Chronocidal
-
Posts
10756 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Everything posted by Chronocidal
-
Is this one of those events where they reveal more later, or is this just all we're getting at this one?
-
Actually, I don't think the proton torpedoes falling was ever meant to be gravity, at least not at the trajectory they were flying. Remember, the Y-Wings were originally bombers, and in other sources they're absolutely what you would use to drop a bomb onto a ground target, as well as launching heavy projectiles. The X-Wings were a last-resort backup when the bombers were all destroyed, and while I figure maybe the torpedoes could be programmed to fly a pre-determined flightpath to a target, I think the only way Luke managed to make that shot was literally via the Force. -
Yeah, sorry about that, I didn't have the image loaded to check, and got the orientation backwards. I think in all cases though, the knees are pointing inwards.
-
You're right about it being fantasy, so I get you. I think if we had strong enough thrusters with low enough fuel consumption it would be entirely possible to do, but I doubt it would ever reach a level of practicality where it mattered, because the methods we've been using so far will always be more fuel efficient. As a side note, I love how wacky this board's spellchecker is.. you'd think after this many discussions of space-related stuff, it would know enough not to flag the word "thruster."
-
Yeah, the big thing for me is that 3D Studio Max isn't meant as a solid modeler, so it operates at the polygon level. Cutting panel lines is actually a destructive operation, because you have to insert new polygons, and while I can draw the cutting curves and apply a width easy enough, it's not simple to just subtract a shaped channel from the base surface, say if I wanted rounded or square or triangular channels. This gets really painful if I decide I want to scale up the model, because it means re-cutting all of the details in a smaller size so the panel lines don't get blown up too big. I'll have to check this out this coming week.. I've got a few components with the lines cut already, but I've saved the base blank model, and if they're this easy to re-cut, it should be a quick operation. I just need to learn how to translate the design into a solid format. The parts are already all fully-enclosed surfaces, but I now from past experience that CAD software doesn't tend to get along well with polygon models.
-
I'm under the impression that the plates will just be hanging for gerwalk anyway, maybe the full set. Even if they don't keep the lower third of the belly plates connected to the legs, I think they will still have to open to store the legs. Also, speaking of the Omega PantsTM, I did notice one thing this transformation does that Yamato's didn't. Looking closely at the transformation sketches, Yamato turned the feet the wrong way when they folded them up between the engines. The art shows the toes pointing upwards, with the heels down, leaving nothing poking out under the center panel. I don't know if Bandai did this exactly, but the longer back end looks like it could leave room for that. I'm not sure what benefit it would have either way though. Far as the beefy engines go, I do think they should be wider spaced, but there are some sketches that make them look that big. I think I'm mostly not a fan of the .. I don't really know what to call it... "greeblification" maybe, of the upper engine surface? I liked it when they were smooth, but Bandai for some reason decided to invent a bunch of little raised details to cover that area with. Would rather they made the rear vents bigger, since those absolutely look way too thin. I think I can adjust to the thicker engines really. Would still like the tails mounted further to the rear, but that's not likely. I'm actually surprised they squared off the tail tips so flat though, all of the art shows them clipped at an angle, and since they're absolutely not involved in any part of the transformation, I don't see why they can't be perfectly shaped.
-
I actually assumed the big TV hands were probably a teaser for the eventual GBP-1 armor set. They could still pack them in with the TV-style super packs.
