frothymug

I like that you changed the rock formation in the background from a realistic photo image into a look that is more in line with the rest of the drawing. I think that was the major flaw from the first iteration.

I think possibly two different things are being thought of here? One is a nuclear rocket thats turned on once the craft has entered orbit, the other is a nuclear rocket thats turned on when its leaving the ground (which would be different to say, a space probe using a nuclear power source for power). NASA experimented with the latter during the 60s, and theres been at least two fictional sources I know of that have considered the implications should a malfunction occur using one (Stephen Baxters "Voyage" and the graphic novel "Ministry of Space" - both set in alternate universes involving Mars mission attempts).

One potential issue is that you'd need to test the rocket somehow in any case - and early tests are usually ground-based...

Yup. You pretty much outlined the issue. I was talking about turning it on during the TMI burn for a Mars mission. Ground tests are definitely a good thing to have, but they don't have that luxury with nuclear. Essentially, you'd have to just build a good rocket system and bet on it being successful. If anything goes wrong during startup, there could be an escape system to bring the passengers back home while ditching the rest of the craft.

See, this is what most people think about nuclear rockets. It's not nuclear if you haven't turned on the reactor. For safety considerations, you only turn it on after the vehicle is on a no-return trajectory.

The next logical step to open up true space exploration would be the nuclear thermal rocket. The significant improvement in specific impulse means it's the best way for us to get to Mars and near-Earth asteroids. There's just this huge stigma surrounding it, but they're not dangerous to the planet if used as the final stage of the rocket.

Major Chaika story payoff this week. So good.

I haven't seen the latest episode yet, but the last few have been really great. I look forward to catching this one, now.

Just a head's up: I used Calibur, as in Excalibur. I was trying to come up with cool names for swords, since it would be an offensive-type of vehicle. Caliber would be, of course, the measurement of a gun barrel. Scimitar might also be a good name to use.

Hmm... For the brawler type: Boxer, Roundhouse, Morningstar, Flail, Aegis

Buster type: Abrams, Sherman, Blockbuster, Claymore, Calibur

Just some ideas off the top of my head.

Is this for a Gundam-themed work?

I'll just leave these here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Eastern_Air_Lines

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Regional_Jet

All internal combustion engines follow these four simple principles:

Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow

You also forgot "diffuse"

I lost interest before the first episode was over...

Freezing was ehhh... It was okay. It was good enough to get a second season, which took the story in a slightly different direction with some better character interaction. I still wouldn't recommend it, though.

I've watched a few episodes of Planetes and any space buff should enjoy it. Also currently trying to keep up with SAO2, Log Horizon, Akame ga Kill, and Chaika season 2.

It better not be Aerojet Rocketdyne. Been trying to get a job with them AND Boeing for months now... If my job search woes continue, I will be applying to go to UW to work on my master's degree this coming fall. If everything goes right, I'll be looking for a place to stay in the Renton area as well!

Good luck with your new job and living arrangements! Lucky bastard... grumble grumble

I came here to attempt to post my thoughts on the A/Z season finale, but I see that's already being taken care of.

I've tried some, but I'm waiting until the keybinding is built into the game itself instead of having to mess with xml configs to really get into it more (which should be in the upcoming 1.0 version of the Arena Commander). It's still going through a lot of play and input balancing iterations as well. There is still much for them to put in and refine.

I think they should have at least most of their promised features at launch, which at the current rate, I'm guessing is still about 2 years out. A lot of the past dev time spent has been on getting the ground work and backend stuff built. If you follow their "Around the Verse" show and posts, they mention a lot about how they were making the tools to that make generating content or automating certain tasks much faster so progress should accelerate as more of their tools are built out. They've already got a lot more they were/will be able to show this year than they were able to last year.

As for investment into the game at this point in time, you really don't need to put much more than $45 into it if you want a ship, beta access, and an arena commander pass which is comparable to spending money on other computer games these days anyway. You could even do $35 ($30 base package + $5 arena commander pass) if you don't care about the beta access. The only thing anyone is missing out on if only just doing a pledge now is the alpha access. You can still do the arena commander with the pass as much as you'd like and includes several dogfighting modes as well as racing which was just added in the 0.9 release.

I've been a big space sim fan since the days of WC1 and X-Wing, so I am highly anticipating when most of the core features including the persistent universe are in for people to test with.

My cockpit is almost complete.

I just need to get some rudder pedals and am awaiting the eventual consumer release of the oculus rift. I may get Elite: Dangerous as well when it is released to hold me over as it will be released a lot sooner than SC.

I know, right? Stupid cliff hanger at the end of Freespace 2...

