1/1 LowViz Lurker

I agree with the first bit, (downloading and picking the titles you want)but hate the second bit. (monthly fees suck) I prefer to actually own the game I just paid money for, not rent a bunch of games I may or may not play within a certain time limit. Maybe they can have a seperate "you can rent any game in the catalogue" deal which would be like renting from a videostore for a while so that you can try out games you ordinarily wouldn't want to risk buying. (that is you can try it, play 1/8th of the way through, realise the game sucks and not want to waste your time on it, or just play a short title with crappy replay value that you don't want to own once you have seen everything.) As an example: I have been playing GBA Steet fighter alpha 3 upper, everyday since it was first released up till today and have more than got my money's worth out of the game at full price. But under the rental scheme, I would have paid way more than was reasonable. Some people only want the best of the best and ignore the 90% of shovelware out there regardless of the excitement that can come from "playing any game from a choice of hundreds" and impressing me with the range of titles vs the quality. When the battery finally fails in the cartridge and I can no longer keep all my unlocked goodies, (certain modes and characters need to be unlocked) I want to be able to say I still own the game and play it without being pressured or forced to get my money's worth under a time limit that comes with monthly fees. One of the benefits of emulation scene is the fact that the diehard hobbyist and fan of the title has preserved history when the machines that those games once ran on failed, became too expensive to fix, or just plain became rare and hard to find. (whether due to not being widely popular, or having limited release etc) True there was validity in the criticism that it can be abused and having the ability to play these classics on your computer is just so people can get something for free and not pay anything (just like with piracy) but it was born out of a genuine need to preserve the originals in some form or another for those who already owned and bought the game, but whose hardware that it ran on, would maybe fail in the future and the expectation that they could no longer enjoy the classic game once that time came and it was hard to get, or rare to find. (and when you did find it, it was way out of the price range that is reasonable. For an example: some carts on the neogeo for those who prided themselves on owning the rare games and boosted the prices, despite the games not really being worth it)

I want them to do to the yf21/vf22* what they did to that. The black kinda looks shiny and stuff. Is there an official name for this vf1J on the box? Like stealth vf1J, or "Roy undead VF-1J" or something? Or do we just call it low vis ver 1.5? *er that is if they get that far.

So buy it and let us know what its like already sheesh.

Actually I think they go more for the MPC and not the cheaper stuff despite these actually being decent quality. Maybe they are afraid of small scale toys because it means less details?

For me Goldeneye was its best game. So many hours I spent trying to perfect times and unlock all the modes. And the missions were like: "if you screw up one little thing, you got to start the mission fresh. No save points for you weaksauce gamer!" Rare difficulty makes a man out of you. Zelda would be next. Seriously all of nintendo's AAA+ titles are the reason you buy thier console not the other way around. (buying the console in hopes the games flow to it because developers want to take advantage of high userbase) That's the thing I respect about nintendo: they do support thier own system regardless of if the third parties abandon it. Not too many others would be able to survive alone imo because they don't necessarily have the strong software to let them survive under the software drought condition. This means if you buy a nintendo console you at least have quality. The only problem is like others have mentioned a hardcore gamer wants more. You can't live on a nintendo games alone and you need your diet of 2d fighters, shooters, rpgs etc as well. Overall the thing that stood out for me was how fun multiplayer games were with the extra controller ports. It was a good idea because for many people like me who used to devote hours of playtime on games on the snes like superbomberman, secret of mana and such, having to buy a peripheral just to access the multiplayer modes (and the fact that not all games make use of third party peripherals) was a barrier of entry for many who would rather spend money on a new game than another peripheral. One big problem with nintendo 64 though is unlike the pixelisation problem of the ps1, it has the opposite extreme: very very blurry textures. Everything looks out of focus and for some games like Perfect dark, (where they have added motion blur for some bits to make it even worse) it can really make you sick.. (just moving the camera is a mess) Of course we can look back and say how crap the framerates are now, but for me, the nintendo made titles were some of the best pieces of software ever crafted for thier time. I think next-generation agazine had Zelda TOOT at like number 1 of all time greatest games or something at some point all those years ago. (they did all the way up to top 100 "of all time", and I have to say I agree with a lot of thier choices.) Since time doesn't stand still lets all hope they can outdo themselves. As for games like mario kart 64: I actualy did not like this as much as the snes original since it focused less on racing and more on weapons. It bolted on extra stuff but somehow felt less satisfying when you win a race. I guess it is similar to how some people love 2d fighters but just not the "VS" style of play where the novelty (all the fighters from different universes having a party and fighting each other) is what draws you more than the gameplay. (emphasis on skills and knowledge of the engine, not just button mashing and repeating a overpowered super move ) I felt that MK 64 was a dumbed down mario kart in a sense because it felt like you could win even if you had crap skills. It is one of the few nintendo titles I felt lost some "magic" as it progressed.

