Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

We would like to wish a merry Christmas to all wingnuts that celebrate (and a happy holidays to all that don't). The Wing Commander community remains a constant source of happiness in dark times for us and I can't rightly express how much your friendship, your contributions and your general existence makes our lives better. The WC:CIC staff sends you all love and hope.

Now: need some balls to decorate your tree? Here's a quick visual timeline of Wing Commander's most Christmas-y ship, the Super Wing Commander Dorkir. It was built from the Wing Commander II depot model and remains a very bizarre sight when you encounter them in the game.

Like everyone, we're absolutely exhausted this year so we'll leave it at that. But if you're in need of a big dose of Christmas cheer, we highly reccomend checking out last year's omnibus post which collects two decades of wingnut holiday celebrations!

Happy holidays,

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Xeen Music, the mind behind the wonderful Wing Commander II and Academy soundtracks released earlier this year is back with two more exhaustive Origin Systems soundtracks! No Wing Commander this time around but they have put together the definitive scores for two classic Ultimas (Ultimae?): the first Ultima Underworld and Runes of Virtue, the GameBoy spinoff!

Both of these soundtracks are currently available only through Xeen Music's Patreon, though composer George "The Fatman" Sanger will make them available on other streaming services at some point in the future. They can be purchased on their own for $10 or accessed as part of their subscription option (which is a great deal!).

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

• Patreon Listing
• YouTube Samples

Ultima: Runes of Virtue

• Patreon Listing
• YouTube Samples

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

AD noticed that the Wing Commander games sold directly by EA have gone on sale, and they are slightly undercutting the GOG winter sale. There are a few differences in their offerings, however. GOG combines WC1/2 into a single package and also carries Privateer 2, Academy and Armada. EA breaks up the first two games, plus sells WC3, WC4 and Privateer. Each game is just $2.49 at EA now, so it's a great opportunity to fill out your library or grab a last minute gift. Other Origin and vintage games are also similarly priced to move!

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

It's a Wonderful Life remains a classic, though I'm not sure many members of the Wing Commander movie club are feeling all too festive this year. So, ultimately a good reminder that better days are ahead. Now we've decided to end the year with an animated film that a lot of our audience has never seen: Arcadia of My Youth, the 1982 origin story of the fearsome space pirate Captain Harlock. You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

Wing Commander Academy character-and-storyboard artist Tim Eldred was (and remains!) an enormous anime fan and his work on the show was greatly influenced by classic shows like Captain Harlock. Mr. Eldred even slipped a Harlock skull tattoo onto one of the background techs he concepted for the Tiger's Claw… and if you look carefully you can actually see it appear in the final show! This capture is from The Most Delicate Instrument, which makes heavy use of the '

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

Here's a fascinating preservation project: MemCards.art aims to archive all of the tiny game-specific icons that would be saved on original PlayStation memory cards. Every original PlayStation game had a 16x16 pixel icon to represent what game a particular save came from… and of course that included Wing Commander III and Wing Commander IV on the platform. And their icons were animated! MemCards has preserved each in both the original format and as an enlarged version that's easier to study. What a cool amount of work for such a small piece of gaming logistics! If you're interested in learning more about the history and function of these icons, they have an excellent introduction.

Original Size

Enlarged

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

This is a reminder that we have another fun #Wingnut event happening on Discord this morning! Join us at noon EST/9 AM PST for a fun filled morning of television... that all connect to Wing Commander somehow! This time around we've got two not-so-classic Disney live action films from the mid 1990s… that both feature Wing Commander appearances! You can find details on the shows included as well as how to watch along with us in the announcement post here. Be sure to download the episodes so they're ready to play with the group!