UN_MARINE

we've seen Cybertron, it was shown when Prime was narrating about the Allspark.

it's a crappy, burnt-out, spike-filled transforming rock.

the matrix's machine-controlled surface set had more appeal.

unless they redesign the planet, i don't want to see it again.

if they need a planet to hold their alien robot meetings, Mars would be a good place to do it. and the moon.

they already established the "they're out there" part, so Mars & the moon would be sensible bases.

i'm thinkin the 'cons would own Mars, since they killed a NASA rover there already.

and... Autobot moon base!

they could give us a recap & backstory anywhere. they could always say Cybertron's "just... over... there."

they should have FANS like us design some robot sketches for them!

i have a couple of suggestions...

generic truck robot

generic tank robot

it would be nice if they focused on the 'bots more this time around. not some TF cameo part 2.

the human cast friggin' annoys the hell outta me. and less flash, more substance please.

i really hope this can turn out to be a better movie.

forward & angled up (VF-1) "business end towards other guy"

that, and i like to think keeping the lasers pointed forward keeps them less prone to breaking/loosening

with the YF-19, it's all the way back

I never got to play a Macross unit in ACE 2 (lucky for me, unlike Graham, I do like Gundam). In fact, I got stuck on one mission. It's the one where there's a large group of enemy ships leaving the combat area, and you fail if more than four get away. Do you have any advice for finishing that mission? My big problem seems to be that after I take out a few ships, the target lock switches to the little guys.

i think the unit availability is affected by which story arc you choose at the beginning of the game. i chose the DYRL arc, & i got the Vf1's at around mission 40(?). IIRC i used the Vf1's on those kinds of missions, the gerwalk mode proves very useful in 'em.

flying a gundam's cool & all, but the 7/15 *PEW-PEW* just doesn't feel right compared to the 220/320 rounds of *BZZZZRRRRRRRRRRRRT*

yeah. the lock-on's always been stupid. the game gives you priority targets in missions, but the lock-on doesn't differentiate small-fry from bigbadthing.

when the lock-on goes stupid, i usually just fly toward the bigbadthing & hit it up close & personal.

the arrow thing is your friend

i have a couple of Terminators & a Crusader

i'm kinda in it for the models.

just had a few games with a friend, never been in an official game or tourney.

we were brought in by Dawn of War

yeah... i want that GW Baneblade too

i say bring it on!

have them retcon the story. let them bay-up the designs! let them mix & match all the character names & personalities.

then, there's finally gonna be a definitive difference between R & M. nobody's gonna mistake M for R afterwards.

ie: R=bad

and maybe, just maybe...

this movie's gonna cause another movie retaliation, just like GOJIRA 2K

have 'em show how things are done right!

...i'm still hoping for a Diaclone movie

EDIT:

and yes... i will probably see this movie.

it will be... interesting

i have the game!

for starters...

they simplified the menu. you won't get lost (as much) with the menu items.

there's now a training/tutorial mode which (i think) walks you through a specific unit's controls.

(i only used it with Nirvash, & the prompting seemed conssitent to Nirvash's controls/abilities)

plus 2 more for ground & space missions. what they're good for, i'm not sure yet.

the repair button's still there & it still costs "ace points"

the unit upgrading's pretty much a streamlined version of what they had in ACE 2

the controls are pretty much the same as ACE 2. if it's different in some way, i haven't noticed.

your support units actually seem to help now, and the team attack gauge seems easier to max up.

and the good news...

you get YF-19 as soon as mission 4 (i think) !!!

so much better than waiting 'til half the game for anything Macross in ACE 2

looks like they're headed in the right direction in this one.

i like how they expound on ideas from the novel, where a terminator can be anybody.

2 governators in a row was silly, 3 was just ridiculous

and the capacity of a terminator to actually blend in with humans up to a social level.

previously, they just needed to look human. now they act like humans! that's how it's done right!

but time travel...

that's kind of a stretch, especially with it being established as something 'incredibly difficult to do' in the 1st movie.

sarah has what... five years or so until she dies of leukemia in 1997

actually, according to the novel, Sarah dies in 2029

In the T2:JD book by Randal Frakes, Sarah Connor does die, but she dies escorting a convoy of supplies up from Mexico when it is ambushed by multiple HKs. John receives the news of his mother's death just as SKYNET falls, so it is a bitter victory since his mother just died, and he is also about to send Reese (his father) back in time to his eventual death at the hands of the first Terminator.

source here:

T3 review

it's about 1/3 down the page

hmmm.. so it's "Firefly the Terminator Slayer from Smallville" huh? let's see where it goes

this is what kids go for these days. This show isn't targeting UC fans or SEED fans, but middle school/freshman high schoolers of today.

that's what i mean, it gotten so mainstream, & 'for kids today' it's lost substance.

kinda like 'Bayformers'

it's not like i hate it or anything, i just see it like a downward spiral or something

i'm pretty sure i'm gonna get to watch a couple of episodes too, so who's to say?

