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sketchley

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Everything posted by sketchley

  1. sketchley
    Be careful with attributing too much into that concept drawing, as it was drawn years after a fact by someone not associated with the production in any way. As skilled an artist as Matt Willis is, he's only extrapolated from what's seen on screen. Here's the actual concept drawing from the production staff: http://www.robotech-reference-guide.org/new.images/AircraftAux/hangar1.jpg
  2. sketchley
    Aside from the Power-Up Gurāji launcher Seto mentioned, we only get things like "The Picket Ship is the smallest ship in the Zentrādi Forces, and it bears the burden of such things as supporting the other ships, and controlling the sorties of the Jināru Fighter Pods. It is furnished with a launch port in the center of the stern for vehicles such as the Jināru. http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/ZentraadiShips/ZentPicket.php However, something described as the "Automated Resupply Craft" (aka: Refueling Tanker) appears in the lineart, and was animated as a background element in the 'medium-sized hangar' (in the episode where they break into Buritai's ship to rescue Misa just after her Cat's Eye is captured). There is NOTHING written about it. However, it implies a lot of things about Zentrādi mecha, launch and recover operations, and onboard fuel reserves, doesn't it? The only pictures readily available on the internet: http://www.robotech-reference-guide.org/AircraftAux/zen_Tanker.html
  3. sketchley
    Nothing's impossible in science fiction. My personal interpretation is that the Protoculture are like the Ancients in Stargate SG-1: remaining groups moved on to different galaxies or evolved into different forms of life (not saying that the Protoculture evolved into energy based beings, mind you). However, until Kawamori-san wants to tell a story involving Protoculture survivors, it's probably not going to happen.
  4. sketchley
    It's not so much that one is based off the other, but that the Zentrādi mecha as a whole share the same theme: they're all pods. Even the Battle Suits are variants on the "pod with limbs" theme. This is more apparent in the Quadoran-Rō than the Nūjaderu-Gā, of course.
  5. sketchley
    It is. In Macross Plus Game Edition, the Regult is particularly adapt at lethal spinning roundhouse kicks. It's also one of the most manoeuvrable mecha you can pilot in the game. I think Seto has convoluted "(physically) hard to operate" with "operates poorly". I haven't come across much that claims the latter, but many sources state the former—the most extreme being the Zentradi-held opinion that they'd rather get out and walk than drive a Regult!
  6. sketchley
    It seems to be par for the course for Delta. ... even Frontier. If things follow the usual pattern, it won't be until they release the models that we'll start to see stats in detail.
  7. sketchley
    Yes, it would. However, that backstory is what Kawamori-san decided that it would be. Perhaps he forgot about the FBz-99G's backstory, and used the main fighter of the M7 era? (Keeping in mind that the VF-14 design—let alone backstory—wasn't finalized until 2 or 3 years later, at the time of the Feios Valkyrie's debut in the real world).
  8. sketchley
    Odd behaviour. Especially as the site is static, and not taking in user info. Firefox just flags it as "connection is not secure" and Kaspersky doesn't mention a thing about it. As for resolving it, it all involves $$$ to buy a SSL certificate. Which is counterproductive, as it's a free hosting service. Not sure why the host isn't providing it, either. Get what you pay for, I guess. 🤷‍♂️
  9. sketchley
    Aside from ancillary evidence—like the structural enhancements you mention—there hasn't been much of anything said. I'd presume that those structural changes only kick in when being enlarged, as it starts to explain things like Exsedore's comments about losing some of his memory when he is shrunk and enlarged again, or Kuran Kuran becoming child-like when human size. I agree with those sentiments. However, I think one reason why it is generally disliked is that it is a band-aid over a flaw in the original: the Zentradi aren't really developed at all. Delving into that, in some ways, in the original it's implied that the rank-and-file Zentradi soldiers are like oil drilling platform workers in the '70's or naval crew in WWII. You know, without TV and before things like VCRs were available, and the off-duty workers spent their free time in 'traditional' ways. In short: long hours of hard work (and/or combat drills), and little free time with few things to do in that time.
