We have finally brought you Wing Commander Saga’s mission editor. Along with giving players the ability to create new missions for Wing Commander Saga, the kit comes with an autopilot template for the game. That’s right, you can now create missions that offer the flyby sequences that were a central part of the Wing Commander ethos, offering a much shorter wait time between nav points and also a cinematic flair that has always been a trademark of Wing Commander.
We have decided to make something special to help you get the hang of our tools. We have created a loose remake of the first two missions in Wing Commander 3. Our demo package features the original voice-overs of Mark Hamil, Jason Bernard, and the other classic WC3 actors who were highlighted in the first two missions. Briefing and launch sequences are also included. You can grab the package here. The process of creating those missions was documented and an early tutorial draft has been included.
What are you waiting for? Grab the tools, and start modding your wingnut heart out. For all your modding questions, please post on our forums.
As an extra for all of you, we’ve got just what you need if you can't get enough of the game - we have decided to release the music of Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn. This huge compilation of all-new music was created by our team of talented composers: Jeff Ball, Tim Janssens, Edward Bradshaw, Glyn R. Brown, Jeff Broadbent, and Peter Dmitriyev. As an added bonus, there are several deleted songs that are included in the archive. You know that's right.
We will also release a second album soon. It will be a collection of remastered Wing Commander 3 music, based on the originals composed by George Oldziey, whose electrifying soundtrack provided the inspiration for the original music created by our composers for Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn.
(Before watching, you are strongly encouraged to complete the main campaign. Certain surprises may be spoiled otherwise.)
It really is an exciting time to be a wingnut. It’s been a ten days since the Saga's release and we wanted to share details on what we’re working on.
Our SDK is shaping up nicely. It should make the process of modding possible (at least for tech-savvy folks). We’re currently working on a mission creation tutorial and are hoping to see a number of Saga mods and tweaks once the SDK goes live.
Echoing what we stated on our forums, we’re evaluating your feedback and will address issues that are being reported in subsequent patches. As a matter of fact, the very first Saga update is now available. It fixes a number of small issues that have plagued gamers since launch.
After the break, check out the patch notes for 1.1.0.7822.
Patch Notes - March 27, 2011
Addressed an issue that was causing launcher to not save sound device properly on some systems.
Added tooltips for autopilot and glide usage.
Fiction viewer font replaced.
Alternative mouse steering is now available. You can choose between the WC and FS controls depending on your personal preference.
Losing the TCS Aurora would block the game's progress. This has been addressed.
After ten years in development, Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn has been released! Wing Commander Saga is the product of a dedicated group of fans seeking to tell a compelling story and provide an electrifying gameplay experience in Chris Robert's iconic Wing Commander universe. It features 55 missions in two campaigns, over 70 cutscenes, over 11,000 lines of voice work produced by 60 voice actors, and a storyline that dovetails with the events of Wing Commander 3: The Heart of the Tiger. It has been released for the PC, with Mac and Linux version coming soon. And best of all, it is completely free!
So far, reception for Wing Commander Saga has been enthusiastic. We experienced about 50,000 downloads in the first 24 hours after the release of the game. Check out what some of the reviewers have to say about The Darkest Dawn:
"Terrific, and a stunning achievement." - Rock, Paper, Shotgun
"A fan-made game that's good enough to be worth paying for. It pays homage to its source material while improving on Wing Commander's classic gameplay and graphics." - HotHardware
"A worthy homage with a thrilling story." - PC Games Hardware
"A must have for nostalgic, old school gamers and space ship fans." - Gamestar
"Wing Commander is back." - 4Players
"You owe it to yourself to sample this labor of love." - ExtremeTech
"Relive the glory days of space flight sims. Highest Recommendation." - JustPressStart
"So much more than a simple fan remake. A polished, feature heavy, brilliantly designed behemoth of a game. Wing Commander Saga could have easily been a commercial release." - Gnome's Lair
But don't just take their word for it, come try Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn for yourself! Then, make sure to visit gog.com, where you can get copies of several of the original Wing Commander games from which Saga takes its inspiration.
Swarms of users rushed to download the game client at nineteen hundred hours. Our release was met with such extraordinary demand that our website was unavailable at first due to server flooding. These numbers are pretty remarkable, and a solid indication that space sims are still alive and well!
