Binartech (Alternators?) Backstory!
ZacWilliam1
For those who havn't seen it, the Binartech backstory
as translated from the package on the TFW2005.com
(cleaned up a tad grammar-wise):
........................................................................
The year is 2003, little more than a decade since Transformers
and Humankind made first contact. The world went thru big changes
after that, construction of Cybertron City, Formation of EDC
(Earth Defence Corps.) and space travel. Mankind and Autobots
(Cybertrons) adapted to each other's lifestyle and shared a common
destiny. Utilizing a techno-virus "Cosmic Rust", the Decepticons
(Destrons) managed to damage most of the Autobots
beyond repair. Using this tatic, most of the Autobot Earth's defense
force fell. At the same time, Megatron was close to conquering
Cybertron and managed to cut off Autobot's supply line between
Earth and Cybertron. With a diminishing force, low supply and
no reinforcement, the Autobots and mankind are almost on the
verge of defeat when EDC came up with a last resort,
"Develop man-made Transformers", thus Project Binartech
was launched immediately.
With the cooridnation of the mother computer, Teletran-1,
the world's leading industries and research facilities began
to pour their resources to develop a humanoid transformable
machine so as to counter this crisis.
The result is a range of Earth made robot molds. By transfering
the sparks of the damaged and infected Autobots to these new
bodies, the warriors were reborn. This is the story how mankind
and Cybertron's last hope: Binartech Transformers were born.
..........................................................................
......
That's a GREAT backstory IMO! Ties in wonderfully to the
old cartoon continuity setting thing in the present day which
is also perfectly situated in the Lost Years before the Movie.
I love the inclusion of all the little Movie related details and
the Cosmic Rust virus from S2. Great job on Takara's part.
I know that last we heard there were no plans to include
any story with the US Alternators release of these toys
but I **REALLY** hope Hasbro changes their minds and
translates this story for the Alternators as well.
Failing that, at least fans who do care about
things like character and story can avoid Hasbro's
(IMO) misstep on this front and use the
Binartech backstory as an explanation for the
alternators as well. And a very cool one at that. :)
-ZacWilliam, not a Hasbro-basher in general, but
not very thrilled with the short shift they've given to very
important things like Story and Character in recent times.
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Recomended Comic Reading:
Formerly Known as the Justice League (DC)
Runaways (Marvel)
Theives and Kings (I-Box)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Doug Dlin
>
> For those who havn't seen it, the Binartech backstory
> as translated from the package on the TFW2005.com
> (cleaned up a tad grammar-wise):
And here's my rendition, which I can provide now that the item's
apparently gone on sale. (Ichikawa-san asked that I hold off posting
this stuff until then.) It also includes some of the technical info he
wrote for the enclosed booklet.
Note that "binal" is an actual word, an lesser-used version of "dual" or
"binary," as was pointed out to me here:
http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?r=2&q=binal
so I went with that spelling.
Also, Smokescreen's Japanese tech spec gives his function as just
"Tactician" and includes no motto, in keeping with the original Japanese
version, but Ichikawa-san wanted the translation to adhere more to the
original English format, so the appropriate changes were made. Comments
are welcome.
Doug Dlin
apcog at hotmail.com
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2003 A.D.--Ten years have passed since the first contact between
Transformers and humans, and situations around the world have changed
tremendously. The groundbreaking for Autobot City, the establishment of
the EDC--the Earth Defense Command, the advances into outer
space...humans and Autobots have now formed an invaluable community
bound by a common destiny. Amid all this, destructive Decepticon
operations using the metallic pathogen "Cosmic Rust" have caused
irreparable damage to countless Autobot members of the Earth garrison.
Megatron had just launched a war of conquest on the planet Cybertron,
and almost all Autobot personnel and material had just left Earth
behind. Having lost their trump card of defensive strength, cut off
from all support, and faced with an absolute crisis, the EDC reaches an
emergency decision to initiate the Binal-Tech Project, a
"human-developed Transformers" plan they'd been considering for some
time. Under the orders of the mother computer Teletraan-1, the
development of transformable, humanoid machines is carried out at a
rapid pace by companies and research organizations around the world.
