Chronocidal

Or maybe hmmm.... as much as I'd like to hear Sheryl's version of that, just to throw everyone off, I wouldn't put it past Kawamori to have However, if that happens, I'll eat my computer.

You got a real beauty there, especially for only having 4000 polygons I've made a few YF-19 models before, but since they've all been for flight sims, I've never tried rigging them up for transforming, and they've all been based on the Hasegawa fighter kit, so they'd look positively hideous as a battroid. I really know what you mean with regards to having control over the polygons though.. I'm a bit obsessive over which way triangles face in my models, and I used to build things one polygon at a time with Rhinoceros 3D (I'd actually build a curve framework, then fill in the polygons). I've since moved on to 3D Studio Max (the plugins used to export Microsoft Flight Sim aircraft models are all for 3DSMax or Gmax) and I fell in love with making complex surfaces with spline cages. But I still pick over the meshes polygon by polygon to make them look right. One thing that occurs to me though, do you have any plans for this model? The reason I ask is that while you say you weren't being stingy with polygons, this still is a low polygon count compared to many of the models used in games today (my flight sim models usually range in the 20k-50k polygon range for comparison ). In fact, a model of this detail level would be perfect for use in action games, since developers like to keep polycounts low to allow lots of objects on screen and keep framerates high.

Thanks for those pics, I never knew that kit existed I guess my main thought about it though... even if PT is possible, the plane isn't The way the legs work leaves almost no room in that thing for engines at all. The VF-4 is kind of unique in that way.. since most Valks have the hip/leg/foot assembly formed from the full intake/engine/nozzle parts, it's not so hard to imagine the engine being located mainly in the lower leg section. Since the intake is actually at the knee joint on the VF-4, it makes things a whole lot more complicated in terms of internal components. There's obviously no room for an engine in that kit, and I wonder if it'd even be possible to fit one in there with the way that mechanism works. On another note, just curious... are there any other Valks where the cockpit remains facing forward like the VF-4?

*splurts drink all over monitor* 1970's US NAVY camo VF-1J FTW!! Note, it's not actually a Black Aces scheme, despite the SVF-41 squadron designation. It's actually more a cross between old fashioned VF-84 Jolly Rogers, and VF-142 Ghostriders. VF-142 F-14 VF-84 F-14 Actually now that I look at it, it might be a mix of all 3, including Black Aces.. looks like there's a red spade eyepatch on one eye of the skull. Btw, is that new YF-19 demonstrator scheme supposed to be the first YF-19 prototype? It looks similar to the blue/white scheme I've seen done somewhere before, just as speculation as to what it may have looked like.

Hmm... I can't wait to see how the VF-4 would work.. I have a hard time believing that thing's transformation is even possible, let alone PT. That leg mechanism looks like detachable legs would almost be a must before it would work. That's not to say I'm not gonna snatch up each and every one of these though. Depending on how they work, I may just display them all in fighter mode anyway.

Once I get settled into my new place/job, I may have to pull out my tablet and chip in a bit.. or maybe adapt a few of these to 3D. I've been wanting to get back into drawing by hand more, this would be a great start I think. Just sooo many projects I keep coming up with for myself.

Actually, I kinda had that thought myself. The guy in the picture looks like he could possibly be Ozma's brother. Although, that would probably lead him to having Ranka call him uncle, instead of brother... *shrugs*

I've been waiting till I'm employed to give in to my valk addiction. So far, only have a solitary 1/48 Super Hikaru -1J. Soon as I start getting paid, I hope to find at least a 1/48 Roy and strike pack, and maybe a 1/48 M&M set if I'm lucky. After that, going 1/60th and getting the Mac+ set. I can hear my wallet whimpering aready...

Don't forget, Ai-kun is actually the illegitimate child of Gubaba and Gamlin.

Speaking of sweeping things under the rug... do we know if Gallia IV was some sort of a Vajra homeworld, or just a large nesting of them? One of the critters we saw walking around looked a bit like the thing in the tank in the internet photo if remember right. Given that's where the Global was, is it possible that the 117th discovered the Vajra on that planet to begin with? Hmm.. so if Sheryl is 17-18 in 2059, she may have been as old as 12 when Grace found her in 2053, which is still 5 years after the 117th went poof. Seems to me like there's plenty of time there for her to have been an orphaned survivor who fell in with folks from Galaxy, and was later put in an orphanage. Being un-implanted could have been a turn off to possible adoptive parents on Galaxy.