-
What I'm saying is, rethink how you're applying thrust. The reason spacecraft fly how they do is because it's practical, and works with the technology we have. That doesn't mean that there aren't entirely impossible and impractical alternatives. When you have a box capable of emitting a force with zero mass transfer (basically ignoring Newton's third entirely), all kinds of impossible things suddenly become very plausible. This is one of them. If you assume infinite ability to generate thrust, apart from any traditional concept of fuel, there's no reason you can't fly like an airplane in space. You just have to cover the ship in fantasy thrusters, and they duplicate the forces experienced by an aircraft in atmospheric flight. Far as flight in actual atmospheric flight goes though, I always assumed that if you have deflector shields capable of repelling solid objects, they would clearly have the capability of repelling atmospheres. No excuse for Ties (and assorted books actually make a point that they behave terribly in atmosphere), but anything with shields could theoretically just behave like a perfectly streamlined aerodynamic bubble. As a side note though, from a "fighter pilot" perspective, the new movies have the same problem that ST:TNG had in its first season: the dialogue is terrible. (I'm mostly thinking of TFA here, I haven't seen TLJ enough times to remember if this was an issue). The pilots all talk like they've never been in a cockpit before in their life. The prequels had a bit of this too, but only in TPM I think, since after that the battles were mostly involving clones, and the dialogue was heavily militaristic. Mimicking the WWII movies is what gave all the OT movies some weight. The cockpit dialogue was short, precise, and distinct. Everything in the new movies comes off with the same cringe factor as Geordi in the first few episodes of TNG going "Course laid in, four hundred thirty three by twenty seven." You don't relay coordinates that way, you speak the digits. You don't say "nope" over the comm, you say "negative." These aren't direct quotes, and none of the movies were perfect, but the dialogue in the OT just felt so much less.. amateur. I absolutely know I'm nit picking here, but I hope I'm not the only person who noticed this. It just sounds wrong.
-
Think the shape isn't that far off, but the canopy needs a rework. Narrowing the canopy toward the front would help the nose shape a lot, I think it's not tapered enough vertically. Really can't say I'm feeling the gigantic engines yet, but maybe in time.
-
People will complain, it's just what we do here. Literally though, it's mostly that Bandai is just loosely interpreting the design in ways Yamato didn't on their version. Are the changes worth it? Maybe, that will be up to individual opinion on whether they want a better fighter or battroid. In my case, I think they toyed with the dimensions of the fighter a little too much, and like the style of the Yamato one a bit better, but can't deny the legs are a lot closer to the art on this one. I absolutely think their limp posing is not doing it any favors though.
-
So.. frankly? There's no reason this can't happen, at least with the caveat that we're going with super-efficient thrusters, and other physics-defying tech. It's really not that hard, you just need thrusters doing all the work that the atmosphere normally would. It's impractical, because that would require an utterly massive amount of fuel. But if you're already using fantasy engines to do it...
-
Maybe Bandai stashed the shoulders further back in fighter mode, but if it's anything like the Yamato arm transformation, the arms actually have to get longer, with the lower arms extending to cover the hands.. and even then, the arms still don't look like they reach far enough back in fighter mode. Going to look forward to learning more, it's fun seeing different approaches to the design.
-
I might have to check that out as a way of adapting my 3DS Max files, since most of mine are from game development, and not meant to exist as solid objects. Being able to cut adjustable panel lines in things would be an amazing thing that I can't actually do.
-
Yeah, have to agree, those pieces look more like the unfinished ABS joint components you would find inside a gundam kit, rather than something that you would actually see externally. They just look like plastic joint pieces snapped together. They might not change substantially, but that's really the type of thing I'd expect them to make out of metal. The multi-directional hinges there remind me a bit of the VF-171's elbows.
-
tekering's BItComp entry #1 - Gnerl resin kit
Chronocidal replied to tekering's topic in The Workshop!
Looking amazing! I would absolutely go for something like a lens over the blue camera sensor. Looks about the right size for something like a large-scale landing light, or possibly a headlight lens. -
To refer back to what someone else said, it's pretty amazing the room is recognizable after surviving the initial explosion, as well as atmospheric re-entry on another planetary body. Though, in this case I'd say it was probably excusable, since I cannot imagine Palps would have accepted anything short of a self-sustaining escape yacht for that throne room design. That's another thing though.. Palpy's upstairs penthouse was at the north pole of the DSII, by all accounts. Pieces from both the equator and north pole of the structure landing on the same planetary body that's not Endor's moon? Did the whole thing split like an egg, with the upper half going one direction, and the lower going another?
