BlogLearn historical details about development

In this section of the Wing Commander Saga webpage, you can find historical details about development of Wing Commander Saga.

Beta Screenshots

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.10.06

It's been a while. We are very sorry about that, but here it is. The latest and greatest.

First off, we're hard at work on Wing Commander Saga, going through all the beta feedback we've received to make adjustments to the design. We are very excited about the positive response many testers have been giving the game. It's awesome to finally see people playing Wing Commander Saga, analyzing the content, the gameplay, the story and the characters. I think everyone has commented on the "fun factor" that the game possesses. That was our goal from day one, and we think we achieved it.

It is amazing when we look back at how far we've come. We have poured our heart into our work over the years, and the results really show. Wing Commander Saga is polished, beautiful and fun, but more importantly it has a soul, and that only comes when you have a team dedicated to the vision of what they're creating and unwilling to settle for anything less than outstanding.

Secondly, we have new media to share. I believe they are all from one environment and should offer an insight of what to expect from the space combat fights in the game. Enjoy!

-Tolwyn

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Know Your Shipmates: Confed Capital Ships - Entry 8: Lexington

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.11.05

This time, we like to show off another carrier class that will be featured in the Darkest Dawn: the Terran heavy carrier. This is a traditional carrier that relies on her fighters and escort capital ships for protection.

This carrier was first seen in the Super Wing Commander remake on the Sega CD game as an alternate model to the TCS Tiger’s Claw and the rest of the Bengal-class carriers. It is also seen in Wing Commander Armada as the player’s carrier, the TCS Lexington, a self-sustaining carrier that was sent deep behind enemy lines in a high-risk operation.

The Saga team took the original design, incorporated several features about Terran fleet carrier design from the novels, and worked hard to “reboot” this carrier for the Darkest Dawn, this time as a modern class of carriers that sustains life to Confed’s shattered military after the Battle of Earth.

After the Battle of Earth, the Lexington-class is the new backbone of the Terran Defense Fleet. More then a match for their Kilrathi counterparts, these carriers can take critical hits in multiple launch bays and still maintain flight operations. They are traditional carriers with minimal weapons and must rely on escorting warships for support, but they do possess a full compliment of fighters and the heaviest shielding and armor this side of a starbase. The majority of these vessels have been withheld from the front to defend Earth and the Inner Colonies.

-Tolwyn

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Closed-Beta Roundup

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.05.04

We apologize for the lack of updates lately. We have been working hard on the beta test. We are putting finishing touches, resolving any last minute issues, polishing our missions to a mirror shine, and adding in all the little bells and whistles that made the original Wing Commander games so great.

Voice acting is proceeding very well. On that note, Bravo Zulu to all who helped us make some of those extra comm lines! They are being put to great use.

Another work item are communications videos. When we came up with all of these capital ship, pilots, and other personas years ago, little did we know that eventually we would have to individually model and render each character to animated video. That is a lot of videos and time! But we adapted quickly, and we got them out of the way.

Here is a little sample of our work.

Comm Preview Comm Preview

Comm Preview Comm Preview

Comm Preview Comm Preview

- Tolwyn
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We are beta!

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.08.03

We would like to thank everyone who submitted an application to help us beta test the Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn. If you have been selected as a beta tester, we had already contacted you at the e-mail address that you have provided for us. If you have not been selected, please don't feel bad or take it personally. We received a very large number of very well-qualified applications, putting us in the difficult position of trying to decide how to narrow things down and choose a more focused number of beta testers. Thank your all for your interest and support, it has been nice to see your enthusiasm. We look forward to this beta test and hope that it will allow us to provide you with a very polished game experience when the game is released. Whether or not you were chosen as a beta tester, you will be able to get your chance to try Saga soon enough.

- Tolwyn
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Know Your Shipmates: Prologue Characters – Entry 3

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.11.02

Whenever we do something, we always make sure the job’s done through. That is one of the reasons why we went back and rendered several characters, Sandman’s flight school classmates, that were briefly mentioned in the Prologue missions and the accompanying e-book. Few of them will move on and make appearances in the main campaign.

-Tolwyn

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Know Your Shipmates: Main Characters – Entry 2: Kettle

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.06.02

For this next few character updates, we like to focus on characters first encountered in the Prologue who will carry over into the main campaign. Anyone who played the Prologue would remember Kettle as Sandman’s senior flight instructor on the TCS Wellington. Kettle returns as Sandman’s first squadron leader on the TCS Hermes.

Sandman’s senior flight instructor on the TCS Wellington, he is tough but respectful and fair. He returns to the front line aboard the TCS Hermes, where his past experience has honed him into an ideal squadron commander.

