GabrielV

Yeah. That's what I'm saying. We've already seen this stuff. We're just going to see it more in the context of something like Walkure. Every iteration of the show has been dialing the "glowy" up higher and higher. With Delta we're already at extremely casual glowy.

Anything new will be focused on selling the music, because they've finally realized that's where the merchandising money for this property really lies with the new generation audience. As someone mentioned, lots of waifu potential. Expect another team of 5 or 6 cute girls. Although, there probably won't be a lot of figures or anything, because that whole business model is pricing itself into a narrow niche. Mecha and variable fighters will be phased out of the franchise. It's the most expensive part of the animation and producing them is too intensive, and the new generation of fans isn't as into it. Probably a move towards superheroics. We've been seeing it for some time in the franchise with the mystical song powers. Delta took a strong step towards making it more explicit. Expect pop idols flying around and singing enemies into submission without any kind of mecha assistance within the next franchise iteration or the next one after that at the latest. I'd say we'll almost certainly see songs being able to project energy blasts and create force fields in the next iteration. Macross will leave it's roots as a mecha property behind. It will almost certainly become a kind of musical magical girl show. I'm not saying this as any kind of "OMG, they're destroying Macross" comment. It's just honestly the way I see the money flowing post-Delta.

Don't look in the new toy topic.

Macross was also treated a bit differently back in those days, even if only due to the nature of the kinds of reboots and storyline extensions that were being done in that era. I know those two are PC Engine (or CD or whatever the proper terminology is) games. Whichever one is the turn based tactical RPG, did that one ever get an english translation patch? I'm not as plugged into the retrogaming scene as I once was. The last time I checked many years ago, it still seemed to be a blind spot among the fan translators. Yeah, that's what I'm trying to say. As someone who is primarily about the shows and what is onscreen, I just get more of a DYRL visual callback vibe. Come to think of it, that may be what colors my perception. I come to Macross via Robotech. So to me the SDFM series is first in my mind as Robotech. My first direct exposure to Macross was via the Clash of the Bionoids dub of DYRL. But that at least makes DYRL first and foremost in my mind as Macross. I perceive the later Macross shows as mostly using movie visuals when referencing back. Plus there is the distinction in my mind that TV = Robotech and Movie = Macross. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, I never watched much of Macross 7. During the time I was interested in it, I had no potential access. By the time I had access, I had no real interest in that chapter.

I used to have a huge tube TV. I think it was a 36". I loved playing Time Crisis games on that monster. Sadly, it died. Getting someone to cart the thing away was a nightmare. But the biggest loss was the loss of light gun games. Playing Time Crisis has never felt even remotely satisfying since. The largest tube TV I have to play light gun games on now is just a 19", and considering what I got used to, that's just pathetic. I wish I had at least a 25" set, and a 32" would be pretty acceptable.

This was one factor I was wondering if maybe the prioritization of references to DYRL above SDFM had some hidden meaning. Something beyond DYRL having generally more detailed designs as well as being more popular. As has already been shown, there ARE references to SDFM, but they're mostly relegated to supplementary materials or fanservicy blink and you'll miss it moments. There are exceptions, but I just get the impression that whenever the franchise prominently references the "original" it either visually references DYRL or they just trot out the song from the movie. In fact, THE major reference is to just throw Minmay in her DYRL final concert outfit on screen and start playing that song. Throwing up the DYRL design of the SDF-1 is a close second. I dunno. It just often feels to me that the DYRL version of the story is the "official" one and SDFM is sort of secondary canon. And maybe that's all this is, just sort of an irrational feeling. But given the licensing snarl with the property, trying to shift the source/origin property for the descendants could (at least in armchair theory) make at least some hypothetical sense.

I would be overjoyed if I could paint minis at least as well as your unfinished ones. What's the piece breakdown on those? Are the missile bay doors on the Phalanx separate parts? And I know this will be a mega-stupid question, but did you have to prime them?

I love Ice Pirates.

I presume you're much more of a model builder than me. Which ones did you decide to pick up? What do you think of them?

