wing-commander
Latest
GOG Big Fall Sale Finale: FTL, Fez, Sam And Max, Rogue Legacy
GOG.com kicked off its DRM-free Big Fall Sale Finale this morning, putting more than 700 games on sale until Tuesday, November 25. The sale is split into two 48-hour periods, the first a "recap of flash deals" that rapidly come and go, and a second period with the Big Fall Sale's daily bundles that starts on Sunday. Thrifty buyers may want to act fast, as some of the flash deals will expire within hours. The deals include Fez ($5), Rogue Legacy ($3), Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition ($2.49), Pathologic ($2), System Shock 2 ($5), Rollercoaster Tycoon: Deluxe Edition ($3), FTL: Advanced Edition ($5) and the four primary Wing Commander games are $3 each, with the first two games bundled together. Sam & Max Save the World and Beyond Time and Space are $15 each, while The Devil's Playhouse is $17.49. OG.com also has deals on bundles starting today, such as the Fedora Deluxe Pack, a five-game Tex Murphy bundle that players can download at 80 percent off ($7.16). The digital games distributor is also offering a movie bundle for $8.45 that features five films, including The King of Arcades, Pixel Poetry and Minecraft: The Story of Mojang. [Image: GOG.com]
Transverse used to be Wing Commander Online
Transverse, the new crowdfund project from Piranha Games, could have been called something far different and more familiar: Wing Commander Online. Piranha Creative Director Bryan Ekman confirmed that the studio currently holds the Wing Commander license but decided to go another way: "By late 2013 we found ourselves in possession of an exclusive license to Wing Commander and assembling a small team to craft a new experience. We spent six months developing, designing, and working on a marketing video with help from outsourcing partners [...] We reached a pivotal moment when some of our best design ideas were being pushed to the side as they just didn't fit within the constraints of a WC game. We looked carefully at what our WCO product was, looked at other competing products, and decided that we needed to move away from the Wing Commander universe." Ekman said that if Transverse does not completely fund by the end of its campaign, the studio will fully refund its backers and investigate "traditional models" for investment. In the meantime, the entire studio has been shadowbanned from Reddit for creating a Transverse sub and is looking to overturn the ban.
Wing Commander 3 free to fly on Origin
Wing Commander 3 is currently free to download through Origin as the latest "On the House" freebie for the platform. The game is free until September 2, at which point it will reapply its usual $4.99 price tag. The third game in the Wing Commander series, which dates back to 1990, first launched for PC and Mac in 1994. The space combat series was devised by Chris Roberts, who returned to the games industry in September 2012. Roberts crowdfunded his next initiative, Star Citizen, reaching $6.2 million in November 2012. Not that Star Citizen stopped earning big bucks; as of July the game has racked up $48 million in pledges from fans. [Image: EA]
Raph Koster on Origin's Privateer Online
Raph Koster's thrown up a fairly fascinating blog post detailing one of his Origin projects that never saw the light of day. It was originally codenamed Star Settlers and it featured procedurally generated planets, exploration, resource management, and more. Koster's executive bosses "blew up a huge portion of the design" in favor of fitting the fledgling game into Origin's Wing Commander IP, several online versions of which were already in the works. "Some of them had gotten pretty far -- piles of artwork, design work, and even some tech," Koster writes. Finally a Privateer Online team was assembled, and it cranked out a prototype featuring "radically different" procedural planets, multiplayer space dogfighting, fractal ship customization, modular planetary settlement capabilities, and "a huge pile of lore" written by Wing Commander vets. Though Privateer Online was cancelled in favor of Earth & Beyond and its design docs were burned in a bonfire at Origin's shut-down party, Koster says that many of the developers went on to make Star Wars Galaxies which contained some of the same ideas.
Star Citizen breaks $27 million
Star Citizen, the crowdfunded space sim helmed by Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts, continues to demonstrate its incredible ability to generate enormous sums of money. Roberts today announced that Star Citizen has officially passed the $27 million mark, an amount that makes it possible for Cloud Imperium to add new ships and technology based on the Banu race of tradesmen. Roberts also announced the next stretch goal; at $29 million, Cloud Imperium will add more resources to the single player campaign such as an epic opening battle and more animations.
