Wing Commander III - Full Playthrough on Nightmare Difficulty

Queeg

Rear Admiral
Hi guys, it's been years since I've posted anything here. However, I've recently got back into WC3 and enjoying it more than ever.

I saw on youtube someone had uploaded a video with a full playthrough of the PC game. I thought, that's awesome so I watched some of it. However, the guy playing looked like it was his first time, it seemed like he was playing on a rookie setting and wasn't too familiar with the game.

However, I really liked the idea of a full playthrough. So having recently completed the game on nightmare (took a while, it really is seriously difficult). I figured it would be cool to have a full playthrough of the game but entirely on nightmare.

I'm still putting it together, but only have a few missions left. I've ripped the videos from the playstation version to get the best quality. I've recorded the missions using fraps which has come out quite nicely.

Hopefully someone hasn't already beaten me to the punch. Although, I'm not a hard core gamer myself. I imagine there's others who can play the game much better then me, and I feel we should encourage people to do the same and showcase their skills.

I did put together a WC3 movie a few years back, but I was younger and impatient back then. It came out a bit sloppy and looking back I wish I had spend more time on it. This, however, should be much better. It will be a lot longer too, I have 7 hours with the movie scenes and missions together already.

Let me know your thoughts guys. Hopefully there will be people here who will be interested.


UPDATE: Guys the video is ready, Kris kindly let me upload it to the site, please see link below.

http://download.wcnews.com/files/wing3/WC3-Nightmare.mp4 (9.1 GB)http://download.wcnews.com/files/wing3/WC3-Nightmare.mp4

NOTE: I had trouble playing this from VLC Player, Windows Media Player seemed to work fine, however. So if you have issues, just try a different player or you can watch it on youtube (see link below).



Please see my notes below, just a bit of commentary for the missions:


Wing Commander III Notes

So here it is, an under-rated classic game played through on the hardest difficulty. Now I want to stress here that I am not a hard-core gamer in any way. I just really love this game, it's my most favourite game of all time.

If you're a WC fan then you may even look at this and think, this guy sucks. I don't know how he survived all of the missions. That's cool, I hope someone better can post their videos. I think it's a great challenge and I'd love to see other people's techniques.

Unfortunately I'm a mouse user. Which is know is blasphemy amongst a lot of WC fans. It's the only way I can play, I just can't aim properly or move quickly enough with the joystick.

As I'm using a mouse, due to a strange game design it means when I use my afterburners it locks me in the direction I'm facing. I cannot make turns whilst using the afterburners, only perform barrel rolls. This is especially annoying when using the slower ships such as the thunderbolt and longbow.

Regarding wingmen, I tend to stick with those who will still be alive on the later missions. This means they get a decent amount of training. It's still difficult to keep the wingmen alive in the later missions though, especially flash and manic as they ignore orders.

In this play through I did manage to get through all the missions without any wingmen dying (except those that died due to the story rather than in a mission). Some of them did have to eject, but they made it back safely. I even sent them all home on the Kilrah missions as that's the only way they can survive.

I also made sure all enemy cap ships were destroyed, even when not required. Can't risk leaving Kilrathi survivors now!

I used Rachel's default loadout on all the missions to make it even more challenging, except for Loki1. I simply cannot complete that mission with the hellcat.

Orsini1 - Routine Patrol

This mission is a cakewalk, even on nightmare. I find Darkets annoying as they are very fast, and you need to be precise to hit them. Just wait until they charge and unleash everything you've got! I had to remap the recording button in fraps after this, as it was originally the same button which activates the victim camera.


Orsini2 - Patrol with Kilrathi Cap Ship

Same as the first mission except there's an enemy transport ship. You can just ignore it and still succeed the mission, but where's the fun n that? Gang up on it with your wingman and blow it into a million pieces!


Orsini3 - Escort Transport

More Darkets, plus a corvette. Just use hit and run tactics on the corvette, it will soon be dust. The transport you're escorting should make it without any scratches.



Orsini4 (Skipper Missile)

First challenging mission. Now you have Dralthi to fight. Definitely more fun than the Darkets as the Dralthi are bigger and you can chase them more easily.

