JB0

And once again we get the Working Designs hate with no evidence to back it up. Fact: Hiro and Ronfar got punched into orbit for staging a peep show while Lucia was changing clothes. The games were always a little light-hearted. WD may've had a bit of fun with some of the NPC dialog, but they're HARDLY responsible for it not being SERIOUS BUSINESS all the time. For all the hate that gets heaped upon them, WD actually CARED about the games they translated and did their best to keep things intact. In fact, Game Arts WANTED WD to do the original Lunar: Silver Star translation, because they had TG16 releases to prove they DID do localization right. And both companies worked very closely together all through the localization process to ensure it was right for Lunar too. Which is why XSeed is following in WD's footsteps(actually, based on the demo, it seems they just bought the old WD translation. Not that I mind that.). If you've got some examples of WD ACTUALLY messing Lunar up as opposed to "THEY MADE A JOKE! BURN THEM", I'm all ears. In fact, I've long wondered if the secret origin of dragon diamonds is a bit of WD "flavor." I do know of a few minor goofs, but no one seems to want to say anything more than "E BAY AND BILL CLINTON!"(Victor Ireland has publicly apologized for the NPC Clinton joke in SegaCD Lunar 2, for the record.) Either way, I KNOW the PS1 version is hugely different. US version to US version. And it's not because WD wanted to change them(Hell, the script in Lunar 2 PS was largely cut/paste'd from Lunar 2 SCD) And until they restore Nash to the badass I know he is, I will not forgive Game Arts! BRING BACK STUDIO ALEX! RESTORE LUNAR TO IT'S PROPER GLORY! CLEANSE THE BLASPHEMOUS WORK OF ZOPHAR'S FOLLOWERS WITH THE GLORIOUS LIGHT OF ALTHENA!

I was under the impression the PS version was more or less a port of the Saturn version. Guess I'm wrong. Man, now I may have to actually play it. I don't deny that The Silver Star needed a remake. My problem is that the remake it GOT was a mockery of everything the original game was ABOUT. It's sad, but it makes me very hesitant to recommend one of my favorite series of all time. I can recommend a dated and awkward game, followed by one of the best JRPGs in the history of ever. Or I can recommend a twisted mockery of that game followed by a broken version of one of the best RPGs ever that no longer works properly as a sequel. Rewrote and BUTCHERED the story, not expanded. Lemme tell you, it was a serious case of whiplash when you're playing Eternal Blue for the first time and you find out Althena's dead, and has been for the better part of a millennium. Alex is the REASON Althena retired, not a damned booby prize. Not as good a kick as the first EB ending, but... EXPANDED would be developing more on the history of the magic emperor, the original ME's connection to Ghaleon, the relation between Althena and the Dragonmaster, and WHY the dragons are dying out(the ones in the game are the last surviving members of the dragon tribe... raising a hell of an unanswered question for Eternal Blue's dragons). Not scraping the whole magic emperor back story, changing Ghaleon's, Althena's, and Dyne's motives and actions completely, skewing several other characters severely(most notably Nash, who got totally screwed), and *gripegriperantcomplain* Actually replayed TSS recently, and was struck even more by how far things had skewed in SSS. And Nash's triple-cross is STILL badass... oooh, add an FMV sequence of his daring escape from the Vile Tribe soldiers, dragon helm in hand! THAT would be quality entertainment. Not dressing him up like a giant robot banana and making him a boss. Honestly, I was appalled by the maps being broken up into 2-4-screen mini-maps more than anything else. That was what did me in. The world map I could live with. It served no point in the PlayStation version, may as well abolish it totally. I knew the FF-style bottomless item bag was coming, distasteful as I find it(even in Final Fantasy!). I even expected limit breaks after what I'd seen of Lunar Legend. I was ready for them, sort of. I could even LIVE with the generic menu screen instead of a proper Lunar menu, maybe. Though it broke my heart(Nall is for saving!). But those black screen transitions every few steps? Not enough premium box content in the world. I can't do that, because I never played Dragon Song. It's one of the little edges I've gained in my fight to keep my tenuous grasp on sanity. From everything I've heard, it'd push me over the edge. But either way... Studio Alex wasn't involved with anything after Walking School. None of the remakes, and not Dragon Song. That's my official justification for not counting them.

