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Seto Kaiba

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  1. Seto Kaiba
    We see all of the Drakens coming from a single fold effect... so I'd assume that there's a carrier there that we just don't see emerge. If the fighters each had their own fold booster, we should've seen six smaller fold effects instead.
  2. Seto Kaiba
    Actually, apart from being mentioned in a cutscene where the YF-30's developer (and head of SMS Uroboros) is rhapsodizing about the new fighter's features to its new test pilot, there really isn't much acknowledgement of the system in-game until just before the final boss... when the YF-30 gets stuck in a forming dimension fault (a fold fault pulled into realspace) and it's the fold dimension resonance system amplifying Basara's song that breaks it out to start the fight.I didn't use the YF-29s much, but IIRC or two of them may have had the fold wave system as a BOX-3 weapon, that provided a temporary performance buff. It probably didn't help the smoothness of the ride that Diamond Force was pushing their fold boosters beyond the rated limits of the design. The FBF-1000A fold booster was only rated to do one fold jump of 20 light years or less. Later designs naturally improved on that, but at first the fold booster was a painfully limited thing. Isamu's ride was relatively smooth, as he was only travelling the 11.7 light years separating Earth and Eden.
  3. Seto Kaiba
    What gave you that they could fold on their own? No VF in Macross to date has an internal fold system, that's why fold boosters are a thing. They can ride along inside a ship's fold effect (as has happened by accident and by design many times in prior shows) or they can travel on their own with a booster, but they can't fold on their own. The YF-29 and YF-30 did not have built-in fold boosters... the YF-29's fold-wave system and YF-30's fold dimensional resonance system are fold wave amplifiers that, among other things, operate as performance-enhancing technology that improves the effectiveness of other devices on the aircraft that use super dimension physics in their operation (like the engines, pinpoint barrier, some of the beam weaponry, etc.). The VF-17 was not developed with native support for fold boosters... that functionality was patched in in a later upgrade. The YF-19 and YF-21 were the first VFs designed to natively support the use of fold boosters.
  4. Seto Kaiba
    They might be able to get away with it in the Frontier fleet, since SMS's parent company Bilra Transporation has a LOT of clout with the government there... or they may get a pass on it if the Master File stance that SMS's OPEVAL VF-25's were partly built with inferior materials due to supply chain problems and didn't have that second seat due to extra test hardware is valid.
  5. Seto Kaiba
    Whether they use ISC or their superior physical abilities let them tank the intense g-forces of their maneuvering is not established at this point. As far as beam weapons go... it's only MDE beam weaponry that uses fold quartz. If they're using a normal heavy quantum beam cannon like the VF-27, YF-29, YF-30, and (presumably) VF-31 then they would almost certainly be using the cheaper, damn near ubiquitous synthetic fold carbon instead. For that matter, we're still not sure if this so-called "unequal treaty" is actually not equitable or they're simply coming up with excuses that they think the other worlds in the Brisingr cluster won't immediately laugh out of town. The Voldorans certainly weren't impressed. Redshirts.