Stick and Rudder: Ten space sims to fill your Star Citizen void
This week I'd like to throw around a few ideas for enjoying yourself in Star Citizen's absence. Yeah, there's the hangar module, and it's pretty spectacular for what it is. But after dorking around in cockpits and doing a few I'll-be-in-my-bunk Jayne Cobb impersonations as I wedge my avatar into my Aurora's sleeping compartment, I ache to spool up those engines and go somewhere. Fortunately there are a ton of worthy space sims that we can use to while away the next couple of years. Or the next couple of months, because dogfighting alpha!
GOG sale: 50% off Wing Commander series, 60% off RPGs
Good Old Games continues its fifth anniversary sale-abration with a new collection of limited-time promotional discounts. This week, the service spotlights the Wing Commander series and a varied lineup of PC role-playing games. GOG's September RPG Special drops the price of many lengthy adventure games, including Wizardry 8, System Shock 2, Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption, and Divinity 2: Developer's Cut. The full 18-game collection can be purchased for $72.62, which breaks down to approximately one-hundredth of a penny per hour of gameplay. Good Old Games also hosts a sale on the Wing Commander games, bringing steep discounts for the four main series entries, Wing Commander: Academy, and Wing Commander: Privateer. All six games are available in a bundle priced at $16.75. Fans of classic PC games may also want to check out Flight of the Amazon Queen, which GOG is offering up as a free download this week.
Star Citizen to deliver first content, hangars, to Kickstarter backers
Star Citizen, the space exploration MMO by Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts, is ready to launch. Well, sort of - hangars, the first piece of playable content, are about to be made available to those who backed the Star Citizen Kickstarter. The catch is that you won't be able to actually fly any of the ships parked in your space-garage, at least not yet. According to a Polygon report, backers will be able to access their hangar, walk around it, look at their ships, and sit in the pilot seat, starting August 29. The hangars and ships included vary depending on backer level, but more will be added as time goes on. As Roberts and his team at Cloud Imperium Games continue to roll out content, the hangars will remain; these structures will be a permanent part of the Star Citizen universe. Cloud Imperium Games plans to release major updates to Star Citizen every two months, with smaller updates every few weeks. By the end of the year, hangars will have a flight sim of their own so that players can take their virtual ships into another virtual world and have double-virtual dogfights. It's flight sim-ception in space!
The Game Archaeologist: Wing Commander Online
Like many gamers who grew up playing the popular titles in the 1990s, Massively's Jef is understandably excited that Chris Roberts, creator of Wing Commander, is working on an original space sim MMO called Star Citizen. Jef is so thrilled, in fact, that he started a column anticipating the title. Jef's not alone; it seemed as though half of the internet went bananas when Roberts came out of the woodwork to announce his title and ask for a few coppers for funding. He got more than just a few, as gaming nostalgia is one of the most powerful forces known to mankind. Even if it can't be Wing Commander in name, gamers reasoned as they plunked down their money, it could be the Wing Commander MMO in spirit. Interestingly enough, there was an actual effort made to bring the well-known franchise to the MMO table back in the late '90s. A pair of projects, Wing Commander Online and Privateer Online, promised the thrills of the hit space saga with the expanse of the online gaming world. What happened and why aren't we playing one of these games today? Find out on this exciting episode of The Game Archaeologist!
Stick and Rudder: Why all the love for Roberts and Star Citizen?
I was talking with a gaming buddy recently who missed the whole space sim experience in the 1990s. He's a Star Wars fan and a real-life pilot pushing 40, so it surprised me to learn that he'd never heard of Wing Commander, Freespace, X-Wing, and the like. My jaw really hit the floor as our conversation turned to current games and I began to evangelize about Star Citizen and Chris Roberts. "Who's Chris Roberts?" he asked, with a straight face.
GOG weekend sale: Alpha Centauri, Syndicate and other EA classics 60% off
Several of EA's classic PC games have had their prices slashed to ridiculous levels on GOG for this weekend – games like Alpha Centauri, Syndicate, Populous and more can be had for under $3 each.Other EA games taking part in the sale include a whole bunch of Ultimas, the Wing Commander series and SimCity 2000. All of the games listed on GOG's weekend promo page will set you back $2.39 a pop. If you want to purchase all 26 eligible games, it'll cost $62.14.
