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Seto Kaiba

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  1. Seto Kaiba
    Realism. Calling a spade a spade is not pessimism. For the movie? Very little. A reduced runtime is not at all likely to be conducive to solving the many problems the Macross Delta story had in its TV series format. It's likely to exacerbate some of them, particularly the lack of character development across the vast majority of its cast. For the new series? Bare minimum we're probably looking at a major shakeup of the staff, which is likely to include different writers. That alone makes improvement highly probable.
  2. Seto Kaiba
    IMO, that's more a symptom of the show's biggest letdown. Macross Delta had serious potential that the writers completely squandered. The series had great character and mechanical designs, an interesting and well-developed setting, great music, and the main cast was engaging and immediately likeable. All the individual pieces were as good as what the Macross Frontier series had at its start, but the writers just couldn't join up the dots and make the pieces into a cohesive whole. Hayate wasn't the only one who got cheated out of a payoff on plot threads the show abandoned for no reason... It would've been a much better show if they'd actually come up with an original plot in the second half instead of blatantly trying to crib Macross Frontier's. From episodes 3-26 they forgot they were supposed to be developing the supporting cast as well... it's a bad sign when your show centers on an idol group and only two of the five members got any actual characterization.
  3. Seto Kaiba
    All told, in some respects (e.g. active stealth) they're on par but the VF-19EF Caliburn has a higher level of flight performance thanks to its more powerful engines and its less stable aerodynamics. There's not a 100% unambiguous explicit flag that a given fighter is a monkey model, but usually a monkey model will either be outright identified as one in its tech writeup, or it'll be flagged as either an export variant or a locally-built derivative of an existing variant. We don't know for certain, but based on what's said in Great Mechanics DX widespread adoption of the VF-19 fell through at the federal level very early on in their attempted transition to it... so I would assume that any VF-19s which were built locally by emigrant governments were monkey models regardless of variant. The extent to which the monkey models we've seen thus far have been simplified varies a bit, but in general they all seem to have been simplified or detuned at least slightly. Some of the limitations in the monkey models are imposed in software rather than hardware. Given that all but one of the monkey models we've seen thus far have been produced locally under license, I would assume that the federal New UN Forces probably wouldn't need to fall back on the export models in wartime. They have the manufacturing power of dozens of factory satellites as a fallback plan. That may have been the case for the VF-19P, if nothing else... though the other identified monkey models have all been built locally under license by their end users (e.g. Macross Frontier, Macross Galaxy).
  4. Seto Kaiba
    It definitely put the brakes on the New UN Forces' adoption of the Ghostbird as the next main fighter and spelled doom for the idea of autonomous fighters as the wave of the future. That said, once General Galaxy removed the prototype's unstable bioneural main processor and the fully-autonomous air combat software was restricted by order of the New UN Government, they did still end up suppliers to several governments who preferred the idea of an all-Ghost air force. Their big seller to the emigrant governments was an economized, semi-autonomous model designated as AIF-7S (or QF-4000 to the New UN Forces). The federal New UN Forces obtained a full spec model without the unstable hardware designated AIF-9B, and Macross Galaxy produced its own version of that with enhanced (anti-Vajra) armaments officially registered as AIF-9V (locally as Ghost V-9/MG) that was illegally equipped with the fully autonomous air combat program of the prototype. Technologically, yeah... the fallout of the events in Macross Plus was far-reaching, though only one subsequent story I'm aware of (Macross the Musiculture) directly references it. Mostly it's all in the backstory. Thanks to the Venus Sound Factory illegally outfitting Sharon Apple with a bioneural processor and her subsequent rampage, the New UN Government not only banned responsive virtuoids, they also legislated Sharon Apple's music off the shelves for a time. The insane Sharon Apple's remote hijacking of the AIF-X-9 prototype during a public event the New UN Government intended to both demonstrate it at and announce its selection as next main fighter was a massive public fiasco that led to the New UN Government terminating its autonomous fighter program, the imposition of a ban on fully-autonomous fighters, Project Super Nova's reinstatement, and both prototypes being approved for production. Of course, Isamu and Guld independently penetrating Earth's defenses in those prototypes broke it worse than the Ghost had... since the New UN Government decided it was too dangerous to export the VF-19 and VF-22 en masse, so they ended up getting shelved in favor of a less-uber fighter. ... and, to put the cherry on it, since Colonel Johnson took the blame, Isamu got punted upstairs to fill a desk job role at New Edwards to keep him out of trouble.
