1st Border Red Devil

::sighs:: Never let it be said that Harmony Gold won't get in the way of having Southern Cross toys. Thats abso-farting-lutely ridiculous of him to call such a thing 'irresponsible'. They haven't given a flying fart before now..... Ah well... BTW, here are some better pics of the Ajax/Auroran...

About the transformation sequence, that you might be able to get your hands on something to help within the next year or so. Tommy Yune in more than one podcast announced they had found detailed schematics for the Ajax/Auroran's transformation. Apparently, it had been done during production of the show as they had planned on making a toy of it at the time. Supposedly, that was among stuff loaned to Palladium for the new RPG. If Cap will do it, whenever he can, I'll gladly pay over $100 for a 1/72 scale Ajax. If Cap needs some investment, I can also pony up some for development if needed. The more people we can get onboard beforehand, the better it is for him (and others).

Wasn't it said somewhere in Season 1 that they would almost instinctively search for each other? Basically an evolutionary imperative to find others like themselves to mate so as to increase the chances of offspring that are gifted.

Managed to finally remember to sit down and watch Heroes last night. I really, really should have watched this show from the first episode. I didn't watch until it was almost all over last season. Of course, I also went right out last night after the premiere and bought the 1st Season DVDs from Wally World (impulse buying is so much better when you actually have money to spend anyway). Stayed up until 8AM watching the first 10 episodes and the Unaired Pilot.

Wow, way to miss the f&cking point.

I thought this was the one that had the M60 turret, the one Palladium called the Dark Knight Main Battle Tank...

Thanks for the quote. I shall make quite a bit of use out of it.

I think the tank you are referring to is what Palladium called the Tornado Light Combat Tank in the old Robotech RPG. Anyone know if it actually had a designation at all in the original series?

Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. There is a Space Helicopter in Macross 7, the only difference being the switch out of rotors for booster pods?

Just to be contrary, I'll go with the AIFV from Southern Cross. The cool thing about the design is it and the C3I vehicle are the same basic chassis (kinda like how Germany was developing the MRAV <Multi-Role Armored Vehicle>), meaning you can build alot of them and use the same basic parts across the platforms. Though, to be fair, the C3I vehicle appears to use camouflage better than the AIFV....

What do you want to see in the new version of the Robotech RPG? Besides, of course, a complete system change. Palladium now has the license for good or ill. Ok, I'll start with my list of things I want. 1.) Cleaving closer to the Tv series, vis-a-vis The Masters War and The New Generation. This specifically refers to things shown in the Tv series and not based on stuff from the novels or the badly researched comics (SX Point 83/Ruins of the SDF-01 come immediately to mind as well as the locations of New Macross and Monument City's). 2.) Given that there is literally a mountain of items (mecha, warships, small arms and even WIDGETS) that fell through the cracks last time around (which really wasn't Palladium's fault as much as Harmony Gold's), I'd like to see these things catalogued. Given Palladium's history with Rifts and cramming books full of STUFF, I think Kevin and crew will deliver this time around. It doesn't hurt that there are those from the fanbase sending artwork acquired from various old anime books & magazines (My Anime, Animec and Out), cd-roms with pristine screen captures (thank you Restored Originals/Robotech) as well as whatever Harmony Gold has from its vaults (which, according to this past podcast is quite a bit). 3.) Correcting misinformation from the original RPG books. This ranges from the classification of the Destroids to showing which of the Southern Cross Battloids actually chop to which forces (well, at least in terms of the original series since things DO change in Robotech). Getting the proper weapons loadouts this time will help immensely, like adding all the various weapons that were left off the VFA-6 Alpha (showing that it really would be able to keep itself in combat longer than the VF-1 Valkyrie). 4.) An MOS-based character creation system. Kevin actually said this was a possibility in the last podcast, so that we do away with page after page of 1 character class and such. 5.) Minimal cut-and-paste from the old stuff. This is not likely, since the nature of the information has changed alot over the years, but I suspect there will be at least a little cut-n-paste (character SDC levels, some vehicle entries etc). I would gladly eat a telephone (reciever and all, with ketchup no less) if they got rid of the STUPID clip/e-clip for the ubiquitous (and proper) magazine. A clip refers to either a stripper clip or en-bloc clip, neither of which seem to be used in Robotech's small arms. 6.) With regards to non-canon enemies (or even canon enemies that are only mentioned and never seen, like the Anti-Unification League from The Macross Saga and Space Pirates from Half Moon), logical mecha and weapons. Most Earth-based high-tech bandits in the post-Macross period would use the Zentraedi's Tactical Battlepod as the basis for their mecha. Chop the ostrich legs off and put on a set of human-style legs and you turn the TBP into a knock-off Destroid. 7.) Rules to play 'bad guys'! What if I want to play an AUL campaign where my players are at odds with the UEG? What about Space Pirates preying on civilian shipping between Earth and Mars/Jupiter? I ran a game at Palladium Open House where my players were all Bioroid Terminators that had been captured humans reprocessed into willing servants of the fallen Robotech Masters. We need rules to do that. And since the Stage 1-5 concept of the Invid is not borne out in the Tv series (all Invid are either the humanoid 'slug' originally called Stage 4, or the Humaniform Solugi), we should be able to play a mixed Invid mecha team (Invid Protector Powered Armors, Scout Fighter Jocks and Stormtrooper 'Destroids'). 8.) Hand in hand with the last want is having the rules in place so that if we play 'bad guys', the UEF mecha scale down and the 'bad guy' units scale up. In other words, do not link the MDC values to being 'actual values' and instead make them 'situational values'. That means ANY mecha can be made into a Mook, regardless of character affiliation. 9.) No more 'kewl but stupid' non-canon mecha/ideas. I can live with Eric Wujick's Mecha Su-Dai, but for cripes sakes don't encourage players to bring a knife to a gunfight! The United Earth Government isnt going to start creating giant mecha with hand weapons as primary systems (in otherwords, the UEG isnt going to fund something like the Gladius Destroid from the old Strike Force supplement). A battle mace or your gunpod as a blunt instrument is a last ditch weapon. The Zentraedi Melee Specialist is a perfectly fine character if you want to make mecha-to-Zentraedi pitfighting in some Non-Aligned or AUL based city-state. As the Palladium bumper sticker says 'He who lives by the Vibro-blade dies by the Particle Beam'. 10.) Fill in the gaps with stuff that is already pre-existing in Robotech's source materials. The Improved Battlepod and Officer's Pod from The Sentinels make perfect enemy mecha for an early Pioneer Mission campaign. The exoskeleton of the SDF-03 and the weirdly named SDF-08 ships would fit for Rogue Zentraedi (micronized) that are scattered about the galaxy (reference Metal Fire). The old comic books from Eternity have plenty of designs that could be mined, as the underlying art would still be owned by Harmony Gold. The Garland-like Prototype Cyclone (that became the basis for the Tri-Charger in Zillion) and the VF-7 Sylphide-like VTOL from The Sentinels are also perfect examples of designs that the UEF might field during the post-Macross period. Thats about all I can think of at the moment.