  6. Seto Kaiba
    Actually, in Macross 7 the weaponization of song started before the series... though it took about 22 episodes for it to actually work. The VF-1 Valkyrie was "in focus" for most of the story, but it wasn't the only type of fighter the Macross carried... and, mind you, it wouldn't be a stretch to argue that the VF-1S was a "hero mecha" too, given its superior performance, special paintjob, and the existence of special optional gear in DYRL? that other fighters didn't get. You've got it backwards, actually... the VF-171 was created because Kawamori didn't want the background mooks distracting from the action, so he created the Nightmare Plus to give them a blander fighter than what the protagonists were flying. The VF-25 was there for the rival pilot and Vajra plot, the Nightmare Plus was the one added for reasons not directly related to the story. It's worth remembering that Chaos is not a military force. They're basically a security detail for Tactical Sound Unit Walkure... and despite the claim that Macross Elysion is the size of a first-generation Macross-class, the Aether seems to be AWFULLY small as a result of its transformation. Their tactics make slightly more sense when you account for the fact that it was Walkure, not Delta Platoon, who were the ones actually expected to turn the tide of the battle... Delta Platoon's involvement was mostly just a skirmish screen to distract and disorient the Var closest to Aether, while Alpha and Beta Platoons were supposed to protect the carrier. They were reacting to a Var outbreak, not attempting a military intervention after all... (Mind you, I strongly suspect that the Aether's transformation's implications WRT its internal volume probably limits its carrying capacity to at most two squadrons worth of fighters... say, ~30 planes. Probably half of those would be drones.) What if I want to get you started on them? What then, eh? We've seen something associated with their forces that looks a lot like the Dulfim-class carriers previously employed by Macross Galaxy, so there's that... or they might be flush enough with fold quartz to equip their fighters with zero-time fold boosters to cut travel time. Those cut fold faults out of the equation and improve efficiency to the point that our last example of them turned a day-long trip with a week's fold-related time losses into an hour's direct jaunt with no time loss. (Personally, my money's on them having a ship... probably named Tarnhelm, since we're apparently doing Nibelungenlied in Space this year.) EDIT: They're squatting on Protoculture ruins... I wonder if they have some kind of interstellar version of the fold stones on Uroboros?
  7. Seto Kaiba
    There's a mention in the novelization of Macross 30 that the YF classification was a calculated and technically-inappropriate move on SMS Uroboros' part, meant to allow them to defer their legal obligation to disclose the aircraft's specs to the federal New UN Government. They did it to keep their experimental tech under wraps for as long as possible. (In a reverse of that same situation, the federal New UN Forces consider the Macross Galaxy VF-27 to officially be YF-27 because its specs were not disclosed as required by law.)
  8. Seto Kaiba
    So far, the organization of Chaos's private military contractors seems to be similar to that of SMS's forces in Macross Frontier. They don't seem to bother with any level of organization above the most basic one... the flight platoon. We've been introduced to three of their platoons so far: Alpha, Beta, and Delta. Unless they've got more aircraft up their sleeves that we don't know about, that's up to 5 aircraft per platoon times three platoons... so a theoretical ten VF-31A grunt units plus the five Delta platoon units. Probably fewer now that several Alpha and Beta platoon pilots have been shot down. We know almost nothing of the fighters in Macross Delta at the present stage, besides from some details of their weaponry... so we can't say if Chaos is evaluating the VF-31 for Ragna's New UN Forces garrison, if it's a fighter they bought for their own use, or if a different scenario is in play. We've seen neither hide nor hair of Ragna's NUNS at this point. Didn't I answer this one in my previous post? The New UN Spacy is using the VF-171 Nightmare Plus because it was the last "next main fighter" mandated by the federal forces, and because the various regional commands either haven't seen a reason to upgrade or are still in the process of upgrading to the 5th Generation VFs. That's the result of the aforementioned decentralization of the government and military. Instead of being a single, monolithic organization with bases in various regions, the New UN Forces in each system are more like a state-level militia or national guard force now. They're concerned solely with the defense of their home fleet or planet, which is also responsible for financing and equipping them. It's the federal New UN Forces that are the "true" military, and consequentially there are even more restrictions and political ramifications involved in mobilizing them. It was mentioned in the briefing scene after Roid made his public declaration of war that the federal New UN Forces were unlikely to intervene in the Windermere conflict at present because they likely saw it as just another minor tiff between emigrant worlds. Now that Chaos has discovered evidence that it was Windermere behind the entire galactic pandemic of Var syndrome, the chances of a federal intervention are better. Of course, it'll likely only come at or near the end, since the federal forces are said to exceed the