SegaCD original > Saturn remake > Saturn MPEG cart port(yes, this is a different release) > PS1 port > Windows 9x port > GBA remake > PSP remake So yeah, re-re-remake. Just with a fistful of ports on the way there. And I must apologize to XSeed. I really like you guys and want you to succeed, but I won't be buying this release, premium box or not, and I hope no one else does. I played the demo, and it was good for nothing but raising my blood pressure. This is not XSeed's fault. Game Arts is making the game worse with every revisions. They need to be taken out back and shot. Lunar has been dead since Studio Alex stopped being involved. Yes, this means I am officially disavowing the Saturn/PS1/Win9x versions as well. The SegaCD versions are the ONLY versions. Well, and that Game Gear game no one likes to talk about.

Then there's HOPE! Toys R Us restocked! They had two Cybertron Rachets alongside the two Freeway Jazzes!

My Target only has movie merch, and only has shelf space for movie merch. ... My area hates Transformers, I think.

Pfft. All MY TRU's had last few times I've been there, aside from movie toys is two lone copies of the silver Jazz repaint.

Awwww... Not that I ever DID mod weapons, but it seemed like the most potentially entertaining part of the game, spoiled only by the lack of restrictions on doing it outside the game. I think they should've gone the other way, and introduced a Parasite Eve-style weapons modding system in-game. Let you break guns down into their component parts and reassemble them into new guns. ... Especially after I had a worthless sniper rifle with a great scope and an awesome sniper rifle with no scope sitting in my inventory at the same time. *looks around* Oh, hey. They fixed the shadow glitch earlier this month. Maybe I should play the game again.

Huh... I think that once you're through with the print stuff, Mikuru's the only member of the brigade that HASN'T pledged allegiance to the Brigade or Kyon above their superiors, actually. Though Yuki's faction is more of a "maintain the status quo" branch. Blocking Kyon's death would seem to be in keeping with that. Much like Koizumi's bosses, Yuki's would rather not poke the wasp's nest to see what happens. I think the most independent she's been so far is actually Day of Sagittarius. She traced the cheat codes, hacked the Computer Club's PCs, patched the games while running to disable the cheats(and booby-trap them in print!), all on her own initiative. Because she wanted to win. And after that, she actually starts showing up in the computer club from time to time. Just to play around. ... Well, it's her most independent moment if you ignore Disappearance, anyways... Let's just say Yuki is with the rest of the Brigade in that she trusts Kyon. Even Haruhi, despite placing Koizumi in the vice-chief's role. Awww, man... and I thought the bottle was my friend.

It's still got a lot of joints. And joints by their very nature can't be perfectly armored or sealed(even if they can be, the seals will wear very fast on a high-activity joint like a knee or ankle). Get a fluid of suitably low viscosity on those joints and it'll go in. 'S been a problem since the first armored vehicles rolled into battle, and adding more moving parts isn't going to make it any easier. I'd be VERY surprised if they found a solution, even with overtech. Pinpoint barrier would be my best bet. It'd actually be kind of funny to see the zentradi rebels lobbing giant wine bottles at incoming destroids(not the giant turkey legs, of course. Just the booze.). Right up intil the flames hit. Metal Gear Solid's titular mech had a laser in the crotch. That it fired if you ran between it's legs to get behind it. The bastards. Could go ALL THE WAY down to infantry level and put the light weapons close to eye level. Machine gun turrets sticking out of the feet would be awesome. I can, and I'm laughing maniacally. I'm truly amazed they're head guns. Just assumed that a relatively light-caliber gun, which even today is used for taking out guys on foot, was mounted in a place where it could take out guys on foot. I understand we have to tip our hats to Gundam every now and then, but... can't we do it in a more rational manner?

I probably should've done that. But I didn't know they were going to pull that until E8#3 aired. Ah, right. I keep forgetting KyoAni dragged Lone Island off course, too(perhaps because it WORKED). The shadow is a TV series change, for what it's worth. Though if I recall, it's ambiguous if there actually WAS something there or not. At least Kyon grows a backbone and steps in instead of merrily going along with it like in the Great Computer Club Robbery. Ah, right. Now I'm remembering why I couldn't stand Kyon early on. Between that and the "good little consumer drone" speech... it's a wonder I kept watching at all, really. In general, Haruhi just gets carried away. She gets an idea in her head, and acts on it without ever really stopping to think it through. Which was a major problem throughout Sighs in other regards. She got REALLY into making her movie, and the poor world just couldn't take the stress. Mikuru was just a more human version of things going way overboard. ... Maybe. She's kind of the brigade punching bag anyways, but not to that degree(except for the aforementioned Great Computer Club Robbery). Speaking of characters that need to grow a freaking backbone... But either way, Haruhi's never going to apologize. Not properly. Forgiving Kyon is her way of acknowledging that he was right.

