View Full Version : Wing Commander Redux
Emabulator
02-01-2009, 02:14 PM
IGN PC takes a look back (http://pc.ign.com/articles/949/949802p1.html) at Origin's classic space sim, Wing Commander, and offer how they'd remake it.
Chris Roberts' Wing Commander found plenty of fertile ground to make an impression, and it had a huge impact. Roberts had a love of cinema, and it showed in Wing Commander, which could basically be described as World War II carrier warfare in outer space. You played the newest pilot aboard the Tiger's Claw, a carrier in service with the Terran Confederation Navy in the midst of a war against a fanatical feline warrior race, the Kilrathi. There were plenty of missions to fly, but also a fascinating story that unfolded as you spoke to your crewmates and fellow pilots between missions.
Yes, the jaw-dropping, bit-mapped graphics were light years ahead of previous games, but there was a presentation that was an incredible presentation to the entire thing, from the cinematic cutscenes to the incredible sound. Wing Commander was one of the killer apps that drove the adoption of the first sound cards.
Wing Commander was a huge success, spawning a franchise that would include three direct sequels, as well as numerous spin offs. However, it all came to a screeching halt more than a decade ago, save for a single, lackluster Xbox Live Arcade game last year.
Lutheran
02-01-2009, 02:22 PM
Wing Commander is one of my long lost loves of gaming. I can't tell you how much I loved the original WC game's. Only the PC versions though for obvious reasons. I loved using my flight stick and killing those damn Kilrathi. I would kill for a good remake of the the whole series. The XBOX live game was horrible and not at all representative of those original games.
lockwoodx
02-01-2009, 02:27 PM
I still have wing commander 3 for my 3do. I can't wait for my son to play it one day. I bet he'll sleep with the red head like his old man.
Amalor
02-01-2009, 02:38 PM
I've been saying remake Wing Commander for years,nobody seems to want to make real space combat games anymore. And I don't count that freespace fly-by-mouse crap either.
ElPresidente
02-01-2009, 02:46 PM
Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom contains what I still consider one of the most impressive endings to a computer game.
In retrospect it made me realise that the Wing Commander games were almost less about the war with the Kilrah and more about your relationship with Admiral Tolwyn.
Arnold Darkshner
02-01-2009, 02:48 PM
It is really sad, I miss the days of WC/X-wing/Tie-Fighter/Privateer. There really needs to be another space sim with today's technology.
ElPresidente
02-01-2009, 02:56 PM
The X series... just be prepared to read 99% of the official forums posts before you are capable of doing anything. :P
gawaintheblind
02-01-2009, 04:07 PM
Privateer is still the best game ever released on the PC, imo. Too bad the sequel sucked so much.
Antdude
02-01-2009, 04:51 PM
Wing Commander was the reason I bought a PC in the first place. I couldn't believe how cool it was, and the sequels were just as good in their way(Wing Commander 2 is my favorite single-player story). And Privateer sucked me in for months by itself. I can remember spending a night making my own starmap of the Gemini sector from the game's maps, long before there were any online maps available.
That's what I miss most about those games: the fun, the passion for each new title, and looking for new ways to enjoy them. It's a damn shame there is nothing like WC/Privateer today. I can't believe game devs think there's no market for a kick-ass modern space-sim. Eve may be a great title, but it's a bit daunting for some, and offers no offline component to cut your teeth on before you enter the dog-eat-dog universe. Maybe the upcoming boxed version will be a little more friendly.
Still, I'd love to hop in a Scimitar and take out some next-gen Dralthi in a new Wing Commander game. Anyone listening?
Greeble
02-01-2009, 05:19 PM
I loved the wing commander series, but I'm not sure how much fun they would be without a flight stick.
Wing Commander is one of my long lost loves of gaming. I can't tell you how much I loved the original WC game's. Only the PC versions though for obvious reasons. I loved using my flight stick and killing those damn Kilrathi. I would kill for a good remake of the the whole series. The XBOX live game was horrible and not at all representative of those original games.
That's why I keep an eye out on the 360 Community Games. I'm sure someone is makeing something similar to it and it will show up one day.
LordBeatnik
02-01-2009, 06:29 PM
Privateer is still the best game ever released on the PC, imo. Too bad the sequel sucked so much.
So true. I still have my privateer disks though I don't know that it'll play on current systems.
Too bad Priv 2 was a bastard child. The rumor after it turned out to be crap was that it was unrelated game that they slapped the WC: privateer name onto because they figured it wouldn't sell otherwise. i.e. They knew it was crap.
ElPresidente
02-01-2009, 07:10 PM
And how about that awesome movie with Matthew Lillard and Freddie Prinze Jr. in it!
Anyone?
Anyone??
:P
Testcase
02-01-2009, 08:07 PM
The Wing Commander redux TC for open Freespace 2 is shaping up to be pretty damn fun.
As for the movie... well.. I have two words: SPACE TRACTOR!
Tempest261
02-01-2009, 08:07 PM
I loved the wing commander series, but I'm not sure how much fun they would be without a flight stick.
Everyone mentions this- but I don't get it. Why can't we have flight sticks anymore? Saitek makes a great stick/throttle that I use to play my remaining few space sims (and flight sims). Coupled with Track-IR hardware, we're actually better off than we were back then.
No, there isn't a bustling stick market anymore (thrustmaster is all but gone- at least the way we remember it), but there's enough of one to prevent a "chicken and egg" scenario that would keep space sims from re-emerging. Someone just needs to take a risk with a killer franchise- it would almost definitely have to be an X-wing, Freespace 3, or Wing Commander VI game.
Methos
02-01-2009, 08:59 PM
Wing Commander was quite instrumental in getting new PC hardware for me. A dedicated sound board for WC1, and a new 3dfx video card for WC: Prophecy. Oh, and Ginger Lynn anyone?
zmaniacz
02-01-2009, 09:41 PM
Wing Commander is directly responsible for my gaming addiction. I turned into a huge Origin whore, too. God I miss them.
Upside, I got to live a geek wet dream when my mother was hired to do work on the live action parts of WC IV. I got to meet all the actors and hang out with Mark Hamill in his dressing room (dude fucking loved Frasier, had tapes and tapes of the show to watch during downtime). I like to trot this little nugget out when I feel a need to make peasants jealous.
i just read the article and felt the forgot that almost all the orginal cast is dead.... by the time of prophecy i think only blair, maniac and Paladin were left alive. YEs i love the wing commander universe read all the books played all the games even had the damn tcg......
Tennebaum
02-02-2009, 10:29 AM
I had to upgrade my PC for WC3. The loading times with only 8MB RAM where up to a minute per mission. So I bought another 8MB for 600,-.
Privateer is still the best game ever released on the PC, imo. Too bad the sequel sucked so much.
Agreed. (http://www.torontothumbs.com/2008/11/07/fave-five-friday-bill-stepecs-top-five-favourite-games/)
Wing Commander was the first PC game I played after Lands of Lore. While both were good franchises at the time, WC certainly stuck with me more.
Stormwatcher
02-03-2009, 05:07 PM
I am a huge Wing Commander fan, and I have all the games installed and running on my current PC (with Vista).
I really wish they made a new real WC game.
RE: Joysticks: Wing Commander's arcadey flight model is perfectly suited to a gamepad like the 360's, which works just fine in Windows. Picture something like Ace Combat.
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