This was one of the first computer games I got to play. I still use Dosbox to emulate my original copies of 1 and 2 along with the secret operations missions.. Sadly, I lost one of my discs for 3.
i think its 16 years since i played this game and i still remember EVERY track i love wing commander and i love wing commander 3 too despite people saying it sucks :P
@AIO13101980 I love it when that happens. And it happens at least once every 20 years. Last time it was the guy at the window at Starbucks--and my kids even saw him make that face. :)
Well just purchased this classic from gog and was wondering how can i get the sound/music quality just like this (and not the midi version). I'm not gonna need an old SoundBlaster now am i? appreciate some feedback. Thanks.
@stefjevtic Well you won't get the music exactly like you hear in the video, as these are remastered versions. Unless you've got the "Kilrathi Saga" Windows version, which seems to include these as digitized music.
Apart from that, you could just try to set up your MIDI rendering as well as possible. What is standard today is far ahead to what was back then.
If you're going for old hardware, a MT-32 Roland would be even better than SoundBlaster.
Starcraft2 campaign mode reminded me of the good old days exploring the WC motherships and chatting it up with the crew. They really do need to bring this series back, not another COD game please!
I wish they made a Wing Commander TV series, with the original opening music! As I heard it, I could almost see the opening credits with a montage of space battles and close-ups of actors!
@Code1D10T The sirens are sound effects which are put to the music in the game. Even if you didn't have enough memory back in the day to hear music, there still would be the sirens.
So no, there are no sirens in the scramble theme, just like there are no blaster sounds in the battle theme ;)
lol i cried... and you know i was born 1988 so the only thing i could do with WC at the time of the game's release was to hit space when prompted by my uncle. I started playing this games for real in 2000, in the age of 3d. And they became my favs of all time. This proves it: TIMELESS CLASSIC. No graphical improvment can change that.
I'm an '88 child too. Dad would prompt me to slam the enter key on the numpad whenever he needed a good missile salvo. I eventually played WC2, Privateer 1-2, and WC: Prophecy. *sigh *
I finished this game first on an 8MHz 286 with an EGA display; framerate was somewhere around 1-2 FPS at worst and perhaps 5 fps at best. It was truly a task of learning how to extrapolate and anticipate enemy maneuvers. The good times...
When I got a 486@33MHz the game changed pretty significantly.
They really need to bring Wing Commander back into this generation. I grew up playing this (the SNES version) And I think with the technology, the game has the potential to break new ground all over again. Thumbs up if you agree.
@TheTurnipKing I never really liked Freespace, to be honest. However, I thought these capship laser-beam cannons were kind of interesting, something different to what you are used to in the genre.
Maybe a little bit like Star Trek... yeah, that's a little far-fetched, but maybe you can see where I am coming from.
@grimsmote I think that today, a game with exactly the same mechanics as Wing Commander would be seen as too limited and too much "on rails". On the other hand, a Freelancer-like sandbox game, set in the universe of Wing Commander, THAT would be sweet!
@DevilMaster I don't know, with the story and narrative games they are doing nowadays, I think it could be done as a mixture of both. I just know that the first time I played this, it was unlike anything I'd ever played before. I think if done right, it could be that all over again.
They really need to bring Wing Commander back into this generation. I grew up playing this (the SNES version) And I think with the technology, the game has the potential to break new ground all over again.
OMG, this music is just EPIC! I remember the days of 1992 and 1993 when i played this game through many times over! Then came the bliss of WC2... I can honestly say, that these 2 games were and probably still are the ones that have moved me most deep inside.
Hi. I played the original in 1992. It was made in 1992. The Wing Commander Flight Simulator. A rescue mission cargo plane. I want to hear its' funeral dirge. I've never heard a funeral dirge like it. it showed a scene of 3 or 4 people at the funeral on Earth. How do I find this? I miss it. Hopefully you have it?
@Herbarius I'm getting the pleasure listening to this again over and over all the same. It's been so long. It's beautiful. I e mailed my son for information on the game back in 1992. As soon as I hear from him, I'll let you know I'm wrong and what the name of the other game was if it wasn't Wing Commander. I think it had an X to the Wing Commander.
