Super Macross Mecha Fun Time Discussion Thread!

[Seto Kaiba]

2 hours ago, TG Remix said:

It seems Macross II's ships were a lot more designed around defense against Zentradi fleets compared to the main continuity's mostly frigates and carrier ships. iirc II had a lot more battleships and Zentradi vessels compared to the uncommon numbers we have now.

Macross II's "parallel world" setting is a very different place to the setting of Macross Plus and later installments.

Macross II: Lovers Again, its timeline, and its two prequels Macross 2036 and Macross: Eternal Love Song give much more attention to the ongoing threat posed by the Zentradi than the later titles did.  The ongoing Macross timeline has the surviving ~3 million ships of the Boddole Zer main fleet retreat into deep space seemingly never to return.  Macross II didn't get so lucky, with rogue branch fleets and other forces of varying size periodically wandering back into the Sol system to have another go.  Some of those surviving forces even linked up with other main fleets.  That led to the 2036 invasion by the Neld main fleet in a bid to exact vengeance for the destruction of the Boddole Zer main fleet, and a 2037 attack by the Burado main fleet who were hoping to use Earth's culture as a weapon against the Meltrandi fleet chasing them.

As a result, the UN Forces of the Macross II timeline not only became intimately familiar with how the Zentradi and Meltrandi wage space warfare... they also ended up with a small mountain of secondhand Zentradi and Meltrandi military hardware and multiple factory satellite complexes.

Their defense strategy was heavily influenced by lessons learned from the First Space War and what they later gleaned from commanders like Vrlitwhai who joined the UN Forces in the aftermath of the war.  What developed was a battleship-based force not dissimilar to what the Zentradi and Meltrandi field composed mainly of Zentradi warships with a couple Earth-built ships.  It wasn't until after the disastrous 2054 Zentradi invasion of the Sol system wiped out most of the former Vrlitwhai branch fleet that the UN Forces started giving serious thought to force modernization.  Earth's engineers put a lot of time and effort into reverse-engineering all of their captured Zentradi and Meltrandi technology over the years and this was finally put into practice with a new generation of warship designs, valkyries, and destroids built on a combination of Human, Zentran, and Meltran overtechnology.  The end result was all of the new designs in Macross II: Lovers Again... which led to the UN Forces absolutely steamrolling the next major Zentradi invasion force to wander into the solar system in 2082.  That overwhelming victory over the Zentradi was what led to the UN Forces becoming overconfident and complacent in the 2090s, leading to the disatrous events depicted in Macross II.

 

2 hours ago, TG Remix said:

On a whole different note; I know it's probably never gonna happen, but if there was a Master File book of the VF-14 Vampire that not only includes both M3 and 7 designs, but also gives a (albeit unofficial) design of the VA-14 I'd be happy. Though it seems those books usually go for the more "big name" Valkyries then the cannon fodder or antagonist Valks (The VF-11 was an exception, though iirc people had found it more underwhelming compared to the rest.)

We all thought the VF-4 book wasn't gonna happen for much the same reason... given that it appears only in Macross: Flash Back 2012 for maybe a minute or so and only ended up in a main role in some of the games (e.g. Macross M3).  The VF-22 book was also a pretty big surprise.  The VF-11 book less so, since that was a fairly prominent design in Macross Plus and Macross 7 that had multiple main characters associated with it incl. Milia, Gamlin, and Isamu.

Minor Valkyrie designs tend to end up being covered briefly as asides in the books of more major Valkyries.  Like how the VF-3000 and VF-5000 ended up being touched on by the VF-1 and VF-4 books, or how the VF-4 book launched into a brief history of Alexei Kurakin's career that touched on the VF-9 and some later General Galaxy designs since he cofounded the company.

If we're going to see much coverage of the Vampire, I'd kind of expect to see it in the form of a side section in a VF-17 or VF-171 book.

Of course, we know the next Master File is a complete waste of time.  VF-31AX Kairos Plus.  At least half of the first VF-31 book was just reprinted content from the VF-25 book, and considering the VF-31AX Kairos Plus is a production VF-31 (which is mostly VF-25 parts already) upgraded with some of the Siegfried's detuned YF-30 parts, I can't imagine there'll be much to that book.  Made worse by the fact that, like the Siegfried book, it'll probably ignore the mass-production VF-31 Kairos almost entirely to focus on an aftermarket custom job with single-digit production numbers.

 

 

[RedWolf]

On 7/5/2022 at 7:36 AM, darkranger12 said:

Would submarines even be effective on a colony world in Macross?

 

We saw in VF-X2 Criitical Path deploy their Drone submarines. The Daedalus and Prometheus had submarine functions which allowed them to be air tight enough to be modified as a replacement for the ARMDs in SDF Macross. 

