Azrapse: Hi, all X-Wing fans.

I'm a X-Wing enthusiast and hobbyist game developer.
After trying to find the perfect X-Wing edition and realizing that the closest one to perfection is virtually lost to us (the 1996 Mac PowerPC edition cannot be run at a decent speed on modern x86_64 machines), I started looking for the best way to improve X-Wing to get the best of all the editions.

There is the option of importing X-Wing mission to XvT or XWA, and it has been done already before.
However I have found this approach subject to many compromises:
- You lose the setting context of the game (Ackbar or Dodonna talking to you, the concourse music and animations, Tour of Duty roll texts missing, etc). Playing the campaigns in these games feels almost selecting an entry on a list and hitting Launch. Quite immersion breaking.
- Missions must be reworked because of the different simulation rules in these newer games.
- XvT and XWA are old games by now anyway. In the end we are importing the missions to a 14 years old game engine (18 in the case of XvT) that doesn't work very well without extensive modding. Modding itself involves a lot of hexediting in these games, as of course, they are closed-source and not mod-friendly.

And above everything else, that would require you to own another game. GoG doesn't even sell those games right now. And buying them off Amazon (or even pirating them) still has a lot of problems when installing them on modern systems because of the old DRMs or 16Bit installers they had.

So instead, I propose to build a remake of the fligt engine, to start with, that reads the original XWing resources (music, graphics, missions) in your GoG XWing game folder, and uses them to play the mission, allowing for modern resolutions, input methods, and even usability improvements that were later added to TIE Fighter and XvT.

The task is complex but not impossible. It's not at all that hard considering that I'm using Unity3D for the framework and most of the resource file formats have been described in the past. Also, there exist many 3D models created and freely available for most of the ships in the game. The XWAU project has good material, but we aren't restricted to use XWA OPT model files. Or even better if we don't.

I chose the name XWVM inspired on ScummVM because:
- It will be a free utility that includes no copyrighted material.
- You need to own the orginal game, encouraging sales in GoG or other media.
- I will be multiplatform, as Unity3D targets Windows, Mac, Linux and even Android and iOS.
- It will make use of the original resources, but some improvements can be added where it makes sense.

Also, unless I'm horribly mistaken, I believe ScummVM is open source project and we could reuse some of their work to implement some systems in this one, for example, all concerning the iMuse system.

Some improvements I have been thinking on/have done already:
- Of course, any resolution and screen aspect ratio. That comes for free with the framework.
- Mouse input support, both in X-Wing DOS fashion (absolute mouse movement), and in Freelancer fashion (relative with dead zone).
- Joystick support with ability to map any number of buttons and axes.
- Other kind of input support? Touch screen support for cockpit control toggles (ELS system, throttle, shield angling, power transfer, etc).
- Remove roll/pitch/yaw limitations when flying in particular directions (in special, when going "up" and "down" the vertical axis)
- Retrofit X-Wing with TIE Fighter's and XvT targeting improvements. That is, holographic model of the targeted ship on the cockpit monitor, along with basic stats, cargo and directional indicator. Maybe also the target information screen (Z key in TIE fighter) either as a different screen/window, or integrated into the monitor.
- Goal completion list.
- In-flight voice hints for events and status of critical crafts ("Message from mission critical craft: Their hull is damaged!")
- Directional hits for events and important craft. An arrow-like icon on the border of the screen pointing on the direction of some important craft, or the selected target.
- Virtual cockpit a la XvT/XWA.
- Choice between original cockpit interiors a la XW/TF/XvT or 3D interior like in XWA.
- Choice between original concourse navigation a la XW/TF/XWA or a 3D concourse in the style of the base in XCOM.
- Optional mission extending patches: Little editable files that apply extensions to original X-Wing missions, like in-flight messages (possible with voice), rebalancing passes, enable hangars in allied spaceships where to get repaired or refilled during battle, etc, in order to make X-Wing missions as rich as TIE Fighter's ones without having to rebuild them from scratch. Also making the game more accessible for today's audiences.
- Cooperative play: Up to 3 players can join another and select a ship on his flight group or another allied flight group to attempt some hard mission together. Deaths aren't permanent for coop players. Progression is recorded for all involved players.
- Online leader boards with hiscores.

What is your opinion/interest on something like this?

