the One thing that totally disgusted me...(spoilers)

Was the way they handled the weapons system.

I have never been more mortified from a in my life to see such a stupid idea.

I liked the show, but please change the weapons interface so we dont get to watch such silly nonsense! I mean, if this show was a Saturday morning cartoon fine, but come one this is supposed to be serious.

I had to cover my eyes when i saw her first start shooting stuff with her hands.

Loburian

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No matter where you go...there you are.

Actually, I really liked the weapons interface. It makes perfect sense, and I'm surprised that the White Stars or some other ship we've seen never had this capability. It's much more intuitive and cuts down response time, allowing a ship to be much more effective in battle. There's no "target that ship" "aquiring target...target locked" "fire" which takes time -- precious time during a firefight.

<table bgcolor=black><tr><td bgcolor=black><font size=1 color=white>Spoiler:</font></td></tr><tr><td><font size=2 color=black>I agree though, that one sequence where Sarah when a little overboard was kind of silly, but excusable given the circumstances.</font></td></tr></table>



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-jmb

I loved the weapons interface want to see more ..

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I loved the weapons interface...think about it:

First of all, how cool would it be to feel that you have that kind of power at your fingertips?

Plus, I would think that with very little practice, accuracy would be amazing. I mean we're talking about making the weapons system, for all practical purposes, an extension of the human body. It's like trying to hit a baseball in real life as opposed to telling a computer (or relying on a computer) to do it.

Being a VR setup would allow the gunner to control many things, such as the strength and speed of the projectile.

And a lot of people are assuming that there's no auto-targeting, which wasn't apparent in the movie. I'd think the computer DID do some autotargeting, based on the closeup shots of the gunner's eyes scanning targets.

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[This message has been edited by samuelk (edited January 20, 2002).]

I couldn't agree with you more, Loburian. I thought the weapons interface was horrible. She looked foolish with all that fake martial arts stuff. I guess, in some ways, theoretically the "system" might make sense. The way it was handled, though, made me want to cover my eyes, too. I couldn't take the battles seriously.

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I'd like to see this further developed.

<table bgcolor=black><tr><td bgcolor=black><font size=1 color=white>Spoiler:</font></td></tr><tr><td><font size=2 color=black>
As I mentioned in a different thread, I thought Sarah's prolonged screech in the last battle scene was a turn off.

But I would like to learn more about the computer interface. One thing I found surprising was the threat assessment / target acquisition.

None of these things were cloaked, so even the computers we have now can track them (up to a certain speed, of course). So how come Sarah was surprised by one? This seems a significant fault in this system.

</font></td></tr></table>



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"What's up, Drakh?"

Michael Garibaldi

I agree with Loburian, I thought it was very stupid. But again that's just my opinion.

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"We Centauri live our lives for appearances. Position, status, title; these are the things by which we define ourselves. But when I look beneath the mask I am forced to wear, I see only emptiness. And then I think of you. And I say to hell with appearances." - Ambassador Londo Mollari, Born to the Purple

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> Actually, I really liked the weapons interface. It makes perfect sense, and I'm surprised that the White Stars or some other ship we've seen never had this capability. It's much more intuitive and cuts down response time, allowing a ship to be much more effective in battle. There's no "target that ship" "aquiring target...target locked" "fire" which takes time -- precious time during a firefight. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I couldn't disagree more. It takes time for the weapons officer to jump down the tube, it takes time to bring up that scanning system. More, the way it is, the weapons officer can only target ships in her own direction of view, as opposed to a holo display showing the environment around the ship. Meaning that she can be surprised by what is happening behind her. The kicking and punching is physically exhausting and will lead to decreasing efficiency in larger battles. Yes, eye scanning can be effective. But not in the way it was shown here.

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If I tell you my name is Lorien, what good is that?

(Whatever happened to Mr. Garibaldi?)

I thought the way the weapons system worked was unique. It sure was different from what we were use to seeing.

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Have a nice day!!!

I agree. This was a great Sci-fi movie, except during the "battles". Seemed like Xena Warrior Princess or the like. As stated below, just hard to take seroiusly. -- and, what happens if she dies....

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o man that interface was crap- i find it point less to have something work that way- esp when i didnt like sarah at all and her screeching was so annoying.

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I thought the weapons interface was a little unusual, but pretty good. What better way for Sarah to see what's out there and fire on it than to use the interface?

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Dulann: You don't solve your problems by hitting them.
David Martel: Yeah, well, it made me feel better.

As soon as I saw the topic I knew the thread was going to be about the weapon interface. When I first saw it I was in disbelief, but when I think about it - we don't know all that much about the Rangers and how they really do things. And the Liandra is an older ship as well. It was new, and definitely innovative. Perhaps it'll get better and more defined in the series.

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"There's always hope, because it's the one thing nobody's figured out how to kill yet." - Galen

I liked the gunnery pod idea, and it was carried out in a very believeable way. I was hoping that it wouldn't look hokey, and it didn't, for the most part.