The Macross VFX 3D CGI demo had a sub carrier. 

 

Edited July 14, 2022 by RedWolf

[pengbuzz]

15 hours ago, RedWolf said:

We saw in VF-X2 Criitical Path deploy their Drone submarines. The Daedalus and Prometheus had submarine functions which allowed them to be air tight enough to be modified as a replacement for the ARMDs in SDF Macross. 

The Macross VFX 3D CGI demo had a sub carrier. 

 

The thing is though: Daedalus and Prometheus were designed during a time when the Unity Gov't believed the enemy would try a "classic approach" and attempt to take territory. I believe the detail about both being "semi-0submersible" was an explanation as to how those ships could withstand the rigors of space.

[TG Remix]

On 7/10/2022 at 4:22 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

As a result, the UN Forces of the Macross II timeline not only became intimately familiar with how the Zentradi and Meltrandi wage space warfare... they also ended up with a small mountain of secondhand Zentradi and Meltrandi military hardware and multiple factory satellite complexes.

Yeah, it makes sense why defense as opposed to avoidance when possible was more of a priority in the Macross II universe. It seems whenever the UN in both timelines use battleships and the like instead of frigates and carriers, it's mostly with Zentradi in mind (Hence the Varauta NUNS going for their own local models of battleships as well.) I guess in a way it's not too different from what some installments like VF-X2 goes with, seeing most of the NUNS ships we see are recolored Meltradi ships (Specifically the Gunboats and LSTs). So I'm guessing these are either rebuilt/retrieved ships from previous conflicts or human built ships that accommodate a micronized crew instead.

 

It is interesting how when they reverse-engineer Zentradi technology, the Nousjaduel-Ger design is said to be more of the inspiration then the Queadluun Rau (The example that comes to mind first is the white and green Zentradi Valkyrie that shows up for a few seconds). Compared to the main timeline where the existence of the YF-21/VF-22, the modern Rhea and Alma models, and the Regult from Delta using the same legs and missile launchers from the Rhea clearly shows the bias for the high performing suit. I guess back then they were seen more or less equal in performance? 

 

On 7/10/2022 at 4:22 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

If we're going to see much coverage of the Vampire, I'd kind of expect to see it in the form of a side section in a VF-17 or VF-171 book.

That makes sense.  I wouldn't be surprised if those two share the same book, though considering the Kairos Plus...

 

On 7/10/2022 at 4:22 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

Made worse by the fact that, like the Siegfried book, it'll probably ignore the mass-production VF-31 Kairos almost entirely to focus on an aftermarket custom job with single-digit production numbers.

Well that's a shame. Admittedly I'm a lot more fond of the VF-31A's we see then the Seigfrieds (which I still like a lot all things considered), though that's because I lean towards the monoeye look in designs when it's not a simple visor or the odd Zentradi-type face (Like the VF-5000 and regular Variable Glaug)

 

On 7/15/2022 at 12:23 AM, pengbuzz said:

The thing is though: Daedalus and Prometheus were designed during a time when the Unity Gov't believed the enemy would try a "classic approach" and attempt to take territory. I believe the detail about both being "semi-0submersible" was an explanation as to how those ships could withstand the rigors of space.

The more I think about it I think naval operations in Macross is a rarity, but not non-existent. The Uraga class was made partially for marine operations iirc, and there's the existence of the VA-3M. In these cases it's probably for any civil wars or other in-fighting instead of a alien invasion like the UN thought it'd be with the Zentradi.

[Seto Kaiba]

10 hours ago, TG Remix said:

Yeah, it makes sense why defense as opposed to avoidance when possible was more of a priority in the Macross II universe. It seems whenever the UN in both timelines use battleships and the like instead of frigates and carriers, it's mostly with Zentradi in mind (Hence the Varauta NUNS going for their own local models of battleships as well.) I guess in a way it's not too different from what some installments like VF-X2 goes with, seeing most of the NUNS ships we see are recolored Meltradi ships (Specifically the Gunboats and LSTs). So I'm guessing these are either rebuilt/retrieved ships from previous conflicts or human built ships that accommodate a micronized crew instead.

In Macross II, the Zentradi warships operated by the UN Spacy are mainly (if not exclusively) ones whose crews defected to Earth's side during or immediately following one of Earth's frequent encounters with rogue Zentradi fleets.  For a while, the core of their forces were the former Vrlitwhai branch fleet until most of those ships were lost in the 2054 war.

 

10 hours ago, TG Remix said:

It is interesting how when they reverse-engineer Zentradi technology, the Nousjaduel-Ger design is said to be more of the inspiration then the Queadluun Rau (The example that comes to mind first is the white and green Zentradi Valkyrie that shows up for a few seconds).

