Crap I just damaged my suspension of disbelief

Discussion in 'Transformers Earthspark and Cartoon Discussion' started by Rexidus, Jun 27, 2011.

  1. Rexidus

    Rexidus Autobot

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2010
    Posts:
    14,390
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    362
    Likes:
    +318
    I hate mass shifting. Were it a part of the setting I wouldn't hate it as much but it's only there so the animators can have a bike be the same size as an SUV. Luckily in Prime is hasn't been QUITE as blatant.

    But I just realized that Airachnid is the same size as Arcee... A bot that turns into a motorcycle is the same size as one that transforms into a helicopter... Even a smaller helicopter like the ones Airachnids design is based on is still huge compared to a motorcycle. A motorcycle would be about as big as the cockpit +- 100%.

    I now will always think of that when I see them fight.
     
  2. Kostya

    Kostya Destron

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2011
    Posts:
    2,225
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    151
    Likes:
    +7
    Well Airachnid's design is a lot bulkier than Arcee's

    Still you're right.

    edit: Something that's weird. Arcee's tires don't appear to mass shift like Bulkhead and BB's.
     
  3. shroobmaster

    shroobmaster Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2007
    Posts:
    13,627
    News Credits:
    30
    Trophy Points:
    262
    Likes:
    +52
    The show got a mass-shifting thing going on, yes, but Airachnid actulay got MUCH more mass than Arcee, lots of kibble and spider legs. Just look at that far away scene where they're in front of the moonlight, Airachnid is not just a head taller she also got all that stuff dangling from her.
     
  4. Rexidus

    Rexidus Autobot

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2010
    Posts:
    14,390
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    362
    Likes:
    +318
    The spider legs are about as thin as the blades so I expect that is what they transform into. That leaves just her humanoid body to make the rest of the copter. That isn't enough to make a helicopter that can pass for a real one.
     
  5. Ribieconvoy

    Ribieconvoy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2010
    Posts:
    6,567
    News Credits:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    287
    Likes:
    +1,112
    Well... at least the toys will be in scale.
     
  6. Draven

    Draven Banned

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2002
    Posts:
    23,857
    News Credits:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    286
    Likes:
    +22
    Could be worse; at least it's not a jet fighter that suddenly becomes large enough to hold most of the cast and then travels to other planets.
     
  7. Creaky

    Creaky King of Puppies

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2008
    Posts:
    3,509
    News Credits:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    166
    Likes:
    +7
    Unless her body is densely packed metal plates that concertina out to form the hollow helicopter shell...


    Nope, I gotta admit it - the show has hilarious mass-shifting, no getting around Arcee's foot being the size of her alt mode. :D 
     
  8. shroobmaster

    shroobmaster Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2007
    Posts:
    13,627
    News Credits:
    30
    Trophy Points:
    262
    Likes:
    +52
    Her humanoid body still has biiig shoulder plates that are big enoug the deliver the whole cockpit of the helicopter and a REALLY big skirt-spider-butt thing that can easily form the helicopter tail + part of the body.


    Airachnid's mass shifiting is small game really, a weird one would be Starscream, he got a big jet alt mode and his robot mode is SKINNY, Skinny robots should be taller than the vehicle due to incorporating alot of the mass, but Starscream is SUPER short, way shorter than Prime.
     
  9. Kostya

    Kostya Destron

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2011
    Posts:
    2,225
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    151
    Likes:
    +7
    Isn't it possible that Starscream is just a really small jet fighter? It's not like he intends to hide out among the humans so why be the same size?
     
  10. Jive Guru

    Jive Guru Professional Amateur

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2010
    Posts:
    489
    Trophy Points:
    81
    Likes:
    +0
    Arcee Mass-shifts Downwards in scale, Airachnid Mass-Shifts Upwards in scale, but they meet in the middle. Basically. I actually thought about this a long time ago when people first started guessing that she would be a helicopter.

    Pretty much I just don't bother thinking about it anymore, it's always been there from the beginning anyway.
     
  11. Coeloptera

    Coeloptera Big, bad beetle-bot

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2009
    Posts:
    2,609
    Trophy Points:
    202
    Likes:
    +11
    Exactly. When they were facing each other on the ramp with the moon behind them, it was pretty clear that Airachnid is a fair bit larger than Arcee. She's taller, bulkier, and has the back and hip kibble on top of that.

    Helicopters also have a lot of empty space in the cockpit area so I can see the copter mode being far more "open" than her bot mode.

