Rifter RT Mecha?

[Colonel Wolfe]

Besides a Mecha added in the old Magic of Palladium. There wasn't anything else. Palladium's contract with Hg expired soon after Stan's mecha got printed and Palladium may not have the Rights or want to go though printing one in the Rifter under the New contract.
personally, the New Generation source book was written on par with the Quality of fan-fiction i'd expect in a rifter...

[Alpha 11]

I'm almost also positive that Palladium can't put any fan made Robotech stuff in the Rifter.

[Seto Kaiba]

I'm almost also positive that Palladium can't put any fan made Robotech stuff in the Rifter.

I've heard something to that effect as well, though it's unclear if that's at the insistence of Harmony Gold or something Palladium decided. I think the motivation would be the same either way... avoiding any tiffs over copyright or any accidentally published conversions.

There's certainly no shortage of fanmade material out there for the game, it's just not published officially...

[Alpha 11]

I'm almost also positive that Palladium can't put any fan made Robotech stuff in the Rifter.

I've heard something to that effect as well, though it's unclear if that's at the insistence of Harmony Gold or something Palladium decided. I think the motivation would be the same either way... avoiding any tiffs over copyright or any accidentally published conversions.

There's certainly no shortage of fanmade material out there for the game, it's just not published officially...

Ya, can't get enough of them.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

There's certainly no shortage of fanmade material out there for the game, it's just not published officially...

Nice thing is that a truly inspired fan can use stuff that was created solely for Robotech (RPG, Comics, etc) and the Southern Cross/MOSPEADA OSM without resorting to using Macross-based designs.

[Kagashi]

I dont see why fans cannot submit their own designs to Palladium. Might not make it into a Rifter, but if done correctly, you might be able to get a design in through a source book. Especially if you work it as a Stinger concept which basically opened the door for new creative mecha designs.

One thing is for sure, no matter how many hurdles you and Palladium have to jump through with HG/Yune, if you don't submit, it will never be part of the RPG canon, regardless of how unlikely it will be to be printed.

[Alpha 11]

I dont see why fans cannot submit their own designs to Palladium. Might not make it into a Rifter, but if done correctly, you might be able to get a design in through a source book. Especially if you work it as a Stinger concept which basically opened the door for new creative mecha designs.

One thing is for sure, no matter how many hurdles you and Palladium have to jump through with HG/Yune, if you don't submit, it will never be part of the RPG canon, regardless of how unlikely it will be to be printed.

Very true.

[Seto Kaiba]

There's certainly no shortage of fanmade material out there for the game, it's just not published officially...

Nice thing is that a truly inspired fan can use stuff that was created solely for Robotech (RPG, Comics, etc) and the Southern Cross/MOSPEADA OSM without resorting to using Macross-based designs.

True, though the relative scarcity of unused OSM designs from the original MOSPEADA and Southern Cross, the fandom's generally negative opinion of the novels and old comics, the way the new comics are rather canon-conservative, coupled with the substantially greater quantity and superior availability of all the Macross OSM, tends to make Macross the first (and often last, and only) port of call for fans who want to make their own material around existing content.

I dont see why fans cannot submit their own designs to Palladium. Might not make it into a Rifter, but if done correctly, you might be able to get a design in through a source book. Especially if you work it as a Stinger concept which basically opened the door for new creative mecha designs.

Possibly, but probably not... the issue of copyright is ever an embuggerance in situations like that, even when there's a policy like Harmony Gold's that says that you cede all rights to anything you submit to them, forever. Palladium (and/or Harmony Gold) just might not want to deal with that baggage.

[jaymz]

Sadly that means no book like Strike Force will be made for Robotech.....

[glitterboy2098]

There's certainly no shortage of fanmade material out there for the game, it's just not published officially...

Nice thing is that a truly inspired fan can use stuff that was created solely for Robotech (RPG, Comics, etc) and the Southern Cross/MOSPEADA OSM without resorting to using Macross-based designs.

True, though the relative scarcity of unused OSM designs from the original MOSPEADA and Southern Cross, the fandom's generally negative opinion of the novels and old comics, the way the new comics are rather canon-conservative, coupled with the substantially greater quantity and superior availability of all the Macross OSM, tends to make Macross the first (and often last, and only) port of call for fans who want to make their own material around existing content.

one of the reasons that, aside from one bit of concept art, i've tried to avoid using macross OSM stuff on my websites robotech section.. i'd much rather adapt, distill, and reinvent units based on the old RPG's original concepts, the MOSPEADA OSM, and select parts of the old comics that could be fit into the 2nd ed RPG's setting without breaking canon. (though a few bend it a bit)

though i am really tempted to give the same treatment to "robotech the movie", providing not only Garland's and Hargun's, but also a story reboot that makes it fit canon better and be less stupid.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

though i am really tempted to give the same treatment to "robotech the movie", providing not only Garland's and Hargun's, but also a story reboot that makes it fit canon better and be less stupid.

Well, I think using the Steve Kramer script idea (set during the 1st Robotech War) would probably fit the best. The Hargun, MODAT and other mecha/vehicles form the basis for some stuff in the old RPG (the Anaconda MBT would make a perfect candidate for the RPG's Dark Knight MBT). The helmet used by the troops definitely resembles the later CBA-5 helmet.

