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Difference between revisions of "Wing Commander"

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
m (→‎top: updated GOG.com ID format)
m (Added authors in spanish localization notes for the fan translation)
 
(35 intermediate revisions by 11 users not shown)
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 +
{{disambig||the Mac OS remake|[[Super Wing Commander]]}}
 
{{Infobox game
 
{{Infobox game
 
|cover        = Wing Commander cover.jpg
 
|cover        = Wing Commander cover.jpg
Line 4: Line 5:
 
{{Infobox game/row/developer|Origin Systems}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/developer|Origin Systems}}
 
|publishers  =  
 
|publishers  =  
 +
{{Infobox game/row/publisher|Origin Systems|Retail}}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/publisher|Electronic Arts|Digital}}
 
|engines      =  
 
|engines      =  
 
|release dates=  
 
|release dates=  
 
{{Infobox game/row/date|DOS|September 27, 1990}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/date|DOS|September 27, 1990}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/date|Windows|October 15, 1996}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/date|Windows|October 15, 1996}}
−
{{Infobox game/row/date|OS X|October 18, 2012|ref=<ref>[https://www.gog.com/news/gogcom_goes_mac GOG.com goes Mac ● GOG.com]</ref>}}
+
{{Infobox game/row/date|Windows|August 25, 2011|wrapper=DOSBox}}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/date|OS X|October 18, 2012|wrapper=DOSBox|ref=<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://www.gog.com/news/gogcom_goes_mac|title=GOG.com goes Mac ● GOG.com|date=9 June 2023}}</ref>}}
 +
|taxonomy    =
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/monetization      | One-time game purchase, Expansion pack }}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/microtransactions | }}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/modes            | Singleplayer }}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/pacing            | }}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/perspectives      | First-person }}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/controls          | }}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/genres            | Action, Shooter, Vehicle combat }}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/sports            | }}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/vehicles          | Space flight }}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/art styles        | }}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/themes            | Sci-fi, Space }}
 +
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/series            | Wing Commander }}
 
|steam appid  =  
 
|steam appid  =  
 
|gogcom id    = 1207662643
 
|gogcom id    = 1207662643
 
|gogcom id side = 1207658960
 
|gogcom id side = 1207658960
 +
|hltb        = 11188
 +
|lutris      = wing-commander
 
|strategywiki = Wing Commander
 
|strategywiki = Wing Commander
 +
|mobygames    = 3
 
|wikipedia    = Wing Commander (video game)
 
|wikipedia    = Wing Commander (video game)
 
|winehq      =  
 
|winehq      =  
 
|license      = commercial
 
|license      = commercial
 
}}
 
}}
−
{{Series|Wing Commander}}
 
−
{{disambig||the Mac OS remake|[[Super Wing Commander]]}}
 
  
−
'''Key points'''
+
{{Introduction
−
{{--}} Lacks the voice overs of Sega CD port.<ref>https://www.gog.com/forum/wing_commander_series/does_wing_commander_1_have_any_voiceovers</ref><ref>http://www.sega-16.com/2010/04/wing-commander/</ref>
+
|introduction      =
 +
 
 +
|release history  =
 +
 
 +
|current state    =
 +
}}
  
 
'''General information'''
 
'''General information'''
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==Availability==
 
==Availability==
 
{{Availability|
 
{{Availability|
−
{{Availability/row| Retail | | unknown |Use [[DOSBox]] (see [[#Run in DOSBox|Run in DOSBox]]). | | DOS }}
+
{{Availability/row| Retail | | Physical | DRM requires consulting manuals. | | DOS }}
−
{{Availability/row| GOG.com | wing_commander_1_2 | DRM-free |Includes both expansions and [[Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi]]. Pre-packaged with [[DOSBox]].<ref>[https://www.gog.com/forum/general/list_of_gog_games_using_dosbox/page1 List of GOG games using DOSBox, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com]</ref> | | Windows, OS X }}
+
{{Availability/row| GOG.com | wing_commander_1_2 | DRM-free |Includes both expansions and [[Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi]]. Pre-packaged with [[DOSBox]].<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://www.gog.com/forum/general/list_of_gog_games_using_dosbox/page1|title=List of GOG games using DOSBox, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com|date=May 2023}}</ref> | | Windows, OS X }}
−
{{Availability/row| Origin | wing-commander/wing-commander/standard-edition | Origin | |  | Windows }}
+
{{Availability/row| Origin | wing-commander/wing-commander | Origin | |  | Windows }}
 
}}
 
}}
 +
{{ii}} A free demo version is available from [https://archive.org/details/WingCommander_1020 Archive.org].
  
