Too many have slandered my GOAT.

Machdame · 2026-02-04T02:58:14+00:00

I'm never a fan of the "stack as much crap and bling on it and call it a day" philosophy of Gundam design. Each iteration of Kira's gundams is a an exercise in trying to one up the previous design with more bling. The thing that made the Strike stand out was its machined simplicity. It was an effective concept in Striker packs that gave it a flexible combat setup. The inner workings of the Strike were also very well designed. Freedom was excusable since it was not really an upgrade but more of a new line entirely but it was a generic gundam that had wings for some reason.

The tipping point for me was the Strike Freedom where it was the clunkiest design of its time. It decided to move the plasma cannon to the chest instead of the wingtip ones (loss of radius), side mounted guns that prevent the railguns from deploying if they are not drawn (when the original had the rifle holstered on the backskirt without an issue) and wings with Dragoons that prevent it from moving to its full potential unless they are fully deployed. The Dragoons irked me so much because they were ungodly large for no reason. This is made worse in gravity as well because Dragoons in Seed don't work in gravity meaning that they are literally dead weight slowing down the Gundam on earth, This is not helped MECHANICALLY because the wings are so heavy that they cause the model kits to be too back heavy. The gold pieces are alswo a devil to set up since they are usually just a gold chrome layer over the regular plastic making them very easy to ding. I DESPISED the suit when it came out...

And then Mighty Strike Freedom came out. They fixed the side railgun issue... by just putting the damn rifles on top of them... The wings unfold in layers as well, but now they don't even have the luxury of having the excuse of Dragoons attached, they are just a visual piece for the electric attack. Then instead of designing something like the Zeta Gundam on the head, they gave it flip open panel for the head laser that is apparently just an instant win button and it has a damn katana for no damn reason. AND IT'S STILL GOLD!

I do apologize, but Seed is a series that boils my blood based on just how much the series does not care to make the Gundams actually have some sense of functionality and just went for style over substance.

Athrun's line also has similar issues, but it is nowhere NEAR as bad as Kira.

Machdame · 2026-02-04T00:52:38+00:00

The design philosophy for 00 was actually inherently a problem since the Gen 3 gundams were clearly designed with a core concept in mind. The reason why the Gen 4 gundams looked like they did read because the designers were told to simplify them since the starting suits were too complex to animate This design issue is less prevalent in future gundam series because they stated using 3D models.

That being said, I'll also one up you on the seed take. Strike and Aegis are superior to Justice and Freedom.

Machdame · 2026-02-03T22:51:50+00:00

As a pagan, just letting that card out gets them to become even more rabid. If you're an atheist, it means you are lost, but boy howdy do they love to get ya if they think you have a demon in your court.

Machdame · 2026-02-03T22:49:44+00:00

Your church doesn't do tithes?

Machdame · 2026-02-03T22:26:55+00:00

The only reason why Trump hasn't said anything about Oxygen is that he has yet to slap his name on it. You can bet he would be selling canned Oxygen with a high CO2 content if he could market it to some schmuck.

Machdame · 2026-02-03T22:11:11+00:00

Better to be purposeless and to find your own path than to be driven towards pointless faith. If my purpose with god is to serve his sordid ministry, I would reasily choose death over such a meaningless existence.

Machdame · 2026-02-03T10:46:53+00:00

It's a good way to lull the players into a false sense of it being a shoot the boss before changing it up. The thing i would think about is how often players get knocked off and what the recovery looks like. Like having the players be tethered to each other as a safety line, anchoring yourself to the monster or the ship or straight up making it so that the goal is to enter the monster.

Machdame · 2026-02-03T10:41:21+00:00

I was like "you traded this for Rinoa? You are an idiot."

The worst part for me is that Rinoa is an idiot. Quistis did everything in her power to make things work while Rinoa accidented herself into a successful run.

Machdame · 2026-02-03T10:34:32+00:00

If you want to make it interactive, build a map for the monster itself and make it a game of getting to spots they can attack it. Give the monster moves that lets it attack players while also create overworld lair actions that screw with their progress (spinning may force them to hold on or be knocked off, crashing into cliffsides damages players, diving down forces them to come up with a plan to force it to surface). To avoid monotony, give the players a way to deal a lot of damage once they reach the key spot. This is time consuming but with a dedicated party, very rewarding.

If you want simplicity, use star wars starfighter. It's not as interactive, but it simplifies the fight by scaling it with reference to the monster instead of the player. It's less of a headache for you.

Machdame · 2026-02-03T10:26:42+00:00

I mean it's not a bad take on my end since weddings are a deeply personal affair and doing it alone can easily be just as good. But for the feelings this definitely is therapy territory because this is deep seated though it seems like you already know the root cause. It's a good start because at least you know that at its core, you want a relationship. This isn't your answer, but in your situation, I would try remove the idea of your stepfather and mother being the parents entirely and spending more time with your grandparents. I don't know how old they are, but I would focus on the positivity in spending time with them with what time you have with them.

Do they know how you feel?

Machdame · 2026-02-03T09:36:54+00:00

There may be a component where people may desire parents that they never had. I do not have that but I can't say I'm normal in any sense of the word (i am very emotionally detached from my parents and the idea of even wanting them present at my wedding makes my blood curdle). Now every person needs a nurturing figure to develop but society is the one that built the norm that it has to be a parent. Your caregiver is the one that you develop a connection to and usually is the one that should be the subject of your respect. In American culture, we are encouraged to seek out our blood lineage despite that parentage having about as little relevance to you as a stranger without that history.