[glitterboy2098]

actually, most of the basic plot idea for an ASC era version could be kept.. just instead of the master's showing up years early and doing a pod-person takeover (and yet, not having the first clue about earth when the main fleet arrives in the show to kick off the 2nd war), i'd have it as an actual anti-unification type movement.. a military Coup in japan intended to have it break away from the UEG.

i'd either junk the space scenes of the Megazone film, or more likely, add a 'B plot" about an advanced scout/automated probe of the master's arriving to recon the world, running into the ASC and being destroyed. (thus helping to explain the master's apparent ignorance of earth when they do arrive)

i rather like the idea of the Garland and Hargun being a sort of ground equivalent to the Logan, a Veritech for the Civil Defense Units and Tactical Corps. though the Space adapted Hargun would be Tactical Space Corps, obviously.

[Colonel Wolfe]

The easier answer is the Master's who arrived early were possibly the "DOZ" strain of Masters and they tried the pod-person method.... so the Masters who arrived later were clueless...
and Easy reason for them being sooner than the Other Masters could be they were following Dolza and tracked him to Earth, where they found the humans defeated the Zent Armada, and thought infiltration would work to help them find the method such a puny race used to defeat Dolza's Armada...

[glitterboy2098]

so the 'easier' answer is to add another group we've never seen, and know nothing about, all to keep a plot that didn't make much sense in the first place?

no, the simpler answer is the Megazone 23 story answer.. the military was acting to take over the country and sever it from the entity that had been controlling it. only instead of taking over a space colony to fight an illegal war against another colony, it is succession from the UEG.

[jaymz]

I think the secessionist movement is a better choice. Nice idea GB I may have to co opt it....

[bielmic]

In Rifter #5, there was a new mecha added:

REF Zentraedi Heavy Assault Pod (ABT-Z4) written by Stanley Bundy. It's pretty awesome if you haven't seen it; great artwork by Wayne Breaux.

As far as I know, that's the only new mecha introduced in The Rifter.

Are there others that I have missed?

I can't recall which ones were in the masters return book revised and which were in the rifters but there was a transformable REF officers pod(is that the one you mentioned?), super alpha, super logan, and REF FPA Battloid among the cool things added by palladium and not seen in the show.

[jaymz]

REF VF Officer's Pod was the only RT mecha ever in the Rifter

The others were the Return/Masters book.

Also Strike Force had a bunch of neat new mecha as well.

[jedi078]

I dont see why fans cannot submit their own designs to Palladium. Might not make it into a Rifter, but if done correctly, you might be able to get a design in through a source book. Especially if you work it as a Stinger concept which basically opened the door for new creative mecha designs.

Well we see it with all of the non-canon mecha from the 1st edition being posted here as Stingers (yeah I don't like the term Franken-mecha either).

Personally (the one exception being the veritech scout car from Strike Force) I do not make those non-canon mecha from the 1st edition into Stingers. Besides I think it's a pretty 'lame' way to justify having a 1st edition mecha in your game. BUT I see the rational as to why people post such mecha here as Stinger's so they can legitimately showcase what they have done.

[ShadowLogan]

The easier answer is the Master's who arrived early were possibly the "DOZ" strain of Masters and they tried the pod-person method.... so the Masters who arrived later were clueless...
and Easy reason for them being sooner than the Other Masters could be they were following Dolza and tracked him to Earth, where they found the humans defeated the Zent Armada, and thought infiltration would work to help them find the method such a puny race used to defeat Dolza's Armada...

I don't know if we can go the DOZ route, officially (AFAIK) all we have to go on for that group is a name. DOZ could be Haydnoites, Sentinels, or someone else.

However, you are right in that the series itself provides a possibilities in the form of Space Pirates and "Robotech Forces". Space Pirates was dismissed in 2029, but something about the Masters must have caused them to think that. The "Robotech Forces" is some nebulous group Gloval identified in Ep36 to Lisa, granted it is possible he was speculating about Khyron, but the way he said it leaves some room for it to be someone else IMHO.

[glitterboy2098]

Dissident forces also played a big role in the wildstorm comics too. Anti-unificationists in from the stars for example, and edwards group in prelude is more dissident faction now, not driven purely by personal vendetta and ambition like in the old ccanon.

[ShadowLogan]

Is there really any reason that those dissident groups might not act up when the UEG has it's attention turned toward an E.T. force?

Sure the UEG will respond, but depending on the situation with the ETs they may focus on the bigger fish before turning to the smaller one giving the dissident group(s) more time to solidify their position.

[ArmySGT.]

Have you re-purposed the 1st Ed Strike Force Mecha in your games? The veritech car is a MP/Security forces rig in mine... it is unobtrusive and blends. Others are mecha made by other factions such as the Merchant Republic or SovBuilt export mecha.

[glitterboy2098]

Have you re-purposed the 1st Ed Strike Force Mecha in your games? The veritech car is a MP/Security forces rig in mine... it is unobtrusive and blends. Others are mecha made by other factions such as the Merchant Republic or SovBuilt export mecha.

mostly as Baltic states (my revised EBSIS) locally developed destroids. took the art, went through, and reinvented them from scratch.