You need to take out that skipper missile as soon as you see the yellow dot on your radar. One hit on the transport by the skipper and it will explode, failing the mission. Assuming you take out the missile, it's a fun mission otherwise. No need to rush on the final Nav point as the transport will take a few minutes to reach the jump point.


Tamayo1 (Victory under Attack)

The victory is under attack! Take out the Paktahn as quickly as possible. Their missiles can be deadly to the victory. They're easy enough to kill, just don't follow them too closely and be patient.


Tamayo2 - Destroy Enemy Transports

I chose to turn Rachel down for the Excalibur to make this mission more challenging. Immediately at NAV1 you have an army of Vaktoth's. I love these guys, bigger and slower than Dralthi. So much fun to chase and assaulting them with gunfire as they charge. Also, we're in the thunderbolt for this one which means decent guns. Although I couldn't do much with the transports at the end as my afterburners had been destroyed, my comrades took care of those on my behalf.

I turned down Rachel's offer to fly with the Excalibur as I think it makes this mission too easy.


Flash Duel

Flash loves his afterburners. Launching all of your missiles at him whilst playing on nightmare and they will miss almost every time. The only strategy here is wait for his afterburners to run out and catch him as he's turning. It's doable but requires patience.


Locanda1* - Clean out Kilrathi Raiders

This is the first of the extremely hard missions in this game. I don't know what you did to upset Rachel, but she's decided to give you a Hellcat V to deal with 4 waypoints with multiple waves of enemies (not powerful enough!). At first, it's not so bad, but after the first 2 waypoints with enemies ganging up on you (your wingman only battles them one at a time), your craft is going to be worn out and pushed to the limit. I would really prefer an arrow as they are much better for evading enemy fire.

The waves of the Dralthi are the worst, if you try to pursue and concentrate on one target, then the others will gang rape your ass from behind. You must constantly switch targets and fight your instincts. Do not follow one for more than a second, it leaves you open to enemy fire. Which is ironic, as you desperately need to kill them to thin out the numbers. I find myself using all of my missiles on the Dralthi just to try and thin the herd a bit.

On my run, flash was complaining constantly at the last two wavepoints. I'm surprised we survived as my ship was almost cooked. Cockpit damage plus afterburners almost gone. Shields were constantly down to the line. At Nav4, flash helpfully went after the Tigerclaw whilst I kept all the other Darkets busy. I couldn't even destroy them, as if I stayed still even for a millisecond, I would come under lethal fire. I had to keep them busy until flash could destroy Tigerclaw and pick a few of the others off. Once down to 3, I could start fighting them properly.

Very unforgiving stage and definitely one of the hardest in the game. I've only beaten this mission twice on nightmare and it took many attempts.


Locanda2 - Bio Warhead

Short but interesting mission. You have a Kilrathi cap ship that immediately launches the biohead missile as soon as you reach Nav1. I don't think you can stop it from firing the first one, but if you take it out quickly you can stop it from firing the other two.

The easiest method I find is to use your torpedo to destroy the cap ship (thanks Rachel for providing the thunderbolt for this one). Then quickly dispense the other fighters. Once there's no more enemies, you should still have plenty of time to afterburn towards the missile and destroy it.


Locanda2a - Rescue Flint

To make up for a short mission, you have another optional sub-mission to rescue Flint. Who has decided to go off and take on the entire Kilrathi fleet by herself.

I think it's random how many waypoints of enemies there are, and which waypoint flint is in. On my run I had one waypoint to clear by myself, then the next waypoint flint was in.

This mission isn't too hard, much easier than the one before. Just be careful when you find flint, try to draw the Darkets away from her so she's not overwhelmed.


Blackmane1 - Defend Blackmane Base

Standard mission, there are many waves of enemies, but they come in small groups. The only difficult part is towards the end when the Bloodmist and Paktahns arrive. Utilise your wingman here, divide and conquer. If your wingman is kind enough to distract Bloodmist, then take out the Paktahns as quickly as possible. They are a big threat to the base.

Luckily on my run, Vagabond was able to keep Bloodmist busy whilst I took out the Paktahns. He can't die in this stage of the game, and he obeys orders. So, I'd say he's a solid choice for this mission.

