Which do you prefer, Beast Bots or Vehicle Bots?

Discussion in 'Transformers General Discussion' started by TonyStink, Oct 22, 2020.

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Beast Bots or Vehicle Bots

  1. Beasts

    4 vote(s)
    12.1%
  2. Vehicles

    18 vote(s)
    54.5%
  3. Triple Changer of the two

    1 vote(s)
    3.0%
  4. Doesn't matter

    10 vote(s)
    30.3%
  1. SaberPrime

    SaberPrime Banned

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    Either, doesn't matter. For me it's not about beast or vehicle.

    The only Beastformers I do really hate are the ones where either their beast mode is the robot mode, like Skylynx, Trypticon, the majority of the RID2015 Decepticons, or when the robot mode has kibble implying a beast mode that they don't actually transform into like Liokaser (or however you spell that Japanese combiner's name from Victory.) and again the majority of the Decepticons from RID2015.

    Beast forms should always be an alternate mode that they can transform into otherwise there's no reason for beast kibble to exist on a robot that turns into a vehicle or it doesn't have a robot mode at all.

    For that matter it's also dumb that Beast Machines Rattrap has wheels instead of legs. I'll give a pass to Fix-It and what's his face from the Last Knight cause they actually transform into things that have wheels. Meanwhile Rattrap is... a RAT... and he's also the only Maximal in the entire series who had random vehicle kibble on him despite not actually having a vehicle mode.
     
  2. Incepticon

    Incepticon |-+-|

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    Vehicles all the way. And by that, I mean "recognizable Earth vehicles" ala pre-movie G1 in way of cars, jets, trucks, tanks, etc., not the "space alien thing that maybe has wings or tracks or a couple wheels on it that doesn't actually look like anything" that came afterward.

    The only beast mode stuff I've ever liked or subscribed to is the mechanical looking stuff like Dinobots, Insecticons, the cassette "pets", so on & so forth. Always thought and 'organic skin' nonsense from Beast Wars or even G1 Pretenders was just too silly to give any credence to. I got why Hasbro were trying to do something 'different', but I just never thought those particular ideas were ever properly executed.
     
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  3. sopclod

    sopclod Well-Known Member

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    I put myself in the alt-modes-are-supposed-to-be-disguises camp, although I realize that the fiction has expanded way beyond that and that's fine. My main problem with beast modes is, as others have said, it's kind of redundant. What does a humanoid robot gain by changing into a gorilla?
     
  4. SPLIT LIP

    SPLIT LIP Be strong enough to be gentle

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    Those characters don't really have kibble that's beast-themed, just their "helmets." Because they each had animal names.

    Any sillier than re-configuring your entire body into a "disguise" that's not only barely mobile, but immediately loses its deception the moment the enemy knows what you turn into?

    "Organic" skin (assuming it's not truly organic, which I don't think many or any series has treated it as) is pretty damn useful in ways mechanical components aren't. They're arguably more resistant to the elements and things like moisture and dirt. No "gumming up" the joints, no rusting, etc. It keeps the mechanical bits protected and hidden, stretching instead of separating, an even layer of protection rather than gaps for movement. It can also heal, rather than needing to be replaced or manually sealed in event of injury, and is more sensitive to things like texture and temperature. (instead of needing a thermometer or tactile detection device with a limited range/application) It's also a lot more self-sustaining in general, depending on how actually true-to-life it is in Transformers.

    There's a lot of advantages to organic skin, probably why there's so many creatures on Earth that use it. :p 

    By that logic, what does a robot gain from turning into a truck? Disguise, I guess (though you'd think there'd be more pragmatic methods for that) and it can arguably go faster, but how much so than their robot mode is sometimes questionable.

    A gorilla also has better proportions for physical strength, having most of its mass in the upper body, as well as more dexterous limbs like hands on its feet. Gorillas can also run on four limbs faster than a humanoid could on two, due to the length of the limbs relative to the body and to distribution of mass, not to mention the physics behind galloping verses sprinting. (the weight per limb is cut in half, while the number of limbs making contact and providing movement is doubled) A gorilla can climb faster than a human, meaning tackling uneven terrain far more efficiently than a robot with typical proportions.
     
    Last edited: Oct 23, 2020
  5. Scrapmaker

    Scrapmaker Hadar Sen Olmen

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    It doesn't matter to me. I'll take vehicles, or beasts, or both in the same story - I don't care as long as they're utilized well.
     
  6. hthrun

    hthrun Show accuracy's overrated

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    I loved that toy as a kid. I didn't realize there was a cartoon. I thought only the lions got a show...
     
  7. Mako Crab

    Mako Crab Well-Known Member

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    Both.
     
  8. SaberPrime

    SaberPrime Banned

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    And I'm counting that as animal kibble to beast alt modes that they don't actually have. They all turn into vehicles. If they were reimagined as triple changers with both their original vehicle modes and the beast modes their names and helmets imply they should have then I'd actually like them but as they are I'm just questioning why the beast theme is there if they don't have beast modes.
     
  9. Gumblor Gimbles

    Gumblor Gimbles Norn' Ironhide

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    Triplechangers could be their own thread entirely, honestly. They need to have some practical combat and form difference between the two alt modes- Apeface has a jet mode and an ape mode, which are very different both for combat and in terms of toy shape. For that reason, I like triplechangers with a beast mode and a vehicle mode.

    in general though, I’m fine with any altmode so long as there’s something to fiddle with. If it just turns into a car, like Siege Sideswipe, the transformation should be fun. An annoying transformation for a cool, unique mode is ok, but if the robot just turns into a regular car or truck, it’s gonna get boring after a while.

    I could type for longer about my thoughts on the perfect “Goldilocks zone” for TFs, but I don’t want to block up the whole page lol.
     
  10. Zentropy

    Zentropy Toys > Fiction

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    THIS. Exactly this.