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Post by Falcarius on Mar 1, 2015 23:58:35 GMT -5
Porting this thread from Zoidspoison... I don't know if I'm getting ahead of myself here but I saw this mentioned on Twitter and it appears to be a new Zoids game, being developed for the iOS and Android. Scheduled for a 2015 launch date? Anyone know more info? LinkThere's only one gameplay scene so it's a little early to tell, but I suspect I might enjoy the utter chaos of having 40 enemies on screen at once. Unfortunately, no, Zoids Saga Mobile was shut down a long time ago. Zoids: Bonds of Steel is also being shut down on September 1st. Once that happens, until Zoids: Material Hunters is released there'll be no available (official) multi-player Zoids games online. So the ability to play on the iPod and TV? Haven't seen an app do that since those Gameloft games (or maybe I'm behind the times). Shame we won't get a English release, as the game does look a promising in the Bullet Hell-like atmosphere. Zoids Material Hunters has a new web page on G-Cluster including their plans for the Tokyo Game Show, where at their booth they plan to display a massive 180cm tall concept Shield Liger! The site also has a new screenshot of the game. Participants of the event can enter a contest for a chance to win an HMM Lightning Saix, HMM Iron Kong, HMM Cannon Tortoise, MSS Shield Liger, a 42-inch Smart TV, a G-Cluster Game Controller or a coupon for the G-Cluster basic set. More excitingly, with the release of the Zoids Material Hunters website there is movement on the main TakaraTomy site again. They have not updated Original (which is ended) or the MSS line (still on hiatus) but have started to post news again. This is the first time since April that we've seen any kind of activity at all on their site, and I'm looking forward to the possibility of updates starting up again! The updates include advertising the Zoids SS Book (formerly not advertised) and the Hobby Japan Magazine collections book. Now that Zoids Bonds of Steel has closed the site's new link is to the Material Hunters website. A link to Comic Walker has also been added for Zoids SS, which means you can now view the comic in high quality scans for free! They'll post monthly(?) updates with new chapters each update. 180mm concept Shield Liger displayed at the Tokyo Game Show And we now have gameplay video! Also, completely off-topic but probably not worth starting a thread about: I found some sites referring to a page or blog post (since deleted) where Michirou Ueyama explained why the Chaotic Century manga got cut. Apparently after the New Century anime ended, Zoids sales naturally dropped, and Tomy wanted a manga that could keep the Zoids line relatively popular. Unfortunately, CoroCoro was now attracting mostly younger readers because of its Beyblade manga, while Chaotic Century was aimed at slightly older readers and would have been "too complex" for the Beyblade fans. And so they cut it short and replaced it with the Planet Zi manga. In fact, it's surprising the anime lasted so long, since Chaotic Century was apparently just filling in the Ultraman timeslot between seasons - until it got so popular that they stretched it out into Guardian Force and New Century. But Ultraman had to come back sooner or later, so we never got a sequel to New Century... (well, unless you count Fuzors a couple of years later, and we've got the US to thank for that.) Short little promo posted on the G-Cluster Youtube Channel. Not of game play, just a quick but nice view of the Shield Liger model. New Gameplay Video from G-Cluster's youtube channel features how battles will operate in Zoids: Material Hunters. To be honest it looks a little painful. Numbingly slow enemies and a play style that I feel will result in very quickly set on muscle cramps. Those more familiar with mobile games may be able to shed more light on if this is a good style or not. As a player of mobile games (wow that sounded weird), I'm hoping this won't require the smart device to be connected to a TV. I know a few companies have tried that before, and it's never all that fun given most games have PS1/Early PS2-style graphics. Complaint aside, I have a feeling that the first Boss we saw (notice how it mentioned the Ultrasaursers was a Boss) would be a "level 1" type boss and we would fight gradually harder bosses. From what I'm guessing, the gameplay is going to likely be fighting waves of enemies in a linear route and then fighting the boss in a 3D route, using tactics such as flanking and running up behind them and then backing out when they're about to strike. Well, that's a guess anyways. Seeing the boss demo does sink my hopes about this game. I'm not looking for massively fantastic graphics and in-depth story telling (it's Zoids. The best we've ever done is "alright"), just something fun to play. And this didn't look like fun to be honest. I guess I'll need to see the gameplay as a whole before I can judge... well, final gameplay that is. Zoids Material Hunters has posted a Zoids information page on their website, which includes details on Command Wolf, Shield Liger, and the brand new White Tiger. In addition they've started a World View page which'll function (so far as I can tell) similarly to the main TT site's story pages, with vague information on the game world. White Tiger is a promotional Zoid that will be available to those who join in on the pre-registration window.
