Mekt-Hakkikt
Mpanty's bane
Secret Ops I guess, though WC3 should be a close second. SOPS I played the least because when I finally got it, my gaming overall was already declining, WC3 I just liked least.
Which Wing Commander game have you played the least?
- Thread starter -danr-
- Start date
That's curious, a lot of people agree with you.
WC3 was my all time favourite, just had the feel of a big-budget game about it, whilst not compromising the incorporated style of the series storyline.
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
He was never supposed to be Blair, just someone in a position similar to Blair's. The manual actually starts with a letter from the writer (it's on the inside-cover), "Colonel Jack A. Lombard". It explains that he is working on the simulator project because he can no longer fly, having lost an eye in a dogfight.
(His notes about the various wingmen, especially, are *very* similar to Blair's - he went to the Academy with Maniac, had a crush on Angel and had no problem flying with Hobbes... but I think a close read will reveal that these are all written in a way that makes him distinct rather than the same character from Wing Commander II.)
As for the Blair name, it has an elaborate history. It was actually first used - but not decided on - *very* early. There's a 1991 Point of Origin that mentions referring to the hero as "Arturo Blair" (Our-hero Blue-hair), and Ellen Guon included a cameo from 'Blair' in Freedom Flight.
... but apparently it didn't stick. He was 'Carl LaFong' (after a running joke in a WC Fields movie) in the Wing Commander I & II official guide (which was written in prose form) and then 'Armstrong' (after Neil Armstrong, original space hero) in Super Wing Commander (which needed a name for spoken dialogue). He wasn't even "Chris Blair" when Wing Commander III's film shoot was being prepped -- early costume sketches label him 'Roberts' (which is where he got his 'Chris', of course).
His callsign has a similarly slipshod history.
- The short series bible put together for licensing circa Wing Commander II explains that his original callsign was 'Falcon', but that it was changed to 'Phoenix' when he rose from the ashes in Wing Commander II. End Run, drawing from that bible, makes reference to 'Phoenix and his wingmate' saving the Concordia when both her launch bays were disabled.
- The aforementioned Wing Commander I & II guide names him 'Prankster', which is never seen again (it has a backstory connecting this to the origin of Maniac's callsign).
- The talkie version of Wing Commander I (for the SegaCD) gets around needing a spoken name by rewriting the script to call him 'Hotshot'. It works better in some cases than others -- presenting a medal to Major Hotshot is a little odd.
- Super Wing Commander names him 'Maverick', after Chris Roberts' callsign when playing the game. While 'Armstrong' was never mentioned again, Maverick stuck... it ended up in the licensee material and is referenced in a number of places before being explicitly seen in Wing Commander Prophecy (in the WC3 guide, the CCG, the TV series).
- Pilgrim Stars, noting that he isn't called 'Maverick' in the movie, "changes" his callsign from Maverick to Pilgrim (Peter Telep's first novel, the movie adaptation, had used the games as a source instead of the yet-unavailable Handbook and finished movie... so he was Maverick there.)
AD
Finder of things, Doer of stuff
Wing Commander 4 uses 'Maverick' if you let the computer terminal at the start of the game on the Lexington automatically fill out your callsign info.
Chaosbringer
Rear Admiral
Oh, i don't think i have that part of the manual. When i got the game, the manual didn't come printed, but in an ".evy" format. Maybe it doesn't have that part.
And thanks for the rest, it was very interesting.
Death
gh0d (Administrator)
Which seems a bit odd, considering that SWC Paladin didn't have a similar restriction on flying.
Of course, no matter which game you talk about with Paladin flying in it, he sucks, with or without both eyes working.
Mekt-Hakkikt
Mpanty's bane
That's indeed curious you think that because I always got the impression that the "WC3-not so much liker" were rather in the minority. I think WC3 got many people into WC so it remains their favourite. Also, WC3 was arguably the most impressive for its time.
My (relative) dislike for it stems from the way it treats the Kilrathi. With WC3 I got the impression, they tried too hard to make them completely primitive barbaric and unlikeable stereotype villains. I really groaned when I read about the new entry in the timeline how the Kilrathi attacked a transport full of orphans.