At long last, the day has finally arrived! It has been ten years to the day that the Wing Commander Saga project was officially founded. Through this time, Saga has evolved through a host of iterations, with sometimes frustrating twists and turns and several brick walls. However, we believe that Wing Commander Saga would not be what it is today without the lessons we have learned from each one of those experiences, and we are very excited to finally share the results with you.
On many occasions, we have referred to Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn as a labor of love. That is truly what it has been for us. Many years ago, Chris Roberts and his team at Origin ignited our imaginations with their innovative, blockbuster Wing Commander series. Our hope has always been that with Wing Commander Saga, we could recapture that excitement and magic to some degree and share it with all of you. Our ten year development process has certainly taught us even more respect for just how innovative and brilliant Chris Roberts and his team are. Our development of Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn is meant as an homage to them and what they achieved, and we would like to thank them and EA, who holds the intellectual property for Wing Commander. We would also like to thank all the sites who have generously offered to provide mirrors for Saga.
If Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn is your introduction to the Wing Commander universe, you owe it to yourself to try the source material that inspired us. Several of the original Wing Commander games are available at gog.com, so make sure to show your support for the actual creators of Wing Commander by going and purchasing some copies! You won't regret it. Especially make sure to pick up a copy of Wing Commander III, since the story of Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn was written to coincide with the events of that game.
Today we are only launching the PC vesion. The Linux and Mac versions will be available soon. We just need to port the launcher to OSX and Linux and run some tests.
For help troubleshooting known issues click here to visit our forums. We'd also love to here your thoughts about the game, so feel free to join us there!
So, without further ado, we are pleased to present you with Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn. It's humanity's most desperate hour, a desperate struggle for survival against impossible odds, and you've got a front row seat.
Update
This full release of Wing Commander Saga contains two campaigns. The first is an upgraded version of the original "Prologue" campaign. It has been upgraded with an expanded story, more characters in-game, Wing Commander style autopilot sequences (rather than the long, time accelerated autopilot sequences used in the original prologue) and updated graphics and game play. This five mission campaign set aboard the TCS Wellington teaches the player how to play Wing Commander Saga and sets the stage for the main campaign. You can select the prologue by going to the campaign room and highlighting the "Prologue" campaign. Even if you played the original prologue, we highly recommend you play the updated prologue to bring you up to speed with all the changes that have happened since the original release.
From there, you can go to the campaign room and select "The Darkest Dawn" campaign. This campaign will assume that you have learned everything that the "Prologue" campaign is designed to introduce you to. This is the all new, 50 mission campaign based on the TCS Hermes.
That's the motto of Rurikhan's latest "let's play" video. As we continue to get closer to the release of Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn, a new gameplay video was released with new scenes not seen in any other preview videos. Even though ingame graphics may not be up to date, you still can’t deny that the action this game offers is amazing.
Rurikhan's video really highlights the intense space combat with some sprinklings of insane dogfights. Click on the thumbnail above to go to his YouTube channel and don't forget to watch his "other" let's play videos.
Wing Commander Saga is a free game and will be available this Thursday.
We would like to post an official correction about something that has been misreported about "Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn." We are not officially or unofficially sanctioned or endorsed by Chris Roberts, Origin, or EA. We are thankful to them for permitting us to make Saga- as manifested by them taking no action to shut us down but allowing us to develop it, just as they have done with other projects like Standoff and Privateer: Gemini Gold- but they have in no way, shape, or form sanctioned our project, nor have they done anything to make it official. They have not contacted us and we have not discussed it with them. Once again, we are thankful that they are permitting us to do this, but no endorsement of Saga by these entities should be implied from that fact.
In a sensational move, Konstantinos Dimopoulos from Gnome's Lair has somehow managed to secure somewhat exclusive access to the finished version of Wing Commander Saga. A lengthy preview is available on the Gnome's Lair website. A short chinwag with our very own Tolwyn about all things regarding Wing Commander Saga is also included.
As ever, feel free to leave us your thoughts and complaints in the comments below. Are you as excited as we are?
Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn has been in development for a decade. You have all been waiting for a long time, and so have we. The wait is finally over. The Wing Commander Saga team is happy to present you with the final Wing Commander Saga trailer! The trailer gives a preview of many of Saga's features, including a few that we have kept secret, but it also finally answers our most frequently asked question of "when is Saga's release date?" Check out the trailer and start the count down to launch!
