David Hingtgen

Just over a week ago. Only for 3 days though. Air and Space Museum, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, that was about it.

There is AFAIK no truly official VF-25 3-view lineart profiles, only CG. Any line-art is fan-made (or Hasegawa-made), no matter how good it is.

My wants are simple: I most want an awesome-looking armored Ozma. If they don't make the armor, and/or it doesn't look awesome (I still wonder if they can make big bulky armor that fits on new skinnier sculpt), I'll pass---I demand Ozma be both armored, and that the armor be awesome-looking. If I can't have an Ozma like I want, I want a super-pack Alto. Either way, I'm going to be waiting a while before buying. I do have a concern that carries over from the V.1---the neck/chest piece being the same as Alto's. Can't tell from these pics, but the "slots for the head-cannons" in the skull-logo pic do seem longer than they need to be--like if they were sized/shaped for Alto's.

Finally got around to doing the demo helicopter mission----liked it a lot. Strangely, reminded me more of "classic" AC (4/5/0 than the jet demo. Why? Because I always felt a big part of AC was being "involved" in a battle---despite all the dogfighting, you always spent more time and took out more targets on the ground. And a LOT of it was supporting allied infantry etc--you could watch all the tanks etc roll across the battle lines in direct response to your efforts. The helicopter is even more so---now it's on the person-by-person level at times. Also, I'm thinking the demo is at least a BIT un-representative, as on both levels, you cannot even do some basic things until they show you how---just try using AMRAAMs on the first few enemies. (plus, the scripted enemy kills---I followed one Flanker PEFECTLY and pumped about 8 missiles into him, plus continuous cose-range guns--but he didn't die until he got to the spot he always does) So the demo can't be exactly like most of the missions.

The short version is---he still pays the bills (which are considerable) for this site---if he stopped caring (and paying), the site would be gone quickly. (and above all else, that is why the site is moderated the way it is---it is still his place, he pays for it, so it's run the way he wants it to be)

Yup, first I'd ever seen. (the landing gear is nigh-identical to a Mirage F-1's, it's obvious the French did the gear design)

Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, at Le Bourget. http://www.museeairespace.fr/votre-visite/collections.html

How are you posting here on MW? Hook your PS3 up to that. My PS3 is off-line 99% of the time. I just disconnect my cable modem from my PC every once in a while to hook up my PS3 and update it. Anyways---Blu-Ray's standards are constantly evolving. Same as any other software. As Thor is brand-spanking-new, it probably requires the very latest standard/software--which you'll have to download. Even if you bought a top-of-the-line brand-new standalone Blu-Ray player 3 months ago in a store--it too could need to be upgraded to play Thor. It's not a PS3 issue. It's a Blu-Ray issue.

It's about as real as an Fw190A gets. (technically, as that particular one was re-built in France from spare parts in 1944/45, it's not *truly* an Fw190A---but that's like saying a Canadian-built CF-5A isn't really an F-5A Freedom Fighter) Considering how incredibly rare Fw190A's are and this one is like 100% original parts... (though I don't agree with their claim it's an A-8---it's at least an A-5 or later, but not an A-8 or A-9. I stretched as high as I could but couldn't get high enough to look for the upper wing gun bulges---but the pitot tube position alone makes it "not an A-8"). I wonder if it could actually be an A-8 fuselage with an A-7 wing, and that would be why it's considered an A-8, based on the original Wk.nr, if it was retained through the re-build) ::edit:: Yup, found some history. It is part A-8 and part A-7. One site said "unknown what's what" but I think it's pretty clear it's an A-8 fuselage on an A-7 wing.

I still like to think that Thomas Riker is the original, and the one on the Ent-D is the "clone". (they even explicitly stated in the episode that could be so--each one is equally "the real one")

Went on a trip, visited a museum. Some highlights:

I don't think the CGI model took into account aerodynamic effects on structure. (and most of the time, there was no atmosphere) Even big-budget movies don't model this aspect and it's a key reason CG planes tend to be more obviously "fake" than CG cars or ships.

If it's just between Hikaru's, I'd go for the J. Why? Because so many other characters (especially Roy) basically share the same scheme with the S, with only the stripe accent color differing. But Hikaru's J scheme is quite unique.