Is there anything that pops up in the sequels that makes it clear that any part of SDFM is canon? In later series, when the SDF-1 is visually referenced, it's always the DYRL version. Characters shown in previous events wear DYRL costumes. Characters with different designs in DYRL are used in their DYRL designs. Minmay doesn't even sing Ai Oboete Imasu ka in the original show, but it has become her defining song and is explicitly referenced as THE song. I haven't watched much of any of Macross 7, and that's probably the most heavily referential of the original series due to the presence of Max and Millia. Maybe I'm just missing pieces that it puts forward. Does Max fall in love with Millia during a knife fight while she is micronized on the SDF-1 or after shooting her macronized self near fatally (?) in the hallway of a Meltrandi gunship? Do the pair elaborate on it in Macross 7? It's pretty different "how we met" stories.

I looked around and if there's a topic about these, I couldn't find it. Is there anyone else interested in the gaming miniature scaled models being produced by this company? I skipped the whole Robotech RPG Tactics thing when it was new. I didn't trust Kevin Siembieda. It's kind of sad that even with the shitshow it became, I honestly expected worse. I didn't pre-order the Kids Logic minis because the only pictures I saw were renders, and we all know everything looks spectacular in renders. But I had started hearing some positive word of mouth about them, so I decided to blow some money on the in stock models I was most curious about. I ordered: Super VF-1S Jet mode, Super VF-1S Battloid mode, VF-1J Jet mode, VF-1J Guardian mode, VF-1J Battloid mode, Tomahawk, Defender, Glaug Officer's Battle Pod, and a 3-pack of Regult Battle Pods. There's some fiddliness in assembly, but it's mostly relegated to antennas and stands on the valkyries. The models are otherwise simple and logical. I put all 11 of mine together split over two evenings. I had some glue adhesion issues, but in retrospect I think it's just because I'm a toy person, not a model building person. I'm impatient. There was nothing about the models that was anything that would be unexpected in putting a Battletech metal miniature together. The results look very nice. I'm most impressed with the Regults, Glaug, and Tomahawk. The detail is great! I immediately ordered at least one more of everything the company is making in the line (except for the valkyrie with orbital booster, screw that one). Initially I had planned to just make my own game or use the minis for Mekton games. But curiousity finally got the better of me so I ordered Robotech RPG Tactics because it was $40. I justified it by the fact I'd get rules and cards and 12 battle pods (I've heard the pods in that set aren't too bad, and a battle pod is a battle pod, right?). But after seeing my Kids Logic Regults fully assembled, I immediately regretted the purchase of the Palladium set. I should have just ordered some more 3-packs of the Kids Logic ones.

They look beefier in the show somehow. I liked them in the show, but those miniatures are lacking something I can't lay my finger on.

Those Chuck Walton reinterpretations of the Sentinels designs are pretty damn cool. The art in the UEEF book is definitely the best thing about the Palladium Robotech 2e line.