In fact, all of the Macross II Valkyries incorporate technology derived from reverse-engineering the Nousjadeul-Ger series battle suit.  The VF-XX Zentradi Valkyrie was the proof-of-concept for a new generation of VFs based on Zentradi battle suit tech in Macross II's setting.  The VF-2 series is derived from the VF-XX.

 

10 hours ago, TG Remix said:

Compared to the main timeline where the existence of the YF-21/VF-22, the modern Rhea and Alma models, and the Regult from Delta using the same legs and missile launchers from the Rhea clearly shows the bias for the high performing suit. I guess back then they were seen more or less equal in performance? 

Nah, even in the original series materials (e.g. Perfect Memory) the depiction of the two types of battle suits is VERY different.

The Nousjadeul-Ger's presentation vaguely mirrors that of the VF-171.  It's a solid, dependable, workhorse of a battlesuit with good all-around performance and a wealth of options to let it operate well in a bunch of different roles.  It's high-performance, but not so much so that a well-trained soldier can't get the most out of the design.  While it's more costly than a Regult, it's cheap enough that it can be deployed in significant numbers while remaining more survivable than the Regult as well.

The Queadluun-Rau, for its part, has always been depicted as "awesome but impractical" to some degree.  It's much more specialized and its super-high flight performances comes at a corresponding cost in materials, manufacturing complexity, and failure rate.  It was much more than an average pilot could handle, so rather than fuss about building something less over-the-top the way the New UN Forces did the Protoculture simply went and built a better grade of pilot.  Despite that, the number in operation is small (relative to other mecha in the Zentradi forces) and they are mainly used by defensive fleets for their ability to punch way above their weight class.

The Macross II UN Forces studied the Nousjadeul-Ger while developing improvements for their Valkyries because they were looking to improve the overall durability and reliability of Valkyries, especally in close combat scenarios.  That led to the adoption of improved actuators and materials based on those of the Nousjadeul-Ger, as well as the adoption of more powerful reactors, generators, and engines to improve offensive capabilities.

The main Macross timeline New UN Forces seem to have been more interested in improving flight performance, and so studied the Protoculture's last word on agility... the Queadluun-Rau... for its high maneuverability and especially its inertia capacitor to let pilots endure higher g-force loads.

 

10 hours ago, TG Remix said:

Well that's a shame. Admittedly I'm a lot more fond of the VF-31A's we see then the Seigfrieds (which I still like a lot all things considered), though that's because I lean towards the monoeye look in designs when it's not a simple visor or the odd Zentradi-type face (Like the VF-5000 and regular Variable Glaug)

That's the thing... it seems like a fair number of fans prefer the VF-31A over any of the Ace Custom versions.  Enough so that the DX VF-31A seems to be the show's most coveted DX Chogokin toy.  I think that might be partly why movie 2 shelved the Siegfrieds in favor of having the protagonists fly an ace custom that looks more like the production model.

 

10 hours ago, TG Remix said:

The more I think about it I think naval operations in Macross is a rarity, but not non-existent. The Uraga class was made partially for marine operations iirc, and there's the existence of the VA-3M. In these cases it's probably for any civil wars or other in-fighting instead of a alien invasion like the UN thought it'd be with the Zentradi.

Yeah, the continued existence of a blue-water Navy is a confusing one in Macross.

[pengbuzz]

10 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

In Macross II, the Zentradi warships operated by the UN Spacy are mainly (if not exclusively) ones whose crews defected to Earth's side during or immediately following one of Earth's frequent encounters with rogue Zentradi fleets.  For a while, the core of their forces were the former Vrlitwhai branch fleet until most of those ships were lost in the 2054 war.

 

In fact, all of the Macross II Valkyries incorporate technology derived from reverse-engineering the Nousjadeul-Ger series battle suit.  The VF-XX Zentradi Valkyrie was the proof-of-concept for a new generation of VFs based on Zentradi battle suit tech in Macross II's setting.  The VF-2 series is derived from the VF-XX.

 

Nah, even in the original series materials (e.g. Perfect Memory) the depiction of the two types of battle suits is VERY different.

The Nousjadeul-Ger's presentation vaguely mirrors that of the VF-171.  It's a solid, dependable, workhorse of a battlesuit with good all-around performance and a wealth of options to let it operate well in a bunch of different roles.  It's high-performance, but not so much so that a well-trained soldier can't get the most out of the design.  While it's more costly than a Regult, it's cheap enough that it can be deployed in significant numbers while remaining more survivable than the Regult as well.