Ah, but when's the last time you saw a fighter jet with long skinny wings? A VF-25 has wings much more like an airliner in shape, than an F-15. It's actually one of the key compromises for high vs low altitude ride/stability/agility. Note that bomber-striker planes tend to have longer skinnier wings (Su-24, F-111, B-1B, Tornado) while fighters have broader, stubbier wings (any delta, F-15, F-16). This affects how "influenced" the wing is by gusts and its load response. (and how "rough the ride is" on pilots). On a low-alt, high-speed bombing run, the longer wings are smoother and more stable--good for bombing! Not so good for dogfighting. One of the few planes similar to a VF-25 (swing wings WITH multiple hardpoints), would be an F-111. And look at an F-111's wings when its pulling hard---they curve up: (I think photobucket's messed up at the moment, don't be surprised if pic doesn't show) True, not severely, but the point is that unlike an F-15, a plane with long skinny wings will have notable upwards curve when it's actually stressing them.

Eh, just assume the valk's flying in the atmosphere. Real wings curve up when they're lifting hard. Especially lately--the 787 and 747-8 have wings that bend up so much, that Boeing demands they have "enough upwards curve" before they'll license a model.

That, and a tall blonde in a silver bodysuit.

And we've been talking about Movie Prime, not G1.

Just read about another change for the Blu-Ray versions: Alderaan shoots first.

Yes, but it was explicitly stated Yoda had "more midichlorians per cell" or whatever than most anyone else. And if Anakin's was higher than Yoda's, then combined with size---he should have been able to well surpass him, when fully trained/experienced. (of course, Anakin wouldn't have ever been able to get 800 years of experience like Yoda) Thus---perhaps Yoda's power is just as much training, as raw genetics/force affinity?

Yeah, I fully expected to crash when I hit the water. I was merely "severely damaged". And then it fixed itself after a while! I may have to start out in "ace" mode... Don't have it, but I presume others have tried it--haven't seen anyone say it does work yet. Maybe the finished product will have more compatability built-in.

Doesn't seem to work with ANY flight stick. Anyways---I think (and hope) that the demo level isn't very representative of the game's missions overall. It's ULTRA-scripted. It is basically a tutorial, every second of it--most of it focusing on how to use the close-range attacks. "Enemy #4" will NOT die until you go past the 2nd set of cranes (and you WILL go past the cranes when fighting him, even if you started 30 miles away from them). Also, most enemies are "aces" and will only go down using the close-quarters whatever. (I had the same issue with AC6---the first level was so scripted that once you knew what you were doing at all, it seemed a hindrance because you couldn't just do stuff the way you wanted---this is more so) In short---do exactly what the demo says. It really is just a tutorial, and it's not going to let you do anything else. If it says turn left---don't bother doing anything else. Same for "engaging enemy group 2 from behind with XAAM's". Again--I assume/hope that all the other missions are more "open-minded" and you can pretty much kill enemies how you feel/want, with only the occasional uber-ace *requiring* that you get in ultra-close to gun him down. Stuff to experiment with/info gathered from forums: When in-close, guns seem to slow the enemy down to let you get even closer. Distance=lock-on time for missiles. Thus, guns are a means to get more missile shots in by decreasing range (and thus lock-on time), not so much for doing damage.

The same way most current 3D movies are (not many are filmed in 3D, despite many being released as such).

Even the much-vaunted 1/72 kit's legs are too low in fighter mode, if you go by how the nacelles meet up with the wings----look from above. The new DX is the only one that matches the animation/CG model in that area.

I always think the "no random battles" thing in the Chrono series is highly-overrated. Is "many frequent known-in advance" battles really any less irritating than "many frequent unknown" battles? You fight the same amount of enemies, the same way, at the same general time. You just have 5 secs warning now. IMHO, it's never been the "random" aspect of jRPG battles that tends to get annoying/boring/grinding, but the "zillion, frequent" aspect. And that's no different in the Chrono series than say FF or DQ.

As a big Virtual On fan, I may have to get Gundam Extreme Vs. Though it will heavily depend on exactly which suits are available.