Important Message

You are browsing the archived Lancers Reactor forums. You cannot register or login.
The content may be outdated and links may not be functional.


To get the latest in Freelancer news, mods, modding and downloads, go to
The-Starport

Wing Commander

This is where you can discuss your homework, family, just about anything, make strange sounds and otherwise discuss things which are really not related to the Lancer-series. Yes that means you can discuss other games.

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 3:42 am

Wing Commander

Yes folks it's that time again, to reminisce of the time you single handedly defeated the Kilrathi Empire with your turd shaped Tremblor Bomb or the time you had to chase down and kill your good buddy Hobbes for his betrayal or deciding who you should snog aboard the Victory.

Anyway what I really wanted to ask is a few questions.

1. Do you think that EA should make another Wing Commander?
2. If so what should the story line entail? (should it carry on after Prophecy, be a remake of a previous episode, Privateer 3 or start a new chain of story entirely)
3. Should it have live acting or CG characters?
4. Should they attempt to get some of the WC3, 4 and prophecy actors back to act or do voice overs?
4. Should EA try to get most of the original dev. team back (ie Poach them from Digital Anvil) or start fresh with a new group?
5. Do you think there would be a market for the game if it got good reviews (remember good reviews do not always mean good sales)?

I thought this might be an interesting discussion, I've always said I would never want to see another WC without Chris Roberts and I still stick to my guns. He was a master story teller in the game medium, just a pity it didn't transpire to film but there you go. I personally thought that Freelancer felt lacking without his presence and I think WC would feel like a nightmarish grab for cash without his input. I could probably handle Erin Roberts doing the work on it though, he did an great job on Starlancer.

Edited by - Mustang on 2/25/2004 3:44:05 AM

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 3:47 am

I would love to see a new Wing Commander. But, I would also like to see a package put togeather of the older games that could be played on windows. It is possible, Square Soft did it with several old Final Fantasy games that were on NES and related platforms. No not emulater, They were redone into a multi pack and marketed for the PC.

Finalday

Habaq Mot Keh Yom Yasa. /Keith Green\ (1953-1983)

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 4:12 am

1. Most definetly.
2. Either a prequel to the war in 2634 or a sequel to Privateer taking place somewhere between WCIV and Prophecy. IMHO, the whole "recovering from thirty-five years of total warfare" thing wasn't drawn out enough, and it'd be interesting to see how the Confederation is coping.
3. I think CG has worked out rather well, actually, so I'd go with that.
4. It's be a nice treat for the fans, but it shouldn't be a requirement.
4. Again, I'd love to see Chris Roberts and some of the oldtimers return, but I would still support it even if no ex-Origin staff returned. A lot of different people worked on Wing Commander, and you'd have to make tough decisions on who to bring back.
5. To be frank, I don't think reviews will much matter. There are Wing Commander fans, and if it's a Wing Commander game, people will buy it.

------
But, I would also like to see a package put togeather of the older games that could be played on windows. It is possible, Square Soft did it with several old Final Fantasy games that were on NES and related platforms. No not emulater, They were redone into a multi pack and marketed for the PC.
------

*cough* Kilrathi Saga *cough*

Edited by - Bob McDob on 2/25/2004 4:13:01 AM

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 4:13 am

never played it! any good? will it run with windows 2000?

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

http://www.cardamine.net/ - The home of Freelancer: Rebirth, the prequel to Freelancer!

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 4:23 am

definitely should be another wc !!!!!!!!!!!
ive been trying to get my hands on a copy of any wc game for ages (as i only ever played it a friends house and he moved away)
still would like to see a starlancer sequel as well as it isnt too far from the wing commander concept either

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 5:19 am


*cough* Kilrathi Saga *cough*


I have not seen that version locally. Is it only available on-line? I would like to see hobs again. The boss in the game always gave me fits for wanting to ONLY fly with hobs.

Finalday

Habaq Mot Keh Yom Yasa. /Keith Green\ (1953-1983)

Edited by - Finalday on 2/25/2004 5:19:44 AM

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 6:05 am

i would rather see a starlancer sequel whre i get to take out 6 flag-ship class carriers in a single mission.

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 6:10 am

StarLancer sequel? isn't that Freelancer?

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

http://www.cardamine.net/ - The home of Freelancer: Rebirth, the prequel to Freelancer!

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 6:51 am

------
I have not seen that version locally. Is it only available on-line? I would like to see hobs again. The boss in the game always gave me fits for wanting to ONLY fly with hobs.
------

Kilrathi Saga is a remastered version of WCs I, II and III, re-tuned to run on Pentium processors and featuring redone sound and music. It also had one of the coolest intros of any game. The original production run was quite limited, I think, and the surviving copies run up to hundreds of dollars on eBay.

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 7:18 am

never found it on ebay at any price though id not pay that sort of amount anyway
oh well maybe it will have another limited release or something

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 7:35 am

I personally found the added speech in WC2 for Kilrathi Saga pretty jarring. I recommend getting copies of the originals instead, at least for WC1 and 2, and using DOSBox. You'll probably even find them easier to get up and running!

1. I don't like EA, unless they simply fund the production of a game, rather than dictate its content. Needs Chris or Erin Roberts at the helm.
2. No more stories in the main Wing Commander line, unless it's a prequel (now that'd be cool!). I'd rather see a Privateer 3, or better yet, a remake of Privateer 1.
3. Doesn't really matter to me if they get the same actors (unless the same characters appear), as long as the ones they do get are good.
4. Getting the original dev team back is cool.
5. Good reviews can't hurt, but the market will only respond given a number of factors. Freelancer got good reviews, but it could have sold MUCH better if DA had fixed a lot of the problems.

