Wing Commander 2 Replay Week 1

Dundradal

Frog Blast the Vent Core!
Greetings Pilots,

The time has come. The Vengeance of the Kilrathi is at hand and we have to do our best to repel them from the Enigma Sector. It's been ten years since our last combat mission, but what we need is "a bona fide hero!"

WC2 is a favorite too many and this replay should spur some intense debates about how to wreck havoc on the Kilrathi in the Enigma Sector. Because of breakdown of WC2 missions we are going to find ourselves stopping in the middle of a system as opposed to finishing one up every week. I'm going to leave the missions per week at six until the last two weeks of WC2 when the last seven missions (Enigma and K'tithrak Mang) will be split into two shortened weeks.

Our first assignment is Gwynedd 1 - 4 and Niven 1 and 2. Man your Ferrets and get to work people! This war isn't going to win itself.
 
While people are replaying WC2 and on, we could also use a handful of miscellaneous screenshots. I'm looking for a couple dozen per game. A random assortment of highlights at different points would be good, similar to what we have for WC1 and the Secret Missions in our background section. https://www.wcnews.com/background/wc1.shtml People can post them along with their writeups here. For WC2 through the dos version of WC4, be sure to use GIFs or PNGs instead of JPEGs.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Either or, although obviously one large post makes more sense. I split some of my earlier ones simply because I didn't have time to do it all at once and wanted something up.

If you aren't planning on doing it in one sitting (the week's missions) just start a word processor file and write as you go along then copy and paste here.
 
Just one mission from me today. But I'll kick things off a bit.



The Claw.... I called it home for years.. then in a flash it was gone. It got worse from there..

The Court Martial couldn't convict me of anything but negligence, but Admiral Tolwyn had other ideas. That bastard and I had a history together and he got the last laugh. For the last decade I've been stuck in the ISS doing patrol work, a pilot of my talent, searching for action in the same asteroid field, day after day. If it weren't for my wingman 'Spirit' I'd have lost it a long time ago. She's the one thing that keeps me going, too bad she's about to get cycled back home.. then it'll just be me and the asteroids.

Maybe some day they'll make a plaque for me. “Christopher Blair, Hero of Vega Sector, Coward of K'tithrak Mang, Ambusher of Asteroids.”

Gwynedd-1

Another routine patrol. Only it wasn't! There were 6, count 'em 6 Fighters out there. Its a good thing the Kitties were asleep at the stick. If they had decided to jump us in those asteroids, we'd have been iced for sure!. Spirit handled the action like a pro, smoking two Sartha fighters. I learned to appreciate the ferret and its very low head on profile. I broke the other two sarthas in a head-on attack before they even realized they were under fire. The Drakhri were a little more prepared and they got a pass or two on Spirit before I downed them. It had me a bit worried.. she's so close to going home.. I hope she gets to stay out of the action a bit. I'd hate to have to send the 'letter' this close.

I don't know what has got a hairball stuck in the Furball's throats, but I bet I'm not going to like it.
 
All six missions from me today and I had trouble stopping there. There's just something about Wing Commander 2 that really draws me in.

Chris, I'm sorry to report that my attempts to grab screenshots from the KS version all failed miserably. It looks like I'm only catching the pixels that are being updated so even the best of shots are vague outlines.

Gynedd 1:

It's amazing how emotional one can get about a bunch of pixels, watching the Claw get destroyed was harder than I remembered it. Fortunately, the game brought me right back with the scene between the Emperor and Thrakhath. I remember how much it blew me away when I first saw and heard it and it's still great art even today. Looks like I'm stuck on a desolate space station, but at least Thrakhath hasn't conquered humanity yet.

My first mission with a new ship & a new wingman. Shadow doesn't seem to keen on the war, but at least she's got a sense of humour. I'm also introduced to two new Kilrathi ships, the Sartha and the Drakhri. Neither one seem particularly impressive and crumpled under my guns easily enough. An exploding Drakhri did punch through my shields and bang up the armour, though. The reaction to our enemy encounter back on the base is pure shock.

Gynedd 2:

The music for this scene fits it just perfectly. Shadow's nerves become clear as we find out the she's a reservist with a family back home. Everybody signed up to fight, but some aren't suited for the front lines. It seems that the Mandarins are still around and still as unpopular as ever. Meanwhile I'm off to the comms room.

