Random OYW Questions

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OYW Fan
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Random OYW Questions

I've been trying to figure out the exact date, the RGM-79 rolled out, and made it into the front lines. I'm assuming late October since the Feds surely must have been amassing their forces for Operation Odessa. This could be incorrect, since I don't know if RGM-79's were even used during this campaign. It could quite possibly be that only RGM-79[G]'s were used during O. Odessa. My only other guess would be early November, shortly after O.Odessa, since the Australian campaign begins around this time, and RGM's and the variation models serve as it's back bone (as seen in Rise From The Ashes), with the California offensive following in early December I believe? Not positive on that one.

As for my second question, I was wondering where most of the Federation MS pilots were trained? I just don't see personnel being thrown into extremely expensive and most definitely important pieces of equipment without first being formally trained. So if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear back. Thanks.
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TakaTahuNuva
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Re: Random OYW Questions

This topic would probably help you out. Basically the RGM-79(G) first rolled out in early August and the RGM-79A in late August.
ohhhh snap
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Re: Random OYW Questions

According to the official timeline, the Federation doesn't begin full-scale deployment of the standard RGM-79 GM until late November of U.C. 0079. MS ERA 0099 specifies November 20 as the start date, and the Federation's Australian counteroffensive - the backdrop for Rise From The Ashes - begins on November 22. (For more info along these lines, I'll point you to my UC timeline.)

This means that earlier combat deployments of the GM, such as Operation Odessa, must have involved earlier models such as the RGM-79(G) GM Ground Type. And indeed, the depictions we've seen in official works such as The 08th MS Team and MS Igloo 2 only show GM Ground Types participating in this operation.

Of course, frontline deployment isn't the same thing as rollout. Sources like the Master Achive book, discussed in the thread that TakaTahuNuva points to, indicate that the Federation began producing GMs a long time before they actually entered combat, giving them plenty of time to train pilots at sites like Jaburo and Luna II.

-- Mark
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Re: Random OYW Questions

Ok, so I was close. As for where I came up with some of the theories was from your site's time line Mark. I also had some old posts that I saved from a message board we both belonged to back in 02' from you that helped. I was just hoping to confirm some things.

I'm a little confused as to what model the RGM-79A is. A MAHQ search brought up a GM that had the head of the Ez8 with the only visible difference I can see being the visor instead of a Gundam face plate, torso of a RX-78NT-1, and the legs of an RX-79[G]. Is this picture right? I mean, it's a model from a hobby magazine, but some of these are official sometimes. If so though, that means that the Ez8's head was not a front line patch-up mod, but a production piece? As for the RGM-79B, would that be the standard GM that we all know and should love? Haha.

So training was done at places like Jaburo and Luna II? I figured Jaburo, but not Luna II. I assume that simulators were used heavily until units were produced then? I say this because training a large number of pilots would be difficult if they could only practice on actual hardware. So I assume at least. Is it a safe bet to say that most of the Feddie aces all got their training here during or around the same time?

In that link above and I quote, "U.C. 0079.08 (LATE) Rollout of RGM-79A GM at Jaburo. (Of the 42 units in this first lot, 18 have upgraded reactors and can carry beam rifles. Production of this version continues at Jaburo and Luna II.)", yet if MAHQ's picture is correct, I personally have never seen, nor heard of that particular unit being used. So with the [G] lines being the first MS to see combat, makes me believe that South-East Asia was the first counter-offensive, which is sometime in late August, early September, what happened to all those RGM-79A units? Were these MS the ones used for training? If not, why did they sit around for two months while they made the improved RGM-79B line as this quote states, "U.C. 0079.11 Federation Forces begin deployment of RGM-79A and RGM-79B."? Lastly, the 18 RGM-79A's with the upgraded reactors, were these models or some of them, adapted into RGM-79SCs', or were RGM-79SC's an actual line that were produced? If so, what date did these variations begin showing up?

