What is the fate of Wing Commander?

[Frosty]

Originally posted by LeHah
Twas very fun playing but lacked a story as good as it's ancestors.

Yeah, so did WC1. It takes time to build that sort of thing.

 

[Excalibur]

My order was this: WC3; WCP; WC4; Secret Ops; WC2; WC1

 

[Darkmage]

why make a wc multiplayer game? because it draws more people. For ages people have preferred fighting each other to fighting AI. Also a privateer online world could be VERY entertaining. If you made a privateer online where you could sign up with guilds join clans, etc do almost anything in WC. people would buy it. I know a guy who play tests games, That is his only job, it's the onmly job he's ever had. He said that if you made an online game, with guilds, clans, Confed, Kilrathi every main WC group, etc you could make a fortune. The trick to doing it is an immmersive plotline. When it comes to choosing a universe for an online space flight sim. WC would be the obvious choice. You have a game with TONS of character. Areas already defined and known to a community group, it's a really easy game to get into and enjoy. Why make a WC online game? because you won't just make a wc story like the other WC games, you'll create a world. and if Origin won't do that, then they don't deserve their motto "We create worlds" WC can be SO much more than an interactive movie where you play one of the characters. It could become an interactive movie where ALL of the cast are involved in the writing of the storyline. Who could ask for more? instead of walking upto a character, like in wc3,4 and talking to them and having to speak sentences chosen for you by someone else, you could Make your own script, choose your own words. and MAKE your own story. IMHO that would make that game better than any WC game. how can you get more immersive than that?

 

[Bandit LOAF]

They made that game. It's called "JumpGate", and nobody bought it.

 

[Frosty]

Originally posted by Darkmage
why make a wc multiplayer game? because it draws more people

No it doesn't. I challenge you to find some kind of authoritative documentation that proves pay-to-play MMP games are more likely to sell than normal games.

For ages people have preferred fighting each other to fighting AI.

I don't think that nifty little buzzterm "AI" has existed for "ages," yet.

Also a privateer online world could be VERY entertaining. If you made a privateer online where you could sign up with guilds join clans, etc do almost anything in WC. people would buy it.

Wow, really? What sort of insider market knowledge do you have that EA bean counters obviously don't?

I know a guy who play tests games, That is his only job, it's the onmly job he's ever had. He said that if you made an online game, with guilds, clans, Confed, Kilrathi every main WC group, etc you could make a fortune.

I guess that's precisely why playtesters don't run companies.

The trick to doing it is an immmersive plotline.

Actually, MMP plot arcs are anything but immersive.

EA obviously intends to keep WC in the bullpen, so all hope is not lost. In fact, I'd be willing to bet a great deal that the market may soon shift in favor of WC and space-sims again. When it does, I certainly don't want some crazy messed-up MMP title just like all the others out there.

I can only be thankful that wacky fans who think they're supergeniuses don't run the universe.

 

[LeHah]

Originally posted by Bandit LOAF
They made that game. It's called "JumpGate", and nobody bought it.

Poor 3DO. They just can't seem to get a break these days!

 

[Michael_A]

In the new issue of PC Gamer they report that Janes Simulations was aquired by another publisher and will be releasing a new WWII fighter simulation soon.

Why did I post this? Because Janes had to suffer under EA and now they got a second shot. Lets hope that Origin gets the chance as well.

I would like to comment on the Multiplayer controversy. The draw of Wing Commander is the single player story line. I think it would be a bad idea to have a Multiplayer ONLY game. However as an option where you could build your own mission and fly head to head now that would be fun.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

A very different circumstance -- "Janes" is a *label*... sold to a company for a period of time by Janes Information Group. The new company that's producing simulation games with the Janes name in the title has nothing to do with the old 'suffering' company... which, incidentally, was Origin proper.

Wing Commander is a brand wholly owned by EA -- EA has repeatedly stated that they're not interested in selling it, and that they're not interested in producing more games. There's no point where Wing Commander will revert back to anyone else and give them a shot at producing WC games.

 

[Darkmage]

Pay for play is a stupid idea. If you run the server for free and only charge for the software itself, more people would buy online games. Too many people have to pay for internet already. They can't afford to play online games.

