Dreamwave hire a third-party company to rewrite TF characters. All of them.

Post by **Denyer** » Wed Oct 30, 2002 8:32 pm

And this is before they've even written stories to coincide with the alternate history they're developing. They're also based primarily on the toylines, so cartoon or comic only characters are unlikely to appear.

http://www.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ul ... 1&t=000009

Oh joy... there goes my entire interest in current TF publications... this feels like someone is attempting to rewrite the rules to a roleplaying game system...

[moderator's note: the posting in News and moving to G1 is fully intentional, as it saves repeating a topic fitting both forums]

Halfshell · Post by **Halfshell** » Wed Oct 30, 2002 8:53 pm

So... the "character guides" won't actually be based on the characters?

There's a novel concept...

Sonicron · Post by **Sonicron** » Wed Oct 30, 2002 9:39 pm

My comment about such a fact reduces itself to one simple word :
LAME.

Nevermore · Post by **Nevermore** » Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:19 pm

Stop crying and roasting the meal before it's served.

The idea behind it isn't that bad at all, if just the comics were written exclusively by Furman, it could become some sort of "Ultimate G1". And any continuity the Budiansky stories aren't part of (you may call Sarracini's G1 mini "storyless", but at least the small heaps of story you could find in it were of a better level than the terribly infantile Budiansky stories) can't be that bad.

And they're definitely putting a lot of resources into this project. Don't tell me it's just for the sake of making money. That's what Armada is.

Just wait and see. Marvel's "Ultimate" books do work, after all.

- Torsten

Nevermore · Post by **Nevermore** » Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm

BTW, Brady isn't too well informed, after all... He lists the "four G1 continuities" as "toy, animated, movie and comics"...
Uh... What's a "toy continuity"? The one you created yourself with your toys?

And "movie" and "animated"... isn't that the same thing?
It seems like he doesn't know about the UK comics continuity and the Japanese cartoons...

- Torsten

RID Scourge · Post by **RID Scourge** » Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:53 pm

Of course he doesn't know anything. If he did, then that would be informed journalism, which you just can't have for news about transformers.

As far as the UK comics go, they fit in with the US comic, therefore, they're the same continuity.

Nevermore · Post by **Nevermore** » Wed Oct 30, 2002 11:16 pm

Originally posted by PaladinPrime
Of course he doesn't know anything. If he did, then that would be informed journalism, which you just can't have for news about transformers.

As far as the UK comics go, they fit in with the US comic, therefore, they're the same continuity.

Nope. "G.I. Joe and the Transformers" isn't part of UK continuity.

BTW, another problem concerning the "year" = "millennium" system... Bumblebee (Pretender) is depiced on the page. How can Bumblebee be on Prime's team and lying dormant on board the Ark but become Goldbug in the fourth "millennium" and then become Bumblebee (Pretender) again in the fifth one? :rolleyes:

- Torsten

BigMaki · Post by **BigMaki** » Thu Oct 31, 2002 12:14 am

I think that by the "toy continuity" they are referring to the tech specs from the boxes. Granted, a lot of them were written by Budiansky, if I'm not mistaken, but I'm assuming that's why he lists them as a separate continuity.

Blitzwing · Post by **Blitzwing** » Thu Oct 31, 2002 12:26 am

I think the format is pretty cool. The Transformers Universe Profiles were so boring. At least their trying to bring something new and creative to the table. They said that their adding certain characters that didn't have toys into the profiles as well... so we might get to see Profiles for Unicron, Devcon, Death's Head, Emirate Xaron, etc, after all.

I'm looking forward to what they can add to characters. We all already know what the characters have been through in prior continuities... so this is like telling an entire different story... rather than re-telling info that we already have.

Bombshell · Post by **Bombshell** » Thu Oct 31, 2002 1:35 am

My interest in getting these books has suddenly decreased, for some reason...

...even though I'll end up picking them up, no matter what.

good_ol_nate · Post by **good_ol_nate** » Thu Oct 31, 2002 5:59 am

Tis a shame this has happened.
All Hasbro had to do was ask Marvel to work with Dreamwave.
Then the Original Continuity could be used.
Right let's just hire some no name to write the continuity.
Good idea. :rolleyes:
But of course Hasbro does things the hard way.
Hasbro can't use continuity because of legalities.
I don't believe that at all.