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Post by Falcarius on Mar 2, 2015 0:12:10 GMT -5
Oh man. Oh man. *flashes back to the month I spent saving fifteen thousand Bonds of Steel files one-by-one...* Right, let's see what we have on the main site. - A link to Kotobukiya's page about an event running from the 11th to the 15th, where they'll be showing off the big Shield Liger prop and a new PV, as well as giving out postcards to people who preregister in person. - PVs from G-cluster's YouTube channel. - As of the 10th, the Worldview and Zoid pages (translated below). - A preregistration box and campaign: if they can reach a certain number of preregistrations by the official start date (so far planned for "this spring", so it could be any time in the next few months), those who preregistered will get cool stuff: a pre-evolution White Tiger (less than 50,000 people) or a White Tiger evolved to level 2 (over 50,000 people), and up to 3,000 Zoid Gold (over 100,000 people). Apparently there have been over 20,000 preregistrations already! If you're interested in playing the game, or altruistic enough to sign up just so that the players get nicer rewards, you can preregister by typing your email address in the big text box, checking the "terms and conditions" checkbox, and clicking the big green "register" button. If you're nervous about what you're agreeing to in the Terms and Conditions, don't worry - it's just the usual "we won't give out your email address unless it's legally necessary, but we will send you junk mail updates and notices, and we can change or cancel the campaign rewards if we feel like it". Oh, and it's all free (besides internet access costs, of course). Now, down to business... Worldview 01: Planet ZoidThe far future... The immigration spaceship "Zoic-Noa" escaped the Earth, which was perishing due to war and environmental destruction, and landed on an unknown planet hundreds of millions of light-years away. It was an uncultivated planet covered by swirling clouds of plasma and made up largely of oceans of liquid metal, "Planet Zoid". Worldview 02: The Mecha Organisms 'Zoids' are Born!Primeval metal life-forms inhabited this planet, and the scientists of the Zoic-Noa inserted the genes of Earth creatures into them. Time passed... The primeval metal life-forms achieved unique evolutionary growth, and thus the mecha organisms 'Zoids' were born. Worldview 03: The Republic and the EmpireEventually, two powers confronted each other over the Zoids. These were the "Republic" power, which flew the flag of coexistence with the Zoids, and the "Empire" power, which planned to control the Zoids and dominate the planet. And so, an endless battle between the nations unfolded all across the Central Continent. Worldview 04: The Southern IslandsIn the midst of the fierce battle... Some civilians not belonging to either the Empire or Republic fled the war, and after drifting across the sea, they arrived at an island located on the south of the planet. On these Southern Islands existed abundant Material which formed food for Zoids, and those whose occupation was excavating and gathering it would later be called "Material Hunters". Registered Name: White TigerSpeed: 250km/h max speed Item: 2-Barrelled Beam Gun, 2-Barrelled Shock Cannon Size: 15m length, 7m height, 6m width, 70t weight Capacity: 1 person Motif: Tiger A medium-scale tiger-type Zoid first appearing in Material Hunters. It inhabits mountainous areas, and has never been used by the military due to its rarity. It has great speed and excellent agility close to that of its wild form, and conceals abilities exceeding those of the battle machine beasts so far. Specialises in hand-to-hand combat. [Base type (before evolution)] Registered Name: Shield LigerSpeed: 250km/h max speed Item: Laser Sabres, Energy Shield Generator etc. Size: 21.5m length, 9m height, 6m width, 92t weight Capacity: 1 person Motif: Lion A lion-type Zoid developed to defeat the Empire Army's high-speed mecha 'Sabretiger'. It is equipped with an Energy Shield Generator, and can deflect any