Could it be a good thing that there haven't been any more WC games?

[Vinman]

It's been eight years since the last new Wing Commander game was released, and since then our minds have wandered and created our own ideas of what the next game should be like.

Nothing could live up to our expectations, and the series will never go on the way it had. Honestly, do you think EA would pay the millions needed for live-action FMVs?

Just look at the design documents for Privateer Online. Loads of background characters died, there was a connection established between the Steltek and Nephilim and for crying out loud, Casey got killed by his clone.

Does anyone honestly believe that there is there room in the Wing Commander universe for bands of privateers searching for magic crystals? Perhaps it is for the best that the future of the Wing Commander franchise has been left to the fans.

 

[t.c.cgi]

It's been eight years since the last new Wing Commander game was released, and since then our minds have wandered and created our own ideas of what the next game should be like.

I've discovered, recently, that my expectations are always unrealistic, mostly fueled by hype and ramblings of people not associated with actual production. So, I've stopped having expectations at all. I think the majority of the Wing Commander fandom that has been loyal has matured to the point of where most of us are ready to accept whatever comes next.

Nothing could live up to our expectations, and the series will never go on the way it had. Honestly, do you think EA would pay the millions needed for live-action FMVs?

I don't expect live-action at all. Live action was a great choice of the second half of the Wing Commander franchise because the human body has always been perfect at nuances of acting and body language, and never, ever looks unrealistic or dated (costumes and hairstyles aside). CG has only very recently been able to grasp the details of human acting, and in that vein, I think CG cinematics would be great. I mean, have you seen the CG characters and cutscenes in the Darkstar One demo? Imagine if EA went to bat at it! It would likely blow that out of the water.

 

[Vinman]

I don't expect live-action at all. Live action was a great choice of the second half of the Wing Commander franchise because the human body has always been perfect at nuances of acting and body language, and never, ever looks unrealistic or dated (costumes and hairstyles aside). CG has only very recently been able to grasp the details of human acting, and in that vein, I think CG cinematics would be great. I mean, have you seen the CG characters and cutscenes in the Darkstar One demo? Imagine if EA went to bat at it! It would likely blow that out of the water.

I suppose that could work, but the main reason I worry about the series' future are the Privateer Online design documents. I'd rather there be no Wing Commander 6 (7?) than a game that takes the series to an awful new place.

 

[Sarty]

Nothing could live up to our expectations, and the series will never go on the way it had. Honestly, do you think EA would pay the millions needed for live-action FMVs?

Why not? We already know they are for C&C3. Despite the internet's claims, EA is not stupid. They won't completely disregard everything that made WC successful once they decide its time to make a new one. I for one think WC will be in good hands when it's time comes.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

I don't even miss my legs!

This is silly -- no Wing Commander product has ever matched what fans 'wanted'... and always, always for the best. Wing Commander Genesis or Wing Commander 7 or Privateer Online or whatever they end up calling it will be exactly the same -- something new that brings us out of our incestous little cycles.

The great things about new stories is specifically that they come from people who aren't hardcore fans -- from Ellen Guon redefining how we viewed the universe in Wing Commander II to William Forstchen adding his military sci-fi elements to the series to Wing Commander III basically knocking down every visual element in the series and rebuilding it from the ground up.

Fan projects are great... but they're ultimately a circle - Standoff is great because it references what we already know, not because it adds some amazing new block of Wing Commanderity. And by the very nature of fan made work, they never *can* do that and still work. We need a new game to change -- to improve -- how we think about everything... and saying otherwise is just sour grapes.

And damn, what a sad thing to think in the first place -- because something *might* not be good that we should never try anything? How would that ever work?

 

[Vinman]

And damn, what a sad thing to think in the first place -- because something *might* not be good that we should never try anything? How would that ever work?

I just fear that the same sort of thing that happened to C&C, Starlancer or Star Wars, I can't replay Command & Conquer now that I've seen that there are going to be space aliens, GDI AT-ATs and Orca command airships. I don't want to see that everything that I did meant nothing like Freelancer revealed about Starlancer. I can't watch Star Wars without thinking of the obnoxious ass that Vader was before his transformation into an interesting character.

What I'd really like to see is the series continue where Secret Ops left off, where Confed could launch an epeditionary force into alien space or something like that. I really don't want to jump ahead 30 years to see Casey dead and Confed seaching for Steltek crystals.

 

[ChrisReid]

I just fear that the same sort of thing that happened to C&C, Starlancer or Star Wars, I can't replay Command & Conquer now that I've seen that there are going to be space aliens, GDI AT-ATs and Orca command airships.

