JB0

All true. Maybe GERWALK too. It's not like it's aerodynamic to start with. Partially offset by the high maneuverability of Macross' micromissiles, but point taken. Remember the FAST packs carry their own fuel, though. And the VF-1 greatly reduces energy directed to the turbines while in battroid mode(the Zero excuse for this is that it enables them to reinforce the battroid with surplus energy), so there's nowher near the thrust available as there is in F and G modes. If the FAST packs were selectively ejectable, you could blow away the leg modules and backpack missile pods while keeping the arm launchers and backpack thrusters. As an all-or-nothing solution, it's going to depend on your usage. High-speed atmospheric pursuit isn't an area where FAST packs are even remotely useful. As Hikaru's goal was to catch up to the powered armor units, the FAST packs would be a hindrance. The VT-1 has no combat capacity whatsoever. May as well just go for the easiest configuration to fly, which happens to be a naked jet. It's explicitly identified as ground armor. http://macross.anime.net/mecha/united_nati.../vf1/index.html "GBP-1S ground-combat protector weapon system" It's not ideally suited to space combat. It's massive(in the sence that it has much mass, not in the sense that it's large) and features very limited verniers. Both are major no-nos for space combat. The GBP is worse than a naked VF-1 for space combat. It IS, however, good for attacking a heavily-armored, low-maneuverability vehicle due to it's large payload. So Hikaru is less than a complete moron for taking it out, as that happened to be what he was up against. FAST packs would've been better, as they add missiles while enhancing space maneuverability instead of reducing it. But they weren't available at that point in time. Which was it's design goal. It makes a VF-1 into a Spartan with a jetpack. And no one's debating they suck for fighter combat in an atmosphere. GERWALK and battroid modes are already as aerodynamically sound as a Corn Flakes box, though. Especially battroid mode, which isn't even intended to fly. The added boost and weaponry is more relevant than the lost aerodynamics in those modes.

Aside from FamiClones, it sounds kind of like a Super FamiCom.

Well I got the idea that inside the SDF1 when max was facing off against the bigger Qrau in one of the episodes of the tv series, that Milia wouldn't really rely so much on homing missiles because of the indoor-sy-ness of the environment and that both of them needed good directed weapon accuracy. (rather than fire as many micromissile swarms and run away) Yah. In close quarters, the Macross Missile Strike just doesn't work. A traditional straight-flying missile would, but since they weren't packing those(and the QRau lacks straight-fire launchers anyways), it came down to guns and lasers. Good point. I think the VF-17 and YF-21/VF-22 arm-mounted weapons were a good solution to that problem. Possibly a direct response to it. The head turret either didn't track fast enough or lacked a certain degree of kick(probably the latter). For whatever reason it seemed to be rarely used. The FAST pack actually has other advantages in battroid mode, though. The battroid seems to have a lot less thrust from the main engines than other modes, which hinders it's mobility in some regards. The FAST pack gives it the ability to do some GERWALK-style maneuvering without losing time to a transformation. If the nozzles were redirectable(like in Macross 2036's non-cannon VF-1xR series), it would expand on that capacity. While the ability to do a Macross Plus-style boost punch is of questionable utility, the "dash" move attached to that punch isn't. You can't outrun a missile. Realistically you can't outmaneuver a missile either. Acceleration is good, though. Wait until they're almost on you, then rapidly change velocity and they'll detonate where you WERE instead of where you ARE. The nature of the VF-1 makes the largest acceleration possible in the direction the nosecone is pointing, especially with FAST packs. Rapid velocity change against the nose is also possible through quick application of GERWALK mode or the retro-verniers. Without FAST packs, these are equally valid as a rapid forward boost. Should also be able to boost "upwards" with GERWALK, though I never saw that done in the show. Again, in a non-FAST-pack situation, that's equally valid as boosting forward. What's ALSO never shown in the anime is flying oriented along any axis other than direction of flight. Since there's essentially no drag in space, there's no need for constant thrust along your axis of flight, and you're free to point the plane in any direction you wish while cruising along. This also leaves you capable of less predictable motion, since you won't be boosting along your axis of flight. Good point. Especially since gravity is likely coming into play in an urban battleground.Like I said, though, there's other reasons to want FAST packs in a ground battle. I suspect that's why the GBP had the backpack boosters built-in, given it was designed explicitly FOR ground combat. I think we went into this a while back. Cost and effectiveness of beam weapons doesn't quite match that of your standard projectile weapons. 382934[/snapback] Which makes sense until you consider that they're packing more and stronger energy weapons into the later VFs anyways. So they're eating the cost of energy weaponry on every VF, regardless. Given ammo is essentially free and unlimited, there's no cost benefit to NOT using energy weaponry. While the original VF-1 lasers might've had difficulty burning through target armor before it moved, that's not the case of the stronger weaponry seen on more modern vehicles. The Ghost X9 seemed to have no gun. But it had enough other diffrences from the VF series that it's not clear if that was a merit-based decision or a cost-cutting measure. The gunpod makes sense as a backup weapon, especially given the unknown nature of the enemies the VF is designed to fight*, but not really as a primary weapon. *Humanity knows the Zentradi, and through the zentradi they know the supervision army. Beyond that, it's a big universe with a lot of room for, say, superconducting fibers woven through armor to dissipate laser heat and a strong magnetic shield to deflect charged particles.

