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Chronocidal

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  1. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    It's not like the armor actually matches any of the 31s, anyway.
  2. Chronocidal

    Hi-Metal R

    Chronocidal replied to joppewo's topic in Toys

    Got my HLJ purchase notice about 20 min ago, AmiAmi payment request came in earlier this morning.
  3. Chronocidal
    I feel like them porting Cuphead to the Switch is a marketing ploy to increase controller sales, after more and more people chuck them across the room.
  4. Chronocidal
    I'm still waiting on an "outtake" from Thor Ragnarok, where Thor's sitting mopey in his prison cell, singing "If I had a Hammer."
  5. Chronocidal
    This is just sounding like a guaranteed way to keep me away from the park for the foreseeable future. Thanks, I'll go back to playing X-Wing and Tie Fighter on my PC.
  6. Chronocidal
    I'd argue a GoT-style treatment of Star Wars is much more fitting than the same of Star Trek, but we'll have to wait and see. I'm not getting my hopes up just yet, but it would at least be interesting to see a different take on the franchise than the past few movies. The Old Republic era setting might be interesting, but my issue with the entire concept is how technology could be almost entirely stagnant for several thousand years. At that point, you may as well just make the entire thing a concurrent alternate universe setting.
  7. Chronocidal
    On the plus side, this is probably one of those rare releases where you're really not missing out on anything if you leave it in the box forever.
  8. Chronocidal
    Wingtip-mounted AMRAAMs? Interesting.. I was under the impression that Hornets can't actually mount them there, so I wonder if they based the loadout on a test photo, or on an F-16. Looks good though, nice detail for the size!
  9. Chronocidal
    I think all of this pales in comparison to the fact that games require two way streaming. Regardless of how powerful the processors are, the entire infrastructure is going to be bottlenecked by whatever inherent latency exists in the connection you're using. How much latency is really in those "live" streams everyone watches? There could be fractions of, or even whole seconds of delay in the video, and it won't really matter, because videos aren't interactive in real time. It'll work better for some types of games than others, and I guess in theory it might not be much different than the input latency that already exists in online games. But I can't help but think of the fact that video streaming benefits from the ability to buffer the content, and smooth out an inconsistent download rate by pre-loading. You can't buffer a live video feed, and I can't shake the feeling that those sorts of little delays are going to snowball into complete unplayability for wide variety of games. Things like MMOs that run on server timers, and only process game data packets on a pre-determined schedule might have the best chance of running well, but even those can take very precise timing, all based on what you're seeing on your screen. If the video lags behind, you're going to have a bad time playing anything faster paced than chess. On the other hand, would Google be so enthusiastic about this game streaming service to start chucking money into the infrastructure, and start giving more people connections capable of running it? Edit: And on top of all that.. how much of whatever monthly data cap is this going to eat? At least with buying a game outright, it's limited by how much you have to download to get the game, and then it's done. How much bandwidth can you expect to eat playing hundreds or thousands of hours streaming the games you want to play? Sure, you don't have to deal with downloading day-one patches/reinstalls, or whatever, but what's the crossover point where it makes more sense to just buy the game and install it locally? At some point, it's going to become much more cost effective, and a much better gameplay experience, to just download the whole game, and be done with it.
  10. Chronocidal
    Ok, I'm going to have to pick one of these up for a 1/100 VF-31A.
  11. Chronocidal
    How long is that Blockade Runner? I can understand some of the trends with kits getting smaller, but at the same time, I'm really tired of waiting for a nice display model of that ship. It's such an iconic design, I can't believe there's never been a decently sized kit of it. I just want something about 9-12 inches long. Guess I'm sticking with the X-Wing tabletop game version displayed on my mantle for the foreseeable future.
  12. Chronocidal

    Hi-Metal R

    Chronocidal replied to joppewo's topic in Toys

    I only have one request for these.. well, ok two. Obviously, they need to stay on. Second? It doesn't look like it from the picture there, but I'm really wishing they had molded all of the missiles identically. I know Yamato made the attachments different for the different locations, but they didn't even bother to try and give the missiles a standard shape.
  13. Chronocidal