 
===Version differences===
 
===Version differences===
 
{{ii}} Retail versions of The Secret Missions 2 need the manual to answer copy protection questions.
 
{{ii}} Retail versions of The Secret Missions 2 need the manual to answer copy protection questions.
 
{{ii}} The GOG.com version of The Secret Missions 2 has protection bypassed; enter any number and press {{key|Enter}}.
 
{{ii}} The GOG.com version of The Secret Missions 2 has protection bypassed; enter any number and press {{key|Enter}}.
 +
{{--}} PC versions lack the voiceovers of Sega CD port.<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://www.gog.com/forum/wing_commander_series/does_wing_commander_1_have_any_voiceovers|title=gog.com|date=May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Refurl|url=http://www.sega-16.com/2010/04/wing-commander/|title=sega-16.com|date=May 2023}}</ref>
 
{{ii}} The game was ported to Windows as part of Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga.
 
{{ii}} The game was ported to Windows as part of Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga.
 
{{ii}} The game was remade for Mac OS as [[Super Wing Commander]].
 
{{ii}} The game was remade for Mac OS as [[Super Wing Commander]].
  
 +
==Monetization==
 
{{DLC|
 
{{DLC|
 
{{DLC/row| The Secret Missions |  | DOS, Windows, OS X }}
 
{{DLC/row| The Secret Missions |  | DOS, Windows, OS X }}
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===Run in DOSBox===
 
===Run in DOSBox===
 
To run correctly in [[DOSBox]], set <code>cycles=3000</code> and <code>buttonwrap=false</code>. Leave all other settings at their defaults.<ref>Settings recommended by Gemini in [http://www.pixelships.com/adg/ep0107.html Ancient DOS Games --- Episode 107: Wing Commander]</ref>
 
To run correctly in [[DOSBox]], set <code>cycles=3000</code> and <code>buttonwrap=false</code>. Leave all other settings at their defaults.<ref>Settings recommended by Gemini in [http://www.pixelships.com/adg/ep0107.html Ancient DOS Games --- Episode 107: Wing Commander]</ref>
 +
 +
===Speed issues during combat in DOSBox===
 +
Combat is known to have issues with the game speed in regular DOSBox. Where you may need to use the DOSBox keyboard shortcuts to speed-up or slow-down the game to keep it playable.
 +
 +
For the DOSBox-X fork, you can use the <code>vmemdelay=6000</code> setting in the DOSBox-X config file to adjust video memory speed such that the game is playable without having to constantly adjust the games speed. With this you also don't have to limit the cycles, and can leave it at default.
 +
 +
NOTE: this solution is not perfect, the game will slow down during cutscenes, or when viewing your ship externally using F5 which can be annoying.
  
 
===Patches===
 
===Patches===
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===[[Glossary:Save game cloud syncing|Save game cloud syncing]]===
 
===[[Glossary:Save game cloud syncing|Save game cloud syncing]]===
 
{{Save game cloud syncing
 
{{Save game cloud syncing
−
|gog galaxy           = false
+
|discord                  =
−
|gog galaxy notes     =  
+
|discord notes            =
−
|origin               = unknown
+
|epic games launcher      =
−
|origin notes         =  
+
|epic games launcher notes =
−
|steam cloud           =  
+
|gog galaxy               = true
−
|steam cloud notes     =  
+
|gog galaxy notes         =  
−
|uplay                =  
+
|origin                   = true
−
|uplay notes           =  
+
|origin notes             =  
−
|xbox cloud           =  
+
|steam cloud               =  
−
|xbox cloud notes     =  
+
|steam cloud notes         =  
 +
|ubisoft connect          =  
 +
|ubisoft connect notes     =  
 +
|xbox cloud               =  
 +
|xbox cloud notes         =  
 
}}
 
}}
  
−
==Video settings==
+
==Video==
−
{{Image|GOG.com DOSBox Configurator v2.png|GOG.com Graphic Mode Setup.}}
+
{{Video
−
{{Video settings
 
 
|wsgf link                  =  
 
|wsgf link                  =  
 
|widescreen wsgf award      =  
 
|widescreen wsgf award      =  
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|fov                        = false
 
|fov                        = false
 
|fov notes                  =  
 
|fov notes                  =  
−
|windowed                  = true
+
|windowed                  = false
−
|windowed notes            = Toggle with {{key|Alt|Enter}} (when using [[DOSBox]]).
+
|windowed notes            =  
 
|borderless windowed        = false
 
|borderless windowed        = false
 
|borderless windowed notes  =  
 
|borderless windowed notes  =  
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|antialiasing              = false
 
|antialiasing              = false
 
|antialiasing notes        =  
 
|antialiasing notes        =  
 +
|upscaling                  = unknown
 +
|upscaling tech            =
 +
|upscaling notes            =
 
|vsync                      = false
 
|vsync                      = false
 
|vsync notes                =  
 
|vsync notes                =  
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}}
 