 

[Darkmage]

Why couldn't an online game have an immersive plotline? You don't just have to have plyer charcters. You could make a privateer 3 online where evrey person is there own character, where you could fly solo as a privateer, or in a group, like a clan or guild.

 

[The Shadow]

LOAF, i was just wondering if EA gave a reason why they were not going to sell the Wing Commander label if they did not intend to make anymore games with it? why do you guys think they arent selling it?

I think its interesting that EA explicitly stated that they were not interested in selling the label.... perhaps they felt the need to announce this publicly because a number of other companies were showing interest in buying it? it may also be because heaps of fans were bugging EA to do something with it!

 

[Preacher]

Originally posted by Bandit LOAF

...EA has repeatedly stated that they're not interested in selling it, and that they're not interested in producing more games.

Check. So, lemme see if I got this right:
1) They OWN it
2) They ain't interested in USING it
3) They ain't interested in SELLING it to anyone, either.

Extremely succulent, biteous situation... Sounds like you got the makings of "torture" there (those cruel, selfish bastards!...).

 

[Thymerlord]

Preach on....Preacher!

 

[LeHah]

Originally posted by Preacher
Extremely succulent, biteous situation... Sounds like you got the makings of "torture" there (those cruel, selfish bastards!...)

Yeah, well, what are you going to do? EA never, ever said that they wouldn't make another WC game, just not now. People think that when something goes on hiatus it means it's gone for good. Look at the freaking Batman cartoons. You know how many times they were put on hiatus?

And if you owned Wing Commander, one of the defining games of the 90s flight-sim era, would you want to sell it to another company? Be serious, the fact that they're sitting on it makes sense to me: They think it wouldn't sell enough to make them a solid profit and why would you release something that costs lots and lots of money to have it bomb? This isn't Sega we're talking about, remember.

Just be paitent. Everything is eventual.

 

[Saturnyne]

One of the questions that probes at my mind when I think about this though is...

What would be added to the WC formula to make it better than the rest? While it centers on plot and involving missions, what is there in those missions to keep the formula fresh? What I've seen between games is that the formula is improved with say, better graphics, some added mission types (atmospheric and spatial, instead of just outer space fighting), and better control.

One of the keys to video game sequels is adding new elements that make the game more playable as well as enveloping the player with a great story. From what people say of Prophecy, the only improvement in terms of gameplay would be next to impossible enemies. I can't think of anything off the top of my head that might make flying the ships more fun, or more intense, or whatever. Maybe preset ship configuration keys or something.

 

[Meson]

You forgot intersting story and plots. A story-driven video games such as Wing Commander, needs to have a fantastic storyline that binds all the gameplay, controls, extc. into one masterpiece.

 

[Excalibur]

Like all of them so far.

 

[Raptor]

Prophecy didn't need next to impossible enemies, but it *could* have used a lot better AI for the Nephilim. For all their numbers and firepower, they were pretty darn easy to beat, even on the nightmare level.

Best, Raptor

 

[Pedro]

I don't have a problem with average AI, I mean the bugs are just the slave race after all but it wasn't that much fun taking out the bugs compared to the Kats or BL because they took a lot of shots to kill but posed little or no danger due to pretty useless weaponary and bad AI. I mean come on whose idea where the Morays and the Lampreys?
I think the low budget hurt what WCP could have been, the bugs had the potential to be a really scary enemy, hell in the manual to WCP talks about those things wiping out colonies in seconds they are just that scary but in the game you have so little contact with other confed forces it feels like they spawned every where in our galaxy but are so **** that the midway on her own is able to wipe the entire lot of them out. Not exactly a concerning enemy.
Not to say I didn't enjoy it, its just after the amazing intro movie and I didn't really get the same feeling until the very last mission (absolutley superb mission).

Still got to love WCP though, amazing game, I just think they would have done so much more with it had they had the budget and time.

Cloaking not working and seeing that in game would have added to the fear for me too

 

[Raptor]

I don't think its ever been proved definitely that the Nephilim are a slave race (like, say, the Jem Hadar from DS9), though it is true they don't seem all that bright for a race with such advanced technology.

Best, Raptor