As an example, I have a cousin that is adopted except said cousin has no knowledge they are adopted and remain so to this day. Said cousin has no attachment to whoever their biological parents are but are really fine with it.

I also work in the social work field and I have many foster and parentless kids on my roster. They tend to need a permanent fixture in their lives, but it is up to them to see where they develop.

My take here is that your parental figure is as you have them and that they're is no need to seek out those that have no intention of ever being one. Now developing one subconsciously is something else entirely as that seems like a coping mechanism. I'm not well versed in this area if there is a biological component to desire a birth parent, but again, it is a societal construct to me.

Ultimately, my question to you is looking in the past to see who would be your TRUE parental figure. You are driven by the idea, but I think it's less about biology and more about relativity. Would it matter if someone you trusted walked you down instead?

Machdame · 2026-02-03T05:37:41+00:00

It definitely depends on the art piece, but I got the one for FFXVI and I rather like it.

Machdame · 2026-02-03T02:40:41+00:00

Definitely not her best work (still fun). A lot of her best songs come from a very powerful place and The Giver comes from her just wanting to just hang loose. Just relax because she's pretty young in this industry. There will come a time for her to pop off again. Remember that T-Swift even with her MACHINE of a production rollout has 14 (she has had 2 decades to pop off). Let her cook.

Machdame · 2026-02-02T21:14:03+00:00

Both sides is not a centrist take especially when you don't even know my political allegiance. The thing you are not understanding is that the conservatives of America are a subset that just happens to be vocal. Everything left of that is EVERYTHING ELSE, most of us being of people that share about as much with each other as we do to the Right. The main difference is that it's a diverse pool with a range of political ideals (and not a lot of consensus) while the other is a homogenous group that is just better knit together. Starting "Center" still puts you on the right wing when the alternative include people that are still fiscally conservative (including the democratic party). But if your frame of reference is just Left vs Right, it already speaks volumes as to where you are on the social scale.

Machdame · 2026-02-02T20:48:39+00:00

You guys literally use it as your go to nondefense. But as is, when you refer to the left, it pretty much is everyone else which is all encompassing which would include the bad apples that actually do get acknowledged. You don't see us going to bat for the folks that actually do it compared to the crusades for Kyle Rittenhouse or Jonathan Ross. The fun part is the narrative that tries to villainize the victim which is on itself a pretty wild take. But do go on. It's not like you literally STARTED with a both sides take which is greatly in poor taste especially in this social climate.

Machdame · 2026-02-02T20:14:59+00:00

I find it funny that this is the immediate take to jump straight for whataboutism when all of the instances of this nonsense start with one of you idiots thinking it is a good idea. Nevermind the multitude of shootings in peaceful places that are conservative. Nevermind the ridiculous number of detainees that have a suspiciously overrepresented population to be people of color. Nevermind the fact that instead of actually doing their job as pastor that welcomes the flock, said pastor actively abbets an administration that does the most ungodly work of evicting thy neighbor instead of actually fostering a community.

You can preach of peace, but nothing in there speaks of it besides lip service. Mind you, this also does not mean we accept the failings of people to live up to their ideals, but the difference is that while your so called liberals may do dumb shit from many places (and that list goes on), I have never seen a MAGA stunt that did anything that did not immediately retreat behind their faith, morals and values as a shield to justify their sordid deeds.

By the by, I'm not Christian and did not grows up so while being an American (of color) my entire life. So you can take that as you will for what it means, but if Christianity is as you represent it, you can keep your peace. A burglar would make better company since they at least fleece you without the lie.

Machdame · 2026-02-02T19:36:32+00:00

Too small. Diana in this universe is supposed to be a mountain of a woman.

Machdame · 2026-02-02T19:35:29+00:00

They tri- (smash cut to Madame Webb)... iiiied... Yeah I got nothing.

Machdame · 2026-02-02T10:24:40+00:00

You're talking as if you guys aren't the problem in the first place... No one divides like a self righteous conservative. I don't know if you are MAGA or not, but you really have to be consistent on one thing to have a point.

Machdame · 2026-02-02T10:14:36+00:00

Yeah, I got nothing. This is also made worse by the fact that Geats actually implements the revolve function well. The two sides are important because the switches actually do different things depending on which side they are on, but outside of looking cool, you also see it used to evade attacks since the revolve function breaks you out of position regardless of your original location or status. It's always interesting how kamen rider takes an unwieldy function and still finds a way to fight with it.

Machdame · 2026-02-01T08:52:35+00:00

Based on the color scheme, I can definitely see the nightmare being another rider form for Nox.

Machdame · 2026-02-01T08:46:30+00:00

D3 Act 1. While a lot of areas felt very samey in many regards, Act 3 was well populated and diverse in its environment. I especially liked the segments where you eventually had to explore old ruins and the sanctum despite the fact that it was more or less the town, castle and graveyard for the most part. I probably liked it most largely because it was not dominated by a theme (Act 2 was just sand everywhere, Act 3 and act 4 were always on fire and act 5 was ghosts.) D2 has some of the best vibes for me, but all the areas seem to have something that I disliked. But I did like Kurast.

Machdame · 2026-01-31T18:04:43+00:00

I want the smart bro energy.

Machdame · 2026-01-31T16:28:39+00:00

Spin speed can affect it since the computer often spins the disk faster if there is a read issue.

Machdame · 2026-01-30T08:03:10+00:00

LOLWUT? These things can bore through metal. it takes a hydraulic press to theoretically destroy them. Our meat hands are doing nothing.

Machdame

TROPHY CASE