News Collection: On This Day in WC News

2025.033 (February 2, 2025)

GOG Sale Ending Soon, Check Out Their Dreamlist

This is a reminder that the GOG's Lunar New Year sale is winding down. You have just a couple days left to save 59% on Wing Commander games across the board. I've also noticed that the company has been emphasizing its Dreamlist feature a ton lately. This allows people to vote for titles that are not currently available but that they'd like to have added.

2024.033 (February 2, 2024)

When You Order Everything on the Menu

If you wanted to buy GOG's $5.99 Wing Commander I & II pack from Origin’s catalog in 1991 the total would’ve come to $309.65. That’s over $700 adjusted for inflation!

2023.033 (February 2, 2023)

Watch the Entire End Run Story Here

Mac is back with his biggest, baddest and most epic Lore Video yet! In recent months he's covered several adjacent topics such as the Broadsword Bomber and TCS Johnny Greene, which have helped set the stage for the main event: Wing Commander End Run. If you've read the novel, you know the story. The video starts out as the mother of all book reports, but it's much more than that!

2022.033 (February 2, 2022)

Listen to a Little Launch Music

Matt McGuire has posted a short and sweet digital reorchestration of the classic WC1 scramble music. You can hear it take advantage of a much wider ensemble than the MIDI of thirty years ago. Give it a listen below!

2021.033 (February 2, 2021)

More Eyes on the Warrior King

Jim Gisriel has made a fun video on the Saga of the Warrior King. This is an amazing bit of history that we've written about extensively over the years, so it's great to see the event getting more visibility. It all began in Street Fighter and continued in Savage Dragon and Mortal Kombat before concluding in Wing Commander. These four completely unrelated shows are brought together by a viking He-man voiced by Michael Dorn.

2020.033 (February 2, 2020)

3DO Sampler #5 Found with Wing Commander 3 Clips

Nathan Sestrich has found and posted the 3DO Video Sampler #5 from 1996. As someone who worked in video game retail around the turn of the millennium, I find these to be incredibly nostalgic (and historic!) time capsules, but finding one with Wing Commander is a special treat. We previously reported on 3DO Interactive Sampler #3 which included a playable demo of Wing Commander 3 (that you can download from the CIC and play on your 3DO or a compatible emulator!

2019.033 (February 2, 2019)

And the Winner Is...

...Wing Commander Flat Universe! The votes are in, and WCFU took the top spot in our annual fan project contest for the third time. The newest version of their top-down shooter features new fighters, new explosion & damage effects, new weapons and awesome new multiplayer modes.

2018.033 (February 2, 2018)

Amigos Look Back At Amiga Wing Commander

Everything Amiga has posted their latest podcast, and this episode is all about Wing Commander. Their video show spends nearly an hour discussing the backstory and all the neat elements that made Wing Commander such a great game. They also delve into some useful context, such as the disk size and how slow the game ran on a stock Amiga machine. It's also just tons of fun to hear fellow fans reminisce about the TrainSim or the funeral scenes that made Wing Commander so memorable.

2017.033 (February 2, 2017)

Homeworld Mod Adds Famous Battlewagon

The newest addition to the Homeworld Remastered Mod is another hard-hitting carrier. L.I.F.

2016.033 (February 2, 2016)

Ron Cobb's Wing Commander Concept Art Found!

LOAF recently uncovered several pieces of exotic concept art for the Wing Commander Movie! These treasures were drafted by Ron Cobb, who is famous for creating some of the iconic imagery for Star Wars, Alien, The Last Starfighter and more. Each is dated 1997 before Chris Roberts and producer Todd Moyer decided to go in a different visual direction, although some of the promotional material such as the 1998 SFX WC magazine still credits him with the "texture" of the film. It's neat to finally see what he envisioned, and some of these ships are pretty wild!

2015.033 (February 2, 2015)

Strategy Mod's Tactical Display Finished

Arraen reports that the user interface is complete for the Starship Tactics strategy game. The latest revision removes some of the rounded edges and other modern space game flair in exchange for a more classical look that draws on games such as Wing Commander 3 and Privateer 2. Then it's all tied together by a strong shade of Confederation blue. You can compare how the menus have evolved over the past year in the shots below - the first image is newest - and provide feedback at the CIC Forums.

2014.033 (February 2, 2014)

GO HAWKS!

May the loudest ones win! Edit: Yay, we win!!

Defiant Few Calls for More Voice Actors

Work continues on Episode 5 of the audio drama Wing Commander Defiant Few, but Plywood Fiend is also planning a new chapter that explores what some of the characters were doing before the Nephilim Invasion of the Gemini Sector. This means there's a fun opportunity for a handful of new voice actors to join the team! Interested fans can find the audition lines at the CIC Forums - both men and women are needed. Submissions need to be in before the end of the month.

2013.033 (February 2, 2013)

It's a Great Time to be a Wingnut

The results are in from our annual New Year Poll, and Wingnuts have spoken! Final numbers represent the highest level of optimism among fans in the thirteen-year history of this particular survey. The number of Wingnuts with a "poor" or "unsure" outlook on the year ahead has been trending down for several years, and it's currently at the lowest measured level ever. "Great" has reached its highest percentage yet, and it's followed closely by people with a "good" feeling about 2013.