I was thinking about something earlier. It occured to me that HG COULD conceivably make a non-Macross based movie that should draw in many fans. There is the matter of Colonel Wolfe, sort of the kind of character like Boba Fett that people drool all over (eventhough Wolfe appears all of once and croaks to boot). They could make a movie chronicling his arrival with The Wolfe Pack over Earth during the 2nd Robotech War and his unit's subsequent survival of The Invid Invasion. This way they avoid the potential legal landmine, draw in fans who probably want to know 'Just how was it Wolfe got to Earth' etc as well as covering the latter 2 arcs in some detail (though I would guess the InterWar period would be covered moreso than either the 2nd or 3rd). Wolfe gets to cover all the bases as he started off as a fighter jock of some renown before switching to Special Forces. Considering what Mark Bowden wrote about the Delta Force guys in the Black Hawk Down incident, Wolfe fits image that to a tee. This way, movie fans get the best of both worlds and no legal hassles. Of course...this will never happen as HG pretty well has to be bludgeoned half to death to keep from making everything Macross-based in one form or another.

That would probably be the best thing for all parties concerned, but I doubt it. The best of all worlds would be a movie set further down the timeline in Robotech, getting away from the original 3 series and telling of a new generation of struggle (my vote would be Earth vs. her colonies but thats just me). Most likely, as much as I would rather having my eyes torn out and be skull fu&ked, they will make a live-action version of The Macross Saga. Its not like they can't use the almost-Macross mecha from the failed Sentinels animation (Improved Battlepod, Improved Officer's Pod, REF Destroids, etc). The SDF-01 will probably be made into the 'Space Turd' exoskeleton from The Sentinels and Zentraedi (or whatever they want to call the aliens) ships will all be based around that design (including the oddly named SDF-08 design). The aliens probably wont be giants and Minmay will likely never make an appearance (or they will use the codename from The Sentinels, again). Ah well...

Well, apparently Kevin Siembieda revealed in a podcast earlier today that Palladium finally got the license for the Robotech RPG back today. For those that care, don't care, or simply hate my guts.

::Drags himself in from a long weekend:: Hmm....mods having a sense of humour. Cute. Anyway, just crawled back home from DragonCon. Only managed to get in 2 gaming sessions (Blackmoor, naturally) this year due to getting food poisoning on the way up to Atlanta. Go me! Managed to pick up a copy of Changeling: the Lost from the White Wolf booth (DragonCon being their home convention) as well as some Blackmoor goodies: Temple of the Frog (now I have all 3 versions to date), Clock and Steam (new Inventor base class looks interesting) and The Dungeons of Castle Blackmoor (which reads different from my previous copy in Dave Arneson's First Fantasy Campaign). Changeling is DEFINITELY an interesting concept this time around. Gone is the child-like happy go-lucky version of The World of Darkness No more art with bears in top hats holding balloons. Nope, this time the True Fae are back where they're supposed to be. ...beautiful and terrible. The funniest aspect, to me, is that the core city for Changeling this time is Miami. Ah well...time to crawl back in bed. I need a vacation to recover from my vacation......

