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The Song of Roland was… a movie that we watched. But moving on, we've voted to watch something we think will be a bit more of a crowd pleaser: Independence Day (1996). Which seems appropriate since this week's club meeting is exactly the thirtieth anniversary of this one (and hey, it's directed by another Roland, Roland Emmerich!). You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

Independence Day was certainly a major part of the zeitgeist between Wing Commander IV and the Wing Commander movie. It's part of our queue because it is one of the movies that Wing Commander sampled heavily from for its temp track(s)! Which shouldn't be a surprise, since Chris Roberts ultimately went for ID4 composer David Arnold for Wing Commander's actual score. During the development process, they used four different tracks eight different times! Here's the quick rundown.

The Darkest Day was used for Blair and

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Frontline Solutions has announced that its expanded deployment service has started shipping mercenaries to anti-crime operations across the core systems.
Following the successful manufacturing and test trials of the Runner transport, CEO Imogen le Ray confirmed in a press release that her corporation is ready to deploy strike teams anywhere they are needed, when they are needed, to disrupt organised crime.
"Authorities should no longer have to tackle criminal activities and coordinated piracy with stretched resources, as highlighted in recent events in the Lhou Mans system. With this new service we can augment system security to take on almost any combat or rescue situation."
Pilots and mercenary teams willing to sign up to an operation should first travel and dock at any market port before being deployed to an available Runner.

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Faulcon DeLacy, the manufacturer behind the popular Python and Cobra ship designs, has announced the limited release of the Nomad.
The Nomad is a ship-launched craft intended to aid explorers in larger ships, allowing them to explore planet surfaces and locations requiring tight manoeuvrability and speed.
Chief of Design, Frank Endis, stated in the press release:
"The Nomad is different to other ship-launched vessels in that it can fly independently of its mothership's presence. Our team recognised a gap in the market for a smaller craft that grants explorers an alternative option to using their primary ship when navigating difficult terrain."
"We're excited to see the most extreme places pilots can take it."
The Nomad comes with a new Mk II Biological Scanner with an enhanced range and is complemented by a Mk II Sensor for close range signals, allowing pilots to locate biological surface

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

President Felicia Winters conveyed 'disappointment' at the Federation's continued exclusion from Radicoida unica research.
While careful not to criticise members of the October Accords directly, Winters made clear that denying the Federation any level of access to the research and its findings would force the superpower to act:
"We recognise the October Consortium's duty to uphold the Accords it helped establish as a framework for peace in the enclave conflict. However, I would remind Lexi October that the Federation rewards those who choose cooperation."
"Should the outcome of this research put the Federation at a technological or strategic disadvantage against its rivals, my administration will have no choice but to view the situation as a potential threat. That threat will, in turn, dictate our own research priorities."
Today's press conference from the White House marks the first time the

Quote from Wing Commander News-Bot

The World Cup is here and the whole world has football fever! Except for the United States, which has football fever (and another much worse thing). And the only cure? Obscure Wing Commander references! Luckily, Privateer 2 has exactly what we need: a football… I mean soccer… I mean "sakkuhr"... themed mission! It's called SPORT.SAKKUHR.ROMPERS-ADMIN@CRIUS.NET and it asks Lev to rescue a football team from angry pirates after it unexpectedly lost the 'Bexian Cup'. Like a World Cup, but for Bex!

The ending is also great and appropriate given the amount of money grubbing FIFA and company seem to be engaging in: there are multiple ads in the 'mission successful' e-mail. While the losing version has some genuine poetry: "Their twisted, flash frozen bodies will float in orbit for months as a grim testament to both their own lack of skill and yours."

Privateer 2 has another major football reference: two of

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With the recent accusations about GOG, some have asked: is there another way to buy Wing Commander games digitally? The answer is yes, but only some of the games. What was once called Origin and now... the EA App... maybe?... Electronic Arts' game platform isn't as well known as GOG or Steam but it does offer several Wing Commander games! You can purchase Wing Commander I through IV and Privateer from EA for $4.99 each; they have never listed Prophecy, Secret Ops, Academy, Armada or Privateer 2. A number of other Origin games are also available, including the Crusaders and much of the Ultima series. Unlike GOG, the games are sold individually and there are no 'free' releases. Note that there is a second entry for Wing Commander Privateer not listed below; it's not clear why! We're preserving all of the ephemera from the EA shop listings below, including the not-great AI-assisted screenshot