WC3 and Starvector.com

[Dougly]

Although I've played all of the Wing Commander games, from WC1 through Prophecy, I've been missing my copies of WC 2: Deluxe Edition and WC 3 for several years now. I'm still not sure what happened to them, although I suspect they were either A) misplaced during a move, or B) "borrowed" without my knowledge by a High School friend who I (now) think had sticky fingers.

Although not being able to find them when I first realized they were missing back in 2001 was annoying, it didn't matter much since, by that time, it was becoming increasingly difficult to run older games on modern operating systems. Now that I can run my older games on DosBox, however, I decided to bite the bullet and order new copies from Starvector.com.

I just received my shipment the other day. I'm extremely happy to have the Deluxe Edition of WC II again, and I'm planning on installing it this evening. However, my shipment didn't include the copy of WC III that I ordered, I think because it was back ordered.

Is anyone familiar with Starvector? If so, does this mean they'll ship a copy of WC III to me if one becomes available? Or should I give up and search somewhere else?

 

[Lt.Death100]

Try e-mailing their customer support about it.

 

[ChrisReid]

Yeah, the guy who runs Starvector used to post to agwc. He was kind of a jerk and raised all his prices to unusually high levels when he realized how active Wing Commander fans still were. I don't even know the same guy I'm thinking of is still associated with the company, but their WC games still seem on the high side. It looks like they do occasionally get copies of some games. There are lots of them sitting around in old warehouses and such that get closed out here and there. But note that the Wing Commander 3 they offer for sale is listed as "used." There's no reason to buy a second hand WC3 for $34. Copies are available for much cheaper right now on eBay.

Also, why do you think it's 'back ordered'? Doesn't the invoice say one way or another? If there's no mention of it at all, then you need to contact them right away and get your money back.

 

[Dougly]

Originally Posted by ChrisReid
Also, why do you think it's 'back ordered'? Doesn't the invoice say one way or another? If there's no mention of it at all, then you need to contact them right away and get your money back.

The invoice lists both WC 2 and WC 3. But, behind WC 3, it says "[B/O]." And, according to the invoice, they didn't charge me for it. The item number for WC 3 is also listed as NID.

Originally Posted by ChrisReid
But note that the Wing Commander 3 they offer for sale is listed as "used." There's no reason to buy a second hand WC3 for $34. Copies are available for much cheaper right now on eBay.

Believe it or not... I've actually never ordered anything off of eBay. I thought about checking for WC III there, but I was a bit concerned about receiving a game with scratched CDs, missing manuals, etc.

Maybe I should check into it, though, especially if Starvector is charging too much.

By the way - I got WC 2 up and running on DosBox and played it for the first time in many years. Sadly, it crashes every time I complete the second mission. So, that's something else for me to look into...

 

[ChrisReid]

Believe it or not... I've actually never ordered anything off of eBay. I thought about checking for WC III there, but I was a bit concerned about receiving a game with scratched CDs, missing manuals, etc.

Maybe I should check into it, though, especially if Starvector is charging too much.

Charging too much and also selling you a used copy that could be scratched, have manuals, missing, etc. Don't forget to cancel the back-order when you order a new one from eBay/Half.com

By the way - I got WC 2 up and running on DosBox and played it for the first time in many years. Sadly, it crashes every time I complete the second mission. So, that's something else for me to look into...

There have been two or three new threads on this specific problem in the last week or so. It's very easy to work around. Search the tech support forum for Loadfix.

 

[Dougly]

Originally Posted by ChrisReid
There have been two or three new threads on this specific problem in the last week or so. It's very easy to work around. Search the tech support forum for Loadfix.

Actually, I did just that after I finished my last post here. I was on my way back to edit my last post to let everyone know that I found out about the loadfix I need to use.

It didn't take very long at all to find information on that. I'm really glad this website is still around.

Originally Posted by ChrisReid
Charging too much and also selling you a used copy that could be scratched, have manuals, missing, etc. Don't forget to cancel the back-order when you order a new one from eBay/Half.com

I think I'm going to do just that. Thanks for your help!

 

[Falcon988]

Amazon is also a great place for Wing Commander games. I got Wing Commander 2 Deluxe Edition, with manual but no box, for 82 cents. Works perfectly too.

 

[Dougly]

Originally Posted by Falcon988
Amazon is also a great place for Wing Commander games. I got Wing Commander 2 Deluxe Edition, with manual but no box, for 82 cents. Works perfectly too.

The WC2 Deluxe Edition I purchased from Starvector also came with manual but no box. However, I paid $29.88 for mine.

Excuse me while I go somewhere to cry...

 

[Edfilho]

Yeah, the guy who runs Starvector used to post to agwc. He was kind of a jerk and raised all his prices to unusually high levels when he realized how active Wing Commander fans still were. I don't even know the same guy I'm thinking of is still associated with the company, but their WC games still seem on the high side. It looks like they do occasionally get copies of some games. There are lots of them sitting around in old warehouses and such that get closed out here and there. But note that the Wing Commander 3 they offer for sale is listed as "used." There's no reason to buy a second hand WC3 for $34. Copies are available for much cheaper right now on eBay.

Also, why do you think it's 'back ordered'? Doesn't the invoice say one way or another? If there's no mention of it at all, then you need to contact them right away and get your money back.

I remember that guy, he wasn't very nice.
You probably can get used copies of all those games on ebay, anyway. I found several older games I wanted for my collection there.

 

[LeHah]

Believe it or not... I've actually never ordered anything off of eBay. I thought about checking for WC III there, but I was a bit concerned about receiving a game with scratched CDs, missing manuals, etc.

Thats a good concern to have - but I've bought all my WC games off of Ebay over the last 5 years (GBA Prophecy being the exception) and all those games came to me in fairly excellent shape, with the boxes and documentation. Price Of Freedom even came with the CCG Card still inside!