Wing Loader aims to create the most definitive version of Wing Commander possible by supporting the most advanced versions of the game, mods such as WCDX and adding fully voice acted dialogue previously only seen in the SegaCD version of the game release back in 1994.
Features:
All Conversations and in-flight coms added to the game!
In-flight coms added to all Secret Missions (Testing Phase)
Allows you to transfer your Pilots between addon's.
Origin Orchestra Intro for Kilrathi Saga!
SNES intro to Secret Missions 1 added!
Wing Commander 1.5 Mod Compatible!
Support for all main series titles of Wing Commander via GOG!
Run either DosBox or Enhanced Versions of Wing Commander 1 & 2 inside Wing Loader!
Wing Commander III HD Videos via Mash's Wing Commander III Enhancement Pack!
What's new in v0.92
- Origin Orchestra Intro now included when starting WC1 & WC2
- You can now launch WC1 & WC2 via DosBox from inside Wing Loader (Voiceovers will not work due to DosBox Memory management)
- ImGui support. (Minimal)
- New settings menu (ImGui) to setup Wing Loader to your liking. (Press M to bring up the Settings Menu)
- MP4 playback now with synced audio via libVLC. (Removed OpenCV)
- Added support for Mash's Wing Commander Enhancement Pack!!!!!!!!
- Fixed a few missing lines in Wing Commander 1 Voice Mod.
- Memory Leaks in (Definitions, Asset Loading, and Cameras fixed)
- Removed camera jump when in range to objects. (This was on optimization but on some CPU's was causing jittery icons)
- Many more minor changes and bug fixes.
Controls:
Up / Down - Select game (WCI, WCII, WCII, WCIV, Prophecy)
Left / Right - Select add-on for selected game.
Space - Run selected title.
M - Brings up the settings menu (ImGui)
Esc - Close Wing Loader.
Requirements:
Windows 64bit
Graphics Card with OpenGL 4.5
WCDX
Installation Instructions:
Wing Loader
1) Extract the contents of WingLoaderv0.92.zip somewhere on your computer. ex: C:\Games
Wing Commander I
1) Install "Wing Commander" via GOG / GOG Galaxy into the Root WingLoader folder. ex: C:\Games\Wingloader so the final result will look like C:\Games\Wingloader\Wing Commander
2) Download Wing Commander 1.5
https://www.wcnews.com/wcpedia/Secret_Missions_1.5_(Kilrathi_Saga) and extract the contents of sm15_kilrathisaga.zip into the "gamedat" folder.
*Skip the overwrite. It will not cause you issues if you do, Wing Loader Manages the Install.dat file for you.
3) Grab the latest version of WCDX
https://github.com/Bekenn/wcdx/releases and extract the files into the Wing Commander install folder.
4) Run Wing Loader and click the Gear icon at the lower right and select "Patch Wing Commander I".
WC_wcdx.exe SM1_wcdx.exe SM2_wcdx.exe
Wing Commander II
1) Install "Wing Commander II" via GOG / GOG Galaxy into the Root WingLoader folder. ex: C:\Games\Wingloader so the final result will look like C:\Games\Wingloader\Wing Commander II
2) Grab the latest version of WCDX
https://github.com/Bekenn/wcdx/releases and extract the files into the Wing Commander II install folder.
3) Run Wing Loader and click the Gear icon at the lower right and select "Patch Wing Commander II".
WC2_wcdx.exe SO1_wcdx.exe SO2_wcdx.exe
Wing Commander III
1) Install "Wing Commander III" via GOG / GOG Galaxy into the Root WingLoader folder. ex: C:\Games\Wingloader so the final result will look like C:\Games\Wingloader\Wing Commander III
2) Grab the latest version of Mash's Wing Commander III Enhancement Pack
https://github.com/mattwells77/Wing_Commander_III_Enhancement_Patch/releases/tag/wc3w_en and copy the files into the Wing Commander III install folder.
- You will also need
libvlc_min_pack_3.0.20.zip from the downloads section and copy those files into the Wing Commander III install folder as well.
3) Grab ODVS's HD videos
https://www.wcnews.com/wcpedia/Wing_Commander_3_HD_Video_Pack and extract them into the movies folder inside the Wing Commander III install directory. ex C:\Games\Wingloader\Wing Commander III\movies
4) Run Wing Loader and click the Gear icon at the lower right and select "Patch Wing Commander III".
WC3W.EXE
Wing Commander IV
1) Install "Wing Commander IV" via GOG / GOG Galaxy into the Root WingLoader folder. ex: C:\Games\Wingloader so the final result will look like C:\Games\Wingloader\Wing Commander IV
* Install any additional mods or patches but it should work out of the box.
wc4dvd.exe
* I have yet to get the HD Videos working properly with these games yet but if you want them you can install them.
