Oh boy, here we go.

Guess what, I know I can't do it myself, but I'm allowed to not like it and express my opinion. The fact that I can't design this stuff is no reason to not be critical. And no, I will not "stfu". I'll continue to express my opinion positive or not. Now how about you stop telling people to shut the fuck up, stop being rude and learn to understand that opinions are more than just mindless praise and that my contribution is a lot more valuable than "ZOMG AWESOME I HAS BONER".

Fuck me.

 

Looks awesome

 

Having a contrary opinion is fine, but saying inflammatory shit (e.g. 'THA MOVIES SUCK' instead of saying why they suck, or 'these designs eat shit' instead of saying why you think they eat shit) just starts arguments instead of actual discussion.

 

I for one like this design. Those freaking turrets/constructs on his shoulders, the ginormous arms and torso, and the guns everywhere, really makes me feel giddy about how powerful this titan is. I'm gonna love bringing this guy in to crush the sh*t out of my foes when I'm Optimus  

Plus the bi-coloured chest is cool. I like that kind of scheme  

 

Oh, and how could I forget?

Escalation is back. YES. Let's roll, my friends, and destroy the horde!

 

Just remember guys: you can say anything as long as you say it in the right way. Watch in awe:

I do not like that Metroplex design, I find it just as unappealing as I find the other WFC designs. Oh shame. Oh disgrace. A billion angels sing me to my rest as I grieve the visual representation of thy metropolitan titan.

~haiku~

An old silent pond,
A frog jumps into the pond,
Splash! Silence again.

 

no honestly we value your opinion, just not your wording... just like i used stfu in case kids are reading, and you go spell it out like i or other readers are stupid and dont know what t means? others made comments about your comments too - but you target me because i can tell it like it is bluntly. didnt your daddy tell you its not what you say, but how you say it. so again youre entitled to your opinion, but express it in a way that isnt too offensive or down right trashing them. next time you could say = i dont like hime hes too blocky just like shroobmaster pointed out. now instead of coming back at me and piss in a fan...learn from this and move on.

 

By insulting me.

1. No, because unfortunately my father didn't live with me AND he passed last year. Learn to not say things that could end up being offensive.

 

I shed a single tear.

 

Oh God my pants. MY PANTS.

 

He looks phenomenal IMO, especially now we've seen the trailer and you can make out all the detail on him.

 

Wow. I think he looks great in that trailer. Megatron looks too skinny imo but it is what it is.

 

well im sorry for your loss, but how was i to know, so dont throw the jive at me. i managed a cemetery for 7 yrs, i think i have more compassion for the dead than living people... have fun, and remeber others commented your post wasnt right. i just didnt sugar-coat it, and i never will. also i didnt attack you, i used a stern tone with you and you didnt like it. otherwise im done wasting time with you. happy collecting and i hope you dont own any blocky transformers, that makes you a hipocrite.

 

He looks great now, the concept art made him look fat and now i need a toy of him.

 

Negative opinions are fine. I have negative opinions all the time. But I think there are two things to keep in mind...

- how you express your opinion, and in what context, can affect how people respond to it. Sometimes a negative opinion seems to be there only for the sake of stirring up shit...so shit gets stirred. Go figure.

- you have the right to express your opinion, but nobody has to agree with or respect your opinion. Opinions are judged based on how well expressed and reasoned they are. Some opinions are easy to disagree with because they appear to be predicated on what seem to be flawed criteria.

Word.

That's cool.

Actually I think it's fine for you to "flame" these designs if they really aren't your thing (okay, maybe not "flame"... but to be critical of, sure). I did the same thing with Bayformers, because I had strong misgivings about the aesthetic they had chosen for the "ultimate" live-action Transformers movie... though my feelings do vary from character to character (and are separate from my feelings about the quality of the movies in general).

My problem with your comments in this case were just that you seemed to be dissing these designs for the wrong reasons, and this Metroplex design in particular. WFC/FOC is a G1-homage fiction, so the blockiness is not "for it's own sake", but rather a conscious aesthetic choice to respect the original stylings of the iconic G1 characters.

So yeah, it's not "original", but that's not the goal. Your comment implied that you somehow expected something radically new and non-G1 styled in the Metroplex designs, when clearly that's not the aesthetic foundation of the WFC series.

I agree. Megatron's design seems to hover uncomfortably between different styles pulled from different series... with an extra dose of "sumo wrestler" thrown on top. Even within the overall aesthetic, I agree that it looks off.

Well, "good" is a pretty subjective thing, isn't it? What does "good" mean when we're talking about robot designs?

Context. Context is actually a HUGE factor in determining whether something is "good" or "bad". Different aesthetic styles fit different purposes. There are things that I don't personally find attractive, but I intellectually recognize as being very much coherent with their context. Not every transformer needs to look like a blocky G1 brick... but in a context where the style has already established a strong visual link to the old G1 brick flavour, then this use of style is appropriate.

There are tons of robot styles and art styles that I personally LOVE... but that I don't think would work in the WFC context. Meanwhile Metroplex here fits pretty much perfectly, while serving as a strong homage to (or really, pretty much being) G1 Metroplex.