    Hi-Metal R

    Chronocidal replied to joppewo's topic in Toys

    By the way, for anyone looking for a 1/100 VF-25, but not wanting to deal with the VF100s, there's always this little gem of a kit. Fighter only, but you can't really go wrong at this pricepoint. https://hlj.com/1-100-scale-vf-25f-messiah-valkyrie-alto-custom-ban969488
  14. Chronocidal
    I think people rag on it for how much of the movie focuses on Jane Foster, really, and ultimately winds up really not meaning anything to the larger MCU. Hemsworth and Portman just never seemed to have any chemistry in the movies Jane was in, and I think the lack of a good dynamic between them did the entire MCU a disservice, seeing as how important that character is to the larger Marvel comic universe. I've always enjoyed Thor 2, it's one of my favorites. I personally love the development Loki and Thor get, and the plot may have been a little shallow, but I just think the entire mechanic of dimensional instability makes for a really entertaining final sequence, with a lot of amusing Portal-ish mechanics involved. Also you're right.. I tend to forget about the Hulk movie entirely. Possibly on purpose. You're right about the scene being amazing, actually. I was probably wrong to say that was a weak point of the movie, because it was a blast. What does concern me though is the implications for future movies, and how Danvers is going to fit into the exisiting MCU. I remember it being said that she's probably the most powerful character in the MCU, and that much should be pretty obvious. That does indeed set a high bar, but I don't think that's a bar that needed raising, because her strength is the kind that can outright trivialize nearly every threat we've seen in every movie so far1. What concerns me is that we're going to see an escalation of power levels that starts looking like a DBZ screaming match, as the MCU has to develop stronger villains and more dire situations to match the strength of its protagonists. It's basically the Jessica Fletcher situation, but with super powers. Bring in a character who's great at solving murder mysteries, and someone is bound to wind up dead. Bring in a character who can put their fist through a battlecruiser, and you're setting yourself up as a target for bigger baddies. 1- Thanos and Dormammu are the big exceptions to this, since they pose threats on a more cosmic level, and I am glad that they saved Captain Marvel for fighting Thanos, since it may very well take a character of her level to fix the snappening, but at the same time I wonder what sorts of enemies she's going to be up against in later movies.
  15. Chronocidal

