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Remember the time that one of those eons-old shape-changing robots whose lives where defined by civil war and to whom the very idea of gender is a confusing novelty sought revenge on a whale?
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May 2, 2014 04:17
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| # ? May 17, 2024 13:38 |
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As much as I agree with the general sentiment if the last several posts, I do enjoy when authors try to create people/races that are truly alien. Because sometimes they kind of succeed and man that's eerie. I'd love to see someone try that with the transformers concept.
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May 2, 2014 04:23
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Other posted:Remember the time that one of those eons-old shape-changing robots whose lives where defined by civil war and to whom the very idea of gender is a confusing novelty sought revenge on a whale? Yes. 
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May 2, 2014 04:44
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Why cookie Rocket posted:As much as I agree with the general sentiment if the last several posts, I do enjoy when authors try to create people/races that are truly alien. Because sometimes they kind of succeed and man that's eerie. I'd love to see someone try that with the transformers concept. We've already had that. It was the ongoing that Mike Costa wrote and it was absolutely horrible.
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May 2, 2014 04:59
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There is literally nothing in Costa's run that falls under that category. That was just his whining excuse for not being liked at the end. Most of his stories were just about Spike / human relations and I think our Spike said the other ones or all of them are just based on movies. Police Action was sweet though. Like at what part is Optimus Prime having a character arc of 'and now I am sulkimus prime' some sort of attempt at creating an alien culture? Yeah, he's having a midlifer and he wants to buy a sporty red number that turns into a lady, but there's no women on his planet because Furman. So he just mopes and then the Predacons are working for the Chinese because [plot thread dropped, here's Megatron].
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May 2, 2014 05:23
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Karma Tornado posted:Rung's whole head got replaced after Swerve shot it off. Seems like a real dick move to not fix his eyes. Up until I remembered this, I always assumed that Rung's glasses were because of his age. Remember Kup's spotlight? If a bot doesn't keep up with upgrades, then eventually new ones become completely incompatible with their body. They had to use modified Pretender tech to save Kup's life because he had never upgraded his components. I figured that Rung just never upgraded his optics, and since he's the oldest person on the lost light by a large margin (except maybe Cyclonus and Tailgate), maybe his head just isn't compatible with modern optic upgrades. Of course then his head was rebuilt from scratch, so there goes that theory.
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May 2, 2014 05:38
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Transformers is at its best when it focuses on interesting characters doing their things. One of my favorite moments in MTME was when Misfire introduced his entire team to Fulcrum; it was sot of a microcosm of the series as a whole: here's a bunch of neat characters, here's what they're doing, and if everything fits together well enough, there will be all sorts of little things that add depth, like Whirl skipping out on movie night when it's an old documentary featuring Proteus. All the neat worldbuilding robot stuff is a nice condiment to spice the story up with, but at the center of it all, it's just characters,
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May 2, 2014 06:10
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I like that idea that cybertronians get really super excited about antiquated/primitive technology.
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May 2, 2014 07:27
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Why cookie Rocket posted:As much as I agree with the general sentiment if the last several posts, I do enjoy when authors try to create people/races that are truly alien. Because sometimes they kind of succeed and man that's eerie. I'd love to see someone try that with the transformers concept. Yeah, I like Sci-Fi that does that too. I really like aliens that are truly alien to us and not guys with rubber foreheads. Things like this are super cool: http://waynebarlowe.wordpress.com/artwork/expedition/ and this: http://www.alexries.com/Galpages/c-sardu.htm It would be interesting if someone tried to do a more "realistic" or "alien" take on the Transformers, although if they did, it wouldn't resemble the Transformers we know at all, to the point where I dunno if you could call it "Transformers." Such a thing would also not be nearly as popular.
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May 2, 2014 13:25
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Gammatron 64 posted:It would be interesting if someone tried to do a more "realistic" or "alien" take on the Transformers, although if they did, it wouldn't resemble the Transformers we know at all, to the point where I dunno if you could call it "Transformers." Such a thing would also not be nearly as popular.