  5. Seto Kaiba
    Yes (to both). By the time the 4th Generation VF prototypes entered testing at the New Edwards Test Flight Center on Eden (see Macross Plus), thrust-to-weight ratios were already sneaking up on 10:1. The 3rd Gen VFs were all in excess of 6.3:1 on their own, meaning that without Super Packs every one of them is able to rival or exceed the acceleration of a VF-1 Super Valkyrie going flat out. The VF-17S was the first to actually exceed 10:1, and from that point on the only VF that wasn't operating above 10:1 is the VF-171 Nightmare Plus in its stock Block II configuration. Most exceed 13:1. One of the things that made the Ghosts derived from the AIF-X-9 Ghostbird prototype so deadly was that in a period where manned fighters couldn't really exceed 10:1 without the significant risk of loss of control, it was hovering just below 20:1. (Between 19.3 and 19.52, if we're being precise, and I am). Thanks to the introduction of Inertia Store Converter technology that could protect the cockpit of a VF from high g-forces, manned fighters were able to rival or exceed the performance of the Ghosts with Stage II thermonuclear reaction turbines that pushed thrust-to-weight ratios through the roof. Practically every 5th Gen VF exceeds 39:1, with the current reigning champion being the YF-29 at 61.164:1. Even with the extra weight of the Super Pack degrading its acceleration a bit, the VF-27 Super Lucifer that Brera flew in the second Frontier movie was in excess of 41:1. To put all this in perspective, the best performers among modern fighter jets of the current 4th and 5th Generation designs doesn't exceed 2:1, and most are just around 1.1:1 under ideal conditions. The amount of thrust being thrown around is absolutely off-the-hook insane. Even those humble, little, unassuming-looking rocket engines on the VF-1's backpack are putting out more thrust than an engine from a typical 4th generation jet fighter, and it has THREE of those. EDIT: That high performance is also a big part of what killed the Ghosts's role as next main fighter. Nobody wanted a fully-autonomous fighter that exceeded the abilities of any manned craft that could decide that it wasn't interested in the orders of meatbags and go rogue.
  6. Seto Kaiba
    Yeah, and they've paid visits to the JASDF as well as several other fact-finding trips in the past.
  7. Seto Kaiba
    Not likely. The other Macross shows are as long or longer than Macross Delta and they all managed to have MORE combat than Macross Delta without it becoming boring and unduly repetitive. What's making Delta's combat scenes boring and repetitive is a crippling lack of variety. Delta Flight seems to have only two moves in its entire repertoire... The Scissors, and flying backwards in GERWALK as the railguns fire with the arms crossed to shoot Lilldrakens or missiles down. Other than that, all of the combat scenes are just reaction shots of the cockpit or the occasional static shot of shooting at an indistinct target offscreen. It's lazy choreography and writing, in short, not overuse of combat scenes. An eminently fixable problem, if the show's creators had cared enough. Same problem... Gundam SEED suffers from a punishing lack of variety in combat, compounded by its protagonist being one of the anime industry's most notorious Godmode Sues. Combat itself isn't overused, it's just very formulaic and the formula has relatively few permutations to "Death by Kira".