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...mp;#entry421111 May not be stealth but a very dark blue in shadow. Looks cool anyway. The low vis pilot is actually sitting in the cockpit but you can't see him since he is low vis and hiding in the shadow. /joke

I don't mind if they leave the existing hands as is to please perfect transformation nazis and demonstrate that you can fit them inside the arm, but I think (similar to GBP side covers for vf-1 and tampo printing) optional fixed pose "robot" hands (whether they can fit into the arm or not) wouldn't be asking too much if they were also included. With tv series vf-1 valks, we got the bubble hands and chicken hands, so I think it would be good if they allowed slightly more aesthetically pleasing robot hands too. (in place of the usual bubble hands that vf-1 1/48s get) They did it before with GBP, (made more aesthetically pleasing hands) now just do something similar but not so huge. That would be just right for us battroid mode fans.

Or in other words: yamato want to cash in on as many variant repaints of the same thing like any other toy company! Next release: Grey GBP Armor for the low vis I. Used in the defence of an optically camoflaged carrier (using recycled anti-gravity parts) floating in the clouds during Space War I. (which was destroyed in the rain of death so you didn't get a chance to see it amidst all the destruction) /joke We didn't see vf0 until 20 years after seeing the original tv series right? So anything is possible. Who knew that un spacy had more advanced looking valks than vf1 before SW I?

I think they even still use some sound effects in gundam seed that I can recognise from macross. I wish they kept the old transforming sound from the tv series and DYRL instead of the Ka-chiiiiiing that you hear when a valk transforms. It sounds really loud and annoying.

Macross is cooler than gundam. But gundam has so many different designs that it is hard not to notice it when you walk into a store. Plus there is generally a lot more characters involved in a gundam show. So they have more range. But the valk is 'sexier' than most gundam machines imo. Apart from the murasame I don't see many robots that look like they be able to beat a valk in a one on one mecha fight because they are weighted down by having 50 different weapons at once and are too big. One of my favourite mechas are the transformable ones in the gundam series though. Like the Gaia gundam and the murasame. If they want to attract buyers I think they should just have display of them in all three modes and just pack the toys in compact space when they are in the box. I think they would benefit only if the collector who cares about presentation made a decision about the toy based on box design and how it looks in a box (who had no intention of touching it). But apart from that I bet the majority of buyers wouldn't care. If squeezing them into a small space means less shipping cost and savings I bet most would opt for sacrificing the presentation.

I would say Super Stealth = DYRL because of the DYRL FP if that makes any sense. Strike Cannons might or might not have existed in the tv series if you go only by what your eyes see. (and not by the rule of: DYRL designs are canon and tv series design is non-existent. eg Exedol with hair in SWI when he is supposed to be bald as seen in macross 7) Using the "TV series design is non-existent" rule, that would mean people might have actually had strike cannon since you could say that the primitive valk that used the old cockpit, the flight suit etc in the tv series were not the "real ones". Only the story/events themselves were real, and that the designs were just "placeholder" (can change) to make it easy on artists or whatever. If they remade the tv series and decided to mix tv series story with DYRL designs (or even just have both tv series and DYRL designs in the same show as the valkyrie gradually undergoes changes during the war) then they could clear up confusion. Have 1J with stripes horizontal and tv series cockpit, and then later versions of 1J with vertical stripes. heh Have super valkryies given to ace pilots first, then later as they become more common, CF gets all the FP while the best get the strike cannon. etc Eventually post SW1 VF-1 becomes outdated and vf4 is the norm. Both a non-transformable version and a later transformable version. etc and so on. (no waste, and it would allow them to cash in on as many designs as they can) Same thing with enemies: I like the green Qrau over the yucky purple ones. Keep green and don't chuck it out, just make the DYRL one a seperate version. (with the insides of the mecha changing over time)