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May 2, 2014 15:00
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TheDK posted:< some comment about the Bay movies > What I'm thinking of would be an even bigger departure than the Bay movies are. Most of the characters in that are human stereotypes, anyway. Like here's Carlos the Mexican robot who turns into an El Camino.
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May 2, 2014 17:13
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Gammatron 64 posted:What I'm thinking of would be an even bigger departure than the Bay movies are. Most of the characters in that are human stereotypes, anyway. Like here's Carlos the Mexican robot who turns into an El Camino. Gabriel Iglesias is the voice? I'd watch it.
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May 2, 2014 17:16
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Gammatron 64 posted:It would be interesting if someone tried to do a more "realistic" or "alien" take on the Transformers, although if they did, it wouldn't resemble the Transformers we know at all, to the point where I dunno if you could call it "Transformers." The amount of pressure to adapt or die in a four million year war is pretty tremendous. How many of your comrades dying before you go 'gently caress having a face, Optimus Prime always goes for the face'. Actually in that regard gunface is probably a natural evolution.
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May 2, 2014 17:36
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May 2, 2014 17:57
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I want that SO badly right now.
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May 2, 2014 17:58
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So when are we getting Generations Broadside?
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May 2, 2014 18:18
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My headcanon has always maintained that Cybertronians are not robots, or if they are they are robots the same way we are. Looking forward to that Jetfire.
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May 2, 2014 18:22
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CAPT. Rainbowbeard posted:My headcanon has always maintained that Cybertronians are not robots, or if they are they are robots the same way we are. Like Pierce Brosnan kept saying in World's End, "robot" means "slave" 
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May 2, 2014 18:31
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CAPT. Rainbowbeard posted:My headcanon has always maintained that Cybertronians are not robots, or if they are they are robots the same way we are. As bad as TFW and the rest of TF fandom can be, I am so grateful I never hear anyone actually complain that transformers are sentient/sapient, making the word robot inaccurate. I'm not accusing you of complaining about it, either, to be clear. I'm just glad we have all decided as a community to suck it up, use the word robot because it was in the goddam theme song, and move on.
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May 2, 2014 20:37
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Why cookie Rocket posted:As bad as TFW and the rest of TF fandom can be, I am so grateful I never hear anyone actually complain that transformers are sentient/sapient, making the word robot inaccurate. I'm not accusing you of complaining about it, either, to be clear. I'm just glad we have all decided as a community to suck it up, use the word robot because it was in the goddam theme song, and move on. Sentience and sapience don't make the word robot inaccurate. A robot is simply an autonomous mechanical agent guided by programming or circuitry, which definitely encompasses most versions of the Transformers. Describing them as robots is entirely correct, at least until real sentient robots show up and the word "robot" becomes considered racist or something.
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May 2, 2014 21:30
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Keldroc posted:Sentience and sapience don't make the word robot inaccurate. A robot is simply an autonomous mechanical agent guided by programming or circuitry, which definitely encompasses most versions of the Transformers. Describing them as robots is entirely correct, at least until real sentient robots show up and the word "robot" becomes considered racist or something. Lots of definitions of robot, including yours, use the word "agent", which to me makes all the difference. An agent acts on behalf of someone else. Unless all those definitions are weirdly worded, and they are trying to say a robot "has agency", which doesn't make sense to me, unless all those robots that perform work in real-life factories have a degree of free will I was unaware of. Putting aside issues of philosophy and free will, I think that in terms of common usage it's pretty much understood that robots are emotionless and lack free will, whereas Asimov-type androids are capable of more complex feelings, thoughts, and desires. So referring to the crew of MTMTE as "robots", as the very least, doesn't jive with the normal use of the word.
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May 2, 2014 21:52
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I'll break my no-Generations lent for this.
