Cinescape Magazine Has Wing Commander Roots (March 26, 2006)

[ChrisReid]

It turns out that of the biggest printed promoters of the Wing Commander movie in 1999, Cinescape, actually has a history with the series that dates back to its very first issue in October 1994. The cover story at the time was the upcoming Star Trek Generations film featuring Malcolm McDowell, but just a few weeks later, Origin was set to make gaming history with the release of Wing Commander 3. Cinescape debuted its Gamescape section with a full preview of what was to be the best selling title in the Wing Commander franchise. The extensive use of live actor FMV was big news, and the game's incredible graphics also got a nod. WC3's green screen technology and cool Kilrathi animatronic costumes were explored in detail. Special features on Mark Hamill and other space sims of interest to WC fans also rounded out the package. With the modern internet still in its infancy in 1994, a preview such as this was about the only way for Wing Commander fans to learn about the exciting things to come.

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The filming of all the possible variations makes the pace of filming much slower than a regular movie. Depending on the choice the player makes, Blair's response is quite different. The dialogue is mapped out and acted in rapid succession.

The filming is extensive. At this middle stage of shooting, the already filmed clips were being contained on a nine Gigabyte drive that was full (that's the equivalent of the Random House Unabridged Dictionary multiplied by 10). A second had arrived and was in the process of being filled with additional footage, much of which would end up on the silicion equivalent of the cutting room floor.

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Original update published on March 26, 2006