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* PowerCreep: Subtly present. Spacecraft in this franchise are characterized as having a certain number of "centimeters" of {{Deflector Shield}}s and BodyArmorAsHitPoints, which you have to break through in order to damage the craft beneath. These numbers underwent SerialEscalation: The most powerful enemy ship in the first game, the ''Fralthi'' capitol ship, had about 30 cm of armor; the ''weakest'' enemy ship in the third game, the Darket light fighter, had 80. (And this is ''just armor'', not counting the regenerating shields.) That said, weapons damage was scaled appropriately, so this wasn't really a problem until TheNovelization of the fourth game, when the author had the main characters flying ''[=Wing2=]''-era Rapiers, with about 0.2 meters of armor and shields, against the latest overpowered superfighter with ''8'' meters of combined defenses, and surviving return fire that ''should'' have been a OneHitKill.
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* PowerCreep: Subtly present. Spacecraft in this franchise are characterized as having a certain number of "centimeters" of {{Deflector Shield}}s and BodyArmorAsHitPoints, which you have to break through in order to damage the craft beneath. These numbers underwent SerialEscalation: The most powerful enemy ship in the first game, the ''Fralthi'' capitol ship, had about 30 cm of armor; the ''weakest'' enemy ship in the third game, the Darket light fighter, had 80.200. (And this is ''just armor'', not counting the regenerating shields.) That said, weapons damage was scaled appropriately, so this wasn't really a problem until TheNovelization of the fourth game, when the author had the main characters flying ''[=Wing2=]''-era Rapiers, 2nd-game fighters, with about 0.2 meters of armor and shields, against the latest overpowered superfighter with ''8'' meters ''8 meters'' of combined defenses, and surviving return fire that ''should'' have been a OneHitKill.OneHitKill.
** There is at least a {{Watsonian}} justification for the jump. As of the end of the second game, the Kilrathi War has been going on for four decades and many Confed ''and'' Kilrathi ships were older and under-maintained. One of the ExpandedUniverse novels, taking place after the second game, involved a climactic battle over Earth between Kilrathi GameBreaker-class supercarriers and what remained of the Confed fleet after a FalseFlagOperation, during which both sides lose the majority of their remaining materiel. This leads to an entire new generation of technology (rendered in 3D!) during the third game as both sides have had to rebuild their navies and air forces from scratch. With such a reset, it makes sense that 40 years of technological advances would be incorporated into the new designs.
** There is at least a {{Watsonian}} justification for the jump. As of the end of the second game, the Kilrathi War has been going on for four decades and many Confed ''and'' Kilrathi ships were older and under-maintained. One of the ExpandedUniverse novels, taking place after the second game, involved a climactic battle over Earth between Kilrathi GameBreaker-class supercarriers and what remained of the Confed fleet after a FalseFlagOperation, during which both sides lose the majority of their remaining materiel. This leads to an entire new generation of technology (rendered in 3D!) during the third game as both sides have had to rebuild their navies and air forces from scratch. With such a reset, it makes sense that 40 years of technological advances would be incorporated into the new designs.
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** FragileSpeedster: "Light Fighters" and "Patrol Fighters," which are typically your starting ship, offsetting a small missile and gun loadout and low defenses with high speed. Confed examples include the Hornet (first game), the Ferret and Epee (second game) and Arrow (third game); the Kilrathi have the Salthi, Sartha and Darket.
** JackOfAllStats: "Medium Fighters" are often underwhelming at best, though they get the job done. Confed examples include the Scimitar (first game), F-44G Rapier II (second game) and Hellcat V (third game). The Kilrathi fielded the Dralthi, Drakhri and Dralthi IV, which all shared a batwing design.
** StoneWall: these are torpedo-oriented bombers; they can't turn for shit, but have heavy shields and armor and even ''manned turret guns'' (which the player can take over control of at will) to defend them while you wait the excruciating 20 seconds for a torpedo to lock. (It's not like you could call for fighter support: engine limitations meant that you could only have one wingman and they ''had'' to be flying the same kind of ship you were. It wasn't until the fourth game that strategically sensible units of bombers ''covered by fighters'' were feasible.) Confed Broadswords (second game) and Longbows (third game) filled this role; note that they didn't have one in the first game (where you just shot down large ships with your guns, [[DeathOfAThousandCuts very slowly]]). The Cats didn't field the Paktahn until the third game. The Broadsword is also notable for being the first -- and thus far, only -- ship with more than one controllable turret.