capabilities of the local NUNS forces by a quite significant margin. A curbstomp battle where Windermere takes it on the chin from a force dozens or hundreds of times its size so early in the series would take most of the fun out of it. Ozma touched on exactly why private contractors are so popular in the 2050's and beyond when he introduced Alto to SMS back in the Macross Frontier series. It's advantageous for the local governments to contract the service of mercenaries because, legally, it involves a lot less red tape to mobilize a private contractor than it does the state forces. It's also easier on the government from the liability viewpoint: a contractor who dies in the line of duty is legally considered to have died in an accident. SMS in Macross Frontier was operating newer fighters than the local New UN Spacy garrison because, as Ozma explained, they'd been hired to test the VF-25 in live combat before its adoption by the Frontier NUNS forces. Same reason as above... if someone attached to SMS snuffed it as the result of equipment failure or getting shot down, it's no skin off the NUNS's back. It's unclear if a requirement to return their low-rate initial production VF-25's after testing ended exists though. SMS may end up in the position of having to once again make do with a reduced-capability "monkey model" version of the military VF after the VF-25's adoption. Sort of... we don't know how much of the YF-30's experimental technology made it into the production version. We know the VF-31 has an ordinance container system, but we don't know if it has a fold dimension resonance system or any of the other new tech the YF-30 was evaluating. There's that too, yeah... though the restrictions on the harvesting and distribution of fold quartz were aimed mainly at restricting the construction of dimension eater warheads, on top of laws restricting the usage of such weapons. Whether Windermere's flush with the stuff the way the Vajra homeworld or Uroboros are isn't clear yet... I personally doubt that it's the motivation for their claims of unequal trade, since the leadership of the Aerial Knights seem to consider the ruins on their world cultural treasures and/or symbols of their manifest destiny.
  9. Seto Kaiba
    Almost certainly during her brief tenure at the New UN Spacy.
  10. Seto Kaiba
    Yes, there is... but it's kind of a bear to explain. You see, even before the UN Government and UN Forces were reorganized into the New UN Government and New UN Forces, the individual emigrant fleets and planets weren't under any serious obligation to use whatever the bigwigs on Earth decided was going to be the next main fighter. Some fleets, like Megaroad-13, opted to pass on the designated main fighter in favor of something else (the VF-14 instead of the VF-11). Once the government and military reorganized and became more decentralized, the VF-171 was essentially the last of the mandated main variable fighters. The New UN Government's federal forces pursue their own contracts to develop bleeding edge new fighters, while limitations on arms exports leave the emigrant fleets and planets with a couple different choices. They can... ... build/buy an export version of an existing variable fighter currently or formerly used by the federal forces, like planet Zola's fleet of VF-5000G's and VF-19P. ... develop their own local version of an existing variable fighter, with some government-imposed limits on performance like the Macross Galaxy fleet's VF-19C/MG21 or Macross Frontier fleet's VF-19EF. Some fleets and planets likely built their own local versions of the VF-24 using the limited/censored specs shared by the federal forces. ... develop their own new variable fighter using the limited/censored specs shared by the federal forces as a starting point, like the Macross Frontier fleet's VF-25 and YF-29, Macross Galaxy fleet's VF-27, Uroboros's YF-30, and Delta Platoons VF-31 are all examples of this approach. The VF-25 Messiah was slated to become the next main fighter of the Macross Frontier fleet's local New UN Spacy garrison, and in 2059 it was already in low rate initial production and operational evaluation. In addition to adopting it themselves, various unofficial sources suggest they also sold it to other emigrant fleets and planets whom they considered allies... but its adoption wasn't galaxy-wide or anything like universal. Some fleets may have already employed the VF-25 in significant numbers. Some may only have a few, either because of the price or because they're still transitioning. Some may have decided to pass on it in favor of another fighter design like the VF-27, YF-29, YF-30, or VF-31. Some didn't bother with manned fighters at all and have air forces composed entirely of Ghosts. Nah, it's just one of several 5th Generation variable fighters being adopted by the various emigrant fleets and planets around the galaxy... Yes and no. The VF-25 is, as I mentioned previously, tipped to become the next main fighter of the Macross Frontier fleet's New UN Forces... but that's one planetary/fleet government among many. Some other New UN Government member worlds/fleets will adopt other fighters as their next main VF... and the federal forces have their own fighter that's implied to be even more advanced. We don't know what the VF-31's circumstances are yet. The YF-30's kind of a special case, as it was developed more as a technology demonstrator and experimental technologies testbed than a proposed next main fighter. Actually, the YF-30 was developed by SMS... or, rather, by SMS Uroboros branch's Major Aisha Blanchett (in partnership with Shinsei and LAI).