Thanks for any input, it's much appreciated.
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Re: Random OYW Questions

OYW Fan wrote:I'm a little confused as to what model the RGM-79A is. A MAHQ search brought up a GM that had the head of the Ez8 with the only visible difference I can see being the visor instead of a Gundam face plate, torso of a RX-78NT-1, and the legs of an RX-79[G]. Is this picture right? I mean, it's a model from a hobby magazine, but some of these are official sometimes.
Well, generally not, and this one certainly isn't. The sad fact is that the A and B types are externally identical; in fact, the Master Archive book is probably the first Japanese source to even use these labels. Previous sources, notably the MSV books, talked about "early" and "later" production versions of the standard GM, and some of the English-language message boards have informally nicknamed these the "A" and "B" types. But this is the first time I've seen any Japanese-language writer do likewise.
So training was done at places like Jaburo and Luna II? I figured Jaburo, but not Luna II. I assume that simulators were used heavily until units were produced then? I say this because training a large number of pilots would be difficult if they could only practice on actual hardware. So I assume at least. Is it a safe bet to say that most of the Feddie aces all got their training here during or around the same time?
I think there's some more info on this in the Master Archive, but I expect it'll probably agree with your assumptions. If it was good enough for the White Base pilots, simulator training should be good enough for everyone else!
So with the [G] lines being the first MS to see combat, makes me believe that South-East Asia was the first counter-offensive, which is sometime in late August, early September, what happened to all those RGM-79A units? Were these MS the ones used for training?
The Kojima Battalion is only formed in late September, according to the Master Archive book. Likewise, the Encyclopedia of Gundam says that "The Federation Forces begin deployment of pre-production mobile suits in Southeast Asia" in late September. That's about a month later than you're suggesting, and just after the appearance of the Gundam, ensuring that the attack on Side 7 is still the first mobile suit battle in history. :-)

Of course, that's still two months before the deployment of the standard RGM-79 GM. Even if the Master Archive is a little aggressive in putting the development of the standard GM so early in the timeline, it still ends up looking like the Federation made a cold-blooded decision to hold back its new weapons for as long as possible, leaving the White Base to act as a decoy and using all those army grunts equipped with GM Ground Types as guinea pigs. But that's probably the most charitable interpretation.
Lastly, the 18 RGM-79A's with the upgraded reactors, were these models or some of them, adapted into RGM-79SCs', or were RGM-79SC's an actual line that were produced?
The Sniper Custom was created by modifying existing GMs (hence the "Custom" moniker), so it's possible that some of these were leftover A types. But I suspect that bit about "upgraded reactors" was inserted just to explain that one shot from the original series of a GM running into battle at Jaburo carrying a full-sized beam rifle. ;-)

-- Mark
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Re: Random OYW Questions

Haha! I remember you mentioning that scene some 5-6 years ago.

It would make sense though, that out of those 18 upgraded reactor units, some of those could very well have been converted to Sniper Customs. I don't suppose you'd know just how many RGM-79SC's were produced would you? I'm guessing that maybe there's no real specific date for when they started appearing either, so that leaves me thinking that they most likely showed up around the same time as the other varients. I'm trying very hard to put a date on it for a story I want to write, so that everything I come up with could be considered canon. Continuing, MAHQ's description states that less than 50 were produced, but that's obviously extremely vague. I know of three units that can be accounted for with Francis Backmeyer, Lon Cau, Tenneth A. Jung.

I'd also like to know these ace's official names, cause I've read different spellings from different places and I'd like to know what would be official. Is it...?

For the Feds...
Francis Backmeyer, Bachmeyer, or Buckmeyer?
Lon/Long Cau or Lon/Long Kou?
Tenneth A. Jung or Dennis A. Young?
Texan Demitry/Demitri or Texthan Demitri/Demitry?
Heinz Baer or Heinz Baur?
Lydo Wolf or Reed Wolf?

For the Zeon...
Brenev Auggs or Brennis Oggs?
and lastly Elliot Lem or Elliot Rem?