  8. Seto Kaiba
    The Sv-51 isn't a SV Works program, that was something done by the Sukhoi Company jointly with Dornier Flugzeugwerke and Israel Aerospace Industries using stolen VF-0 development data before the First Space War. The SV Works didn't exist until after General Galaxy was founded, around 10 years later. Like the VF-0, the Sv-51 was a development and trial production platform for an anti-giant fighter. Its design emphasized maneuverability, so it was a better anti-VF VF than the VF-0 was. Regular VFs are meant to be all-purpose fighter aircraft, but the primary design focus behind their development was always on fighting hostile aliens (the Zentradi). Having to fight other VFs was a corner case, a grim but unlikely possibility that had to be considered but wasn't a core area which the designers focused on... until the 4th Generation. By the time Project Super Nova was on their plate, the New UN Government had expanded to the point that internal conflicts were occurring in their sphere of influence with monotonous regularity, so it was necessary for the new fighter to be focused on fighting other VFs and suppressing revolts at least as much as it was on fighting aliens. General Galaxy cofounder Alexei Kurakin simply saw that one coming a long way off, and opted to establish a dedicated team to explore what he saw as the inevitability of VF on VF combat one day becoming the norm.
  9. Seto Kaiba
    That's because that's the vast majority of the actual combat we get to see... and it's done in such a way that we can't even see the actual fighters 90% of the time. Just tiny dots crisscrossing over a vapor trail with random explosions. It's an impressive visual effect when used sparingly (e.g. Macross Plus), but in Macross Delta it was massively overused to the point that by the show's halfway point it felt like the show's staff folding their arms and refusing to show us the fight because they'd rather talk about Walkure. There's no payoff at the end, so it's even less satisfying than Gamlin repeatedly blowing Gavil's FBz-99 away with the beam adapter, or Basara spraying the dogfight with speakerpods. While not strictly impossible, that is so wildly unlikely given that we know it's a compilation movie reusing material from the series that it might as well be impossible.
  10. Seto Kaiba
    I just wish I had more information on the development of the VF-31 series and Sv-262. Right now, the only sources of tech specs are the Limited Edition Blu-ray liner notes, a couple interviews about the series in Great Mechanics G, and booklets from the TOMYTEC and Bandai model kits. It's all so basic, and gives very little insight into the mecha beyond the bare-bones facts of their major pieces of hardware... and it doesn't help that the text in those kit booklets is contradictory outside of basic tech factoids. Variable Fighter Master File would normally be our port in this particular storm, but it's even worse... contradicting not only canon, but also previous volumes in the series. Personally, I really want a proper official explanation of the SV Works team that produced both the Sv-154 and Sv-262 for Windermere IV. We know they were a pet project of one of the cofounders of General Galaxy, but exactly what they did between the team being founded in the 2010s and its change of ownership to the Epsilon Foundation subsidiary Dian Cecht is a great big blank. They're engineers who specialized in developing VFs designed to fight other VFs, and there are a couple of General Galaxy's projects that feel like they should be one of theirs... like the VF-9 Cutlass and the VF-22 Sturmvogel II.
  11. Seto Kaiba
    ... ... ... It's moments like this that remind me how very important context can be. Kawamori-sensei, please use more variety in the movie dogfights so we can stop abusing that word!
  12. Seto Kaiba
    Started watching the new season of Shokugeki no Souma last night... so far, so good I suppose. I'm just hoping they'll continue to avoid a gecko ending. I've got so many shows to catch up on... just looking at the queue on Crunchyroll is faintly depressing.
  13. Seto Kaiba
    Nothing announced, AFAIK... but given that this is your bog-standard Macross compilation flick, I'd say the staff will be mostly the same and that suggests that our only area of genuine concern is its writers. If they're the same writers as the TV series, then pessimism is entirely warranted. That was always supposed to be a duology though, so ending the first one in medias res was kind of intentional. No, realism is what we need... too many folks went into Delta expecting Frontier 2.0 and ended up bitterly disappointed when the series fell far short of Frontier's lofty standard. Blindly hoping for a massive improvement without a reason to suspect that said improvement will occur will only end in disappointment.