Blackmane2 - Escort Supply Transports

Again, pick a wingman that can't die yet on this mission. When you get to Nav2, two harmless looking transports have been captured. As soon as you get near them, they explode. The Strakha won't appear until at least one of them has blown up, so you must go to at least one of them to progress.

My tactic is simply, get with 1km to trigger to explosion and immediately afterburner away. Only issue with this, I usually lose my wingman. The Strakha are very annoying when you have no wingman. You must take them out very quickly or gunfire will rain down on you. My ship was pretty beat up after this, but it was the last waypoint anyway.


Blackmane3 - Escort Weapon Convoy

There's actually two transports in this one. You only need one of them to make it to the base for the mission to be successful. First wavepoint has Sorthaks which are big, slow and great fun to shoot. However, don't let them too close to the transports. They have deadly firepower.

I actually had more issues with the Strakhas. There were too many and they somehow blew up one of the transports. I didn't feel like repeating the mission so, sorry Blackmane, you only get one shipment today.


Ariel1 - Military Garrison, Nail all Kilrathi fighters

I hate the longbow. It's like flying a ferry through space, it's so slow and VERY tricky to line up your shots. The shields are thick though, so as long as you keep moving you should be okay.

When I see a Kilrathi carrier, I tend to destroy it before doing anything else. Otherwise you get more waves of enemies from it. Other than that, not much to say. Mission isn't too hard, just annoying that Rachel gives you the longbow.


Ariel2 - Wipe out Kilrathi in the Nebula

Lots of cap ships on this one. Pick a decent wingman and work together, this is a two-man job. Also, be careful flying too close to the destroyers, the Vaktoth's lure you towards them. I completely lost my shields because of this. Fortunately, we managed to clear them out despite this. I had saved my torpedo, so I was able to use this to take out the last destroyer. Both of ours ships were at breaking point by the end.


Ariel3 - Escort Victory to jump point (Nebula)

The first two waypoints are okay. As usual I take out the carrier at Nav2 first with the torpedo and gunning it down from the inside.

Tricky part comes at Nav3. There's a faraway cap ship that launches a skipper missile. If that missile gets to the victory, you're screwed. You only have a small window to destroy it as well, I think only two chances. So, focus your attention on the missile, as soon as you see it, ignore everything else and take down that missile!


Caliban1 - Defend convoys in the nebula

Very easy mission. I guess they wanted to give you a break after the stress of protecting the victory. Not much to say, just rack up the kills and enjoy the show.


Caliban2 - Destroy enemy convoys in the Nebula

Lots of Dralthi again, but you're in the thunderbolt so it's doable. Although flash did abandon me eventually, what a pussy. Not much strategy here, just destroy every last cat until the radar is clean!


Caliban3* - Escort Victory to jump point (Nebula, again)

Why Rachel? Why the hellcat again? This is the second of the hardest missions in the game. The waves of enemies in this one seem endless.

The first time I played this mission on nightmare, I actually hid in the victory for a while just to survive. However, this time I managed to get through (somehow) without using the victory as aid. There's no breaks and no forgiveness in this mission. So good luck to anyone who wants to attempt this!


Torgo1 - Protect the Behemoth

A fun mission, much easier than the one just before. You're in the arrow for one thing, so fast it can out maneuver pretty much anything. Also, you have all your comrades to assist you. Just enjoy blasting all the cats out of the sky and take a nice touristic view of the Behemoth when you're done.


Torgo2 - Mine the jump points

This mission can be annoying, purely because you're in the longbow. As soon as you have a clear shot, unleash the awesome firepower of the longbow's guns. Also, be careful not to select the mines whilst you're fighting, you need every last one for those jump points!


Torgo3 - Disable Enemy Tankers

Damn, those asteroid ships are fast for flying rocks. You only need to deal with them two at a time for this mission so just wait for them to start turning and blast that rock. Do not follow too close, they drop mines like there's no tomorrow and you can easily run into them if you're not careful.

Eventually they do run out though, so if you wait long enough then you'll be able to tail them. The tankers don't have too many laser turrets so they're easy enough to disable.


