sketchley

Post SWI. I'm not sure if it was mentioned in Flashback 2012, but the new calender disappears in Macross productions between Flashback 2012 and Macross Plus/7. IMHO, I think it was just the production team (the original) Macross (who are big Gundam fans,) pulling a "Gundam", by attempting their own Universal Century. And yes, Macross even has space colonies...

I was thinking along the lines of machines eventually break down (including, and most likely the first being the communications link to the protocultures/creators/factory satellite), whereas when the food supply (or whatever) breaks down, a living, breathing humanoid is going to do something about it (well along the lines of a "truly adaptable, thinking pilot"). Of course humanoids can break down too. But in the Zentraedi society they simply get shot, and replaced before too much damage happens. But hey, self-aware, psychotic AIs works too.

That's not Guld. It's Mr. John Doe Zentraedi. There was some further information on Hikaru and Misa (beyond what's written in the compendium): Pg 75, and 76-77 of "Macross Graffiti Best Hit Series". If you don't happen to have that book handy: Pg 75 Wedding of Hikaru and Misa, dated 2011.10.10. Pg 76-77 Max and Miria with a toddler and a baby, and Hikaru and Misa with a single brown haired baby. The image is dated October 18th, of the 0003 year of the New Era calendar*.) * For those that don't: 2013 being year 0001 of the calender.

You know, this has reminded me of why I dislike Macross II so much: the uber able-to-kill-em-all-without-fear-of-harm-as-the-enemy-cannot-penetrate-the-armour mecha in it. At least in Macross Plus, the other Macross with uber mecha, it was uber mecha vs. uber mecha with semi-developed characters, so there was some concern about the outcome of the battle. Anyhow, ranting and raving aside, wouldn't the individual panels and seam lines on 6 Km long ship be smaller? Also, they don't line up with the angles of the ship (ex: underside of the cannon arms) so it gives the ship a distorted perspective look. I suggest applying a layer of 50% or 75% black shadow over those spots to, at the very least, give the thing a more 3D look. You may want to add some additional elements - such as other capital ships - in the foreground, to give some kind of sense of scale (which was a problem in the animation - no sense of scale aside from the bridge, which given the size of the bridge in the SDF-1, would make the Macross cannon only slightly larger than the SDF-1, and not 6 Km!)

If it is true that the Protoculture made an army of automated machines to do parts replacement, why weren't the war machines of the Zentraedi also fully automated? Why even design giant sized biological soldiers that waste resources like space, require heat, food, water, and training to maintain their skills? Robots that are only activated when needed are a lot more efficient then biological warriors. So why the heavy reliance on them? The evidence is strongly in the favor of technicians in the Zentraedi fleet. And Nathan didn't say that the Zentraedi males were serving onboard mixed with Zentraedi females. He said that the Zentraedi males (with no females) were serving aboard a ship painted the same colour as other ships in the female fleet.

In gerwalk mode, I believe the arms can still pivot, thus allowing the "elbow mounted" lasers to be aimed off of the centerline. Grebu, don't forget that the Vf-17 also has weapon pallets in it's legs, too. Meaning that there is room for the engines, gun pod, AND either the B-7 or the B-11A internal pallet (and any others that may exist). The fuel is probably stored in what becomes the back, and the wings. Agreed that the SV-51 is supposed to be visually distinct from the VF-1. Fun fact: the SV-51 is the only VF (that I know of) that Shoji Kawamori designed in 3-D first, before drawing. In other words - it's the most accurate VF in all modes, to date. I believe that is one of the reasons why it is so spindly, and has so many parts that merge and morph together in the different modes - but hey, that's what a transformer is supposed to do, right? Right. Anyhow, going back to the topic of this thread - can the Macross II gun pods be removed, and replaced with those from the Fz-109? The Varuta ripped off the VF-14 in designing that VF, why not take the basic shape of the gun pod too? It'd also make fitting the gun into the leg that much easier. Also the colours - purple (at least the shades chosen) don't give the VF enough menance. It is named Vampire afterall. The original colours (dark blue and light blue) had a lot more contrast. I suggest retaining that. Either go all black (and make the tie-in with the mystery jets on the sets in Macross Plus) or other colours that are more bold and aggressive.

Psst Grebo, that's what Nathan said - though not upkeep. That'd require constant attention, and is the role of the heretofore unseen 'technician class'.

It had something to do with the laser guns that are in the arms, and to give the whole thing a more sleek, aggressive looking gerwalk mode. It may also have to do with utilizing the thrusters in the shoulders as breaking thrusters, as the knees on the VF-17 don't appear to be able to bend backwards.) Forward thrust comes either from the legs/main engines (angled the right way,) or small thrusters in the ankle and two that are normally concealed in what becomes the back of the VF-17 (seen in the detail-up review battroid lineart.) In both VF-X and VF-X2 the VF-17 does have a more regular looking gerwalk mode. It should be kept in mind that the VF-17 is primarily a space based fighter, and the design reflects this.