We're introduced to another new ship this time and, despite the recent loss of the 'Claw, I still feel a thrill seeing her. The TCS Concordia and her escort have been attacked by a Fralthra and the TCS Beowolf destroyed. Concordia's flight deck is down and they need fighter support. This mission is pretty simple, just blow through some Sartha. 1 rammed the Concordia and another was taken out by her flack. After landing, I find an old friend is in charge of the Concordia's flight wing. Without her fighers to scout ahead, the Fralthra will lose sight of us, giving us time to repair and counter-attack.

Gynedd 3:

It's reunion time for the Tiger's Claw on the Concodia's observation deck. Angel, Spirit, Doomsday and Jazz. There wasn't much time for catching up before tension started to flare up, with Jazz being a jerk. Following Angel's apology for him, I think the best response is to fly his ass off.

Some more new ships this mission, the Broadsword bomber and Jalkehi Heavy fighter. We also encounter phase shields and turrets. Those broadswords are tough, but I couldn't stop a kamikaze Sartha from taking one out. Fortunately, the pilot of the other bomber managed to put enough Torpedoes into the Fralthra to take it down. The Jalkehi's less impressive because of it's speed, but you can't just slot in behind them like the old Grathas and Jalthi. Those turrets can hurt. We also meet Sparks, who is busy repairing the most damaged Ferret ever. It's good to have someone on my side.

Gynedd 4:

I stumble into the middle of a conversation between Angel and Shadow about transferring me to the Concordia. As much as I'd love to get back into the thick of the action, maybe a carrier commanded by someone who doesn't hate my guts would be better.

Our trip back to Caernarvon is interrupted by a bomb exploding on the Concordia's flight deck. Shadow and I clear out the first wave of Drakhri with ease but Shadow is killed against the Sartha in one of the most torturously slow scenes I've ever seen. I exact a vengeance for her death on the Sartha and then pull back to get away from the battle between the Concordia and the Fralthra. After severely damaging it with her AMG's, the Concordia lines up a PTC shot and blows the Kilrathi capital ship away. I land to confront an angry Admiral Tolwyn, who's not too impressed by my attitude. Frankly, a little sympathy would be nice, Shadow only had a month until retirement.

Niven 1:

The Concordia jumps into the Niven system as we prepare for Shadow's funeral. One of the few friends I have left is left to float amongst the stars. Angel & Spirt are sympathic and try to cheer me up with memories of good times back on the Tiger's Claw.

Spirit continues to cheer me up by requesting me as her wingman, no doubt to continue to bring back the days on the Tiger's Claw. Unfortunately, Admiral Tolwyn doesn't approve of that, so I'm stuck with reconnaisance in a Broadsword. I'd forgotten how slow they were, especially without afterburners but it's still enough to outfly a Jalkehi. There's another new Kilrathi ship at Nav 3, the Grikath. A mutual head-on pass leaves my shields down and one of the bastards blown up. The other soon follows it with bearly enough time to recharge my shields.

Niven 2:

We're introduced to two more pilots today. The first is Hobbes, the captain of the Fralthi that defected all those years ago. It's strange for him to jump over to fighters, but I don't think Confed will trust him with another capship. The other new pilot, Stingray, reminds me a bit too much of Maniac, especially the adrenalin rush comment. I may be biased because he hasn't exactly been a nice guy so far.

I'm sent out alone in a Ferret to convey a comm packet for Admiral Tolwyn. Not exactly my favourite mission briefing but being alone in system with enemy traffic could be fun. Especially taking out 5 Sartha who keep insisting that I can't defeat the Drakhai. Been there, Done that, got the Medal of Valour. While I'm travelling to Niven, someone on board the Concodia is giving away her coordinates. At least the Admiral can't blame me. I think it's also our first encounter with the Kilrathi language.
 
I'm currently trying to get some more people to join in on the replay. I've gone up to the start of mission 5, so I'll have a later reply with mission detail and perhaps a few good screen shots.
 
Hehehe I love how you guys have a chip on your shoulder already :D

Sometimes you just have to hate the Brass.
 
It is very cold, in space…

On a routine patrol, I notice unusual glitches on my radar. I get a visual sighting of three fighters appear out of nowhere. The Tiger’s Claw gets hit by six torpedoes and is destroyed. The fighters are nowhere to be seen. I’m brought before Admiral Tolwyn to explain what happened. Somehow my flight recorder took no data, so all I have is my word. Without any visual record, I’m only convicted of negligence though it’s obvious Tolwyn wants my head on a platter. He decides that putting me as far away from the war action as possible is his best punishment. I spend the next ten years on Caernarvon space station flying a desk for the most part, with an occasional patrol to relieve my boredom.