** MightyGlacier: "Heavy fighters" are fighter-bombers which can be outmaneuvered but have devastating guns, in addition to a small armament of torpedoes for anti-capship work. If the game doesn't have a MasterOfAll experimental superfighter, you fly this one against the FinalBoss. Confed examples include the Raptor (first game), Sabre (second game) and Thunderbolt VII (third game), the latter two of which had a rear turret gun; Kilrathi examples include the Jalthi, Jalkehi and Vaktoth.
** MasterOfAll: a cutting-edge, sometimes even prototype, fighter which you get to fly early in the game to generate excitement and then again at the end when it finally enters service. Examples include the YF-44 Rapier I in the first game (note how TechnologyMarchesOn -- what ''used'' to be the best fighter in the fleet is now a serviceable workhorse ten years later) and the Excalibur in the third, which has the most amazing technology you could ask for in 1994: auto-aim. Kilrathi examples include the Strakha [[InvisibilityCloak stealth fighter]] in the second game.
** JackOfAllStats: "Medium Fighters" are often underwhelming at best, though they get the job done. Confed examples include the Scimitar (first game), F-44G Rapier II (second game) and Hellcat V (third game). The Kilrathi fielded the Dralthi, Drakhri and Dralthi IV, which all shared a batwing design.
** StoneWall: these are torpedo-oriented bombers; they can't turn for shit, but have heavy shields and armor and even ''manned turret guns'' (which the player can take over control of at will) to defend them while you wait the excruciating 20 seconds for a torpedo to lock. (It's not like you could call for fighter support: engine limitations meant that you could only have one wingman and they ''had'' to be flying the same kind of ship you were. It wasn't until the fourth game that strategically sensible units of bombers ''covered by fighters'' were feasible.) Confed Broadswords (second game) and Longbows (third game) filled this role; note that they didn't have one in the first game (where you just shot down large ships with your guns, [[DeathOfAThousandCuts very slowly]]). The Cats didn't field the Paktahn until the third game. The Broadsword is also notable for being the first -- and thus far, only -- ship with more than one controllable turret.
** MightyGlacier: "Heavy fighters" are fighter-bombers which can be outmaneuvered but have devastating guns, in addition to a small armament of torpedoes for anti-capship work. If the game doesn't have a MasterOfAll experimental superfighter, you fly this one against the FinalBoss. Confed examples include the Raptor (first game), Sabre (second game) and Thunderbolt VII (third game), the latter two of which had a rear turret gun; Kilrathi examples include the Jalthi, Jalkehi and Vaktoth.
** MasterOfAll: a cutting-edge, sometimes even prototype, fighter which you get to fly early in the game to generate excitement and then again at the end when it finally enters service. Examples include the YF-44 Rapier I in the first game (note how TechnologyMarchesOn -- what ''used'' to be the best fighter in the fleet is now a serviceable workhorse ten years later) and the Excalibur in the third, which has the most amazing technology you could ask for in 1994: auto-aim. Kilrathi examples include the Strakha [[InvisibilityCloak stealth fighter]] in the second game.
to:
** FragileSpeedster: "Light Fighters" and "Patrol Fighters," which are typically your starting ship, offsetting a small missile and gun loadout and low defenses with high speed. Confed examples include the F-36 Hornet (first game), the Ferret and F-54 Epee (second game) and F-27 Arrow V (third game); the Kilrathi have the Salthi, Sartha and Darket.
Darket. {{Exaggerated}} in ''[=WC2=]'' with the P-64 Ferret, a "Patrol" fighter that was super-fast but super un-defended, having middling guns and ''zero'' missiles.
** JackOfAllStats: "Medium Fighters" are often underwhelming at best, though they get the job done. Confed examples include the CF-105 Scimitar (first game), F-44G Rapier II (second game) and Hellcat V (third game). The Kilrathi fielded the Dralthi, Drakhri and Dralthi IV, which all shared a batwingdesign.
design, as well as the Krant in the first game.
** StoneWall: these are torpedo-oriented bombers; they can't turn for shit, but have heavy shields and armor and even ''manned turret guns'' (which the player can take over control of at will) to defend them while you wait the excruciating 20 seconds for a torpedo to lock. (It's not like you could [[note]]You couldn't call for fighter support: engine limitations meant that you could only have one wingman and they ''had'' to be flying the same kind of ship you were. It wasn't until the fourth game that strategically sensible units of bombers ''covered by fighters'' were feasible.) A-17 Confed Broadswords (second game) and [=F/A-76=] Longbows (third game) filled this role; note that they didn't have one in the first game (where you just shot down large ships with your guns, [[DeathOfAThousandCuts very slowly]]). The Cats didn't field the Paktahn until the third game. The Broadsword is also notable for being the first -- and thus far, only -- ship with more than one controllable turret.
