New Universe Classics Animation

[roller]

Hasbro has added a Java animation video of the Universe Classics on their website:

http://www.hasbro.com/monkeybartv/de...elect&aid=3823


I HATE how every new Transformers story has them changing alt modes 'on the fly' without any assistance or needing to be rebuilt like in G1/BW. Ever since this 'on the fly' stupid change of alt mode concept was introduced in the Unicron trilogy it has been forced into every single form of new media including the Movie.

If Transformers can morph into anything by just scanning something then what is the damn point of Transforming? They may as well be made of liquid Metal like the T-1000. This is a clear dumbing down of the concept and a regression not progression.

Exactly,they should have a stasis pod or have Teletrann 1 with its repair arms modify them.

Why didn't they all turn into jets when Starscream was jacking the airforce?!

[GoktimusPrime]

I just watched that without sound cos I'm at work (and my work computer has no speakers anyway)... that animation was really CHEAP as amateur. Seriously... even the animation on Home Star Runner kicks the crap out of that! A really terrible effort... reminds me of those cheap Marvel cartoons from the 1960s. "When Captain American throws his mighty shiiiiiieeeeeeeld!"

Exactly,they should have a stasis pod or have Teletrann 1 with its repair arms modify them.

Why didn't they all turn into jets when Starscream was jacking the airforce?!

Heh, true. I think Bay avoided the whole spaceship crashing on Earth thing to speed the story along. In the comics it's been revealed that they did travel to the Sol system with starships, but they parked them off Earth and travelled to Earth in protoform. The Decepticons parked their ship on the Moon and made a pitstop on Mars which is where they encountered the NASA's rover from the teaser.

It's odd that Frenzy can change from a stereo to a mobile phone with a quick scan, and Bumblebee also upgrades himself in the same way, but we don't see other Transformers taking advantage of that ability!

But I'm glad they don't because:
1/ It would make the movies more expensive. Those CGI models cost truckloads as it is - having different versions of each character in each different form would blow their SFX budget... then they'd have to fly jets in as models on strings.
2/ Imagine all the different freakin' toys we'd have to collect! Bad enough we had to get two freakin' versions of Bumblebee (three including the one with the battle mask down - I wish the original Concept version included it as an exchangeable head)... imagine collecting multiple versions of every bloody character!! Aaaargh!

So while it's a story anomaly, it's a good story anomaly!

[Paulbot]

Ratchet's pretty noticeable in that animation, hope that's a good sign for the Hasbro Universe release. But then so is Tracks.

I'm disagree that the more recent "scan and reformat" is really "on the fly". I can't think of one example where a TF scanned one mode and then scanned another one in a short period of time, rather than days/weeks/months?.

I assume that there is some sort of cost/limit to the ability which is why as Goktimus says we don't see other TFs taking advantage of it more often.

[FFN]

That animation is weak. As I recall, Japanese companies sometimes do flash animation videos for promoting new toys, and they're better than this.

As for scanning, to be fair to Transformers, Animated reintroduced the requirement of TFs needing their ship to reformat themselves. Scanning by themselves is just a story cheat to speed the plot along. Like the Decepticons being able to fly away when they are defeated or the Autobots being able to drive to the artic to dig up Skyfire so he can fly them down to South America.

[kup]

Ratchet's pretty noticeable in that animation, hope that's a good sign for the Hasbro Universe release. But then so is Tracks.

I'm disagree that the more recent "scan and reformat" is really "on the fly". I can't think of one example where a TF scanned one mode and then scanned another one in a short period of time, rather than days/weeks/months?.

I assume that there is some sort of cost/limit to the ability which is why as Goktimus says we don't see other TFs taking advantage of it more often.

Unfortunately they have never addressed those costs/limits but portray the sequence as if its something they can do at will, particularly in the movie.

I would be more able to tolerate the lack of Space ship when reformating and them formatting from 'rock lords' to the alt mode in the movie as they were in a kind of 'chrysalis' state but unfortunately with Frenzy and Bumblebee it seemed as if they can just do it whenever they want to.

The same thing happened in the Unicron trilogy where they just walked around scanned something and became it.

Like FFN said, to Animated's credit they didn't fall into that trap which appears to have become a trend with Transformers as a whole as of late.

[FFN]

Animated is inconsistent about it. The Autobots used Teletraan 1 to reformat but Starscream merely scanned the jet.

Basically scanning works however the scene needs it to work. Like it's more exciting to see Starscream blow away an entire squadron of jets and scan the final one before presumably destroying it as well, as opposed to him simply scanning it inside a ship.

[kup]

Animated is inconsistent about it. The Autobots used Teletraan 1 to reformat but Starscream merely scanned the jet.

Basically scanning works however the scene needs it to work. Like it's more exciting to see Starscream blow away an entire squadron of jets and scan the final one before presumably destroying it as well, as opposed to him simply scanning it inside a ship.

That's where we disagree.

He doesn't have to be in the ship to scan it. Why not scan it and then go to the ship? The best scenario to accommodate the new process would probably be to add rules to it like Paulbot mentioned but nothing official on such limitations have been mentioned.

I can't remember about Animated Starscream and the alt mode scanning. Did he actually change into it as soon as the jet was scanned or did it go into a scene change and then when they went back to Starscream, he had the alt mode. If that happened then that suggests time passing and opening more possibilities as to what happened.

[roller]

how cool would it be if governments discussed these issues in Parliament?!

[SilverDragon]

Good points first, since everyone's complaining.

Well, I like that they're establishing some fiction for Universe.

...that was my only good point.

The animation sucked. Seriously, I animate, and I think mine are better animated. Heck, as previously pointed out, Homestar Runner (and loads of other web toons besides) are doing it for FREE and their animation trumps it soundly.

Voice acting...well...I don't think he caught Cullen very well. It sounded more like one of those really bad attempts at mimicking him that show up in most fan videos.

As for the scanning, I like it, since it really suits the concept of 'robots in disguise' for them to be able to change what they turn into so they don't stick out on an alien planet.

[jacksplatt11]

Homestar Runner is good... This was not