Geez, it's been to long since I was this heavy on Gundam. I'm not going to lie, the whole reason I've jumped back into MSG is because of the new Unicorn OVA. It's not OYW stuff, but the first episode was extremely good. Just waiting on episode two now. Last thing I'll ask in this post, have you played Mobile Suit Gundam Battlefield Record U.C. 0081 Mark? If so, is it worth buying even if I can't read or understand Japanese at all? I ask because I'm dieing to play a good Gundam game like Journey to Jaburo. We never got Lost War Chronicles here in the States, and Encounters in Space was a good, but I didn't really enjoy the whole track type gameplay as much as the way Journey was. This looks like it plays like I like it. So if you have Mark, or anyone else has, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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Re: Random OYW Questions

OYW Fan wrote:It would make sense though, that out of those 18 upgraded reactor units, some of those could very well have been converted to Sniper Customs. I don't suppose you'd know just how many RGM-79SC's were produced would you?
The old MSV sources said that there were fewer than 50 units, including the Sniper Custom, Interceptor Custom, and Guard Custom versions - the last two have finally received (semi-)official likenesses thanks to the MSV-R series and recent games.
I'm guessing that maybe there's no real specific date for when they started appearing either, so that leaves me thinking that they most likely showed up around the same time as the other varients.
The Master Archive says that they started converting GMs to the Sniper Custom version in late November, the same time the standard GM entered full-scale deployment. I suppose that the rollout for these sniper versions had to be pushed forward since the Lost War Chronicles comic shows a Sniper II participating in the defense of Jaburo. :-)
I'd also like to know these ace's official names, cause I've read different spellings from different places and I'd like to know what would be official. Is it...?
The only kind of official spellings I've ever seen are the ones listed in the character index of the Gundam Officials encyclopedia. Some of these seem to have been randomly generated by pulling letters out of a Scrabble bag, but there you go. Here's what Gundam Officials says:

Lydo Wolf
Tenneth A Jung
Francis Backmayer
Heinz Bea
Texan Demitory
Lon Kou

Breniss OX
Eliot Lem

Anyways, I'm glad that Gundam UC has rekindled your interest! :-)
Last thing I'll ask in this post, have you played Mobile Suit Gundam Battlefield Record U.C. 0081 Mark? If so, is it worth buying even if I can't read or understand Japanese at all?
I've never actually played it. I really liked Lost War Chronicles, though, and found it a lot more playable than either Encounters in Space or Journey to Jaburo. It's possible that the space combat system has been similarly improved in the 0081 game, but I couldn't say for sure.

-- Mark
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Re: Random OYW Questions

Thanks Mark. This information is really helping out with all my research. I have many more coming, so I hope you can continue to answer my questions, cause it appears that you may be the only one who can. Well, at least that's how it appears so far.

I must say, it really irks me that, what I feel may have been a re-envisioning of 0079's mobile suits for the OVA 0080, has become a side of Gundam canon, that must be a headache for Gundam historians. I feel that in their effort to spice up the designs, that when completed, they had changed them to such a degree to loyal fans, that they were in a sense forced into making them into whole different lines of MS. This is especially true for the MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai which I believe was intended to be the beloved Zaku, and the RGM-79D GM, leads me to believe that it was intended to be the standard GM, whilst all the other version of it found in the OVA, were intended to be variations of it. Why, you may ask do I believe this? For starters, why is it that we don't find a single MS of the original designs in 0080? I find it a little hard to believe that in every locale shown in this story, that only the newest type models would be on display. Now you may think that this reason doesn't make for a good argument, nor does it truly support my opinion, and you'd be right. However, I didn't come up with this theory on my own, I owe that to M.S. Era. MS Era, as from what I've heard about it (no I do not own it, but I did however download the torrent of all the images from it), is a book with information and depictions of events from the years 0001-0080 of the Universal Century. It's images depict crucial events from through out the war, not just from the original animations view, but that of ordinary citizens and everyday soldiers. So with that said, you'd assume that some of the standard version of MS would have found their way into the book. In all the illustrations the book has to offer, there isn't one image with original 0079 MSs depicted. Which I feel is to odd, especially for what this book seemed it wanted to be.

