Okay, now first let me explain that while I am a newbie to these forums I have been with Wing Commander a long time. I still have the magazine I first a Wing Commander in, a very old issue of PC World advertising Wing Commander back in 1990. I have played every game since and while I may not know as much as Loaf I do know alot about the series. I even read a lot of books, but stopped after the WC4 book due to time constraints, heck I still have all the original games and books, and I do mean all of them.
Now onto the reason for this post. I have been reading the forum for some time. I have notices a large number of debates concerning various topics and have drawn certain conclusions, perhaps others may back me up and come to the same conclusion. The first theory has to do with the color scheme of the WIng Commander Fighters.
Game: Main Color: Starting Sector:
Wing 1 Green Vega
Wing 2 Green Enigma
Privateer Grey Gemini
Wing3 Blue/Grey Epsilon
Wing 4 (confed) Blue/Grey Sol
WC4 BW Red Epsilon (Border Worlds)
Prophecy Grey Kilrah
Now my theory regarding the color schemes has to do with sector commands or commanding admirals.
In Wing 1 you were assigned to the Vega fleet under Tolwyn (Secret Missions Manuals) and almost all the ships had a distinct Green color scheme. The most notable that did not were the Scimitar and the Drayman. These are easily explained, transports do not always belong to a fleet so the draymans could easily be a different color. The Scimitars are older fighters, much older, probably predating the Kilrathi war and most likely wear the color scheme of an older fleet or sector command.
In Wing 2 you were assigned to Epsilon Sector, again under Tolwyn, once you reached the Concordia. Again the green color, perhaps this was Tolwyns fleet color during the war, or the COncordia was originally assigned to Vega or maybe Enigma and Vega sectors share color schemes. The craft that do not follow the trend here are the Ferret (older fighter, probably older fleet marking, or ISS markings). The Crossbow which wore a blue and grey scheme probably due to its protorype nature or testing in Sol Sector. And, the Morning Star which had a grey and red scheme, which were most likely prototype markings. Prototypes rarely if ever belong to a specific fleet or combat command.
In Wing 3 you start out in Epsilon Sector and we start into the Blue/Grey color scheme. This applied to virtually all confed craft seen in Wing 3. Before anyone says it, yes you do venture into Vega Sector and you are under the command of Tolwyn. But it is possible that Tolwyn was given command of all military operations, which I believe he was, or possibly just all frontline operations, not sure, will have to check. Also, the victory is an older ship, probably an old ship from Sol sector which would explain the color scheme, and why the Behemoth would have the same color scheme. The Behemoth was probably built and tested in Sol Sector so was decorated in its colors.
Privateer, oops out of order. Confed craft in Priv wore a primarily grey color scheme, but had various colored markings. This is probably the result of craft being brought in from other sectors. Gemini was a hot sector, but most of the major battles at the time were taking place down in Vega and Epsilon Sectors. So, while all the new harware was being shipped down to the hot sectors, the older gear was being sent to Gemini.
Armada, forgot to put it in the chart sorry. Armada was a deep strike mission into Kilrathi Territory. The ships wear the typical grey/blue of Wing 3 and privateer. I think this means that the ships were under command of Sol sector or possibly Epsilon Sector Commands. If we are to assume that the Armada game is Angels mission into Kilrah that makes sense, she sets up the Kilrathi to be killed later on. It would also explain the craft used, but that is for a different thread.
Wing 4 starts out in Sol Sector, that is where you deploy from, so most ships will have the grey/blue scheme that Sol command uses. There were exceptions though. These can for the most part be explained by military budget cuts, and the funding of Tolwyns black projects. Hellcats had yellow markings in WC4, possibly pulled from the same command as the stilletos in Priv. The T-Bolts had red markings, may have belonged to the same command that gemini got its Gladius' from. And the Bearcat had orange markings, most likely prototype markings, but might also be because of their intended use against the Border Worlds, a sort of Camoflague.
Also in Wing 4 we had the border worlds. The Border World craft wore a red scheme for the most part. Something almost unique to them and it might explain where those Gladius' and T-Bolts came from originally. Even their capships wear the red scheme. The only exception to this is the gladius, which wore blue markings. The game and books portray the Border Worlds as beings the red haired step child, this would explain the Vindicator, it is a hand me down from Sol sector, something old for in atmosphere work primarily.
Now on to Privateer/SO. Again the grey color scheme for most craft, but with some changes. While most of the cap ships wore a grey with blue scheme, the fighters varied. This is probably a result of a new command layout. Ships belong to a fleet, but fighters belong to a squadron, which in turn belongs to a fleet. Confed probably decided to do away with fighters bearing a fleets color scheme and decided to the let the squadrons choose their own schemes. Marking stripes in Prophecy and SO range from whites and yellows to dark reds, blacks and purples. So it makes sense that Confed probably allowed squadrons more liberties in marking their fighters after the war. It could also be a sign of the fighters from Prophecy having a more test nature to them. Let's face it, the carriers are new ships, and are untested and the fighters are almost all brand new, so they may still wear their old prototype markings, getting them and the new ship to function being more key than making sure they match official fleet colors.
