The Transformers thread - new CG animated series announced

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Post by GreyWizzard »

yep, totally onboard. Hopefully these ones are screen in widescreen HD unlike last season :(
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Post by GameHED »

I'm starting to see the toys of the second season on shelves already. Along with some beast wars characters appearing in the TFuniverse/classics 2.0


And too bad hugo weaving didn't get to be in the first movie. They need to really build up the villain so that he's really interesting and maybe devote more time to the robot characters as they do the human ones this time I think.

Yes yes, I understand that they are giant robots beating the shit out of other giant robots and we like that, but that's no excuse for not having interesting stories behind them amongst all the explosions and robot deaths. WALL-E had far more soul than all the transformers combined and he was an ordinary non-alien robot. You actually thought of him as just like any human or furry animal character. That's what people want to see more of. Make the robots individuals with their own unique personalities, so that we can actually forget that they are alien now. Tthere is no mystery about them as beings that hide from sight by transforming anymore. This gives you the chance to start to focus on robot characters instead of just "how humans react to them"; like in a disaster movie, which is the style of the first one.
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Post by GameHED »

Er.. so did anyone actually play that DS transformers movie game that had come out? :D

Normally I hide form movie tie-in games. But was that game actually any fun?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNmYq1ke ... re=related[/youtube]

I heard they took GTA concept and put TFers in it which to me sounds like a great idea. Now I have never played it but like the concept of it. I really like it.

If they plan on making another one, one thing they needed to do to improve from the original: make the city completely destructible.

One thing I think all the GTA games should have allowed for were the ability to break things. Robots should be allowed to break everything just like the monsters in the retro arcade game Rampage.
If I want to destroy the enemies base as a dinobot or play as a decepticon and fly around as a chopper going alll "desert strike" on human buildings blowing everything up, I want to see broken things as evidence that my actions are doing some damage.

There's is a lot of potential to make a good TF game with the destructible city idea.
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Post by GameHED »

Here's a video review of universe inferno.
*cringes at end of review*

This toy is a good example of a well-thought out transformation where everything about vehicle mode tucks in, folds away neatly and cleanly, hides ugly gaps that make the robot seem "hollow", and finally transforms logically (not having parts need to split into multiple pieces for the sake of trying to be complex for complexity sake. (that is to say if you were a transforming robot trying to save time, you would try to transform in as few steps as possible to get battle ready quickly not waste time trying to look cool mid transformation)

The last thing: like the beefy and blocky toys of old he has visual appeal as a bulky "armored on all sides" feel to it. Not a hollow shell of a robot like say universe galvatron who has a big ugly gap in his leg.

Hasbro should use that original design (this was the only original voyager from last year) as a model for how they should do all the old school robot transformations in future..

List of things that make a figure good:

tuck everything in
---------------------
no parts popping off easily so that its dificult to walk about or move limbs around.


clean and smooth final forms
---------------------------------
transformations where armored skin and whole parts in alt mode stay relatively the same as much as possible from mode to mode so the bot mode is solid on all surface sides rather than having parts dangle off in odd places making them have unclean/messy lines. Shell formers are guilty of that and is the reason I like classics grimlock a hell of a lot more than g1 grimlock with "wings" dangling off the back. G1 optimus (a cube) or live action movie Brawl (parts fold around to fit the form) are examples of good clean final robot forms where bit sit in place firmly and don't get in the way. Yes they look blocky and stumpy but this is what makes them look 'tough' and sturdy and gives them a sense of being solid all around so lets say if they were to fall to the ground or something in a fight, pieces that would ordinarily be poking out (in a bad final form design) wouldn't be bent out of shape or snap from rough abuse.

body proportions that make sense
---------------------------------------
A too huge head on classics Jetfire just destroy the appeal of robot mode, short arms and long boots on classic starscream make the robots look bad. On inferno the gun isn't too huge or oversized, and there is no back heavy parts making movement seem impractical. That means lots of free range for the limbs and good balance; something I look for in a good figure. Live action movie Bumblebee for example has a ridiculous oversized gun which I hated. Live Action movie Starscream has spindly legs and massive cannons which spoil the appeal of fighter mode.