Gwenydd 1
I meet my new wingmate, Shadow. It’s nice to meet somebody who does not daily remind me of what happened to the Claw. Another boring diamond patrol is up for today. At the first nav point, my adrenaline goes up a few notches. I see three Sartha light fighters on the first nav. Each fighter takes a few hits, and goes down easily. I relearn how to fly thru asteroids from my first tour of duty. A few discreet touches on the afterburners, and no problems. Unfortunately, there are three problems at nav 3. Drakhri fighters are around, and they bear a small resemblance to Dralthi. The shields and armor on these ships are not much better than the Sarthas. Thank goodness my piloting skills did not rust after ten years of no combat action.

Gwenydd 2
Shadow admits her fear of dying in combat. I tell her she did well, and that our only choices during this war are to keep fighting or to aid the Kilrathi like the Society of Mandarins. During communications duty, I get an urgent SOS from the Concordia, and they need fighter support since their hangar was damaged. I contact Shadow, and we autopilot to the distress signal. It’s a bit of a furball with six Sarthas swarming the Concordia. Fortunately, the light shields and armor of my opponents makes the defense short work. Upon landing on the Concordia, I meet up with some crewmates from the Tiger’s Claw. Angel and Spirit are in the Rec Room to meet me, along with Jazz and Doomsday from the TCS Austin. Jazz reminds me of what happened to the Claw, and I tell him what I think.

Gwneydd 3
Is it my imagination, or did the first wave of fighters here get a ten-fold increase in armor and shield power? With Shadow to help me out, I manage to take out the fighters before they destroy either Broadsword. Together, both Broadswords launch torpedoes at the Fralthi and it is destroyed. Unfortunately, one of the Broadsword pilots died during the attack. On the way back, I meet up with some Jalkehi. The rear guns on these ships are enough to take down my Ferret’s shields, so I attack from the sides and make them all get a once in a lifetime experience. I meet the mechanic Sparks, and she’s repairing a badly damaged Ferret. I’m hoping I won’t have need of her services too often.

Gwenydd 4
Shadow and Angel are discussing what to do with me. Angel offers me a transfer to the Concordia, and I tell her I’d like to be back in action again. I assist Sparks with a systems check on a Ferret. She believes in me due to Angel’s support. On my way back to Caernarvon, I get another distress signal from the Concordia. Her flight deck is damaged again. I’m thinking that this can’t possibly be a coincidence, but my more pressing duty is to defend the Concordia. Me and Shadow go to the Concordia’s nav. There are three Sartha going after the Concordia. Together, me and my wingman make very short work of the Sartha. Another wave of fighters is coming in after the Concordia. Shadow breaks formation and goes after the Sarthas. Two of them get on her tail, and her ship is shot down. It’s hard losing a friend, and even harder since Liz was due to retire in a month. Upon landing, I meet Admiral Tolwyn again. It’s not a pleasant reunion, but I get to stay on the Concordia since they’re due to jump out before my fighter can be ready again for launch.

Niven 1
I participate in Shadow’s funeral, and express my regrets to Angel and Spirit. Angel tells me that she knows how I feel since she lost Bossman on the first tour of duty. Together, we lighten the mood some by remembering the pranks against Maniac. I enter the briefing room, and today’s mission is to do a trace scan for Kilrathi movements. One of the Jalkehis gets too close and rams into my ship. I lose my front shields and half the frontal armor, but the Jalkehi is toast. I take out the remaining two Jalkehis without further incidents. Before completing my mission, I run into two Grikaths. I take some minor damage to the front shields, but I destroy both fighters without problems. The Broadsword may not have afterburners, but it has firepower where it counts and a targeting system that helps.

Niven 2
During a card game I meet Hobbes. He’s a Kilrathi who defected ten years ago in a mission where I had to escort a Dralthi back to the Claw. He may be a good pilot, but he’s not very good at cards. I don’t fare much better in this round, and Jazz takes the pot with three aces. On this mission, I’m flying in a Ferret again to take a communications packet to Niven for Tolwyn. Great, nothing like being a glorified delivery person. On the way there, I get ambushed by five Drakhri Sarthas. Messy furball of a fight! Those Sarthas are swarming all around me. I manage to keep my cool, and do my best. I manage to take down four of the Kilrathi with the remaining one bugging out. My ship is seriously damaged, with the front armor totally gone and holes on the side. Fortunately, the remaining nav points are clear and I land safely at the Niven base.