Colossal Clash Erupts in Eve Online

A few news outlets have picked up on an impressive story out of Eve Online. Last weekend, a mind boggling 2,800-ship battle broke out. Words can't properly describe such an incredible melee, so check out some crazy pictures of it all. For one, it was beautiful – the screenshots, compiled in an album here, are gorgeous renders of spiderweb lasers and stardust surrounding powerful feats of man.

2012.033 (February 2, 2012)

"And the last Kilrathi planet in the sector falls!"

Tim Peel has put together another gorgeous scene with Howard Day's models. In this new image, he's beautifully recreated the Venice Assault from the end of the original Wing Commander. Flights of Hornets play escort as the Claw advances. You can grab this wallpaper in two resolutions: 1920x1080 and 2560x1440.

2011.033 (February 2, 2011)

WC Saga Game Test Seeking Volunteers

The WC Saga team is thinking about conducting another beta test, and they are currently taking applications for participants. Those working on the mod have been looking at some of the same material for years, so they would appreciate a new point of view on the project. If it sounds like you can help, sign up here. We can't overestimate the value of fresh play tester eyes on the product.

2010.033 (February 2, 2010)

Jason Throws a Tarp'on Collateral Damage

JasonRocZ has a pair of exotic Nephilim craft today. Both the "Puffer" and "Tarpon" were revealed in Star*Soldier via the plane spotting silhouette guide and will make an appearance in the Wing Commander Collateral Damage mod. He's still working to figure out what roles each ship will fill, and there's some structural and weapon enhancements that will be added to the latter ship. I started on the Tarpon...

Raptors to the Rescue

You might know February 2 as Groundhog's Day, but it's also the anniversary of the famous engagement that helped Confed draw a defensive line through the Vega Sector. On this day in 2639, the Kilrathi swept into the Enyo and McAuliffe Systems and captured a quarter of a million human colonists. Through the heroic efforts of Confed pilots, including Captain Geoffrey Tolwyn, the Terran fleet was able to successfully rescue the hostages and drive back the Kilrathi! 2639.

2009.033 (February 2, 2009)

Instructions for Lego Minis

This is a follow-up to last week's story about saf0775's mini Lego force. It looks like the official Lego Factory site will not be able to host his creations due to copyright issues, so saf has made his models available through regular channels. A zip file containing Dralthi, Hornet, Krant, Rapier, Raptor, Salthi, Scimitar and Tiger's Claw designs can be downloaded here. You need Lego Digital Designer to view the 3D files.

Warhammer Live Expansion Announced

Electronic Arts has announced an expansion to Warhammer Online, the massively multiplayer PC game released last September. The Call to Arms live "expansion" will be available for free beginning in March via a creative phased approach. The rollout centers around three major online events which will occur in the spring. Participation in the first event opens up new careers and a new scenario.

2008.033 (February 2, 2008)

P2 Board Game Project In Work

Das Erwachen readers all know that Deacan loves Privateer 2. Now he and a friend have found a new way to show their affection for the game. They have put together a tentative game board based on the P2 schematic map. It's pictured below next to a Jincilla Skull playing piece mock-up.

Point of Origin: Vol. V, No. 1

Could it be? After five years, the team behind The Point of Origin has learned how magazines are numbered! Vol. V, No.

2007.033 (February 2, 2007)

TacOps Stat Cards Released

Ironduke has released the stat cards for his Wing Commander board game. All the fighters, bases and capships are available in a 22 meg zip here. The individual packs are also available separately at Crius.net.

EA Announces Financial Results

Electronic Arts has released its quarterly financial data for the 2006 holiday season. Total revenue was up slightly at $1.28 billion from October to December. Over 10 million games were sold in the Sims 2 subseries during that period, along with several million more Need for Speeds, FIFAs and Maddens.

2006.033 (February 2, 2006)

Pioneer Phalanx Complete, Tech Demo Coming Soon

Howard Day has completed the Phalanx cockpit for WC Pioneer. Elements from different concept designs were brought together to create a sharp look that's heavily inspired by different Wing Commander elements. A dazzling 3D virtual mock up of the design is available for Quicktime users here. A basic tech demo for the Pioneer engine should also be available later this month.

EA Announces Third Quarter Financial Data

Detailed information on Electronic Arts' fiscal third quarter (October-December) was released this morning. Almost a dozen titles sold more than a million units during the quarter. Need for Speed Most Wanted lead the pack at seven million copies sold in its first six weeks on shelves. GameSpot reports that EA produced five of the top ten best selling console and hand held titles in 2005, but there seem to be some discrepancies, since their list doesn't reflect these copies of Need for Speed.