@deafwanda you may be thinking of Strike Commander? It was by the Wing Commander people, but set on Earth and with modern-day airplanes rather than spaceships. It was released in '93 not '92, but the funeral scene is a lot like what you describe.
Love this soundtrack, not only do the songs sound good, they do an excellent job of setting the mood. I could imagine them being in a science fiction blockbuster.
Also, did anyone else tear up at the game over scene as a kid? I was so used to just getting a "Retry?" or "Game over" screen when I died, and by comparison this one game's death screen was pretty sad.
@DrDoom343 Exactly my feelings about the end of this game when I played it and died, I kept playing this funeral music over and over and over! My husband and little boys by then went MAD. :-) it's been 20 yrs now. Have you found this "funeral music"? If so, could you show me the way please?
@DrDoom343 If it is included in this, then wow, it's been so long! I've lost quite a lot of hearing ability. I thought I recognized it during the bar scene on this. If this is the one, it's not the way I remember it.
Yup, the WC Universe was among my favorites in PC gaming. Especially when they rolled out with III. That was the best one, I thought. IV was ok, just didn't have the same attention (or budget I'm thinking) as III. Prophecy I didn't much care for...and let's face it, the movie pretty much sucked. I watched and bought it though as a fan. The animated series were good, wish they would have took off.
@hellcat29er Actually, WC4 was the most expensive game ever made when it came out, at something over $10 million. Having concluded the Kilrathi War trilogy, though, some of the oomph had left the series. That said, I thought IV had some amazing scenes, and some of the more nuanced concepts.
@DrumN00b -------------Loved this game and its sequels. Why don't they make games like that anymore? Why? WHYYYYYYY???------------>Someone is gonna b asking this about crysis and far cry 2 after 10 yrs from now.
I recall my SoundBlaster AWE32 from in or around 1996 having kickass awesome MIDI sound! ^^ On my next PC I couldn't use the card anymore, because it was an ISA card and the new PC only had PCI slots (plus the AGP slot for graphics), and the on-board MIDI sounded like crap in comparison.
But back then as well as today, MIDI sound varies from model to model, and I guess the really cheap-sounding ones have disappeared over the years.
I'm partial to the Roldand sample set (a lower quality version is used in Windows for the software midi driver). MIDI is just a format, the synthesizer hardware that changes as well as how it's used. (even with the limited FM synth based Adlib/SB cards, there are some good examples and a lot of mediocre examples tied to the capability of the composer and programmer's use of the synth chip -or the limitations of the MIDI sequencer software used)
Actually a ton of the midi was kick-ass (though far too little was done really well with the FM synth chips -a few examples were done really well though).
With WC, you had some OK use of Adlib, but some awesome use of the high-end MT-32/LAPC-I.
I'm pretty sure the recordings in this video are using MIDI from the mid 90s Kilrathi Saga re-release. (it's either general midi or a custom midi driver -but it sounds like general midi with the Roland Sample set -default Windows midi uses that too)
Need sheet music!!
MurphyNH 5 days ago
this game came out 22(!) years ago ...
Grauer82 1 week ago in playlist Liked videos
This was one of the first computer games I got to play. I still use Dosbox to emulate my original copies of 1 and 2 along with the secret operations missions.. Sadly, I lost one of my discs for 3.
MarcusTrinnias 1 week ago
i think its 16 years since i played this game and i still remember EVERY track i love wing commander and i love wing commander 3 too despite people saying it sucks :P
SpajN3434 1 month ago
@irvingschwartz137 I posted the surf version for you. See my video response (if it gets approved!)
TheMightyFatMan 4 months ago
@AIO13101980 I love it when that happens. And it happens at least once every 20 years. Last time it was the guy at the window at Starbucks--and my kids even saw him make that face. :)
TheMightyFatMan 4 months ago
Well just purchased this classic from gog and was wondering how can i get the sound/music quality just like this (and not the midi version). I'm not gonna need an old SoundBlaster now am i? appreciate some feedback. Thanks.
Great upload btw
stefjevtic 5 months ago
@stefjevtic Well you won't get the music exactly like you hear in the video, as these are remastered versions. Unless you've got the "Kilrathi Saga" Windows version, which seems to include these as digitized music.