P.S. - I took one screen shot on my way back for Niven 1.
 

Attachments

  • WC22008-04-0816-57-05-56.png
    WC22008-04-0816-57-05-56.png
    99.1 KB · Views: 136
Wow. My longest post ever.

Gwynedd 1

This mission started off easy. Me and Shadow climbed in our ferrets and engaged autopilot. At NAV 1, we encountered three Sartha, which were nothing but a piece of cake. We were able to blast them away quickly. The third one almost got away from us! At NAV 2, we encountered an asteroid field. It was a bit of a challenge for me and Shadow, as you never know what would hit you. One of them sidewinded me and left my ship heavily damaged. There were three Drakhri at NAV 3. I killed one of them. One of them got away while I was evading a missile. Shadow killed the last one. We thought that Patrol was enough for one day, so we headed back to Caernarvon for debriefing.

Gwynedd 2

While I was in the comm room, I received a distress call from TCS Concordia. Apparently, their fighterbay was damaged and they couldn't launch any fighters. We had to help them. I scrambled everyone to their ships and told Liz to meet me in space. There were five Sartha at the Concordia NAV point. We were able to blast them away quickly. After that, we got landing clearance from Concordia and ended the mission there.

Gwynedd 3

After we launched, we met up with Gold wing. To make sure the Fralthra couldn't trace our vector back to the Concordia, we went to NAV 1. We went straight for the cruiser after that. I engaged the Sarthas and tried to keep them off of Gold wing's backs as best as I could. The broadswords engaged the cruiser and luckily managed to pop a torpedo into it, effectively destroying it. We mopped up the remaining Sartha and started heading back to base, but we were ambushed by three Jalkehis. (no telling where they came from) They were a real challenge for me because I only had one gun left! Kudos to Shadow for destroying two of them. Otherwise, I probably would not have made it back alive.

Gwynedd 4

I helped Sparks with the systems check while talking about Admiral Tolwyn. We launched and headed back to Caernarvon. While I was nearing the station, Concordia sent out a distress call. We received orders from the Admiral to defend Concordia. I wasted the Drakhris that were attacking my ship. Once that was over, Shadow got a little overconfident and was blown up by two Sarthas on her six. I was able to kill the remaining fighters and land before Concordia jumped out. I was mad at Tolwyn for not giving us any support out in space, since we so desperately needed it.

Niven 1

In the briefing room, Angel gave out her assignments as usual. Spirit asked if I could fly on her wing (I would have appreciated that) but Angel gave me a different assignment. I was to patrol a route of Jump Points in a Broadsword with a Jump Trace Analyzer. After I took off, I went to NAV 1 to take the tracer readings. At NAV 2, there were three Jalkehi heavy fighters. I was able to waste them quickly. At NAV 3, there were two Grikaths. They were not as easy to kill as the Jalkehis because they had stronger shields and more weapons. Once I was done there, I set autopilot back to Concordia and landed.

Niven 2

This was a scramble mission. I got the order to go to the flight deck immediately and launch my fighter. Unfortunately, recent sunspot activity had rendered us unable to communicate with Niven, so I had to be Admiral Tolwyn's delivery boy and do it manually. At the NAV point, there were five Sartha light fighters. Two of them got away from me before I could nail them. The way to Niven was clear from that point onwards, so I landed at Niven outpost to take a breather.
 

Attachments

  • Wc2screen1.PNG
    Wc2screen1.PNG
    20.1 KB · Views: 131
That's a good shot. Don't hesitate to grab more than that. Interesting gameflow shots outside the cockpit are also helpful.
 
Hey, are those screencaps of video? It looks like some compression is present. Otherwise, those are pretty good shots.
 
To get the screenshots, I have to use Virtual Dub to load the video file. Then I scan thru looking for interesting or unique shots, and do a print screen. I put the print screen into MS Paint and cut the duplicate frame the Virtual Dub always has. Then I save the shot and upload to Photobucket.
 
I love the intro cinematic for WC2. Talk about opening a game. Start by blowing up the hero ship from the first game, giving the hero a chip on his shoulders and a new face for our enemy. Could you ask for more? We've all spent years drooling over the Rigakh as well...what a beauty...


Gwynedd 1

I don't mind the Ferret. It may be lightly armored and shielded by the high refire rate of its mass drivers make it a lethal ship. I'm sent on a routine patrol that I know will be anything but routine.