Granted, this is all just my opinion, and for the most part I don't think it can be changed, so with that said, my question is... am I wrong? If anyone has proof, that the MSs found in 0080 were always intended to be original variations, please, I'd love to hear it. Thanks.
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Re: Random OYW Questions

Let me point you to this previous thread - specifically, to my post halfway down the linked page. Here, I rounded up some hard evidence from the line art published in the hobby magazines a few months before the first episode of Gundam 0080 was released. This makes it pretty clear that, when Izubuchi actually drew his mobile suit designs, he intended most of them to be variations rather than new depictions of the existing mobile suits. (The one clear exception is the Zaku II.)

-- Mark
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Re: Random OYW Questions

Thank you Mark. Being new to the board does have quite a few set backs, so this opinion/question not being new to this board comes as no surprise.

I'm happy that my speculation on the MS-06FZ turned out to be correct. I've never been a fan of that version of the Zaku, so it being intended as a replacement really makes it easier to block it out from the Gundam universe for me. :D Sorry if I've offended any fans of this design.

With that being the case though, It still doesn't help the whole situation of "too many GMs appearing at the same time", at least from my perspective. I just don't understand how an organization could release an upgraded product, the RGM-79SP at the same time as the first variation of the like, that being the RGM-79SC, without combat testing at least some of the tech that would also have been used in the higher performance variant. With the war all around them, this sort of testing could easily have been done.

I learned of this when I read from a previous post of yours that said, "The book notes the irony that the Sniper Custom and Sniper II appeared at the same time, which thus rules out any possibility that the Sniper II was based on feedback from the Sniper Custom. What it suggests instead is that the specifications for the Sniper Custom had been decided at an earlier point, and so the Augusta developers quickly whipped up a GM Command variation which conformed to these specs, completing it around the same time the upgrade kits were completed.".

Now, I understand that the line from which the Sniper II came from was a whole different machine than the original RGM-79A and B. I also get that, because of this, the projected specifications for the SC being set before it's production, in turn set the bench mark for the GM Command. Doesn't that make the whole idea of even producing the SC kits worthless? Worthless in the sense that the kits would be surpassed without any performance data collection of any kind with the introduction of the Sniper II? I'm thinking such as optical sensors and maybe even things like heat build up/and dissipation during combat, and other things you would look for when you want to improve upon an MS. MAHQ doesn't really state the differences in performance other than propulsion as far as I can tell, but that doesn't really justify the Sniper II to me, especially if it's price tag were much larger than the Sniper Custom.

I guess if the purpose was just to upgrade existing models, then mission achieved, but from a technological stand point, and with regards to these facts, I wonder (and hope) if the prototypes of these particular variants could have seen actual combat evaluations before going into production. Possibly even in co-operation with each design team, even though you stated with some sense of certainty they did not.

If some feedback from this post comes in, and it’s good from my perspective, I’ve got a bounty of what I’d call obscure questions to ask about the OYW period.
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Re: Random OYW Questions

OYW Fan wrote:Last thing I'll ask in this post, have you played Mobile Suit Gundam Battlefield Record U.C. 0081 Mark? If so, is it worth buying even if I can't read or understand Japanese at all? I ask because I'm dieing to play a good Gundam game like Journey to Jaburo. We never got Lost War Chronicles here in the States, and Encounters in Space was a good, but I didn't really enjoy the whole track type gameplay as much as the way Journey was. This looks like it plays like I like it. So if you have Mark, or anyone else has, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I have it, and it's somewhat competant for a Gundam game, but doesn't quite finish the cigar it chomps. Combat is extremely straightforward; lock on, spam beam rifle/beam saber, rinse repeat. Also, expect to fight staggeringly large numbers of mobile suits that a remnant force should not even possess much less be able to maintain given their situation. I would have been a lot more satisfied with the game if it had fewer mobile suits and better, more competant AI that made them much more difficult to fight than throw swarms of stoic idiotic enemies at me.