  10. sketchley
    As it's working for me and some others, it *may* be on your end. Not your PC per se, but your ISP *may* be blocking it (you know the story: free sites getting abused by spammers, gets put on someone's blacklist, etc.) Troubleshooting (as it may just be something on that particular link), do either of the following main "index" links work for you? http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/index.php http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/ The only other thing that comes immediately to mind is that the latest version of Firefox (ver. 96) is rendering some pages differently than other. I've traced it down to whether <meta charset="utf-8"/> is declared in the <head> or not (that linked page is one of those without the utf-8 header). I'm not sure if not having that code in the header would prevent you from seeing the pages, but you can check with, E.g.: (with utf-8 header): http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/character/Step6.php (without utf-8 header): http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Statistics/character/Step8.php This all may be a non-issue for most everyone, but it's an annoying new effect from the Mozilla team's bizarre decision to remove the option to select text encoding! 🙄
  11. sketchley
    First appeared in the PS1 game VF-X2. In the same star system as planet Eden. http://sdfyodogawa.mywebcommunity.org/Stats/Locations/Eden.php (green text is official setting/canon).
  12. sketchley
    "The Submarine Type Valkyrie is perfected." "A booster made for underwater combat. It can even attain great speed underwater."
  13. sketchley
    It's been awhile since I played that game, but didn't it do a space fold just after the hero penetrates inside the ship? I may be forgetting things, as it's been ages since I played that game. Too much "fly to the next checkpoint" and not enough jumping straight to the action!
  14. sketchley
    If memory serves, that Mobile Fortress had successfully made a space fold to Earth, and was in the process of attacking Earth when it was stopped (in or near orbit). However, the events depicted in Digital Mission VF-X are a bit of a grey area. Official chronologies acknowledge that the Milky Dolls were kidnapped and the VF-X unit were involved in their rescue (the setting at the start of the game) ... and then nothing else is mentioned about it! It's almost like Kawamori-san doesn't know how to incorporate it, or has selectively forgotten the conclusion of the game! Our only recourse is to revert to Kawamori-san's standard answer about the differences between the Macross series: what we're seeing is an in-universe fictionalization of real events. So, what was depicted as the Mobile Fortress may just have been another Beginhill Training Ship used as a stand-in (like the Mobile Fortress in the in-universe production of DYRL) and the real enemy ship was something else, and the attack on Earth may not have been as large in scale as the game suggests that it was. Assuming that the game events happened as depicted, the Mobile Fortress was decrepit: it was abandoned and buried on a planet for eons, had only been recently rediscovered by Lost Zentradi (from the Bodoru Main Fleet), who had recently reactivated it (as official sources state that those ships have a self-repair function, the restoration of the ship is a given, but the question on the pace and extent of those repairs remains). As those Zentradi appeared to be more focused on developing and producing enhanced versions of the Zentradi pods (the so-called 'Stealth' variant), the state of that Mobile Fortress after the conclusion of the game is questionable at best.
  15. sketchley
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macross_FB_7:_Ore_no_Uta_o_Kike! (the link at the bottom to the WayBackMachine is especially nostalgic! ) That particular line was from an interview with Kawamori-san in Great Mechanics. I don't think Chiba-san has been involved with Delta (or Frontier, for that matter). There's nothing in the most recent publications with it (Great Mechanics, etc.) GM says it's exactly the same as the one used by SMS (equipped with a Fold Wave System, painted blue.) The only 'difference' (if we can call it that), is that it also indicates that Max's piloting skill can fully pull out, or utilize the YF-29's capabilities. The Macross Large Analysis (マクロス大解剖) mook states that it's equipped with EX-Gear and a Fold Wave System, and that Max is able to pull out it's capabilities to the maximum limit. In other words, aside from being painted blue and Max using it to it's full potential (a subtle dig on Aruto???), it's unchanged from the prototype seen in the 2nd Frontier movie. ... it's maddening how little detail is published on Valkyries recently. Remember when we complained how the stuff on the Frontier Valkyries was 'spartan'? (^_^;)
  16. sketchley
    Wasn't that a movie? (it was theatrically released first, no?) Well, there's him, and everyone else. That everyone else not only includes the production staff, but also the viewers. We've seen on more than one occasion* Kawamori-san changing his vision to make it easier for the (casual) viewer to easily differentiate between not only protagonists and antagonists, but also the main and sub protagonists. And not everyone on the production staff will have his experiences and interests.** In short, his creative decisions all boil down to what he can do (within sponsors' limits) and what he perceives he can do (the viewers' limits). The perception one is a doozy, as he may be self-editing too harshly. Kawamori-san may already know the limits of PMCs, but his self-editing may have resulted in "It's Macross, PMCs exist, and they can do those things." Perhaps that 'ignored epiphany' was also a wink at (or a kind of lampshading for) the viewers who are more aware of the real world realities of PMCs? * E.g.: the VF-19 being replaced by the VF-171 as the main VF in MF. ** there have been times when Kawamori-san has almost appeared obsessive in providing a logical reason for transforming fighter jets to exist in a Macross show. Yet I'm sure the majority of staff members just shrug there shoulders and say "It's Macross, OF COURSE there are Valkyries." (E.g.: the dancing Valkyries at the start of Delta to justify their in-universe existence). Arguably he's done that since M7. However, I think your spot-on with the freedom it gives them to write the characters.