2005.033 (February 2, 2005)

Battlestar Raiders Compared to Dralthi

Two long-time CIC visitors, Darkstar/TCNPhil and pygmypiranha, found an interesting Wing Commander mention at the official blog site for the new Battlestar Galactica series. Ron Moore of Star Trek and BSG fame recently held a Q&A session. I was on the sci fi channel's Battlestar Gallactica's Ron Moore's Blog page and about halfway through the article, the interviewer asks the creator/reviver of the series about the Cylon fighters that look exactly like Dralthis and was there an Wing Commander influence... which I had obviously picked up the similarity while watching the show.

German Wing Commander Site Back Online

After suffering from further technical issues since returning from a year of downtime just before Christmas, German site WingCenter is once again back online. Since the site's updates are now entirely in German, it's hard for most of us to understand what they're talking about, but it appears that predictions that the site will start covering other space sims have proven to be true. Since returning, the site has started covering Nexus and the X2 expansion and will perhaps expand to other WC clones soon. Don't forget the Babelfish if you're going to stop by.

Watch The Speech in #Wingnut

Whenever something of note is held at the same time across all time zones, it's fun to watch it in real time in #Wingnut. Although I got called into work, there should be a bunch of people watching the State of the Union address around 9:00 pm Eastern US time tonight. Have fun.

2004.033 (February 2, 2004)

Reckoning Campaign Shots Released

Bob has gone ahead and captured a variety of screenshots from the Freelancer single player missions using the latest build of the Reckoning mod. There's some really great Vindicator, Hornet and Thunderbolt action to see, and those are just the beginning of the Wing Commander ships included in this project. It looks like a lot of fun. We reported about the download and installation options for The Reckoning last week.

Get $100 For Discussing Ultima Online

One of our sibling sites in the Ultima community, UO Stratics is reporting about a neat focus group for people who have played Ultima Online. If you live near San Francisco, California, you might be eligible to talk about your likes, dislikes and viewpoints on the game. They're looking for about seventy current and former players to participate, and each person will receive $100. The events will be held in just a couple days, so if this sounds like your kind of thing, get involved immediately.

2002.033 (February 2, 2002)

WCA Art 13: ... and Night!

Those Wing Commander Academy really planned everything out... and they also painted the infamous volcano at night!

Never Sound Retreat

Shaggy found some interesting news for fans of William Forstchen. According to Dark Horizons (and there quoted from The Hollywood Reporter) the movie rights to his Lost Regiment series of books (Civil War soldiers versus aliens) has been optioned by Paramount and Cruise/Wagner productions! The project has supposedly been "put on the fast track". Hell, I'll pay to see a movie from the guy who wrote Fleet Action...

2001.033 (February 2, 2001)

Help HTL (Plus Full Archives Now Online)

The Aces storyline Holding The Line Archive has had a major overhaul. The site now looks better, and all one hundred published chapters are now available to read. The three completed storyline arcs are also available to download in full. The new URL is also slightly different, so please update your bookmarks to blance.

Subspace Fan Project Doing Well

Filler let us know that the Subspace Zone for Wing Commander is progressing along very nicely. They got a host the other night and are now proceeding to get the zone up and running for real, however the project is still considered a "beta." Some settings, sounds and map stuff is not finalized. If you're familiar with the old 2D space craft multiplayer game Subspace and would like to know more about this project, be sure to mail Filler here.

Red Reviews Rising

The reviews are slowly starting to accumulate. In the last week we've jumped up to 22 Red Planet reviews. Not bad at all. If you'd like to chip in your two cents, don't hesitate.

2000.033 (February 2, 2000)

Of Mods and Conversions

There's been some discussion on the possibility of a Wing Commander mod for Homeworld on Sierra's Homeworld message board. And Thomas Bruckner's been working on a Babylon 5 to Wing Commander Prophecy model converter. His website is located here.

Have You Seen This Magazine?

According to LOAF's brother the latest issue of Toyfare includes some kind of Wing Commander cartoon. We haven't been able to locate it yet, so if anyone has a copy of the magazine, we'd really appreciate a scan of the page.

Wing Commander Music Lauded

WildFire- noticed that Damage Gaming's article on moodsetting music mentions that Wing Commander has fantastic music. You can find that article here.

Venom Vandals Vanquished

M.C. Gammer gives you the low-down. Local authorities on Crius were celebrating last night following a bust on a Nerve Toxins ring.

1999.033 (February 2, 1999)

MiniReview: The Confederation Handbook

Well, after it didn't come from B&N on time an exciting trek into our nation's capitol located me a copy of the Wing Commander Confederation Handbook... here's what I thought! (Be warned, this review may contain SPOILERS). The Good: Ask anybody, they'll tell you that one of the coolest things about Wing Commander has always been the cool in-depth manuals - WC1 had it's Claw Marks, WC3 had Victory Streak and so on.

MiniReview: Wing Commander Junior Novelization

I did, however, get my copy of the Wing Commander Junior Novelization from B&N. Here's what is sure to me my standard nifty review format... The Good: It's the same as the excellent Wing Commander Adaptation... only younger!

Prophecy Like You've Never Seen It

Rumors of the long awaited Prophecy DVD have surfaced: Sherman reports that CompUSA in his area has been using Prophecy DVD to show of Creative's 3rd generation DVD drives - maybe the next Creative DVD will ship with WCP?