** MightyGlacier: "Heavy fighters" are fighter-bombers which can be outmaneuvered but have devastating guns, in addition to a small armament of torpedoes for anti-capship work. If the game doesn't have a MasterOfAll experimental superfighter, you fly this one against the FinalBoss. Confed examples include the A-14 Raptor (first game), F-57 Sabre (second game) and HF-66 Thunderbolt VII (third game), the latter two of which had a rear turret gun; Kilrathi examples include the Jalthi, Jalkehi and Vaktoth.
** MasterOfAll: a cutting-edge, sometimes even prototype, fighter which you get to fly early in the game to generate excitement and then again at the end when it finally entersservice. service; these combined the maneuverability and engine speed of a medium fighter with the defenses and gun loadout of a heavy fighter. Examples include the YF-44 Rapier I in the first game (note how TechnologyMarchesOn -- what ''used'' to be the best fighter in the fleet is now a serviceable workhorse ten years later) and the F-103 Excalibur in the third, which has the most amazing technology you could ask for in 1994: auto-aim. Kilrathi examples include the Strakha [[InvisibilityCloak stealth fighter]] in the second game.
** JackOfAllStats: "Medium Fighters" are often underwhelming at best, though they get the job done. Confed examples include the CF-105 Scimitar (first game), F-44G Rapier II (second game) and Hellcat V (third game). The Kilrathi fielded the Dralthi, Drakhri and Dralthi IV, which all shared a batwing
** StoneWall: these are torpedo-oriented bombers; they can't turn for shit, but have heavy shields and armor and even ''manned turret guns'' (which the player can take over control of at will) to defend them while you wait the excruciating 20 seconds for a torpedo to lock.
** MightyGlacier: "Heavy fighters" are fighter-bombers which can be outmaneuvered but have devastating guns, in addition to a small armament of torpedoes for anti-capship work. If the game doesn't have a MasterOfAll experimental superfighter, you fly this one against the FinalBoss. Confed examples include the A-14 Raptor (first game), F-57 Sabre (second game) and HF-66 Thunderbolt VII (third game), the latter two of which had a rear turret gun; Kilrathi examples include the Jalthi, Jalkehi and Vaktoth.
** MasterOfAll: a cutting-edge, sometimes even prototype, fighter which you get to fly early in the game to generate excitement and then again at the end when it finally enters
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* FashionableAsymmetry: In the first two games, possibly due to the limitations of the engine, Kilrathi ships display bilateral symmetry, the way human ships typically do. In the third they move to a "cutting tool" paradigm and all become asymmetrical to greater or lesser extents.
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* FashionableAsymmetry: In the first two games, possibly due to the limitations of the engine, Kilrathi ships display bilateral symmetry, the way human ships typically do. In the third they move to a "cutting tool" paradigm and all become asymmetrical to greater or lesser extents. Aside from the movie, which itself is of questionable canonicity, Kilrathi ships were never re-designed after ''[=Wing3=]'', so this mode became their default.
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* FashionableAsymmetry: In the first two games, possibly due to the limitations of the engine, Kilrathi ships display bilateral symmetry, the way human ships typically do. In the third they move to a "cutting tool" paradigm and all become asymmetrical to greater or lesser extents.
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* SpaceFighter: the whole crux of the game. CompetitiveBalance divided them into several different categories, which you slowly advanced up through over the course of the game.
** FragileSpeedster: "Light Fighters" and "Patrol Fighters," which are typically your starting ship, offsetting a small missile and gun loadout and low defences with high speed. Confed examples include the Hornet (first game), the Ferret and Epee (second game) and Arrow (third game); the Kilrathi have the Salthi, Sartha and Darket.
** FragileSpeedster: "Light Fighters" and "Patrol Fighters," which are typically your starting ship, offsetting a small missile and gun loadout and low defences with high speed. Confed examples include the Hornet (first game), the Ferret and Epee (second game) and Arrow (third game); the Kilrathi have the Salthi, Sartha and Darket.
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* SpaceFighter: the whole crux of the game. CompetitiveBalance divided them into several different categories, which in the first two games you slowly advanced up through over the course of the game.
campaign. (In the third game, you're the one giving the orders, so you choose what you fly.)
** FragileSpeedster: "Light Fighters" and "Patrol Fighters," which are typically your starting ship, offsetting a small missile and gun loadout and lowdefences defenses with high speed. Confed examples include the Hornet (first game), the Ferret and Epee (second game) and Arrow (third game); the Kilrathi have the Salthi, Sartha and Darket.