Loki1* - Clear out all Kilrathi

Third of the hardest missions in this game. This is the only mission that I change Rachel's choice of ship. I simply cannot win this in a hellcat. The Dralthi just gang rape you and they're not shy with the missiles! I find only the arrow can outrun them (not helped by the fact you can't use your afterburners and move around with the mouse). I always do Nav2 first as it's the hardest.

Again, you must fight your instincts with the Dralthi. You must target switch, if you try to stay with one to finish it off then you're open to attack. Ironically you desperately need to kill them quickly as there's a second wave coming! I always use at least half my missiles on this waypoint alone, just to try and catch a couple early on.

Nav3 is much easier, but stay sharp. One mistake in this mission can be lethal, stay on your toes at all times. The Vaktoth's can be taken out easily enough, I actually find the Darkets much more annoying, they are just so damn fast.


Loki2 - Cover Behemoth test fire

Nice and easy, just chase down those Paktahns and enjoy the show of the test fire. Then swat away the rest of their little fleet.


Loki3 - Escort Behemoth to Kilrah

There's nothing you can do here. You cannot stop the Paktahns from destroying the Behemoth so just sit back and relax.


Lok3a - Challenge Thrakath

I think you're actually not supposed to be able to kill Thrakath and make it back to the Victory in time. It can be done though, even on nightmare. My tactic is to fly towards the Victory immediately after you see Angel getting killed. Then turn around, wait for him to get within 1km of the Victory and fire all of your missiles.

With a bit of luck, this in combination with the laser turrets on the victory, he will perish, and you will still have time to land on the victory before it jumps. Although you will still see him again later despite this.


Alcor1* - Victory Under Attack 2

The forth of the hardest missions in the game. You can actually fly drunk on this one if you choose to have another drink instead of accepting Rachel's invitation for company.

If someone can finish this mission drunk then I'd love to see it (that is Blair being drunk, not the player). At least they give you the arrow for this one, which is the only slight bit of mercy they will show you on this mission.

I always do Nav2 first. It's another Dralthi marathon and they're not shy to use the missiles. Just keep mashing the decoy button like there's no tomorrow. Even when you run out of decoys, it will still scramble their missile locks, albeit it's less effective than actual decoys.

Just keep switching, dodging and gradually wearing them down. I use most if not all of my missiles for these guys.

Hobbes should hold his own for most of this mission. However, I have MANY failed attempts at this mission and it's no unusual for him to eject if you don't look after him.

Just when you've finished clearing out the Dralthi, you have an army of Paktahns to deal with! Now they're ganging up on Hobbes on my run for some reason. Not very clever to try and kill your own spy! They're big and slow, so you should be able to take them out pretty quickly.

Next is Nav3, but it's just Strakhas. Assuming Hobbes hasn't ejected then it should be easy enough.

Nav4 again, just Vaktoth's here. Piece of cake compared to what you've just been through.

Now Nav1 is a bit more interesting. Sheffield is quite vulnerable. If you don't take out the Corvette closest to it, then they will cross paths and it will damage Sheffield. So you'll want to take that one out first.

Now just work with Hobbes (again, hoping he hasn't ejected!) and use teamwork to finish off the other corvettes.

As soon as the last one has been destroyed, a wave of Vaktoths come in and head straight for Sheffield. Now I’ve tried, but I just cannot seem to prevent Sheffield from getting blown up. Even if it survives the initial wave of Vaktoths, then the huge wave of Darkets will finish it off.

I did see it a couple of times jump and supposedly escape. I'm not sure what triggers this, maybe if you take longer on the Corvette's? I have no idea. My tactic here, is to let Hobbes go after the Vaktoth's (Sheffield might be able to pick off one or two before it blows also). Strangely though, despite watching it blow up. Sheffield still showed up in a later mission for me, what's all that about?

Then I go straight for the new Corvette that arrived with the Vaktoth wave first. The reason for this? I've found that if you take out the Vaktoth and Darkets first (it takes forever on nightmare to kill all of these guys, or at least for me it does) then the Corvette will fly so far away that it can actually disappear off your radar. Which basically leaves you unable to autopilot and with little afterburner left. So I find it best to take care of it beforehand.