The more the merrier, right?

I started the torrents, walked off, and came back later. My issue was the same one I'd get on a broadcast feed... it took them two months to resolve the story, and it was padded out in a very un-interesting way. I think it would've been PERFECT at 3 episodes. I dropped season 2 after E8 #3, and I just couldn't be asked to care about Sighs once they were through. Especially when it became obvious there wasn't going to be time in the season for them to do Disappearance, which were the main thing I wanted out of season 2. It's funny, really. I was worried E8 wouldn't come out right since it's so dependent on mood. So much of Kyon's dialog gets cut for the animated versions that I didn't think the deja vu would come across(especially given the mood fell somewhat flat in Melancholy V, when Koizumi took Kyon to visit his job). Well, they sure fixed THAT problem. E8 #2 was especially effective because it used the fact that everyone had already read the book and knew what was coming. It was, at that point, the series' ONLY major deviation from the books(as opposed to simple omission{Someday in the Rain doesn't exist}), so it took everyone by surprise. And the ending really hammered home that sense of despair. There's nowhere for 3 to go after that.

The Tomahawk's chest guns are, by spec, anti-infantry equipment. Light machine guns, flamethrowers, and grenade launchers. I ASSUME they can pivot downward to some degree for the sake of effectiveness. Otherwise the poor mech has a huge blind spot. I'd keep them, just to deter some jerkwad from running between your legs and lobbing a molotov cocktail into your knee.

You know... I may have to find a copy of Macross 2 and watch it again... JUST for the destroids.

I actually ignored the Phalanx in my upgrade plan explicitly. It was a jury-rigged hack to begin with, and the missile cloud tactics makes it not that effective since it runs out of ammo rapidly. Don't mind if I offer my thoughts, do you? The GU-11 is lower caliber and almost certainly lower velocity than the Corvantes autocannons the original Defender uses. No way to set up a liquid-cooled barrel, so the GU-11 needs to restrict itself to lower power rounds. It's also quite likely less accurate at long range, being designed for much closer combat than the Defender's autocannons. You're actually downgrading the Defender here. More importantly... the Cheyenne sucks! Defenders forever! I hadn't considered railgun arms. Hmm... Ammo feed through will be complex if you don't greatly reduce articulation(a la the Defender), but I'd probably reduce the arm cannon articulation anyways to provide a more stable base for the big guns(recoil absorption). You'd have to make the hands far more fragile for it to operate a GU-11, and the Spartan is designed primarily as a melee unit. Reducing it's melee effectiveness so that it can use the VF-1's gunpod makes it a poor man's Tomahawk... or even worse, a GBP-1 Valk with less missiles and no bail-out-and-run option. I'd opt for upgrading the anti-aircraft laser turret on it's head instead(totally forgot that thing was there). Maybe add one or two of ye olde head lasers into the arm. They're small, but they pack a reasonable punch. Pulling the cockpit in is certainly a good idea. Especially since it's, well, the cockpit. I'd forgotten how far out that sticks, and it's not well-protected. Arguably, the Destroids did it first. The Tomahawk, Phalanx, and Defender all share a common leg and hip assembly(yeah, yeah, Phalanx is a jury-rigged hack anyways). I'd be hesitant to make them TOO versatile, though. They start losing the cost and durability advantages over a variable fighter of similar tech level as the modularity increases. And then you're left trying to find a good reason to maintain the destroid line when you can just buy variable fighters and expansion packs for everyone. The upper torsos of the Tomahawk and Defender show good role-oriented design. Tomahawk's is heavily-armored, while the Defender's is lighter and places the focus on sensor capabilities. I'd keep that much the same as it is. A modular design instead of a jack-of-all-trade robot. The big thing I'd do is try and get the Spartan onto the same platform. But the Tomahawk and Defender need stability more than maneuverability, while the Spartan is just the opposite. ... Maybe common leg assemblies with snap-in modifications for the Spartan legs? Lighter armor or something... There's already modification in the existing MBR-04 family. The upper legs on the Phalanx and Tomahawk have cartridges attached that aren't on the Defender(though you can see the mounting points on the Defender). How does this sound? Presented for your approval, the United Nations Combined Forces 3rd Generation Destroid Upgrade Implementation Plan! A common leg platform carrying the generator and locomotive hardware, designed to be "tuned" for the different roles. Two torsos. Spartan III and Tomahawk III share a common torso, Defender III gets a lighter, more sensor-packed torso. Three sets of arms, one for each of the three mechs. Snap-in options separate from the base torso. For ideas, see Tomahawk I shoulder missile launcher and spotlight, Spartan I head turret, and Defender I radome(standard on Defender III, optional on Spartan III and Tomahawk III). You've greatly reduced the force's complexity, and the machines still have a largely monolithic, cheap+sturdy design. You could also do upgrades easily and cheaply, assuming the components aren't too tightly integrated*. Swap the Tomahawk arm guns out when something better comes along instead of replacing the entire machine, for example. You could also put new torso designs on old legs or vice versa if the interconnect stayed standard, though you'd probably want to avoid that situation lest you wind up with a maintainence nightmare from your mish-mash of mismatched mecha. And then my ulterior motives are revealed as we we release a new version of the 80s build-a-destroid toy based on the new designs! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!! *ahem* *The Defender I's ammo magazines and feed mechanism are part of the torso, so the arm cannons can't really be changed without a new torso to go along with it. You'd want to avoid that in a redesign if upgradability is in the cards. The Monster DEFINITELY needs to be it's own unique platform, though. It's demands are just too different from the rest of the destroid family.