weapons that make sense
------------------------------
I hated the classics grimlock melee weapon idea because it doesn't make sense. But a concealed weapon that is hidden inside the body of alt mode makes sense. For an autobot to fight he would use alt mode to get within effective range, transform and use the lighter weapon (more accurate and with more precise aiming for targetting a critical point on the decepticon) as quickly as they can, and then transform and run away in car mode or whatever. That's the vision I have for autobots - lighter weapons, faster-moving and more-lightly armored vehicle modes than decepticons, but with more improvisation and unusual technique in how they use weapons - where ordinary things can be made to be deadly. (the hidden laser sword thingy that live action movie prime used to fight with at close range is a good example of what I mean) But for decepticons robots: they would already have the heavy weapons in alt vehicle mode, since they are military themed, and would take longer to draw their guns but seem to have better firepower and as larger robots, would be less worried about efficient use of energy. A big tank for example would move slow, but make noise, not be a useful disguise since it is already visually threatening in alt mode, take a long time to get going, and use lots of effort to move. A big gun for the autobots would only make sense if the robot itself was big and could handle that size weapon without delay, otherwise it just doesn't make much sense. Oversized weapons would just weigh them down and they'd take a speed hit in alt mode if they were a small car robot. But a big slow dino robot like grimlock for example would be slow in alt mode to begin with so heavy weapons "make sense" in that instance. Grimlock's whip weapon however doesn't make sense at all since it looks cumbersome and impractical. A seperate sword that could be folded like the blade that Transformer Animated Megatron (earth mode) had would have been a lot better, made a lot more sense, and look more practical. Universe Onslaught's riot shield for example makes total sense and really adds to the appeal of that robot mode as a specialist fighter using tactics to get his way, and that idea fits his theme.
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Post by GreyWizzard »

First three eps are up, it was screened as a 1.5 hour premier.
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Post by GameHED »

Ah so is it true this is going to be the last season for TFA?

I wonder if any future cartoons are going to be kept in the 2d style or go back to lifeless CG puppets life everything else out there? (*cough* star war the clone wars *cough*)
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Post by GreyWizzard »

No idea...

Watched it this morning, it's freaking awesome. So much of cybertron, so many G1 characters.

This show really is the goods. Marty Isenberg is a genius.
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Post by GameHED »

Well I've heard rumours that:


[Click to see hidden content]
someone dies in this season


...poor megatron. Just kidding. But not the thing in the hidden tag. I'm not sure if its true or not though and really don't want to know because I prefer the surprises.
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Post by GreyWizzard »

Don't click this link...

[Click to see hidden content]
Blur dies... it was a real WTF?! moment . I was kinda stunned when it happened, but wanted to high five Shockwave when he dropped a blue cube on the desk. But if they are making a big deal out of it... they might be talking about someone else. Like one of the autobots on earth.
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Post by GreyWizzard »

Forgot to mention this.


They have introduced two new characters, Jet Storm and Jet Fire :D Totally love the idea of the bot who had two names now becoming two characters. They merge to form one giant robo. Very cool indeed.
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Post by stanard »

GreyWizzard wrote: They have introduced two new characters, Jet Storm and Jet Fire :D Totally love the idea of the bot who had two names now becoming two characters. They merge to form one giant robo. Very cool indeed.
Ahhh awesome!
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Post by GreyWizzard »

full list of the Transformers...

Image

wheelie is a decepticon and it takes 7 to make Devestator :(

Just hire fans of the original series to make your movie you giant douche.
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Post by GameHED »

I actually saw JetfireJetstorm toy before seeing him in the toon so I knew what to expect. Looks pretty cool.

I think the idea of death is good. Makes the battle between sides more interesting. Remember back in G1 when the original Jetfire kinda "died" and they didn't want to dig him up from the ground after he helped to fight starscream? (resulting in him not being able to be a regular character for a while) Sure, he mysteriously came back later without any explanation, but for that one episode, it's just seemed like a more heroic sacrifice when you don't get to see him again for a long while. Take out a popular character once in a while to maintain interest.

...

I couldn't resist and ended up buying classics 2.0 Inferno (Generation 2) the other day too btw.