Wow, so all the Nav points are clear. Time for a nice gentle ride back to the Victory, right? Nope, there's a wave of Sorthaks waiting for you. This mission is very unforgiving, as by this point you've been playing for a long time and your concentration is probably starting to dip.

Once again, hopefully Hobbes is still around. You also have Primate and Ragtop (who are these guys, no idea) helping out. So, this part should be easy, just don't let your guard down.


Alcor 2 - Clear the asteroid field

I usually do the Nav points in reverse order on this one, hardest to easiest.

At Nav3 I took out the destroyer first, as on previous attempts Maniac kept going after it and was getting himself killed after the Paktahns opened fired when he turned his back.

Nav2 is flat out annoying. I tend to use all of my missiles here. Maniac only deals with one of the Asteroid ships, the other 3 come after me! If I can take out one of them with the missiles, then I can gradually wear down the other two.

Nav1 is the easiest. Again, take out the destroyer first, then go and help Maniac with the Corvettes. If you don't take out the destroyer, then when he attacks the Corvette below, he will be sandwiched between two sources of gunfire and will probably be killed. After they're all gone, a wave of Darkets will appear. As long as Maniac is still alive, this should be okay. Just patiently wear them all down.


Alcor3 - Terminate Hobbes

Optional mission, but I can't let him get away with it!

Similar tactic to flash. Missiles will almost always miss, but fire them anyway (whilst avoiding his!), it will make him waste some of afterburner fuel at least. Try to catch him as he turns. It's much more difficult as he's in a thunderbolt, whilst you're in the inferior hellcat.

Eventually his afterburners will run out, once that happens you should be able to pursue him. Just be careful of his rear turret.

Once you get back to the victory, you will need to deal with some Strakhas. My craft was almost toast by this time, I didn't even have a working radar! Somehow, I managed to get through it. Looks like the Kilrathi won't find out about the T-Bomb at least.



Alcor4 - Extract the Scientist

Nav1, piece of cake. Effortlessly wipe out those 4 Darkets and descend to the planet. Now your first encounter with Ekapshi, they are incredibly annoying. I normally use most of my missiles here as there's so many of the buggers. Usual target switching tactics here, but be careful. On the left you have the altimeter, don't go too high or too low, it can cause your ship some serious damage.

Once the Ekapshi are destroyed, you can safely take out the buildings below and move onto Nav2. More Ekapshi here, but not as many. Take them out, again try to look after your ship.

Once they're destroyed. You now must destroy the turrets on the ground. I hate these little things, they're so small and hard to hit. I always shift most of my power to the shields, as I find it impossible to shoot these things without constantly getting hit.

Once you've finally destroyed them all, the mission is a success. At Nav4 there are more turrets, so you can destroy these as well....if you want. By now I've had enough so I just fly away and watch Vagabond punch the mad doctor, good times.


Freya1 - Clean Kilrathi out to claim Jump Point

Longbow and Dralthi are a horrible mix. If you're lucky enough to line up a clean shot, blast them to oblivion. Nav3 is a big pain, but least there's only 3 waypoints. I went after the carrier and left flint to keep the others busy. She let me down though and had to eject. I was able to destroy the carrier though, so there weren’t too many enemies left.


Freya2 - Destroy Shield Generator

Very similar to the 4th Alcor mission. I like the fact that you get to fly the Excalibur but I'm sick of those ground turrets. Glad there's no more after this.


Freya3 - Defend Jump point

Nice and simple, just destroy anything that comes out of the jump point. No major strategy here, just don't let them enemies overwhelm you. There are a lot of them.


Hyperion1 - T-Bomb Test

It's fun watching the planet explode after dropping the bomb. However, I'm really sick of these Ekapshi, one mistake and they obliterate your shields. Be careful not to drop the T-Bomb on them, otherwise it's straight to the losing mission tree.

One part was quite satisfying though, the last Ekapshi literately crashed into a mountain whilst I was chasing it, hilarious.


Hyperion2* Escort the big boys

The last of the hardest missions in my opinion, mainly due to Nav3. It's also very difficult to keep your wingman alive.

I always go straight to Ajax in Nav3. That cruiser does not mess around, it will destroy you, your wingman and Ajax if you're not quick to bring it down.

