Cacophanus

Cacophanus were you surprised to hear from the master that he would be interested on working on the Robotech movie as a mech designer? He seemed not just disappointed but maybe even slighted he wasn't contacted yet..

Not really, they are his designs and I get he wants to do right by them. As I said in the interview though, he clearly wanted to talk more about it but couldn't and he was indeed disappointed that they hadn't contacted him yet.

He was a genuinely lovely guy with an obviously active mind. I really wanted to show his thought processes on design too. Simply because the best way of showing that someone has stolen your idea is that they can't explain the thought process in terms of its conception.

So the whole section on how Macross came about was to show that really and then follow it up with examples of how people had copied him.

I'm always surprised that Forbes of all things has someone writing decent coverage of geeky/Japanese pop-culture. Any chance that Ollie Barder is actually a member of the forums? Anyways, good article.

Yep, been around here for aaaaaages and I've also known Graham for a good while too.

It's a good unit in BX too!

Need to get around to reviewing the game at some point...

The new variable fighter definitely looks like a follow on from the YF-30, which makes a lot of sense considering it got a DX Chogokin.

I did a quick news piece on Forbes about it too:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2015/09/25/upcoming-macross-delta-anime-shows-off-its-new-art-and-logo/

No... He gets shot down because he's in the wrong place at the wrong time. He does absolutely no investigating until he gets down on the planet.

But that's still wrong as he is currently investigating the planet throughout the course of the game.

Quote:

' He’s currently investigating the mysterious planet Ouroboros and in doing so is attacked by a mysterious variable fighter. Crash landing on the planet...'

Its not what he was doing BEFORE getting attacked. He doesnt start investigating or having any experience doing so until his asked to do so by Aisha - AFTER being shot down.

That's not right though, as he is currently investigating the planet. That's why he gets shot down in the first place, as the NUNS faction don't want people finding out about Ouroboros' secrets.

To clarify, I meant that investigating was not how/why he went to the planet, which is what the review says. Not to mention that theres a conversation where this is clarified and he expects to be able to go back. So technically, its a mistake.

To put it another way, if the manual of SF2 mistakenly said that Ryu was travelling the world fighting because he needed the money, would it change the fact that the player uses the character to fight? No, not at all. It would just be jarring when, when completed, the game talks about his ongoing quest to be find a worthy opponent.

Having said that, I was neither asking nor expecting that the review be changed. Was just pointing out an (admittedly minor) factual error.

It's not though, as it states he is investigating the planet - which he is doing. So it's not at all wrong.

The Compendium summary is based on the pre-release game text that was used for promotional purposes and was, therefore, purposefully vague.

Having said that, the compendium doesnt say that Leon was investigating Uroboros. The planet is on the frontier of (inner) known space, but its been settled twice over and isnt something that the SMS would 'investigate.' Leon was sent on a simple delivery errand (and Im going from memory here) to deliver the latest software for the VF-25 to the Uroboros branch. After that he was supposed to leave immediately. (And before anyone says anything, I do not consider the first hour of the game to be spoiler territory).

Too much detail for a brief synopsis in a review, to be sure, but the wording makes it sound like he was heading to the planet for an investigation/mystery, whereas the whole point is he accidentally gets stuck there and has nothing better to do in the end than to help Aisha since the intermittently occurring Uroboros Aurora can last for anything from a few weeks to a year and he has no choice but to wait it out.

A small nitpick, granted, but I expect game reviews to get their story right, especially one that so many fans were looking forward to like Macross 30. Then again, the other way to approach it would be to avoid most story details and keep it general like the Kotaku review did, i guess.

Imo neither review got the mix quite right. One had gameplay details/mechanics that the other neglected, while the other had more about returning characters/artwork that its counterpart left out. Just my two yen, of course.

Wasn't really bothered about covering the characters stuff, as I was more curious about the core gameplay mechanics (something Kotaku omitted). Especially as it's a game review, not Macross narrative review.

On the investigative element, I disagree (as Leon does investigate the planet throughout the course of the game) and it doesn't bother me so will stay as is.

