Spitze Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 As for Isamu, other than him being a hotshot pilot who lived on the edge, there's not a lot about his past or present other than what was in the anime. I mean, he's only 24 so there's not a lot to say about his life to begin with. Milliard actually got a radio drama about his time in Skull Squadron working with Hikaru Ichijo. Original link I'm interested in further details. Thanks. Quote
Keith Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Is the implication supposed to be that Millard is the black pilot flying with Hikaru in the post war episodes? Quote
TheLoneWolf Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 It's not unreasonable to imagine that there could be more than 1 black pilot in Skull squadron at that time. Quote
Duke Togo Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Is the implication supposed to be that Millard is the black pilot flying with Hikaru in the post war episodes? I do believe this has been confirmed, no? Quote
Mr March Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I didn't know that about Milliard. Is it actually official? I hope we can find an answer. I'm surprised to see a discussion like that on stardestroyer.net. That site, along with a bunch of other Star Wars/StarTrek/Babylon 5 message board websites in the same "social circle" have long had communities filled with anti-mecha sentiment. I'm surprised some troll hasn't entered the discussion screaming "BOLO!" Quote
azrael Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I didn't know that about Milliard. Is it actually official? I hope we can find an answer. I don't think it was ever confirmed. Quote
TheLoneWolf Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 According to the drama CD that VF5SS referenced, Millard did serve in Skull Squadron. Take note of cameos by such characters as Macross Plus's Millard Johnson (Utsumi Kenji) when he served under Ichijyo's command... The only question is whether the drama CD is considered canon. Quote
VF5SS Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I didn't know that about Milliard. Is it actually official? I hope we can find an answer. I'm surprised to see a discussion like that on stardestroyer.net. That site, along with a bunch of other Star Wars/StarTrek/Babylon 5 message board websites in the same "social circle" have long had communities filled with anti-mecha sentiment. I'm surprised some troll hasn't entered the discussion screaming "BOLO!" Yeah, a while back some dickhead tried to argue Mobile Suits versus Tanks and the anti-robot movement went crazy. Of course, many of those same people try to justify the robots in Star Wars so there's some lulz in that. I like SDN overall, but sometimes people there get too crazy and there's too much of a gentleman's club going on with their senate. Quote
polidread Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 ... but sometimes people there get too crazy ... hey, very much like this place ! Quote
Mr March Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 azrael and TheLoneWolf Ahhh, that's why it's never really been answered. Thanks you two. VF5SS From a certain stand of realistic usefulness, I can see (to a degree) why the anti-mecha crowd loves to go on their fanboy lynchings. I've always thought that the way giant robots are most likely to be introduced in real life is as an addition to the combined arms and will grant that a lot of anime simply assumes far too much in order to make it's stylish super hero robots the unchallenged stars of the show. Realistic deployment of giant war robots would no doubt have their place in the pecking order of military materiel, like any other war machine such as a tank or jet. Of course, tanks and jets would also be more advanced than our contemporary machines by the time giant war robots become practical, so our own limited, conventional perception of these vehicles should be understood when we speak of combined arms. Digressing , this is all entertainment and science fiction of course, so we expect a certain degree of creative license to take place. I don't blame Macross for being Valkyrie-centric anymore than Gundam for being Mobile Suit-centric or Evangelion for being EVA-centric. In fact I applaud and embrace such story structures. But it does lead to a very narrow and simplistic view of the larger military organizations; organizations which would never be composed of just one type of super unit while all the others remain at their 20th century level of sophistication Even Macross Frontier is guilty of this; fifty years of advanced OverTechnology and we still see 20th century era LAV's on board City 25 Quote
Zinjo Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Most likely Dyson was charged under military law for his many transgressions, but because of his success over the Sharon Apple AI, his sentence was probably commuted and he received a possible minor demotion and / or formal reprimand attached to his record of service at best, at worst a dishonorable discharge from Spacy. He did in fact steal UNSpacy property, was AWOL, was responsible for destruction of private and public property, dereliction of duty, etc... His actions if left undiciplined would have a negative impact on morale and order in the ranks. Being a Spacy pilot would still see him flying, but not necesarily for the military. Quote