Make that two of us. The VF-14 "Vampire" is from M3. It makes sense that the gunpod is stored in the leg, and is retrieved in the same way as the Fz-109. Though, with the missile launchers that are supposedly also in the legs too, it's definitely a tight fit! That said, with the trend in VFs in M7 and Plus, with space in the leg for an engine, a weapon pallet, and sometimes even a gun pod too, Kawamori Shouji must be of the mind that the thermonuclear engines must be getting quite small by the 2040s.

BOTH have images of the Battle 7. The former contains smaller images, and the design process. The latter contains larger images, and slightly more of them. If you are looking for a sample of all of Kazutaka Miyatake's work, than the former is recommended (it contains stuff from SDF:M, DYRL, M+, M7, M7 Dynamite, SDF:M DYRL, VF-X, VF-X2, and Orguss.) If you are only looking for material from the first 1/2 to 3/4 of M7, the latter is recommended.

Not only is this badly paraphrased, but it is written in a highly inflamatory mannor, and twisted into an unintended, and offensive meaning - a meaning that wasn't present in the original. I may be reading more into it than intended, as I am losing some of my English abilities, but IMHO that statement is both a form of trolling, and a recycling of other's comments. I agree that differing opinions are welcome, and valued in these kinds of discussions, but inflammatory and offensive language are not. It is one thing to say that you disagree (and why), and it is an entirely different thing to say that what someone else likes is something that negatively reflects on the person who expressed their appreciation for it. In other words, tone down the language, please and thank you.

Jenus, let it go. Not only have you repeated your stance numerous times, you are attempting, and badly I might add, to recycle the posts of others. In fact, I'd say that you are crossing the line into trolling. I'll summerize your position here: "I like mecha porn. Macross 7 isn't mecha porn. I don't like Macross 7. Macross II is mecha porn. I like Macross II." As for characters vs. plot: character's make or break a story. If it doesn't feel like the characters are directing, guiding, and/or controlling the story, and instead it feels like the plot is being forced onto them, then the story, frankly, sucks.

Yes, agreed. And as others have posted, they do: D-1, D-2, D-3, Skull-1, Eagle 1, Alpha 1, Omega 1, etc..

Recently, I've been rewatching the series - at a rate of about one every couple of days. I am quite impressed at the way the story is developing. By this, I don't mean the war story, the spirtia story, the SES development story. No, I mean the story's of the characters. Perhaps it's because I am living in Japan, but the story - especially Mylene's - takes on whole new dimensions that, say someone who is only grounded in the North American, English culture, cannot appreciate. Also, Basara's jerky behaviour does explain why Mylene seeks the security of Gamlin, but at the same time, as Basara is the 'bad boy' who shirks authority, it's understandable why she's attracted to him. Sure, the start of the Varuta war has had some interesting developments, but the main reason I'm interested in the show is the characters in the band (aside from Basara. He's a rather inaccessible character.)

If I'm not mistaken, that's the callsign for the entire squadron, and not individual pilots in the squadron. Here's the Fleet Squadron 7's page: http://www.dii.jda.go.jp/msdf/kanoya/SYOUKAI/7FS/7FS.HTM Air Station Kanoya: http://www.dii.jda.go.jp/msdf/kanoya/SYOUKAI/ASS/ASS.HTM (In section 2 it lists things like headquarters, (2)Management corps, (3)Guard corps, (4)Service corps, (5)Accounting corps, (6)Public welfare corps, (7)Hygiene corps.) Wasn't your original question, and arguement on individual callsigns for individual pilots?

As Kawamori has named these additional equipment options as both super parts (Ghost X-9, some of the VFs) and FAST packs (most of the VFs), I believe he knows what he is doing, when he adds something that has 'sensor' as part of it's name. I think a valid question is: what are the additional sensors for the FAST packs created for the F-15 Eagle? (Which is what the Macross FAST packs are based off of, FYI.) I don't think it is much (a la the VE-1.) Perhaps nothing more than a dedicated sensor for the missile launcher, and expanded range for the sensors on the VF-1 (more processing power? Bigger antenna?)

Too small to read anything other than the Macross logo. Is that the typing game?

Yes, but the Japan of now, is not the Japan of the past leading up to WWII. By design, shame, and/or sheer ignorance, the Japanese of now have few connections to that era, and prefer to distance themselves from it. Most of the Japanese live in the now, so they may not know about abandoned conventions in the former army/air force of one of the preceeding governments of the country. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule, and the anime cited may be one of them.

