Mr March

Yeah, fake/false was pretty much the answer we suspected from almost the beginning of this whole affair. But Shaloom didn't make it easy to get to the bottom of all this. Even now, he's still trying to save a little face after being cornered with the truth. Well, thank you Fuun and mxhz. Your help is much appreciated.

Animation is looking great! Well done REN!

Shaloom's reply is very unfortunate, if not unexpected. That reply feels like an attempt at playing the victim, courting sympathy as a martyr and relying upon his questionable reputation to defend what is, by his own admission, a series of falsehoods. I will say one thing that is absolutely for certain: Shaloom's reply is not the reply of an innocent man. An innocent man would have explained himself, accepted responsibility and let the chips fall where they may. If Shaloom had explained himself honestly and humbly, I would have accepted his apology. Admittedly, I would have still blamed him for misleading others (intentionally or innocently) and I would have expected Shaloom to repair the shameful damage done by posting retractions on AnimeSuki and MW. If Shaloom had accepted responsibility and made an effort at reconciliation, I would have accepted his reparations and defended his efforts to make things right. However, this reply from Shaloom is not a reconciliation, it's an excuse. Shaloom has offered insufficient explanation for factual errors far too numerous to be expected from a Macross fan of his knowledge. More important than that, Shaloom did not even try to explain why there was so much completely manufactured fiction from no verifiable source. Shaloom has replied in such a way as to imply blame upon anyone expecting the unrealistic of Shaloom's "memory." That's not an explanation or an acceptance of responsibility; that's an attempt to manufacture "plausible denial." Digressing, official, verifiable facts are on the side of Gubaba. Shaloom's answer has only made the situation worse and the only verifiable truth in his reply is his own admitted indiscretion. If he chooses to avoid responsibility, he'll have to live with the consequences of public opinion. No doubt, anyone questioning his explanation will be blamed, if such discussion is even permitted on the MG forums anymore. I suspect such discussion is not allowed. The tone clearly being taken is that this matter is being closed by Shaloom in spite of his questionable "explanation." To Gubaba, you were always fighting a losing battle on MG, a website that runs at the mercy of Shaloom's character. Even under those unfavourable circumstances, you've done well, Gubaba. The truth is out there, the lies have been exposed and Shaloom's poor explanation is now written in stone three weeks after the fact. Perhaps some MG members will ignore you or marginalize your contribution. But there will always be those who saw through Shaloom's scam and don't accept his excuses. If even one person re-evaluates Shaloom, your effort was worth it. From the sounds of things, you've got more than just one person on your side, so I'd be proud if I were you. And I suppose we have to thank a few in the MG community for having the presence of mind to realize when Shaloom fooled them and the courage to stand behind Gubaba. I will also say this; the MG community has it's work cut out for them. Shaloom is clearly not accepting responsibility for his actions and he's gained no discipline because no one is forcing him to accept that responsibility. This means a situation like the Ohnogi controversy could easily happen again. Perhaps Shaloom has been shamed enough that he'll either avoid falsehoods like this again or he'll be much more clever manufacturing his falsehoods in the future. Either way, I recommend vigilance on behalf of the MG community and all Macross fan communities. I hope for the best for the Macross Generation community.

Incredible work as always. Well done! The nose on the VF-171 needs a bit of work, but other than that the craft looks amazing.

That's sounds about right to me. It makes the most sense and combines the visual details nicely with the official trivia.

LOL That's funny! It's hard to imagine Ranka being so flat faced. Sheryl really seems to fit her NGE counter part. Alto, yeah that's all wrong

Maybe. But I was thinking that the 10 x Gobishi Heavy Industries SLE-1B High-maneuverability verniers are probably meant to be somewhat larger, like the two top mounted verniers on the booster engines of the Armored pack. That's why I was thinking those torso/forearm ports might be verniers, because they are about the same size as the two top verniers mounted on the boosters.

For the meaning of "Deculture", this is what I came up with based on translated information: Hope that helps.