I picked up the Battlefield Press Savage Worlds adaptation as well as the Strange Machine Games A6 system standalone RPG. --- I got the Battlefield Press version first and dove into it. I was on a Savage Worlds kick at the time, learning the system. My first impression of this version was how similar it seemed to the old 1e Palladium book. It was arranged similarly, presented similarly, and even seemed to be concerned with the same types of minutiae. Then I started doing test combats. That's when it became abundantly clear the author had just taken the original Robotech RPG book from 86, and mapped it to nearest existing Savage Worlds equivalents with little to no tweaking. Lots of mecha stats can be directly traced back to the pre-existing stats for a vehicle in Savage Worlds Adventure Edition. The result is a first pass conversion of Palladium Robotech to Savage Worlds, not an adaptation of Robotech to the game system. No provisions were made for Robotech/Macross style mecha combat in the system. In my tests, the sample Max would get slaughtered by just a couple of pods with little chance of inflicting casualties. A simple hack of contested rolls to allow a VF pilot to dodge (there's a similar existing mechanic in Savage Worlds which is otherwise not usable against these kinds of attacks) made things much better. But mechanically, it came across as someone's first draft of converting a different game to Savage Worlds. And considering I was just learning the game and was able to pick holes in their work, I don't think they were all that strong with the Savage Worlds game engine. I started off very excited about the Savage Worlds version, but I ended very disappointed. My opinion is that it exists solely for someone to buy and put on their shelf to say they have a Savage Worlds Robotech RPG. It is not meant to be played, and would require considerable work to bring to a playable state. --- I have read the entirety of the Strange Machine Games version. I've made up a character. I've done a few logic exercises with the rules. But I haven't run it. Some elements of the system are a bit difficult to wrap my head around. The two actions per turn combined with the possibility to split them between multiple phases per round as well as what precisely those phases cover is a bit of a head scratcher for me. There are also issues I have with die rolling and when you apply successes on the die roll to actions. Do you get to see how many successes the guy attacking you scored before you decide how many successes of your own you use for defense? What I like about the SMG version is that it's not about exactly how much damage a gun pod does or micromanagement of missile loads. It's about describing how you do things. Skills in the game aren't things like "Pilot Veritech". Instead they are approaches to solve problems like "Angelic Grace." You describe how you want to do things that round and that determines what skills you use. As someone who had DECADES of problems getting players to say anything about their actions beyond "I shoot" or "I dodge" this is EXACTLY what I've been wanting. The character's area of expertise is defined by their class/archetype (the game calls it something else, but it's basically class/subclass). Minmei can't fly a veritech because she's a singer, dammit. Max can't be a popstar because he's a veritech ace, dammit. Characters use their skills within their archetype, but that also grants considerable leeway. I have noticed some oddities with mecha damage. There's no requirement you actually take body/hp damage to a mecha as long as you have hardware on the mech to damage. So a valkyrie can take free hits to the gun pod, the missile system, the head lasers, the jet nose lasers, etc. Most of these are only one hit. But you can also take damage to your engines, which (if I'm understanding the rules as written) don't have any set number of hits. Instead engines just decrease by a percentage each time damage is taken to them. So technically, a valkyrie could take an insane number of hits and never be destroyed as long as a PC/main character was driving it. Not a problem with reasonable players. But it would certainly be a problem with my old gaming crew. All in all, I definitely like the SMG version A LOT more. I don't think it's perfect, but it would be much more about playing a character and drama than the tactical mecha combat and missile management of the Palladium RPG. I hope they eventually do their Southern Cross/New Generation combo book.

I"m still waiting on my Legioss which I pre-ordered back in November. Not Mospeada, but I'm also waiting for my Ah Megamisama Freeing Skuld bunny figure to arrive at BBTS. It was allegedly released back in early June at the same time as the Belldandy figure. I've had my Belldandy figure from AmiAmi for two months now, with not a peep from BBTS as to my pre-order arriving. I'm also still waiting on my Fate/Grand Order Jeanne Beach version figma, which was released back at the end of May. I just hope I get them. I don't dare cancel my pre-orders and order any of them from Japan because the only shipping option is DHL and that would be something like $100 shipping for each right now because of DHL rate increases. Plus, it isn't like that's really an option with the Legioss anyway. I had wanted to see what the blue legioss was like in terms of quality before I took the plunge on pre-ordering the red one. I just hope the pre-order on the red one doesn't sell out before I get to look at the one I've already ordered.

Eternal Story is just kind of meh to me. I prefer the two follow ups: Destruction and Stardust War. Those two are much more focused and the mecha design clicks more with me. Destruction is either my first or second favorite of the whole series. It's competitor is... Rhea Gall Force is my other choice for favorite of the series. It's just a really good Terminator rip off. The action is good. The characters are solid archetypes. The mecha design (mostly on the mechanical side) is really good. The plot is standalone but could easily lead to more. I haven't watched Earth Chapter in a long time. I recall it feeling really cheap, as if the studio had no money and just pasted together something to have a release. I seem to recall it taking the plot off in a direction I really didn't like or felt followed from what was established. Finally, there's New Era, which honestly isn't very good but I like it anyway. It feels for a setup for a series that never happened, but so does Rhea.

I noticed today my GX-86 was missing it's starboard side anchor piece. I guess it fell off the last time I was handling it and playing with the electronic features. Sadly, I'm pretty sure I vacuumed since then. So that little decorative anchor piece is most likely gone. Does anyone have any ideas on a replacement piece? Or am I likely SOL?

This is the ONLY Disney Wars thing which I'm willing to admit is part of Star Wars. This little bit from Rebels is so completely opposite everything which has been done under the Disney Wars regime. It has dramatic weight. It's tense. It wordlessly and visually portrays many layers of the story. It's the ONLY Disney Wars bit which uses the visual language and motifs of Star Wars to tell a story. Just how Obi Wan starts in his Clone Wars battle stance, shifts to his Padawan stance, and then finally stands ready in the stance of the Master Maul took from him has more depth and storytelling in it than both of the Disney Wars movies so far. Yes, it's fanservice. But it's damn good fanservice. The person who wrote it put care into it. They respected the audience and the mythos.