Other than that, the graphics are passable, and it gets points for having an original story in an original time setting rather than reuse MSG and the OVAs for the upteenth time. Also, the mechanical designs are pretty nice, in an OYW-ish charming kind of way. (I'm especially a fan of the RX-81 G-Line and Efreet Nacht.) If you're interested in the story, however, the manga version might be a better gateway, as it presents the scenario in a way that's much more in-line with Gundam canon (or whatever you want to see "canon" as.)

If your looking for an honest to god good Gundam game, however, you want to try Side Story 0079 for the old Dreamcast. I've never played a more immersive Gundam game in my life. It's all played from the perspective of the pilot, so it's all cockpit view. Its HEAVILY 08th MS Team inspired, and you're the team leader, so be ready to issue detailed orders to the other two MS in your team as well as the hovertruck (which is your means of locating enemy targets on the battlefield.) The way your Mobile Suit moves feels realistically slow and large when walking, but using the thrusters to maneuver quickly still somehow doesn't detract that you're piloting a giant goddamn robot. The melee combat is absolutely orgasmic, especially when your saber clashes with a Zaku's heat hawk as it's monoeye glares angrily and aggressively at you through your cockpit monitor (the glowing effect is even pretty intimidating in a way that no gundam game to this date has been able to recapture.)

The sole drawback is that the game is only nine missions long, but they are nine challenging, fun, and colorfully varied missions. The story itself is original, and fits seamlessly into the rest of the OYW. And get this; there's no Gundam to be seen in the whole game. You spend the whole time playing as GMs and various GM variants (or a Mass production Guncannon later down the line, if you prefer.) So if you have a Dreamcast or the means to attain one (not as hard as most people think) then Side Story 0079 should definitely be on your to buy list as a Gundam fan.

In short, Bamco needs to stop making JTJ/EIS/VS clones and make another frigging RFTA.
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Re: Random OYW Questions

There's not really much to be done about this weird pileup of overlapping GM variations. The relatively late introduction of the standard GM is pretty much set in stone, and if the plain vanilla model is deployed only six weeks before the end of the war, then all the crazy variants that have been invented since would need to be rolled out almost simultaneously.

The situation might be slightly more sane if you ignore all the retconned variants and take only the MSV sources as gospel. Otherwise, the tortured rationalizations offered by the Master Archive book are probably as good as we're going to get. :-)

But anyway, what other obscure One Year War questions are on your mind? Let's see what we can do!

-- Mark
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Re: Random OYW Questions

There really are too many GM variants as post MSV productions have already added 8 GM variants into One Year War. If we include M-MSV, this will add another two. Honestly GM Sniper Custom and GM Cannon from the original was already sufficient.
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Re: Random OYW Questions

toysdream wrote:Let me point you to this previous thread - specifically, to my post halfway down the linked page. Here, I rounded up some hard evidence from the line art published in the hobby magazines a few months before the first episode of Gundam 0080 was released. This makes it pretty clear that, when Izubuchi actually drew his mobile suit designs, he intended most of them to be variations rather than new depictions of the existing mobile suits. (The one clear exception is the Zaku II.)
Now what I want to know is whether there was initially a plan to make them new depictions... and if so, how they came to the decision to make new models instead. Like whether this came about as part of the design process (design diverged too far from the original) or production (wanted the machines to look cooler than adherence to the originals would allow) or just plain merchandising (new variants = new kits)... Too many possibilities along the line to be worth too-deep speculation, I suppose. Why can't I think of questions like this four and a half years ago, when I'm getting ready to ask Izubuchi himself just one question about his work?

I think I'll just take SD Gundam Mk. IV as canon. Paint a Hygog brown, and it's a Gogg... Kai Shiden piloted an MP Guncannon, and the GM looks like the GM Cold. So much nicer that way. Well, except for the Gundam being a stripped-down Alex. :)
OYW Fan wrote: I'm happy that my speculation on the MS-06FZ turned out to be correct. I've never been a fan of that version of the Zaku, so it being intended as a replacement really makes it easier to block it out from the Gundam universe for me. :D Sorry if I've offended any fans of this design.
Blasphemy!