I'm not really worried about differing missile counts between specs and the art/model. Since the animation itself shows inconsistent missile counts we can accept the official written trivia as clarification on the matter. The only thing I'm worried about is the location of those four 22mm guns. If those guns were unaccounted for between the creation of the official specs and the creation of the art/models, THAT would be bad. However, since there's rarely been such a weapon discrepancy in Macross (I believe the missile count of the VF-4 Lightning III is the only example), I doubt the issue is a communication error in the creative process. I suppose mistakes do happen but I'm hopeful we're just not receiving all the official information as yet. I would like to think the torso and forearm ports are the 22mm guns. However, even though they could work in theory, I'm just not entirely convinced they aren't verniers. The official trivia lists 10 x Gobishi Heavy Industries SLE-1B High-maneuverability verniers for the APS-25A/MF25 Armored Pack that I'm still trying to locate. I know there are at least two verniers on the top of each booster section, so that accounts for 4 verniers. But I don't know where the other six are located. It's possible the torso and forearm ports are not weapons or vents, but verniers. If the torso/forearm ports are verniers, that would account for another four. Which means there would only be two verniers left to identify. Honestly, I can't see those torso/forearm ports as vents for the missiles. The detail and positioning of the ports just seem too important to be vents. I hope the torso/forearm ports are either the verniers or the 22mm guns. I wonder, if we go back to the animation, is there ever a scene that shows any of those ports doing something? I mean, we only ever saw the big 57 mm beam cannons of the APS-25A/MF25 Armored Pack in action during a VERY brief sequence. Might we have seen some activity from those torso/forearm ports in another brief sequence?

Well, if it's any consolation, the anime doesn't show the correct count either and actually shows several different counts across the episodes So I think we're safe with the official figures.

Almost every missile launching pod in Macross has had some kind of venting port built into the launcher. Sometimes they are very apparent as detailed sections, but other times they will be simple slits built into the side or back of the launcher. The GBP-1S Armor for the VF-1J Valkyrie has all kinds of exhaust vents, as Graham described. The PWS-0X Reactive Armor for the VF-0S Phoenix has two vents mounted on the back of the top launchers. The APS-11 Protect Armor Pack for the VF-11 Thunderbolt also has vents mounted on the back of the top launchers and other vents similar to the GBP-1S system for the VF-1 Valkyrie. I've attached an image below for reference. Regarding the 4 x RÖV-22 22mm beam machine guns on the VF-25S APS-25A/MF25 Armored Messiah, it looks like this new line art completely blasts apart my theory that the paired ports on the hip armor were the new 22mm guns. That's a shame, since it would make so much sense if those paired ports were the guns. But the line art makes them look like verniers of some kind. Now I'm thinking the only place that would accommodate those 22mm guns are the two forward ports on the front torso armor and those two ports under the arms. They are what would be #1 and #8 on the key in Graham's scans above. Either that or the 22mm guns are cleverly hidden beneath some miscellaneous hole/slot/detail somewhere else on the armor and we are meant to wonder. I'm almost getting a bad feeling that we may not learn where they are. As an aside, I find it odd these newest drawings show a number of micro-missiles for the launcher pods that doesn't match with the official figures

Thanks for the reminder. I hear it's a two-hour premiere.

Oh, I see. Nearly gave me a heart attack

Uh, wow! A new Macross OVA and then a new television series in 2012? That was certainly unexpected.

Yummy! More line art. Thanks big G

Oh well. The Onion already has an article up. Guess the world really does run on internet time

LOL Like much of Macross Frontier, I can see elements of Minmay, Sharon and Basara in Sheryl Nome. Which I think is pretty much the point. Frontier is very much a collection of homages from all Macross to date and then goes forward with a new story. Sheryl was her own character (and one of the strongest characterizations in Macross), but the Minmay/Sharon/Basar elements were only references. She wasn't written to be any one particular character other than Sheryl.

Not a bad theory. Well thought out!