I know but it is the 19. May as well make it perfect. Glowing pinpoint barrier hands sounds funny. They could make a clear plastic hand with a green tint (like the beam saber from gundam models) and the hand inside the clear plastic is reflective (ie like tin foil) so that it shines a bit. OR alternatively have a tiny battery inside the forearm which powers a light inside the clear plastic hollow hand so it lights up like a christmas light. hehe Maybe an exclusive like the clear fast pack covers were to vf1?

I think it has a whirling sound mixed with a buzzsaw but imagine a giant equivalent to that. Bwrrrrrr-z-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (with a very quick vibration in each z noise) But the official sound for all aircraft should be *schwoo! *as in the masterpiece starscream ad Lasers: Pachoo (the kind of sfx you hear in a 80s arcade game)

I think the more points of articulation the better. It all adds up: double jointed knees, shoulder swivel, feet that can be angled, hands whose wrists can adjust to point the weapon straight with a bent elbow, head that can tilt sideways to look like it is lining up a shot etc ..all helps make the toy better. But I don't think you necessarily have to sacrifice articulation for sturdiness. These are pretty big. I would trade today's more posable figures with yesterday's limited posability-but kid-proof-toughness any day. I just hope there is no garland incident with a bit that snaps easily or anything. No replacement parts for us people outside japan..

For me Cube did ok if you are a casual gamer. I've always said this before: nintendo consoles are not enough if you are hardcore gamer playing lot of games from many different genres from many different companies and sinking hours of your life into gaming as an obsession or hobby. Buy a nintendo and you might miss out on a rpg franchise you like. Buy an xbox and you might get stuck with primarily western made games (due to unpopularity of foriegn consoles and games in japan) and pc ports with no soul. Get a ps2 and you miss out on the occasional nintendo masterpiece and for a good part of the life of the system, have to put up with a platform that takes ages for a developer to get used to because they struggle to understand the architecture without enough support. (first gen ps2 games looked even worse than dreamcast 1st gen games lol) This is why I've always been multiplatform. It's expensive, but you end up with the best and never any worry of running out of stuff to play or limited in the library. Halo is great on xbox, but i can't ignore the monkey ball, the metroid prime, the zeldas etc on the cube or the devil may cry on ps2. God of War and GT is fun on ps2, but there are things like Ninja Gaiden and MSR for the box. I feel sorry for those who do have to make the tough choice on which console to suport but who don't want to miss out on anything. (the same reason I dread any kind of format war - the dreamcast had such great quality titles, but really wasn't hyped enough the way the ps2 was and thanks to the exodus of developer support its a real shame it died) I think the choice to add 3d controller is a good one not because I like to play my existing games using this controller because it forces me to, but that it means developers can now make games from the ground up designed for this controller from the beginning. How succesful they can pull it off depends on the tweaking and testing of the in-game control so it is responsive and accurate. (as I mentioned with metroid prime 3, I'm glad they made a more sensitive control mode for it for those who use it.) What usually happens is the more high profile titles end up getting ported from one system to another. (ie metal gear, gta for example) and as a multiplatform console gamer, what I don't want to see is lazy ass ports again like last gen. The use of the wii controller I hope will force developers to take the specfic platform they develop on more seriously instead of milking the same game across so many platforms and wasting resources because there are different teams all making the same games on each one. Nobody who is a multiplatform gamer will buy the worst version of the game, they will instead choose the best version and ignore the crappier ports that appear on the other system. Although people want to see the top titles on thier fave system and get excited about having the chance to play them on thier chosen platform, for me it can get a little boring because the developer should spend more time making something new. (not milking stuff that is already done - I know it is idealistic but that is just what I like to see - progress, and games that take advantage of the platform they are released on and break some kind of new ground)

It could just mean DYRL you know....But woohooo the vf-4 is confirmed! just kidding..