The only other English review out there that Ive come across. Not a terrible review, altho he manages to get one plot point wrong in the first paragraph.

http://www.mechadamashii.com/reviews/reviews-macross-30-710/

Such as? It's the same as on Macross Compendium too: http://macross.anime.net/wiki/Macross_30:_Ginga_o_Tsunagu_Utagoe

I will try to do the VF-25S (Ozma's) tomorrow, as it's late here. Overall, the model kit (assembled and painted) does look more accurate to the show but you can't play with that really. This is very much a toy to be handled quite heavily I think, so the finish isn't as pristine as a kit. The glossy finish is very nice though and I am very happy that all three modes look good too!

Here are some pictures of the VF-25F up close. I apologise up front about the quality of these images as my camera isn't great. It's also worth noting that empirical analysis of these photos isn't recommended as I'm still getting to grips with the the toy and as such the transformation may still be a little messy (sorry!)...

These catches cause some issues as they often come unstuck if you try to pose the toy too much. It's not a big issue, as they reconnect fine but it can be a tad annoying.

This is as flush as the legs get in fighter mode, they do click into place though.

Happy birthday man! How did the durability turn out? Does it feel like anything on it might break? Any warning signs? Also, can the hands that hold the gun fit into the shield, or do you have to swap them out to transform back into fighter mode? Where does the gun holder go in battroid mode(the one that holds the gun in fighter mode)?

Durability wise it feels very sturdy and very much a "toy", so whilst the Yamato 1/60 toys have a better finish they are more display pieces that have to be handled with greater care. A lot of this is down to the usage of diecast in the joints, so it doesn't feel weak in any way. In terms of stuff breaking, not so sure on that yet. I'm very careful generally with toys and the only slight thing I've noticed is that the cowls on the legs that house the smaller fins sometimes don't quite click into place properly.

You have to swap the hands out for the transformation as far as I can see and the gun holder is purely functional for fighter mode, so it's not housed anywhere in battroid.

Thus far, the more I play with it the more I like it. Once you get used to how the transformation works it begins to click I think. I still haven't really found anything glaringly awful with it either but I'll post more later (hopefully with pictures!). As proof that I have them at least here's a happy photo of me...

I'm in Japan at the moment so managed to pick both the VF-25F and VF-25S today (which also turns out to be my birthday!). It was released first thing this morning and pretty much ALL the shops in Nagoya sold out of them by lunchtime. The transformation is a bit fiddly and whilst the diecast parts are nice, I still feel the 1/60 Yamato toys are better. In the flesh it's a lot less chunky than in the photos we've seen as well. Glad I've pre-ordered my VF-25F super packs for March!

Thought people here might be interested in this:

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2008/10/column...across_pion.php

I left out Macross VO because I wanted to cover the console iterations.

Yep, its compatible on all versions of PSPs, you won't have problems there.

Unless, you wanted homebrew as well, you'd be better off with the PSP-2000. PSP also has some screen issues raised by its buyers. YMMV.

Yeah, but those people are crazy. The new 3000 looks amazing compared to the 1000 and 2000 models. The interlacing issue is only something you notice on older PSone games that are being emulated, as it retains the interlacing rather than interpolating the fields (which is arguably more faithful). Macross Ace Frontier looks fantastic as it's being rendered progressively.

Quite enjoying the game. Playing the VF-17D. A bit disappointed that the designers made the same mistake as with VF-X2 in that they made the VF-17's gunpod a beam weapon, insted of a 7 barreled 30mm.

Designers don't make that call, it would be the IP holders. That's the problem with licensed games generally; too many cooks!

Doesn't look like the game has Macross Zero mecha.

http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?act=...st&id=54705

It's a 1 minute promo video, there's only so much they can fit in.

It's hard to say without handling one. Bandai's Gunbuster and Aquarion toys are really complex, and it's hard to imagine this being more complex than those but until someone holds one and transforms it we are left to guess. The truth is Bandai does have years of experience making transforming toys, and making them stellar. Of course they are able to screw up just like any other company, but typically their quality and attention to detail with their high-end toys are something you can bank on. With the spendy stuff Bandai doesn't f*** around.