*laughs* But if I recall, Basara actually loves Oscar Mayer weiner... 382684[/snapback] actually, isn't it weiners? he was always eating two of them in the same bun, even when he ate after mylene.... 382946[/snapback] Well, they say no one can eat just one...

The strike cannon(and head laser) has one major advantage over the gunpod. It's got an unlimited ammo supply as long as the plane has electrical power. I'm actually surprised they're still using projectile weaponry as the primary weapon into the Macross 7 era. A highly skileld space pilot won't fly at top speed all the time(actually, top speed isn't really a concept that applies to space flight). The more speed you have, the harder it is to change direction. So for a Macross-style dogfight, slower is actually better since you can make drastic heading changes rapidly.

You shold make one of him going all bicycle-pump on your MPCs.

I'd rather another game for the PS2. I'm happy with my PS2 and I really don't want to have to buy a PS3. I've go too many consoles already. Graham 382422[/snapback] LIES! You can NEVER have too many! 382457[/snapback] As much as this game kicks ass, it doesn't look good on my HD Plasma screen because the PS2 doesn't have the capability that the PS3 will have for those hi-def graphics! I love the Macross game, but I find myself playing it on my small 19" TV in my home office. I'd love to have a kick-ass Macross game for my 50" Plasma that would make me blow my load! 382721[/snapback] I play Atari on 32 inches. Actually, I play everything on that size. Related note: The only system I'd willingly downgrade from s-video to composite is PS1, and that's only because so many games ASSUME composite is going to be there to hide their dithering.

The Monster is ALWAYS the hero. Even if it just gets blown up.

*laughs* But if I recall, Basara actually loves Oscar Mayer weiner...

Kawamori didn't write SDF? Who did? This would explain sooo many things. 382663[/snapback] Carl Macek.

Nope.

I know. I never claimed it was a new idea. It's just one that needs to die. ... Or at least be expanded upon. The movie never dealt with the issue. Just chalked it up to them damn clones having curiosity. YOU DON'T LEARN FRENCH BY LOOKING AT BUTTERFLIES!

It's our good buddy Amuro Ray/Kasunga Kyosuke 382463[/snapback] Don't forget Tuxedo Mask.

I'd rather another game for the PS2. I'm happy with my PS2 and I really don't want to have to buy a PS3. I've go too many consoles already. Graham 382422[/snapback] LIES! You can NEVER have too many! 382457[/snapback] Yeah! Blasphemer! Now that the Dreamcast is fairly cheap, I'm actually thinking of getting one so I can play a few games again like Gundam Side Story and, of course, M3. 382484[/snapback] Good plan. DC has a lot of awesome software.

I'd rather another game for the PS2. I'm happy with my PS2 and I really don't want to have to buy a PS3. I've go too many consoles already. Graham 382422[/snapback] LIES! You can NEVER have too many!

WENDY'S CHILI IS MADE OF PEOPLE!