Also, even though WC2 was already guilty of this, I was annoyed about how much inferior the Kilrathi fighters were in contrast to their human counterparts. It reinforced for me the feeling of "well, they're just a bunch of dumb barbarians who stole all their technology from peace loving species". The manual sections about the Kilrathi culture also didn't help. And of course, the only loveable Kilrathi is the traitor, just like everybody told you. The idea of blowing up Kilrah horrified me too.
Then I wasn't too thrilled with the looks of WC3. I found the Terran ships to be really bland and the "fly through"-concept of the empty box that was the Victroy didn't appeal to me. The changes from WC2 to WC3 were a bit too big for me. The links to the past were almost non-existant or weird. Why was Tolwyn such an ass again? And Maniac? Angel got killed with not much of a role. Why were all Kilrathi ships suddenly asymmetrical and they told me "it has always been that way." The Kor-larh was cool for its unusual design the WC3 Kilrathi ships while not looking bad just seemed to try too hard for me.
Also, the cast. Apart Hobbes, no one seemed really likeable, all seemed geared toward telling you, one of Confed's greatest heroes, how to do your job. Cobra and Flint were especially bad and the former one incredibly shallow.
Huh, that post got longer than I tought but I guess that's because I am lying sick in bed and have nothing better to do.
LarkInFlight
Rear Admiral
Prophecy Special Operations - I've played it only once..
ChrisReid
Super Soaker Collector / Administrator
Do you mean Wing Commander Secret Ops? "Special Operations" is the Wing Commander 2 addon, and WC Prophecy has no expansions. Secret Ops is now available as a free download so you can play through it completely: https://www.wcnews.com/news/update/8848
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frostytheplebe
Seventh Part of the Seal
I KNOW! I wanted to do a fleet battle of transports even, but the game wouldn't let me do that! When I first got it, I'm like, OK two Confed class dreadnoughts, 15 cruisers, a shitload of destroyers and transports vs. what ever the Cats can throw at us... then I turn the game on. My initial reaction: "Are you Fin kidding me?"
Vyris Tykin
Spaceman
The one's I've played the least are WC1 and WC2. I was introduced to the whole series through WC3 and so by the time I got to get my hands on copies of WC1 and 2, I had to play them on DOSBox. I really enjoyed 1 and 2, but I just haven't had as many opportunities to play them as I have the other three.
Thanks to EA for making EA Replay though. Now I can definitely get some WC in more frequently.
Thanks to EA for making EA Replay though. Now I can definitely get some WC in more frequently.
Dundradal
Frog Blast the Vent Core!
I KNOW! I wanted to do a fleet battle of transports even, but the game wouldn't let me do that! When I first got it, I'm like, OK two Confed class dreadnoughts, 15 cruisers, a shitload of destroyers and transports vs. what ever the Cats can throw at us... then I turn the game on. My initial reaction: "Are you Fin kidding me?"
I was also a bit disappointed with the limiting factors of Academy. At the same time it sort of forced you to come up with more interesting missions with less.
ELTEE
Vice Admiral
There are very few things I have ever been negative about concerning the WC unvierse. Unfortunately, Academy qualifies in spades.
I pictured cap ships, cap ships, and more cap ships. Instead, I walked away questioning the arbitrary selections of what ships were even available to experiment with, let alone how many you could play with at any given time. Academy let me down only because it feels rushed in both design and execution. The engine was great, the idea and concept was great - it just fell short.
As a result, I played it the least. I think I enjoyed flying the Wraith, but that was about it.
Sharpshooter
Rear Admiral
I have yet to play Academy, and I will not try Armada until I get a joystick. Of the WC games I have, hmm, probably WC3, but only because I can't get it to work properly with my current computers.
Slightly off-topic... Since you mentioned the Wraith, is it true that the Academy Wraith is the most powerful WC ship ever? Just wondering...
Slightly off-topic... Since you mentioned the Wraith, is it true that the Academy Wraith is the most powerful WC ship ever? Just wondering...
frostytheplebe
Seventh Part of the Seal
Don't expect much from Academy. Armada is an awesome game, but don't be expecting a mainstream "indepth" storyline as its more focused on gameplay.
Death
gh0d (Administrator)
Except for that little bit about a detailed timeline in the "Voices of War" manual, from both Kilrathi and Terran viewpoints. But that's not important.
frostytheplebe
Seventh Part of the Seal
Except for that little bit about a detailed timeline in the "Voices of War" manual, from both Kilrathi and Terran viewpoints. But that's not important.
Can't most of that be found just by browsing around here though?