Very pleased with his robot and vehicle modes. Much better than classics optimus prime with his unecessarily fake grille. (they really should have kept his transformation the same as g1 imo) Unlike classics Jetfire, (also a voyager size) no oversized body parts. Solid arms and legs all around (no ugly gaps which you see in other robots to make them look hollow) great clicky joints, and simple logical transformation with little kibble. He's also got that same boxy appearance in his midsection that reminds you of the old 80s g1 optimus prime toy.
Detailing is great, and robot parts are very well hidden in alt mode. No overly bright colors. The basic red used is dark not the orangey one they used for classics Ironhide which I hated. An easy 9/10 for me. This is what classics toys need to be.
Last edited by GameHED on 05 Apr 2009 06:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by GreyWizzard »

if anyone has pics of the new characters please share. I had heard there are pics of arcee out there and I am too lazy to search.
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Post by Pariah »

:)
[img]http://i30.tinypic.com/5as8eq.gif[/img]
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Post by GameHED »

I don't really know much about any others (don't want to spoil it) but

here is what jet fire and jetstorm look like apart:

Image

combined:

Image

Image

Looks pretty cool. On the box they also show the two fighter modes 'docked' together with one fighter right-side up and the other one upside down as a type of combined fighter.

Kind of reminds me of the thing in Aquarion. :D
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Post by GameHED »

If anyone in brisbane spots this guy let me know where:
Also a few weeks ago I noticed Universe Octane on store shelves and how bad it looked in bot mode with the shoulders sticking up (I like triple changers but hate bad bot modes with a passion) as presented on the box, but after seeing this review with the optional method of shoulder placement, (see below) I'm reconsidering hunting this down again.

Funny how sometimes the official hasbro presentation and shortened manual (causing you to mis-transform the toy or miss out on features - (the flippable forearm armour on inferno is the most recent example I can think of) can turn you off a figure only for you to come back again after looking at the alternate/proper method of transforming them in videos by fans.

I think Hasbro should hire these youtube reviewers or transformer fans to be the ones responsible for presenting the toys before taking the official photos of them. (At least have a specialist whose job is to actually know how they are supposed to transform properly before creating the photos of the toy on the box)
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Post by GreyWizzard »

Have you tried the toys r us at the top of the Queen St Mall? The store that has all the figurines up stairs.
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Post by GreyWizzard »

saw the pic for the wheelie toy and it says autobot wheelie on it... me am confused.

He also looks like a piece of shit, I'll call you shitpiece.
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Post by GameHED »

Nope not yet. I look mainly in the suburban areas, hoping they'll try to stock the stuff I want, rather than hunting around which is more trouble than it is worth.

The only exception would be for the alternators. Those were a fkn bitch to find so putting in the effort often meant getting the one hard-to-find character that you wanted.

They'll never be a line like that again. Unless the maker of those "Roadbots" start getting really good at copying the TF and reach a level that surpasses hasbro/takara and makes their own very good quality knock off alts. :D
..Not as cool as the alternators..

..big motherfuckers tho..

check out this macross VF-17 rip-off:

Image

Not too bad. Cut off its head and put on a more stealthy angular "helmeted knight" look and I'd be tempted.
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Post by GameHED »

This is the part I was talking about in the previous post where skyfire is supposed to have "died" heroically.

4:04:
A great cartoon death.
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Post by AgOnNy »

Grey, Wheelie is a remote controlled monster truck from what I believe and starts helping the Decepticons because he's scared of them.
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Post by GreyWizzard »

I was reading the back of the box, and they say that he is a spy. He can transform between autobot and decepticons.

I wonder what Soundwave will look like.

I saw the Arcee version 3 artwork... I'm a little over this super alien look for their mechanoid forms. She has so much open space in her she looks like one punch would go right through her. Too delicate.
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Post by Juzbuffa »

Some pics of some of the new Revenge of the Fallen toys:

[Click to see hidden content]
Devastator:
Image

Demolishor:
Image

Mudflap:
Image

Rampage:
Image

Sideswipe:
Image

Skids:
Image

Soundwave (apparently his alt modes are jet and satellite):
Image
You wouldn't believe the things I've seen through your eyes...

Image
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Post by GameHED »

Devastator kind of reminds me of an xbox 1.

Sideswipe actually looks good. I saw a youtube video of him with alternate transformation. Is he going to be a major character in this new movie?

I bet they'll release a lot of non-movie characters again within the toyline that never appear. (hopefully not all being of the insectoid style - I thought wreckage was one of the best movie toys from the first movie toy releases - demonic hooves and solid armoured frame, but never appeared in the movie)
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