The Queadluun-Rau, for its part, has always been depicted as "awesome but impractical" to some degree.  It's much more specialized and its super-high flight performances comes at a corresponding cost in materials, manufacturing complexity, and failure rate.  It was much more than an average pilot could handle, so rather than fuss about building something less over-the-top the way the New UN Forces did the Protoculture simply went and built a better grade of pilot.  Despite that, the number in operation is small (relative to other mecha in the Zentradi forces) and they are mainly used by defensive fleets for their ability to punch way above their weight class.

The Macross II UN Forces studied the Nousjadeul-Ger while developing improvements for their Valkyries because they were looking to improve the overall durability and reliability of Valkyries, especally in close combat scenarios.  That led to the adoption of improved actuators and materials based on those of the Nousjadeul-Ger, as well as the adoption of more powerful reactors, generators, and engines to improve offensive capabilities.

The main Macross timeline New UN Forces seem to have been more interested in improving flight performance, and so studied the Protoculture's last word on agility... the Queadluun-Rau... for its high maneuverability and especially its inertia capacitor to let pilots endure higher g-force loads.

 

That's the thing... it seems like a fair number of fans prefer the VF-31A over any of the Ace Custom versions.  Enough so that the DX VF-31A seems to be the show's most coveted DX Chogokin toy.  I think that might be partly why movie 2 shelved the Siegfrieds in favor of having the protagonists fly an ace custom that looks more like the production model.

 

Yeah, the continued existence of a blue-water Navy is a confusing one in Macross.

So it seems the Main timeline and the MII timeline have differing takes on defending the planet from Zentran invasion; necessitated by the differences between the series/ universes.

I like the MII universe myself.

Edited July 17, 2022 by pengbuzz

[Seto Kaiba]

8 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

So it seems the Main timeline and the MII timeline have differing takes on defending the planet from Zentran invasion; necessitated by the differences between the series/ universes.

I like the MII universe myself.

I like 'em both... but I have to admit, the Macross II setting was definitely not set up on the same massive scale as the main Macross setting.  The main/ongoing Macross setting is way more "adventure-friendly" and open to different approaches to storytelling.

That said, I'd probably find Macross every bit as boring as I find Gundam's Universal Century if all it did was endlessly repeat the same story with the same character archetypes in the same circumstances where all that really changes show-to-show is the proper nouns the way UC Gundam has done for decades now.  Macross II is very Gundam-like in a lot of respects, possibly the influence of the Gundam veterans staffing it, but I find a fair amount of probably-unintentional hilarity in that its story has the UN Forces getting bored and a bit complacent because they've been fighting the same war over and over again for decades and always winning the exact same way.  

[pengbuzz]

1 hour ago, Seto Kaiba said:

I like 'em both... but I have to admit, the Macross II setting was definitely not set up on the same massive scale as the main Macross setting.  The main/ongoing Macross setting is way more "adventure-friendly" and open to different approaches to storytelling.

That said, I'd probably find Macross every bit as boring as I find Gundam's Universal Century if all it did was endlessly repeat the same story with the same character archetypes in the same circumstances where all that really changes show-to-show is the proper nouns the way UC Gundam has done for decades now.  Macross II is very Gundam-like in a lot of respects, possibly the influence of the Gundam veterans staffing it, but I find a fair amount of probably-unintentional hilarity in that its story has the UN Forces getting bored and a bit complacent because they've been fighting the same war over and over again for decades and always winning the exact same way.  

Right? I have noted that myself watching MII, and the shock they face when their normal way of winning doesn't work.

[TG Remix]

On 7/16/2022 at 5:42 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

In Macross II, the Zentradi warships operated by the UN Spacy are mainly (if not exclusively) ones whose crews defected to Earth's side during or immediately following one of Earth's frequent encounters with rogue Zentradi fleets.  For a while, the core of their forces were the former Vrlitwhai branch fleet until most of those ships were lost in the 2054 war.

It seemed like in DYRL? a lot more then 100 ships were apart of Britai's surviving forces, so I can absolutely see it. Either that or it seems like so because there's also the Meltradi ships that decided to help the Macross as well. Speaking of, it is funny how Max and Milia were both in the process of fighting together before Minmay, and I heard this particular theory that because Max was unaware of the Main Fleet's temporary peace treaty, he was to the Meltradi what Minmay was to the Zentradi.

 

On 7/16/2022 at 5:42 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

In fact, all of the Macross II Valkyries incorporate technology derived from reverse-engineering the Nousjadeul-Ger series battle suit.  The VF-XX Zentradi Valkyrie was the proof-of-concept for a new generation of VFs based on Zentradi battle suit tech in Macross II's setting.  The VF-2 series is derived from the VF-XX.