...Actually, I didn't like it at first, either. But it truly is the greatest Zaku. :)
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Re: Random OYW Questions

1-4-4 wrote:Now what I want to know is whether there was initially a plan to make them new depictions... and if so, how they came to the decision to make new models instead.
If there ever was such a plan, it apparently went away before Izubuchi drew the final line art, so who knows? I'm actually more curious as to whether the story was originally supposed to take place later in the One Year War and spill over into U.C. 0080, which I dimly recall seeing in some of the earlier published timelines. That might help explain the slew of GM variants...

Anyways, there's at least some uncertainty where most of the Zeon models are concerned (except for the Hy-Gogg, which was supposed to be an all-new machine). But it seems very clear that all those GMs were supposed to be variations; otherwise there would only be one of them! I think the earlier thread pretty much settles this, no matter what fan mythology says. :-)

-- Mark
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Re: Random OYW Questions

toysdream wrote:
1-4-4 wrote:Now what I want to know is whether there was initially a plan to make them new depictions... and if so, how they came to the decision to make new models instead.
If there ever was such a plan, it apparently went away before Izubuchi drew the final line art, so who knows?
Well, I can think of one person who probably knows, and I had a chance to ask him myself, but I got so tangled up in the different things I wanted to ask him that the question that came out of my mouth was an incoherent jumble. XD

It's just interesting sometimes, the details of how decisions like that get made. Maybe one answer would have led to the other... <shrug>
Anyways, there's at least some uncertainty where most of the Zeon models are concerned (except for the Hy-Gogg, which was supposed to be an all-new machine). But it seems very clear that all those GMs were supposed to be variations; otherwise there would only be one of them! I think the earlier thread pretty much settles this, no matter what fan mythology says. :-)
Well, more than one GM type doesn't indicate (by itself) that they're all variations. GM Sniper and GM Cold could be variations of GM Command, for instance. But officially, of course, they're not. Don't really want to spread misinformation but at the same time I do pick and choose the bits of information (official or not) that I want to embrace. I mean, "Kamille" with a "K"? Really?

Always cool to learn more about the background of some of my favorite stuff... At present my direct access to that kind of information is a bit limited.
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Re: Random OYW Questions

1-4-4 wrote:Well, more than one GM type doesn't indicate (by itself) that they're all variations. GM Sniper and GM Cold could be variations of GM Command, for instance.
That seems unlikely, since the Cold Climate type is so similar to the original, and the GM Command really isn't. That makes the GM Command an unlikely base model, and I think the reason it's used throughout MS ERA (which came out long after the video series) is simply because it looks cool. :-)

Incidentally, another GM variation that Izubuchi was working on for 0080 but never actually showed up in the anime was an underwater "Aqua GM". (You can find rough sketches of this in a lot of the books.) It really does seem like the creators were just trying to stuff the series with a bunch of GM variations.

-- Mark
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Re: Random OYW Questions

toysdream wrote:
1-4-4 wrote:Well, more than one GM type doesn't indicate (by itself) that they're all variations. GM Sniper and GM Cold could be variations of GM Command, for instance.
That seems unlikely, since the Cold Climate type is so similar to the original, and the GM Command really isn't. That makes the GM Command an unlikely base model, and I think the reason it's used throughout MS ERA (which came out long after the video series) is simply because it looks cool. :-)
And isn't that reason enough, if I'm discarding canon and deciding for myself what the machine represents? :)
Incidentally, another GM variation that Izubuchi was working on for 0080 but never actually showed up in the anime was an underwater "Aqua GM".
Yeah, snorkels are cool.