I thought he just inherited Roy's after he, I mean you, kicked the bucket.

Luigi was the red lion pilot in Golion. That's what's really important.

Hey, spoiler warning next time!

Especially since some characters were massively diffrent in Robotech. ... WTF? How was Max a suckup? Is humility really that bad in american society?

I'm noticing a common theme here... The VF-1 FAST packs don't add armor. That's a RawBootEck-ism. They're full of fuel and explosive weaponry. A hit on a loaded FAST pack is probably going to blow off whatever it's attached to. 381935[/snapback] Considering how easily Cannon Fodders tend to blow up in the series its fair to say that the best defense in Macross is avoiding being hit in the first place rather than trying to soak up the impact with armour. So the extra re-mass and ammunition are probably better than toting around the mass of armour in any case. At least the extra reaction mass reserves allows you to burn harder and the extra firepower might allow you to put down your attackers before they do the same to you. Karl 381941[/snapback] Yeah. I was just pointing out that they aren't actually adding any durability. The GBP does, but it's built for a diffrent purpose than the FAST packs.

That's what I imagine. See it was the episode in the tv series when milia first kicks ass in her powered armor and does all kinds of crazy manuevers with ease that I get the feeling UN spacy might have thought they needed the extra armor, weapons, nozzles and speed. When you see the amount of missiles inside the qrau, it is essentially like a destroid but with the boost to make it fast and manueverable enough to not have to float there and take damage. (destroids with the exception of the monster are like cannon fodder in the series) The gbp, although well armed, just looks like a chunky brick. When it walks it looks sorta slow and bulky and heavy, and when it uses up all the missiles you can't but help want to eject the armor because it restricts the mode you can fight in. This is where Super armor comes into play: combining speed with more powerful weapons but without restriction on variable fighting methods. (ie changing from fighter to robot and back again for different ranges and situations as shown in macross zero) I'm noticing a common theme here... The VF-1 FAST packs don't add armor. That's a RawBootEck-ism. They're full of fuel and explosive weaponry. A hit on a loaded FAST pack is probably going to blow off whatever it's attached to.

Well, the 17, 19, and 21/22 aren't using FAST packs for engines. Just armor and ammo. But it actually makes sense. The VFs are all designed as atmospheric as well as space combat Making the extra verniers and reaction mass externally mounted saves them a LOT of un-needed gear for atmospheric combat(as well as the drag that accompanies vernier nozzles), without sacrificing space combat ability.

There's no additional surprise. The ONLY way to kill a copied disk is to kill ALL DISKS using a given encryption scheme. Encryption doesn't stop copying. Never has. Actually, it does. The MPAA has admitted IN COURT that CSS was never a piracy deterrent. I REALLY don't see a diffrence in BluRay. And the movie portion of a DVD is 99.9% of the disk. If you can't extract the MPEG, there's no real reason to not just spread the entire image. I'm not arguing that almost no one makes backup copies. But CSS WAS NEVER INTENDED TO STOP COPYING. And I DO argue the point that the people that talk about fair use are all pirates. MMC still restricts what the disk owner can do. The copy you get is still locked, encrypted, and restrictive. Okay, I see what you're saying now. CSS SHOULD interfere with that form of copying, as there's no way to re-encode the video if you can't decrypt it first. Stripping the menus and extras is easy enough, and I THINK all the audio tracks are in independent files, but there's no way to re-encode the video without decrypting it. Unfortunately, no consideration is made for the legitimate reasons to decrypt the files. The BD "ROM mark" is along the lines of a "copy-protect bit." I don't see how that's really relevant to anything. They're claiming that drives won't "let" you copy a disk with the watermark, but it'll be hard to actually stop it without impacting the function of the drive. BD+ DOESN'T prevent copying. All it means is that if BluRay's encryption schemes are cracked(which don't affect straight copying) that they can release disks with a new encryption scheme that has to be cracked again. The only way it would stop copying is if when it was updated it disabled all disks using the old encryption scheme, which is comercially unfeasable for obvious reasons. Well, I'm mainly just pointing out the studio BS. Explaining why it won't work for the stated task is just a side-effect.