I didn't want a Han Solo movie. For one, there's no point in Han Solo without Harrison Ford. For two, Han Solo's entire arc is already shown in the OT. There's no need for anything else. I did end up liking Solo. But it is remarkably devoid of Han Solo. As I've already said numerous times before, when I view it as a Star Wars rip off movie like Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, it's OK. When viewed as a movie in the Star Wars universe with the legendary Han Solo, it fails in every way it can. I was excited earlier when I saw the mention the Obi-Wan project with Ewan McGregor had been revived. I definitely think there's one more possible movie where a story could be told about Obi Wan. Possibly keying into that line about how he used to believe there was still good in Vader, implying that he may have tried to redeem Anakin somewhere along the line. But there's not a series there, especially a modern "epic" (read: padded and overlong) series. I was on board for a singular movie, but a TV series is not something I think has any chance of being decent at all. I guess it just shows that Disney can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They keep on sabotaging everything related to Star Wars. An Ewan McGregor Obi Wan movie could have been great. An Ewan McGregor Obi Wan TV series is must skip TV.

Initially the dialogue says the Hyperdrive is "leaking". Later, Qui Gon is at Watto's trying to purchase a "hyperdrive generator" as a replacement. The damage was something akin to a really expensive flat tire. They had enough air in it to get to Tatooine, but they couldn't air it back up. They needed a new tire.

I think you're right, at least in that Vader is the only one who gives the order to launch and Tarkin is never involved. It's been a while since I watched Star Wars, but I think some officer comes up to Vader in the hall, and Vader replies to get the crews to their fighters. Then later, Vader grabs the two other pilots and goes out to do things himself.

Did you mean to say squadrons instead of starfighters? I'm pretty sure more than three fighters get launched to deal with the Rebel squadrons attacking the Death Star. Vader and his two wingmen make three. Even before he launches, there's an explicit shot with several TIEs (8?) swooping down on the rebels. Not that it really negates the point, but it was more than three. In terms of justifying it, Tarkin was extremely overconfident. He was putting up token resistance to what he perceived as a futile attack. He never seemed to even be paying any attention to the rebel attack on the Death Star. Vader was the only one who took it seriously and took action. So yeah, he was pretty silly in wanting to kill the attackers himself, but through the series he's pretty hands on.

Wait... Didn't this comic redesign all the mecha? Why do they look.... Oh, nevermind. That image is jarring. Not only have they traced or lightboxed or "interpreted" or whatever they want to call it, they've not only imported the basic shapes, but also the styles of the original images. And everything is a different style. So you have the Pod and Super Valk which seem to be copied from lineart. Then you have the foreground Valk which is copied from a painting. Then you have the SDF-1 which is copied from a high detail source, a painting by a different artist or a model. Then you have the Invid which are copied from lineart by a different designer. And unsurprisingly, it looks like a collage. It looks like someone cut out pictures and pasted them together. I'm not entirely convinced that isn't exactly what they did.

I had completely forgotten about the Chogokin Gamillon ship. It was such an anticlimactic announcement to me. Yes, I typed Gamillon. I'd been watching Star Blazers for decades before I watched 2199. The old Star Blazers names are too ingrained in my mind to shift gears. Anyway, has there been any news at all about the US release of Part 2 of 2202? Have there been any rumblings at all regarding a new Chogokin Andromeda? I can't believe neither has been announced yet. I thought we'd have an Andromeda announcement before the series was even finished. It's bewildering that the US Part 1 discs have been out and available for half a year and still nothing about releasing the conclusion.

I think the gaming miniatures look nice. Of course, they're only renders, and even Robotech RPG Tactics looked fantastic in renders. It's kind of mystifying what they're for. I haven't heard any rumblings of some other company supporting the abandoned/scam Palladium game. I guess the Savage Worlds RPG supports a level of miniatures wargaming play, and there's a Robotech game coming which uses the Savage Worlds system. Maybe they're intended for that. Then again, the RRT pack which had the Tomahawk in it proved there is a substantial market for gaming miniatures of the Battletech Unseen. I know there are people who very literally bought the Robotech RPG Tactics base set solely for miniatures of the Battletech Rifleman, Warhammer, and Stinger/Wasp family of mecha.