Apart from that, you could just try to set up your MIDI rendering as well as possible. What is standard today is far ahead to what was back then.
If you're going for old hardware, a MT-32 Roland would be even better than SoundBlaster.
Herbarius 5 months ago
@Herbarius righto, thanks :)
stefjevtic 5 months ago
@stefjevtic Agreed--get a Roland MT-32 and you'll hear it just like we heard it when we composed it.
TheMightyFatMan 5 months ago
@TheMightyFatMan
THE MAN himself?? O_O
AIO13101980 4 months ago
If you can find it, The Fatman (composer) and Team Fat recorded a beach-music version of this theme - amazing stuff!
irvingschwartz137 6 months ago
To this day, the funeral theme brings a tear to my eye...and a burning desire to KICK KILRATHI ASS! This one's for Iceman, you furballs!
graph180 6 months ago
Man, this brings back so many memories. Great stuff - looks like Paladin and.. what was the girls name, Angel yah?
dcav6 7 months ago in playlist VG music
Starcraft2 campaign mode reminded me of the good old days exploring the WC motherships and chatting it up with the crew. They really do need to bring this series back, not another COD game please!
nighthawk0490 7 months ago
there is so much in the wing commander universe,and they bring back battlestar galactica.
brybish 8 months ago
i like listening to the scramble theme while i take a dump, it takes my mind off the pain. :)
diskoman44 9 months ago in playlist WingCommander
@diskoman44 That comment really made me laugh... thank you.
Sirynx77 8 months ago
Maybe the greatest Game Series ever... Very nice.
CruisinX 9 months ago
I wish they made a Wing Commander TV series, with the original opening music! As I heard it, I could almost see the opening credits with a montage of space battles and close-ups of actors!
DevilMaster 10 months ago
Aww...No siren for the scramble theme?
Code1D10T 1 year ago
@Code1D10T The sirens are sound effects which are put to the music in the game. Even if you didn't have enough memory back in the day to hear music, there still would be the sirens.
So no, there are no sirens in the scramble theme, just like there are no blaster sounds in the battle theme ;)
Herbarius 1 year ago 3
@Herbarius I know that. I'm just use to hearing those sirens with that part of the track. I just can't do it. lol
Code1D10T 1 year ago
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@Herbarius I know that. I'm just use to hearing those sirens with that part of the track. I just can't do without it. lol
Code1D10T 1 year ago
@Herbarius The original MOD ripped directly from the amiga version of the game has the siren samples in it
mephisto40 6 months ago
lol i cried... and you know i was born 1988 so the only thing i could do with WC at the time of the game's release was to hit space when prompted by my uncle. I started playing this games for real in 2000, in the age of 3d. And they became my favs of all time. This proves it: TIMELESS CLASSIC. No graphical improvment can change that.
CaveSoundMeister 1 year ago
@CaveSoundMeister
I'm an '88 child too. Dad would prompt me to slam the enter key on the numpad whenever he needed a good missile salvo. I eventually played WC2, Privateer 1-2, and WC: Prophecy. *sigh *
I miss those games.
All I have now is Freespace 2 SCP...
Aw... y can't WC have capship lasers...
born2croak 11 months ago
The soundtrack for this game was spectacular. Some of the best DOS gaming music of its time.
BrandonBlume 1 year ago
I finished this game first on an 8MHz 286 with an EGA display; framerate was somewhere around 1-2 FPS at worst and perhaps 5 fps at best. It was truly a task of learning how to extrapolate and anticipate enemy maneuvers. The good times...
When I got a 486@33MHz the game changed pretty significantly.
KarriKoivusalo 1 year ago
They really need to bring Wing Commander back into this generation. I grew up playing this (the SNES version) And I think with the technology, the game has the potential to break new ground all over again. Thumbs up if you agree.
grimsmote 1 year ago 29
@grimsmote Have you ever played Wing Commander Standoff?
It's a fan project you can download for free... just google for it... There are also videos and also a trailer available here on youtube.
(It's not exactly today's standard of graphics, but it's much more modern than the original.)
