David Hingtgen

Just like to point out that the most advanced fighter in many years is also the overall boxiest-fuselage fighter in many years, the F-22. It's an angled F-15 and little more, shape-wise. Aircraft designers finally discovered something ship (and locomotive) designers did a while ago: boxy shapes have more internal volume, and are cheaper to make. Avionics determine an aircraft's future and usefulness more than its aerodynamics do nowadays. The Legacy Hornet isn't being phased out for age/aerodnyamic/engine reasons, it's run out of room for avionics! It simply can't be upgraded any more, because there's no room inside. (The F-14 actually got too old, it has room for some more electronic gizmos inside--but it would have been gone a decade earlier for avionics reasons if it didn't have that room) The Super Hornet has like half of its avionics space empty when it leaves the factory, to allow for the inevitable needs in the future. What are the new big LERXs on the Super Hornet used for? More electronics space! They're packed with them. Bigger, boxier fuselages also allow for more of another critical factor: fuel. More fuel is always good. Final comment: I do think the F-22 is kind of "against the trend", and is mainly boxy for stealth+internal carriage reasons. Go look at the YF-23---as un-boxy and 3-dimensionally complex as can be. (And stealthier and sleeker overall). The YF-23 was the future of aerodynamic design, the F-22 is "what Lockheed's lobby accomplished". Maybe in another 20 years we'll see planes that equal the YF-23. Gotta wait for the future to catch up to the past. PS--going with sketchley's comment---it's pretty common to design someting classified system-by-system, with almost no one knowing how it'll all come together until the end. (just gotta make sure it fits--also why military design is slow, expensive, and inefficient--hard to design stuff when no one knows what's going on) F-117 was done exactly like that. Wouldn't be surprised if the VF-1 hand-articulation team had no idea they were doing anything other than something for industrial factory robots, and that the VF-1 "eye sensor" team had no idea it was actually to be installed in a head, not some new type of submarine periscope.

Leave it to Kawamori to make the most complicated transformations the least documented... (it's obvious he has every step of every valk's transformation carefully figured out, he just doesn't write them down that often) I still want a more detailed explanation of the YF-21's shoulder transformation---the Design Works doesn't help much, I actually like the SHE instructions more! (but that's simplified and inaccurate--but far better than Yamato's)

The VF-1 has the F-14's gloves/bags/fences, intakes, overall wing design (especially the control surfaces) and beavertail--that's a LOT of the F-14's design cues, and utterly "not needed" for transformation or battroid looks--they're pure F-14 parts. He may not have been going for an F-14 to start with, but he sure ended up putting a lot of "looks exactly like the F-14 and nothing else" parts on it by the end. Basically agreeing with sketchley's last sentence.

Personally, I think it's an advanced form of a "self-healing" cutting mat. It's just "self healing tarmac". (The question isn't how it structually holds together--flightdecks are armored solid steel on par with battleship armor--the question is how does the asphalt on top survive almost unscathed)

While the Design Book has the VF-9's transformation, it's your standard "3-step process with 500 arrows all over, showing "before and after" Kawamori drawing." Even with labeled diagrams, it's still up to your own brain to figure out how the pieces GOT there. I first "noticed" the VF-9's transformation because of M3---I'd sit there looking at it transforming, basically thinking "WTF is it DOING?" It's one of the few asymmetrically-transforming valks (arms separate front/back, not left-right), which adds a twist. (literally) Flip and rotate, rotate and flip...

Yup, you can grab a few Zentradi ships, the size you can snag doesn't show up that often though---there's more multi-screen-long ones in the game than the smaller ones! (I can never keep Zentradi ship classes straight) But when you get them, they rock.

Now that this is the horizontally scrolling SHMUP thread: Thunderforce V is probably my fave of all time. Originally played it on the Saturn, but didn't beat it until I got the PSX version! Neither version is graphically perfect, each one omits some things. I prefer the PSX overall, but the Saturn does Stage 3 SO much better, it's like a different stage. Gradius V: I turned on invincibility and STILL couldn't beat the final extra stage! That convinced me I'd never beat it normally, so sold it. Gradius III is the best in the series by far, and among hte best shooters of all time. R-Type Final: usually just play through on easy to test out ships and weapons. "Future World" is a fave of mine, for both colors and weapons. Actually like it more than Delta I think. (Delta had better ships though--with fewer options, they seem to have tweaked them a lot more)

R-type Final has plenty of weapons that do the "mimic in trail" thing. Thunderforce 5 is actually the one I was thinking about, as the best weapon (never remember its name, but it moves opposite of you and is like a green vectoring laser) is also another really good way to get used to the "moving in trail" weapons, just in a different way. Gradius has the trailing options, but rarely use them like that--for Gradius I usually like stuff spread as much as possible.