The wounded Autobots' personality data are transferred into the
Earth-made robot bodies thus completed, and they are reborn as new
man-made mechanical lifeforms. Here are born the warriors who are the
hope of humans and Autobots alike, the Binal-Tech Transformers!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BT01 Autobot Tactician SMOKESCREEN
"A look can be deceiving; a touch can be lethal."
彦unction...Diversionary Tactician
謬ransformation...Subaru Impreza WRC 2003
The first Autobot warrior revived through the Binal-Tech Project. Save
for the quantum computers of his cerebral section and his primary
armament, his entire design was carried out by Japan's Fuji Heavy
Industries, Inc. and STi, thoroughly reproducing all of Smokescreen's
essential functions. In vehicle mode, he can reach a top speed of 230
km/h and can fire smoke cartridges from his tailpipe. He has taken on
his previous role of clearing away his teammates' anxieties and fears,
and in his current revival, he has come to strongly encourage other
development teams and Autobot fighters.
標eapon(s)...Electro-disruptor rifle.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
匹ranial unit, the central module for thought and communication.
Comprised of the brain chip, which is the acceptance point for the
personality program; the perceptual sensor array; a faceplate capable of
variable expressions thanks to its multilayer structure of hyperelastic
alloys; interactive conversational equipment; etc.
姫rovided with newly developed fluid metal actuators and a high-rigidity
alloy frame for a robot body expected to endure violent movement and
close combat. High-output electrocells exhibit mighty and instantaneous
power, and successfully provide a buffer capacity that can endure
drastic load fluctuations and impact loads.
謬he drive of the vehicle mode, which involves the robot structure in
its frame, utilizes four independent, closed-loop-controlled motors,
unlike the vehicle on which it is modeled. Sensors distributed from the
front section on through all parts of the frame act as perceptual
instrumentation when in four-wheeled mode.
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NOTES
Vehicle Mode:
The vehicle mode thoroughly follows that of an Impreza WRC 2003. The
body panels use plenty of die-cast parts and accurately reproduce the
vivid works coloration and sponsor logos. Attention was paid to the way
its parts divide when transforming, and as a result, at a glance, one
would never expect that it could change into a robot.
ENGINE:
Hood opens and closes. The engine carried within becomes the robot
mode's weapon.
WING:
The multisplitter form peculiar to the 2003 model is reproduced in detail.
INTERIOR:
All four doors open and close. The interior has also been given
comfortable, spacious passenger room.
STEERING:
Both front wheels move in tandem thanks to a power cylinder coupling mechanism.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Robot Mode:
This is the newest form for Smokescreen, a well-known character from the
Transformers series, now revived with an alternate mode of an Impreza
WRC 2003. Thorough investigation of the modern style of transforming
mechanisms characteristic of "The Dawn of Real Transforming Robots" has
raised the level of perfection for both car and robot modes by leaps and
bounds, making this truly the ultimate "Autobot."
HEAD:
The new-design head follows the nature of the character.
HANDS:
In addition to holding the weapon, these posable hands can produce a
variety of expressions.
SECRET WEAPON:
The intercooler transforms into the electro-disruptor rifle.
David Willis
"Doug Dlin" <ap...@texas.net> wrote in message
news:3F74702B...@texas.net...
> 2003 A.D.--Ten years have passed since the first contact between
> Transformers and humans, and situations around the world have changed
> tremendously.
So it's 1994, and they rebuild Smokescreen into a Subaru Impreza WRC 2003?
Neat trick! ;D
--David
www.itswalky.com
MicroZoneX
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•Function...Diversionary Tactician
•Transformation...Subaru Impreza WRC 2003
The first Autobot warrior revived through the Binal-Tech Project. Save
for the quantum computers of his cerebral section and his primary
armament, his entire design was carried out by Japan's Fuji Heavy
Industries, Inc. and STi, thoroughly reproducing all of Smokescreen's
essential functions. In vehicle mode, he can reach a top speed of 230
km/h and can fire smoke cartridges from his tailpipe. He has taken on
his previous role of clearing away his teammates' anxieties and fears,
and in his current revival, he has come to strongly encourage other
development teams and Autobot fighters.
