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JB0

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Everything posted by JB0

  1. JB0
    DRAMA! I think the unofficial Transformers are darn cool. Expensive as heck, but pretty darn cool. And I don't think they're in competition with Hasbro or TakaraTomy... EXCEPT for the Masterpiece line. I think it's... strange... that Stacks is adhering so closely to the original design. Most of the unofficial toys I've seen have been unique takes on the character, or existed at a functionality/detail level that just isn't viable for mass-market. Stacks is neither from what I've seen. This is one of the rare cases where I DO see a direct conflict between the official and unofficial toys, and it's KINDA IFFY, though I assume the current situation is just coincidence and not an active plan on anyone's part. Regardless of coincidence or conspiracy, it's clearly a unique mold, so it's WAY ahead of the old iGear Masterpiece Prime. How did anyone ever defend that one? My main thought, though, is that Hasbro and Takara have had THIRTY YEARS to milk this thing by now. At this point any protections on the original character are long since past the point where they make any sort of rational sense, and I see nothing ethically wrong about someone else making a G1 Ultra Magnus toy. I find it hard to be particularly heartbroken that two of the largest toy companies in the world might be missing a couple thousand dollars in sales because someone else made a toy that looks an awful lot like something they used to make. ... Also, Stacks is supposed to be orange with a truck cab for a head. I can't believe they messed that up so badly.
  2. JB0
    Ayup. I hate analog nubs. They're the worst of all possible worlds. The keyboard's big problem is it has all the buttons, but the layout is an abomination and there's no way to tell by feel where you are on it. Also, yeah, no analog. I used a Sidewinder Strategic Commander as a keyboard replacement for a while. Eight buttons under the finger tips, and three shift keys under the thumb. It was nice, except... A. spring tension was way too light for my hand, and B. it's not a HID game controller, so without native support in software you don't have the option of analog movement since you wind up having to bind keyboard keys to the analog axes. Also, there's no drivers for any modern OS, so it's not usable in any form nowadays, which is kind of problematic. What I've wished for in terms of modern product is a CAD "mouse". But again, no support in the gaming software means limited functionality.
  3. JB0
    You say that like a keyboard is a decent gaming input device instead of a mediocre text entry one. </controversial_statement> In the interests of full disclosure, I DO use a keyboard for a lot of PC games. And a trackball, because screw mice. I still don't think a keyboard is an optimum or even DESIRABLE input target, though. Messed with some keyboard replacements, but between desk space issues, abysmal build quality, and/or a general need to remap most of the controls(which is a staggering amount for anything I'd play with a keyboard), I wind up back on QWERTY.
  4. JB0
    Okay, I've got a hypothesis here. I suspect that you don't actually live in the same universe as the rest of us, and there's a bizarre quantum entanglement glitch in your modem connecting you to our internet instead of your own. Your world sounds like it's a lot nicer than our's.
  5. JB0
    That was a bootleg, not a real Indiana Jones film. There's just no way something that awful could've come out of that franchise.
  6. JB0
    You know, with the Indiana Jones movies getting better with each release, it makes me wonder how good a fourth one would've been if they'd made it. It's probably for the best that they didn't. Humanity just isn't ready for that yet. I still think Star Wars: The Phantom Menace deserves a place in the worst list. Not because of any objective measure of quality, but because of the sheer disappointment of the release. The broken dreams, crushed expectations, and shattered hopes it left in it's wake elevate it above any mere travesty of scriptwriting. It may not be as bad as some other movies, but it cut so many so deeply that it can't simply be ignored.
  7. JB0
    Actually, it looks like he reaches the same point, the rocket launcher is just canted up in one pic and down in another. Edit: whoops, missed a whole page of posts. I feel silly now.
  8. JB0
    i feel about seven some days. At least until I remember I have to cook my own meals.
  9. JB0
    You never know, it might be! "Nyan-Nyan Chinese Restaurant: Home of the Deculture. Guaranteed to make you scream... well, you know."
  10. JB0
    Ah, you fail to see their cunning plan. If they wait until the cost gets even MORE ridiculous, they can release the new toys for five hundred bucks and people will be "WOW, WHAT A DEAL!" instead of "that's outrageous, this thing isn't worth half that!" It's all part of the plan. Bet you they're even shill-bidding the auctions to drive prices up. That's just good business sense.
  11. JB0
    No, I'm pretty sure I heard Totsugeki Love Heart in there once or twice. It didn't hit Peak Planet Dance Potential. Yeah, it was pretty disappointing. But it COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE.