attack. Its maximum speed is 250km per hour, higher than the Sabretiger. In order to preserve its high speed, it can stow its weapons within its torso, and work has been performed to decrease its air resistance. [Base type (before evolution)] Registered Name: Command WolfSpeed: 200km/h max speed Item: Long-Range Rifle, Smokescreen Jets, Electromagnetic Fangs etc. Size: 18m length, 8m height, 6m width, 46t weight Capacity: 1 person Motif: Wolf A secret-manoeuvre-type Zoid that specialises in guerrilla warfare and can blind enemies by emitting a smokescreen. It is equipped with a Long-Range Rifle firing control device on its head, and due to its shape is also called Dragonhead. Its main weapon is the Long-Range Rifle mounted on its back, but its Electromagnetic Fangs display their power in close combat. [Base type (before evolution)] Game Introduction: "coming soon", apparently... EDIT: A couple of extra bits of info from the Famitsu article: - You can collect Material and Zoids by completing missions, and use the Material to evolve the Zoids. - Zoids can be evolved to stress different aspects, such as attack, defence, speed, anti-air or anti-surface. - You receive your missions from a veteran Hunter named Gaspa de Marchal. I suppose, to be fair, all the Zoids mobile games so far (besides Diving Laser Claw ) have apparently had a surprising amount of story to them, particularly VS.i/VS.EZ. Even Bonds of Steel eventually got more than just an excuse plot. Anyway, there's a new Material Hunters PV out, starring Shield Liger, White Tiger and a mysterious red ceratopsian (no, it's not Redhorn). Quick translation: Far across the universe... -Planet ZOIDS- Planet ZOIDS - The Southern Islands Seeking Material, which forms food for Zoids -Material mining- A fierce struggle unfolded. ZOIDS: Material Hunters I noticed the dinosaur and went looking through the concept art books but couldn't find anything that matched, which is interesting because the other designs are (mostly) based on the concept art. That being said we know at least 2-3 new Zoids will be shown in-game from the promotional pampheletts given out. I can't wait to see some more game play stuff from this, though. The White Tiger movement is horribbblllleee but I think the Zoid's design will grow on me. Three days ago, the number of preregistrations broke 30,000. Yesterday it broke 50,000. Wow. We also have a few new Zoid fact-files, although nothing about the mystery ceratopsian yet. Let's see... Registered Name: Saber TigerSpeed: 200km/h max speed Item: Multi-Barrelled Shock Cannon, Multi-Barrelled Beam Gun Size: 15.5m length, 9m height, 6m width, 78t weight Capacity: 1 person Motif: Sabre-toothed tiger It excels in mobility and agility, and displays its manoeuvrability even in places with complicated terrain, such as forests and cities. It also has great secrecy and a multipurpose nature, such as being able to use ambush tactics in guerrilla warfare and the like. [Base type (before evolution)] Registered Name: MolgaSpeed: 180km/h max speed Item: Laser Cutter, Great Launcher Size: 12m length, 3m height, 3m width, 20t weight Capacity: 1 person Motif: Caterpillar An insect-type Zoid. It is feared by the soldiers of the Republic due to its unique style and heavy armour. In particular, its head has twice as much armour as normal, and it has sometimes defeated enemies with ramming attacks. Due to this, it is standard equipment for assault forces and special forces. [Base type (before evolution)] Registered Name: Cannon TortoiseSpeed: 100km/h max speed Item: Assault Cannon, Multi-Barrelled Anti-Air Guns, Anti-Air Radar Size: 10m length, 6m height, 6.5m width, 33.5t weight Capacity: 1 person Motif: Tortoise It is equipped with an Assault Cannon, and its main missions are fortress and bunker attacks, making use of its heavily-armoured body. However, its low bullet carrying capacity and slow combat speed could be called weak points. [Base type (before evolution)]
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Post by Falcarius on Mar 5, 2015 23:04:49 GMT -5
Oh look, more Zoids.