EDIT:
Latest video

scotsdezmond: So I sat down last night and wrote some dialogue for our favourite mission, Y-Wing Historical Mission 6, to give an idea of the type of writing and changes I think would be required.

In this example mission, I've broken the speech parts down into two VO characters involved: the captain of shuttle Hasti; and a character I have currently titled "the briefing officer" - in my head, this is a Guy Siner-like character who would have a recurring voice part in a lot of missions (i.e. like the TIE Fighter briefing officer, and also similar to the officer in XWA).

I've tried to keep the feeling of the original games intact; i.e. each individual message is a phrase comprised of one or two sentences. In some cases, there will be a chain of multiple messages which will follow one after the other - e.g. the ones marked as triggered by the mission intro - this would mirror the original series in style.

The Google Doc is linked here - I'll update it as I progress through the other missions (a combination of opening the mission files in an editor, and in some cases, playtesting.)

Azrapse: I think most rebel squadrons wouldn't have a permanent channel with an officer back in the base talking to them constantly during a mission. Only in those missions where there is a friendly capital ship present. Or a transport that could carry the mission officer around.
I know it's Star Wars sci-fi and all of that, but I think it is quite established that "radio" comm chatter don't seem to travel thru hyperspace to individual fighters. Maybe I am mistaken.

Laserschwert: Taking other games like the Rebel Assault series as a guide, it looks like you're right. That's why there are squadron leaders (Red One, Gold Leader, etc.) giving the orders, or smaller teams just having simple chit-chat (which allows giving the characters, the missions and the world more background and flair).

Azrapse: I can only think on the Battle of Yavin in episode 4, where the officers at Yavin IV are talking to the fighters at the Death Star, and that is still within the orbit of the planet Yavin.
I think this rule is broken a couple of times in the CGI series and in The Force Awakens, where the base is able to send orders to fighters en route, but only while they are inside the hyperspace tunnel, not once they have reached their destination.

As you say, it would make much of the stories pointless if they could have just transmitted the Death Star plans by radio to the other side of the galaxy. Or sent word about the TIE Phantoms in Rebel Assault 2.

Azrapse: I can only think on the Battle of Yavin in episode 4, where the officers at Yavin IV are talking to the fighters at the Death Star, and that is still within the orbit of the planet Yavin.
I think this rule is broken a couple of times in the CGI series and in The Force Awakens, where the base is able to send orders to fighters en route, but only while they are inside the hyperspace tunnel, not once they have reached their destination.

As you say, it would make much of the stories pointless if they could have just transmitted the Death Star plans by radio to the other side of the galaxy. Or sent word about the TIE Phantoms in Rebel Assault 2.

TheLumpyBantha: Dear Azrapse,

Please consider adding at least SOME of the following capital ships, starships, and transports from the Expanded Universe to this remake of X-Wing Alliance:

(snip!)

scotsdezmond: So I sat down last night and wrote some dialogue for our favourite mission, Y-Wing Historical Mission 6, to give an idea of the type of writing and changes I think would be required.

In this example mission, I've broken the speech parts down into two VO characters involved: the captain of shuttle Hasti; and a character I have currently titled "the briefing officer" - in my head, this is a Guy Siner-like character who would have a recurring voice part in a lot of missions (i.e. like the TIE Fighter briefing officer, and also similar to the officer in XWA).

I've tried to keep the feeling of the original games intact; i.e. each individual message is a phrase comprised of one or two sentences. In some cases, there will be a chain of multiple messages which will follow one after the other - e.g. the ones marked as triggered by the mission intro - this would mirror the original series in style.

The Google Doc is linked here - I'll update it as I play through the other missions.

countbuggula: Thanks for putting this together and giving me access. Since I've started a project within FotG to recreate (re-imagine, since our game engine doesn't attempt to match the gameplay) the Totally Games X-Wing campaign, this sort of thing is super valuable. With your permission, I'd like to use the dialogue (and eventual voice-acting, if applicable) for our mod as well for that campaign. In exchange, I'll try to participate and contribute as much as I can in the creation and editing of said dialogue. I hope we can collaborate to make something great for all of us.

countbuggula: Azrapse, have you documented the X-Wing mission file format anywhere public yet? Or did you actually manage to find some documentation from all those editors that popped up during the 90's? If so could you point me in the right direction? That would save me a considerable amount of time and effort in my own project.