Star Citizen crowdsourcing moves to Kickstarter
Are you excited about Chris Roberts' Star Citizen project? Get in line, space jockey: Roberts said that "overwhelming response" to the proposed space sim ended up crashing the game's site. As a result, he launched a Kickstarter campaign to continue raising funds for the game. The good news for interested parties is that the game is already halfway to its fundraising goal, as one out of two million dollars has been raised through pledges. The Star Citizen Kickstarter is attempting to pull in $500,000 by November 19th. For his part, Roberts is bowled over: "It's a testament to the will power of our amazing fans. At a time when most would have given up, some dedicated fans kept trying to log on and eventually were able to get through and make a pledge. We appreciate all those efforts, and now with Kickstarter, we believe we have an answer for everyone." [Source: Cloud Imperium press release]
Star Citizen FAQ outlines modding, micropayments, hardware requirements
If you're looking forward to Chris Roberts' new Star Citizen title, you'd best be saving your pennies for a PC upgrade. Much like Roberts' 1990s-era Wing Commander series, the new game will push the limits of your hardware, this time courtesy of the CryEngine 3. The space combat sim's website has updated with a new FAQ that outlines the game's projected system requirements (it recommends an i7 CPU and a GTX 670 or better graphics card, but keep in mind that launch day is two years away). The FAQ also mentions Star Citizen's modding philosophy and its payment model. Modding is encouraged, as Roberts says that players are free to tweak the game however they wish on private servers. The devs also "hope to institute a mod approval process that will allow the best of the best player-created ships and other additions to be integrated into the central persistent world as well," according to the FAQ. In terms of payments, you'll need to buy the game initially and that's basically it. There will be no monthly fee, though "some in-game items may be available as microtransactions." Unlike most free-to-play titles, Star Citizen's cash shop "will never sell anything that can't be acquired through honest (and fun!) gameplay."
Chris Roberts returns with open-world Star Citizen sandbox
It's a good day to be a hardcore gamer, folks, particularly if you grew up playing Wing Commander, Freelancer, or any number of similar PC-exclusive space sims. Genre heavyweight Chris Roberts has finally unveiled his new project, and it looks to be a sprawling open-world title called Star Citizen. Roberts has released an 11-minute video detailing various aspects of the ambitious game (it's been in development for a year now), which include a co-op fighter pilot campaign and a huge Freelancer-style cosmos that allows players to pursue their own goals. Wanna be a pirate? Go ahead. A trader? Sure thing. Oh, you want absurdly immersive details like full working cockpits, flightsuit wrinkles, and physics-based spaceflight too? You got 'em. "I'm building the game, and a universe, that I would like to play, so it's for gamers like myself," Roberts explains. "I wouldn't say that I'm a social, casual gamer who plays Farmville. I like sophisticated experiences." Roberts goes on to explain why he's chosen the route of PC-exclusive in an era when consoles and mobile platforms are all the rage, and he also touches on the subject of crowd-funding. His goal is a relatively modest $2 million, and he's aiming to achieve it directly on the game's own website rather than via a third-party intermediary like Kickstarter. He's also got quite a bit of in-engine footage to show already, and you can see it in the clip after the cut. Is Star Citizen an MMO, though? That's hard to say at this juncture. We know it's massive in scale, and we know it's multiplayer, but thus far we don't know much about the server setup or how many concurrent users are in the cards. [Thanks to Scott for the tip!]
Wing Commander creator returns to gaming, unveils new project next month
Chris Roberts, the brain behind Wing Commander and Freelancer, announced his return to game development yesterday with a newly launched website*. The site more than hints at an upcoming high-end space sim, giving users a 'golden ticket' to a private showing of Roberts' 'next creation,' scheduled for 10am JST (7am Pacific) on October 10 at GDC Online. Furthermore, Roberts' updated LinkedIn profile lists him as the boss of Cloud Imperium. According to the site, Cloud Imperium launched last year and is "dedicated to high end gaming and anything involving spaceships."Although Roberts forged a career in Hollywood over the last decade, producing films like The Punisher and Lord of War, his passion clearly remains in the space sims he made across the 90s. His new website's introductory message reveals he left games development because he was frustrated with its technological limits. Roberts' Wing Commander series mixed space combat with high-end cinematics starring the likes of Mark Hamill and John Rhys Davies, and (in retrospect) the disparity between the graphics and video is stark.Roberts now feels he has the tools to build a world "more satisfying and richer" than any film he could work on. While things have changed much since Roberts' last worked in the industry back in 2003, the return of the man who made one of gaming's most celebrated series is certainly worth keeping an eye on.*if you're looking for the number code to login, think upon the most important question
Wing Commander and Dungeon Keeper 2 land on GOG
Good Old Games has announced some new (old) additions to its Electronic Arts library today. First, the service is rounding out the Dungeon Keeper series with Dungeon Keeper 2. The second addition perhaps deserves a bit more fanfare, as classic series (and occasional quiz show fodder) Wing Commander makes its way onto GOG. GOG is bundling both Wing Commander and Wing Commander 2: Vengeance of the Kilrathi. In other words, you won't be able to get your Mark Hamill fix ... yet. GOG promises six more EA titles are "coming soon." The Wing Commander 1+2 bundle and Dungeon Keeper 2 are available now for $5.99 apiece.