** FragileSpeedster: "Light Fighters" and "Patrol Fighters," which are typically your starting ship, offsetting a small missile and gun loadout and low
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** StoneWall: these are torpedo-oriented bombers; they can't turn for shit, but have heavy shields and armor and even ''manned turret guns'' (which the player can take over control of at will) to defend them while you wait the excruciating 20 seconds for a torpedo to lock. Confed Broadswords (second game) and Longbows (third game) filled this role; note that they didn't have one in the first game (where you just shot down large ships with your guns, [[DeathOfAThousandCuts very slowly]]). The Cats didn't field the Paktahn until the third game. The Broadsword is also notable for being the first -- and thus far, only -- ship with more than one controllable turret.
to:
** StoneWall: these are torpedo-oriented bombers; they can't turn for shit, but have heavy shields and armor and even ''manned turret guns'' (which the player can take over control of at will) to defend them while you wait the excruciating 20 seconds for a torpedo to lock. (It's not like you could call for fighter support: engine limitations meant that you could only have one wingman and they ''had'' to be flying the same kind of ship you were. It wasn't until the fourth game that strategically sensible units of bombers ''covered by fighters'' were feasible.) Confed Broadswords (second game) and Longbows (third game) filled this role; note that they didn't have one in the first game (where you just shot down large ships with your guns, [[DeathOfAThousandCuts very slowly]]). The Cats didn't field the Paktahn until the third game. The Broadsword is also notable for being the first -- and thus far, only -- ship with more than one controllable turret.
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** StoneWall: these are torpedo-oriented bombers; they can't turn for shit, but have heavy shields and armor and even ''manned turret guns'' (which the player can take over control of at will) to defend them while you wait the excruciating 20 seconds for a torpedo to lock. Confed Broadswords (second game) and Longbows (third game) filled this role; note that they didn't have one in the first game (where you just shot down large ships with your guns, [[DeathOfAThousandCuts very slowly]]). The Cats didn't field the Paktahn until the third game.
to:
** StoneWall: these are torpedo-oriented bombers; they can't turn for shit, but have heavy shields and armor and even ''manned turret guns'' (which the player can take over control of at will) to defend them while you wait the excruciating 20 seconds for a torpedo to lock. Confed Broadswords (second game) and Longbows (third game) filled this role; note that they didn't have one in the first game (where you just shot down large ships with your guns, [[DeathOfAThousandCuts very slowly]]). The Cats didn't field the Paktahn until the third game. The Broadsword is also notable for being the first -- and thus far, only -- ship with more than one controllable turret.
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# ''Wing Commander'' takes place in 2654, documenting ongoing efforts in the Human-Kilrathi War which has been going on for 20 years by this point. Players step into the blue hair of a [[InsertNameHere nameable]] PlayerCharacter, newly assigned to the legendary TCS ''Tiger's Claw'', as they defend the Terran Confederation and take the war to the Cats.
# ''Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi'' takes place 10 years later. The ''Claw'' has been destroyed, and "Bluehair" was one of the only survivors; as such, he has been branded a coward and a traitor and ReassignedToAntarctica by the snobbish Admiral Tolwyn. But when Tolwyn's flagship, the ''Concordia'', comes fleeing to Antarctica with the Kilrathi hot on her heels, our disgraced player character has a chance to ClearMyName and get back into the fight.
# ''Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi'' takes place 10 years later. The ''Claw'' has been destroyed, and "Bluehair" was one of the only survivors; as such, he has been branded a coward and a traitor and ReassignedToAntarctica by the snobbish Admiral Tolwyn. But when Tolwyn's flagship, the ''Concordia'', comes fleeing to Antarctica with the Kilrathi hot on her heels, our disgraced player character has a chance to ClearMyName and get back into the fight.
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# ''Wing Commander'' takes place in 2654, documenting ongoing efforts in the Human-Kilrathi War which has been going on for 20 years by this point. Players step into the blue hair of a [[InsertNameHere [[HelloInsertNameHere nameable]] PlayerCharacter, newly assigned to the legendary TCS ''Tiger's Claw'', as they defend the Terran Confederation and take the war to the Cats.
# ''Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi'' takes place 10 years later. The ''Claw'' has been destroyed, and"Bluehair" "[[FanNickname Bluehair]]" was one of the only survivors; as such, he has been branded a coward and a traitor and ReassignedToAntarctica by the snobbish Admiral Tolwyn. But when Tolwyn's flagship, the ''Concordia'', comes fleeing to Antarctica with the Kilrathi hot on her heels, our disgraced player character has a chance to ClearMyName and get back into the fight.
