Hurin

My understanding of physics starts getting even more fuzzy around here (and, I think that our last two posts that were posted nearly simultaneously actually largely agree underneath it all). But, my understanding is that a vessel will not continue to accelerate indefinitely even with unlimited fuel. Though weight is not an issue, mass remains. Eventually, the source of propulsion reaches its limit against the mass of the object it is propelling. Further, an object's mass actually increases as its velocity increases. . . so, by the time an object starts approaching the speed of light, it is infinitely massive, and no conceivable source of thrust could move it. Anyways. . . as I said, I think that a vessel such as a Macross or Yamato would be limited in its velocity, even given unlimited fuel. Given that. . . let's assume that the Yamato is fleeing from the Macross. Once the Yamato reaches its maximum velocity, I don't see any real disadvantage in needing to alter its attitude to return fire. Now, to be clear, I realize I'm splitting hairs here. Having its weapons aligned with its primary axis of acceleration would probably be the ideal situation. I'm merely pointing out that this would be less of an issue as it might at first appear in a space combat. And, of course, reverse the situation. What if the Macross were fleeing [/i]from the Yamato! It would have to rotate 180 degree on its X axis to return fire! But, of course, the Macross would never run from the Star Force. H

I've been trying to think of a good example of how this all works. . . Think about playing the game Asteroids. Remember how you would use the thrust button to go faster. . . but the only way you could slow down was to spin around and apply thrust in the opposite direction? Otherwise, you just continued in the same direction at the same speed forever. You could also change course by spinning a bit and giving it a bit of thrust. I hate to say it. . . but that's a pretty good illustration of the principles in play here. But when the Macross goes off the edge of the screen, it doesn't appear on the other side. H

Well, yes and no. Let's say the Macross (in storm attack mode) is fighting the Yamato. They are both cruising directly at each other. The Yamato then re-orients itself so that it can fire a broadside volley at the Macross. Assuming that it has already reached its desired velocity, this does not represent a disadvantage at this point. Now, they have exchanged volleys. If either ship now desires to change their course (vector), they will need to first re-orient themselves so that their primary engines/thrusters are pointing in the desired direction. So, while the Yamato is essentially attitudinally aligned perpendicular to its current course, its "drive" may not be too far out of alignment for where it should be to correct the course to the new heading. Both the Macross and the Yamato will need to adjust their attitude. . . unless they will be making only minor course corrections that auxiliary boosters/engines might accomplish. Which, brings up another point: The Macross also seems to use secondary engines to propel itself "forward" (sorta face-first) when in Storm Attacker mode. So, given this capability, it would appear to have an advantage over a Yamato-type vessel. It can adjust course by merely firing up a different set of engines. So, really, another thing to think about is that a space vessel, in order to be most maneuverable in combat, should have lots of equally powerful engines/rockets/boosters so that it can change course and accelerate equally well regardless of its attitude relative to its current vector. H

Limitations on what? Regardless of the primary axis of acceleration, you would still be able to use attitude adjustment thrusters to orient a ship along all three axes. Late Edit: I think I may be wrong here. I think I should be saying that you can still adjust the other two attitudinal axes. But adjusting the third would actually mean a change in vector. But regardless, a ship would still be able to bring to bear whatever "face" it wishes without limitation. Albeit, in order to maneuver effectively, a Yamato-like battleship would have to then re-orient itself appropriately. Obviously, G-forces would still be experienced, and stress to the structure would be a problem, when actually applying thrust to change a vessel's vector. . . for any type of vessel. But, changes in course/vector causing stress and G-forces does not constitute a limitation on adjusting a vessel's attitude as long as the vessel's vector remains unchanged. I can see where there might be a slight simplification of tactics if the majority of your weapons were aligned with your axis of acceleration. But I think that advantage would be hardly decisive. I got the impression that Druna was unfamiliar with basic zero-g behavior in a vacuum . . . and his further questions have only enhanced that impression. No offense intended of course. I only know this crap because I played Aerotech and developed an interest in zero-g environments. In other words, I'm a geek. So, to sum up. . . I think that, in a fanciful space-war environment (as portrayed in Macross and most anime and even most sci-fi), there would be a substantial advantage given to a Macross-style vessel with all its weapons pointing forward along its primary axis of acceleration. But, that advantage would be largely negated in "real" space combat. H P.S. I'm loathe to disagree with ewilen. He's one of the intellects on this board that I truly fear!

No.