-
Shhh, you're making too much sense, they'll never do that. Actually, going forward with DYRL releases, I bet they would include the piece with a Hikaru 1A or Max 1S. On the other hand though, I'm really happy they included so many with each strike pack set, because that means we'll all have gobs of spare roundels to paint up in alternative markings. I'm definitely thinking of doing a set with plain kites, as well as a some of the other ones we saw in DYRL.. I think there was a spade design, as well as a couple of arrow shapes? Would go perfectly with a DYRL CF.
-
The potency of a solid explosive projectile shouldn't fade with range in a vacuum. Not that energy weapons really should either, but maybe homing lasers lose potency as they curve? Edit: I might be misreading what you mean, but I'm not thinking so much of things spinning as much as I'm thinking of orientation. It's more about how vague the orientation of the Death Star was in relation to Endor's moon. When they first approached, it was facing outwards, toward the fleet, but by the time the fleet was running away back toward the moon to escape the explosion, it was facing toward them, meaning the focal array was aimed for the moon when it blew. Considering that the chunk in the trailer appears to be from the lower half of the array, with bits of the equatorial trench attached, that had to be some kind of lopsided explosion to not blow that entire chunk of the station directly toward the forest moon. Also, I thought there was no question that it was meant to represent the second Death Star, since they're seen visiting the wreckage of Palpatine's throne room. On the other hand, there's really no reason he couldn't have had one on both, but if this is meant to be wreckage of the first one, it becomes even less likely that there would be any wreckage found anywhere, because I seriously doubt any debris would have escaped the pull of the gas giant.
-
They could be longer, but the battroid lineart does make them really short. I think the trick with the rear bellyplates is that they actually enclosed the entire legs. If you look between the engines, there's no opening near the feet, and the hand covers extend the entire length of the lower arm. The whole back end of fighter mode is a giant box for the legs, which explains a bit about why it's so long, but I think they need to push the arms and tails back further to balance that out. I feel like the extra length wouldn't hurt the arms. There are a lot of things that can change about certain parts without affecting the transformation, like the nose shape and such, but it also looks like the transformation is pretty well set. We'll have to see, but historically, Bandai really doesn't make many changes once we see a design at this stage.
-
I think putting proper chunky hands on it would go a long way to helping battroid too, those little grippers look way undersized. I'm glad they're tackling it, but while they say "prototype," with that much tampo printing already laid out, I'm not betting much will change before release.
-
Yeah, proportions have been changed across the board, which I think is a mixed bag? The engines being closer together makes the whole thing look narrower, but I think the biggest change I noticed was how short they made the lower arms look (or possibly how far forward they're mounted in fighter). The tails are a decent amount farther forward, and the curved plate hiding the hands next to the engines looks a good deal bigger. Not going to pretend I won't buy at least a couple, but I actually think the only real improvement here is the shape of the lower legs. It doesn't look bad, but the battroid arms and shoulders look a bit too skinny I think? Might also be that I'm too used to the Yamato's legs being skinnier, so it's throwing off my perspective. Edit: I just realized.. no gunpod mounts. Hopefully that changes, but undersides of the wings are also bare, so I doubt we'll be getting any fancy ordnance with this one. Also, looks like they might have articulated the airbrake panel on the spine, so that could be a plus. Really though, the shape of the upper engine cowls reminds me a lot more of the old resin kits, a bit flatter and more stretched.
