Robotech Shadow Chronicles Keychains

Robotech feels pretty dead these days, so its almost an amazement to see new merchandise. Yeah, they're pretty minor, but wow a physical product.

I think the best one is the Shadow Chronicles REF logo keychain. The rest is alright. They got some patches too. It's just interesting to see something new for a change anyhow.

Check them out today:

http://www.robotech.com/store/viewcategory.php?id=7

Robotech RPG Coming 2008

Palladium Books released a new press release with brand new details about the upcoming Robotech RPG: The Shadow Chronicles.

Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® RPG – January 2008
The artwork is assigned and being created, the cover is being tweaked, the research and note making continues, and bits of first draft writing are finished. Sorry, we cannot get this new RPG out before Christmas, but it WILL be released in January, 2008. The artwork is looking fantastic.

The role-playing game will pick up where the DVD movie begins. The return of the Robotech Expeditionary Force, the separation of the SDF-3 from the rest of the fleet, and everything else that is part of Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles®.

Mecha pilots and other fleet personnel O.C.C.s.
Key REF Mecha statted out and illustrated.
Invid statted out and illustrated.
Select spacecraft statted out and illustrated.
Other info and details (depending on space).
Fast playing RPG rules. Mega-Damage setting.
Earth post-Invid occupation, adventure ideas, new character sheets and more.
Cover by Apollo Okamura. Great art throughout.
Written by Kevin Siembieda.
Manga size; easy portability. (An 8½ x 11 deluxe edition may follow in the Spring or Summer of 2008. Additional Robotech sourcebooks to quickly follow.)
224 pages – $16.95 retail – Cat. No. 550. January release.

http://www.palladiumbooks.com/press/press2007-11e.html

Pre-Order at Palladium's online store: http://www.palladiumbooks.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=550

RobotechCompanion.com is Currently Down

Robotech Companion (.com) is currently down at the moment due to webhost changes. I'm sorry for the downtime. It may be a while until I decide exactly what I'm going to do. My original webhost has decided to close down. Robotech Companion shall return.

If you need to get in touch with me, please leave your comment in this post. Thanks

Lonely Soldier Boy Midi

Happy Halloween to all. A great Robotech fan by the name of Donna has created a midi file of Lonely Soldier Boy. Midi files are old, but still great. Donna has done a great job with making this one so check it out!


http://www.robotechcompanion.com/waves/lonelysoldierboy.mid

RightStuf.com 40% off Funimation DVDs

It's that great time of the year again when rightstuf.com wants you to save money, some big bucks. Well, 40% off of Funimation DVDs means only one thing, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. You can use a special code to get 40% of either the original Shadow Chronicles release or the NEW 2-disc special edition of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles coming out next month. This is off the already discounted price that Right Stuf offers.

40% off Funimation and AN Entertainment DVDs
Coupon Code: spooky
Expires: November 4, 2007 at 11:59 p.m. CDT

Special Edition Shadow Chronicles: http://www.rightstuf.com/cgi-bin/catalogmgr/RLCTsyIP9iEjGqj-cV/browse/item/75712/4/0/0

Regular Shadow Chronicles DVD: http://www.rightstuf.com/cgi-bin/catalogmgr/RLCTsyIP9iEjGqj-cV/browse/item/72415/4/0/0

Robotech Doom Project Nears Release

"Robotech DOOM Game project nears release!

This last Sunday, Oct. 7th, Lobo, (http://firstgen.no-ip.info/ ), officially announced the first beta release of the "Robotech: First Gen" game mod.

Robotech: First Gen is an "old-school" Robotech mod for the EDGE port of the Doom2 game engine. Modern ports like EDGE improve upon the original game engine by adding new feaures such as higher resolution graphics, GL, multiple sound format support and better mutliplayer architecture.

First Gen is a stand-alone game mod that does not require the original game data. Each release contains all you need to play. This is the latest fan-based Robotech game mod to have a release.