  17. sketchley
    Well, that may have been true a decade or two ago. However, when was the last Macross OVA released? Speaking of the market in general (not only Macross), I sense that in the past few years there has been a tangible shift away from rental shops offering physical media to streaming, etc. (it might seem quaint to people overseas, but that's Japan for you). So, the traditional primary sponsors of OVAs may be correspondingly shifting away to streaming entities (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc.) So, I guess the question changes to: are they willing to sponsor a Macross series? Well, two things to keep in mind: hero mecha is what sells (in Japan) people in Japan (the primary market) generally don't pay attention to that kind of news, so PMCs are still gimmicky here The second point loops back to my earlier question: has Kawamori-san bored with PMCs? So far he's giving us the cream of the crop (SMS) and their antithesis (Chaos). Where could he go with them next? Personally, I think he likes to use PMCs as they're a convenient story-writing way to get around government bureaucracy (par for the course in Japan... :roll: ) and turn it into something he's more familiar with (corporate bureaucracy)*, as well as an excuse to give the protagonists unique hero mecha that's visually distinct from what the regular soldiers use. * as Steven King says: write what you know about Very true. I suspect that's one of the main reasons why the protagonists switched to the VF-31AX Kairos Plus in the 2nd Delta movie. Oh, I've never seen closeups of their heads before. They're neat.
  18. sketchley
    If he were interested in it, I think Kawamori-san would have done it by now. However, just as we can see with the YF-30 and its spawn, he tends to go for the next thing, and the next derivative (with a tendency to add on more and more greebles each iteration). I think some better questions to ask would be: Will the sponsors (*cough* Bandai *cough*) be willing to invest in a show that will essentially be perceived as 'milking the mold' and may not see as much merchandise sales as a completely new hero Valkyrie would? And will we be seeing more derivatives of the YF-30 in a new series, or has Kawamori-san already tired of it? (as the debut of the Sv-303 and the recycling of the VF-31A in the latest production seems to suggest) That said, I'd be interested in a show where the VF-24 appears, too.
  19. sketchley
    Actually, I believe that 'leak' was from Great Mechanics G 2021 Winter. 😉
  20. sketchley
    One thing to keep in mind about Earth's orbital defences, is that what we're shown is the orbital defences, as well as the escort fleet of at least one Super Long Range Emigrant Fleet parked in orbit prior to launch. As Osamu destroyed orbital satellites and avoided the defensive satellites, I think it's safe to assume that most of the ships we saw were parked and uncrewed (more or less). As another planet was shown to have defensive satellites in the same era*, it's logical to presume that Eden also has its fair share of defensive satellites. Eden is also indicated as the departure point of at least one Emigrant Fleet, so it's also likely to have a bunch of escort warships parked in orbit from time to time. * Planet Vulcan, if memory serves, in the VF-X2 game (while set a few years later in-universe, it was produced and released around the same time as Macross Plus: Game Edition was).
  21. sketchley
    Couldn't they be both? (Or where is it mentioned that only refit types have big guns?) For example, the ARMD (DYRL version) are part of the main gun system in Macross II.
  22. sketchley
    They could be the Macross Frontier equivalent of brand goods. There are plenty of real world examples of shoes and handbags that cost as much as a car. ;)
  23. sketchley
    Adding to this: the mecha producing ones are the smaller ones (tens of kilometres in size), the ones for ships are larger (hundreds of kilometres). It's a heck of a lot easier to a) capture, b) move, and c) conceal the smaller ones than the larger ones (never mind the production line's resource costs).
  24. sketchley
    I've noticed that in their past reviews: it's like a meeting with no one in the driver's seat, and they're always going off on tangents. Not saying it's not informative, but lots of other things to do, you know?
  25. sketchley
    Yes. Even despite the politics (is that the right word for it?), it's odd that they didn't invite the creator.
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