Wing Commander Prophecy / Secret Ops
1) Install "Wing Commander Prophecy" and/or "Wing Commander Secret Ops" via GOG / GOG Galaxy into the Root WingLoader folder. ex: C:\Games\WingLoader so the final result will look like C:\Games\Wingloader\Wing Commander Prophecy (or Secret Ops)
2) Download and install the Model Upgrade Pack
https://www.wcnews.com/wcpedia/Model_Upgrade_Pack and set up the display settings to your liking.
3) Go into your install directory and right click the Prophecy.exe and go to the compatibility tab.
- Click "Change settings for all users" and de-select "Run in Compatibility Mode"
- Click "Apply" if the option is still checked for Compatibility Mode de-select and click Apply.
* If Compatibility Mode is not enabled. Enable it, Apply and then repeat the steps.
- Do the same process with SecretOps.exe in the Wing Commander Secret Ops folder.
prophecy.exe secretops.exe
* I have yet to get the DVD or the HD Videos working properly with these games yet but if you want them you can install them.
Known Issues:
- Due to the low frame-rate of the game in the bar, if you move and click too fast on a character, the loader wont detect and activate the characters dialogue. (Doesn't happen too often, but sometimes happens.)
- The timings for dialogue in the game are borked. Some scenes, lines only display for a few seconds (or milliseconds) and skip automatically to the next. This is a game issue but have some thoughts for the future.
- Due to the low quality of the in-flight com's, they are rather low in volume. I originally had them peaking which gave it a "walki-talki" sound but didn't like that I was losing sound quality and the crackling was a bit much on some lines.
- The Ending voices are built into the Sega CD's music track and there is no way to separate them from the music. I just left the music in it and it sounded ok, but if you have a good ear you might notice that two music tracks are playing during the ending cut-scene.
- So many .dll files...
Hey Everyone!
I know it's been a long time since I've given an update. Life has been busy and I had several big contracts to do and not much free time working 7 days a week 16 hour days. But the wait is finally over! Wing Loader is done and ready for release!!!! Now all the Sega CD audio files are usable in Wing Commander 1 (KS Edition), this includes all the in-flight coms as well! There are some general script tidying to do and testing, as I haven't gone through and just did a whole playthrough yet, so I know that I miss a few things along the way. It is still a
Work In Progress or a
Beta and I wont consider it complete until it's thoroughly tested, but I think it's stable and complete enough to play and enjoy. Fingers crossed.
I have included install instructions and believe they are clear. I've only testing this on my computers and Steam Deck (Added as a non-steam game and it worked perfectly in Proton for me. Your mileage may vary.) I have never released software before so let me know it there are any issues getting up and running and I'll try my best to assist.
Thank you all for being patient and awesome. It really pushed me forward in getting this done! When I first announced this back in 2020 I thought it would take me a month, max! Boy, was I wrong! 3,873 Audio Files & over 22,000 lines of scripting later, it's finally in a place where I can show it off. I hope you all enjoy.
I know that I've probably missed something or made errors, so if a line doesn't play in a scene, a wrong audio file linked to a different line of text or a sequence is not working, feel free to DM me. And I'll fix it for the next update.
I hope you enjoy the final product and have many more hours kicking some Kilrathi ass!
**************************************SPECIAL THANKS**************************************
Bekenn's WCDX - Makes the Kilrathi Saga playable on modern PC's and patches numerous bugs!
HCI's Wing Commander Sega CD Speech Extractor - Extracts about 90% of the audio out of the game! Would not be possible without!!!!!!
Flashpoint’s Wing Commander Mission Editor - A mission editor that allow me to quickly make modifications to the script and package it back into the game!
Cheat Engine - Used to Peek and Poke at the memory to find the data needed such as dialogue buffer, callsign, name etc...
Chris Roberts – For making an amazing game.
All the developers - Those who worked on these games and all their ports! Without them and their hard work, I wouldn’t be nerding over a game that came out 30 years ago!
EA – For publishing and keeping Wing Commander accessible all these years later on their platform and on GOG.
WCNews - I've been coming to the website since I was a kid trying to download the Secret Ops add-on's on my dial-up internet connection. I have so many fond memories visiting the site and the fact that it's been maintained all these years and new content is coming out blows my mind. I've spent many countless hours scrolling through Wing Commander news and this is all thanks to you! Thank you to everyone involved for feeding my Wing Commander addiction.
WCNews Community - For being so encouraging, kind and understanding. This alone kept me pushing forward to actually get this released!