Hrmmm.. *gears grinding in brain* Based on the article Klan and Michael found, we do have a set date for when Sheryl was picked up by Grace, right? I'm not sure what that date is, but there's plenty unknown about after the 117th's disappearance that she may yet be connected somehow, besides just through Grace. Ok, so the flashback Sheryl has shows her standing around with a teddy, in a decent looking dress, while people walk by. This doesn't have to disagree with her street urchin days. We know she has the V-Type virus from somewhere, probably Grace. But lets say she's had it since her very early childhood, and she was in an orphanage. That type of fact would make it very hard for her to be adopted, probably leading to her running away at some point, where she ends up in the slums. Actually the virus isn't a requirement for this, she may have just been an extremely stubborn little girl, and no one wanted her, so she winds up on her own. Her resentment toward Galaxy may be that she was born and raised naturally, but that made her an unwanted child (think GATTACA). The big question is how she became an orphan in the first place. I'm not ready to buy into the whole idea that she's related to Ranshe.. they look alike in the artwork, but things don't add up at all.. First off, if Ranshe is Sheryl's mother, what's the connection with Ranka? They all but confirmed Ranka's relationship to her in the "Mother's Lullabye" episode. Granted, they didn't specify whose mother she was, but given that Ranka and Brera both know the song, Ozma keeps having flashbacks of Brera as a kid, and the Vajra queen showed Ranka an image of Ranshe singing Aimo too, I think that's a bit obvious. So lets just assume for a moment that it's a given that Ranshe is Ranka and Brera's mother, as well as Sheryl too (Sheryl/Brera= twins? ). But Sheryl isn't in any of the flashbacks to the 117th, wasn't in the picture Alto saw on the WTF-1, and you'd think with her love of singing she'd know Aimo too. Ok, so Ranshe's a scientist with two kids with her at her job with the research fleet. Yet Sheryl was left on Galaxy? I don't buy it. There'd be no reason for Sheryl to not be with them if they were actually related. Now, this doesn't rule out some connection to the 117th entirely.. Sheryl may very well be the child of parents who were killed there. She may even have been another survivor, and not having an Ozma of her own to take her in, she wound up on Galaxy instead of Frontier, as someone who really didn't fit in. Actually, all of the "Fairies" may have been survivors of the 117th. I wouldn't put it past Grace to have kept tabs on all the survivors for possible exploitation. Since Sheryl was an orphan, she was probably the easiest one to manipulate. Who knows.. Ranka and Sheryl may have been childhood friends. I doubt that though, since they would probably remember each other (I know it's a long time, but I do know that I remember quite a few of my friends from age 5-6). Either they never met on the 117th, or Sheryl was never there at all. As fun as all these theories are, it's still very likely that Sheryl was just an orphan on Galaxy that Grace picked up and infected herself.

Hmm.. actually, even if Alto is Mao's daughter, I don't see it being an issue with Sheryl, since Sheryl most likely isn't related to Mao at all. Hmm.. so, if Mao disappeared 11 years ago, alto would've been 6-7 years old, young enough for those flashbacks easily. Only problem is that I don't see Mao being even near Frontier around that time. Also, I watched the flashback in Ep11 again, and his mom really doesn't look like it could be Mao. The hairstyle is wrong, based on the computer photo, and she's wearing fancier clothing, more like Alto and his father. Edit: Omg.. I love freudian typos. Yeah, Alto would have to be Mao's son, not her daughter.

Hmm.. the whole "gems make a brain link" idea sounds pretty on the spot actually.. it would explain a lot, especially the concert scene. I had thought that was just for dramatic purposes, but now that I think of it, it reached Alto too. He didn't get a whole floaty space-type vision, but he was much further away. Actually.. wow, yeah, that fits in other ways too, and if it weren't for the Vajra singing to Ranka at that one point, I'd say it throws into question whether the song is significant at all. What better way to screw up communications than to flood the bandwidth with a stronger signal? Assuming the crystals really do transmit singing/emotions, or possibly tactical information to the vajra, Ranka's song was basically flooding their comm channels. ECM- emotional counter measures. If Sheryl managed to transmit her disease to both Alto and then to Ranka though... I dunno what they'll do. I still think it's far too early in the series for them not to find a cure for her. We already have people doing covert research into her situation, and they have the resources at hand (not to mention plenty of episodes) to pull a last minute save.