Huh, well that's very interesting. Nice to see even a Valkyrie that showed up less then a few seconds got it's chance to shine through, well pretty much everything else. 😋

 

On 7/16/2022 at 5:42 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

he Nousjadeul-Ger's presentation vaguely mirrors that of the VF-171.  It's a solid, dependable, workhorse of a battlesuit with good all-around performance and a wealth of options to let it operate well in a bunch of different roles.  It's high-performance, but not so much so that a well-trained soldier can't get the most out of the design.  While it's more costly than a Regult, it's cheap enough that it can be deployed in significant numbers while remaining more survivable than the Regult as well.

Part of me speculates why we don't see the Nousjadeul-types reappearing as much as other Zentradi mechs. The TV series design is ugly as sin, and not even in a endearing type of way like the Draug or Protodevlin designs. The movie's design, while personally top tier, takes a lot more design cues from the TV's Queadluun-Rau (Which considering the plot of the movie is completely justifiable), and those just have more higher class to appear in more stuff. Though considering the Gnerl's appear in both VF-X2 and M3, it's probably just a lot more unpopular then I thought.

 

19 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

I like 'em both... but I have to admit, the Macross II setting was definitely not set up on the same massive scale as the main Macross setting.  The main/ongoing Macross setting is way more "adventure-friendly" and open to different approaches to storytelling.

I think Macross II as a standalone title is fine, and it did have a lot of new concepts that were intriguing. Though I feel like they're not used to the extent that they could've/should've been used, so it's why on my first viewing the second half of the OVA felt more like a rehash of the SDF series.

Though, I think from that last sentence I think I should embrace the fact I'm a lot more of a Macross fan then I am a UC one, and I love that part of Gundam....Sometimes. Really the first series, ZZ, most OVA's, and the idea of Late UC. Everything else is a hit or miss.

 

19 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Macross II is very Gundam-like in a lot of respects, possibly the influence of the Gundam veterans staffing it, but I find a fair amount of probably-unintentional hilarity in that its story has the UN Forces getting bored and a bit complacent because they've been fighting the same war over and over again for decades and always winning the exact same way.  

Considering how meta Macross can get, I can see something in the lines of that being used to its advantage in the main continuity. 

[Seto Kaiba]

2 hours ago, TG Remix said:

It seemed like in DYRL? a lot more then 100 ships were apart of Britai's surviving forces, so I can absolutely see it. Either that or it seems like so because there's also the Meltradi ships that decided to help the Macross as well. Speaking of, it is funny how Max and Milia were both in the process of fighting together before Minmay, and I heard this particular theory that because Max was unaware of the Main Fleet's temporary peace treaty, he was to the Meltradi what Minmay was to the Zentradi.

It must be convenient to be stuck in an all-female fleet when you're voiced by Show Hayami.

 

2 hours ago, TG Remix said:

Huh, well that's very interesting. Nice to see even a Valkyrie that showed up less then a few seconds got it's chance to shine through, well pretty much everything else. 😋

Yeah, the VF-XX is actually pretty important but was in the process of being phased out at the time of Macross II.

The VF-2SS Valkyrie II had become the main fighter of the Space Forces about a decade earlier and some units were still transitioning.

 

2 hours ago, TG Remix said:

Part of me speculates why we don't see the Nousjadeul-types reappearing as much as other Zentradi mechs. The TV series design is ugly as sin, and not even in a endearing type of way like the Draug or Protodevlin designs. The movie's design, while personally top tier, takes a lot more design cues from the TV's Queadluun-Rau (Which considering the plot of the movie is completely justifiable), and those just have more higher class to appear in more stuff. Though considering the Gnerl's appear in both VF-X2 and M3, it's probably just a lot more unpopular then I thought.

I think a big part of that is just that the Regult is the iconic Zentradi unit.  The Nousjadeul-Ger does show up quite a bit here and there, it's just less common in-universe than the dirt cheap Regult series... and like most Zentradi designs, the movie versions retroactively replaced the TV ones in most instances.  It makes sense that they're not super common among the New UN Forces that favor the Regult and Queadluun series... because the New UN Gov't captured factory satellites that make the Regults and Queadluun series.  The Esbeliben factory satellite was seized in the original series and has been parked at Earth-Moon L5 for decades, and the Quimeliquola factory satellite's orbiting Eden.

[JB0]

4 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

It must be convenient to be stuck in an all-female fleet when you're voiced by Show Hayami.

 

Macross DYRL: secretly the first harem anime.

[RedWolf]

On 7/16/2022 at 6:56 PM, TG Remix said:

So I'm guessing these are either rebuilt/retrieved ships from previous conflicts

Well in the opening of Macross M3 we see a Meltran gunship in the background as a Variable Glaug flies by. Chlore's fleet was attached to the 118th Main Fleet but did not participate in the attack on Earth. So there could be several sources. 

