Machinima Combiner Wars Episodes 1 & 2 on Youtube for US viewers

pretty sure anyone who cared in the US has already seen them.

Stuartmaximus wrote:speaking of Mistress! i wonder what her alt mode is

Pretty sure she doesn't have one. She is based on an IDW design. They really don't care much about transforming in their "Transformers" comics.

As for episode 1&2..yeah...this isn't really going to work well edited together either, unless they make some additional edits. At least 2003's Clone Wars & GI:Joe Resolute, when brought together into long format made appropriate edits so it felt like you were watching a single story.

With this you get...close up of Cybertron...Optimus Prime's Face...fade out...zoom into Cybertron again...

After Windblade entered the Spacebridge, and the hyperspace sequence...if they went straight to episode 2 it would have felt much more natural.

Also after watching this again...I have a few more gripes...Menasor was literally waist-deep in a building when Windblade cut off "Offroad". How did she even attack the leg? --and after she did, how was Menasor Standing...if he was hobbling/struggling to stand or lean on something I get that, but he appeared to be standing just fine...Also now that we have seen episode 5...how did the bodies of Menasor & Computron get back to Cybertron? Who put Menasor back together? Why put him back together if he is dead?

o.supreme wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:speaking of Mistress! i wonder what her alt mode is

Pretty sure she doesn't have one. She is based on an IDW design. They really don't care much about transforming in their "Transformers" comics.

Mistress of Flame is more like the odd one out in terms of IDW's Transformers designs. When you've got exclusive characters like Nautica, Aileron and Swift running about who very clearly have as much vehicle mode kibble as anyone else...

Hell, a lot of designs such as Stormbringer Astrotrain and Stealth Bomber Megatron are designed with a transformation scheme in mind. They've even gone as far as designing a character as a retool of a toy, and in MTMTE a lot of plot points and concepts - Rung, Red Rust, Rigor Morphis - so I don't really see how they don't care about transformation when if anything, IDW is the one fiction that actually utilises Transformation more than any other.
... which if anything, makes the Mistress of Flame an even stranger case. Maybe she's an Action Master.

Kurona wrote:Hell, a lot of designs such as Stormbringer Astrotrain and Stealth Bomber Megatron are designed with a transformation scheme in mind. They've even gone as far as designing a character as a retool of a toy, and in MTMTE a lot of plot points and concepts - Rung, Red Rust, Rigor Morphis

I don't consider any version of Megatron or Astrotrain original, because they are based on already existing characters, so obviously they should be designed with alt modes. I guess its just me...But I don't see how ANY IDW original characters (Rung, Aileron, The DJD etc...) could have alt modes.

Kurona wrote:so I don't really see how they don't care about transformation when if anything, IDW is the one fiction that actually utilizes Transformation more than any other.... which if anything, makes the Mistress of Flame an even stranger case. Maybe she's an Action Master.

1. I think there has been more transformations in 5 episodes of CW than in the pages of the last 4 years of IDW.

2. Funny you mention that about Mistress...because I often refer to the IDW comics as "Action Masters"

o.supreme wrote:

Kurona wrote:Hell, a lot of designs such as Stormbringer Astrotrain and Stealth Bomber Megatron are designed with a transformation scheme in mind. They've even gone as far as designing a character as a retool of a toy, and in MTMTE a lot of plot points and concepts - Rung, Red Rust, Rigor Morphis

I don't consider any version of Megatron or Astrotrain original, because they are based on already existing characters, so obviously they should be designed with alt modes. I guess its just me...But I don't see how ANY IDW original characters (Rung, Aileron, The DJD etc...) could have alt modes.

Rung's alt mode is intentionally vague and mysterious; no-one's supposed to know what it is both in-universe and out-of-universe.



(It's the hologram Nightbeat is looking at)



Aileron I don't see how you can't see her having an alt mode because literally all the kibble is right there...



Tarn



Kaon



Vos (the gun Megatron's holding)

Again, I... I really don't get it. All the kibble's there, transformation is used as a plot point, as a way to build mystery and intrigue; while other series use transformation as... just a thing they can do and that's it. Sorry if it sounds like I'm singling you out; but I've heard IDW described by quite a few people as the one series to not use transformation when it's the one series to really actually take advantage of transformation.

Kurona wrote:Again, I... I really don't get it. All the kibble's there, transformation is used as a plot point, as a way to build mystery and intrigue; while other series use transformation as... just a thing they can do and that's it. Sorry if it sounds like I'm singling you out; but

No I totally respect your point of view. I purchase all the comics, but am not really a fan, just trying to support the brand. I read them once, then board/bag them, and honestly, don't remember much about them. All Hail Megatron was, in my opinion, the last good story from IDW, again that's just me. Because the designs of many characters are beyond my ability to recognize, I am instantly disconnected. I get that it is popular, its just not "for me"

Kurona wrote:I've heard IDW described by quite a few people as the one series to not use transformation when it's the one series to really actually take advantage of transformation.