    Hi-Metal R

    Chronocidal replied to joppewo's topic in Toys

    Seriously, that just looks like a miniature Yamato. Looks great, can't wait!
  16. Chronocidal
    It should be fairly obvious though. Do they honestly expect to sell a 1/60th valk with no stand and a paltry fraction of the markings Bandai applied to their DX VF-1, for a higher price? They had to amp up the detail to stay competitive. Not only that, but the VE-1 is about 20% cheaper than the other recent PF VF-1s Arcadia has released. The M&M VF-1Js were each over 31,000 yen, while the VE-1 is under 26,000. I'm personally hopeful that they're just done with the dual release schtick, and move to giving everything the PF treatment from the get-go. Bandai's been doing it that way from the start (minus the landing gear, of course ), so it just makes sense for them to raise their standards.
  17. Chronocidal
    I've been under the impression that they just continue to cling to those last little threads of nostalgia for the chunky monkey. Remember how long it took them to finally paint the chest stripes at the proper angle?
  18. Chronocidal
    This sort of thing is also why I have serious doubts about any sort of "stream-based" gaming system ever having a chance in this country. Granted, streaming a game means you don't have to patch it, but if the speed isn't there to download it to begin with, does anyone honestly think input latency will be anything approaching playable levels? For a significant portion of the country, trying to download any title from the past 5 years is like asking Boeing to deliver a 747 via UPS truck.
  19. Chronocidal
    I kind of understand the flak that Thor 2 gets, but I still find that one enjoyable. It's hard to pick a "worst" one. Watched it monday, and had a good time. I think the relative weakness of Danvers' character could be attributed to her situation, and not really having much time to develop in the midst of everything else going on. With how much mental and physical damange/conditioning she'd gotten in the past few years, it doesn't surprise me she's a mess, but her situation just didn't get the focus for most of the movie. I actually think the weakest part of the movie is when she goes full-on nuclear, and wipes the floor with everything. I know she's supposed to be really powerful, but that particular scene felt a little overpowered even for the Avengers universe. I think the backstory for Nick Fury was probably the highlight of the movie though, even if it was a relatively shallow "connect the dots" deal. I am a little torn though, in terms of whether they might have revealed too much? It still was fun to see. I also got a kick out of the scenery in a few places, and nods to the locations they were referencing. I don't live far from Rosamond, and the repeated nods to Edwards AFB were amusing, even if the location was kept vague. The bar "Pancho's," and her pause at "The Right Stuff" in the Blockbuster made me chuckle. Also, unless I mistook the scenery, I'm pretty sure I know the exact stretch of CA Highway 14 that they used for the location of what will eventually become the SHIELD facility in the first Avengers movie. Also, probably my favorite Stan Lee cameo out of any of the movies, and the intro tribute was really well done.
  20. Chronocidal
    Not that I wouldn't love to see someone actually pull it off, but I'm not going to hold my breath for anyone ever get a decent robot out of that airframe without bloating it beyond recognition.
  21. Chronocidal
    I'm thinking more into the early jet-age designs, like the F-80/T-33. I remember that one specifically was designed and flown in less than a year. And you're right, that wasn't the norm. Many designs might have been developed in the span of a year or two, but they took more time to be fielded. Despite being flown before the end of 1943, the P-80 only barely made it into service before the end of WWII. More what I'm concerned with is that there is so much requirements pile-up on a modern design, you never reach production. The technology advances so much faster than the aircraft can be built, that you're never done, and every effort to future-proof the current design just means it never gets done. This isn't even about the airframe itself, which was finalized long ago.. it's just that the components running it never settle down into a stable configuration. At some point, you have to cut off the future-proofing, and finish an aircraft so you can get it fielded. The real question then becomes what's good enough for the current mission. The irony with the F-35 is that very little of its computer systems can be called "cutting edge." You honestly don't want cutting edge technology, because you want something with a proven record of reliable operation. At the bottom line, it's a massive task to find the optimum balance of speed and cost. Which is more cost effective: fielding the aircraft now, and upgrading it later, or waiting until the upgrade is ready to field it at all? In times of war, the "field it now" mentality will probably win out, and then you'll deal with the flak of fielding something that may need lots of upgrades over its lifespan. Contrast that to today, and we're stuck with never-ending development, and ever-increasing cost that doesn't appear satisfyingly productive, but might need less upgrades over time, and might have a longer service-life.
  22. Chronocidal
    Ok, but design and manufacturing are not the issue here. Reducing build time and cost are nice, but the overwhelming majority of what's driving the budget of things like the F-35 is the never-ending death spiral of computer software and hardware development. At least in this case you have the benefit of losing the massive red-tape singularity that is multi-service/multi-nation support, and just make something the way the Air Force wants it. If you want to produce something quickly and cheaply, then you need to accept that you're building something that will be obsolete within a week, and just deal with it. You can build in some forward compatibility with emerging threats, but I think everyone would be better off if we stopped getting bogged down by designing aircraft that have capabilities for every imaginable mission. Cut off the requirements chase, finish the design, and get it into service. Then you can figure out the best way to use it, and put the lessons learned into a feedback loop for the next iteration. I know it's not that simple anymore, and probably never will be again, but there was a time when aircraft were designed, manufactured, and sent into action within the span of a year. Sadly, the move into the digital age has thrown several quantum leaps in complexity into the development cycle of any sort of aircraft, either from the capabilities side, or from the security side. And in this particular case, no amount of "build it faster and cheaper" is going to fix the fact that you're making something that will require the most ridiculously air-tight digital security known to man before it can be effective.
  23. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    Could you also mount a third weapon on the outer hardpoint, or does the clip mount on that one?
  24. Chronocidal
    I've given up evening a long time ago. Now I just refuse to even.
  25. Chronocidal

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Chronocidal replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    I'm not trusting the "order window" with NY ever again. I've got the funds set aside to grab any TWE items on day 1. I'm hoping to get two sets, but I'm planning on getting the second one from another store, hopefully CD Japan. Not putting all my eggs in a single basket any more.
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