That's ridiculous. Aside from the fact that the very first C&C talked about the Tiberium being some sort of space-borne organism and included a trailer with "AT-ATs" in C&C2, you have to be pretty daft to let one game you don't like destroy a game that you do like. Stick to freakin Minesweeper if you're so emotionally invested that the mere suggestion of change ruins the entire series for you.

What I'd really like to see is the series continue where Secret Ops left off, where Confed could launch an epeditionary force into alien space or something like that. I really don't want to jump ahead 30 years to see Casey dead and Confed seaching for Steltek crystals.

Sounds like you should cut your losses and abandon ship now. In all likelihood, the next Wing Commander game will not pick up exactly where you want it to.

 

[Lt.Death100]

That's ridiculous. Aside from the fact that the very first C&C talked about the Tiberium being some sort of space-borne organism and included a trailer with "AT-ATs" in C&C2, you have to be pretty daft to let one game you don't like destroy a game that you do like. Stick to freakin Minesweeper if you're so emotionally invested that the mere suggestion of change ruins the entire series for you.

That and Lucasarts flooded the market with mediocre games. No similarity there.

Sounds like you should cut your losses and abandon ship now. In all liklihood, the next Wing Commander game will not pick up exactly where you want it to.

Yeah, just like Privateer 2 it could take place hundreds of years after the last WC game. (which is very likely IMO)

 

[Vinman]

That's stupid. Aside from the fact that the very first C&C talked about the tiberium being some sort of space-borne organism and including a trailer for "AT-ATs" in C&C2, you have to be pretty daft to let one game you don't like destroy a game that you do like. Freelancer is so far removed that if you somehow let that game ruin Starlancer for you, you have no business playing games period.



Then don't. We'll certainly lose nothing by failing to socialize with so-called fans whose enjoyment of the entire franchise is at risk because of vague possibilities concerning the future.

I suppose I'm an idiot. I admit that they are all unique, but at the same time, all the Wing Commander games follow a similar thread, and at this point I don't know if anyone involved in the previous games will be involved. I'm not trying to offend anyone, and I don't know why you are so quick to call me names. I just don't think a whole new team with new demands from the market could create a game that faithfully continues the timeline.

The gameplay mechanics of Wing Commander are for the most part unchanged since 1990, and games that follow that mechanic since Prophecy haven't done very well. What is going to be added? New species? Bigger ships? Warp gates? Light speed? Interactive holograms? Will joysticks even be supported?

Wing Commander isn't just a game, it is a story, it is a universe, and we have sunk hundreds, even thousands of hours immersed in it, and I don't want to see it irreperably damaged so it will be the next vapid hit like MechAssault.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

I suppose I'm an idiot. I admit that they are all unique, but at the same time, all the Wing Commander games follow a similar thread, and at this point I don't know if anyone involved in the previous games will be involved. I'm not trying to offend anyone, and I don't know why you are so quick to call me names. I just don't think a whole new team with new demands from the market could create a game that faithfully continues the timeline.

The document you're bitching about *was* written by an important member of the Prophecy/Secret Ops team.

The fact of the matter is that no one cares about the 'timeline' the way fans do -- up to and including all the famous Wing Commander developers you can name. The 'modern' Wing Commander timeline as-considered-by-fans is simply something that has gelled together through our discussions -- and it will be vastly improved by adding any new fodder for debate.

The gameplay mechanics of Wing Commander are for the most part unchanged since 1990, and games that follow that mechanic since Prophecy haven't done very well. What is going to be added? New species? Bigger ships? Warp gates? Light speed? Interactive holograms? Will joysticks even be supported?

You're not thinking like a game designer or a game buyer. None of the things you named are saleable features -- no one but the few thousand existing Wing Commander fans care about new species or how they technobabble out faster than light travel. Wing Commander 7 will sell itself based on things like adding multiplayer or more interesting space environments or some attempt to cash in on 1990s nostalgia.

Wing Commander isn't just a game, it is a story, it is a universe, and we have sunk hundreds, even thousands of hours immersed in it, and I don't want to see it irreperably damaged so it will be the next vapid hit like MechAssault.

It is and always has been what fans made it. People complained about the movie, about Prophecy, about WCIV, about the novels, about Privateer 2... and all of those things are normal parts of the continuity now. We created our current reality.

The reason you're being called names is because you aren't making any sense -- people should give up on Wing Commander based on... nothing at all?

If there's a 'bad' Wing Commander game, we'll integrate it just like we did so many other controversial releases (which is every single one, because people complaining about games being 'different' is a *constant*).