    Arcee, on the other hand, is just huge compared to stuffing herself down into that bike.

    - Coeloptera
     
  12. Anguirus

    Anguirus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2009
    Posts:
    11,270
    News Credits:
    8
    Trophy Points:
    312
    Likes:
    +583
    Ebay:
    Honestly, much as mass-shifting annoys me, my SoD is obliterated by the fact that humans are virtually non-existent on Earth, energon deposits are often available in plain sight and yet remain unexploited by anyone except Transformers, and despite the fact that the Decepticon ship is plainly visible and Agent Fowler knows its a threat, no one ever launches a few missiles at it.
     
  13. Kostya

    Kostya Destron

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2011
    Posts:
    2,225
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    151
    Likes:
    +7
    When was he ever in a position to shoot missiles at it?
     
  14. StarYoshi14

    StarYoshi14 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 26, 2011
    Posts:
    947
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    101
    Likes:
    +3
    Well, they can't exactly track the Nemesis. The Autobots were only able to get its coordinates for a brief amount of time when the whatever shields were down because some mooks messed up.
     
  15. Rexidus

    Rexidus Autobot

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2010
    Posts:
    14,390
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    362
    Likes:
    +318
    Well it's a bit off topic but it's not like the Nemesis is invisible. Why can't a US spy satellite simply see it? Then an ICBM with non nuclear warhead later... (which likely gets shot down by the Nemesis systems or drones).
     
  16. Anguirus

    Anguirus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2009
    Posts:
    11,270
    News Credits:
    8
    Trophy Points:
    312
    Likes:
    +583
    Ebay:
    Track it schmack it. It's visible to the naked eye. Google Earth would pick it up every time it updates. Every amateur astronomer on the planet would be able to chart its course if it flew high enough...and if it flew lower than that, hundreds to thousands of people at a time would see it. Not to mention that the very least Fowler could do is make up a cover story and set up some cameras in the Western United States where 90% of the show takes place.

    Launching missiles at a plainly visible ship full of evil aliens should take about as long as making a phone call. Consider that we are currently hunting al-Qaeda and Taliban in Pakistan using drones that can slam a Hellfire down your throat from beyond visual range a few minutes after you show your face to a satellite.
     
  17. Kostya

    Kostya Destron

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2011
    Posts:
    2,225
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    151
    Likes:
    +7
    I think they generally stay out of sight. Either in remote parts of the world like the arctic or in cloud cover
     
  18. Deceptijohn

    Deceptijohn Metallikato Master

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2010
    Posts:
    2,051
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    151
    Likes:
    +15
    Mass shifting doesn't bother me since it's been a part of Transformers 'toons from the beginning. Fowler flying a high-performance jet in a suit and tie on the other hand.....lol
     
  19. Anguirus

    Anguirus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2009
    Posts:
    11,270
    News Credits:
    8
    Trophy Points:
    312
    Likes:
    +583
    Ebay:
    My point is, it damages the feel of the show--which is generally realistic, intense, and gritty--when two armies of robots can fight it out in plain sight near railroad tracks, or an archaeological site in Greece, or a freeway, or in front of a major metropolitan museum, and there's just no one in sight. (The last one is especially egregious...have you ever been in a city, ANY city, at night?)

    The world is extremely desolate. It feels like the Decepticons killed 90% of the planet and made the other 10% forget they were there. Agent Fowler and a few grunts are seemingly the only guys interested in protecting the planet from Decepticons. The bulk of the humans we've seen apparently belong to MECH.

    When the three kids can stumble across the Autobots by coincidence and the Autobots' own blithe carelessness, and yet no one else on the planet has, it makes them seem like the only ones with any eyes or brains. When Jack's never heard of energon even though Cliffjumper can drive just offroad and find tons of it just lying there, it crosses from strange into nearly creepy. (Energy crisis solved everyone! Stop drilling for oil in the Gulf!)

    I wouldn't nitpick if I didn't think this was a strong show with great characters. 80% of the writing is great, but the world-building is so insufficient that there is at least one moment of every episode that rips me out of it, rolling my eyes and shaking my head.
     
  20. Ravenxl7

    Ravenxl7 W.A.F.F.L.E.O.

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2006
    Posts:
    22,556
    News Credits:
    20
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +164
    Wait....did I miss something? When was it confirmed that she turns into a helicopter?

    As for mass-shifting, it doesn't bother me one bit, and definitely doesn't ruin the show for me.