  14. Seto Kaiba
    A series of modifications made to an aftermarket VF-31A Kairos by Χάος Valkyrie Works, including, but not limited to: Replacement of the stock FF-3001A Stage IIC thermonuclear reaction turbine engines with a detuned version of the YF-30's FF-3001/FC2 engines (a 14% improvement in engine output). Modification of the the Shinsei/LAI TO21C inertia store converter to increase the unit's buffer capacity from 28.0G to 29.5G. Switching the outer wing segment of the delta wing for a forward-swept winglet and overall strengthening of the airframe. Exchange of the stock A-type monitor turret for a custom-built monitor turret (each Siegfried monitor turret is unique). Upgrading the stock ARIEL II+ integrated airframe control AI of the VF-31A to a custom build optimized for close air support of Walkure. Installation of the fold wave system and fold wave amplifiers on the dorsal surface of the VF. Fixed weapons (e.g. the LM-27 railguns) replaced with lower-powered versions than military spec in anticipation of having to operate in close proximity to civilians. Engine nacelle ordnance bays retrofitted into storage and charging racks for 8 MDP-001W Cygnus multidrone plates. Fitted with a custom multipurpose container unit that includes a remote recharger for the Cygnus multidrones. No and No, respectively. Yep. When you think about it, the VF-31 Siegfrieds are essentially the same kind of custom job that Sound Force's VFs were, except they're all customized from the same base aircraft this time. Heck, the operating profile is almost "What if the Jamming Birds stole Fire Bomber's ride?" Not a new theme, mind... Macross 30: Voices Across the Galaxy had most of the placenames and so on for Uroboros drawn from Norse mythology. The only references that aren't are Uroboros and the Chronos, which are both Greek, and the Percival, which is French. Even the bad guys, Havamal, are Norse-inspired. Fun fact... the custom build of ARIEL II that was used by the VF-25 and YF-30 is called "Brunhilde". It wouldn't work nearly as well with the enemy fighters being Draken, which can be translated as "Dragon", though the company operating them DOES have a Greek name and logo... Χάος.
  15. Seto Kaiba
    The original design's even by the guy who specializes in malevolent space triangles.
  16. Seto Kaiba
    Hm... that's a complex question. Most of the Generation 4.5 VFs in Macross were created either as stopgaps to improve performance enough to fight the Vajra (e.g. VF-171-IIIF and VF-171EX) or as test articles that were intended to evaluate technology intended for use in Generation 5 VFs. (Thinking about this really makes me want to go back and update my old .pdf for thrust-to-weight on all VFs.) It's kind of a skewed picture, when you look at it. Outside of the key areas where there were enormous advances in technology, most of which became the defining traits of the 5th Generation, performance didn't actually improve all that much between the Gen 4.5 and Gen 5 designs. I think you could make a case for saying that those key areas of advance on the Gen 5 designs enabled them to make much better use of what the Gen 4.5 and Gen 4 designs already had. The gulf between them is pretty big, but I think it's mostly built upon the advances in those key areas and without them the Gen 5 designs wouldn't be significantly better aircraft than the Gen 4.5s. Looking at it in terms of flight performance, the disparity is pretty enormous thanks to the improvements in engine technology and the advancements in man/machine interface tech and the introduction of the Inertia Store Converter that rendered them usable. Just in terms of thrust-to-weight ratio you're looking at a bare minimum 2:1 disparity if you compare the highest-end Gen 4 and Gen 4.5 VFs like the VF-19S against a typical Gen 5 VF like the VF-25A, VF-31A, or Sv-262Ba. Against a more typical Gen 4 or Gen 4.5 VF like a Block II VF-171 Nightmare Plus or a VF-19EF Caliburn you're looking at more like anywhere from 2.7:1 to 5.3:1. The more powerful engines also benefits the defensive capabilities, so even though armor material strength hasn't improved by leaps and bounds (barring the very limited introduction of advanced energy conversion armor) they're more durable because the existing armor material is being fed more power... like how the YF-29 achieves 4x the armor strength of a VF-25 by having twice the armor thickness and then supplying it twice the amount of power. (The implication that, within a given armor material, strength has a linear relationship to thickness and power consumption is rather helpful in and of itself.) The introduction of EX-Gear, ARIEL II avionics to capitalize on it, and the ISC also widen the gulf considerably by insulating the pilot from g-forces that would have been game-enders in previous-generation designs, which widens the gulf considerably. Augmentations like the fold wave system or the Draken III's reheat system just improve those already substantial areas of existing improvement even further by supplementing generator output with fold dimensional energy conversion or simply boosting thrust by 25%+. Weapons, sensors, etc. don't seem to actually be all that much better than what the Gen 4 and Gen 4.5 had, barring anti-Vajra equipment like the overkill gunpods, but it's that huge flight performance improvement that really makes the Gen 5s stand head and shoulders above their predecessors because it snowballs into other areas of performance.