-Tolwyn

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Know Your Shipmates: Confed Capital Ships - Entry 7: Savannah

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.04.02

This week, the Saga team would like to show off another ship: the Confed light cruiser. This vessel is meant to fill in the gaps of the Confed Fleet as well as to show a conceptual design that’s been mentioned in the various novels.

This ship is intended to be the same class of Kilrathi War-era light cruisers that were sold off by the Confederation to the Landerich during the False Colors novel. Such fans would remember some of the vessels as the FRLS Themistocles (ex-TCS Andromache) and the FRLS Xenophon.

Our fans and resident naval experts can be quick to point out the differences and similarities between the Terran and Kilrathi light cruisers in this game. To begin with, both were not in the game but mentioned in various novels and lost concept art. While the Kilrathi light cruiser is an anti-aircraft vessel, the Terran light cruiser is optimized as a hit-and-fade vessel.

This Terran light cruiser is a medium-weight, fast warship that is well-adapt either as a carrier escort, convoy raider, or flotilla leader. It lacks the heavy cruiser’s keel-mounted plasma cannon and heavy protection in exchange for faster speed and greater acceleration, but its anti-matter guns and missile tubes make it a formidable strike platform. Savannah-class cruisers blend a dangerous combination of firepower and speed, it can outrun anything it can’t outgun and can outgun anything it can’t outrun.

-Tolwyn

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Voicing It

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2010.29.01

A new opportunity has arisen for you to help out the Wing Commander Saga team. We are currently looking for a highly motivated person to fill in as a voice acting coordinator. This is an exciting and rewarding position and you will be directly working with members of the development team. Interested? Want to know more? Just drop us a line at info{_AT_}wcsaga.com.

- Tolwyn

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Apply for the Closed Beta Test!

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.23.01

Our team is seriously considering starting a beta test at the beginning of February. There is a caveat, though; the number of beta testers will be limited. However, we are now accepting applications for the upcoming beta test of Wing Commander Saga, our remake of the famous space simulator universe. To participate in this exciting adventure, fill out the beta tester sign up form.

Beta testers need to meet the minimum computer specifications – detailed on the "System Requirements" page – and have internet access.

Interest in games -- especially space sims -- is an advantage, as is any testing experience you might have. Applicants have to be aware that beta testing is not just about playing and having fun with the game, and that there is work involved. Testers will be asked to devote several hours per week to testing and will be asked to test certain missions, weapons, or ships. Testers will also be required to send in bug reports and answer the occational test survey to be able to continue their participation in the beta test.

We are looking for people that can communicate their ideas clearly and have an eye for detail. During the testing process, you will have to explain to us how you found potential bugs and problems in the game and how to reproduce them. We will also ask for your views on game design and playability in order to improve the game. This gives participants several opportunities to contribute to the creation of Wing Commander Saga.

We can't overestimate the value of fresh play tester eyes on the product. As developers, we look at the thing all day, everyday, and to be honest, we lose perspective. When we're able to watch a new "fresh to the game" player run through the game, we get to see the game play out in a whole new way. We get to see when things are good, but more importantly, with the aide of our new set of eyes we can't hide from something that's just not working. We're forced to face it and fix it -  which leads to a stronger product.

- Tolwyn

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Know Your Shipmates: Characters – Entry 1: Sandman

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.20.01

It’s not Wing Commander without characters right? It’s not the type of fighter that determines the outcome of a dogfight, it is the pilot flying it. And of course, one pilot doesn’t win the war, he is one of many.

The Saga team spent a lot of research in determining the type of characters and personalities. Games were played over, novels were re-read, video cutscenes were watched again, all in trying to find out who had “the right stuff”. Who should be the mentor? Who should be the bad guy? Who should be the anti-hero? Who should be friendly, who should not? Who would have the most impact if he/she was killed off? The list goes on.

It’s one thing to write about a character, but it’s another to actually model and portray it visually. When we meet a person for the first time in real life, his or her appearances normally forms a first impression that sticks. As a fan developed game project, it may be different circumstances but the theory remains the same.

The ones used for the WC Saga prologue were rather lacking, so we had to start from scratch all over again. We modeled uniforms, ranks, flightsuits, helmets, and so forth. Individual CGI models were scrutinized to see if they truly represented the characters that were intended to be portrayed.

The character database will soon take shape as we add individual entries. For now, who better to kick it off then the main character. We played Wing Commander 3 from the perspective of a veteran Colonel, so we thought it was best to have a whole new WC3 experience from the eyes of a new rookie.

Our hero of Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn, this young man is first seen in the Prologue as he finishes up his flight training. With his training complete, while much earlier then expected, he is now a fully qualified combat pilot. Transferred to the TCS Hermes as a battlefield replacement, it is here that Sandman’s journey will truly begin.

-Tolwyn

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