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Here's a neat little detail that I had never noticed before until last night: the canteen vet in the Wing Commander IV introduction is actually wearing a Wing Commander III 'combined forces' patch on his shoulder! Maybe I'm just oblivious but I never picked up on this one! It's a neat way to show that he's a down-on-his-luck veteran… and it seems particularly to tie to his mention that he was a pilot on the TCS Liberty, surely chosen to sound like Blair's TCS Victory where he wore the same emblem. Though like a lot of the details in the cantina set it isn't especially visible when watching the original Xanmovie version of the game's movies. Did you know there's a lizard in a tank in there? A vintage airplane? An African board game> What I wouldn't give to see some set photography!

The character is credited as "canteen vet" and was played by Peter Marquardt, an Austin area actor and game producer who

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How big is Crius, anyway? We've been working on the upcoming Tri-System atlas for the past week or two and one thing I noticed was that there's a very specific diameter listed for each of the planets and moons in the Tri-System… so I thought it might be fun to put together a chart that compared that data to the real moons and planets in our own solar system! And here it is. Turns out Crius is extremely similar to Earth in size!

And how is the atlas coming? We've built pages for all 225 nav points and all of the moons and stations with plenty more material to come. You're welcome to join us working on the WCPedia if you're interested in archiving Wing Commander's lore and history… or just doing some good old fashioned supernerdery with friends.

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Everyone loves The Wizard of Oz! From my mom (I always tell her about the movie club movie!) to our youngest member, the movie is timeless in a way that isn't just lip service because we expect a classic. It's proof that you don't need modern special effects or quippy actors or any other flavor of the day to make something permanent and magic. Or maybe we're all just connected to the similarly timeless understanding that Kansas kind of sucks.

And here's our direct connection, author L. Frank Baum's credit versus his immortalization in Wing Commander Armada. One thing that it's interesting to think about is that the Wizard of Oz had a 'canon' just like any modern science fiction universe decades before this movie even came out. I remember learning all about that as a kid reading the original dozen or so books... it was sort of training wheels for a modern fandom!

One Wing Commander-adjacent element of

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This is a reminder that we have another fun #Wingnut movie night planned on Discord this evening! The ongoing theme will be movies that are referenced by Wing Commander in some way. Tonight's film is The Birdcage (1996) and you can find details on why we're watching it in the announcement post here. The movie will start at 7 PM PST/10 PM EST but feel free to drop by and hang any time!

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Isn't it funny how actors tend to show up on TV right when they happen to have a new movie out? No, of course that's because they take part in press junkets sponsored by the companies that are producing those films. In the mid-1990s, Electronic Arts invested heavily in having their Wing Commander actors do just that; Wing Commander III and IV (and to a lesser extent Prophecy) saw the likes of Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell popping up all over the place to talk about their storied careers... and, oh yeah, to mention there's a new CD-ROM out, too! Today we've found two fun examples from the various Wing Commander junkets to share with you.

In 2026, everyone knows Jon Stewart as the celebrated host of The Daily Show... but in 1994 he was the fresh faced host of a self-titled and short-lived syndicated talk show. This interview is from the November 15, 1994 episode which featured actor Malcolm McDowell,

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Frontline Solutions has declared it intends to expand service processes to meet growing demand.
Security analysts have noted that piracy and mercenary groups have become more coordinated since the Second Thargoid War and recommend new tactics to combat the rise in criminal activity.
To meet these demands, Frontline Solutions is offering 'rapid deployment of mercenary strike teams where they are needed, when they are needed'.
"Frontline remains at the forefront of transporting combat-ready squads to faction-led military engagements" Imogen le Ray, CEO of Frontline Solutions stated in a press release.
"I have negotiated with shareholders to expand our coverage. Mercenaries may now be deployed to counter dangerous criminal activity, with registered combatants lawfully acting on behalf of a hiring faction."
Ahead of an expected spike in demand, Frontline announced the launch of a new vessel,