[TG Remix]

On 7/18/2022 at 12:22 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

It makes sense that they're not super common among the New UN Forces that favor the Regult and Queadluun series... because the New UN Gov't captured factory satellites that make the Regults and Queadluun series.  The Esbeliben factory satellite was seized in the original series and has been parked at Earth-Moon L5 for decades, and the Quimeliquola factory satellite's orbiting Eden.

That does make me curious; Macross Chronicle 2E Mechanic Sheet states that more than twenty factory satellites were placed under the control of the UN Forces. So that makes me wonder two things:

Are all of them barring the Quimeliquola factory were made to manufacture Regults, or there were a few or more that originally manufactured something else (like Ships, Nousjadeul-Gers, Zentradi clones, etc.). And aside from the aforementioned two, do we know who specifically would have control over them?  Would they be moved to the more "important" key places of the Central UN, or any regular colony fleet/government that comes across one can keep one if they stumbled onto one?  

[Seto Kaiba]

9 hours ago, TG Remix said:

That does make me curious; Macross Chronicle 2E Mechanic Sheet states that more than twenty factory satellites were placed under the control of the UN Forces. So that makes me wonder two things:

Are all of them barring the Quimeliquola factory were made to manufacture Regults, or there were a few or more that originally manufactured something else (like Ships, Nousjadeul-Gers, Zentradi clones, etc.).

We don't know... the only factory satellites under New UN Government control that have been identified, discussed, or visited in-series are the first factory satellite captured (in the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross) that manufactured Regult battle pods and the one described in the Queadluun-Rhea's backstory that was a Queadluun-Rau factory the New UN Government captured and moved to the Eden system in the 2030s.

It's a fairly safe bet that the twenty or so factory satellites relocated to the Sol system are a mixed bag of different types.

(In Macross II's timeline, Earth had two factory satellites and the other was identified as having manufactured the Nosjadeul-Ger battle suit and been the basis for the improved Valkyries in that setting.)

 

9 hours ago, TG Remix said:

And aside from the aforementioned two, do we know who specifically would have control over them?  Would they be moved to the more "important" key places of the Central UN, or any regular colony fleet/government that comes across one can keep one if they stumbled onto one?  

As far as we know, the ones mentioned in that Macross Chronicle sheet were all relocated to the Sol system.  They were seized over a six month period starting with the one seen in the series and ending before the launch of the Megaroad-01.

The Quimeliquola factory satellite that was captured later was relocated to Eden's orbit.

IIRC, Chronicle has a remark about emigrant governments keeping any factory satellites they discover and capture on their voyage.

[AN/ALQ128]

I guess it shouldnt be surprising that UN forces used conventional aircraft during the lead up to SW1, but I cant believe I never picked up on this photo of a B-52 in Plus.

[JB0]

9 minutes ago, AN/ALQ128 said:

I guess it shouldnt be surprising that UN forces used conventional aircraft during the lead up to SW1, but I cant believe I never picked up on this photo of a B-52 in Plus.

Further proof that the B-52 will never retire.

[cheemingwan1234]

Speaking of which, I wonder if the Nousjadeul-Ger played a form factor in how the battroid mode of the VF-31 looks like. They share the same back mounted fold out cannon silhouette

Edited August 22, 2022 by cheemingwan1234

[Seto Kaiba]

4 hours ago, cheemingwan1234 said:

Speaking of which, I wonder if the Nousjadeul-Ger played a form factor in how the battroid mode of the VF-31 looks like. They share the same back mounted fold out cannon silhouette

I don't believe a connection has ever been mentioned there.

The Valkyries that HAVE been influenced by the Nousjadeul-Ger are, Variable Glaug excluded, all in the Macross II parellel world timeline.

[Knight26]

20 hours ago, JB0 said:

Further proof that the B-52 will never retire.

I have actually contemplated having a heavily modified B-52 show up in my books at some point.  But after a couple centuries I think even the mighty B-52 deserves a retirement.

[TG Remix]

On 8/20/2022 at 6:11 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

As far as we know, the ones mentioned in that Macross Chronicle sheet were all relocated to the Sol system.  They were seized over a six month period starting with the one seen in the series and ending before the launch of the Megaroad-01.

On 8/20/2022 at 6:11 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

It's a fairly safe bet that the twenty or so factory satellites relocated to the Sol system are a mixed bag of different types.

Oh, I didn't even know those 20+ mentioned were solely the Sol System Thank you and goodnight! I'd assume they were all spread out in the galaxy.