Edited by - Bhurak Starkiller on 2/25/2004 7:41:07 AM

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 7:50 am

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 9:16 am

Yeah, there's a eulogy on WCnews.com for the death of Origin. I really wish they had made Privateer 3/Online when they had already put in a fair amount of work into it. I saw screenshots and concept art, along with a magazine article on it posted in the archives of WCNews.

Sir S

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 9:19 am

------
For twenty two years Origin Systems set the tone for the computer gaming. Ultima, Wing Commander and dozens of others set the gold standard for which the rest of the industry could only hope to catch up. This era has finally come to an end as Electronic Arts readies an announcement that it will shut down the Austin-based Origin studio.

This is not the end for Ultima or Wing Commander. Ultima Online will now be run from California, and development of Ultima X will continue on the west coast. Hopes that another Wing Commander game would be developed in Austin were dashed long ago; the longtime belief that a California-based EA team would develop the next Wing Commander title may, ironically, be bolstered by this news.

What it is, however, is a tremendous moral loss on all fronts. Origin Systems will always be the ultimate symbol of gaming's greatest days, and its dissolution to a faceless corporate entity is, sadly, equally symbolic of the world today. Origin entertained, challenged and inspired our generation in a way that seems impossible today. Though the individuals who developed our games long ago moved on to greater careers, the very existence of the company itself continued to stand for something special; something amazing.

The CIC will continue to dedicate itself to Origin's legacy - we will redouble our efforts to archive anything and everything related to the company. We will strike to make the world remember what Origin meant. I wanted to end with a quote - something plithy and literary to express the meaning of such an ending. I came up with only this:

With your carrier destroyed, you drift endlessly through the void.
------

This is not the end for Ultima or Wing Commander.

Though the name Origin may be gone, Wing Commander is not dead. Electronic Arts still owns the rights to Wing Commander, and most of the current Origin staff will be retained. More importantly, we, the fans are still here. And we are arguably the most important part of the equation.

For fourteen years we stuck loyally to the series, through good times and bad, triumphs and travesties. Through the rise and fall and rise again of the space game market. Through full-motion video and Pentium processors and 3D accelerator cards. Through Privateer, Wing Commander IV, Prophecy and even the Wing Commander Movie. Through all of these Wing Commander's fans stayed loyal to the mythos. Will we allow a mere name change to end all that?

And Wing Commander is not dead. Last year Unknown Enemy, a fan game using the Wing Commander Secret Ops engine, was released, and two others, Standoff and Wing Commander Saga, are near completion. Also last year, Raylight Studios completed a port of Wing Commander Prophecy to Game Boy Advance, proving that the series is far from dead. Recently EA brought back Andy Hollis, a veteran game designer and one of PC Gamer magazine's "Game Gods" along with Chris Roberts (as well as former project head of Privateer Online) putting him to work on an unknown project. A new Wing Commander game? Why not?

Regardless of what the future holds (and I am quite confident that brighter days lie in store), Wing Commander's fans will still be around. After all, it is we that made it what it is, elevated it from obscurity into one of the top game series of all time. It is through our love and devotion to the series that will allow it to survive and, yes, prosper. Wing Commander will not be abandoned, as long as fans do not abandon Wing Commander.

Let me finish with a parable. In 1966, Desilu Studios produced a science-fiction televisions series. Though it attracted many devoted fans from all walks of life, the series was axed after three years due to the vagarities of network television. Its creator and the staff moved on, and Desilu Studios collapsed, selling the series rights to Gulf & Western. But the series would not die. Its fans kept it alive through contact and fan productions. Eventually Gulf & Western, now Paramount, realized what a hot little property it had on its hands and brought back the series creator. Today it is one of the biggest franchises ever, spawning five television serieses, ten movies, a theme park, innumerable books and assorted products. It is called Star Trek. Perhaps you may have heard of it.

Origin is dead. Long live Wing Commander.

Edited by - Bob McDob on 2/25/2004 9:22:55 AM

Post Wed Feb 25, 2004 9:48 am

utter delusion. This is the kind of mindless optimism that has riddled those blokes at Wcnews for years, and one of the reasons I fell out with them. it has no connection with reality whatsoever. let me spell it out in simple terms...

Other than fan-made mods, there will NEVER i repeat NEVER be another Wing Commander - ever.

i would love for there to be a continuation of the story from Prophecy and Secret Ops, a new trilogy, all the old characters (except Luke cos he was getting really tired) but it aint never gonna happen. I'm a huge WC fan but I'm not gonna live in a fantasy world like C. Reid or K. Vanhecke who will treat you like dogsh*t if you dare to utter the heresy of reality - that it isn't going to happen. hell, I'd sell a body part to see it happen, but then again I'd like to win £26million on the lottery too, and there's more chance of that!

SL and FL keep the spirit of WC alive and I'm looking forward to more WC mods for FL but I am NOT going to vainly hope for another official release by EA. It's past, it's done, it's over, move on. I will never part with my WC collection and occasionally i will give em a spin for old times sake, but hoping for it be revived? more chance of a Beatles reunion.

btw my own 100% mint copy of KS is worth at least US$170 now, but it aint ever gonna be sold

Edited by - Tawakalna on 2/25/2004 10:04:23 AM

Return to Off Topic