If Harmony Gold had licensed the Doom engine - this is what it would look like! Catch the announcement here:
http://edge.sourceforge.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=135 " - Galaxy Stranger

Related Links:
http://firstgen.no-ip.info/
http://mods.moddb.com/452/robotech-firstgen/
http://edge.sourceforge.net/

ANN Reports on the New Robotech RPG

Yup, it's finally as most people should know by now. Palladium is going full stream ahead with the Robotech: Shadow Chronicles RPG. Anime News Network has put together a very informative article that explains everything you could know about the release. Check it out

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2007-09-27/robotech-returns-to-palladium-books

Thanks Chris for the news

Fan Blog: Studio MMG Back Better Than Ever

Studio MMG is known throughout for his impressive flash animations and art. Of course he used to be a very vocal part of the community. MadMapGuy has changed over the months along with his blog. He has moved away from the vocal group to a better creative side. MMG's new blog entitled Concept Central focuses on art concepts and ideas from science fiction and fantasy stories including Robotech.

The blog is already looking great with the Robotech art he has posted up. Check it out and don't judge on the past.

http://conceptcentral.blogspot.com/

Shadow Rising & Funimation deal LEAKED!

I'm not going to say a lot about this. I can say that it's hard to really know if this is for real or not. The leak seems unusual for Harmony Gold to hand over very important documents and information to someone who claims he's basically a stranger to Tommy and Steve. This may just be a hoax, but we'll see.

I am linking to the original post on RDF HQ for everyone. Expect this person's blog and other information to disappear from the face of the planet within a few days once Harmony Gold learns about this.

http://p081.ezboard.com/frdfhqcommunicationscenterfrm50.showMessage?topicID=23.topic

Benny R. Powell Interview by RT Companion

Benny R. Powell is the author of Academy Comic's Robotech: The Movie comic book released in 1996. He is best known for his time at Marvel Comics and his own independent comic studio, Bench Press Studios. I was fortunate enough to interview him about his career and his work on the Robotech Movie comic. Enjoy.

If you have any additional or followup questions for Mr. Powell, please submit them either by e-mail to me or comments of this blog. I will choose the best. Please submit them by the Friday the 21st of September 07.

Benny R. Powell Interview by Robotech Companion: http://www.robotechcompanion.com/interviews/bennypowell.htm

A!PoN's Tommy Yune Interview

This is a bit old. It was done either late 2006 or early 2007. However, I just came across it today and thought some fans would be interested in watching it. A!PoN, an anime podcast group, interviewed Tommy Yune about Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, its production, and about himself. It took place after fans saw the film, so Tommy spoke more in-depth about why the film is the way it is. Anyhow, some people will find it interested, mostly casual fans.

A!PoN's Tommy Yune Interview: http://www.blip.tv/file/75543/

New Space Station Liberty Shows

Two shows not to miss
Sunday, September 9th at 7:00 p.m. Eastern/4:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Kevin McKeever will be coming on Space Station Liberty to talk about the Warner Brothers deal, Anime Bento, and upcoming Palladium's Robotech RPG. This should be the first time that Harmony Gold speaks out publicly about the live action film. It's not expected that Kevin will cough up much information, but should still be interesting.

Friday, September 14th at 10:00 p.m. Eastern/7:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Kevin Siembieda and Tommy Yune will be on Space Station Liberty to discuss in detail about the new upcoming Palladium's Robotech RPG book.

Remember that all fans are welcomed to join the live interactive podcast either through calling in or downloading the TalkShoe cilent to ask questions through text chat.

Space Station Liberty Podcast Show: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=5988

The comprehensive guide on various methods of connecting to TalkShoe: http://terrania.us/talkshoe/

Let the Hype Begin: Robotech Live Action

The new fad has began, it's the fad of big Robots on the big screen. The success of Transformers has made a many interested in cashing in on a fad yet to be born. Rumor has it that Warner Bros. Pictures has licensed Robotech to create a full live action movie out of it. WB has chosen Maguire Entertainment led by Tobey Maguire to produce it for them. "We are very excited to bring 'Robotech' to the big screen," Maguire said. "There is a rich mythology that will be a great foundation for a sophisticated, smart and entertaining film." Drew Crevello from Supercool Hollywood BigTime Prods. is also producing. Craig Zahler will be writing the screenplay.