M3=Max and Milia colors for lots of valks! Like the VF-4 and 11. Not the 19/22 though, disappointingly. Still, M7 has more valks and colors than DYRL. DYRL sure has a bigger fan base, but there's really not that many valk/schemes in it, especially with the overlaps from the TV series. I suspect Yamato just doesn't like M7--it's frankly too important of a license to ignore THAT many valks and schemes. I'd love a Jamming birds VF-11D.

Final stage, Max in gerwalk mode. That weapon alone makes Max the easiest to win with IMHO. If you've played enough R-type or Thunderforce you should be good at using that sort of weapon. Milia's battroid has the most firepower, but the rate of fire is so poor you'll die many times waiting for the next shot to go off. I think Hikaru probably averages out as the best as having no real weakness, while Max and Milia each have a weakness in one mode that counteracts the usefullness of another. But since Max has the best gerwalk, and its most useful in the final stage, it is thus easiest to win with him.

I don't recall seeing Max's VF-1J ever. As I recall the DYRL-esque sequence only ever showed Basara's VF-19---which is AFAIK the only time we've seen a VF-19 with its wings swept back to the intermediate position. (Which looks pretty cool, but is impossible to do in a transforming toy)

For "lesser known" valks I'd like (in order) the VF-4, VF-5000, or VF-3000. For sheer transforming bliss/complexity, the VF-9. That has SUCH a complicated transformation if you really analyze it. Like the quadruple-folding wings that make up the chest... No other valk forms half the battroid chest from the wings.

You have to join the club to get Roller. That's Takara's new strategy--want the version everyone wants/expects in the first place? Have to join the club and pay extra. Only way to get G1-colored MP Starscream, and Roller. It's completely backwards from how it should be. The clear/black/etc versions should be club exclusives, not the "right" versions. Next, they'll make whatever the new Prime is blue, and red Prime will be the exclusive...

Tried to post earlier, MW wasn't working for me for a while. Level select: (I never actually tried it I think, as I'd won by the time I found it) "When the Zamuse screen appears, press up, then go in a 360 degree counter clock- wise motion twice, then press L, R, L, R. Go to the options screen and if there's a Stage Select option, then it worked." I don't know if rolling or tapping out the d-pad works better. Minmei effect: if you stop shooting, a yellow glow will surround your valk. Touch an enemy with it. The power of Minmei's singing will bring them over to your side. You'd be surprised how powerful of an enemy you can get.

There is a level select, though I never used it. Game is definitely easiest with Max (especially last level), hardest with Milia. Last level has some of my all-time favorite SHMUP music. Be sure to use the Minmei effect to snag a Zentradi cruiser as often as possible, they are far better than any other of the "helpers" you can have.

Also, Springer kind of sucks in all 3 modes, whereas Astrotrain was the best triple-changer by far. (I'm a huge Bliztwing fan, but admit has a worse robot mode than Astrotrain---and jet mode is rather blocky, even accounting for the MiG-25 itself being rather blocky). Of course, there's always Octane... I love airliners, and I like tanker trucks. And don't forget Doubledealer, even though he's more remembered for being a double-powermaster and allegiance switcher (like Punch/Counterpunch). He was a very fun toy with an awesome vehicle mode, one of the better G1 bird modes, and a decent robot. (Standard G1 brick, but what wasn't during that year?) Decepticons had better triple-changers than Autobots, hands down.

Re-titled and moved. You're mean, Exo. ::edit:: And closed, especially since the main thread on this is still on the forum's first page.

Yup. Think about how it transforms to battroid. Also, the VF-11 has a high-speed mode just like the YF-19. PS---as I thought I remembered, the VFX-2 VF-22 has a scheme very similar to a certain blue-haired ace's. Can Yamato make the VFX scheme but "accidently" have a production run where the shade of blue is too light, coincidentally matching said ace's plane? :wink wink, nudge nudge: And maybe REALLY screw up one run and use red...

Holy Lonely Light, and My Friends--both of which I've listened to in my car.

Turned out really well!

While this thread is back up, I'll comment that I visited my brother a few weeks ago, and his 360 is really quiet. So I bought a new one about 3 weeks ago. Quieter than the previous one, but not nearly as quiet as my brother's. Barely livable, but we'll see how long it lasts-- Oblivion "updated" my 360 (the oblivion disc itself, the 360 has never been online) and ever since that happened, DOA 4 stutters at a certain spot in the opening. As I will soon approach the point of "can't do hassle-free return to Best Buy" I might get an extended warranty.