>><BR><BR>
You know, if Brad wanted a good excuse to ever introduce Cosmic Rust or the
Alternator designs into the G1comics next year this would make a pretty good
easy fit as is.
Hypertron An Almost, Sort of, Kind of god
That is very cool. While it's a little sad that there will be no back
story in America, its good to know that there is some story,
somewhere. It's also good to know that the Alternators are indeed the
G1 characters for which they are named.
-Hypertron (An Almost, Sort Of, Kind Of god)
necrotron
...
Wow.
Yeah.
Hasbro, you have indeed found the way to my wallet once again. As long as
the techspecs are available *somewhere*, not including them on or in the
package (for cost reasons, or any other reason) is fine by me. Just keep
those awesome designs coming.
Anthony "Tonyfitz" Brucale
news:3u_cb.34754$uJ2....@fe3.columbus.rr.com...
Sure it is, considering that Smokescreen became a Decepticon in 1994. ;)
--
--Ant
*******************************************
Anthony "Tonyfitz" Brucale
*******************************************
Webmaster - www.tfu.info
*******************************************
Denyer
> The wounded Autobots' personality data are transferred into the
> Earth-made robot bodies thus completed, and they are reborn as new
> man-made mechanical lifeforms. Here are born the warriors who are the
> hope of humans and Autobots alike, the Binal-Tech Transformers!
Sweeeet... yes, it would be *extremely* interesting if DW picked up
the ball on this.
(This is also a post to try to test whether Google Groups is
functioning with a.t.t, as everything appears to be Bush-ed... can't
get it up with newsreaders or ColdHardSlag either...)
Denyer,
www.virtualdebris.co.uk
Doug Dlin
Dang, that was an earlier draft, from when I'd overlooked a kanji. The
corrected version reads "More than ten years." Not what you'd call
exact, but at least that's MORE correct. :-)
Doug
David Willis
> > 2003?
> >
> > Neat trick! ;D
>
> Dang, that was an earlier draft, from when I'd overlooked a kanji. The
> corrected version reads "More than ten years." Not what you'd call
> exact, but at least that's MORE correct. :-)
Yeah. It's still odd phrasing. It's *correct*, but so's "It's 2003 and
more
than two years have passed since 1984"...
Oh well. That's only a nitpick.
--David
www.itswalky.com
Doug Dlin
I think I see the point, though. 2003 isn't quite twenty years since
first contact, but rather than pin down the exact time by just saying
"nineteen years" or round up to twenty, he preferred to phrase it as
"over a decade." "Almost twenty years" might have worked better, and in
fact, I probably could have taken that liberty with my translation w/o
his objection if I'd been thinking straight. :-S
So, any comments on the rest?
David Willis
I'm being insufferable, but I think I liked the toyline without the story
more. :D
I'll admit that this fleshed-out timeline is much more likeable to me than
the simple
earlier "Earth car companies rebuild Autobots into modern vehicles"
scenario,
especially since it's with the help of Teletraan-One.
But since the new storyline answers all my complaints about the original
outline,
I don't have anything I can put a finger on that would explain my vague
dissatisfaction. There's nothing wrong with it.
When I first saw the Alternators, I thought, "Hey, they finally realized
they're
not very good disguises in modern day anymore, and so they changed their
car modes." That's something I always wished we'd seen in the movie.
Prowl's Datsun police car mode would be ancient in 2005. It's a simple,
obvious reason for an upgrade. However, not very creatively satisfying
for any writer involved, I imagine.
Perhaps I just think the backstory is unnecessary. A+ for effort, though.
--David
Put me down as "no real complaints."
www.itswalky.com
Steve-o Stonebraker
> So, any comments on the rest?
Like Walky, I think it's a huge improvement over what we heard before, and
I love the highly characteristic Ichikawesque details, but in the end the
story is still just, "the Autobots needed new bodies so humans built some
for them", and that I find sort of blasé. Again like Walky, I would have
been fine without a backstory. OTOH, I'm very pleased with the character
bio, which can easily exist in a nebulous "it's sort of like G1" universe
on its own.