My strategy is, fire all your missiles at the Paktahns and hope that they hit. They go straight for Ajax and have missiles ready to launch. I send Vagabond after them whilst I make a start on the big cruiser. If by some miracle Ajax survives, then it will help you finish off the others (unless they kill Ajax first).

Nav2, I sent Vagabond (hopefully he didn't get killed in Nav3, which on my final run, he survived thankfully) after the Drakthi's. I went after the carrier and took care of that from the inside to prevent more waves of enemies. Although watching it back, I think the missile that I shot down, may have been for the carrier. Oh well.

Nav1 is the easiest, Sheffield will launch a torpedo at the destroyer (strange, could have sworn I saw Sheffield get blown up back in the Alcor system, oh well). So, we only need to take out the regular enemies.


Freya4 - Protect Jump Point (again!)

Seriously, the confederation really seems to have trouble defending jump points. Anyway, this mission is fun. As you get to fly in the Excalibur. It's not as challenging due to the auto aim. I don't know how to turn it off, or if you can turn it off.

Anyway, Flint ejected early on in Nav1. That's okay, she's a liability anyway, just another mouth to feed. It also somewhat makes up for having an overpowered aircraft.

Just have fun on this one, you've earned it. After all those unforgiving and frustrating missions, you deserve to kick back and mow down those kitties with minimum effort.


Kilrah - Fly to Kilrah and deploy the T-Bomb

Similar to the last mission. The fact that you have the Excalibur means these missions are a bit easy, but also lots of fun. Send your wingmen home as soon as possible, it will make it a bit more challenging and they will all die if you don't.

Thrakath is back again, give him a few taunts and load his ass with missiles. As soon as he's dead, you descend to the planet. I never use my afterburners in the final part of the mission, I make sure to save it for the trenches.

This part is actually really easy if you exploit the fact that your cloak is working again. Similar to when it resets your power levels and yours guns, it also forgets that you're only allowed to cloak once! I actually thought you were supposed to cloak, but I have since read that this was a mistake.

On my run I didn't use the cloak, I use my afterburners to get to the fault line. Those damn Ekapshis are really annoying, I started to aim for the fault line and they started firing up my ass. Then I tried to engage the cloak, but it doesn't work if they're shooting you. Then it seemed like the game glitched out a bit, the Ekapshis looked like they were frozen.

Oh well, who cares at this point. Just launch the T-Bomb and finish the game. It's about time we ended this war.
 
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That's awesome! Your original full length movie is still a go-to resource for people, so looking forward to your sequel. Some people have some higher difficulty stuff out there, but I'm not sure I recall anyone going through specifically for the purpose of recording it on the highest difficulty, so that'll be great to see.
 
Ha, that's awesome. Thanks guys, wasn't expecting replies so quickly. Glad people are interested in this.

Do you think they will allow me to upload it to the site being such a large file? 7 hours will be a few gigabytes. Otherwise I can put it on youtube, as their limits are huge.
 
Do you think they will allow me to upload it to the site being such a large file? 7 hours will be a few gigabytes. Otherwise I can put it on youtube, as their limits are huge.

We can probably do both. Youtube is convenient for many people to watch, but it would be nice to have a safe downloadable version here at the CIC as well once you've got a finalized copy.
 
Excellent, thanks Chris. Should I PM you once it's ready? I'm literately one mission before the 3 kilrah missions now. So won't be long.

Cheers,
 
Yup, sounds good. Include KrisV and we can work out a way to transfer the large file.
 
Nice one, thanks Chris.

So I've uploaded a 10 minute sample to youtube to give you an idea on the final product. I've finished recording all of the missions now. I'm just finishing up the editing. It will hopefully be completed by the weekend. Let me know if you guys have any feedback on the video below.



Cheers
 
NOTE: I had trouble playing this from VLC Player, Windows Media Player seemed to work fine, however.
Hmm, yes, once I got to around 2:29:xx, the video just froze and anything beyond that point cannot be viewed. Audio seemed to be okay. I wonder if the size of the video is a problem for VLC. That's a shame, as I was watching it on my Linux box...
 
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