Basically, a goal of perfection. Sigma=statspeak for standard of deviation. 6=number of deviations. Thus 6 standard deviations off of normal (hopefully ABOVE) for quality. Thus 99.9997% of products are ok. That costs money to implement, but it's recouped by not having any returns or warranty issues or repairs or recalls, and high customer satisfaction and loyalty. (Technically it's not 6 sigma, it's really 4.5---but 6 sounds a lot better and has alliteration) Side note: I hated stats (both of them) more than any other class, ever. Of course, Yamato doesn't make enough items AFAIK to really use it. <3.4 defects per million is the goal--does Yamato come anywhere near a million valks? Lean manufacturing is a fancy way of saying "eliminate waste"---everything from material used to time. (and of course, employees) It goes deep, as literally EVERYTHING can be considered a potential for waste--from negotiating contracts to customer relationships to just how good of a warranty really needs to be provided. Heavily associated with 6 sigma because having 99.9996% perfect products greatly reduces many types of waste.

Exactly why it should have removable ones. Yamato's already done removable YF-21 gear in the FP version, but they could have been done a lot better if they had designed it like that originally. Of course, if they could get the wheels to twist 90 degrees like real ones, it'd help a lot. That's how Kawamori designs most of them (even the VF-1), that's how most modern fighters do it---that's the only way to get gear to fold into shallow wells. Just adding a simple twist-hinge can make most gear fit into a well half as deep as it'd otherwise need. (Assuming single-wheel gear--it doesn't help twin-wheel ones like most nosegear) For true "art of folding landing gear" watch an F-111 bring its gear up. I still have no idea exactly what happens. It like scissor-folds inside out. The gear is like 3 times bigger than the gear well... PS---Graham, why IS the YF-19 belly so thick? The previous one had retractable gear (though crude) and I don't recall it being nearly as bad. Especially a question as you move forward--the YF-19 nose gear retracts backwards, with the wheels at the rear of the bay---the front part of the gear well/belly bulge should only need be deep enough to accomodate the strut itself, yet it looks to be thickest under the canards. (And further looking makes me think it's not so much the thickness that looks bad, but the lack of curve---the belly should be concave, even if not overtly--but the Yamato lineart has the belly being a pretty straight line from under the cockpit to the intakes) Narrowing it just a bit directly under the canards would help a lot, I think.

Yeah, I just use the blue Clay Magic. AFAIK only "professional" clay colors mean anything---if it's off the shelf, it's whatever color that manufacturer makes, they're all fairly close at the consumer level. It's not overspray, it's a glob. A long thin glob, very much like you'd get from splattered tar, or gum. Only it's bright blue. So it's thick--probably thicker than the clearcoat itself, laying on top of the clearcoat. And almost rock hard.

Separate post because I just love making this point, as I feel I'm vindicated so often: See the D'Stance YF-21? See how it DOESN'T have retractable gear? Just like the amazing Model Grafix converted Hasegawa YF-19? That's what happens when you accept separate gear parts. Amazing fighter modes. You sacrifice a heck of a lot for working gear, which really isn't worth it. I mean, it's not like it even retracts in the same manner as the "real" one. The Yamato YF-21 doesn't even have its gear in the right part of the plane because of concessions needed to make it with working retraction. It works for the sake of working, not because it's accurate or makes any mode look better. Having a retractable nose gear would screw up the entire front end on the D'Stance, and there's no way that amazingly superior belly would happen with retracting main gear. Maybe that's the main reason the Yamato has such open sides---"retracting gear at any cost to fighter mode". (The SHE didn't have gear mounted in its belly either, and it has better sides/shoulders than the otherwise very similar Yamato--coincidence? Separate gear looks better itself, and makes all modes look better, with fighter mode looking tons better. And if you don't like separate gear simply because it's separate and the transformation is no longer "perfect"---what do you do with FAST packs when they're not installed, or TV-style 1/48 hands? Or RMS-1 missiles when you have all the missile pods installed? No valk can accomodate EVERY piece on itself at once, some pieces just have to be kept separate. Small price to pay for such an amazingly improved fighter mode. But hey, if you think the Yamato YF-21 with its tiny ugly working gear is worth how it looks in fighter mode from the side or below, keep insisting on having not a single piece come off to transform. Not that you would have to remove any pieces to transform it even with removable gear, you only have to swap if you want the gear down. Put it on a stand and you'd never have to swap. Signed, David Hingtgen, huge proponent of removable gear in transforming valks, especially the YF-19 and -21.