--Steve-o
--
Steve Stonebraker | http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~sstoneb/
sst...@yahoo.com | Transformers, astrophysics, comics, games, cartoons.
Doug Dlin
>
>> So, any comments on the rest?
>
> story more. :D
Get out. ;-)
> I'll admit that this fleshed-out timeline is much more likeable to me
> than the simple earlier "Earth car companies rebuild Autobots into
> modern vehicles" scenario, especially since it's with the help of
> Teletraan-One.
>
> But since the new storyline answers all my complaints about the
> original outline, I don't have anything I can put a finger on that
> would explain my vague dissatisfaction. There's nothing wrong with
> it.
Perhaps you were hoping for a different approach, but aren't/weren't
conscious of what exactly you wanted, save that Ichikawa-san's take
doesn't quite match it.
> It's a simple, obvious reason for an upgrade. However, not very
> creatively satisfying for any writer involved, I imagine.
Depends on how restricted they feel by the prerequisites involved.
Remember, Ichikawa-san's a big fan of the Budiansky-era comics, so
tie-ins to that continuity might not make him feel that dissatisfied
with the results. That's just a guess, of course. I haven't actually
ASKED him or anything...
> Perhaps I just think the backstory is unnecessary. A+ for effort,
> though.
All right.
and Steve-o Stonebraker wrote:
>
> Like Walky, I think it's a huge improvement over what we heard before,
> and I love the highly characteristic Ichikawesque details, but in the
> end the story is still just, "the Autobots needed new bodies so humans
> built some for them", and that I find sort of blasé.
Interesting. So would either or both of you have found a backstory that
simply treated this as a new continuity, instead of having it be a sort
of sequel to the original, to be more satisfying?
> Again like Walky, I would have been fine without a backstory. OTOH,
> I'm very pleased with the character bio, which can easily exist in a
> nebulous "it's sort of like G1" universe on its own.
Fair enough. Me, I'm tickled about his toying around with stuff like
Cosmic Rust as a controllable bioweapon engineered from a natural
disease, as well as all the techy details of Smokescreen's structure.
Still, this goes to show that even Ichikawa-san can't totally please all
the fans all the time. He just seems to have a better track record than
most. :-)
David Willis
> Remember, Ichikawa-san's a big fan of the Budiansky-era comics, so
> tie-ins to that continuity might not make him feel that dissatisfied
> with the results. That's just a guess, of course. I haven't actually
> ASKED him or anything...
Now, if the write-up mentioned G.B. Blackrock or something, I
would have been totally into it. :D
> Interesting. So would either or both of you have found a backstory that
> simply treated this as a new continuity, instead of having it be a sort
> of sequel to the original, to be more satisfying?
Naw. Same continuity is fine. I mean, it's obviously the same
continuity. I just thought the reason for upgrading was obvious
without the need for explanation or timeline.
> Fair enough. Me, I'm tickled about his toying around with stuff like
> Cosmic Rust as a controllable bioweapon engineered from a natural
> disease, as well as all the techy details of Smokescreen's structure.
The techy stuff was great. Transformers should have more with that.
I don't understand a lick of it, but I assume it makes sense. Just as
long as it never talks about reversing polarities.
--David
www.itswalky.com
Doug Dlin
[replying to me]
>> So would either or both of you have found a backstory that simply
>> treated this as a new continuity, instead of having it be a sort
>> of sequel to the original, to be more satisfying?
>
> Naw. Same continuity is fine. I mean, it's obviously the same
> continuity. I just thought the reason for upgrading was obvious
> without the need for explanation or timeline.
I dunno...I think the whole expanded rationale of a reduction in
on-Earth personnel, coupled with debilitation of their older bodies by
Cosmic Rust, is a nice way of expanding on the "oh, a few of them just
had to get new, Earth-built forms" idea.
>> Me, I'm tickled about his toying around with stuff like Cosmic Rust
>> as a controllable bioweapon engineered from a natural disease, as
>> well as all the techy details of Smokescreen's structure.
>
> The techy stuff was great. Transformers should have more with that.
> I don't understand a lick of it, but I assume it makes sense. Just as
> long as it never talks about reversing polarities.
...of neutron flows? (WHO in-joke. Sorry.)