"Frank Agrama of rights-holder Harmony Gold will exec produce; Jason Netter will serve in a producer capacity. Matthew Reilly brought the project to Warners and is overseeing. Daniel Shafer brought the project to Maguire and will shepherd for the company."

What can a serious fan make of all this madness? Oh it won't be pretty. Robotech.com has already treated it like a silly joke through their news post: "OMG ROBOTECH LIVE ACTION MOVIE!!! Nawww..... could this grapevipe from The Hollywood Reporter and MovieWeb even be true?"

On a more serious note, it appears that this agreement to make a live action movie is extremely fresh and brand new. This means almost no time has gone into the production process or pre-production. A lot of problems will come and it'll take a couple of years to produce the movie. However, its extremely unlikely that the Robotech live action will see the light of day. Companies are known for buying license rights to cartoons, games, and merchandise without ever getting far. This is not Transformers whom had such huge super success with the Transformers cartoons and toys for over 20 years. Robotech does not have this kind of backing. Look at this quote: "Last month, Regency picked up 1980s Japanese anime series "Voltron"" See what I mean? Welcome to the fad of robot movies only created based solely on how well the Transformers live action movie did

The whole point of the articles is to create hype, a lot of hype to drive the production. You could believe that some changes made over at Robotech.com were done to pervent people like me shooting down everyone's hype. Harmony Gold has shown commitment to the Robotech brand and wants their core creations to be released. Shadow Chronicles was completely based on Harmony Gold keeping full control to allow the creativity freedom that Robotech should have. This won't be the case with this live action production. It's possible and likely that HG is treating the live action movie like their other third-party merchandise in where it doesn't really matter what happens to it. It's just more support for their core projects: Robotech Anime.

Hype is important from a marketing point of view, but all I say is that as loyal fans, don't be disappointed if the movie sucks or never comes out.

Long Live Robotech the cartoon.

News Articles:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i1f2de64a1d24bd5585bf89b0691d2011
http://www.movieweb.com/news/67/22567.php

Leave positive hype here: http://www.robotech.com/community/forum/read.php?id=1774514&forumid=31 As Harmony Gold would say, its important to make companies think their Robotech brand is fully supported by fans with no complaints and problems. Too bad we hardcore people aren't always happy. We're die-hard fans afterall.

Robotech Comic-Con Report

I figure that there will be people who want to know the latest facts but don't want to spend the time looking elsewhere. So here we go from what I know.

The new Robotech sequel to The Shadow Chronicles will be called "Robotech: Shadow Rising" They assume it will take two years for the new production to come out. There's not a lot of information about it yet. We do know that Steve and Tommy is working on the scripts and is in pre-production. Harmony Gold did show some kind of teaser trailer at Comic-Con for it though. This trailer should appear online at some point.

Robotech: The Shadow Chronciles DVD will be re-released this November as a Collector's Edition with two discs that will include a lot of extras such as first draft animation, outtakes, and other things. These first draft animation scenes seem interesting as Kevin attempt to say how they're not very family friendly...

On the Toynami front, the New Generation Beta Fighter will finally see release. It will be fully transformable and attach to the Alpha fighter. As well, New Generation Cyclones will finally be produced as well. Scott's Cyclone is the first and will be fully transformable with a Scott figurine. Both toys should be out this fall. The other cyclones will most likely be produced at some point.

Captain JLS posts a Anime News Network link on his site. A pretty good summary of the Robotech panel: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2007/comic-con-international/harmony-gold-usa

I think that's about it. That's all the main facts we know at this time.