Nope. In reality, a battleship-type vessel would not have to be pointing in the direction it is travelling. In space, there is no drag. . . so once you have accelerated to a desired speed, you are free to re-orient yourself and face any direction. As long as no thrust is applied, you will continue to travel in the original direction. This can give the impression that a ship is travelling backwards or sideways. But that's a "terrestrial" way of looking at things. Space travel is portrayed very unrealistically in most anime and even most movies. You always see jets firing and boosters constantly on. . . but in reality, rockets/engines only fire for a short time. . . and then you just coast from there. So, in your hypothetical situation, the battleship-type vessels could have their broadsides pointed towards the enemy while still travelling towards the enemy. H

His point is that, if you had a space-ship based on a WWII battleship (think Yamato). . . and it had its guns arrayed in a "broadside" fashion, that ship would be able to spin and maneuver to point its "broadside arsenals" at you just as easily as a Macross-style "upright" ship. In other words. . . you could mount the weapons on any shape. . . as long as it is able to maneuver along all three axes to point at you. Put all the weapons on a humanoid looking ship's front, or put them all on one side of an octagon. It doesn't really matter, it's still just going to spin around and kill you. H

Man, reading this, I could have sworn my Jetfire nose was die-cast too. But I take everyone at their word that it was not. Must have been the glossy paint. But I could have sword I remembered it chipping and showing metal underneath. Oh well. . . Plastic it is. . . H

Here's a link to the "sequel" Link

I think I saw parts of a sequel on cable the other day. Man did it suck. Low, low budget. H

Wow. It's like a whole new movie. Seriously, the more natural english doesn't take you "out" of the narrative like the original FX subs do. I always found it somewhat distracting to constantly think: "Hmmm, I wonder what they meant to say there." Now the story just flows along. It's actually quite easy to modify the subs. I plan on tweaking mine a bit and modifying the text color changes somewhat. I also found this site and I'm in the beginning phases of trying to make a custom-made DVD with better subtitles. But it's slow-going. . . and I'd need to get one of the new (and expensive) dual-layer capable DVD burners before I could fit it on a DVD. H

Somehow, the ZDS file had gotten a ZIP attachment put on the end. . . so I unzipped it rather than leaving it as-is. After re-downloading the file and starting over, everything looks good. Ali Sama and i worked it out via ICQ. Looks like the original post is now edited to reflect this possible problem. Thanks! H

Okay, I'll try this again . . . why did they refit it? They sure seemed to put a lot of resources into what essentially appears to be a monument in a lake. You'd think that if they refit it, they'd send it out into the galaxy to explore or defend. Rather than just standing mutely over the city. Or is it there to defend the city? Was it intended to eventually return to space? H

Are the timed scripts for Beta 4 [619]? I load the "1 - Japanese.ds" profile. But the timed scripts do not appear in the profile. Manually adding them seems to work, but none of their synching information seems to come in with them. Am I missing something? I can view the DVD, the but subs won't show (other than the ones built into the DVD). Thanks for this though! It will rule once I get it working! H

I'll probably be referred to the noob thread for this, but what was the purpose of the refit? Was it intended to be a front-line ship again? Or just to make it look pretty? Doesn't it take off again in Macross Plus? Memory is hazey. H

Are those Anasazi or Takatoys decals/stickers?

I'm shown above with this request accepted for the 2nd valk. Yet the big bold update says that the 2nd valk (probably) won't be a Roy. Just clarifying that these will only do me any good if they are off a Roy. Thanks Though! H

No.

Tiny little valkyries.

Khan!!!

Dude. . .LIGHTEN UP! Other than that, not going to dignify it with a response. . .

Well, I wouldn't say Minmay had it any worse than anyone in a post holocaust world. Even if she was in a dysfunctional relationship with Kaifun, she was at least a minor celebrity (or the biggest celebrity in that f-ed up world). In the TV show, I don't think she has anyone to blame but herself for losing Hikaru to Misa. She took him for granted and was totally self-centered. Of course, Hikaru never really told her how he felt. . . but still. In the movie, she is a lot more sympathetic. She really does just get her ass kicked (and face slapped!) throughout that movie. H

How dare you tease us without showing that LED shining in a low-light shot! I wanna see the menacing glow!

I'd like BP5 and BP6 (tail fins) off of a Roy (yellow) please. I note that the 2nd one has yet to have these claimed. Can I get in on that if it's a Roy? Thanks! H

Thanks again for the paint advice! All, Haterist mentioned removing the tail fins before painting. Haven't really looked, but are they removable without breaking?!? I was just going to wrap the rest of the valk in sealed plastic and mask really well. But if they are removable, that would be better. H