  12. JB0
    I've always taken zentradi usage of the word 'culture' to be as a generic expletive, with typical use far removed from it's actual definition(which is as in english). 'Yak deculture' is simply a stronger form of the expletive. 'Shiznit' vs 'holy fragging shiznit', if you get my drift. That it's turned from a negative expletive to a positive one is largely due to their adoption of human, ummm, culture. In the old worldview, The Culture was kind of like the zentradi bogeyman. That thing that lurked in the shadows, around dark corners, waiting to take down the unwary zentradi and destroy their fleet from within. Post-War zentradi have faced the bogeyman and found out he's kind of a cool dude, so they can't really use his name as a curse anymore. Yes, this is a terribly strained analogy. I make no apologies for it. Protoculture is, yes, first culture. And the word is the name of the race. There is no such thing as the protoculture masters. The zentradi mistakenly believed humanity to be the protoculture early on, hence the term is sometimes misused to refer to humans. The term miclone is similarly misused during the Space War era to refer to humans. The zentradi believed XL to be the natural size of humanoid life and that humans CHOSE to be made smaller through the same micloning process that shrank a zentradi down to human size. Miclone wound up being used basically as a racial slur later, in part due to this early misunderstanding. Also, welcome to the board.
  13. JB0
    Me too.
  14. JB0
    I predict the new series will be a 13-episode remake of the original series. Followed by Macross 7-2. Which is just 52 episodes of Planet Dance on a loop. There we go. Now we've set the bar low enough that no one can be disappointed by whatever comes next.
  15. JB0
    I liked Armageddon. It's in with stuff like The Core on my "so bad it's good" list. The Island just switches to a completely different movie halfway through, like Bay suddenly realized he had a stock of cars and explosives to use. Imma nominate it just for the mental whiplash.
  16. JB0
    I've never heard anyone talk like that in real life. I'm just sayin'.
  17. JB0
    Revenge of the Fallen was WAY worse than Dark of the Moon. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. I actually think there's a fairly solid progression across the trilogy, and by Dark of the Moon Bay had almost figured out how to pace and direct an action film. That or someone saddled him with assistants to keep him in check. In any case, it's the only one of the three I'd consider watching again.
  18. JB0
    I'm actually not. MPs run too rich for my blood to buy a 'bot just because it looks kinda neat. 'Specially since I'm more or less out of space. I'd buy a smaller version of the toy with some reasonable level of articulation if I saw one, though.
  19. JB0
    Oh yep, that's Metroplex.
  20. JB0
    Because this way he can be stupid simple and still have rotating wrists and hips with two axes of motion and all that other good stuff. I'mma wager the original Star Saber toy had about as much articulation as Powermaster Optimus Prime did, and truly lived up to the name Space Brick.
  21. JB0
    Yeah. And I think Sega learned a lot about project management after Colonial Marines. Don't just ASSUME whoever you sublicensed a project to is actually working on it. Check in on them from time to time, and ask them for some proof of effort, not just "'Sup, you guys still in business? Coo', here's another check." Colonial Marines feels like it was slapped together in six months because it WAS. Gearbox basically stopped working on it entirely after Borderlands took off, until one day Sega came by and asked them "Hey, when are you gonna finish Colonial Marines for us? You've got two other games out since we signed you to make it, so we're kinda wondering what you've been doing with our money, you know?" and Gearbox went "Oh, fudgesicles!" and sublicensed it out to ANOTHER company and told them "Make this game in six months. No ifs, ands, or buts." and then told Sega "Naw, we've been workin' hard. Game's gonna be ready in six months. Promise." That said... did you ever read the change logs for the PC version patches? Because you should. They're hilarious, and I've never laughed so hard at a list of bugs. ... Though I still maintain "Ripley’s Flamethrower would sometimes fire continuously without player input" isn't a bug so much as just good characterization.
  22. JB0
    I admit, I'm still hyped for Alien: Isolation. It looks like it's done by competent developers who aren't going to get distracted and stop working on it until Sega asks them where their game is. And, you know, it's an Alien game designed to be SCARY. It's amazing it's taken this long for someone to make a survival-horror game out of the franchise. The only thing I don't like from what I've seen is that they're using Ripley's daughter. Sometimes, it's better to just let the backstory be backstory. And I think having her daughter tussle with the aliens too is a dangerous first step towards turning the Ripley clan into some sort of space-Belmont family. Ripley's already dealt with the aliens more than is sane without having her daughter get into the omnicidal space-bug business too. ... Oh, and if her daughter becomes popular, I have to stop calling Ripley "Ripley" because of confusion. That'll be problematic.
  23. JB0
    A japanophile cybertronian Transformers fanboy, best known for a series of fanfics about a Mary Sue character named Drift.
  24. JB0
    Spacebrick actually looks pretty awesome, though I have a hard time making him a Transformer in my head. ... Is Spacebrick going to be the new Peg? Because if it is, we need to start writing some backstory. I only ask because I was realizing Peg is my favorite Transformer(toy or character, take your pick), and he DOESN'T EVEN EXIST.
  25. JB0
    One that uses microswitches instead of silicone rubber dome switches. It's a bit of a misnomer, as both styles of keyboard are "mechanical". But whatcha gonna do?
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