Thanks for that, clears up a lot. Hmm.. so the 117th. What occurs to me is that there's much more to that incident than we know about yet. I wouldn't put it past Grace to sabotage the whole thing, but I don't know why she would. Her reasons for anything she has done are still pretty vague. Consider this though.. the vajra used Ranka's mother's image to communicate with her, which means the vajra and her mother were probably on good terms in one way or another. Could there have been a falling out among the research team? Dunno how Mao may have been involved, but I get the feeling Ranka's mother and Grace didn't see eye-to-eye. I'm starting to think the Vajra may have been a genetic engineering project via virus (trying to mimic the PC) and that the virus itself is a human creation. Could be that the vajra were discovered as small relatively safe creatures (the one in the tank looks like the queen, but on a much smaller scale), and when it was found out that they produced those crystals, the 117th tried to forcefully evolve them into something like livestock to harvest crystals from, or possibly intelligent creatures that they could control. Obviously the "control" part failed, but I wonder if the infection evolved them into their current state. What I'm thinking is this... Grace may have betrayed the team, and run off with incomplete research on a way to control the monsters they created, while Mao and Ranka's mother may have found the answer after she left, and implanted it into Ranka before Grace's machinations caused the vajra to attack the station. The virus may actually be something that allows the vajra to communicate with humans on a telepathic level. What's funny to me is that the vajra recognize Aimo at all.. think about why they would have even heard it to begin with. Either the vajra in the tank was alive, and heard Ranka's mother singing it (not too likely I think, since you probably wouldn't associate yourself with a captor that way, or have any fond memories of music you heard), or the vajra were Ranshe's pets. She may have actually sung to them at one point or another, while caring for them.. would explain why the queen communicated with Ranka with her image. Btw, that site with the pics from the intro also spawned this awesome bit of ASCII.

Actually, that whole bit was meant to be about Grace, I may have forgotten to make a good transition there.

Grrr... need... subs... Btw.. loved the commercials in the horrible raw (I want that VF-1J foldout XD)... but "La Bamba" sounds incredibly strange in Japanese.

Actually I tried watching that sub too, and while yes, Veoh is low quality, this sub was literally unwatchable. I'm not going to post the link, but I'll quote: "Macross Frontier 17 Sub @ZomgAnime.com Uploaded again and again with super sized subs for awesome" Um, no. Trust me, not awesome. What they failed to realize is that those subs are so huge they cover most of the picture. Pair that with the fact that they use identical font color and size for song lyrics (both the original and translated versions mind you), and it's a disaster. There's so much text that they can't fit entire sentences on the screen, so by the time you figure out what line is actually the dialogue, it's gone. Someone on there complained that they had to pause the video every time new subs came up so they had time to read them. I gave up after 5 minutes of trying to figure out what Ozma says in the first 30 sec of the episode. Edit: Actually, I take that back.. I had to go back and be sure I wasn't just being picky, and I ran across this gem of a freeze-frame. Someone help me here, I can't tell...which is he calling tasty, his heart or his guitar?

MS definitely doesn't put any claim on models put in Flight Sim, there are many large businesses out there that make a living just by making and selling high end add-on packages for MS Flight Sim, including aircraft, scenery, sound effects, etc. It's a very diverse business, and I've gotten a bit of the action myself through the F-14 package I helped build a couple years ago. I do remember playing Freelancer a LOT though, especially a large Star Wars conversion called Freeworlds. The one thing they never bothered to make available though was a method to make new hitboxes, meaning any new ship had to use the collision boxes from existing Freelancer ships. It was a disaster for a multiplayer SW mod, since nothing in that game even nearly resembles a tie fighter, and it made the game stats nearly impossible to balance.

I think part of the reason they contracted out was because they've never done a military model before. And frankly, considering the work that went into that cockpit, I'm glad they did. The exterior needs a good amount of work still, but the interior is a beauty. Strange that the textures won't show up though.. usually direct FS2004 aircraft will work normally in FSX, but Acceleration has caused a lot of problems with old textures... something to do with reflection settings. I'll have to experiment when I get back to my apartment, which should be tomorrow afternoon.

Sorry about the delay getting you the model, I've been busy and haven't gotten to where I can get at my model files easily. I do have 3DS Max 9, but I keep using 8 since I use older plugins which 9 can't use. It's been my experience that the FSX plugin set is a little... well, wonky. I don't know why it doesn't always work, but things are buggy all around in various ways. Nothing terrible in my case, but they do tend to generate a duplicate set of FSX tool menus each time I run the program. I haven't been able to use it for a while since my computer is elsewhere, but I do think one of the updates to Acceleration included better plugins for Max 9. The originals were intended for Max 7, but worked in 8 as well, so I've been using them. If you have the newer ones and they still don't work, I'm not sure what might be wrong.. I can probably try and help you sort it out later this week when I get back to my apartment (just got back from a family vacation). As for a way to extract models from the sim to a 3d application... well, I won't say it's impossible. But the truth is, you simply don't do it. Extracting the models is a huge no-no in the sim world, and it's very nearly impossible to do for a good reason. The Flight Sim addon business is a big deal nowadays, and people don't want their models ripped off, MS included. So the safest thing is to just regard extracting a model as something you never do. I don't know if it'd ever become a legal issue, but it's safer to just stay away from it. For picking apart the F-18 though, I can definitely help there. I've been adapting a few of the plane's features to enable a working catapult setup on my F-14 model, and it's working pretty well so far. The trick to the F-18 is that it wasn't made by MS, it was made with outside help.. they contracted outside FS developers to do the model (one for the exterior, another for the interior, which is why the cockpit doesn't quite mesh with the fuselage ). So the F-18 doesn't use a lot of standard FS features in normal ways.. the catapult and tailhook are defined in the model, as are the burner effects. I can go into more detail later this week once I'm back to my sim computer, I've got a good set of notes and code snippets for how to get stuff to work.

