sketchley

Is your hosting website down? All images linked to it aren't displaying (they were yesterday) and directly accessing them through the browser results in a URL not found.

Psst, don't forget all of the VF-11 and the VF-1 that they trashed during the Project Super Nova testing. That's one explosive use.

Going by Japanese standards, art is actually secondary to story. Though, that is a bit of a misnomer, as layout, pacing and content of the shot are vital parts of the storytelling, but are considered to be part of the art by others. Anyhow, right now, given the pack of vultures circling this thread, you have to deliver a hook - one that is strong enough to maintain interest until the meat of the story starts happening. Hopefully by then, the readers will be interested in the character(s) and will stick around to see what happens to them.

Everyone has a start somewhere. Even the professionals were once amatuers doodling stick figures. The only problem I see at this point is bad layout. I do have issues about plagiarism, but as this is still in it's infancy, I perceive it as more of a learning opportunity. Deadghost, I recommend that you think about how the director framed the shots. There's a lot of storytelling just from the framing. I suggest that you take those elements and make your own images (handdrawn, photographs of you and your friends, etc., but not other people's published work) to use. I also strongly recommend (if you're not already doing so) to plot out the entire story. By this, I don't mean super detailed stuff, but just the direction of it, and what story point or two occurs per page. Lastly, don't forget the KISS principle (Keep It Simple for the Stupid in the audience.) You don't have to spell out everything in the story, but on the same token, keep in mind that the readers are not mind readers, and don't have the same understanding of the story as the creators of a story have. Take George Lucas, for example, when he first did Star Wars IV, he had the basic idea of Star Wars I, II, and III in his notes. We, the audience, were never aware of those notes until a couple of decades after the movie was released. The same situation holds true for manga. I'm finding that I write 5 to 10 times what actually appears in the finished work. The finished work ends up being the main points and pretty much limited to the highlights, despite the creator having written that and all the mundane stuff (where is character A while event X is happening, etc..)

This may just be how the art is appearing on my computer screen (stock, no changes), but the colours are different from the ones published for the VF-X2 VA-3M. The body is more a faded red (or red-pink), with the eyecatch being a dark grey violet colour. The green highlights are more akin to a faded or washed out neon green. The grey sections are a darker grey. These are the colours of the CG model. (Macross VF-X2 Official Visual Guide Pg 24, & Macross VF-X2 完全公認攻略ファイル　26 & 27.) "Jet" mode is called "Attacker Mode", with 3 sub-varients; airplane/jet plan form (standard fighter jet style), on-water form (pontoons lowered to allow landing on water), and underwater form (wings folded down with tail reversed). I agree that the first part (underwater part) of the Pinocchio (mission 07) level is a pain - not because it's forcing the player into the VA-3M, but because it's too long, and requires the player to complete the mission in order. In this regard, it's too close to VF-X, which lengthened game play for the whole game the same way. >.< Otherwise, it's a great game, and the story is actually quite interesting; if one can understand it, that is.

Uh... oh... erm, I'm flattered. As this is wildly off topic, I won't dwell beyond this friendly pointer: http://gurukitty.deviantart.com/art/comic-...layout-32954175

I'm of the opposite opinion; I think the M7 VFs are some of Shoji Kawamori's best VF designs. Mind you, I'm looking at them in artistic terms, and not in other terms. By this I mean simplicity of line. Kawamori-san has been able to relay the same shapes and spatial dimensions with significantly less lines.

It's from: マクロススペシャルプレビュー愛覚えていますか Pg 46. The book has a few other goodies on DYRL not seen in other books (though, as I don't have the Gold Book, I'm not sure if they are in there or not.)

[lecture mode] Uhm, excuse me Zinjo, but uhm if it's like not specifically stated, than it is nothing. Yes, that doesn't rule out the possibility that extrapolations could be true, but where your extrapolation leads to an entire fleet of piloted AFOS, I see a one-of-a-kind biomechanical autonomus AI that relies on a spiritia power source. Yes, I know I'm not 100% correct in part or whole, but that's not the point. The point is that we must stick to what is specifically stated, and leave ourselves open to further revisions at a later date that clarify if there are, or are not things in the Macross Universe. (In this specific case a fleet of Birdmen... or not.) Zinjo, I humbly recommend investing some of the plethora of energy, that you appear to have due to your tangents and extrapolations, into learning Japanese. No, I don't mean becoming fluent, but I mean getting to the point where you can understand the topic when none is specifically said (par for the course with Japanese.) I think it will improve both the arguements you present herein, as well as refine your tangents and extrapolations along lines more consistent with what has been specifically stated in Macross. It should also tone down the rudeness that you display towards non-Japanese who learn the language and by their grace, make the effort to translate it into English for the rest of us. Capiche? [/lecture mode] I feel like I'm at work dealing with a fractious student >.<

As I said: there were most likely wars or fights or fueds being fought by proxy with the Zentraedi between rival groups in the Stellar Republic, but there is nothing that specifically states that the Evil Series was created to beat the Zentraedi per se. Where is this stated? I'm not saying your wrong, but that this is the first time I've heard this; thus where?

From the Macross Compendium: Yes, there were most likely wars or fights or fueds being fought by proxy with the Zentraedi between rival groups in the Stellar Republic, but there is nothing that specifically states that the Evil Series was created to beat the Zentraedi per se. I think it's better to consider the Birdman to be a semi-AI controlled biological machine along similar lines to traditional Zentraedi weapons; especially the more biomechanical versions seen in DYRL. I don't think it's stated anywhere that the Birdman can destroy a whole planet - maybe vaporize everything on the surface over the span of a week or so. I can't remember exactly, but the impression I have is that Gavil was more like a combined entity, and not so much one taking control of the other. I copuld be wrong of course. I agree that there will most probably be big space monsters in Macross Frontier, too. On the one hand, it's the direction that the series has been taking ever since the DYRL revisions to the SDF:M designs. On the other hand, it's a lot easier and more visceral for the uninitiated audience to understand the threat. A space monster is definitely a lot more threatening than a battlepod. (What? I thought it was a good-guy mecha!)