Nav 1 has three Sartha which are little trouble. I just lay down a chain of fire and watch them each go bang in the night.

Of course we need our asteroid reintroduction and Nav 2 is it. Still have to fly slow and watch out. Nothing worse than losing a mission because of space junk.

Nav 3 has three Drakhai. You have to be careful going head to head against these guys as their lasers will tear you apart. I catch the first one on the initial pass. I take a bit of damage but nothing the techs should worry about.

After we land Shadow is a bit shaken by the encounter with the Kilrathi. We are supposed to be a backwater...not for long.



Gwynedd 2

The Concordia is in trouble. The curse of the down flight decks has begun. This is something that WC2 loves as well as the novels. Considering the Sartha cannot damage the Concordia this mission is fairly easy. Just make sure not to venture into the Concordia's fire or get yourself surrounded. Being surrounded by light fighters is the worst position to be in and with five flying around it happens easier than you would think.

Landing on the Concordia is nice. It's such a beautiful shot of the hangar deck. You can see the flight decks leading out, fighter storage and even a cargo or fighter crane in the middle of the shot. It's interesting Confed would still have crane units considering we know they use null gravity units as well :p

Angel is Wing Commander on the Concordia. She's still looking good. Easy buddy...all in due time. It's time for a reunion of characters from WC1-SM2. Spirit, Doomsday, and Jazz are on the O-Deck and want to talk about old times. Yeah remember when I was the hero of the Vega sector? Or that time I destroyed the Sivar? Helped save the Firekkans? No let's talk about how I got the shaft ten years ago...

Gwynedd 3

Strike escort. The first experience with torpedoes and a capship with AMGs. Joyous occasion!

Shadow and I launch and meet up with the broadswords in space. Hit the auto light and we are on our way.

Five Sartha and a Fraltha are waiting at the strike nav. I have Shadow break and attack and begin my own attack runs. Again, the need to avoid getting penned in by these fighters is key. Random AB vectors and deflection shots work best for me here. I try to hover around the broadswords as best I can to prevent them from taking damage. Shadow manages to nail one of the furballs and I handle the other three. Scratch one Kilrathi cruiser!

Transfer to the Concordia? Yes, I would like that very much. Tolwyn might be a bitch about it, but don't worry as according to Maniac, Blair is a "bonafide hero."

Gwynedd 4

Returning to base....oh nope, number two flight deck issue. Hold on Concordia we are on our way. This mission is great because we get a taste of capship vs capship fighting. Something we did not really see in WC1. Watching the Concordia trade shots with a Fraltha is still an amazing sight after all these years. Enough sightseeing though I've got five Drakhai to deal with. Sometimes I enjoy trying to get the Drakhai killed by pulling them through the AMG exchanges and hoping to get lucky. It works every now and then but not enough to be efficient :p

After the first wave, five Sartha barrel in. The Concordia lays down a nice barrage and downs one of the Sartha. I finish off the rest.

Shadow was a nice person, but perhaps the most passive of wingmen. Sorry to see her go.

I'm back in the saddle again. Flying off a fleet carrier into the heat of battle. Say goodnight kitty!

Niven 1

Solo broadsword patrol. 3 nav points looking for jump traces. Ok no problem.

The Broadsword is an amazing ship. Three turrets and a heavy torpedo load make it an awesome display of power. And I'm using it to scan for jump traces...

Everything is quiet until Nav 2 when I'm jumped by three Jalkehi. The three mass drivers eat through the Kilrathi when they get close enough, I just have to watch out for missiles.

Nav 3 has two of my Kilrathi equivalents, Grikaths. I use my missiles on these fighters and make short work of them. Another victory for the Mighty Confederation.

The introduction to Hobbes. He defected in SM2/FF and has since become a pilot in the Confederation. Kirha on the other hand is rotting in a detention facility instead of with Hunter. Damn shame.

Welcome to the asshole club as well. Despite being a damn hero countless other times everybody has got to remember your one big failure...victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.

Niven 2

I'm Tolwyn's errand boy. I need to deliver a comm message to Niven. I meet five Sartha on the way. Without the Concordia to draw some of their fire this is a bit trickier. I make it through with some scorching and armor damage. This Ferret will be down for a few weeks getting repaired...

Until next time...
 
Say hello to Jazz for us on the next mission series, and welcome to the most overused plot device for this and two more Wing Commander games: the traitor.
 
Back
Top