Mr March
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Satellite Reign - Spiritual Successor to Syndicate
Mr March replied to Kurisama's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Hmmm, I missed this topic the first time around but I believe I have looked at this before. Could be good, i was a fan of the original Syndicate. I think at the time it was the first SVGA game I ever played -
And as I said, the actual definition is pliable. But having said that most people don't agonize over "guilty pleasures" as some internalized moral dilemma. By far, most speak of their guilty pleasures within the context of the lower/lesser regard held by those around them for those pleasures they enjoy. The debate in this very thread has members declaring other's guilty pleasures as nothing of the sort because they are like-minded folks that take pleasure in the same things. Hence, not guilty-enough or guilt-less, but only in this crowd who has defined "other" things as guilty. The company you keep.
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Just an opinion, but I'd avoid going too far with that line of thought. The pliable definition of guilty pleasure is largely determined by the company you keep. Post on the average sports-based board that you like indie dramas and documentaries and you'll be laughed out of your "closet." Post on the average philosophy board about your love of sports and you'll run crying for your fellow neanderthals. And there are some who would point out the irony of a guilty pleasures thread on a "Macross" forum To each their own guilty pleasure. Or as Quentin Tarantino would argue; "There are no guilty pleasures, only pleasures"
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Whoa, nice!
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Best post on MW evar!
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"Please don't get killed by Bryan Cranston" - Richard Dreyfuss to Aaron Paul on Twitter
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It's actually a meat shield! But seriously, as I said above it could be a heatshield simply by virtue of being part of the energy conversion armor, which defends against laser, beam and particle weapons every bit as much as it defends against kinetic weapons like guns and missiles.
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Saw Elysium and loved it. The story is compelling and Damon delivers a great mix of roguishness turned desperation. His character starts as a snarky ex-con that is laboring under an unfair system but all his humor is at once washed away and turned into fierce determination in the face of adversity. It's a full performance given full reign by the script. Jodie Foster's character is more thinly drawn but she's clearly having fun with the material and she's magnetic in every scene. The supporting cast is also particularly strong with heartfelt performances from Deigo Luna and Alice Braga. I also loved seeing Faran Tahir as President Patel...can we just cast this guy in everything from now on, please? And my gawd, Sharlto Copley looks like a beast in this film! The guy was clearly at the gym building mountains of muscle and did it ever pay off because this vicious mercenary is an horrifying monster as far from his character in District 9 as you can get without losing his sharp South African accent. The action is kinetic, crazy and tense. There are sequences in the film which again display Blomkamp's interest in the ballet of cinematic violence and his adoration for technology. One of the first action sequences involves air burst explosive rounds fired upon a robot shown with visually impactive shots that are in many ways reminiscent of the car bomb sequence in Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker. Like District 9 there are several sci-fi guns shown in the film and just like Blomkamp earlier film the effects of these firearms are shown with gruesome effect. There are several WTF moments I'd never seen before where my mouth was agape at the action in front of me. The Chemrail gun sequence was also plenty of fun. The world building director Neill Blomkamp displays here is again phenomenal and his fetish for technology and ballistics is in fine form throughout. We all wondered what Blomkamp on $100 million would look like and the answer is stunning. The exo-suits are expertly realized both via special effects and the wearble props for the actors. The weapons are amazing and we are given both old and new hardware to admire. The mechanical design of the aerospace craft are also impressive and Elysium itself is wonderfully realized. As a sci-fi geek I was thrilled when the habitat was shown as open to the vacuum, using retaining walls and gravity to maintain the atmosphere. While some have compared the science fiction technology of Elysium to colonies we've seen in anime, the design and function of the station is far more influenced by Larry Niven's Ringworld, or perhaps more accurately described like the "Orbitals" of Ian M. Banks which in means the Rings found in "Halo" which were inspired by Banks writing. The robots are also vividly realized using a distinct mechanical design both functional and stylistic. Some criticism I level against the overt social commentary and the characters, especially in the latter half of the film. Several key characters are defined more by what they represent (wealth without conscience, the pursuit of greed, econmic cannibalism, etc) rather than having personalities and motivations that are more "human". The character arcs ultimately work because they are thematically fullfilling in the context of the story and serve the political/social messages of the film. But depending your leaning with respect to the larger issues being explored here will color how you respond to some of the characters. Even though I loved the film, mentions of "homeland security" and drone survellience were a bit too on the nose and felt heavy. I give Elysium 4 out of 5 A great sci-fi action drama the retreads some familiar ground for Blompkamp fans but succeeds in thrilling and promoting some thought.
