put them on the Wildcat. I really like the way it looks.

Another change that we made: we altered the engine glows/texture so that they are more interesting than those dull orange glows that all the human fighters were sporting.

I personally like all the changes, and I hope you guys do too.

 

[Eder]

That looks a thousand times better than the black paint scheme... but I think the St. Andrew's Cross would probably look better in red (even if you have to keep a white border around it). The white one strikes me as Scotland, instead of Landreich.

 

[Howard Day]

Hmmm. Scotland's not a bad thing...I'll talk to Brad, se what he thinks. I personally like the white St Andrews cross - but that's just me. I got real tired of the old one.

 

[Bob McDob]

So, guys - I see where you're coming from on this, I do. But here's the thing - these ships are finished, completed, and we need to move on to other things. N

Well, let's face it - when your entire presense is based around your ship designs you really can't be surprised when it becomes the main focus of the thread That said, burying the hatchet for a bit, the new paint scheme looks great.

 

[Howard Day]

Heh - true, Bob. I shouldn't have been surprised.
Anyway, on a more explosive note - I've compiled some explosions for those Standoff guys - they definately need some improvement in that area - and came up with these. Since they'll also be going into Pioneer, I figured I give you a look at what happens when things go boom...

General explosions/Missile Hits
http://www.hedfiles.net/wcpioneer/Standoff1.mov
http://www.hedfiles.net/wcpioneer/Standoff2.mov

Final Kill!!! (My favorite!)
http://www.hedfiles.net/wcpioneer/Standoff3.mov

Enjoy!

 

[AD]

I give you a look at what happens when things go boom...

Hmm.. Very pretty, but I have reservations about how they would work in actual gameplay. They are all slowed down a bit too much I think for real time gameplay. They might look good for when a capship blows up though as they wouldnt need to coincide with weapons hits but are rather a succession of explosions when the ship finally breaks up.

 

[Maj.Striker]

Brad...what about the Raptor for Confed fighters???

 

[ChrisReid]

Yeah, I do have to say the new paint scheme is a big improvement. I agree with what Eder said, that in their first announced form, all the similar dark blue ships had a little trouble defining some character.

 

[BradMick]

Nope, no Raptor. The ships we chose are more low key ones, stuff you would expect to see out on the Frontier. Something that is head and shoulders above anything the Landreich has. Since all the Landreich stuff is pre-war vintage. Confed just doesn't have that kind of a presence out here.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

That without twisting everything around theres no way you can reasonably fit together every part of the WC3 novel and the game

Can you cite some sort of actual claim that we can debate about? It seems really hard to claim that the WC3 novel isn't derived directly from the WC3 game...

 

[Howard Day]

Or better yet, take it to another thread?

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Well, he seems to think it has something to do with your project. If it really doesn't, I can split the thread.

 

[Howard Day]

I don't think it does. I think he started this tangent with that comment I made about the 4+ Tiger's Claw designs. Nothing to do with Pioneer, I think.

 

[Howard Day]

As for the explosions, they can be set to play however fast we want them to. These are just examples. I personally like longer more dramatic explosions - for the sheer fact that I'm a pyromaniac.

 

[Sylvester]

Nope, no Raptor. The ships we chose are more low key ones, stuff you would expect to see out on the Frontier. Something that is head and shoulders above anything the Landreich has. Since all the Landreich stuff is pre-war vintage. Confed just doesn't have that kind of a presence out here.

The Raptor is a rather old design (In service for at least twenty years, per their use during the battle of McAulliffe.) It is possible that older models of the fighter that have been phased out could of found their way into the hands of the Landriech.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

The Raptor is a rather old design (In service for at least twenty years, per their use during the battle of McAulliffe.) It is possible that older models of the fighter that have been phased out could of found their way into the hands of the Landriech.

I believe 2639 is the earliest appearance of the Raptor-class.