It's a pretty hard game though...
Herbarius 1 year ago
@grimsmote I'd rather have a new Freespace, TBH.
TheTurnipKing 1 year ago
@TheTurnipKing Why settle for an imitation? I'd rather get the real deal. :P
Herbarius 1 year ago
@Herbarius Each to their own, but I can answer this in two words. "Beam. Lasers."
TheTurnipKing 1 year ago
@TheTurnipKing I wouldn't object to it having Wing Commander music, though. ;)
TheTurnipKing 1 year ago
@TheTurnipKing I never really liked Freespace, to be honest. However, I thought these capship laser-beam cannons were kind of interesting, something different to what you are used to in the genre.
Maybe a little bit like Star Trek... yeah, that's a little far-fetched, but maybe you can see where I am coming from.
Herbarius 1 year ago
@grimsmote I think that today, a game with exactly the same mechanics as Wing Commander would be seen as too limited and too much "on rails". On the other hand, a Freelancer-like sandbox game, set in the universe of Wing Commander, THAT would be sweet!
DevilMaster 10 months ago
@DevilMaster I don't know, with the story and narrative games they are doing nowadays, I think it could be done as a mixture of both. I just know that the first time I played this, it was unlike anything I'd ever played before. I think if done right, it could be that all over again.
grimsmote 10 months ago
@DevilMaster So, basically, a new Wing Commander: Privateer? :) Privateer 1 and 2 were two of my favourite games of all time :)
danuk69 9 months ago
@danuk69 I never played Privateer 1 and 2, but from the videos I saw, I'd say... yes. A Privateer 3 would be awesome.
DevilMaster 9 months ago
@grimsmote Man this generation sucks! I'm with you on that. Wing Commander is a beast that needs to be unleashed again!
xXFOOLISHWAYSXx 6 months ago
They really need to bring Wing Commander back into this generation. I grew up playing this (the SNES version) And I think with the technology, the game has the potential to break new ground all over again.
grimsmote 1 year ago
as startrek is to TV SiFi wing commander is to PC i hope we see more WC games but i will not hold my breath.
brybish 1 year ago
OMG, this music is just EPIC! I remember the days of 1992 and 1993 when i played this game through many times over! Then came the bliss of WC2... I can honestly say, that these 2 games were and probably still are the ones that have moved me most deep inside.
Thanks for uploading this, man! :)
TheTaskurapu 1 year ago
Such a long and epic war, and I've fought it all so many times...I miss Wing Commander dearly. And I still love the Briefing Theme and Col. Halcyon!
Night10194 1 year ago
I fought many battles against the Kilrathi while listening to this wonderful music. Many thanks, Herbarius!
gfbanfield 1 year ago
20 years Wing Commander! 1990-2010
BringBackMy90s 1 year ago
Yes, helikestv, that's it. Thank you so much for correcting my mistakes It's Strike Commander and it was 93, not 92. Thanks again!
deafwanda 1 year ago
Hi. I played the original in 1992. It was made in 1992. The Wing Commander Flight Simulator. A rescue mission cargo plane. I want to hear its' funeral dirge. I've never heard a funeral dirge like it. it showed a scene of 3 or 4 people at the funeral on Earth. How do I find this? I miss it. Hopefully you have it?
deafwanda 1 year ago
@deafwanda I think you are talking about a different game, not Wing Commander. The only funeral music from Wing Commander is in the video (8:04)
Herbarius 1 year ago
@Herbarius I'm getting the pleasure listening to this again over and over all the same. It's been so long. It's beautiful. I e mailed my son for information on the game back in 1992. As soon as I hear from him, I'll let you know I'm wrong and what the name of the other game was if it wasn't Wing Commander. I think it had an X to the Wing Commander.
deafwanda 1 year ago
@deafwanda you may be thinking of Strike Commander? It was by the Wing Commander people, but set on Earth and with modern-day airplanes rather than spaceships. It was released in '93 not '92, but the funeral scene is a lot like what you describe.
helikestv 1 year ago
@helikestv It was still a really good game, though. I loved Strike Commander, if not quite as much as Wing Commander.
