Wing Commander 3 is getting a 30th anniversary edition with remastered FMVs from the restored original tapes

EA has announced that Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger is getting an enhanced 30th anniversary edition.

During the Portland Gaming Expo last weekend, Electronic Arts producer Jim Vessella ran a panel called The Lost Tapes: Preserving the EA Vault and Restoring an FMV Classic.

The panel’s description promised that Vessella would “take attendees behind the scenes of his preservation work, showcase some of the amazing lost treasures that have been recovered, and reveal an upcoming restored game to offer a glimpse at what may be next for EA’s growing library of available classic titles”.

As promised (and as reported by news site Wing Commander CIC), during the panel Vessella announced Wing Commander 3: 30th Anniversary Edition, which will contain fully restored full-motion video (FMV) sequences taken from the original tapes.

When it was originally released in 1994, Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger was heavily marketed as an interactive movie of sorts, with more than two hours of FMV storyline separating the missions.

This was a big-budget affair for its time, with actors such as Malcolm McDowell and John Rhys-Davies starring in the FMV sections. Most notably, Mark Hamill – best known as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars series – played the protagonist, so casting him in the lead role in a space combat game was considered a major coup at the time.

Because of technological restrictions at the time, however, that two hours of FMV footage was presented in 240p and was heavily compressed, and while the game received ports on PS1 and 3DO the video quality wasn’t improved greatly.

The game’s 1996 sequel Wing Commander 4 later received a DVD-ROM re-released with greatly improved video quality, but the same never happened with Wing Commander 3, meaning fans of the series have long hoped for a remaster but were worried the footage may have been lost.

According to Vessella, however, much of the source video has been recovered and catalogued, and is being restored for the 30th Anniversary Edition of the game so it can be presented in the highest quality possible.

According to a slide shown during his presentation, the 30th Anniversary Edition will also include “Kilrathi Saga integration”. The Kilrathi Saga was a 1996 compilation including the first three Wing Commander games and four expansion packs, so it’s not clear whether this means the first two games are being restored too, or that the new version will somehow be playable within it.

The new version will also include a frame rate boost of up to 60 frames per second, as well as an ‘enhancement patch’ made in collaboration with members of the Wing Commander fan community.