Watch WC Evolution in Phil's Lab (April 20, 2024)

[ChrisReid]

PhilsComputerLab has another novel video that looks at the WC series from a new angle. The focus of this episode is to emphasize the evolutionary leaps that each iteration in the series made. It's a great topic to discuss, because it's probably harder for later generations to appreciate. It's easy to look at the four year gap between WC1 and WC3 and say, "Wow," but there was a lot of technological advancement happening that drove all that. The expected conventions of game design were ever-changing as well. Check it out below, and thanks to thp for the tip!

The Wing Commander games are a great example to showcase how the PC has evolved in the short span of just 7 years from 1990 to 1997.

One correction: WC3 was 1994 (on PC), not 1995, and I definitely would not have called its reception "mixed." At the time of its release, WC3 was tied for PC Gamer's highest rated game of all time, among many other similar accolades. 24 fps was also really good for an SVGA game in 1994.

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Original update published on April 20, 2024

 

[wcnut]

24 fps was also really good for an SVGA game in 1994.

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Original update published on April 20, 2024

Oh most definitely. I remember games like Rebel Assault running seemingly worse that that. I think people easily forget how different the world was like back then. PC's were not that common in every household. And the ones that did generally were not that powerful. Also I'm pretty certain a framerate of 24 in the world of CRT monitors was not that big of an issue.

 

[ChrisReid]

Yeah, I appreciate the premise of this video, but his nitpicks about WC3 boggled my mind. Sure, it's an easy trap to apply today's standards retroactively, but someone who lived through the '90s should not be quite so stuck on a few of those points.