-
Note, this is entirely my own assumption, since according to the article, they gave this moon another name entirely. Star Wars has always played fast and loose with the difference between a moon and a planet, to the point where I could believe they might mean it to be another moon of Endor, but we won't know until more official details come out. Honestly, that's not that far fetched. Personally, I always assumed that internal gravitational systems were more akin to a short-range tractor beam, and wouldn't have much pull outside of a ship's hull, but it really works either way, and there's probably no reason they couldn't turn up the system to extend the gravity field further. No, I'm more pointing to the fact that they were shelling the Resistance cruiser. At maximum range, beyond what any gravity system could possibly interact with. There were so many problems with that entire situation, you could write a documentary longer than TLJ explaining why the chase sequence was terrible. If they had bothered to have cannons firing from the underside that curved upwards, you could have at least made the excuse that they were firing missiles (although, if they were projectiles, why would they lose destructive power at long range?). We already saw one case of them completely misusing weaponry terminology in TFA, where someone apparently doesn't know the difference between a cannon and missile battery. Or maybe the First Order has developed homing lasers.. take your pick. Ignoring for a moment that the second Death Star must have been able to turn on a dime for its primary weapon being able to face both away from and toward the moon of Endor within the span of a couple minutes, yeah... if that much recognizable debris from the explosion is on an entirely different moon (possibly planet), I have to imagine the facing surface of the moon would have been blasted into a nice molten puddle. Start thinking directionally and geometrically, and we have more problems, because the focusing array was facing the forest moon when it blew.. meaning the explosion behind it, blew it backwards, away from the forest moon, and toward whatever other moon that chunk happened to land on. I suppose it's possible it blew it at enough of a vertical angle that it would miss, but either way, if that much of the structure survived, no one on the forest moon could have. The explosive physics of this situation just get weird though. At some crossover point, the amount of energy necessary to propel debris clear onto even another moon of Endor could reach a level where the debris itself wouldn't survive. And on the flip-side of that, if the debris wasn't all vaporized in the explosion, I'd love to know what shielded all of the main characters on the surface watching the fallout. The obvious deus-ex-machina solution here is that Luke basically shielded the moon with the Force, but I'm not sure even the Gary Stuwalker from the EU could have pulled off that trick.
-
There's nothing "science" about this fiction though. We've hit the realm of pure fantasy. See though.. that's a long freaking way. You'd have to blow it over halfway to Mars before its gravity would overpower Earth's pull. For the purposes of Star Wars though, that is going too deep into physics, considering we have tiny craft that easily just accelerate directly away from planetary bodies. Gravity seems to only apply when it's convenient. I honestly cannot put my finger on it, but for some reason, everything in these new movies seems several orders of magnitude less plausible than the previous six. It doesn't make sense, and nostalgia probably plays a decent role, but everything in the new trilogy seems to twist old concepts around in ways that feel wrong on a fundamental level, even if it feels like they really don't make any less sense than what came before.
-
Fighter mode has some issues I think, but possibly due to perspective. I do like that they kept the tampo more subdued than the YF-19, and I don't feel the need to scrape all the extra markings off this version. They look like actual prototype placards, for the most part. Thing that sticks out to me is that the cockpit is way too wide, not long/pointy enough on the front, or back, and curved the opposite direction on the back edge. It's just the wrong shape all around. Granted, considering it's not really involved in the transformation at all in this version, that should be easy to fix, but that also means they should have no excuse for it being the wrong shape. If I had the ability, I would be shoving line art at them to point out the problems. Back end and engines look pretty darn deep too, probably to house those chunky legs. I'm betting this one will be hollow underneath. Is it too late to tag this with #OmegaPants?
-
So apparently the second Death Star's wreckage landed on another entirely different "moon." The explosion was so powerful, the wreckage blew clean out of the Endor moon's orbit, out of the orbit of its parent planet, out into space, and crashed into a different moon of another planet. Someone needs to slap the entire writing team upside the head with a physics textbook. First there was gravity in space, now this... And here I was perfectly okay with the forest moon having an ocean.. heaven forbid any planetary body in Star Wars have more than one biome. It does make me wonder though.. how much explosive power would it take to blow up a large object in Earth's orbit, and have the debris land, say, on Phobos?
- 2093 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- joonas suotamo
- mark hamill
- (and 17 more)