Well those are my thoughts on the subject. Let me know what you think.
Now onto the reason for this post. I have been reading the forum for some time. I have notices a large number of debates concerning various topics and have drawn certain conclusions, perhaps others may back me up and come to the same conclusion. The first theory has to do with the color scheme of the WIng Commander Fighters.
Game: Main Color: Starting Sector:
Wing 1 Green Vega
Wing 2 Green Enigma
Privateer Grey Gemini
Wing3 Blue/Grey Epsilon
Wing 4 (confed) Blue/Grey Sol
WC4 BW Red Epsilon (Border Worlds)
Prophecy Grey Kilrah
Now my theory regarding the color schemes has to do with sector commands or commanding admirals.
In Wing 1 you were assigned to the Vega fleet under Tolwyn (Secret Missions Manuals) and almost all the ships had a distinct Green color scheme. The most notable that did not were the Scimitar and the Drayman. These are easily explained, transports do not always belong to a fleet so the draymans could easily be a different color. The Scimitars are older fighters, much older, probably predating the Kilrathi war and most likely wear the color scheme of an older fleet or sector command.
In Wing 2 you were assigned to Epsilon Sector, again under Tolwyn, once you reached the Concordia. Again the green color, perhaps this was Tolwyns fleet color during the war, or the COncordia was originally assigned to Vega or maybe Enigma and Vega sectors share color schemes. The craft that do not follow the trend here are the Ferret (older fighter, probably older fleet marking, or ISS markings). The Crossbow which wore a blue and grey scheme probably due to its protorype nature or testing in Sol Sector. And, the Morning Star which had a grey and red scheme, which were most likely prototype markings. Prototypes rarely if ever belong to a specific fleet or combat command.
In Wing 3 you start out in Epsilon Sector and we start into the Blue/Grey color scheme. This applied to virtually all confed craft seen in Wing 3. Before anyone says it, yes you do venture into Vega Sector and you are under the command of Tolwyn. But it is possible that Tolwyn was given command of all military operations, which I believe he was, or possibly just all frontline operations, not sure, will have to check. Also, the victory is an older ship, probably an old ship from Sol sector which would explain the color scheme, and why the Behemoth would have the same color scheme. The Behemoth was probably built and tested in Sol Sector so was decorated in its colors.
Privateer, oops out of order. Confed craft in Priv wore a primarily grey color scheme, but had various colored markings. This is probably the result of craft being brought in from other sectors. Gemini was a hot sector, but most of the major battles at the time were taking place down in Vega and Epsilon Sectors. So, while all the new harware was being shipped down to the hot sectors, the older gear was being sent to Gemini.
Armada, forgot to put it in the chart sorry. Armada was a deep strike mission into Kilrathi Territory. The ships wear the typical grey/blue of Wing 3 and privateer. I think this means that the ships were under command of Sol sector or possibly Epsilon Sector Commands. If we are to assume that the Armada game is Angels mission into Kilrah that makes sense, she sets up the Kilrathi to be killed later on. It would also explain the craft used, but that is for a different thread.
Wing 4 starts out in Sol Sector, that is where you deploy from, so most ships will have the grey/blue scheme that Sol command uses. There were exceptions though. These can for the most part be explained by military budget cuts, and the funding of Tolwyns black projects. Hellcats had yellow markings in WC4, possibly pulled from the same command as the stilletos in Priv. The T-Bolts had red markings, may have belonged to the same command that gemini got its Gladius' from. And the Bearcat had orange markings, most likely prototype markings, but might also be because of their intended use against the Border Worlds, a sort of Camoflague.
Also in Wing 4 we had the border worlds. The Border World craft wore a red scheme for the most part. Something almost unique to them and it might explain where those Gladius' and T-Bolts came from originally. Even their capships wear the red scheme. The only exception to this is the gladius, which wore blue markings. The game and books portray the Border Worlds as beings the red haired step child, this would explain the Vindicator, it is a hand me down from Sol sector, something old for in atmosphere work primarily.
Now on to Privateer/SO. Again the grey color scheme for most craft, but with some changes. While most of the cap ships wore a grey with blue scheme, the fighters varied. This is probably a result of a new command layout. Ships belong to a fleet, but fighters belong to a squadron, which in turn belongs to a fleet. Confed probably decided to do away with fighters bearing a fleets color scheme and decided to the let the squadrons choose their own schemes. Marking stripes in Prophecy and SO range from whites and yellows to dark reds, blacks and purples. So it makes sense that Confed probably allowed squadrons more liberties in marking their fighters after the war. It could also be a sign of the fighters from Prophecy having a more test nature to them. Let's face it, the carriers are new ships, and are untested and the fighters are almost all brand new, so they may still wear their old prototype markings, getting them and the new ship to function being more key than making sure they match official fleet colors.
Well those are my thoughts on the subject. Let me know what you think.
