J "Phantom" D
2nd Lieutenant
Okay, this thread grows out of the "Kilrathi Saga Bad Rep" thread. As some of you have seen in that thread, I have some ambitious ideas for a re-release of the collection. In fact, my ideas extend far beyond just that collection, and with the impending 20th Anniversary of the release of the original WC (2010) arriving very quickly, now is the time to start throwing ideas out there into the open.
My idea is rather large, ambitious and appeals to WC fans and (I hope) casual gamers as well.
Wing Commander: Remastered
My proposition begins from a simple concept, recreate the Wing Commander games for the present. This includes WC-WC and all of their add-ons.
With sci-fi in a bit of a resurgence, now is the time to strike the iron. I propose that these games be recreated using modern technology, but not straying at all from their original forms. That is to say that all missions would be the same, the branching and stories would all be the same, the dialogue the same (except expanded, that is to say that the characters would talk of the same subjects but just have expanded dialogue to flesh things out a little more), etc.
Now, I also propose that cutscenes return to computer animation instead of being actual filmed sequences (WC4 and WC looked fantastic, but the backgrounds in WC3 stood out like a sore thumb, and all three cost a fortune to make). I also believe that the models should be based (somewhat) upon the models from the original games and be aged from there. That is to say that Blair should look kind of like his WC and WC2 counterparts, just older.
I am not advocating that cutscenes return exactly as they were in WC1 or WC2, instead those could be enhanced with dialogue from Blair (The name would be necessary to facilitate dialogue between the characters, though you could still choose your own callsign), more movement, different settings (although the characters you would talk about the same things you would encounter them in different areas of the ship). Give the between game a lot more cinematic feeling, perhaps even with choosable dialogue (ala WC3 and beyond).
Enhance the character development a little bit and really start to build relations between the pilots. That way the inevitable death of some of these characters could have even more of an impact on players. While all of us choked up at the death of Angel and Spirit, I think if both characters were built up from WC1 with strong backstories and relationships with the main character, it would have been a real punch in the gut to loose them (The players would wince and feel like Angel did being eviscerated). Loosing Bossman in the Secret Missions felt awful, but not as devastating as it should have been.
The games would include all missions from the main campaigns as well as all of the expansions (and in the case of WC1, it would also include the SM 1.5 missions).
In the case of WC3, WC4 and WC, all of the dialogue recorded for the videos could easily be reused, and no further recording work would be recorded. However, dialogue would have to be done for WC and WC2. Pull back in the actors who voiced the roles for WC3 and beyond (Tom Wilson as Maniac, Mark Hamill as Blair, Malcom McDowell for Tolwyn, etc) and pull in good voice actors for the other roles (and make sure their accent fits their background).
This could be released in 3 different iterations:
Games alone: Individual releases of all the games.
Collector's Edition: Includes all 5 games in one package
Deluxe Collector's Edition: Includes all 5 games in one package, the 5 original games (fixed to run on modern hardware) and various other collectables.
Personally, I think that this would be the best way to commerate the series that didn't fear to tread new ground in the computer world.
I know that it's a lot, and it more than likely won't happen (Each passing year without a WC game like the previous ones dwindles my hopes that we'll ever see any more). However, I would like people's thoughts on this. Would you buy such a package?
My idea is rather large, ambitious and appeals to WC fans and (I hope) casual gamers as well.
Wing Commander: Remastered
My proposition begins from a simple concept, recreate the Wing Commander games for the present. This includes WC-WC and all of their add-ons.
With sci-fi in a bit of a resurgence, now is the time to strike the iron. I propose that these games be recreated using modern technology, but not straying at all from their original forms. That is to say that all missions would be the same, the branching and stories would all be the same, the dialogue the same (except expanded, that is to say that the characters would talk of the same subjects but just have expanded dialogue to flesh things out a little more), etc.
Now, I also propose that cutscenes return to computer animation instead of being actual filmed sequences (WC4 and WC looked fantastic, but the backgrounds in WC3 stood out like a sore thumb, and all three cost a fortune to make). I also believe that the models should be based (somewhat) upon the models from the original games and be aged from there. That is to say that Blair should look kind of like his WC and WC2 counterparts, just older.
I am not advocating that cutscenes return exactly as they were in WC1 or WC2, instead those could be enhanced with dialogue from Blair (The name would be necessary to facilitate dialogue between the characters, though you could still choose your own callsign), more movement, different settings (although the characters you would talk about the same things you would encounter them in different areas of the ship). Give the between game a lot more cinematic feeling, perhaps even with choosable dialogue (ala WC3 and beyond).
Enhance the character development a little bit and really start to build relations between the pilots. That way the inevitable death of some of these characters could have even more of an impact on players. While all of us choked up at the death of Angel and Spirit, I think if both characters were built up from WC1 with strong backstories and relationships with the main character, it would have been a real punch in the gut to loose them (The players would wince and feel like Angel did being eviscerated). Loosing Bossman in the Secret Missions felt awful, but not as devastating as it should have been.
The games would include all missions from the main campaigns as well as all of the expansions (and in the case of WC1, it would also include the SM 1.5 missions).
In the case of WC3, WC4 and WC, all of the dialogue recorded for the videos could easily be reused, and no further recording work would be recorded. However, dialogue would have to be done for WC and WC2. Pull back in the actors who voiced the roles for WC3 and beyond (Tom Wilson as Maniac, Mark Hamill as Blair, Malcom McDowell for Tolwyn, etc) and pull in good voice actors for the other roles (and make sure their accent fits their background).
This could be released in 3 different iterations:
Games alone: Individual releases of all the games.
Collector's Edition: Includes all 5 games in one package
Deluxe Collector's Edition: Includes all 5 games in one package, the 5 original games (fixed to run on modern hardware) and various other collectables.
Personally, I think that this would be the best way to commerate the series that didn't fear to tread new ground in the computer world.
I know that it's a lot, and it more than likely won't happen (Each passing year without a WC game like the previous ones dwindles my hopes that we'll ever see any more). However, I would like people's thoughts on this. Would you buy such a package?