I hope to, someday, be able to spend that kind of money on a boss gaming setup like yours. For now, I'll be happy with a good flight stick (Possibly HOTAS) and a set of rudders.

I read an article that said that the guys at Volition would almost commit murder to be able to work on Freespace 3. Seems that there are some serious legal issues with the now-defunct Interplay and who exactly owns the IP rights to Freespace.

So I had another headset die on me. the left ear went dead on my 3 month old pare of turtle beach XO4's. I'm not even sure if I want to bother trying to get it fixed/replaced by turtle beach. Any suggestions on how to proceed?

My suggestion: stop buying Turtle Beach. I had a set of 7.1s that started falling apart after a few months. I kept using them, but it seemed like something was breaking on them every few weeks. Looked online and saw that many other users were complaining of shoddy materials and durability issues.

I now have a set of Corsair Vengeance 1500s that have been top-notch since I got them over a year ago. The cord even survived a brutal ravaging when my gf ran it over with the vacuum cleaner.

I agree, I have similar thoughts on A/Z, but the soundtrack is so awesome, I pre-ordered when it pop up. :-)

How much did you get it for? Saw it on Amazon for about $40. I'll probably get it when I get some steady income again.

My current guilty pleasure right now is Rail Wars! As a railfan, I can apprecaite the attention to detail when it comes to Japan's railways. Unfortunely, most of the series is blatant fanservice.

I watched two episodes and completely agree. Attention to detail was great and the story and setting are very unique. Sometimes, they just can't help themselves with the fanservice, though... sometimes ruins a whole show.

I, too, have many of the same complaints about A/Z, but I have found it to be one of the best I've seen in quite some time.

The soundtrack finally got released on the 10th and I'm actually listening to it as I post this message. Yes, I had to download it to hear it, but I am definitely going to look into buying a legitimate copy, it's that good! LOVE the ending music for the series and the full track is completely badass.

After episode 11, it looks like they're gearing up for an episode 12 or 13 finale. If that turns out to be true, I will eagerly await any news of a new season. In the meantime, gonna let Log Horizon and Chaika keep me entertained for the fall.

SAO, while starting out strong, has really turned into a crawl. The story is progressing way too slowly and they just keep wasting time with chatter, instead of getting to the point. I noticed this in the first couple of episodes from a scene or two, but the pacing was better. I was more willing to let it slide then.

2001 was a great movie... until the ending.

I think these kinds of endings are common in their culture. You don't see too many American movies do that, unless you're JJ Abrams and you think it's okay to keep people wondering wtf is going on and then end the movie with no questions answered and a big middle finger in your face when the credits start to roll.

Try watching the movies again when you can get some good subs. Only then might you be able to see why we all enjoyed the movies to various extents. The series was also a great work. And despite its few flaws, we are all still waiting for more.

Out of that huge list, only looking forward to season 2 of Chaika and Log Horizon.

My hate stems from many Anime incessantly having finales with loose ends.

I, too, feel your pain. It's probably my #1 complaint about most shows I've watched. The 2nd movie sort of left things open and the fans have to speculate what happened. In the end credits, it's implied that Sheryl recovers and Alto will probably return soon. This comes from Sheryl re-introducing herself in one of the songs to the tune of something like "I'm back!..." Also, when she's lying on the bed in the hospital, you see her earring glimmer. That can be construed as Alto is still alive somewhere in the galaxy.

Yeah, it's a stretch, I know... but I still loved the 2nd movie. Just the ending was kind of weak and lame, but I can live with it.

Dammit, Volition! Get started making Freespace 3!

I'd offer some input, but I don't read often. Just wanted to wish you luck!

Has anyone played any of the dogfighting in the upcoming Star Citizen? I'm hesitant to jump in because there are so many promises that are being made for this game and I am skeptical that they will all be fulfilled by launch. What do you guys think of SC?

Finished Gosick last night before it was taken off CrunchyRoll. It was entertaining and pretty well put-together. The last 1/3 of the series started to get a bit abstract and I felt as if some story elements were stretching a bit, but I'd recommend it if you like imaginative mysteries.

Still working on Valkyria Chronicles, Kill la Kill, SAO 2, and Aldnoah Zero. Also caught up on Space Brothers and eagerly awaiting any news of another season.

Looking to check out No Game, No Life; Akame ga Kill!; Campione!; and Mushibugyo soon.

I'm recommending this show to pretty much anyone who watches anime. Even my gf is now interested in catching up to me so we can watch each new episode together.

Once that thread hit 3 pages in a matter of hours, I decided I wouldn't touch it with a 50-foot pole. I'd have to burn the pole.