...but the spinny, top-like thingy's something i could do without. it's gotta go

hmm... looks like another super-trendy, over-flashy & shallow show w/ even more derivative designs...

no thanks.

somehow, after 08th, Stardust, Sentinel & AoZ, nothing lives up to the standard anymore

SWEET ! OVA Getter1

i'm sold !!!!

the tumbler dies in this one ? aww....

well, on the bright side, it's keeping to tradition by introducing a new Batmobile (possibly)

i wonder how much they're taking from 'Long halloween' & 'Killing joke'...

as for the detective part, they hinted at it in begins. remember, it's how he picked Gordon out from all the rotten eggs. hopefully, they'll throw in more detecting.

presumably, how would The Batman track Joker down? i feel it's an obligatory aspect for the new film

and then you wonder... with Dent now part of the film, how does this new franchise end.... ?

PS:

hey! FAQ page

terminator FAQs

i'd prefer if they just stop making sequels.

if they did, i'd prefer it negating T3. or just the future war

that way, they can't screw up the series any more.

it should've ended with T2. even the novels say so.

the T2 novel actually says Sarah Connor dies in a raid vs skynet right before John sends Reese back in time

there's a site about it somewhere...

EDIT:

BINGO !! found it

terminator site

i've TF'ed mine a few times already, most of the scary "snaps of DOOM" wear out enough so they aren't DOOMING anymore after the 3rd try.

interestingly, the manual's prescribed method to unlock the shoulders is the dooming part. it says something like "pull out of shoulder socket".

i've found that you could do it safer by just pushing down on the shoulder 'til it pops out.

i'm actually happy with the engineering on this, and there's places that don't have any articulation, (like a rotating bicep) mostly due to the engineering, but pretty good overall.

yeah, i woulda liked at least 1 extra gimmick, Prime wins 4 to 1

and oddly enough, i don't have any concerns about Megs toppling over. i have those concerns with Prime!

ah.. fair enough i guess

i haven't seen the Cyberpunk v3 thing... exactly how bad was it?

hmm...

interesting proposition...

is this supposed to be freelance or full-time gig?

aww... now i gotta look for something decent in my stuff...

right on, sketchley

like i said, it's also the mindset of the designer, whether it's "robot eventually go berzerk" or "robot, friend..."

take this for example:

the APU in Matrix Revolutions vs the Dreadnought from Dawn of War.

they're the same thing, but why does the Dreadnought look like a much more feasible & intelligent design,

while the APU just looks badass, but pretty un-intelligent & over-elaborate? and by definition, they're both mecha.

these are some of the things we have to "un-learn" & "re-learn"

(oh my god !! science content! um, er... theory!)

anybody up for a "Mecha Boot Camp"

EDITED

nice perspective on things, sketchley

part of it might actually be your typical stereotyping,

although i'd like to think it has more to do with the mindset & training of the "aspiring mecha artist"

kinda like how guys like Adam Warren & others can't get the "manga" style right, because the western style of drawing is burned into their brains.

it's what they trained themselves to do most of their lives. suddenly, they do "manga" ? then everything goes horribly wrong.

we end up with something that "looks like" but isn't, and therefore is BAD

it's the same thing with mecha.

what were you guys trained with as your "classical style" ? east or west ?

if it's west... then i'm sorry to say it's all wrong. at least for mecha.

'cuz the so-called authorities "teaching" it, don't know half as they should

i had time with both styles & i found the eastern approach superior (i kinda buried myself in theory).

my 1st question to the mech guys i meet is usually "what's your influence?"

if they say *gasp* "Mechwarroir", i usually shake my head & go "hrrrrmmmmmm...."

*crowd goes "oooh... shouldn't have said that... we're gonna miss him, he was a nice guy"*

what's your story/stories ?

now about this writing thing... i can't. not very good anyway

i am compelled to respond to this statement...

Exactly what great fan mecha designs are you talking about? Perhaps Japanese ones from doujinshi? Show me some decent original mecha designs by English speakers.

i don't think it's fair to say English speakers can't do any good mecha.

i blame the guys that put out those horrible "How to draw mecha" books.

they can't do mecha. then they suddenly publish a book telling other people how they (can't) do mecha.

and with those the only things floating around, we end up with "crappy western mecha"

plus it's that stupid western mecha formula: MECH = TANK ...i think "Battletech" is to blame

if you were going to build something with arms, legs, & a head, that thing wouldn't be as simple as a tank! (duh)

however "smart" a tank is, a plane will always be smarter. therefore, the correct formula is MECHA = FIGHTER PLANE

those books just teach you the process of drawing mecha, but none of them teach how to do it right.

mecha is a head game. you also have to think. if you're not thinking, then you have a bad design/drawing.

of course... there's also people who can't draw at all

I'm pretty sure we can dish out decent designs right here. We're MACROSS WORLD !!!

some of us just have to "un-learn" the garbage from those said books

and... if anybody has nothing else better to do, i found the old design thread

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...c=13358&hl=

would love to think up a piece, but all i got is machine designs. they're in an old thread somewhere...

never actually thought about applying them anywhere, but they do look "Macrossy"

i was thinking maybe they could include the fixes to the '19 like the neck hinges (at least)

they already did it with the canards. including the improved neck hinges wouldn't be so bad, would it?

but that's just me

i started out with those cheap takatoku vf-1's & sdf-1's. they died

then *gasp* i hit a G.I. Joe phase... tragic...

after that mess, it was pretty much a Macross hunt for the majority of my high school life

eventually Yamato came along & the rest is history

well, that's one

i was referring to the tv series.

the SDF1 re-enters (i think) 2 times in the series, one of 'em shows the bent knees

but... we're talkin' movie version, so does that count ?