Duke Togo Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Most likely Dyson was charged under military law for his many transgressions That would be assuming, of course, that Milliard didn't cover for him. That is something we could debate until the cows come home, but we'll never really know an answer unless they give us one. Quote
Ginrai Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Uhm, I'm not a Star Wars fan, but it seems rather stupid to be an anti-giant robot Star Wars fan when the AT-AT is a GIANT ROBOT. Quote
Gubaba Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 That would be assuming, of course, that Milliard didn't cover for him. That is something we could debate until the cows come home, but we'll never really know an answer unless they give us one. IIRC, in the Move Edition, Millard very strongly implied that would cover for Dyson. So I figure he did. But, then, Isamu and Guld wrecked a large part of a city (I hope everyone was out that day), which is kinda hard to cover up... OK, I see your point. Me, I like to think that Isamu formed a search party to go find the Megaroad-01...a story that will be told once "Macross Sentinels" makes it's debut. Quote
VF5SS Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Uhm, I'm not a Star Wars fan, but it seems rather stupid to be an anti-giant robot Star Wars fan when the AT-AT is a GIANT ROBOT. Some of the fans really hate the robots or offer up convoluted explanations as to why they are being used in lieu of regular vehicles or hover vehicles that Star Wars is filled with. Like the AT-ST being specifically designed crossing minefields or something like that. A lot them were frothing when the big LAAT artillery cannon from Attack of the Clones had lots of little legs instead of treads or wheels. Quote
Mr March Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 (edited) The anti-mecha fans failure to suspend disbelief is something I've always found rather curious (and ironic in the case of SW). I'm of the opinion that unless a humanoid/walking machine can be made agile and fast enough to compete with/surpass wheeled/tracked vehicles, such humanoid/walking machines would be useless/very limited in any practical military application Edited March 18, 2008 by Mr March Quote
Mr March Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Actually, the Battletech mecha are quite fast and nimble, despite their sometimes erroneously lumberous appearence in the various media, such as the video games. Battlemechs can acheive speeds up to 150 kmph, making them much faster than any conventional tank that is limited to 60-70 kmph. Battlemechs also have the distinction of being the most broadly varied line of fictional war machines, massing anywhere from light 20 ton machines up to heavy, 100 ton vehicles. The battlemechs are also incredibly adaptable and their modular design allows them to be modified for many different kinds of operational requirements. Unlike most mecha shows, Battletech is a rare example of a truly combined arms approach to fictional mecha. Quote
VF5SS Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Except in the face of Battletech tanks and VTOLs and their Aerotech fighters they kinda fail. Because the actual universe isn't separate from the board game, that means anything from machine guns (which are either 50 caliber or 20mm cannons depending on what the author of the Tech Manuals was thinking) to just falling down can cause damage to their armor. So it is entirely possible to take out Battlemechs with their equivalent Battle Value worth of light helicopters and to create ramming tanks to pummel their legs. The overall presentation is fairly sound, but the details are just a mess. Quote
Mr March Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Game mechanics and the fiction itself are two entirely different things. Even Macross suffers when adapted to game form. Ask any Starcraft fan Quote
VF5SS Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Game mechanics and the fiction itself are two entirely different things. No, you see that isn't the case with Battletech. The game mechanics are the fiction. There's no separation. Quote
Duke Togo Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Wow, way off topic there... What we need is an Egan Loo type to clear up the Milliard question. Quote
MangledMess Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 (edited) I didn't know that about Milliard. Is it actually official? I hope we can find an answer. I'm surprised to see a discussion like that on stardestroyer.net. That site, along with a bunch of other Star Wars/StarTrek/Babylon 5 message board websites in the same "social circle" have long had communities filled with anti-mecha sentiment. I'm surprised some troll hasn't entered the discussion screaming "BOLO!" Wow, that's really sad and disheartening to hear about those SW/ST/B5 communities, especially since I like all three series. *sigh* Was thinking of peeking into those boards, but hearing this just distance me from them. I'm really, really annoyed with those type of people whom can't or don't want to suspend belief with certain fiction, or in general. I mean, it's FICTION. Edited March 19, 2008 by MangledMess Quote
Gubaba Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 What we need is an Egan Loo type to clear up the Milliard question. Well, I'm no Egan Loo, but I plan to translate Macross Classic as soon as I can get my hands on it... Quote
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