Registered Name: Hammerrock Speed: 180km/h max speed Item: Assault Gun, Multi-Barrelled Anti-Air Gun, Anti-Air Radar etc. Size: 5.5m length, 6.5m height, 6m width, 27t weight Capacity: 1 person Motif: Gorilla Its armaments, armour and manoeuvrability are all well-balanced, and it is easy to pilot since it is a gorilla-type, similar to a human-type. Its duty has been to assist large-scale beasts, but it could be said that the machine is fully capable of performing operations solo. [Base type (before evolution)]
Registered Name: Gustav Speed: 145km/h max speed Item: Omnidirectional Radar, Explosive Detection Sensor Size: 15m length, 9.4m height, 8.3m width, 68t weight Capacity: 1 person Motif: Pillbug It was developed as a transportation mecha that would recover wounded allies, and has strong pulling power. It is covered by a thick armour shell and boasts high defence. [Base type (before evolution)]
Registered Name: Hellcat Speed: 200km/h max speed Item: 2-Barrelled Accelerated Beam Gun, 2-Barrelled High-Speed Cannon etc. Size: 13.5m length, 5m height, 4m width, 24t weight Capacity: 1 person Motif: Panther It can approach and attack enemies without a sound in grasslands and jungles using special structures in its legs. Since it is equipped with an exhaust system that suppresses its heat emissions to the very limits, it is difficult for infrared sensors to detect it, so it boasts high stealth abilities. [Base type (before evolution)]
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Post by Falcarius on Mar 15, 2015 8:51:10 GMT -5
In commemoration of reaching 70,000 preregistrations, G-cluster is running a campaign with threezero Zoids as prizes! I can do a full translation if people want me to, but the gist is: - You can enter the contest by preregistering for Material Hunters, or following G-cluster on Twitter and retweeting this tweet. Anyone who has done either of these before 9 pm on the 1st of April is automatically entered (unless you stop following G-cluster or are connected to the company). - The prizes are 3 threezero Iron Kongs and 1 threezero Shield Liger (one figure per person). For the record, Shield Liger is currently out of stock and Iron Kong doesn't come out until May. The actual shipping of the prizes won't happen until about July. - If you win, you'll need to provide a shipping address within 2 weeks or else you lose your rights to the prize. They'll only ship to Japanese addresses, but nothing says you have to live in Japan to enter
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Post by Hanyoutai on Apr 7, 2015 0:37:14 GMT -5
New photos of White Tiger including its upgrade form! Looks like we've passed the sign up goal by quite a bit. Launch date is scheduled for May or April.
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Post by lordofdragons on Apr 7, 2015 6:25:51 GMT -5
Don't know why but I somehow don't like these designs. They don't look too functional :/ .