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Well, that certainly delivered. It was really nice to have a return to bearded, older Walt with the M60. I particularly enjoyed Walt's little "Hello Carol"
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Just about to watch it. I'll come back later
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Thor: The Dark World, in theaters Nov. 8, 2013
Mr March replied to azrael's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
It looks like they are still paying attention to the character and dramatic elements of the cast, so if they can deliver this will be another solid film. Love the trailer and that poster has a real old school charm to it -
That's a very interesting way of looking at it. It's possible the small size of OT would make more room available, but I'm not sure how much space could be saved and if the space savings of the average variable fighter are scalable to large ships. There was plenty of massive machinery inside the SDF-1 Macross despite there being room for a city in the legs, but that ship is 3 times the size of an aircraft carrier. Looking at it critically, doesn't the average variable fighter have a lot more support hardware/munitions/equipment than a modern fighter? FAST Packs/Super Packs (with atmosphere/space variants), Armored hardware, gun pods, etc. Wouldn't these extended operational capabilities of the average variable fighter mean the VFs consume more space than the average jet fighter?
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Possibly, but the head has to stay brown for the CF scheme to be true to the original "A-type" colors. Regardless, I agree this new version is an improvement.
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Hahaha, I just love the idea of this and your concept art is amazing. I hope it works.
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Yeah, the Carrier ARMD-L of the Macross Quarter does seem a little small for that many craft. The Carrier is only 254 meters long for 80 craft. By comparison, a Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier is 330 meters long and holds almost the same. Though I suppose we can take into account that the ARMD-L is carrying "variable fighters", all of which have variable geometry wings and capable of transformation, so storage of such units is going to be infinitely easier than fixed-wing, non-variable aircraft.
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The military mecha in Macross are likely subject to the same realities of actual combat: if you build a stronger armor, your enemy will simply build a better gun. The "Space Metal" and "SWAG Energy Conversion Armor" of the Valkyries are very advanced defensive technologies that no doubt foil most modern weaponry, but the mecha of Macross are using far more advanced weapons than those of today. Indeed, the discussion of muzzle velocity in the newbie thread found some Valkyrie gun pods firing at velocities as fast as railguns. There's also what material these bullets are made of and the warhead yeilds of missles in Macross. So even a defensive technology as powerful as SWAG armor is not going to totally foil these powerful weapons. If they did, the guns would just get better
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Okay jvmacross, here's one with a white collar (and skull logo). Still not crazy about this scheme, but you made a good call IMO; I think it looks better.
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Ah, you're right. I had completely forgotten that the SSL-9B mentions chemical reactions. Now if only we knew what chemicals they used to propel slugs at 3,300 m/s we'd be set That kinda makes me wonder, if some exotic OT-chemicals can propel munitions to such incredible velocities that can match rail gun speeds, what then is the advantage of having rail guns? I mean, we know the SSL-9B Rifle is a combo chemical+rail gun (which when combined can achieve faster firing than either one technology alone?). But then what would be the functional difference from a chemical gun pod vs. a rail gun if either can achieve the same muzzle velocity? Weirdness.