The Game Archaeologist goes to Earth & Beyond: A talk with Rade Stojsavljevic
I have to admit, it's bizarrely fascinating to cover a deceased MMO. The effort produces a bag of mixed emotions: fond memories, bitter resentment, wistful longing, and casual disinterest by those who weren't there. These games truly matter to some players, even though they're already in danger of being covered by the sands of history. In these events, our monthly expeditions into these games becomes a rescue operation of sorts as we try to preserve the past by digging it up. I found it a welcome challenge to hunt down former Earth & Beyond developers who were willing to talk about their time with the game (and who hadn't forgotten it entirely -- 2004 is, like, sooo long ago!). Fortunately, I got a few nibbles for my efforts, and this week I reeled in Jet Set Games President Rade Stojsavljevic, who took time out of his schedule to hand us a long-lost piece of the Earth & Beyond treasure map. Hit the jump to hear Stojsavljevic reminisce about the best -- and, yes, the worst -- that Earth & Beyond had to offer!
The Game Archaeologist and the Ultima Prize: Richard Garriott
Before he was Tabula Rasa's General British, Richard Garriott was simply -- and most famously -- known as Lord British, the absolute ruler and creator of the Ultima franchise. From 1980's Ultima I through 1999's Ultima IX, Lord British guided the development of one of the most popular RPG series of all time, including 1997's Ultima Online. Through it, Garriott and his Lord British persona became the de facto face of the series, a video game celebrity before such a thing really existed. After the floundering of Tabula Rasa and his subsequent falling-out with NCSoft, Garriot took a little R&R time to blast into outer space, returning to Earth to get involved with a social media games company called Portalarium. Because of his stature as one of the founding giants of not only MMORPGs, but video game RPGs as well, the Game Archaeologist stopped at nothing to procure his wise words for an interview. This quest took us to far-off, dangeous places -- including the world's most famous haunted house, Britannia Manor -- at which point we promptly purchased a return ticket and pleaded with our editor to do our dirty work for us. So bow, mere mortal! For you are now in the presence of LORD BRITISH! (cue wild applause)
EA studio boss would love to revisit Bullfrog IP; EA renews Bullfrog trademarks
In an interview with Kikizo, EA's Bright Light Studio head, Harvey Elliot, mentioned that he would "love" to work on old Bullfrog Productions properties like Populous and Theme Park. Elliot cautiously noted that Bullfrog's classics were "right for their time, and the trick with those games is coming up with what's right for the time now." In other words, he's not entirely keen on "just a 'remake' or something." With a new edition of Bullfrog's Syndicate rumored to be in production at Starbreeze Studios, one might conclude that Harvey isn't the only one at EA looking for "what's right for the time now." And one might conclude even harder when database digger Superannuation finds that Electronic Arts has filed new trademarks for Populous, Theme Park, Wing Commander and Road Rash. Pure speculation? Yes. Highly desirable? Also yes. Source -- Why there's hope for Bullfrog IP returning [Kikizo] Source -- Superannuation
Blackstar exclusive interview
We've spoken previously about the unique-looking space-combat MMO Blackstar, being developed by Spacetime Studios -- how previous publisher NCsoft had chosen to cancel their connection with the title, and how Spacetime recently regained the IP, to continue development on their own. From the look and sound of everything that's been shown to the public so far, this game has the potential to be NCsoft's "one that got away".Intrigued by the goings-on with the studio, we contacted Spacetime's President and Executive Producer Gary Gattis to see if he could give us a peek behind the curtains -- or photon displacement cascade, as the case may be -- at how development on Blackstar is progressing. Mr. Gattis not only graciously consented to the interview request, but also gave us 4 pieces of concept art to share with our readers; art that has only made us long even more for the game's eventual release. Read the full interview after the jump!%Gallery-23010%