# ''Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi'' takes place 10 years later. The ''Claw'' has been destroyed, and
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The first two games use 2D hand-drawn graphics for cut-scenes and scaled 2D sprite graphics for space combat. The third game features full motion video for cut-scenes, with 3D polygonal space combat graphics. All three feature mission-based space combat flight simulation gameplay which allows you to fly a variety of Confederation fighters and bombers against the equally varied Kilrathi arsenal of ships.
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# ''Wing Commander'' takes place in 2654, documenting ongoing efforts in the Human-Kilrathi War which has been going on for 20 years by this point. Players step into the blue hair of a [[InsertNameHere nameable]] PlayerCharacter, newly assigned to the legendary TCS ''Tiger's Claw'', as they defend the Terran Confederation and take the war to the Cats.
# ''Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi'' takes place 10 years later. The ''Claw'' has been destroyed, and "Bluehair" was one of the only survivors; as such, he has been branded a coward and a traitor and ReassignedToAntarctica by the snobbish Admiral Tolwyn. But when Tolwyn's flagship, the ''Concordia'', comes fleeing to Antarctica with the Kilrathi hot on her heels, our disgraced player character has a chance to ClearMyName and get back into the fight.
# ''Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger'' takes place in 2669. Broadly speaking, humans are losing; even the leap to LiveActionCutscene, and the casting of legendary SpaceFighter pilot Creator/MarkHamill as no-longer-nameless Christopher "Maverick" Blair, has been unable to stop them. Still, Confed has a few tricks up its sleeve to end the war, and the player, in Hamill's shoes, must do what they can to make them succeed.
The first two games use 2D hand-drawn graphics for cut-scenes and scaled 2D sprite graphics for space combat. The third game featuresfull motion video for cut-scenes, filmed cut scenes on ChromaKey sets, with 3D polygonal space combat graphics. All three feature mission-based space combat flight simulation gameplay which allows you to fly a variety of Confederation fighters and bombers against the equally varied Kilrathi arsenal of ships.
# ''Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi'' takes place 10 years later. The ''Claw'' has been destroyed, and "Bluehair" was one of the only survivors; as such, he has been branded a coward and a traitor and ReassignedToAntarctica by the snobbish Admiral Tolwyn. But when Tolwyn's flagship, the ''Concordia'', comes fleeing to Antarctica with the Kilrathi hot on her heels, our disgraced player character has a chance to ClearMyName and get back into the fight.
# ''Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger'' takes place in 2669. Broadly speaking, humans are losing; even the leap to LiveActionCutscene, and the casting of legendary SpaceFighter pilot Creator/MarkHamill as no-longer-nameless Christopher "Maverick" Blair, has been unable to stop them. Still, Confed has a few tricks up its sleeve to end the war, and the player, in Hamill's shoes, must do what they can to make them succeed.
The first two games use 2D hand-drawn graphics for cut-scenes and scaled 2D sprite graphics for space combat. The third game features
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The story takes young Christopher Blair through the initial Kilrathi invasion, his reemergence as a hero after a ten-year exile due to perceived negligence that led to the destruction of his ship Tiger's Claw, and the final confrontation that takes the war to the heart of the Kilrathi empire.
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* SpaceFighter: the whole crux of the game. CompetitiveBalance divided them into several different categories, which you slowly advanced up through over the course of the game.
** FragileSpeedster: "Light Fighters" and "Patrol Fighters," which are typically your starting ship, offsetting a small missile and gun loadout and low defences with high speed. Confed examples include the Hornet (first game), the Ferret and Epee (second game) and Arrow (third game); the Kilrathi have the Salthi, Sartha and Darket.
** JackOfAllStats: "Medium Fighters" are often underwhelming at best, though they get the job done. Confed examples include the Scimitar (first game), F-44G Rapier II (second game) and Hellcat V (third game). The Kilrathi fielded the Dralthi, Drakhri and Dralthi IV, which all shared a batwing design.
** StoneWall: these are torpedo-oriented bombers; they can't turn for shit, but have heavy shields and armor and even ''manned turret guns'' (which the player can take over control of at will) to defend them while you wait the excruciating 20 seconds for a torpedo to lock. Confed Broadswords (second game) and Longbows (third game) filled this role; note that they didn't have one in the first game (where you just shot down large ships with your guns, [[DeathOfAThousandCuts very slowly]]). The Cats didn't field the Paktahn until the third game.