Actually, the advanced fusion engine is the FIRST thing I'd add to the destroids. Remember, the VF-1 has far more raw power than the destroids. Orders of magnitude more. If we assume the specs at the Compendium are accurate and complete(I have my doubts about the destroids because they weren't star mechs, and, well, see below)... The Monster has about 8 Megawatts of power(converting horsepower to watts), and the beefiest generators of all the destroids. The VF-1 has 650 megawatts at it's command. That's EIGHTY-ONE times more power. So yeah... new generators all around, then use all that surplus power to reinforce them with energy conversion armor and pin-point barriers. From there, it depends on design goal. The anti-aircraft Defenders, I'd upgrade the guns above all else. Rail guns or particle weapons, depending on effectiveness. Probably rail guns, given the way tech's gone so far in Macross. Freed from the need to pack propellant, they can carry more ammo. And the rail gun will lob it faster, so they're more effective at longer ranges. Maneuverability isn't a major concern for this usage model. Stability and accuracy are, however, and the extra mass of an armor upgrade would help keep things steady as well as boosting durability(and the Defenders are the vast majority of on-screen Destroid casualties). Also possible: gravity controllers... to weigh the machines down while firing. The close-combat Spartan I'd give more powerful and more responsive motors for a faster, more maneuverable mech that can hit harder. And with these newer better motors, we can make those fists truly massive. If they aren't packing the raw power of an atomic explosion into every punch, there's room for improvement. Maybe even pack a short-range particle emitter in there. Nothing terribly powerful or well-focused, but... smash the armor with the fists, then unload a particle shotgun through the crack at point-blank range. The Tomahawk? It's the Macross equivalent of a main battle tank. Even designated as a "main battle robot". Heavily-armed and heavily-armored, but not to the degree that mobility is hindered and it's reduced to a really fancy artillery piece(not that that's a BAD thing, you Monster fans can put the knives down please?). It's the biggest, baddest mech you can field while still wading into the front lines kicking ass and taking names. That says two things to me. Bigger guns, thicker armor. Upgrade the motors to compensate for the increased weight, but not to the same degree as the Spartan. Tomahawk pilots don't need to be jump-kicking anyone. Under consideration: limited transformation, along the same lines as the Cheyenne. Used mainly to get somewhere fast on ideal terrain, then swap back to destroid mode and start blasting things. Don't compromise armor integrity for a fancy tank-to-robot-and-back transformation. Keep it simple. The Monster's already taken care of, really. Hi, VB-6 König Monster. It's also the one that loses the least if it's made transformable, since the original is so awkward to move(can't even walk on uneven surfaces reliably). ... On the other hand, it's highest-yield cannon shells DO require it to be able to survive uncomfortably close to a reaction weapon detonation, so the extra chinks in the armor MIGHT be considered undesirable. But that's not it's most common mode of operation, and I assume that energy-converting armor can compensate(or they never would've built the VB-6 in the first place). That's my two cents, anyways.

They did. I own a joystick that works on GameCube, PS2, and XBox. I MAY own a gamepad that works on SNES and Genesis. I'd have to dig through teh great box o' junk. What, the TurboTouch 360? I grabbed one of those once because it was a buck. It actually had DIFFERENT problems. The slider area had ridges, so you got tactile feedback. But the technology it used was too primitive to be reliable, and it gave all sorts of flaky responses(as near as I can tell, it actually picked up fingertips resting on the underside of the pad as well as on top of it). Though the capacitive sensors it used WERE a primitive version of the trackpads on modern laptops and capacitive touchscreens(but not pressure-sensitive touchscreens).