Stealth = the credit card valk alternative for those who want something that looks like it. I reckon at some point we are all envious of things we don't have and that this envy counteracts what the masses think somewhat. Whether it be low vis 1, ultra rare credit card valk, limited edition CF (based on the idea that company knows it is risky to do unpopular valks, and the fan decides he doesn't want to "miss out" so buys it on impulse hoping it really doesn't become easy to find etc) or just things that have not ever been done. Alaska base valks for example? I doubt many people would remember that one. But I belive if it was aimed only for a diehard fan or collector people would end up buying that for reasons of fear that it won't be there tommorow. (like my need to get Roy VF1S first just because I knew the popularity of the character would make it a pain in the ass to find. With reissues though that attitude changes since now everyone has it) It's all in how you present it. If tommorow the super stealth becomes really hard to get because people thought the idea of a black valk was stupid because it wasn't even seen in the tv series fighting, then I think the diehard will jump at the opportunity to buy them up in the hope that they are the lucky one who bought up the last ones. I personally like the idea of an alternate paintscheme because I think of macross as not just its story but as a world where humans will customise thier mecha too and just because you don't see them in a series or whatever, does not mean it couldn't exist in that world. (if they can have clown valks and goofy civilian custom paintschemes I wouldn't rule out camo and stealth ones) So long as they target the collector and target the masses, successfully giving them the thing that they most demand, then they can exploit each group in different ways and come away better for providing each one what they want, rather than if they only catered to one group over another. (ie brownies unpopular with masses, but still appealing to some collectors who want to at some point have "everything in a line" and maybe even multiples of the unpopular stuff for the uncertain future. That is to say buying the unpopular stuff now, is like thier "security" from the fear it won't be there tommorow if no one (the masses) wants it. It can happen and if you play on that fear, you can manipulate them ) This is why I think the sudden release of all the non-canon stuff. It's riding on the idea of generating new demand for the vf1 for collectors who already "have everything" and increases the total number of things they can sell to them. Everytime I see nintendo release a new colored game system, (essentialy the same as the plain one) I think it is playing on the idea that: "everyone has the old color, this new one will set you apart from the pack" kind of thing. (and then people actually go to great lengths to get it, selling off thier old one to get the new one because it is in a color they like )

Another reason why yamato releasing so much at once runs the risk of people missing out on news of some of it. Meaning they could very well not buy something just because they are not aware of its existence...

It's funny how they would go out of thier way to deliberately hide the fact that the shoulder could move like that so that if you look at older pics you don't see it. The thrusters in the feet light up (something similar to what others want the fold booster to do?) hehe just kidding. The wings can angle down to look more like the 1/72? slightly larger, non-perfect-transforming, posable, man hands? Just throwing out ideas while bored.

Thanks for the mag scan. Looking at these pics now. Really looking forward to when these are finally out. The shoulders being able to rotate up like that really helps the battroid mode to look more natural like you see in anime where armor doesn't appear to be too restrictive and the robot can move and act almost like giant human. Really happy about that. (all the litle improvement like double jointed knees, increased posability of the shoulders is a real plus point for us "battroid mode poser/player" people. Whatever reasons people aren't buying it because they think its fighter mode looks fat from the side is outweighed by the fact this PT toy looks great in all modes imo. I especially like how the shoulders are pushed up for gerwak mode like that. As if to maintain balance by raising the arms slightly for a landing or just gliding across the surface of the ground and needing to focus the weight close to its centre of gravity. With the increased posability it allows you to add more of that "body language" to the mecha that you see in animation. The little details like that makes a difference to me. By the time they get around to yf21 and vf11, I reckon robot modes for future releases will look even better. (I never liked how inflexible the shoulders look on the 1/72 vf11 in battroid mode to be honest and how they are always perfectly straight) What you want is to pretty much allow for a robot to have the shoulders kind of hunched in so it can look like it is trying to focus its aim on something. I hope this wins all kind of toy of the year awards. It's good to see a complex mecha like the 19 being made. Although I think the 19 'boob' and "dangly bits" (no not those ones hehe) makes it less practical than the vf1 robot mode, the 19 has an attitude of its own that is hard not to like in robot mode especially when you see it move around in the anime. And the gunpod imo just looks cooler than the vf1. I'm hoping that everything locks and snaps together firmly just like the 1/48 though. That is one of the things I will be looking out for. I hated that on the 1/72 the upper half of the robot would just flip out suddenly or how the gunpod would swivel around sideways in fighter mode loosely and you would just get pissed off and not have it stored underneath there at all. These are the things I hope are all fixed.