** MightyGlacier: "Heavy fighters" are fighter-bombers which can be outmaneuvered but have devastating guns, in addition to a small armament of torpedoes for anti-capship work. If the game doesn't have a MasterOfAll experimental superfighter, you fly this one against the FinalBoss. Confed examples include the Raptor (first game), Sabre (second game) and Thunderbolt VII (third game), the latter two of which had a rear turret gun; Kilrathi examples include the Jalthi, Jalkehi and Vaktoth.
** MasterOfAll: a cutting-edge, sometimes even prototype, fighter which you get to fly early in the game to generate excitement and then again at the end when it finally enters service. Examples include the YF-44 Rapier I in the first game (note how TechnologyMarchesOn -- what ''used'' to be the best fighter in the fleet is now a serviceable workhorse ten years later) and the Excalibur in the third, which has the most amazing technology you could ask for in 1994: auto-aim. Kilrathi examples include the Strakha [[InvisibilityCloak stealth fighter]] in the second game.
** FragileSpeedster: "Light Fighters" and "Patrol Fighters," which are typically your starting ship, offsetting a small missile and gun loadout and low defences with high speed. Confed examples include the Hornet (first game), the Ferret and Epee (second game) and Arrow (third game); the Kilrathi have the Salthi, Sartha and Darket.
** JackOfAllStats: "Medium Fighters" are often underwhelming at best, though they get the job done. Confed examples include the Scimitar (first game), F-44G Rapier II (second game) and Hellcat V (third game). The Kilrathi fielded the Dralthi, Drakhri and Dralthi IV, which all shared a batwing design.
** StoneWall: these are torpedo-oriented bombers; they can't turn for shit, but have heavy shields and armor and even ''manned turret guns'' (which the player can take over control of at will) to defend them while you wait the excruciating 20 seconds for a torpedo to lock. Confed Broadswords (second game) and Longbows (third game) filled this role; note that they didn't have one in the first game (where you just shot down large ships with your guns, [[DeathOfAThousandCuts very slowly]]). The Cats didn't field the Paktahn until the third game.
** MightyGlacier: "Heavy fighters" are fighter-bombers which can be outmaneuvered but have devastating guns, in addition to a small armament of torpedoes for anti-capship work. If the game doesn't have a MasterOfAll experimental superfighter, you fly this one against the FinalBoss. Confed examples include the Raptor (first game), Sabre (second game) and Thunderbolt VII (third game), the latter two of which had a rear turret gun; Kilrathi examples include the Jalthi, Jalkehi and Vaktoth.
** MasterOfAll: a cutting-edge, sometimes even prototype, fighter which you get to fly early in the game to generate excitement and then again at the end when it finally enters service. Examples include the YF-44 Rapier I in the first game (note how TechnologyMarchesOn -- what ''used'' to be the best fighter in the fleet is now a serviceable workhorse ten years later) and the Excalibur in the third, which has the most amazing technology you could ask for in 1994: auto-aim. Kilrathi examples include the Strakha [[InvisibilityCloak stealth fighter]] in the second game.
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* PlotArmor: In ''Wing Commander II'', your wingmen will never die in missions (except in a few scripted unavoidable story events). If they get shot down, they will always successfully eject and always get subsequently picked by the Confederation.
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* PlotArmor: {{zigzagged}} over the course of the trilogy.
** In''Wing Commander II'', the first game, you got one wingman per system / mission chain, and you could lose them in combat, at which point you had to fly solo until the ''Claw'' jumped to the next system and you got a new wingman.
** In the second and third game, your wingmen will never die in missions (except in a few scripted unavoidable story events). If they get shot down, they will always successfully eject and always get subsequently picked by the Confederation.
** In
** In the second and third game, your wingmen will never die in missions (except in a few scripted unavoidable story events). If they get shot down, they will always successfully eject and always get subsequently picked by the Confederation.
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* PowerCreep: Subtly present. Spacecraft in this franchise are characterized as having a certain number of "centimeters" of {{Deflector Shield}}s and BodyArmorAsHitPoints, which you have to break through in order to damage the craft beneath. These numbers underwent SerialEscalation: The most powerful enemy ship in the first game, the ''Fralthi'' capitol ship, had about 30 cm of armor; the ''weakest'' enemy ship in the third game, the Darket light fighter, had 80. (And this is ''just armor'', not counting the regenerating shields.) That said, weapons damage was scaled appropriately, so this wasn't really a problem until TheNovelization of the fourth game, when the author had the main characters flying ''[=Wing2=]''-era Rapiers, with about 0.2 meters of armor and shields, against the latest overpowered superfighter with ''8'' meters of combined defenses, and surviving return fire that ''should'' have been a OneHitKill.