  11. Seto Kaiba
    Kawamori shot down the idea that it was motivated by military concerns in his Otona Anime #9 interview. Essentially, he said it was because of the UN Government's constituency becoming too spread-out for it to govern the emigrant worlds effectively. He notes that, prior to that statement, it had been assumed that the event that prompted the change to the New UN Government was the 2051 hijacking of Battle-13 as part of an attempted coup by Latence. The exact time at which the New UN Gov't and NUNS became a thing is really unclear, in part because of flashbacks like Ozma's that put VF-171's with NUNS markings at events in the mid-2040's.
  12. Seto Kaiba
    The full name of the Zola Patrol is the Zola Galactic Patrol Corps. Coverage of Macross Dynamite 7 in Macross Chronicle is fairly clear on the subject of the Zola Patrol's standing as a non-military law enforcement organization operating under the authority of planet Zola's autonomous government. (Thank for you getting me to look, though... while I was checking, I found the answer to an unrelated question relating to VF space propellant storage.) The New UN Government Space Forces logo and the Zola Patrol's logo do look a little similar... though the only place we've seen a VF-5000 in UN Forces livery is video games (Macross M3's VF-5000B). Exactly when the UN Gov't became the New UN Gov't isn't clear, but it was sometime in the late 2040's or 2050's. Oddly enough (in hindsight), Zola seems to be the only planet we've seen that made contact with the UN Government that doesn't seem to have a military garrison force kicking around. I wonder how much of that is the local microorganisms making the planet's environment unsuitable for humans, and therefore limiting Zolan exposure to human technology and the UN Government's need for a garrison to protect its interests there, and how much is the Zolan desire for nonviolent (or at least non-lethal) conflict resolution? Every other planet with a human-suitable climate and sub-Protoculture species now seems to possess (or in Windermere's case, possessed) a military garrison force.
  13. Seto Kaiba
    Zola had the "Zola Patrol", which was their local police force... equipped with export model VFs and purely non-lethal weapons. The UN Spacy Galaxy Patrol was/is something different.
  14. Seto Kaiba
    Yes and no. Yes, the VF-171 Nightmare Plus is technically an obsolete model because a number of fleets and planets have started to deploy the next-generation fighters that were developed to replace it. No, we can't safely presume that it's only used by the outer rim system garrisons at Macross Delta's "present day". 5th Generation variable fighters were still in development or pre-adoption low-rate initial production and operational evaluation with all but one of the emigrant fleet/planet NUNS garrisons we've seen or been told about circa 2060. Just a few years further down the road, I'd expect that many governments would just be starting to evaluate the idea of adopting a 5th Generation Valkyrie or, at best, would be in the very early phases of transitioning their forces to those new fighters. Each fleet or planet's government has more-or-less a free hand in deciding how to arm their NUNS defense forces, so rates of adoption will vary. Some were not using the VF-171 at all, having opted to use an air force composed entirely of unmanned fighters. Those garrisons will likely pursue a new unmanned fighter with 5th Generation VF-equivalent capabilities rather than go back to putting pilots on the front lines. Other garrisons possibly adopted other fighters instead of using the VF-171, like how Macross Galaxy's corporate army publicly used a local variant of the VF-19C (and some upgraded versions of older General Galaxy VFs in the novelization of Macross Frontier). Many of those garrisons, and many of those that adopted the VF-171, may not see any significant reason to upgrade to a 5th Generation VF if they aren't facing a tangible threat from a foe that would require the improved performance of a 5th Generation VF to oppose (like the Vajra or the Aerial Knights). Some more recently-established emigrant worlds or less wealthy fleets may not be able to afford the 5th Generation VFs, and would keep flying their Ghosts and VF-171's for another decade or two. Alberto Larazzabal's VF-171 does not appear to be equipped with EX-Gear. Yes, those were export-model VF-5000's (and the one export-model VF-19) that were sold to Zola's local security forces. It appears that, in 2047, Zola did not possess a (N)UNS garrison force, possibly due to the nonviolent emphasis of the Zolan culture.