She's in suspension, or free-fall, so any martial arts are going to look a bit put-on. Watch the NASA channel, if you get it, and they'll have video of the astronauts aboard Space Station Alpha. It's actually pretty similar, how they move. (Are these spoilers?)

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channe@[url="http://cryoterrace.tripod.com"]cryoterrace[/url] | "I wonder," said Frodo, "but I don't know. And that's the way of a real tale."

Unique is one thing, this weapons system is another. It is just hokey. I was watching the premier with a bunch of my friends and when the weapons system came on we all groaned together in mass harmony. Maybe if she was not just floating karate chop style in mid air it would be okay…Like if she was sitting in some sort of turret or something like that. But the way it is now is just ridiculous.

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--Shibby

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by samuelk:
I loved the weapons interface...think about it:

First of all, how cool would it be to feel that you have that kind of power at your fingertips?

Plus, I would think that with very little practice, accuracy would be amazing. I mean we're talking about making the weapons system, for all practical purposes, an extension of the human body. It's like trying to hit a baseball in real life as opposed to telling a computer (or relying on a computer) to do it.

Being a VR setup would allow the gunner to control many things, such as the strength and speed of the projectile.

And a lot of people are assuming that there's no auto-targeting, which wasn't apparent in the movie. I'd think the computer DID do some autotargeting, based on the closeup shots of the gunner's eyes scanning targets.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


actually, my impression of the whole gunnery pod sequence was that the whole idea of that sort of system WAS outdated -- maybe it was supposed to be. remember, this ship is what, 30 years old? i mean, i guess it's possible that the weapons system was very recently upgraded (since the construction of the white star fleet), but then again it wouldn't make sense that the ship in crusade didn't have this system. then again, maybe it did. perhaps it's the case that all of these ships do in fact have this sort of weapons system and we just haven't seen it. it's assumed that ships are fired at using some console on the bridge, but perhaps there's always been some person in one of these pods all along and fires at ships whenever the signal is given to him/her. who knows? anyway, i think it's kind of neat, as long as they continue to keep it from being too cheesy. (that sequence with sarah pulling a xena was pushing it..)


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The weapon control was a nice idea however I do agree with some of the fake martial arts stuff. IMO it should have been limited to just hand movements, it would have looked better at the least and seemed a bit more real at best.

Also disappointed that they were using pulse weapons over beam weapons, I'm rather used to seeing a White Star tear up any enemy it comes accross. I'm keeping hope though that we might one day see a more organic skin and beam weapons on Liandra.

I did agree the screaming sequence was a bit over the top, and needed to be dialed down a bit.

However, overall I think it's an original idea, and if nothing else, I respect JMS for giving it a try.

Actually, I find that it might be the only really good way to handle a ship like that, and may actually be standard on most Minbari ships. Why you say? Glad you asked.

We've never truely seen Minbari ships, except for White Stars, where you see the weapons expert firing. It could very well be that even on Sharlins and other standard Minbari cruisers and destoryers, this is how it's done. Why? Because even the commanders of a battle use this holographic interface. The Minbari are big on holograms, so why not design and interface that allows a full spectrum of the battle from a better perspective than a little grid on a little crystal display (or whatever the White Star's use) This, of course, is all theory, but it's possible.

The reason the White Stars be different might be for several reasons. One, humans came into the picture, and since humans are used to a standard, sit behind a console and look at something throught that, that it might be more efficant for them. Two, the White Star's weapon systems seem forward only. Why float around and do all those acrobatics when you can only fire in basically one direction? Where as the new vessel seemed to be able to fire from every direction (and we've seen Sharlin's fire from almost all directions except the aft quarter)

Again, this is all in an effort to explain it, and I'm sure JMS could do better than I. However, I think if it's used properly (aka, not the last time, when Sarah was on too many stims), it isn't really that bad, and has SOME better qualities than a standard interface.

Just my 2 cents.

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It's like I've always said, you can get more with a kind word and a 2 by 4 than you can with just a kind word.

all I'll say:

Idea was original.

Myriam made it a joke.


Phil

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"And that, Mollari, is why it will not be your people, or mine, or the Gaim, or the Drazi or the Vorlons or the Shadows who in the end will stand astride the galaxy like giants. It will be the humans."
"I think you are the one who is mad, G'kar," Londo said. "I can choose just as well as the humans. I can choose to stay in this cell, with you, or I can choose to leave."
"Yes, but can you choose for there not to be a cell at all?"
"I don't understand," Londo said.
"Exactly," G'kar said. "Exactly."

I thought the concept was excellent. Looked like more fun than a rollercoaster ride, and I want me one of those!

It makes sense from a practical standpoint, too, because it's intuitive and would make for really fast response time.

That said, I think the Ranger Fu was really overdone in places.

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[This message has been edited by Rhea (edited January 20, 2002).]