 

On 8/20/2022 at 6:11 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

IIRC, Chronicle has a remark about emigrant governments keeping any factory satellites they discover and capture on their voyage.

Remembering Macross: The Ride, Fasces acquired the Factory Satellite the Protodevlin used to make the Elgerzolns, Panzersoln's, etc. So I assume that used to belong to the Varauta government itself. On a side note, can imagine those belonging to the frontier fleets being a source of trading disputes and what not.

 

On 8/21/2022 at 6:59 PM, JB0 said:

Further proof that the B-52 will never retire.

B-52 variable bomber when?

 

On 8/22/2022 at 3:50 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

On 8/22/2022 at 11:32 AM, cheemingwan1234 said:

Speaking of which, I wonder if the Nousjadeul-Ger played a form factor in how the battroid mode of the VF-31 looks like. They share the same back mounted fold out cannon silhouette

I don't believe a connection has ever been mentioned there.

The Valkyries that HAVE been influenced by the Nousjadeul-Ger are, Variable Glaug excluded, all in the Macross II parellel world timeline.

In hindsight the Variable Glaug's Battroid form is very Nousjadeul-Ger inspired, especially with the head and beam cannon. Pretty much the most "modern" equivalent of most Zentradi mechs. Kinda like how the YF-21/VF-22 is very Quadluun-Rau esque. 

 

Speaking of, since the Neo Glaug was a 4th generation Variable Fighter, I wonder if it was subjected to the same export restrictions the VF-19 and VF-22 did.

Edited August 24, 2022 by TG Remix
Additional question

[RedWolf]

On 8/23/2022 at 8:28 PM, TG Remix said:

Remembering Macross: The Ride, Fasces acquired the Factory Satellite the Protodevlin used to make the Elgerzolns, Panzersoln's, etc. So I assume that used to belong to the Varauta government itself. On a side note, can imagine those belonging to the frontier fleets being a source of trading disputes and what not.

I don't think so. Naresuan upon obtaining the location of the Protodevlin Legacy disappeared. With his team SVF-473 Etoile Filan was basically wiped out with Hakuna Aoba a survivor that rescued Chelsea Scarlet as a child. Next thing we know is that he is playing space pirate using Protodevlin brainwashing tech to subvert ship crews. While Operation Stargazer was meant to wipe out the Protodevlin Etoile Filan's mission was infiltration and espionage. This suggest to me at least this is something Max did not sign on but orders came from Earth. And it turns out Naresuan is an Earth supremacist. 

This suggest to me as early as the late 2040's lines are already being made the Earth supremacists and Pro-decentralization faction. Which exploded in open conflict in 2050 to 2051. 

 

[twich]

So now that Absolute Live!!!!!! Is out in Japan on video and should be arriving elsewhere in the world, how long can we expect to wait until the official statistics on the VF-31AX Kairos Plus and SV-303 surface? How long until Egan Loo updates the Macross Compendium?

I know I should have patience, but we have waited a good part of a year now.

Twich

[Seto Kaiba]

6 hours ago, twich said:

So now that Absolute Live!!!!!! Is out in Japan on video and should be arriving elsewhere in the world, how long can we expect to wait until the official statistics on the VF-31AX Kairos Plus and SV-303 surface?

I would say sometime between one planck time from now and the heat death of the universe.  

I'm afraid I can't offer any more precision than that until I develop clarivoyant abilities.

FedEx is holding my copy of Absolute Live!!!!!! for me now that it's cleared customs, so I'll be picking it up tomorrow morning.  Unfortunately because I moved between the time I put in the preorder and the time it shipped, it's being held at a location nearly an hour's drive away.

 

6 hours ago, twich said:

How long until Egan Loo updates the Macross Compendium?

Ever since it went to a wiki, it's mainly been us updating it... which is why the Delta material is so sparse to begin with.  The series just doesn't get us fired up enough to care.

 

6 hours ago, twich said:

I know I should have patience, but we have waited a good part of a year now.

I fully expect the result to be a massive anticlimax.

Goodness knows Delta has found a lot of ways to disappoint thus far, what's one more?

[twich]

28 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said:

I would say sometime between one planck time from now and the heat death of the universe.  

I'm afraid I can't offer any more precision than that until I develop clarivoyant abilities.

FedEx is holding my copy of Absolute Live!!!!!! for me now that it's cleared customs, so I'll be picking it up tomorrow morning.  Unfortunately because I moved between the time I put in the preorder and the time it shipped, it's being held at a location nearly an hour's drive away.

 

Ever since it went to a wiki, it's mainly been us updating it... which is why the Delta material is so sparse to begin with.  The series just doesn't get us fired up enough to care.