  15. Seto Kaiba
    Well, they are technically using the real-world definition of "quantum". The real definition, meaning "the minimum amount of a physical entity involved in an interaction". SF fans usually associate the term with zero point energy, which is the lowest energy state in a quantum mechanical system. In Macross, the term "heavy quantum" refers to a special type of matter which is produced (and used) in various overtechnology devices that employ the unique physics of super dimension space in their operation.1 The physics of its creation aren't explained, but heavy quantum is apparently produced using a crystalline super-dimension resonator made of fold quartz or - much more commonly - its low-purity synthetic equivalent known as fold carbon. What makes it so useful is that it exists in both real space and super dimension space simultaneously, and that 99% or more of its absolutely stonking impossible mass is on the part that's situated in super dimension space. Its mass is so unthinkably huge that, in sufficient quantities, its gravity will cause it to collapse in on itself and begin a fusion reaction if drawn fully into real space. The super heavy quantum produced using fold quartz has SO MUCH mass that, if drawn fully into realspace using a fold resonance, its gravity will be so intense that everything caught in its pull will be destroyed before its gravity summarily ejects it from the material universe and it ends up in super dimension space. It's manipulation of that incredible mass that makes it so useful. It's used in tiny quantities to provide gravitational compression of fuel in thermonuclear reaction systems and in reaction warheads, it's used for spatial manipulation like gravity control and fold-based systems like fold communications or drives, the various forms of heavy quantum beam weaponry either fire it neat or let it fuse and "fire" it by funneling the resulting explosion toward the enemy, etc. 1. Thermonuclear reaction systems, dimensional energy conversion systems, gravity inertia control systems, fold systems, reaction weapons, and dimensional weapons for starters.
  16. Seto Kaiba
    Based on the description in Macross Chronicle's technology sheet for Dimension Weapons... yes. There is, however, some slight terminology confusion on the subject of heavy quantum weapons because of the existence of two (technically three) different types of heavy quantum beam weaponry (and an arguable misidentification of the SMS Macross Quarter's): Heavy quantum reaction beam weaponry seems to be the new umbrella term for the weapon that previously went under a host of pseudonyms like super dimension energy cannon, converging beam cannon, assembled beam cannon, converging energy cannon, etc.. They use a resonance fold effect to accelerate and excite the heavy quantum in such a way that the portion of its mass that is displaced into super dimension space returns to realspace, crushing the heavy quantum under its own gravity until it ignites in a fusion explosion that is then projected outward as a beam of fusion plasma. This is most of the beam weapons that use heavy quantum. Heavy quantum beam weaponry is a more recent development used on the some of the latest VFs (e.g. YF-29, YF-30) and probably the Macross Quarter as well, which skips the fusion step and just lobs a bolt or beam of heavy quantum downrange so its vast mass can cause kinetic damage (or, in sufficient quantities, apparently warp gravity space-time in a destructive fashion). Micro-dimension eater beam weaponry could be called superheavy quantum reaction beam weaponry, since they fire the special super-massive heavy quantum that can only be produced using fold quartz. Its mass is so great that the beam is essentially a stream of micro-fold effects which drag matter into super dimension space.