Night10194 1 year ago
Love this soundtrack, not only do the songs sound good, they do an excellent job of setting the mood. I could imagine them being in a science fiction blockbuster.
Also, did anyone else tear up at the game over scene as a kid? I was so used to just getting a "Retry?" or "Game over" screen when I died, and by comparison this one game's death screen was pretty sad.
DrDoom343 1 year ago
@DrDoom343 Exactly my feelings about the end of this game when I played it and died, I kept playing this funeral music over and over and over! My husband and little boys by then went MAD. :-) it's been 20 yrs now. Have you found this "funeral music"? If so, could you show me the way please?
deafwanda 1 year ago
@DrDoom343 If it is included in this, then wow, it's been so long! I've lost quite a lot of hearing ability. I thought I recognized it during the bar scene on this. If this is the one, it's not the way I remember it.
deafwanda 1 year ago
Yup, the WC Universe was among my favorites in PC gaming. Especially when they rolled out with III. That was the best one, I thought. IV was ok, just didn't have the same attention (or budget I'm thinking) as III. Prophecy I didn't much care for...and let's face it, the movie pretty much sucked. I watched and bought it though as a fan. The animated series were good, wish they would have took off.
hellcat29er 1 year ago
@hellcat29er As far as I know, the budget of Wing Commander IV was MUCH larger than that of Wing Commander III.
Herbarius 1 year ago
@hellcat29er Actually, WC4 was the most expensive game ever made when it came out, at something over $10 million. Having concluded the Kilrathi War trilogy, though, some of the oomph had left the series. That said, I thought IV had some amazing scenes, and some of the more nuanced concepts.
chillyche 1 year ago
An excellent series. Too bad there aren't a lot of space sims like it.
snake520 1 year ago
yes like the sb16 what a crappy sound that gave,
jonnylmnop 1 year ago
Loved this game and its sequels. Why don't they make games like that anymore? Why? WHYYYYYYY???
DrumN00b 2 years ago 13
A clear demonstration of the forces of the mass-market at work...
Herbarius 1 year ago 4
This has been flagged as spam show
@DrumN00b -------------Loved this game and its sequels. Why don't they make games like that anymore? Why? WHYYYYYYY???------------>Someone is gonna b asking this about crysis and far cry 2 after 10 yrs from now.
xxxdieselyyy2 1 year ago
awesome music, always loved dos games music. the best music, but in those days the quality of midi was crap. big change today!!! :) thanks for this.
jonnylmnop 2 years ago
I recall my SoundBlaster AWE32 from in or around 1996 having kickass awesome MIDI sound! ^^ On my next PC I couldn't use the card anymore, because it was an ISA card and the new PC only had PCI slots (plus the AGP slot for graphics), and the on-board MIDI sounded like crap in comparison.
But back then as well as today, MIDI sound varies from model to model, and I guess the really cheap-sounding ones have disappeared over the years.
Herbarius 1 year ago
I'm partial to the Roldand sample set (a lower quality version is used in Windows for the software midi driver). MIDI is just a format, the synthesizer hardware that changes as well as how it's used. (even with the limited FM synth based Adlib/SB cards, there are some good examples and a lot of mediocre examples tied to the capability of the composer and programmer's use of the synth chip -or the limitations of the MIDI sequencer software used)
The old MT-32 was almost always awesome though.
koolkitty8989 1 year ago
Actually a ton of the midi was kick-ass (though far too little was done really well with the FM synth chips -a few examples were done really well though).
With WC, you had some OK use of Adlib, but some awesome use of the high-end MT-32/LAPC-I.
I'm pretty sure the recordings in this video are using MIDI from the mid 90s Kilrathi Saga re-release. (it's either general midi or a custom midi driver -but it sounds like general midi with the Roland Sample set -default Windows midi uses that too)
koolkitty8989 1 year ago
Such a classic game
paxtofettel 2 years ago
Awesome. The beginning reminds me of the Star Trek theme.
kanchiku 2 years ago
Yeah, I always thought it combines elements of both the Star Trek TMP/TNG theme, as well as of the Back to the Future theme...
Herbarius 2 years ago
I'm glad I'm not the only one ;) Cheers.
kanchiku 2 years ago