Good to know I'm not alone, but really, those transformations are so obscure, how would anyone besides the most hardcore of fans figure that out? You could open my own copy of the comic, show me the pic, ask who it's supposed to be/what its supposed to be, and I'd be ...

I understand that different interpretations of different characters across all media is fair, but one of the problems I have with many comics (not just Transformers) is how far can you deviate before the character is no longer that character? For some, they welcome IDW (especially MTMTE/TLL) with open arms, for some like me, it is just too much of a deviation from the "norm" it no longer is fun/interesting to me.

o.supreme wrote:I understand that different interpretations of different characters across all media is fair, but one of the problems I have with many comics (not just Transformers) is how far can you deviate before the character is no longer that character? For some, they welcome IDW (especially MTMTE/TLL) with open arms, for some like me, it is just too much of a deviation from the "norm" it no longer is fun/interesting to me.

I do agree with this, generally. It's the reason - well, it's one of the many reasons - why I'm not a great fan of Bayformers. Movie Ratchet, for instance, has absolutely nothing in common with his original design aside from turning into an ambulance so unless you actually say he's Ratchet, you're not gonna work out he's supposed to be a new version of the medic from the G1 cartoons and comics. His designs in Animated, TFP and IDW all make sense to me; they're heavy deviations to be sure, but those deviations fit what sort of character he's supposed to be while still not deviating too far to the point he's completely unrecognisable. At least in my opinion anywho.
But yeah, it just makes sense to me. If you're gonna make a new version of a character, make sure they're still recognisable as that character. A lot of people don't seem to realise there's a very happy medium between 'exactly the same' and 'different in every single possible way'.


... so to bring this back on-topic since we went way off the rails there, I'm glad that the designs in this are instantly recognisable as new versions of their G1 counterparts (Computron's face aside). I mean, sure, that's mostly because they're based on their toys but... uh... I-I'm trying okay

Sure thing. If I was a fan that had stepped away for 20+ years, then saw this CW series, I could honestly say I would recognize all the characters in CW except Windblade (not knowing she was *fan made*), Maxima, (not knowing she was new for the series), and The Mistress of Flame (not knowing she was from IDW comics) . Of course I'd probably have a dozen or so questions about what the overall story was...But I think some of us that are current on all fiction still have those questions .

I can confirm that it's blocked in Japan.

Thanks for mentioning where this video is available, Seibertron. As far as I know, this site is the ONLY news site that has taken the time to report this. Even the official Machinima description/site does not clearly state where these videos can be watched globally, which in this globalised, digital, online age, is puzzling. Big cheers to Seibertron for posting this info!

primalxconvoy wrote:I can confirm that it's blocked in Japan.

Thanks for mentioning where this video is available, Seibertron. As far as I know, this site is the ONLY news site that has taken the time to report this. Even the official Machinima description/site does not clearly state where these videos can be watched globally, which in this globalised, digital, online age, is puzzling. Big cheers to Seibertron for posting this info!

And thank you for clarifying; I'll edit the news post

Okay, watching this compiled version of episodes 1 and 2 has proved a few things.

First, for all the framerate complaints from before, watching this YouTube version reveals that the framerate issues aren't so much the fault of the cartoon itself, but more with the quality of the video on Go90's player, as the framerate for the animation of the robots looks a LOT better in this YouTube version. Granted, it's still very flawed in places, especially during Starscream's flying/falling back to the Council chamber in episode 2, but as bad as it is, it's not nearly as awful in this version as it was on Go90.

Second, not only does this show not work well as a mini-series of 5-minute episodes, but neither does it work when compiled together. The second episode feels like some time has passed between it and episode 1, yet watching them back-to-back here feels like almost no time has passed between the two episodes, making the Council's learning of the Menasor vs. Computron fight on Caminus, and Windblade's arrival on Cybertron, happen way too quickly. Because of this feeling of immediacy, the Council speaks of the fight as though it had happened much earlier than we saw it happen in relation to when they convene to discuss it, and Windblade seems to show up on Cybertron practically instantaneously. If there had been some sort of transitional wipe or fade to show a passage of time between the two episodes, that could have helped greatly. But as is, the flow of time (or lack thereof) comes off as being more confusing than ever.