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Changed line(s) 122 (click to see context) from:
** Due to his design in Wing Commander II being that of an anthropomorphic tiger, the name was the game's designers ShoutOut to another [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes anthropomorphic tiger]].
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** Due to his design in Wing Commander II being that of an anthropomorphic tiger, the name was the game's designers ShoutOut to another [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes anthropomorphic tiger]].tiger]] (though of course he was named for the same philosopher).
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-> ''We're headed to Kilrah with that thing, aren't we?''
-> ''Well, what would ''you'' aim for if ''you'' had the biggest gun in the universe?''
-> -- Colonel '''Christopher "Maverick" Blair''' and Admiral '''Tolwyn''', discussing the [[WaveMotionGun TCS Behemoth]]
-> ''Well, what would ''you'' aim for if ''you'' had the biggest gun in the universe?''
-> -- Colonel '''Christopher "Maverick" Blair''' and Admiral '''Tolwyn''', discussing the [[WaveMotionGun TCS Behemoth]]
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-> ''Well,
"Well, what would ''you'' aim for if ''you'' had the biggest gun in the
-> --
-->-- Colonel '''Christopher "Maverick" Blair''' and Admiral '''Tolwyn''', discussing the [[WaveMotionGun TCS Behemoth]]
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Fixed the Hilarious Outtakes to include the Star Wars quote, since it seems to have been removed from elsewhere on the page.
Changed line(s) 90 (click to see context) from:
* HilariousOuttakes: The official strategy guide for ''Wing Commander III'' included a CD with, among other things, a collection of filming outtakes, including the Star Wars one mentioned elsewhere on this page, found after the end of the closing credits.
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* HilariousOuttakes: The official strategy guide for ''Wing Commander III'' included a CD with, among other things, a collection of filming outtakes, including the a Star Wars one mentioned elsewhere on this page, reference, found after the end of the closing credits.credits.
-->'''Tom Wilson:''' (after being pat on the shoulder by Mark Hamill) Isn't that the guy from Star Wars?
-->'''Tom Wilson:''' (after being pat on the shoulder by Mark Hamill) Isn't that the guy from Star Wars?
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* CompilationRerelease: ''Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga''. The first three games, re-released for Windows 95 and adjusted to run at the correct speeds on a modern computer. Also included remastered audio and music, as well as an expanded manual and a calendar listing many important dates in the Wing Commander universe. After it went out of print, it was known to reliably sell for over $100 on Website/EBay. At least one copy sold for over ''three hundred dollars''. The release of UsefulNotes/DOSBox allowing the original games (which usually sell for $20 or less on eBay) to run on modern computers has since lessened the need for ''The Kilrathi Saga'', but it still often sells for above its original retail price on eBay.
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* CompilationRerelease: ''Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga''. The first three games, re-released for Windows 95 and adjusted to run at the correct speeds on a modern computer. Also included remastered audio and music, as well as an expanded manual and a calendar listing many important dates in the Wing Commander universe. After it went out of print, it was known to reliably sell for over $100 on Website/EBay.eBay. At least one copy sold for over ''three hundred dollars''. The release of UsefulNotes/DOSBox allowing the original games (which usually sell for $20 or less on eBay) to run on modern computers has since lessened the need for ''The Kilrathi Saga'', but it still often sells for above its original retail price on eBay.
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Changed line(s) 60 (click to see context) from:
* DisintegrationChamber: In the intro, the captured terran prisoners are led to a platform, and are disintegrated by converting lights.
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* DisintegrationChamber: In the intro, intro of ''Wing Commander III'', the captured terran Terran prisoners are led to a platform, and are disintegrated by converting lights.
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* DisintegrationChamber: In the intro, the captured terran prisoners are led to a platform, and are disintegrated by converting lights.
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* GameplayAndStorySegregation: In ''Wing Commander III'' if you screw up bad on a plot relevant mission, your ship goes to the [[ItsAWonderfulFailure losing path mission to the Proxima system and then to Sol system to attempt to fend off the victorious Kilrathi armada]]. However this failure path can occur even as early as the second system based on if you lost the third mission of the first system (Orsini 3). If you go far enough in the game however, you will find the overwhelming Kilrathi fleet that would be used for the attack upon Earth is still under construction over Kilrah and won't be ready to launch until another 48 hours passes, while at the same time you're on your way to blow up Kilrah with the T-Bomb in your Excalibur fighter (meaning, storywise, weeks have probably passed since the second system mission and the Kilrah mission). Apparently not successfully protecting one Confed transport in the third mission of the game caused those Kilrathi ships to be built and readied for launch much faster than expected!