 

I fully expect the result to be a massive anticlimax.

Goodness knows Delta has found a lot of ways to disappoint thus far, what's one more?

I was unaware that others contributed to the Macross Compendium. I know that Macross Mecha Manual is behind because of peoples’ day jobs/lives. One can hope that someday they get updated.

Twich

[Seto Kaiba]

1 minute ago, twich said:

I was unaware that others contributed to the Macross Compendium. I know that Macross Mecha Manual is behind because of peoples’ day jobs/lives. One can hope that someday they get updated.

Yeah, it stopped being a one-man show when it transitioned to being a Wiki.

[sketchley]

1 hour ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Ever since it went to a wiki, it's mainly been us updating it... which is why the Delta material is so sparse to begin with.  The series just doesn't get us fired up enough to care.

 

That's only half of it.  The other half is the lack of material—they just aren't releasing stat laden books (e.g. This is Animation) or magazine articles (e.g. Great Mechanics.G) for Delta like they did before.

Edited September 29, 2022 by sketchley

[azrael]

16 minutes ago, sketchley said:

That's only half of it.  The other half is the lack of material—they just aren't releasing stat laden books (e.g. This is Animation) or magazine articles (e.g. Great Mechanics.G) for Delta like they did before.

😬☝️
In the 6 years since Delta aired, the info on Macross Elysion is still the the same sparse info we had back in 2016.

[Seto Kaiba]

24 minutes ago, sketchley said:

That's only half of it.  The other half is the lack of material—they just aren't releasing stat laden books (e.g. This is Animation) or magazine articles (e.g. Great Mechanics.G) for Delta like they did before.

The liner notes have a fair amount of info, and so does Master File for what little that's worth, but even then I've noticed a lot of us seem pretty apathetic about the series compared to Frontier.

[Bolt]

The Japanese audience doesn't seem (from way over here) so apathetic. I would expect more info domestically, where this kind of material, I would imagine, gets gobbled up. 

[Seto Kaiba]

30 minutes ago, Bolt said:

The Japanese audience doesn't seem (from way over here) so apathetic. I would expect more info domestically, where this kind of material, I would imagine, gets gobbled up. 

True, though most of Delta's fanbase seems to be there for the music and not a lot else...

I was more referring to the fact that while there IS detailed information out there for Delta in a few places, none of us seem to really be in a hurry to translate it because of our own ambivalence towards the series.

[Seto Kaiba]

On 9/28/2022 at 1:53 PM, twich said:

So now that Absolute Live!!!!!! Is out in Japan on video and should be arriving elsewhere in the world, how long can we expect to wait until the official statistics on the VF-31AX Kairos Plus and SV-303 surface? How long until Egan Loo updates the Macross Compendium?

I know I should have patience, but we have waited a good part of a year now.

Twich

Welp, I hope you weren't too keyed up for it, because the liner notes have ZERO technical info for the new mecha in the movie.

What a frigging letdown.

[twich]

I have to admit that I am surprised and disappointed. A lot of Macross fans are key on details about this sort of thing. Maybe they will give us info in the non canon publication Variable Fighter Master File for the VF-31AX Kairos Plus.

Twich

Edited September 29, 2022 by twich

[Seto Kaiba]

Looking at it more closely, the Macross Delta: Absolute Live!!!!!! blu-ray liner notes are surprisingly light on substance overall.

It's pretty much all creator commentary... but it's mostly the kind that's long on words and terribly short on substance.  They have a section about the story, a very large section for the various musical numbers, a brief section about the character designs, and a section about the mecha that seems to be mostly just acknowledging that the VF-31AX has a new set of paintjobs they collaborated with Bandai Tamashii on.  It's even less detailed than some of the magazine coverage we've had, which is kind of impressive in a "If only you had put this much effort into doing the job right" kind of way.  

To give you a basic idea, Max's YF-29 is talked about more than any other individual character's mecha and almost all of the remarks are expressing their concern that it'd end up mistaken for Alto's because the only difference was the color and that there is no actual explanation for Max having a YF-29.  They literally just say it's unknown how he got it and that they gave him a YF-29 because it was the only thing they could think to give him.

[JB0]

30 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said:

They literally just say it's unknown how he got it and that they gave him a YF-29 because it was the only thing they could think to give him.

They couldn't think of a plane to give MAX?

The man who can turn anything into a viable fighter and they couldn't think of a single logical plane?

[sketchley]

1 hour ago, JB0 said:

They couldn't think of a plane to give MAX?

The man who can turn anything into a viable fighter and they couldn't think of a single logical plane?

I think Seto's comment has to be taken with a grain of salt.

IMHO, I think the context is which plane out of the movie quality CG model art assets that they already have.