  17. Seto Kaiba
    Official publications (e.g. Macross Chronicle) indicate the retractable armor cover on the underside of the gun is designed to deploy like that to improve the weapon's heat dissipation and, in so doing, extend the time it can be continuously fired without overheating.
  18. Seto Kaiba
    IIRC, Hayate refers to the Macross Elysion as Chaos's Ragna branch office back in episode 2. That would kind of imply the existence of other branch offices elsewhere, much like SMS's.
  19. Seto Kaiba
    *looks at Mariafokina Barnrose* "That's what she said". In all seriousness, the central government didn't exactly have a shortage of reasons to restrict the exportation and performance of the weapons technology that was used by the emigrant fleets and planets. Between the YF-19 No.2 independently penetrating Earth's defenses, the incidences of high-performance fighters ending up in the hands of anti-government forces, and the frequency with which emigrant fleets and worlds were squabbling with each other and the Unification Government itself, it's hardly surprising that the government would take remedial action to ensure that its troops would have the biggest stick in the event that it needed to step in and knock heads together to protect one emigrant world from another, or stop both sides by intervening in a war. That's hard to say, as it's usually only mentioned in connection with production aircraft... there weren't many testbeds and demonstrators for the 4th Generation kicking around when the restrictions were tightened. From the way the VF-19EF/A Excalibur ADVANCE mechanic sheet is phrased, it does sound like the same restrictions apply to one-off and test aircraft not operated by the central New UN Forces. Even Isamu's custom VF-19 was built off a monkey model rather than the full spec VF-19. Macross the Ride is a serialized novel that was originally published in Dengeki Hobby Magazine in twelve installments, with accompanying customized or scratch built models representing the various mecha in the story and some articles explaining various aspects of the story that depend on prior knowledge of Macross's setting. The story was collected into two volumes, and the various supplementary materials were collected into two visual books with some additional material including interviews with the creators and a short manga epilogue. The thrust of the story involves the Vanquish League VF air races in which many of the characters participate, though the latter part of the story involves an Earth supremacist terrorist group which attempts to hijack a resort ship.
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  22. Seto Kaiba
    So... funny story. The official write-ups for the export specification and locally-produced "monkey model" versions of the VF-19 do make reference to mandated restrictions on certain aspects of performance. They don't always identify what those restrictions are, but there have been mentions of functional restrictions on the avionics and a reduction in the rate of the fire control system's target acquisition for the VF-19P. The VF-19EF is identified as having been built with limiters included in certain mechanisms, though it does not mention what systems those limiters affect. I would expect that said limits are there precisely to ensure that an emigrant fleet doesn't start producing weapons which match or exceed the performance of a fighter of the same type produced for the central New UN Forces... so they'd probably take a dim view of a VF-19 upgraded to exceed central forces spec. before the adoption of the VF-24. Yes, it was the "mid-season upgrade" (for want of a better term) for Macross the Ride protagonist Hakuna Aoba, after his VF-1X++ Custom was lost in combat. It was built around a wrecked VF-0A Phoenix by volunteers from the Robbins Design Company, which provided maintenance services to several of the Vanquish League teams and SMS. It's cobbled together out of reproduction VF-0 parts, YF-25 parts, and other custom fabricated parts intended to make the whole thing function. In practice, it's basically a YF-25 wearing the outward appearance of a VF-0, though it's still using chemical rocket sub-engines for battroid mode and various portions of it are still obviously VF-25 hardware (like the lower legs/nozzles, and wing glove) and others are obviously custom-fab like the monitor turret. It's very light on armament, mostly just a single ROV-217 laser gun on the monitor turret and a gun pod that appears to be a reproduction GPU-9 (no doubt reinforced to use more modern 35mm ammunition). Pictures of the lineart (by Tenjin) and the customized model kit built to represent it are in Macross the Ride Visual Book 2. I'll grab a quick pic from it later.
  23. Seto Kaiba
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  25. Seto Kaiba
    Just sittin' down to watch the new episode now...
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