Temple of the Lost Addons

We received an e-mail with a question we thought was worth investigating: "I've been reading about Ultima VII: The Lost Vale and it got me thinking: were there any Wing Commander expansion disks in the works that didn't make it out? The short answer is yes, two Wing Commander addons were solicited in some capacity by Origin but very little is known beyond that. They've both been long the subject of rumor and speculation and so we thought we'd check the archives and at least prove they were technically announced!

Wing Commander II: Special Operations 3

In late 1991, Origin held a conference on CompuServe with Ellen Guon and Siobhan Beeman talking about the imminent release of Wing Commander II. One of the surprising things mentioned was that there would be THREE Special Operations disks. "Special Operations 3" was never listed for preorder and we have found very little mention of the concept over the years. Unfortunately, the original conference transcript seems to be lost to time so it has been difficult to establish the exact details (we'd appreciate it if any digital packrats would check their old files, the file name would likely be wing2.con). Luckily, we've finally discovered an echo that confirms our memories: a 1991 page from the "GIF News," a tech news outlet intended to be posted to BBSes at the time.

If you've finished Wing Commander II, do not delete the game just yet from your hard drive. Special Operations Disk #1, 2, & 3 will be released. The first one will introduce 2 new Confederation ships and 1 Kilrathi. You will be able to fly the "Crossbow" which is like a Broadsword but much more maneuverable. The storyline revolves around a mutinous group of Confederation pilots that you must fight. Future operations disks will involve "Space Pirates" as well as more Kilrathi political intrigue.

This is clearly news being reported from the CompuServe chat. Beyond this proof that Special Ops 3 was discussed there's almost no information available. Given the descriptions above it seems possible that the cut story could've been about "space pirates"... or it could be a case that Special Operations 3 (wherever it was to appear in the sequence) was compressed into one of the released expansions. After all, Special Operations 1 is essentially two separate stories!

Privateer Special Operation 2

Another long-rumored cancelled expansion is a second Privateer mission disk. Many simply assumed there would be a second expansion based on the cadence of the previous games but some actually remembered it being announced. And those that remember it are correct! Origin solicited a second Privateer expansion under the dummy title "Privateer Special Op 2" and it was listed in retailer computers (and sometimes included in magazine listings like the one below from an early 1994 issue of PC Zone). By the time Righteous Fire shipped, the CD-ROM version of Privateer was already scheduled for release so it's unlikely Special Operation 2 was still being considered at that point. Nothing else is known about what the intended content might have been.