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* GameplayAndStorySegregation: In ''Wing Commander III'' if you screw up bad on a plot relevant mission, your ship goes to the [[ItsAWonderfulFailure losing path mission to the Proxima system and then to Sol system to attempt to fend off the victorious Kilrathi armada]]. However this failure path can occur even as early as the second system based on if you lost the third mission of the first system (Orsini 3). If you go far enough in the game however, in a cutscene you will find the overwhelming Kilrathi fleet that would be used for the attack upon Earth is still under construction over in orbit around Kilrah and won't be ready to launch until another 48 hours passes, while [[spoiler:while at the same time you're on your way to blow up Kilrah with the T-Bomb in your Excalibur fighter (meaning, storywise, weeks have probably passed since the second system mission and the Kilrah mission).mission)]]. Apparently not successfully protecting one Confed transport in the third mission of the game caused those Kilrathi ships to be built and readied for launch much faster than expected!
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Added Gameplay and Story Segregation
Added DiffLines:
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: In ''Wing Commander III'' if you screw up bad on a plot relevant mission, your ship goes to the [[ItsAWonderfulFailure losing path mission to the Proxima system and then to Sol system to attempt to fend off the victorious Kilrathi armada]]. However this failure path can occur even as early as the second system based on if you lost the third mission of the first system (Orsini 3). If you go far enough in the game however, you will find the overwhelming Kilrathi fleet that would be used for the attack upon Earth is still under construction over Kilrah and won't be ready to launch until another 48 hours passes, while at the same time you're on your way to blow up Kilrah with the T-Bomb in your Excalibur fighter (meaning, storywise, weeks have probably passed since the second system mission and the Kilrah mission). Apparently not successfully protecting one Confed transport in the third mission of the game caused those Kilrathi ships to be built and readied for launch much faster than expected!
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* DivertingPower: ''Wing Commander III'' permits distributing power among Engines, Weapons, Shields and Damage Repair - all initially 25% each.
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* UnwinnableTrainingSimulation: The first game starts by dropping the player into a simulator mission that destroys the player's fighter before they can do anything, as an excuse to enter in the player's callsign for the sim's "high scores" screen.
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* UnwinnableTrainingSimulation: The first game starts by dropping the player into a simulator mission that destroys the player's fighter before they can do anything, as an excuse to enter in the player's callsign for the sim's "high scores" screen. Subsequent simulator plays behave more like an EndlessGame to defeat as many enemy fighters before time runs out.
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* ChewOutFakeOut: In ''Wing Commander III'', [[TheCaptain Eisen]] pulls [[PlayerCharacter Blair]] aside just before he's to have a simulator duel against visiting [[AcePilot test pilot "Flash"]] as part of a challenge, after Flash ignores a scramble call and stays in bed while everyone else is out defending their carrier. It looks like Eisen is about to chew Blair out for acting rashly in issuing the challenge, but instead he offers some advice: "Kick the little twerp's ass."
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* ChewOutFakeOut: ChewOutFakeOut:
** In ''Wing Commander II'', after [[spoiler:you successfully destroy the K'tithrak Mang starbase and destroy Prince Thrakhath's fighter]], Admiral Tolwyn gives you a angry chewing out for [[spoiler:stealing a fighter]] amongst other charges, then he [[spoiler:promotes you on the spot to full bird Colonel and says how glad he is serving with you]].
** In ''Wing Commander III'', [[TheCaptain Eisen]] pulls [[PlayerCharacter Blair]] aside just before he's to have a simulator duel against visiting [[AcePilot test pilot "Flash"]] as part of a challenge, after Flash ignores a scramble call and stays in bed while everyone else is out defending their carrier. It looks like Eisen is about to chew Blair out for acting rashly in issuing the challenge, but instead he offers some advice: "Kick the little twerp's ass."
** In ''Wing Commander II'', after [[spoiler:you successfully destroy the K'tithrak Mang starbase and destroy Prince Thrakhath's fighter]], Admiral Tolwyn gives you a angry chewing out for [[spoiler:stealing a fighter]] amongst other charges, then he [[spoiler:promotes you on the spot to full bird Colonel and says how glad he is serving with you]].
** In ''Wing Commander III'', [[TheCaptain Eisen]] pulls [[PlayerCharacter Blair]] aside just before he's to have a simulator duel against visiting [[AcePilot test pilot "Flash"]] as part of a challenge, after Flash ignores a scramble call and stays in bed while everyone else is out defending their carrier. It looks like Eisen is about to chew Blair out for acting rashly in issuing the challenge, but instead he offers some advice: "Kick the little twerp's ass."