I've been curious lately about the early development of the Zaku design. As drawn by Okawara, I mean. Between 1979 and 1984 (MS-X, Skiure lineart, etc.) it took on a bunch of bulk in the legs. The original anime is pretty inconsistent, of course - but the lineart pretty soundly nails down the look, which I don't think any kit or anime appearance has ever replicated. It kind of leaves a philosophical question, I guess... If the Zaku never looked that way except in the lineart, is that really how the Zaku looks? :) Once the Zaku took on that bulk in the legs the change stuck...

Related question: the MSV Mine layer lineart (rear-view only, as far as I know) reflects this trend, toward the bulkier Zaku, as do the MSV kits. I am curious about how that came about. Can we thank Okawara for that? Would he have been involved in the development of those kits?

I guess it's kind of a minor point of interest, how we got from the skinny Zaku to the bulky one, but it's something I've always been kind of curious about. I don't know if you have any insight into all this.
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Re: Random OYW Questions

J-Lead, I actually do own Rise From The Ashes and have beaten it numerous times, though I must disagree with you on some points. It is a good game, however to say it's the most immersive Gundam game, well for me that is just not the case. I love that you can pilot from the cockpit, but I wish you were given the option to change views. Story wise it's a great game, however I feel it falls short with bringing you into it, due to a lack of cutscenes and overall information. For me, the title of most immersive MSG game goes to Zeonic Front. Thanks for the input on 0081 though. I'm going to get the game because, it's translated for the most part in a FAQ that can be found on Gamefaqs, where as I'm pretty sure the manga adaptation has never been translated, meaning I'd have no clue what was going on. Plus I'm a sucker for MSG games with original stories. In fact, they're probably my favorite type of game to play period.

So back to my OYW questions...

I've been wondering, about quite a number of things, one being Pegasus class ships, well one in particular, White Base Jr. Has there ever been any pictures or descriptions of it? I believe it's the only one that has never been explained so I was curious about it. Since we're on the topic of ships, I wanted to know if there is any information on Himalaya class ships? These aircraft carriers were known as "The Whale of the EF", so I'm wondering just how large they were and if they could carry MS if needed to?

This leads me to questions on EF bases. Where were the EFF installations on earth? Obviously I know of Jaburo, California Base, Belfast, and Torrington and their locations, and although I'm sure I've heard of others, they don't seem to be showing up in my attempts to uncover them. The only other two I've heard about were Augusta, which I'm guessing is in Maine, and New Bern, which Mark once told me about, the he believes is probably in North Carolina.

Now on to some tech...

I was skimming through my Blue Destiny manga and came across an aircraft I can't identify belonging to Amy Bauer-Meister. It doesn't resemble anything I've looked at on MAHQ, so I was wondering just what exactly it is. Lastly, I wanted to know if satellites were still in use during the U.C.? I'm guessing not, probably due to Minovsky Particles.

Anyways can't wait to hear back!
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Re: Random OYW Questions

OYW Fan wrote:Lastly, I wanted to know if satellites were still in use during the U.C.? I'm guessing not, probably due to Minovsky Particles.
I feel like kind of a dork posting a response since Mark will probably be posting much more reliable information than I can provide...

But IIRC there was mention in the series that there hadn't been any usable satellites since the war broke out (suggesting they were shot down. As I recall this was mentioned when they were looking for the salt lake...)

And for what it's worth (i.e. not much, really, in terms of canon) there's a page in MS Era that shows Zakus guarding a satellite (again, memory is fuzzy here, but I think they were actually guarding a Zeon crew who was in the process of scrapping the satellite...)

It's worth bearing in mind that even with Minovsky particles in play, there's still means of observation and communication (laser-communication, primarily, which would mean line-of-sight) Also, in cases where Minovsky particle density isn't too high, radio still works. In cases where they can't make contact via radio, it would be possible to do a laser-line to some kind of relay (a satellite, or possibly a colony or fortified asteroid like Luna 2 or Solomon) which could pass the message on... Though without a reliable means of knowing your own exact position (GPS or something similar), it would be hard (I expect) to shoot a laser a couple hundred thousand miles away with enough precision to hit a relay station.
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