If you watch the series the way it was meant to be seen, that is one episode per week; at most one per day, then it will grow on you. The story, as in plot, does improve considerably as the series progresses. However, it is probably best to consider it a story about a rock band first, and a mecha show secondly, than anything else. It also helps to have a fair grounding in Japanese culture, as there are some concepts in there that will seem strange or unexplained to the uninitiated. (This is of course true of all anime, but moreso in a character story like Macross 7. Less so in mecha focused series like Macross Plus.)

Make's sense, and it was an interesting read, too. Sadly, we need more of it, as so much in these forums is drivel...

Could be that he was explaining it for everyone else, and not the person that he was specifically replying to and/or the only example he could come up with was one that required a long explanation?

Macross, specifically SDF:M and Macross 7. I firmly recommend reading the Studio Nue canon timeline on the Macross Compendium.

In this day and age, that's not really saying very much. Two minutes isn't that long, and I think I've made longer home made animations than that. The animatics for movies like Star Wars III attest to quick turn arounds of quality animation. Remember - it's been described as a pilot film. Pilot films sometimes are radically different from the final production. The pilot film for Nadia of the Mysterious Seas comes to mind. Character design, mecha, and fashions all changed. Anyhow, starting from scratch is an intriguing idea, but I still firmly believe that the people behind it are busy. Hey, doesn't Shoki Kawamori have a movie coming out this month? I remember seeing a review in a how-anime/manga art is created, and his story boards for it (pretty neat seeing how they transformed it into CGA.

Agreed, though let's not neglect the canon and semi canon video games. Studio Nue timeline: + VF-X & VF-X2 Parallel Universe (Macross II): SDFM 2036 (you know, the Neld Fleet Invasion game and has the VF-1AR, 1JR, 1SR that provides the link between DYRL VFs and Macross II VFs.) Of course there are more (not to mention audio CDs, manga and so on.) It may actually serve this topic well for people to do research into those games as they *may* have stuff on the Inspection Army... er, Supervision Army. (Though not VF-X, VF-X2, M+ Game Edition or DYRL, beyond what is already present in the various anime.)

Uh... BV has released, and is in the process of releasing more than Honneamise and Jin-Roh: http://www.macrossroleplay.org/forums/index.php?topic=1371.0 (near the bottom of the first post; a list of titles currently being advertised on the back of Newtype.) To be honest, extras don't appear to be the norm with DVD releases; it's pretty much hit and miss with them. The same appears to be holding true of the BD releases so far. This all goes back to the market, and the demand for such things. My guess is that there really isn't that much, which equates to few (if any!) extras, and overall high costs per unit. Japan is an expensive country to live in, after all.

Space, able to afford it, and the kicker - free time to enjoy it. Most people don't have two of those, many don't have all three. Renato, I bet you get ugly looks from your neighbours, 'cause you're too noisy. うるさい外国人やな。　

Try Mandarake. In the Namba and Umeda stores, over the past 4 years, I have seen all of the main Macross books, except for THE Gold Book (I may have seen it once... can't remember with certainty) and most of the minor books. By main and minor, I mean by whatever must-have rankings English fans put on them. Also, I do not recommend making it public that you violated copyright and pirated a publication. It means a paper trail back to you. (IP code, ISP has your address, etc..)

I agree with the poor layout, less than commentable artwork, and a chronic problem with meeting publication deadlines. However all rules, no matter the system, have limitations and clunkiness. The lack of world information and errors is something that we can say in hindsight, given our unprecedented access to the original material and translations of it. At the time the books were written and published, there was literally nothing. Therefore, give them a break on it, and blame HG for whatever information or disinformation they got. I quite enjoy the Robotech RPG game, and ignore the clunky part of the rules. The end results were always fun. I agree with CoryHolmes's points too. Return of the Masters was a great addition to the series! Along with fleshing out of the in between periods with the comics Malcontent Uprisings and Invid War, those three created what the animation should've looked and felt like (a true mix of all three anime.) I don't currently play Robotech (I play Macross :!: ), but I have a soft spot for the game, despite it's hunched back, scars and warts. Perhaps that's because I don't play the rules literaly, and as is the case with ALL RPGs, it's the people you play with that make a game great, or not.

Guys, some important things that everyone is forgetting: 1) TV scheduling. What if instead of a crap time slot in the immediate future, they opted for a good time slot in the medium future. 2) production company scheduling. The company working on Engage Planet Kissdom is supposed to do Macross F, right, so when is Kissdom going to be finished? In addition, and I am just speculating here, Macross 7 was a rather lengthy TV series, right. Macross F is just as likely to be equally lengthy, if not more so. Therefore, extra time is needed to figure out the various plots, as Macross is definitely not written on an episodic maintain the status que formula.

Tachikoma? No, no, no! The Fuchikoma is where it's at! Not even the Uchikoma can compete!

Agreed. In participating in this debate, I have come to a greater understanding of the Zentraedi employing the tactics of stealth (thereby they could have FTL sensors with a range greater than 10 light years, but they choose not to use them for tactical reasons) with support from the anime. However, as a) it's off topic and b) most likely going to be picked apart and argued, I'm opting not to discuss it further.

What part of passive sensors are you not understanding?