Hell, I like Peg, and I'm still not entirely sure what's going on.

God-annar.

Probably one of the ads running on Megaupload. Didn't set my Avast off. But I've got adblock.

Awesome show. I skipped over it several times because it was a blatant T&A anime. Then someone whose tastes I generally trust started recommending it and I was like "seriously?" And it was awesome.

BLASTER MASTER! It's about damn time Sunsoft got us a GOOD Blaster Master sequel/remake. Admittedly, not as good as the original, but... it doesn't suck. That's better than everything else has done.

Ya know, I've always thought of the Gnerl fighter as a "girl's mech." And I'm not sure why. ... Maybe just because we never see a pilot for one, and there's a lot less ladies shown than guys(Millia, Lap'Lamiz... and that's it) Or maybe it's some silly Robotechism I picked up somewhere. It's non-canon, any way you slice it. Welcome to my head, population sqrt(-1) Ooooh, I hadn't seen that one! Now I know! ... Wonder how they fire their guns that way... There'd be highly limited opportunities for aerial Valkyrie practice aboard the Macross, was the angle I was approaching from. I admit the Macross had a... unique... training regimen, but it's the one that matters for most of the show, and for Millia's first Valk sorties. I don't think the handling would be THAT dis-similar in a vacuum, though. Especially once the super packs are added. In the absence of air, the shape of the vehicle makes no difference. What matters is is if the main thrust is balanced aligned along the center of mass(so it doesn't spin the spaceship like crazy when you try to thrust), how much power you have(determines maximum acceleration), and vernier placement(for changing orientation and "sidestepping"). With both vehicles meeting the balanced thrust issue, it becomes a matter of performance more than anything. Admittedly, they're on pretty much opposite ends of the performance spectrum(the way the Q-Rau bulls through atmosphere like it's not there, it's got some crazy vernier output), but still operating from the same rulebook. *shrug* Definitely. Just saying, in terms of operation, they're easier to aim with as well. A Valk in battroid mode can be firing any which way imaginable, but a Destroid will always be firing the direction it's facing. In terms of versatility, this goes to the Valk, but the Destroid wins ease of operation there.

Indeed. Though I'm curious HOW close they are. I mean, clearly the GERWALK has wings, but it also has arms and ground effect thrusters. I'm curious if Max and Kakizaki were in training longer, since they had to go to flight school. ... Or if Hikaru was there longer because he had to unlearn atmospheric expectations that don't apply in a vacuum... dammit, why did I think of that just now? But he seemed to grasp the issue easy enough with his stunt plane. I'd expect her to have training in more than one vehicle, really. She's an elite ace and special ops and yadda-yadda. Even a spy! Admittedly, the zentradi definition of spy is iffy at best and seems to consist more of "You're all alone and wearing a burlap sack" than any special training, but... let's run with it. But you identified the VF-1 as flying on lift. It most certainly didn't, not when Millia joined up. In the vacuum of space, you fly and maneuver on thrust, or you don't fly. So the only real issue is the controls, which are a question mark(as far as I know, there's no source image for Q-Rau controls, so all we know is pilot arms won't fit inside mech arms). Maybe the Valk isn't as fast and nimble as a Q-Rau, but it handles much the same. It's more like trading from a Ferrari to a Fiesta. Sure everything's laid out a bit different, and you don't have near as much kick, but it still works the same. They identified the controls and hit the target first try, though. There weren't any false starts as they flicked switches trying to identify the right controls. I believe they used the comm unit to call for help, too. But they can be implanted with detailed piloting knowledge in the cloning chambers. While they can't REPAIR their gear, operating complex aerospace vehicles could be as second-nature as breathing. The zentradi are lopsided, from our perspective. SOCIALLY, they're children that don't know how to interact with the real world. MILITARILY speaking, they're closer to hardened veterans with decades of experience. Moi? Surely you jest! Seriously, I wasn't thinking of Last Starfighter... I wonder if that was subconscious... The destroids also don't have as complex a design. Weapons are all pointed forward. You just turn to face your target and unload. Now, using a Spartan effectively, THAT I would expect to require a good bit of training. It's designed for melee combat, and has real arms(among other things).

Wish I could see one. The worst part is that NASA's getting an additional 6 billion dollars, so it's not even about saving money. Ghost Train: Can you imagine the look on this time traveller's face when he realizes everyone owns a wireless phone the size of A CANDY BAR... and no one talks on them because they're too busy sending telegrams?