I reckon Aquarion is probably the most complex transforming toy they made and one that was the most accurate (the SOC Gunbuster has far too many extra appendages). The is is because the mecha in the anime was CG rendered, so the model and proportions already existed in a consistent format for Bandai to rework into something tangible. This is a similar situation to what we have with Frontier as well.

The only real issue with Aquarion was that it just couldn't stand up under its own weight. That was more the fault of the design really, as it was very much top heavy.

Or Megazone 23.

That's a glorified dating sim with lots of 2D art, so very cheap to produce. It was hardly a full blown Garland simulator.

if this game ends up good i hope it turns up on the ps3 or something.

The reason Ace Frontier is on the PSP is because generating the assets and engine is cheaper to do and has a larger market base. The PS3, by comparison, is a far more expensive platform to work on as the assets need to be created for HD sets and the market base is considerably smaller. This means you're more likely to make money on a PSP game than a PS3 one, even if you sell the same numbers.

In this instance, Artdink already have a considerable amount of tech available from the Gundam Battle games. This makes development of Ace Frontier even more cost effective and it also means their designers can spend longer on making the game fun to play, as their tool set should be very stable and familiar by now.

One of the main reasons the Macross PS2 game was so polished, was down to AM2's useage of the Aero Dancing engine. So for the same money they could focus more time on art and design, rather than code (as the latter and been mostly done). Ace Frontier is in a similar position I think.

Yeah, the ACE games were pretty good, but I was thinking of the purely Macross games (VF-X, M3, the Sega one). But I still like the Gundam Battle games better than the ACE games, so either way, I'm psyched. Between this and Megaman 9, I'm pretty psyched to be a gamer.

The Gundam Battle games are very simple though, whereas ACE3 handled the complexity of multiple unit types far more coherently (especially transformation). A Macross game using the Gundam Battle engine will need a fair amount of technical restructuring not to mention a large of "finger in the air" design work to get it right (the latter is the more worrying aspect obviously but Artdink's experience assuages that somewhat). I still think the SEGA AM2 game is excellent though, even if it is just Aero Dancing with transformation.

Just been reading up on Artdink. As a result, my confidence level in this game has just gone up quite a bit. Hope they do a good job.

Graham

There's quite a good breakdown here as well:

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2007/11/column...er_happened.php

I'm actually more excited that it's being made by Artdink than any of the previous Macross game developers. Yes, including Sega/AM2. While the Sega one was good for a Macross game, it was still pretty mediocre as far as games at large go. On the other hand, I'm a HUGE fan of the Gundam Battle games, and if it plays just like (and the screenshots do look very similar, just with a more Macross-y HUD) them it'll easily be the best of the Macross games. Perhaps this will be the start of a series of Macross Ace games? Well, if MAF follows suit with the Gundam Battle games, you can expect a TON of different VFs.

I thought From Software did an excellent job of dealing with Macross mecha in AC3 (ACE2 wasn't half bad either). I agree that Artdink will most probably do a great job of this.

Excellent news, as Artdink did an excellent job with the recent Gundam PSP games (really solid multiplayer too). The only worry is how they'll handle the transformation element, as it was a little wonky in the Gundam games. They're an experienced developer though and they know the platform really well, so they aren't going in blind thankfully.

Yes, that's me when I still had my beard and moustache and much more hair on top. That pic is probably about 10-12 years old now. Gotta see if I still have the original somewhere. The pic was drawn by a girl in UK by the name of Emmeline Dobson and was part of a series. She also drew one for Rik Newman, webmaster of the macross.co.uk site and huge Macross 7 fan(see attached pic). There was another pic of Olie Barder (MWer: Cacophanous), with a Max DYRL VF-1 body IIRC, but that has been lost to the mists of time.

And yes, I have an original copy of the VF-X2 Special Version. So far I have resisted all requests to burn a copy or to make it available online. Maybe I'm being selfish, it's just I feel that something so rare and so hard to come by should remain rare and hard to come by.

Graham

There were actually four images that Emmeline did (and they were all actual cels too, reverse painted on plastic with acrylic). My cel was actually of Max's VF-1J from the TV series (not DYRL). The funny thing is that I no longer have the same haircut and I sport a goatee these days too, still it's a pretty cool Macross snapshot in time.

Macross Plus Game Edition...ungh...urgh...<vomits>