Sabrblade wrote:Second, not only does this show not work well as a mini-series of 5-minute episodes, but neither does it work when compiled together. The second episode feels like some time has passed between it and episode 1, yet watching them back-to-back here feels like almost no time has passed between the two episodes, making the Council's learning of the Menasor vs. Computron fight on Caminus ,and Windblade's arrival on Cybertron, happen way too quickly. Because of this feeling of immediacy, the Council speaks of the fight as though it had happened much earlier than we saw it happen compared to when they convene to discuss it, and Windblade seems to show up on Cybertron practically instantaneously. If there had been some sort of transitional wipe or fade to show a passage of time between the two episodes, that could have helped greatly. But as is, the flow of time (or lack thereof) comes off as being more confusing than ever.

Not even that. It just needed to quickly fade in a "1 week later..." or something like that at the bottom of the screen.

I'm sure, when this sad sorry mess of a series is over, some fans will make a complied version, complete with wipes, transitions, redubbed voices for Menasor, etc. Multiple fans will post and repost it, with subtitles (in Japanese, etc), thus thwarting any attempts to geo-block it. It'll still be crap, but less so, and still better than what Machinima clips come up with.

I think you guys are being a bit too harsh on it. I just saw the series so far earlier today, and it wasn't as bad as you guys are making it out to be. Sure it has a few things that could be better, and yes Menasor's voice is a bit off from how it usually is, but it still is pretty cool. My biggest issue with it so far however is how Windblade's personality is. In IDW, she was a naive and cute character, whereas in this cartoon, she's just a bit too much like IDW Arcee. Why do Transformers fictions keep turning nice characters into mean ones???

SillySpringer wrote:I think you guys are being a bit too harsh on it. I just saw the series so far earlier today, and it wasn't as bad as you guys are making it out to be. Sure it has a few things that could be better, and yes Menasor's voice is a bit off from how it usually is, but it still is pretty cool. My biggest issue with it so far however is how Windblade's personality is. In IDW, she was a naive and cute character, whereas in this cartoon, she's just a bit too much like IDW Arcee. Why do Transformers fictions keep turning nice characters into mean ones???

Because niceness is for BABIES! Real ADULT stuff is gritty, harsh, cold, and serious business! The stuff of MANHOOD doesn't need no sissy niceness!

Sabrblade wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:I think you guys are being a bit too harsh on it. I just saw the series so far earlier today, and it wasn't as bad as you guys are making it out to be. Sure it has a few things that could be better, and yes Menasor's voice is a bit off from how it usually is, but it still is pretty cool. My biggest issue with it so far however is how Windblade's personality is. In IDW, she was a naive and cute character, whereas in this cartoon, she's just a bit too much like IDW Arcee. Why do Transformers fictions keep turning nice characters into mean ones???

Because niceness is for BABIES! Real ADULT stuff is gritty, harsh, cold, and serious business! The stuff of MANHOOD doesn't need no sissy niceness!

You just described half of a Michael Bay Transformers movie. The other half is made up of either sexism or sissys.

SillySpringer wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:I think you guys are being a bit too harsh on it. I just saw the series so far earlier today, and it wasn't as bad as you guys are making it out to be. Sure it has a few things that could be better, and yes Menasor's voice is a bit off from how it usually is, but it still is pretty cool. My biggest issue with it so far however is how Windblade's personality is. In IDW, she was a naive and cute character, whereas in this cartoon, she's just a bit too much like IDW Arcee. Why do Transformers fictions keep turning nice characters into mean ones???

Because niceness is for BABIES! Real ADULT stuff is gritty, harsh, cold, and serious business! The stuff of MANHOOD doesn't need no sissy niceness!

You just described half of a Michael Bay Transformers movie. The other half is made up of either sexism or sissys.

Well, considering how much emphasis the creators of this show put on making it bad-A-double-S above all else, it's not that far from movies' mentality.

Now something I never thought I'd ask: WHY DOES MENASOR SOUND LIKE A COMBINATION OF G1 JAZZ AND ENERGON HOT SHOT??? That is NOT the voice I expected out of that mouth!

SillySpringer wrote:Now something I never thought I'd ask: WHY DOES MENASOR SOUND LIKE A COMBINATION OF G1 JAZZ AND ENERGON HOT SHOT??? That is NOT the voice I expected out of that mouth!

To me, it sounds like a bad impression of Jerry Houser.

Sabrblade wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:Now something I never thought I'd ask: WHY DOES MENASOR SOUND LIKE A COMBINATION OF G1 JAZZ AND ENERGON HOT SHOT??? That is NOT the voice I expected out of that mouth!

To me, it sounds like a bad impression of Jerry Houser.

...pppttttttttttttt