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May 2, 2014 21:58
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Why cookie Rocket posted:Lots of definitions of robot, including yours, use the word "agent", which to me makes all the difference. An agent acts on behalf of someone else. Unless all those definitions are weirdly worded, and they are trying to say a robot "has agency", which doesn't make sense to me, unless all those robots that perform work in real-life factories have a degree of free will I was unaware of. "Agent" also means "one who acts," and does not require anything to act on the behalf of anything else, and so in terms of a robot, yes, they are saying it "has agency." It just means that they can act independently. In the case of a factory robot, it means it can do its tasks with minimal or no supervision. In the case of a Transformer, it means it is its own being. As for the emotionless/lacking free will part, I don't think that holds water considering people use "robot" to refer to Transformers, C-3PO and R2-D2, the creepy kid from A.I., Number Johnny Five, and everything in between. In common usage, "robot" just means "autonomous metal creature." "Android" simply means "a robot that looks like a person," although the use of "droid" in Star Wars complicates that a bit. And most people know "cyborg" from Terminator, which is technically what the Beast Wars characters are. But there's nothing inaccurate about calling Transformers robots. A lot of what you're saying seems to be you bringing your own baggage to the word.
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May 2, 2014 22:08
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Right. In my head, it's similar to the Bay movies, and has been since I was a kid, it's what I brought away from the G1 comics. Sure, they can be repaired and brought back to life, but so can we! It's just far, far easier for them since they don't decay so much, so quickly. Different build quality and materials, you see. Luckily Roberts seems to agree with me.
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May 2, 2014 22:31
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Keldroc posted:"Agent" also means "one who acts," and does not require anything to act on the behalf of anything else, and so in terms of a robot, yes, they are saying it "has agency." It just means that they can act independently. In the case of a factory robot, it means it can do its tasks with minimal or no supervision. In the case of a Transformer, it means it is its own being. Sure, absolutely, we all bring our own baggage when it comes to words. When I say "bird" you probably picture something different from what I immediately picture when I hear the word "bird". I mean it's clear you're trying to shame me for whatever reason, but I'm having a blast learning. It's been really interesting looking these terms up, because there's a complete lack of consensus. Webster's says "a machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts (as walking or talking) of a human being; also : a similar but fictional machine whose lack of capacity for human emotions is often emphasized". The etymology and original use supports the idea that a "robot" is a worker machine with no other intended purpose. But you're absolutely right, the use of the word "robot" is used in ways I had no idea about an hour ago...not just your fictional examples, but in the real-life field of robotics-- robotics experts commonly talk about wanting to create "self-aware robots." I really would've thought they'd used a different word at that point. And yeah, the first season BW cast were all cyborgs, which is pretty creepy when you imagine Rattrap's beast mode bleeding or something.
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May 2, 2014 22:33
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"Cyborg" as a catchall term for a thing that incorporates both electromechanical and biological parts has never sat entirely well with me, I think because at its broadest scope it includes both Dick Cheney, an old man with a turbopump where his heart should be, and T-800, a chromed android assassin with a meat coating for infiltration. Demeanor aside, I think it's pretty clear those two examples have a very different experience of life from eachother, and different again from some hypothetical cyberpunk protagonist with mirrorshades and monofilament wire fingertips and a brain-embedded tap into the Information Superhighway.
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May 2, 2014 22:47
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Why cookie Rocket posted:Sure, absolutely, we all bring our own baggage when it comes to words. When I say "bird" you probably picture something different from what I immediately picture when I hear the word "bird". I mean it's clear you're trying to shame me for whatever reason, but I'm having a blast learning. Pointing out flaws in reasoning or gaps in knowledge is not "shaming." Unless you're spending 90% of your time on tumblr, in which case pretty much everything becomes "shaming" of one kind or another. quote:It's been really interesting looking these terms up, because there's a complete lack of consensus. Webster's says "a machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts (as walking or talking) of a human being; also : a similar but fictional machine whose lack of capacity for human emotions is often emphasized". The etymology and original use supports the idea that a "robot" is a worker machine with no other intended purpose. But you're absolutely right, the use of the word "robot" is used in ways I had no idea about an hour ago...not just your fictional examples, but in the real-life field of robotics-- robotics experts commonly talk about wanting to create "self-aware robots." I really would've thought they'd used a different word at that point. If, at some point, robots with actual sentience and emotions are created, they probably will want to use a different word for themselves, in the same way humans don't generally call themselves primates or apes (even though that's what we are). Until then, though, I think "Robots in Disguise" doesn't have to be lumped in with "Washington Redskins" as insensitive racial terminology. quote:And yeah, the first season BW cast were all cyborgs, which is pretty creepy when you imagine Rattrap's beast mode bleeding or something. It would have been an interesting thing to explore, but the closest they really got was the episode in which the Maximals' beast DNA took over their brains and everybody started acting like real gorillas and cats and such.