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Post by Falcarius on Apr 9, 2015 11:07:31 GMT -5
I'm not a big fan of the Concept Art aesthetic either, but at least it's a new Zoids game - only the second since Alternative/Assault. ...And we finally have the gameplay page! I'll get the full translation up soonish, but for now, here's some place names... Cloud Ocean: Ymir Island, Fenrir Island, Gandr Island, Hel Island, Rúðnir Island, Skaði Island, Útgarða Island, Þjazi Island Smart Ocean: Ansur Island, Beorc Island, Ken Island, Daeg Island, Eihwaz Island, Feoh Island, Gyfu Island, Hagall Island, Jara Island (Also, G-cluster prices (at least in Japan) have just dropped by more than two-thirds, so if anyone's interested...) EDIT: Here we go... Fight, Collect, Become Strong! Create your very own strongest Zoid!Using the Material you acquire from defeating bosses, you can strengthen your Zoids' weaponry! The Zoids' strengthening lines change depending on the combinations of Material. Increase their attack and defence, change their colour... How you strengthen them is up to you! Attack -> Collect -> Strengthen Weapons Numerous missions where your strength will be tested!When you clear missions, you can acquire strengthening Material and new Zoids. Move your Zoid with a simple flick action, and defeat enemies as you please! Normal Stage (Advance!): Aim to clear it while destroying the enemies coming from the front. The experience and amount of Material you can get changes depending on the number of enemies you defeat and the time you take to clear it! Boss Stage (Cut around!): Together with your companion Zoids, destroy the boss that stands in your way! Challenge missions, and obtain the Material that exists on the islands!Among the Western Islands, the setting of "Zoids Material Hunters", exist two oceans. The "Smart Ocean", which you can go to with the smartphone apps, and the "Cloud Ocean", which you can go to by connecting to the cloud game service "G-cluster". Multiple islands exist in each ocean, and there is also Material that can only be acquired on those islands! Cloud Ocean: Hel Island, Utgarda Island, Rudnir Island, Thjazi Island, Ymir Island, Gandr Island, Skadi Island, Fenrir Island Smart Ocean: Jara Island, Ken Island, Beorc Island, Daeg Island, Ansur Island, Hagall Island, Feoh Island, Eihwaz Island, Gyfu Island Ansur Island: lush grasslands Beorc Island: frozen plateaus Ken Island: caves with obstructed visibility Gyfu Island: red-hot lava You can enjoy Material Hunters more in the Cloud Ocean! Seek new Zoids and challenge cloud-limited missions!A play style distinctive of the cloud! Online multiplayer functions set to be implemented!
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Post by Maethius on Apr 17, 2015 9:19:36 GMT -5
At least this game seems to have a better focus on actual customization of a Zoid. Others have tried, but here we have a title wish a more solid visual aesthetic similar to the kits. It would be interesting to play, but these suckers seldom land on English speaking shores... in English!
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Post by lordofdragons on Apr 17, 2015 10:48:51 GMT -5
In what regards are these closer to the model kits? Just curious to know since I've created a 3D model of one of those too and I a couple of kinematic problems with the design in general which somehow makes me doubt you can actually stick true to the kits without making them nearly unable to move their limbs without penetration and blocking
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Post by Snowflake on May 9, 2015 16:03:04 GMT -5
Wow, that shield liger really reminds me of stompy's old cannon panther Lordofdragons: I mean, obviously in real life they can walk since the kits do.. but there's a lot of sculpted extra joint detail that would have to be real in order for them to actually have full range of motion in their limbs. That said, there are still a few things that would be impossible, such as a liger having its side-arms deployed while running (liger zero's fins would be pretty useless) and a few having extra armor bits that would probably get in the way if they weren't hinged somehow. When it comes to zoids with one piece limbs, you sometimes have to use your imagination figuring out exactly where the joints are and how they would work (hel digunner comes to mind), but then a few zoids clearly have immobile limbs sculpted as one continuous piece of metal (grade-up zoids mostly) so those are straight up not workable as is.