I haven't heard of anything yet, but I'm assuming that they will be updated as well. Im guessing they will wait for fallout (positive or negative) from the release of 4th Edition before trying to update d20 Modern or d20 Future.

This topic was titled D&D 4th Edition coming in 2008. Well, Wizards of the Coast made it official at GenCon that the 4th Edition of the Dungeons & Dragons RPG is coming next year. Apparently, this new version will owe quite a bit to the SAGA edition of the Star Wars RPG. Among the claims I've read were that characters shouldn't take quite so long to come up with as they do now (upwards of an hour or more, even longer if you're making a character above 1st level). Play is supposed to be a little less cumbersome than it is now which will supposedly lessen the amount of arguing at the table over some obscure-assed rule. One person indicated that the artwork will be less of the current 'Dungeon Punk' high-fantasy drek that passes for D&D artwork, while another said that it will basically be World of Warcraft style. The new core setting will not be The World of Greyhawk. No word yet on what campaign setting will be used. My guess is that Eberron is slated to be the core setting. In a related note, RPGA's Living Greyhawk is set to blow up before the new year (so, if you're going to DragonCon, get your LG fix while you can). No word on how it will end, though my guess is that they'll do something absurd related to Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk, probably Iggwilv will come back and kick the crap out of The Circle of Eight. Or it could go out with a whimper and simply fade into nothingness until Troll Lord Games and Gary Gygax start releasing the parts of Castle Zagyg in the next year. The DragonLance license was not renewed (which is sort of old news) since its set to make WotC money with the DVD Direct-to-Video anime (starring Lucy Lawless as Goldmoon and Keifer Sutherland as Raistlin) release in December. No word on what will happen to the setting, if it will be made into another base WotC product with 4th edition. Dave Arneson's Blackmoor setting owner Zeitgeist Games got their license renewed and shall retain the D&D 3.5 core rules for the time being. In fact, ZG is set to release several supplements soon including The Temple of the Frog, Clock and Steam as well as Riders of the Hak. So, eventhough Greyhawk and DragonLance are gonna go bye-bye with WotC, Blackmoor (the oldest D&D setting) will remain as will Gary's Zagyg setting (Greyhawk in all but name).

Uh, the two Late Generation Bioroids do appear in SDC: Southern Cross...in the opening, just like the Marsh Squad's Triton robot. Sure, its only the opening credits...but hey...they do appear. As for the Auroran, could we kindly STOP saying its a 'Helicopter in Space' when it never once appears in its Helicopter form? Its as patently f*cking absurd as b*tching about the VF-1 appearing as a Jet Fighter in outerspace.

I know you're joking, but still, I seem to remember a certain MWer that was perma-banned for stating, IIRC, he wished someone would send a letter full of anthrax to Harmony Gold's offices. I may not like what Tommy Yune has done to my beloved Masters War characters, but this stunt was assault. It doesn't get any plainer than that. Do not think that those of us at RDF HQ condone this, Shadow Chronicles notwithstanding. Alot of us older members don't post on a daily basis and/or check the boards, so the whole weight of opinion at the board hasn't come out yet. When I first read about it, I had thought it was a staged incident that got out of control.

Ive been hoping someone will license the series and release it on DVD. My personal favourite has to be the Pop Chaser episode.

Hmm, interesting designs. Call me weird, but I think these two designs fit better with Tommy Yune's VF-Delta Fighter (Transformable AF-03 ConBat) from the early illustration iterations of The Shadow Chronicles as MOSPEADA 2 designs (since The Shadow Chronicles isn't even worth hacking up to make into a Mospeada sequel). The question then becomes, what the frag do you make the story about? Perhaps a resurgent Earth some 20 yrs later that decides it wants to get even with its former colonies for almost fragging the planet with the Anubis-1 Missiles? A Mospeada Civil War?

Zillion

Got it a few days ago, read it and loved it. Great tale. Just the kind of thing to get me wanting to play The Lord of the Rings RPG again, though Decipher is sitting on its ass. As for the critics, piss on them. They wouldn't know good literature if it jumped off the page and shot them in face.

Art 2 also has some lineart, specifically for Southern Cross.

After being on the Middle-Earth Online/Lord of the Rings Online boards since September of 2003, I can say without a doubt that the Developers at Turbine are all jackholes. As far as Im concerned, the only relation The Lord of the Rings Online has to The Lord of the Rings is the title. Between the totally f'd up armor (plate out the wazoo, and spikey no less) to the idiotic architecture (Ruined Watchtower looked like, as Unthor put it, something out of Buck Rogers), among other things, its basically been turned into a bad WoW clone. The armor had to be one of the biggest disappointments for me, and I wasn't alone. I decided not to apply for Beta status, eventhough I could have months ago. I won't be playing the game upon release either. As far as Im concerned, Turbine turned its back on the Tolkien fans (like me, Futsie, Morthoron, Unthor et al) and basically made the game for the pack of weenies that have infested the board for the last year (way too many morons there now) and their close brethren, the Turbine Apologists like Khafar and Electprogeny.