  17. Seto Kaiba
    Don't forget that these special mushrooms make small things much bigger... like that
  18. Seto Kaiba
    Those are Tamiya Corp. Mini 4WD non-remote control racecars... customizable kit cars powered by little battery-driven electric motors. You can find them in many reputable hobby shops. They were fairly popular in America in the late 90's, though they were just referred to as "Tamiya cars" out here. I remember my younger siblings used to build and race those at our local hobby store. I believe the anime you're thinking of is Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!!.
  19. Seto Kaiba
    So, what you're telling us is the designer was on shrooms?
  20. Seto Kaiba
    Given that they're not specifically described as a for-export variant (like the VF-19P) or as a locally-developed monkey model derived from a formal specification, they're almost certainly official New UN Forces variants. They're probably local spec versions of an official variant, so they might really bear a full designation along the lines of VF-19F/NM07 or something like that. (If nothing else, Macross 30: Voices Across the Galaxy gives you a New UN Spacy Havamal Special Forces paintjob for them in New Game+.)
  21. Seto Kaiba
    Like I said back on the previous page, a lot of people were hoping for something resembling closure on the whole Windermere conflict. Having the movie be the originally-planned conclusion to the TV series would've given them that. As it is, the Macross Delta series didn't really come to an end, it just sort of... stopped. Once they'd blown up the Star Shrine, Heinz just ordered his troops to take their ball and go home. That's a bit of a first for Macross, not having the conflict end along with the series. So, naturally, since the TV series left its mecha-inclined viewers with great big giant robot blue balls and the original idea that was aired about the movie during planning of the series was for it to be the explosive climax to the series, a lot of people were hoping the movie would wrap up all the show's loose ends and maybe give us a couple of the nice, pretty dogfights the show resolutely refused to give us. Instead, we're getting a compressed version of a story a lot of us felt was lacking in a lot of areas... so there's an understandable lack of excitement. DON'T TEMPT FATE!
  22. Seto Kaiba
    There was an internal memo going 'round the Utopia Planitia shipyards about how fidget spinners are huge in the Federation right now... and some shipwright got completely the wrong idea.
  23. Seto Kaiba
    Looks like it is now. We need 30 committed buyers (at $300 a kit) for each design. After jorawar_b added your name for the Auroran and Spartas, we currently stand at 16 committed buyers for the Auroran and 15 for the Spartas. So we need another 14 buyers for the Auroran and another 15 for the Spartas. We need to keep spreading the word and hope we can grab s'more support.
  24. Seto Kaiba
    I think a lot of us are going to be a bit disappointed with Macross Delta getting a recap movie... we were kind of hoping for some closure in the whole Windermere conflict, since Heinz taking his ball and going home at the end of the series is distinctly unsatisfying.
  25. Seto Kaiba
    The VF-19F/S has such monstrous engine output for a 4th Generation VF that I rather suspect the engines weren't derated like the ones on the VF-19P were (allegedly in the name of extending cruising range). The VF-25 and YF-29 lack it, actually. What they have is just an ordinary thrust reverser. (It's labeled as "thrust reverser ring" in the diagrams.)
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