X-Wing Fanmade Remake

[Infinitron]

http://www.pcgamer.com/watch-14-minutes-of-the-classic-space-sim-x-wing-recreated-in-unity/

Watch 14 minutes of the classic Star Wars sim X-Wing recreated in Unity

More than two years ago, an "X-Wing enthusiast and hobbyist game developer" by the name of David Esparza Guerrero posted a message on the GOG forums proposing a remake of the X-Wing flight engine that would read the original game's resources and allow it to be played at contemporary resolutions, with modern input devices, and even to take advantage of some of the improvements that were made to the later TIE Fighter and X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter games.

To jaded eyes (like mine), the XWVM project might look like the sort of pipe-dream idea that gets kicked around excitedly for a few weeks and then fades into nothingness. But Guerrero wasn't messing around. A few weeks ago he posted 14 minutes of prototype gameplay on YouTube, and oh my, does it look good.

The battle, a recreation of Y-Wing Historical Mission 6: Interception and Capture, isn't as busy or intense as, say, the action in House of the Dying Sun. But X-Wing is a different kind of space sim, from a very different era. Missions are typically big, sprawling affairs with multiple goals—scan this, escort that, capture an enemy ship intact—spread out over large tracts of space, with plenty of room to cruise (and forget what you're supposed to be doing). Battles can get hairy in a hurry, especially when capital ships are involved, but getting caught up in a one-on-one turnfight that just will not end isn't necessarily the kiss of death.

The thread on GOG also contains some fun and interesting insights into the behavior of the game, which Guerrero has clearly spent a lot of time with. In one post from November, he discusses why AI-controlled TIE Bombers don't drop the hammer the way humans would: The enemy "is intentionally held back with artificial limitations" on behaviors like how and when it launches torpedoes, because otherwise the player wouldn't stand a chance of coming out on top.

I'm a little worried that, as it comes to prominence, XWVM will fall victim to the same sort of cease-and-desist wet blanket that shut down the fan-driven Battlefront 3 project Galaxy in Turmoil. It might be possible that its reliance on the original X-Wing files will exempt it from the lawyer's touch, but the difference between importing an old game into a modern engine rather than recreating it entirely is an awfully fine hair to split. Here's hoping it's enough.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Why remake X-Wing if you could remake TIE-Fighter?

 

[Space Insect]

Inb4 C&D

 

[:Flash:]

Why remake X-Wing if you could remake TIE-Fighter?

Once you remake one the other one is practically remaking itself. The game mission files are practically the same (there are mission editors for both), the models are the same, etc. Heck there already is a remake for both of them that runs them in the X-Wing Alliance engine. Also, up-to-date 3D models exist for both through the X-Wing Alliance upgrade project.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Blurry, cartoony, low on detail. Looks crap. X-Wing was nothing special anyway. Only nostalgiafags and people who haven't played TIE Fighter like X-Wing.

X-Wing Alliance is pretty good though, and with XWA Upgrade looks a lot better than this.

 

[spectre]

Here's hoping this one actually can be played with mouse and keyboard.

I like the cockpits though, the ones in XWA remake felt off compared to the original.

 

[Endemic]

Once you remake one the other one is practically remaking itself. The game mission files are practically the same (there are mission editors for both), the models are the same, etc. Heck there already is a remake for both of them that runs them in the X-Wing Alliance engine. Also, up-to-date 3D models exist for both through the X-Wing Alliance upgrade project.

A modern engine won't suffer from the 4 region, 96 ships per region limit that XWA has (since it was designed to work with Pentium IIs).

Also RE: cease and desist, Lucasarts didn't have a problem with the Freespace port.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Once you remake one the other one is practically remaking itself. The game mission files are practically the same (there are mission editors for both), the models are the same, etc. Heck there already is a remake for both of them that runs them in the X-Wing Alliance engine. Also, up-to-date 3D models exist for both through the X-Wing Alliance upgrade project.

A modern engine won't suffer from the 4 region, 96 ships per region limit that XWA has (since it was designed to work with Pentium IIs).

Also RE: cease and desist, Lucasarts didn't have a problem with the Freespace port.

The XWA remakes don't support TIE Fighter's excellent cutscenes, nor the traditional flight officer/secret order member intros. I don't know what they did with the cutscenes, but for the intros they combined every single question into one extremely long answer you sit through before the briefing.

 

[Endemic]

The XWA remakes don't support TIE Fighter's excellent cutscenes, nor the traditional flight officer/secret order member intros. I don't know what they did with the cutscenes, but for the intros they combined every single question into one extremely long answer you sit through before the briefing.