}}
  
−
==Input settings==
+
==Input==
−
{{Input settings
+
{{Input
 
|key remap                = false
 
|key remap                = false
 
|key remap notes          =  
 
|key remap notes          =  
Line 186: Line 225:
 
}}
 
}}
  
−
==Audio settings==
+
==Audio==
−
{{Audio settings
+
{{Audio
 
|separate volume          = false
 
|separate volume          = false
 
|separate volume notes    =  
 
|separate volume notes    =  
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|eax support              =  
 
|eax support              =  
 
|eax support notes        =  
 
|eax support notes        =  
 +
|royalty free audio      = always on
 +
|royalty free audio notes =
 +
|red book cd audio        = false
 +
|red book cd audio notes  = FM Towns version only.
 
}}
 
}}
  
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{{L10n/switch
 
{{L10n/switch
 
  |language  = English
 
  |language  = English
−
  |interface = yes
+
  |interface = true
 
  |audio    = n/a
 
  |audio    = n/a
 
  |subtitles = n/a
 
  |subtitles = n/a
 
  |notes    =  
 
  |notes    =  
 
  |fan      =  
 
  |fan      =  
−
  |fan notes =  
+
}}
 +
{{L10n/switch
 +
|language  = Spanish
 +
|interface = hackable
 +
|audio    = false
 +
|subtitles = hackable
 +
|notes    = Fan translation (Including Secrets Missions 1 & 2) by ''Clan Dlan'' (authors: L@Zar0, darkpadawan), [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oSmLljclo5v5ytE1zI5KVQ_yGKHZEQ19/view?usp=share_link download].
 +
  |fan       = true
 +
|ref      =  
 
}}
 
}}
 
}}
 
}}
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|vulkan versions        =  
 
|vulkan versions        =  
 
|vulkan notes          =  
 
|vulkan notes          =  
−
|dos modes              =  
+
|dos modes              = unknown
 
|dos modes notes        =  
 
|dos modes notes        =  
 
|shader model versions  =  
 
|shader model versions  =  
 
|shader model notes    =  
 
|shader model notes    =  
−
|64-bit executable     = false
+
|windows 32-bit exe    = true
−
|64-bit executable notes=  
+
|windows 64-bit exe    = false
 +
|windows arm app        = unknown
 +
|windows exe notes      =
 +
|mac os x powerpc app  = unknown
 +
|macos intel 32-bit app = unknown
 +
|macos intel 64-bit app = unknown
 +
|macos arm app          = unknown
 +
|macos app notes        =
 +
|linux 32-bit executable= unknown
 +
|linux 64-bit executable= unknown
 +
|linux arm app          = unknown
 +
|linux executable notes =  
 
}}
 
}}
  

Latest revision as of 19:04, 15 November 2023

For the Mac OS remake, see Super Wing Commander.

Wing Commander
Wing Commander cover
Developers
Origin Systems
Publishers
Retail Origin Systems
Digital Electronic Arts
Release dates
DOS September 27, 1990
Windows October 15, 1996
Windows (DOSBox) August 25, 2011
macOS (OS X) (DOSBox) October 18, 2012[1]
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase, Expansion pack
Modes Singleplayer
Perspectives First-person
Genres Action, Shooter, Vehicle combat
Vehicles Space flight
Themes Sci-fi, Space
Series Wing Commander
Icon overlay.png
Wing Commander on HowLongToBeat
Icon overlay.png
Wing Commander guide on StrategyWiki
Wing Commander on MobyGames
Wing Commander on Wikipedia
⤏ Go to series page
Wing Commander 1990
Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi 1991
Wing Commander: Academy 1993
Wing Commander: Privateer 1993
Super Wing Commander 1994
Wing Commander: Armada 1994
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger 1994
Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom 1996
Privateer 2: The Darkening 1996
Wing Commander: Prophecy 1997
Wing Commander: Secret Ops 1998

Wing Commander is a singleplayer first-person action, shooter and vehicle combat game in the Wing Commander series.

General information

Wing Commander Wiki
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Prompts for answers from manual, code wheel, etc.
 DRM requires consulting manuals.
DOS
GOG.com
DRM-free
 Includes both expansions and Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi. Pre-packaged with DOSBox.[2]
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Origin
Origin
Windows
A free demo version is available from Archive.org.