Finally, some good stuff about the Q-Rea. And I hope the SV-51 is more enlightening this time around. Give us more stats The bomber is oddly described, but could it be the SB-10/10 Starwing Heavy Bomber from Macross Plus? And speaking of Macross Plus, the battle to prevent returning to Earth could be Sharon's control over the orbital defense system. Maybe?

That's very wise. I wish you and the MG community the best.

Looking purty, Talos

Oh yeah, we should definitely make a distinction. I was referring to the U.N. Zentradi and their tech level maintaining pace with the humans. They have their own versions of all the same tech (Northampton Class, VF-14 Vampire, New Macross Class, etc) including other technology like micloning/macloning chambers (aboard Island 1 and what not). The non-UN Zentradi/Meltrandi fleets will obviously fall behind in the tech race. Or perhaps it's more correct to say they will fall behind eventually. However, even by 2059, it's clear non-U.N. Zentradi weaponry is still dangerous against even the Vajra (see Alto vs. the Red Vajra using the Zentran cannon) and is obviously not so far behind that mecha can't still be field effective units (like Klan Klang's Queadluun-Rea units). However again, the Factory Satellite entry in the Macross Chronicle implies that the Zentradi/Meltrandi weapons are improved over time. The weapons might look the same, but they are "improved", which probably means the Factory Satellite increases the effectiveness/efficiency/capability of the Zentradi weapons over time.

I believe josue's reply pretty much mirrors my own interpretation of the Protoculture fold technology in regards to fold faults. However, I do agree that humanities limited understanding (or perhaps "infancy" is more accurate) of OverTechnology may play a larger part in why certain things happen in fold travel. Apparently, accidents in fold travel do happen, at least with enough frequency and public awareness that the New U.N. Government could use a "fold error" as a believable excuse to cover up the Vajra attack upon the 117th Research Fleet. Chlore's fleet was actually about 97,000 warships strong, thanks to new information about the numbers of the Macross 7 fleet published in the Macross Chronicle. I think destroying the Meltran fleet required use of reaction weapons and could not be achieved by the Battle 7's main gun alone. Especially since we've seen the Battle 7 main gun in action prior to this and it cannot even destroy 18 warships in close formation with one shot let alone 97,000 warships (reference: destroyed one-third of Gigile Fleet of 18 Varauta warships; Macross 7, Episode 16) The Macross Chronicle does says that the Factory Satellites possess the capability for "weapon improvements" over time. While Zentradi technology may INITIALLY be standing still in comparison to the technological advancement/potential of the U.N. Forces, it is implied that some advancement in technology occurred pre-Space WarI. Post-Space War I, it's clear the Zentradi technology is advancing as fast, if not faster, than human OverTechnology.

What an unfortunate incident this has been, for everyone involved. It's hard to believe that one person could have cause so much damage across so many internet communities. Look at all the time and effort spent on this hoax. It's shameful. In many ways this incident reminds me of government corruption, though obviously this incident with Shaloom is a lot less serious because it's all just a fan hobby. But still, I hope incidents like this remain rare. I will say this to iker and the MG forum members; I know you want to get past this incident and do what's best for your community. But keep in mind, the issue must remain open (at least for the near future), lest official action against the topic be interpreted as an attempt to cover up after the fact. At the risk of presumptuous, I don't believe anyone here blames the Macross Generation community for what happened. I believe Shaloom alone must carry the blame for this charge. Granted, some might be naturally apprehensive towards the MG website for a time, but I think most of us are understanding toward the MG community.

Yeah, I think it was the need to course correct and navigate around fold faults that made them such a bother for conventional fold drives. At least, that's the impression I got from Macross Frontier. If folding space is actually "folding" and there's no physical motion forward while "traveling" in super dimensions space, I can see how fold faults would pose a very significant problem. Here you are, folding space over and over during your "ride" through SD space when your ship suddenly comes upon this zone of SD space that you can't fold (which you term a "fault"). That seems the most logical explanation, although I admit we can't really know one way or the other.