The fandom has been played for fools once again.

Osku · Post by **Osku** » Thu Oct 31, 2002 9:47 am

They seem not to have read the later profiles.

-clip-
“The way the old Marvel series ran, they basically took the Tech Specs and blew them out into two or three paragraphs. They didn’t add much, if anything, to continuity. These who’s who things are usually relatively boring - there are some stats listed, but all -everyone wants to do is look at the pictures."
-clip-

Ruckus´ profile 268 words:
http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/Ruckus.htm
(only profile part, not abilities and weaknesses)

Also, I´ve always found Budiansky´s profiles a good reading even if they are only scratches. I´m not excited about getting a "what if" profile book from people who don´t seem to know much about TF outside of the basic US continuities.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Thu Oct 31, 2002 11:40 am

Originally posted by BigMaki
I think that by the "toy continuity" they are referring to the tech specs from the boxes. Granted, a lot of them were written by Budiansky, if I'm not mistaken, but I'm assuming that's why he lists them as a separate continuity.

Spot on. Just off the top of my head we have 'Con City Commander Galvatron, Autobot Protector Rodimus Prime, Autobot Wreck-Gar and Decepticon Gnaw.

Cyberstrike nTo · Post by **Cyberstrike nTo** » Thu Oct 31, 2002 3:14 pm

Originally posted by Nevermore
Stop crying and roasting the meal before it's served.
The idea behind it isn't that bad at all, if just the comics were written exclusively by Furman, it could become some sort of "Ultimate G1". And any continuity the Budiansky stories aren't part of (you may call Sarracini's G1 mini "storyless", but at least the small heaps of story you could find in it were of a better level than the terribly infantile Budiansky stories) can't be that bad.

And they're definitely putting a lot of resources into this project. Don't tell me it's just for the sake of making money. That's what Armada is.

Just wait and see. Marvel's "Ultimate" books do work, after all.

- Torsten

I agree with you this is long overdue and had to be done for Dreamwave!

I don't want or need "an ultimate G1 timeline" though I want a timeline that works for Dreamwave and Dreamwave only (I do like thier TF comics after all) So they don't have to deal with all of
Marvel's stuff. The Marvel stuff was great but it worked for Marvel
and Marvel isn't publishing the Transformers anymore (accept it!)
That timeline was messed up to begin with.

Even if Dreamwave could use it and I was writing the G1 series I wouldn't use any of it! To messed up and I would go insane trying to figure it all out!

Some you need to accept the fact that in order for the Transformers to contiue to grow some thing will have to CHANGE It is not easy to accept some of the changes to the old timeline that we grew up and love but if it doesn't change it the Transfomers will die!

I love the old TF comics and cartoons but it is time to let it go and
embrace the future!

I'm not trying to start touble or anything it is just time that we accept the fact that things change or they die.

Post by **Denyer** » Thu Oct 31, 2002 10:59 pm

Oh, I can live with a 'merged' timeline... however, the specific announcement that previously featured characters are to be rewritten doesn't exactly bode well... it's being presented as a fait accompli, and not even by DW but by another company. That is simple arrogance.

Most pertinent point so far goes to Brend:
So... the "character guides" won't actually be based on the characters?

epsilon supreme · Post by **epsilon supreme** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 1:12 am

It's not a big deal to me... we'll do what we've always done- take the cool, fun stories we're given, ignore the lame stuff, and enjoy our own personal continiuties. I'm just waiting to see if we get good stories about Cybertron while everyone was in stasis on Earth.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 11:11 am

M'eh... if it's bad, I won't buy it or acknowledge it... a bit like the G1 mini-series, which is currently in the same canonical level to me as those Ladybid books.

ProckoZero · Post by **ProckoZero** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 7:47 pm

I kinda like this idea better than with having to come up with some excuse how Superion and Wheeljack appeared in cartoon continuity in 2005 and beyond (even if Wheeljack only was in the movie for a brief part...and was dead.)

Shrapnel Clone · Post by **Shrapnel Clone** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 7:57 pm

If the second million years is the '85 line, and the third million years the '86 year line, there's a million years between 1984 and 2005, right?

RID Scourge · Post by **RID Scourge** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 11:39 pm

EDIT: Just looked at the post that I missed. Yeah, what are you talking about, Nevermore? Year=milennium?