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May 2, 2014 23:47
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EDIT: NEVER MIND I AM A NINNY WHO FORGETS WHAT THREAD HE IS READING SOMETIMES.
CAPT. Rainbowbeard fucked around with this message at 02:36 on May 3, 2014 |
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May 3, 2014 00:02
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Keldroc posted:It would have been an interesting thing to explore, but the closest they really got was the episode in which the Maximals' beast DNA took over their brains and everybody started acting like real gorillas and cats and such. It also makes me think of the episode where Tarantulas was going to eat Cheetor. What he was going to do exactly wasn't made clear (for obvious reasons), but Rattrap was able to consume organic matter, so it could've gone all kind of crazy places.
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May 3, 2014 00:07
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The organic robotics is something I can't wait for Roberts to get back to in MTMTE.
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May 3, 2014 01:02
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Why cookie Rocket posted:It also makes me think of the episode where Tarantulas was going to eat Cheetor. What he was going to do exactly wasn't made clear (for obvious reasons), but Rattrap was able to consume organic matter, so it could've gone all kind of crazy places. It got plenty crazy enough for me, thanks.
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May 3, 2014 01:04
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CAPT. Rainbowbeard posted:Fine. African-American budget. Agents of Nothing thread is over there --->
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May 3, 2014 01:10
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I finally finally FINALLY got my hands on a Whirl at Target tonight. Also, bonus for my demographic--he came with a coupon for tampons. Score!
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May 3, 2014 06:16
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Chu Chu posted:I finally finally FINALLY got my hands on a Whirl at Target tonight. Also, bonus for my demographic--he came with a coupon for tampons. Score! I always get coupons for like, Centrum Silver, or the Target cafe. I'm not 50+ nor am I dumb enough to eat anything in your store Target, why you gotta hate.
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May 3, 2014 06:24
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The Rage posted:I always get coupons for like, Centrum Silver, or the Target cafe. I'm not 50+ nor am I dumb enough to eat anything in your store Target, why you gotta hate. To be fair to Target, I'm not sure if the horrific Diarrhea I get after I eat there is from their food or the fact that I work in a gas station.
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May 3, 2014 08:22
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therealjon_ posted:I'll break my no-Generations lent for this. How can you hate on the Generations line?
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May 3, 2014 08:29
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You Am I posted:How can you hate on the Generations line? I don't think he is. For Lent you generally give up things you enjoy. Of course Easter was two weeks ago, so 
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May 3, 2014 09:14
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The comic shop only had ONE IDW transformers comic in total. One issue of MTMTE on the stands and that was it, not a trade or anything. I left it hoping someone else would pick it up and get into it. I really wanted a physical copy of Windblade. The free GI joe vs transformers comic seems pretty baller you should get it today
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May 3, 2014 18:19
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Rita Repulsa posted:The comic shop only had ONE IDW transformers comic in total. One issue of MTMTE on the stands and that was it, not a trade or anything. I left it hoping someone else would pick it up and get into it. I've still got a few copies of Windblade in stock if you're after one, I'm quite happy to post it out!
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May 3, 2014 19:29
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| # ? May 17, 2024 13:38 |
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War/Fall of Cybertron on sale this weekend on Steam for 75% off, definitely worth picking up!
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May 3, 2014 21:57
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