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 Tweaks

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.29.08

It's been four hectic weeks for us. Our testers were looking for problems and tweaks that have to be done. A few voice lines still need to trickle in, but for the most part, we have our game now. It is stable and it is fun. Right now, we are in the process of finalizing the game, but small changes are still coming up. We're really trying to polish individual elements until they're really fun.

We got a lot of great feedback from our testers. The game has made significant progress since the very first beta: all placeholders have been replaced with final assets, we've done additional work on the AI, overall balancing and autopilot behavior.

One of the things we are really excited about is our music. It shouldn't come as a suprise that a good soundtrack makes a big difference, it adds to the overall atmosphere and helps accent the player emotions. Jeff Ball and Tim Janssens absolutely nailed it.

Keep your eyes on wcsaga.com for future updates and don't forget to tweet us, facebook us or e-mail us comments, abuse or release date inquiries.

-Tolwyn

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We're getting close...

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.28.07

I wanted to take a little bit of time today and talk about our current progress. Those of you who have been following us closely on Facebook/Twitter have probably heard that we are just a few weeks away from being content complete. During the next few days we will be working on missing assets as we get ready to lock down. Right now our big focus is on balance tweaks, bug fixing and the little details that make the game feel more "real". The exciting thing is that we're actually wrapping this thing up.

This weekend we will also release next beta version to our testers. Things are moving really well for us and it is unbelievable watching everything coming together. There's a lot more polish since the very first beta, all the Prologue placeholder assets are gone, and the gameplay is much much tighter.

One issue that we had to crack, was the dialogue length. Most gamers don't want to listen to characters drone on in endless conversations, they want to play the game and to explore the story. So, on the one hand, we have to convey the message in the fewest possible syllables, and on the other, it has to be more than "Sandman, break and attack!". These opposing requirements make for some very interesting writing challenges. We want each character to be an actual character, meaning that all of them speak in their own manner.

The next couple of weeks will be very hectic. Best of all, we're making steady progress, but we are still remaining incredibly flexible. Honestly, that's one of the things I'm excited about: using beta feedback to adjust the game. We want to make the game you all want to play - after all, we're making it for you.

-Tolwyn

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A few words...

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.17.07

Origin LogoLike many of you, we have been excited to see the resurgence of Wing Commander in the form of the release of Privateer on Good Old Games.

Our project has never been an attempt to "remake" Wing Commander. Like all of you, the ingenuity of the Wing Commander games and the vision and hard work of their creators caught our imaginations and inspired us in many ways. Our efforts in making Wing Commander Saga have always been intended as an homage to Chris Roberts, Origin, Electronic Arts, and all who have been involved in creating Wing Commander.

It is our way of showing our respect and admiration for their work It has always been our hope that our efforts would show them how much their work is appreciated and how much there is still a market out there, ready and waiting for them, should they ever decide to fully revive the Wing Commander line.

We have been excited to see Origin reappearing in this way, and we hope to see it continue to re-emerge in other ways. We are hoping to release Saga within this year, and we hope, like many of you, to see the authentic Wing Commander continue to make a comeback this year and well into the future.

-Tolwyn

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Beta Enhancements

FROM: Rear Admiral Tolwyn, CINCWEAPONSDIVISION
DATE: 2011.09.07

We have some exciting news! Our latest beta update is now available to our beta testers. With this release we have introduced a ton of new features including (but not limited to):

  • revamped launcher: revised UI and user friendly navigation
  • performance improvements in various areas
  • HUD enchancements
  • revised mouse control
  • sound system updates

And much, much more...

As always, we would like to thank you for your continued support. We’ll see you soon in space.

-Tolwyn

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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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