Well, after a family vacation in at Disneyland, I came back with the Star Destroyer in tow.. and it's not $300 anymore, it's down to $200. Don't ask me why it's cheaper all of a sudden, but I snapped that up fast. I don't think it's a store special either, they said it's listed for that online as well. If anyone wants pics, lemme know. Frankly though, the construction of it doesn't impress me much. It's beautiful no doubt, but it's not sturdy in the least. Soon as I get a chance, I'm rebuilding bits of it so it stays together better. It's more like a sculpture than anything else.. because of the weird angles, the entire upper superstructure doesn't even attach with studs, it just sits on top. Actually that's a good thing though, since removing the bridge structure exposes the inner framework, which is the only thing strong enough to lift the thing by. My advice? Build it where you plan to display it, and don't try to pick it up. Now I'm torn though...Once my job starts and I have a paycheck, I may have to decide between getting myself a 1/60 YF-19/YF-21 combo, or getting the Lego Falcon. I hate decisions like that. By the way, if you're planning on shopping at the Lego shop, make it the last thing on your list of things to do in the Disney area. I bought it mid afternoon, then toted the 15 lb ISD box with me through Disneyland for a couple hours.. no lockers big enough, and they wouldn't check packages bought outside the park. Entirely my own fault, but I couldn't wait.

You know, I hate to make a Star Trek reference here, let alone one to Voyager.. but this whole situation is really giving me an "Equinox" vibe. I really don't like making predictions as to the next episode title; I'd hate to see Ozma get knocked off now... however, seeing Grace's reaction to Ranka's "emotion level" makes me think she's going to pull something underhanded to try and raise that. Setting up Ozma to get killed by the Vajra just to make Ranka want to fight them sounds just like something she'd do. However, even in that scenario, I'd half expect something to not go right, Ozma get saved from Grace by the Vajra, and he comes back to warn SMS about what's really happening. I still hope it's just something about him acknowledging that she's growing up, and deciding that he can't protect her anymore. What I do wonder about though is that Grace seems to have shifted her entire plan over to Ranka, leaving Sheryl to fade away. Her original idea was to kill off Sheryl to spread hatred for the Vajra. When that fell through, she switched. I could be completely wrong, but it seems to me like she wouldn't change her plan now.. if she wants to spark a war with the Vajra, killing off their "little queen" would certainly do it, and the more she pushes Ranka into the spotlight, the better, since it'll raise hatred for the Vajra. I'm waiting for her to set up Ranka to die mid-battle. If that is the case, the title may actually be referring to Brera, not Ozma... Brera seems to remember her, and has protected her against Grace's plans before. If Grace tries to kill her, he might defy her outright, and sacrifice himself to save Ranka. Anyway, loved the ending. I didn't see anything to directly suggest Sheryl joining SMS yet though, aside from the VF-25s and the Isamu hand bit. She does seem to love flying though, so it wouldn't surprise me, and I hope it happens. There's even a paper airplane throw mid-song, which seems to change into a VF-25. But the concept art seen through the ending all looked like outfits we'd seen her wear before in the series. I saw the holosuit from the first episode, and the suit she wore to Gallia 4, but nothing to suggest a combat flight suit. This particular ending really focused on the AltoxSheryl angle though.. wouldn't surprise me if we see a Ranka version in the same style later on.

You know what, I saw this, and my jaw hit the floor a few times, but none so much as the Louis Armstrong wasteland montage. I don't understand it, and probably never will, but nothing says "post-apocalyptic wasteland" like Satchmo. Granted, it wasn't a nuclear wasteland, but I applaud Pixar's nod to the Fallout games, even if it wasn't intentional. On a side note, the cartoon at the intro was probably the best Pixar short yet. Someone at Pixar must be a portal fan.

By all means, go for it I really don't care much for cockpit work, though with FSX it is getting a little better, since the cockpit is a separate model now, with less detail restrictions. I just wish I knew enough about the gauge programming system to come up with a decent set of working cockpit instruments for it. If you want the original model file to play with I think I can dig it up for you, or it may still be linked somewhere on the forum. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up since I've just graduated college and will be moving soon to a new job, but I do have a new exterior built with FSX in mind. It's still untextured, but if I find time in the next few months I may see about updating the visual model for FSX, fixing the texture bugs, higher detail textures, things like that. I'm hoping to add a few of the new FSX bells and whistles as well, like bump mapping, flexing animations, etc. It'll just be a while before I can work on that, I've got a pile of unfinished things to take care of before starting another project.