Fan: Robotech Genesis' Teaser Trailer

The fanfilm group named UEG has cotninued work on their project and is offering a new teaser trailer to fans:

"We are proud to present you our new teaser trailer. The teaser shows the amazing advance we made in the production of Robotech Genesis... Presented in High definition. And is a must see....
http://www.robotech.united-earth-group.com/

The High definition (HD) version of the trailer can be found in the "downloads" section (Robotech Genesis - Teaser Trailer)
http://www.robotech.united-earth-group.com/component/option,com_ionfiles/Itemid,301/

Visit our forums as well, and feel free to drop us your comment..
http://www.robotech.united-earth-group.com/component/option,com_fireboard/Itemid,307/ "

- Regards U.E.G july 2007

Destroy All Podcasts DX reviews Mospeada

The podcast by the name of "Destroy All Podcasts DX" has decided to review Genesis Climber Mospeada Anime series, which is the Japanese source for Robotech's third saga. There's lots of fans for both versions of Mospeada, so this review should be of interest.

You can listen to review of their 15th episode here: http://www.destroyallpodcastsdx.com

In other news, I finally got my copy of the Art of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. So, it was a month late, better than three months.

Destroy All Podcasts DX reviews SDC Southern Cross

A podcast by the name of "Destroy All Podcasts DX" has decided to review Super Dimension Cavalry: Southern Cross Anime series, which is the Japanese source for Robotech's second saga. I haven't listened to it yet, but it should be pretty interesting. There's not too many people who has seen the original version.

You can listen to review of their 14th episode here: http://www.destroyallpodcastsdx.com/

A New Era of Uncertainty

It's true I've been out of the loop since July 1st. It seems a lot of major things have happened in a very short time. In reality, it's been happening without our knowing it. Robotech as a whole has been slowing down and the activity has been dying. Robotech as a product is not regenerating like it should either. Shadow Chronicles was meant to, but as events unfold, this may not be the case.

If you read the post below this, Khyron Prime, the first fan I know of, has actually attacked Harmony Gold physically. Ok, it was a pie, but it was something unheard of. Beyond this fact is something more serious. In the Anime News Network article, it states that Tom Bateman along with Alan Letz no longer work for Harmony Gold. I don't know if they were fired or laid off, but this is important. Tom Bateman was a major part of the Robotech department for us fans. He was someone who truly believed in the Robotech series and the Robotech brand. He was a major link of true fan communication between us and the company. Tom also helped Shadow Chronicles be a better Robotech product than it might have been, even if people still didn't like the final result. Whatever you think, this will cause a major shift in the future of Robotech. I will greatly miss Tom as a fan-friendly member of Harmony Gold. Hopefully he will stick around in the fandom and be a strong influence for Robotech.

It's sad to say, but Robotech just isn't what it was. The TV series will always be great, but it's the community and the world around it that made it last. I been a fan for over 9 years, and I think the hardcore flame in me is slowly cooling off. I still love Robotech, but I'm saddened by the last year or two worth of it's life.

I will like to give notice to Captain JLS' blog: http://sdf5x.blogspot.com/
He does a much better job at reporting common news and keeping up with things. JLS' video blogs are excellent as well.

I have decided to allow Captain JLS to take major coverage of popular and common news on his blog. He already does this and should continue to do a good job that he does. I will focus more on what he has missed and uncommon things. This does not mean my blog is dead. Please continue to send me your project news submissions and other things. I will continue to post about Robotech and the community. The only difference is that I will allow JLS to take the lead with the common news while I focus more on other articles in Robotech.

Let Robotech live. The fans is all it has.

Been Out of the Loop + Tommy, Khyron, & Pies

Well well. I been out of the loop on the web realm for over a week and the most action seemed to have happened then. Obviously the biggest news is Khyron Prime, but it's not that new now. It's about Tommy Yune, Khyron, and Pies. You have to watch it to believe it.

Anime News Network's Major report: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2007/anime-expo/robotech's-tommy-yune-pied

Fan Creation: New Generation Wallpaper

ShaheenJ, a member from Robotech.com, has created a nice large Robotech wallpaper that is based around The New Generation. There is that one vehicle in bike mode that looks a lot like the Garland from Robotech: The Untold Story. Anyhow, good work!

Leave your comments at: http://www.robotech.com/community/forum/read.php?id=1729653&forumid=16