Yeah I know, the briefing system can't really be replicated in XWA (since it was built around having an Alliance-only campaign). The hangar is a hack job because the original objects (including the static X-Wings and Y-Wings) are hard-coded in the exe. Also the cutscenes would have to be re-rendered in whatever video format the engine uses, which is a lot of work for modders.

A Unity remake would be able to have interactive briefings Expeditions-style easily enough.

 

[Severian Silk]

Cockpit looks like ass. Ambient light is also set too high. Meh.

[edit]

This looks waaaay better.

 

[spectre]

Fuck you cunts, I played the original Tie Fighter with mouse and keyboard and I will be playing any remake with mouse and keyboard or not at all.

 

[Makabb]

X-wing Alliance is the most technologicaly advanced 'xwing game'. There is no reason to remake xwing or tie fighter today except the graphics because you can play it no problem on dosbox.

We need a new game based on what x-wing alliance established, expanding it further.

 

[Endemic]

 

[JarlFrank]

Once you remake one the other one is practically remaking itself. The game mission files are practically the same (there are mission editors for both), the models are the same, etc. Heck there already is a remake for both of them that runs them in the X-Wing Alliance engine. Also, up-to-date 3D models exist for both through the X-Wing Alliance upgrade project.

A modern engine won't suffer from the 4 region, 96 ships per region limit that XWA has (since it was designed to work with Pentium IIs).

Also RE: cease and desist, Lucasarts didn't have a problem with the Freespace port.

Star Wars belongs to Disnep now though.

 

[Endemic]

Star Wars belongs to Disney now though.

You need a copy of the original X-Wing for this, which helps their case.

 

[Darth Slaughter]

Fuck you cunts, I played the original Tie Fighter with mouse and keyboard and I will be playing any remake with mouse and keyboard or not at all.

I did that too, since X-wing. And I used the mouse with my left hand because my computer table had no space for mouse on the right side, and I'm right handed. Also, it was those mechanical mouses that had that ball inside. By the time of the collector's editions of XW and TF, I had bought a joystick...

Blurry, cartoony, low on detail. Looks crap. X-Wing was nothing special anyway. Only nostalgiafags and people who haven't played TIE Fighter like X-Wing.

X-wing is great, and Tie fighter came and made things better, but that doesn't make XW obsolete, just a similar game with not as many features as Tie fighter and Alliance.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

that doesn't make XW obsolete, just a similar game with not as many features as Tie fighter and Alliance.

which is exactly the meaning of "obsolete".

 

[Darth Slaughter]

that doesn't make XW obsolete, just a similar game with not as many features as Tie fighter and Alliance.

which is exactly the meaning of "obsolete".

Yeah, I used the wrong world... should have used "unplayable" or "ignorable". But that would mean people should play only fallout 3 because 1 and 2 are obsolete... (Actually, it would be play only fallout 2 because it makes fallout 1 obsolete).

Also, if X-wing is obsolete, that makes it the best candidate for a remake, to add those tie-fighter new features...

In any case, XW tour of duty are great. And the sense of Awe in it is bigger than in Tie Fighter... In tie fighter, killing capital and disabling capital ships are common place, in x-wing you only attack a star destroyer on the second TOD. The pace in X-wing was great. What Tie fighter made better was actually having a lot more ship types, and the fact that you're fighting for the empire and presenting them as good guys for once.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

that doesn't make XW obsolete, just a similar game with not as many features as Tie fighter and Alliance.

which is exactly the meaning of "obsolete".

Yeah, I used the wrong world... should have used "unplayable" or "ignorable". But that would mean people should play only fallout 3 because 1 and 2 are obsolete... (Actually, it would be play only fallout 2 because it makes fallout 1 obsolete).

Also, if X-wing is obsolete, that makes it the best candidate for a remake, to add those tie-fighter new features...

In any case, XW tour of duty are great. And the sense of Awe in it is bigger than in Tie Fighter... In tie fighter, killing capital and disabling capital ships are common place, in x-wing you only attack a star destroyer on the second TOD. The pace in X-wing was great. What Tie fighter made better was actually having a lot more ship types, and the fact that you're fighting for the empire and presenting them as good guys for once.

Fallout 1 and 2 have better systems than Fallout 3, so the comparison is not valid.

 

[Severian Silk]

I was just thinking that WASD + Mouse is feasible for Newtonian sims.

 

[Charles Eli Cheese]

TIE fighter and xwing had some weird viewing issues probably because of the tech of the time, not to mention the resolution is now ridiculoius. It would be nice to have an update which used a more modern 3d engine for this reason.