Maybe SeekerBlackout isn't uninformed, but the wording and implied rationale of his critique did suggest that he was judging the design from an entirely inappropriate perspective. So yeah... based on what was given, I called it an uninformed opinion, using language as hyperbolic as his original statement (which I thought was a pretty obvious critical device).

And yes, someone's aesthetic sense CAN be uninformed. It always amazes me that people don't value a cultural education anymore and assume that on aesthetics, one person's opinion is always as valid as any other's. Just like opinions on other things, a point of view is only as good as the reasoning backing it up.

But we digress...

Except that's not what he said, nor how he said it.

Maybe giant limbs and tiny heads are something he doesn't like, and that's fine... but what he criticized was the "unoriginality" and "blockiness for blockiness' sake". If by that he meant that he doesn't like tiny heads or oversized arms, he should have said so... but I don't think that was implied at all. Unoriginality is not at issue in something that is clearly meant to identifiably evoke an earlier design. Blockiness is an aesthetic trait that defines the G1 roots of the fiction. So.... uh... yeah.

Actually, smiley usage is usually more of an acknowledgment that text-based messages in an informal colloquial setting are often less than adequate for connoting emotional tone or intent. Sarcasm, jocularity or condescension are inflections that written languages (as symbolic systems) attempt to approximate, not the other way around. Bitching about smilies (besides being a cheap shot most of the time) is like complaining about people making facial expressions when they talk... after all, that just indicates that they can't properly articulate themselves, right?   (sarcasm, by the way)

If a G1 homage successfully evokes an identifiable and distinct visual cue to G1 aesthetics... well, then... it IS successful in that sense.

But as for it being "perfect" or "never questioned"... don't be foolish. This fandom questions everything. Is the G1 style of Metroplex appropriate for the goals of this game? Yes.

Is his head too small? Is his frozen face too flat and jowly? Is the apparent level of surface detail insufficient for his size? Does the downward slant of his chest make him look like his bra is sagging under the weight of pendulous boobs?

Well, even within the G1 styling that this design evokes, all of those things are very much open to discussion.  

He is allowed to not like it. The problem in this instance is precisely that he included descriptors. These descriptors indicated that his criteria for judging the merits of the design were debatable. Saying something is GOOD/BAD is not giving much detail... you're just giving a basic opinion in the simplest possible terms. From there people are free to interrogate your reasoning, if they feel like it.

But if you include reasoning, you're giving people more insight into how you're forming your opinions... and you're also giving them more grounds upon which they can either be moved to agree or disagree with you.

If I said "I don't like oranges." that would be one thing, take or leave it. If I said "I don't like oranges, because they're stupid and orange coloured, and should taste just like apples instead." then that would immediately open me up to criticism because that's a pretty absurd stance to take.

You're not wrong. You rightly declared that you don't think of city bots that way. That's a pretty neutral and informative way of expressing your opinion. Congratulations. You should do that more often.  

Also, I don't disagree with you. When I think of ambulatory cities, I'm not sure if I think of those things either. But when I think of Metroplex, I do sort of think of a huge, blocky, small-headed, and vaguely muscle-bound looking robot. So in that sense, this homage is right on.

Metroplex was never my favourite design, but this is inarguably, indelibly him. And in that sense it's a great success.

First off, when has it ever been "normal" for you not to say something?  

Secondly, I'm partially unsatisfied too. And I said so. Funny... I didn't get a bunch of flak for my criticisms of the design. It must have something to do with how I expressed my opinion...

 

I kind of like the leaner look on Metroplex. There was a nice bit of concept art for Metroplex I really liked... I think it was by Studio OX, but google image is failing me now.

Totally agree. I always thought the "city" thing was just a bit too ridiculous. Though I actually PREFER guys like Metro, Trypticon, Max, etc... as battle stations.

Okay, I'll bite. Why do you -hate- Art History? Seems like a pretty basic thing to me. It's like saying "I hate History" or "I hate Political Science" isn't it?

Right! I'm always amazed at those who post totally inflammatory, snarky, condescending, scorn-drenched comments, and then when someone calls them on it, it's like "Back off buddy! You're not allowed to criticize my opinion!"  

I agree. I never thought that logic made sense. You don't have to be a doctor to recognize malpractice. I don't think that means that people are absolved from the pressure to present informed, well-reasoned opinions... but you don't have to be a professional illustrator to critique art. Admittedly, it can help though, just in the sense that it can broaden one's knowledge and experience.

Very nice. Although I do not share your sentiments, I most assuredly respect your most loquaciously expressed opinion, gentle sir.  

zmog

 

Wow. This quote is the Metroplex to everyone else's Bumblebee  

I agree with your point about how aethestics vary on how 'good' they are to people. I for one like the WFC/FOC looks. They show a neat sense of bulk and power while still retaining a more alien flair with the stylised decal and the glowing areas. Shockwave is one of my personal favourites in this regard; that massive arm cannon, the thicker legs and the glowing chest make me think of a neat cross between the G1 appearance and the DOTM bulk, plus with neat wings. And he's purple, and I love purple  

SBlackout may not like the general look of some of them, but hey, I'm sure he'll nevertheless enjoy running round as giant robots shooting each other, owning everything as Bruticus and being the firebreathing space T-rex  

This game, it must have all my money!

 

He is so huge in size.