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VF-15 Banshee Yeah, the VF-11C Protect Armor turned out really well. It has good colors to achieve that 3D effect with the light and shading. GMK You're welcome. Hope you enjoy it. Ignacio Ocamica You and me both. There's lots of material in the next update, I just have to finish it all to make it presentable. There are a lot of mecha done in the enhanced colors like the VF-11C Protect Armor above and I've even gone back to revise a bunch of the common vehicles. New art presented in the enhanced style to look forward to include the Destroid Monster Mk I, the VF-0S Phoenix PWS-0X Reactive Armor, the VF-1D Valkyrie, the VF-1J GBP-1S "Armored" Valkyrie (both TV and Film), QF-3000E Ghost, the SDF-1 Macross (Film Version), the X-9 Ghost, the VF-19F/S Excalibur, the Varauta mecha, and the VB-6 König Monster. Mommar I tend to agree in some respects I'm not a huge fan of this CF version of the VF-1S Valkyrie. The black striping just does not go well with the brown hull. But if that black striping was removed, it might look better. Still, building this custom was an interesting experiment and a good excuse to update the Roy VF-1S Battroid
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Avatar Size and animated GIFs
Mr March replied to anime52k8's topic in MW Site News & Member Feedback
But anime52k8, I like you just the way you are It's not a bad idea. I'm not sure if I'll do an animated gif, but I've been feeling the need for a change of avatar. The option for a good animated avatar would be nice. -
So this past week has been unusually productive. In addition to my new VF-11C Protect Armor, I completed your VF-1S Cannon Fodder. Since I was building the CF version anyway, I scanned new VF-1S Battroid line art and decided to revise the original Roy colors as well. I'll save the full VF-11C Protect Armor for the next update to my website, but I'll post a small thumbnail preview as a teaser. Enjoy!
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The workings of OverTechnology ballistics in Macross is so undefined that I'd be hesitant to conclude whatever makes the gun pods work as they do. The gun pods may be using exotic OT-enhanced chemicals to achieve performance but then again they may not be using chemical propellants at all. Since SDF Macross was first released, we have read about weapons with rail gun performance being described vaguely as high-speed cannons or other terminology. But what exactly are these weapons and how are they firing as fast as rail guns without being rail guns is never stated. All we know for certain is the weapons of Macross are OverTechnology. There are several other weapons besides the gun pods that achieve enhanced muzzle velocites but again are described only vaguely, like the GPB-1S Armored Valkyrie GA-100 Crusher high-speed armor-penetrating projectiles and there is also the VF-11C Thunderbolt APS-11 Protect Armor using the GU-XS-06 long-range high-piercing-round gun pod. I've not read anything from the Chroncile that expands the definition of what these guns are or do, but it's clear they are advanced OT. The weapons of Macross are such a curious case because on the one hand there isn't much sense in ignoring rail gun technology (or hybrid rail/something else) as one of the more plausible explanations for gun pod performance given that it's an established technology used throughout the Macross universe for both ships and mecha. Yet taking the other side, if rail guns are established technology then why not simply describe gun pods and high-speed cannons as rail guns/hybrids rather than defining them as gun pods or high-speed cannons? Arguments for and against PS. Thanks, but I think I may have forgotten what I asked you for
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Some food for thought...the muzzle velocity of the early gun pods would not suggest rail gun technology. The VF-0 Phoenix GPU-9 gun pod was described with a muzzle velocity of 1,100 meters per second, a higher end velocity to be sure but within the bounds of current ballistic technology (or 1982 technology, as it were). The original Destroids definitely make use of full or partial rail gun technology, as their muzzle velocities are described directly as rail guns or high speed cannons firing well beyond anything current ballistics can achieve. The MBR-04-Mk X Destroid Defender has an officially published muzzle velocity of 3,300 (m/s), which I believe that is double the best achievable today. Once technology progresses into the 2040 era, the muzzle velocity of the YF-19/VF-19A Excalibur GU-15 gun pod is described as 4,000 m/s, another figure far beyond the limit of chemical propellants. By 2059, the VF-25G Messiah is using the SSL-9B Dragunov Anti-Armor Sniper Rifle at a muzzle velocity of 6,200 m/s (jumping to 7,490 m/s in space), but that gun is also described as a rail gun. All this doesn't conclusively prove gun pods ARE rail guns of course (the gun pods could employ some other technology for high speed ballistics), but since the Macross universe has always employed high speed guns and rail cannons, it's a fair assumption.