Agreed that it is tough to say either way. The circles I am involved with (read: hate munchkins in RPGs) generally agree that there is equipment, not missiles, in between the missile launchers and their magazines. Also, the launchers themselves should take up some space - at the very least, allowing for only 2 additional missiles (3+2=5 total), if no other equipment is in the FAST packs. That said, FAST = Fuel And Sensor Tactical Packs. We know the Macross FAST packs have a rocket nozelle, fuel, and (sometimes, not always,) internally carried missiles. What about the sensor aspects of them? IMHO, that is what some of the equipment is that's in between the missile launchers and their magazines...

http://www.macrossroleplay.org/Sketchley/Statistics/VF22.htm http://www.macrossrpg.com/docs/index.php/G...y_VF-21_Omega_1 Stats are educated guesstimates. Take note that the VF-22 CANNOT mount the ventral FAST packs that were developed for the YF-21 - reason is that the VF-22 has built in missile launchers and conformal mounts for the gun pods there! Both can have their missile totals expanded with either the Stonewell/Royce B-7 Standard Internal Pallet or the Stonewell/Royce B-11A Specialized Internal Pallet. The Compendium claims that the VF-22 has space for 3, though only two are shown in the anime. Also, though it isn't shown in the anime nor mentioned in the Compendium, the cover of This is Animation: Macross Plus implies that a) wing missiles can be carried, and b) that a more aerodynamic version of the UUM-7 missile pod exists. Though, it is pretty much agreed upon that adding wing mounted stuff will reduce the performance (speed, manueverability), as well as ruin or reduce whatever stealthy attributes the VF may have.

Translations really depend on the availability of other translators in the area, and difficulty of the text. http://www.google.ca/search?hl=ja&q=translation+costs The first link that I accessed gave a rough quote of $0.25 USD per word, for most European languages (with a discount for more than 75-100 pages ordered.) The other thing to take note is that the translations will vary depending on the translators knowledge of Macross. If you check Egan Loo's website, there are even contradicting translations. Try a google search on his site for Supervision Army and Inspection Army. We all know that they stem from the same Japanese word, yet they both appear in his site, in different places. I have done Macross translations before, but due to running into individuals that demanded B/S 'translations in triplet'* and other headaches mostly involving denial and disbelief, I decline to do any more (plus I'm busy with baby, and getting my own manga off the ground.) You'll be able to find some of the translations I've done in the statistics discussion forum of this PBP-RPG: http://macrossroleplay.org/forums/index.php?board=8.0 as well as my own translations (mixed with stats from the Macross Compendium, and some RPG conventions): http://www.macrossroleplay.org/Sketchley/Statistics/VF11.htm http://www.macrossroleplay.org/Sketchley/S...ai/VF11DKai.htm http://www.macrossroleplay.org/Sketchley/Statistics/VF22.htm and http://unsd.macrossroleplay.org/untamed.html (though I revised the translations, and sent them to the author of the page, and he hasn't revised it.) All are as is (it's safe to say that most of the background description isn't canon. Refer to the Compendium for more accurate background descriptions.) If possibile, I can try to answer any questions about them, but it has been a few months to years... Re: Nanashi - his policy of claiming rights over images under someone else's copyright is a bit too much, IMHO. Asking for credit where credit is due (a la Egan Loo's policy with the Compendium) is more than enough, IMHO. As it's all material that is under someone else's copyright, claiming ownership is, well, violating a law, somewhere. That said, I thought the biggest greivance with him is his lack of citing his source material(s) in some kind of a bibliography. I may be mistaken mind you. Internet and hearsay, et al... * by three different people

So, you're saying that spiritia = qi? In other words, the producers of Macross merely extrapolated and embellished a concept that's been around for thousands of years?

Agreed about the other stuff. As time passes, and new things are learned/discovered/experienced, stories and the way that stories are told change. As for spiritia in the real world - when I first heard of spiritia, I thought it was merely a renamed version of qi (æ°—), something that has been around for 3,000 years, more or less. Though, with further viewing of Macross 7 (and other Macross shows that have spiritia,) that view has changed somewhat - spiritia is similar to qi, but different from qi. I think qi could be described as life energy, whereas spiritia is more akin to motivation energy. (I want to say motivational energy, but that makes it sound like it is something that is needed prior to doing something, when by appearances, it is the opposite: the motivation to do something creates spiritia.) The interesting thing is that the Japanese word for motivation, ã‚„ã‚‹æ°—, is a combination of "to do" + "energy" (as I'm losing my English, somewhat, it was the word that came to mind to describe spiritia. Funny... needed a language translator... ) So yes, Kawamori didn't discover spiritia, he created it - but it is grounded in Japanese, if not Asian, concepts. Maybe that's why it takes on 'magical' properties for Occidental viewers?

Not all emmigration fleets consist of only one New Macross Class ship - the 5th fleet in Macross 7 proves this! The bottom picture is, if I remember correctly, when the 5th New Macross colonization fleet landed on planet Rax. All three pictures in the set are from the same episode. I think the 1 colony ship per fleet is a fallicy propogated by those that haven't seen the series...

Try here: http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/books/_books_menu.htm