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Post by Falcarius on May 15, 2015 10:19:01 GMT -5
The Android and G-cluster versions of Material Hunters are now available! The iOS version will probably take a while longer to be published, though. And this is where I regret not owning a smartphone... >_> And they're already bringing out an event! The people who defeat the most "Tarantulas" in missions between 12pm on the 17th and 11:59am on the 18th (Japan time) win a variety of stuff, with the top ten players receiving the new Zoid "Pandos". Places/prizes:1-10: 1 Pandos 11-25: 10 Rednium (ore), 100 Zoid Gold 26-75: 7 Rednium (ore), 70 Zoid Gold 76-150: 7 Rednium (ore), 50 Zoid Gold 151-250: 5 Rednium (ore), 50 Zoid Gold 251-750: 5 Rednium (ore), 30 Zoid Gold 751-1500: 3 Rednium (ore), 10 Zoid Gold 1501-3000: 2 Rednium (ore), 5 Zoid Gold 3001-5000: 5 Zoid Gold The event explanation page also gives us a look at the game interface. The numbers in the top left and top right are probably quantities of Zoid Gold and Rednium, and the "Cloud Off" button shows whether your phone is currently linked to a TV (and lets you disconnect). The text to the left of the map gives the island name (Ansur Island), while the box to the right shows you your "completion" (presumably how many missions you've finished on that island). The green hexagon is the Event button, which shows you information on the current event and how well you're doing. The blue hexagons at the bottom are Achievements, Presents, Hangar, Material, Shop, Config and Info. On the info screen, the sidebar consists of Notifications, Events (unlike the green button, this one lets you see upcoming events), Help, Questions, Regulations and Input Serial Number (this is where you get your White Tiger if you preregistered). The config screen has sliders to adjust music and sound effect volumes, plus a button to clear TV connection data. There's also some new pages for Cloud Ocean stuff. As mentioned earlier, you'll need a G-cluster game machine or G-cluster-enabled TV to connect. Also, you only unlock it after clearing all missions on Ansur Island. Playing in the Cloud Ocean enables cheaper purchasing of Zoid Gold, improved chances of obtaining Zoids and Material, and (eventually) online multiplayer. If anyone actually has a TV capable of this, you connect it by loading up the Material Hunters game on the TV (which should give you an 8-digit code), then tapping an island in the Cloud Ocean and entering the 8-digit code in the box that pops up. If successful, the "Cloud Off" button will change to "Cloud On" and the code will disappear from the TV screen. To disconnect, tap the Cloud On button (it also disconnects automatically if the connection is lost for long enough). You can then reconnect to that TV without needing the code, but if you want to connect to a different TV, you'll need to press the Clear Connection Data button in Config and go through the code entry process again. As for claiming the White Tiger, anyone who preregistered on the G-cluster page should have received an email containing a 16-digit serial code. Once you have the game running, go to Info (インフォ) -> Input Serial Number (シリアル番号入力) -> Registration Bonus Serial Code (登録特典のシリアルコード), then just enter the code and click Send Code (コード送信). The White Tiger should show up in your Presents (プレゼント) box. There's also different methods to claim it if you preregistered via Preregistration Top 10 or Game Gift, but I doubt that applies to anyone here. Also note that the deadline to claim this bonus is the 31st of July. And finally... Registered Name: PandosSpeed: 150km/h max speed Item: 6-Barrelled Shock Cannon, Ceramic Claws Size: 10m length, 8m height, 8m width, 43t weight Capacity: 1 person Motif: Panda A medium-sized bear-type Zoid discovered in a forest area deep in the mountains. With its heavy armour and the 6-barrelled shock cannons on its shoulders, it cuts into enemy lines as a localised battle Zoid. In melee combat it stands up on two legs and repels enemies with the powerful Ceramic Claws on its front legs. Now excuse me while I try to get an Android emulator running... (yes, they're legal)
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Post by greengai on May 15, 2015 12:16:15 GMT -5
Do you need a G-Cluster plug-in (or subscription??) to play period or just to play in this Cloud Ocean part of the game?
-Asking because my brother's Android is getting a "No Available Service" message. I think it means the game isn't available to the American Verizon network but maayyybe it's just a matter of no G-Cluster device/subscription available?
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Post by Falcarius on May 15, 2015 13:10:33 GMT -5
As far as I can tell, the Android and iOS versions should be able to play the Smart Ocean stuff without needing to have anything to do with G-cluster. It'll be a shame if the game turns out to be region-locked (or something similar) after all (Although since you have access to an Android phone, that should make it slightly easier to get at the .apk file... >_> )
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Post by greengai on May 15, 2015 13:42:00 GMT -5
No Available Service seemed more like a carrier thing. So it's sorta region-locked in that sense? (I'm not going to try any backdoor shenanigans with my bro's phone)
I'll give the iOS version a go when it comes out though, have a cellular-Ipad (yes there's a difference) and a Japanese Itunes account at the ready.
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Post by lordofdragons on May 15, 2015 15:21:02 GMT -5
Why do game-devs today still stick to crap like region-locking? It helps nothing except pissing off people. Great move :/
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