Version differences

Retail versions of The Secret Missions 2 need the manual to answer copy protection questions.
The GOG.com version of The Secret Missions 2 has protection bypassed; enter any number and press ↵ Enter.
PC versions lack the voiceovers of Sega CD port.[3][4]
The game was ported to Windows as part of Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga.
The game was remade for Mac OS as Super Wing Commander.

Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
The Secret Missions
DOS
Windows
macOS (OS X)
The Secret Missions 2 - Crusade
DOS
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Essential improvements

Run in DOSBox

To run correctly in DOSBox, set cycles=3000 and buttonwrap=false. Leave all other settings at their defaults.[5]

Speed issues during combat in DOSBox

Combat is known to have issues with the game speed in regular DOSBox. Where you may need to use the DOSBox keyboard shortcuts to speed-up or slow-down the game to keep it playable.

For the DOSBox-X fork, you can use the vmemdelay=6000 setting in the DOSBox-X config file to adjust video memory speed such that the game is playable without having to constantly adjust the games speed. With this you also don't have to limit the cycles, and can leave it at default.

NOTE: this solution is not perfect, the game will slow down during cutscenes, or when viewing your ship externally using F5 which can be annoying.

Patches

Secret Missions 1 and 2 (The Kilrathi Saga)

Secret Missions 1 and 2 adds the missions from the expansions. Extract somewhere convenient and run SM12Inst.exe.
The Kilrathi Saga version of Wing Commander must be installed (the DOS version will not work). If the installer doesn't see the installation, see Secret Missions won't install.

Secret Missions 1.5

Secret Missions 1.5 is the name given to the Super Wing Commander version of the Secret Mission addon. It's actually quite different from the original. A fan port can be downloaded for DOS here and Windows here.

Game data

Save game data location

System Location
DOS <path-to-game>\GAMEDAT\SAVEGAME.WLD
Windows <path-to-game>\GAMEDAT\SAVEGAME.WLD[Note 1]
macOS (OS X) <path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)[Note 2]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Origin

Video

Graphics feature State Notes
Widescreen resolution
320x200 only.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
For DOSBox toggle with Alt+↵ Enter (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
Borderless fullscreen windowed
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)
For DOSBox use an unofficial build (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
60 FPS
120+ FPS

Input

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
For DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
For DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
PlayStation controllers
Generic/other controllers
Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Subtitles
All speech is text-based.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
For DOSBox change the priority background value in the DOSBox configuration file.
Royalty free audio
Red Book CD audio
FM Towns version only.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Spanish
Fan translation (Including Secrets Missions 1 & 2) by Clan Dlan (authors: L@Zar0, darkpadawan), download.

Issues fixed

EXE has stopped working (The Kilrathi Saga)

Set Windows 95 compatibility mode[citation needed]
  1. Go to the properties of the named EXE.
  2. Enable Windows 95 or Windows 98 / Windows ME compatibility mode.
  3. Click OK.

Secret Missions won't install

Install Secret Missions manually[citation needed]
  1. Extract Secret Missions 1 and 2 somewhere temporarily.
  2. Move the six EXE files to the main wc1 folder, replacing all existing files.
  3. Move all other files to wc1\gamedat replacing all existing files.
  4. Go to the properties of SM1.EXE and SM2.EXE and set both to run in Windows 95 or Windows 98 / Windows ME compatibility mode.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
DOS video modes
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

System requirements

DOS
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 3.0
Processor (CPU) Intel 286 12 MHz or higher
System memory (RAM) 640 KB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP, Vista
Processor (CPU) 1.8 GHz
System memory (RAM) 512 MB 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Video card (GPU) DirectX 7.0 compatible DirectX 9.0c compatible
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 10.6.8 or later
Processor (CPU) Intel Core Duo 2 GHz+
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Video card (GPU) 64 MB of VRAM


Notes

  1. ↑ When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
  2. ↑ File/folder structure within the installation folder reflects the path(s) listed for DOS game data. For the GOG.com release, file changes in DOSBox are redirected to <path-to-game>/cloud_saves/ even if GOG Galaxy is not used (this folder contains all redirected files, so some files in the cloud_saves folder might be temporary files or other files that do not contain saves or settings).

References

  1. ↑ GOG.com goes Mac ● GOG.com - last accessed on 9 June 2023
  2. ↑ List of GOG games using DOSBox, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on May 2023
  3. ↑ gog.com - last accessed on May 2023
  4. ↑ sega-16.com - last accessed on May 2023
  5. ↑ Settings recommended by Gemini in Ancient DOS Games --- Episode 107: Wing Commander