http://www.upload2.net/page/download/VibIz...sguide.zip.html ^ I've uploaded it for you at a free file hosting site. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and then click on the download link. To view: 1. Just unzip all files to a temp directory using winzip. 2. open a webbrowser like IE 3. drag and drop the html file in the temp directory into the browser window to view it. It should stay up there for about a year. LMK if there are any problems. I'm just going to cut and paste some info about this that I thought might be important for me to remember for some reason:

But what if you had no interest in the strike cannon due to it not being in the tv series? I would much prefer a TV Hikaru 1S with only the super parts to save money (all the required parts are in the one package) than buying the super+strike parts seperate.

Saigado... I'm not an expert in japanese comics, but I think I have heard the name before. Is he the artist for those king of fighters comics where the characters are always doing each other? Those are my fave ones! Best lesbian fighting game character hand drawn art I've seen.

Ok but they could do something like change the box or something so a MIB collector does feel like it's a "new thing"; a unique thing, worth getting. (similar to robotech MPC fans who love the unique packaging of the MPC and will display those boxes with spine facing you, proud that everything is there and it looks good to own it all) I dunno, just seems like it would make a lot of sense having all the tv character in all thier stages to keep people interested/"surprised" or whatever. They could reissue older release at the same time if they wanted to. So the 199th reissue of DYRL Roy is simulataneous with a first release of tv roy with his bubble hands or whatever distinguishing characteristics there were that seperate the tv one from his DYRL one. I made the suggestion that perhaps if they ever do the TV 1S Roy, that they just do the honourable thing and not milk a VF1S tv Hikaru (exact same plane, different pilot) and instead just include two pilots seeing as Hikaru eventually uses the same 1S as his sempai in the series. Is that too much to ask? I don't think so. Could people easily make a custom by just taking some pilot or parts from another release? Probably. But officially it would count as a "new", never-seen-yet canon valk. (which plugs in a gap in the tv line for fans of that) A grey pilot might not mean much, but neither does a green stripe that differentiates DYRL kakizaki from others..

What I want though is a normal naked valk tv Roy where he is wearing the grey flightsuit and all. Not strike Roy. Strike Roy can be DYRL since in DYRL he was flying around in one. You can have your cake and eat it is my reasoning. Just give roy the tv hands, the horizontal stripes on the wrist (not the vertical ones) and the grey flight suit instead of space suit) Then follow that up with TV Hikaru 1S with Super. (because it was these three valks that survived the war: 1. super max 2. super milia 3. Super hikaru ..that kicked so much ass and were most "complete" at this point. It sorta feels wrong to have tv max+milia complete in upgraded form with tv fast packs, but no hikaru 1S with tv fast packs. And Hikaru was the skull leader in the series at that point so he is much more important in terms of story. You know what I mean? Why not, instead of reissuing the same thing and be boring, try a new release we haven't seen yet to entice completists? A collector can then say "this is where all the tv valks are" (pointing to all three tv supers with the proper pilots and arms and fast packs etc) "..and here are the DYRL versions". (with all the DYRL color coded stripes ) Just to feel everything is "complete". No mixing, modding, or recasting required. It would seem the next logical thing to do is continue releasing all the combinations from that tv series instead of only reissuing the same stuff. (not that I wouldn't also mind that..stuff paying higher than normal prices to ebay sellers ) Also another thing: For tv series valks, I would trade the lack of the short range missiles that you normally get, for a pair of GBP side parts. Given that these boxes are not seen in the tv series, it would be a good trade off. TV series gets the side covers while DYRL get 4 sets of the micro missile boxes that were not used in the tv series. Also TV series valks had no strike cannon, (remember it would just be a super valk, not a strike valk) so cost would be reduced.