The Total Conversion for Star Wars: Tie Fighter now conjures up even fancier battles on screen thanks to ray tracing update, but that’s not where the changelog ends for a long time.
The force is with these talented modders. Anything less seems far-fetched, at least in light of the latest update to the TIE Fighter: Total Conversion for Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance. With patch 1.3.3, the extensive modification not only gets several bug fixes, some new spaceships, detail improvements and much more, but also a graphic power push into the here and now.
If you have the right hardware, you can now experience the space battles on the side of the Empire with ray tracing effects; the engine of Lucas Arts’ legendary series, which is several years younger and to date the last, has been turned inside out by fans.
What else does the update change?
The above video from the modders gives you an already designed overview of the most important points, but we will summarize once:
- A background now animated with animated figures for interaction between the missions of the included campaigns.
- Some models have been reworked and on top of that there are also new ships in the eternal expanses. For example, the Predator Class Star Destroyer. The latter is Zaarin’s new flagship in the Reimagined version of the campaigns.
- A very old bug in the flight control has been fixed (Gymbal-Lock). Veterans know the bug and rejoice. Everyone else can also cheer never having to experience it. Yes, it was annoying and not easy to ignore.
- Dynamic cockpits (lighting effects, consoles, etc.)
- Improved VR performance
The developers, meanwhile, are far from finished. The video also gives a preview of how the reworking of various other menu rooms is progressing, as well as the new versions of missions that are still missing. We can expect more updates this year.
What is TIE Fighter anyway?
Star Wars: TIE Fighter is a 1994 quasi-sequel to Star Wars: X-Wing, which opened the series a year earlier. In both titles you climb into cockpits of famous vehicles of the sci-fi franchise and fight battles on a larger and smaller scale. The series is neither simulation nor purely arcadian.
The scale and pacing of the missions also vary enormously: from quiet patrols or guard missions at space stations to full-blown battles with dozens of combatants, everything is there.
The developers hit a fun middle ground between the two even back then, which is why the titles still enjoy a large fan base today. Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance came out in 1999. This is the basis for all notable modding projects for the series.
What do I need to play the mod?
The only thing you need to have installed before you can put the Total Conversion on your computer is a version of X-Wing Alliance and the fan update for this title This mainly brings the engine up to date. You can get the game at Gog, Steam or directly from EA via the subscription service EA-Plus, but here only with its Pro variant.
You can read all the details and steps that have to be followed afterwards (in this guide on the official mod homepage). There you will also find all the necessary links and many other hints and information about the extensive project of real Star Wars enthusiasts.
Are you already addicted to the dark side? Do you regularly jump into the cockpit of your Tie-Fighter and race through contemporary Star Wars battles? Or did you not know about this great mod for a real classic? And did you play TIE Fighter when it first came out? Feel free to post your opinions and memories in the comments!
