I think when we're only 6 months or so out from the Sectorial being released, it's probably a safe bet that we will see it.
I like it! Don't forget that Kikuchiyo is the full-cyborg from Samurai 7: That's him, standing a foot taller than Kambe (in the white coat) and a good 4-6" taller than Gorobe (the dark-skinned dude in the turtleneck). Katsushiro and Heihachi only come up to his armpit.
It's confirmed by Bostria It's not. Hsien has no place inside IA. It doesn't belong there As I've said I don't think the x3 zuyong will be a thing inside the starter. A Zuyong box is one of the 2 remaining tinbot release options available. (Zuyong SWC box and Shang-ji SWC box) We miss exactly 3 options (combi+tinbot, BS and Missile launcher) So, if they release the box there will be no other way to get extra zuyongs beside taking more starters 3 zuyongs+zencha+liuxing+haidao is still too much metal for a starter. Starters have thicker benefit margin so they take special care about their contents. I think well see a x2 line troop starter, like bakuning. 2x zuyongs (combi+2 breaker pitols)+1 Shangji seems more like it. Leaves space for a 3 zuyong box (BS, Misile launcher, and Combi+tinbot) To avoid the High weight we might see the remaining grenade-launcher zanshi, a new ninja, the tiger sniper or some other new IL/IM But I'm just guessing I'll try to get more intel about it during the interplanetary
It had to be S5 because they lost access to/copies of the original plans, plus they lost access to the facilities and materials to keep it small.
Weren't the Japanese scientists the premier minds behind Yu Jing's armour and tech as well? Ala Karakuri?
Most of it yes, but they leave most of their blueprints and production facility in Kuraimori when uprising happens, that was now in Yu Jing's hand. So it won't do them much good either.
I just mean, from a fluff point of view, their understanding of the tech and their capability to innovate further may well have been crippled by the loss of the Japanese.
They can still innovate further. The Japanese leaving doesn't mean they're dead in the water when it comes to developing new heavy infantry tech. The same could be said for the Japanese now that they lack the manufacturing capacity or know how that they got from the rest of Yu Jing. It was more of a joint venture thing that made Yu Jing HI the way it is. The Japanese were apart of making it great but don't discount the other groups that also work on military projects for Yu Jing. So hardly crippled. Slowed in some areas? Probably.
So exactly how did Yu Jing get to be the "second power" when it seems everything was done by the Japanese who are a freaking minority? How come Japanese had to freaking sell their land to YJ if they are so uber (land they have ilegally taken now)? I'm so fed up of the Mary Sue-ing when it comes to Japanese (and Nomads) We get it, anime samurai in space are gonna sell nicely to otaku wankers, but can we not just piss all over a major faction's fluff to do that, CB?
I seem to remember Japanese had to make it S5 because they left the factories and blueprints behind when they fled, which means YJ should have the capacity to make it S2. Anyway it will be S5 just because it will make a cooler miniature I guess.
Same with @Benkei , some of Yu Jing's scientific portion might lie with Japanese Minds, but that does not mean EVERY Yu Jing tech was led by them. Su Jian was the improvement of Karakuri Project. Shang Ji Class power armor is way better than JSA Standard armor (Tanko Equivalent If I May.). JSA does not have any access to Tinbots- Aside from balancing, what would this mean. They were powerhouse of Industry, Ill give them that. But I doubt they were in R&D.
Fairly certain Japanese were mentioned in fluff about innovation as it was often japanese soldiers often used to test new experimental armour.
To clarify, the Japanese specialty in Yu Jing weapon development (once upon a time) was both E/M weaponized systems as well as lightweight armor capability that still retained "2-Wound" Heavy Infantry durability. Back in the day, when most Heavy Infantry were 4-2 (including staples like the Hsien), the Japanese armor systems were all 4-4. Now, virtually everything is 4-4, and the JSA research specialty in highly mobile armor systems is represented by Kinematika instead.
Sure, but that's because you always want the guys pushing the gear to it's limits to tell you where you can further cut corners and where you need to add a little more tolerance.* Martial arts in power armor is an unusual thing in the Sphere. * The US Navy (or rather, Electric Boat) has had to do this with the design of the Columbia-class submarine, the subs replacing the Ohio-class. They've had lots of current sailors going back to Groton to talk to the engineers for things. Like adding a step over the snorkel mast's air intake, because the Virginia-class has an 18" diameter intake, but an Ohio has a 36" diameter intake.
Alright, the Mowang looks funky. Redfury or MULTI rifle means it is likely a front-line attack piece, and the Flammenspeer and/or Akrylat give it some funky options. I have a feeling that if we're getting one of the new front-liner abilities like Fatality or Full Auto, then it will be here. Though the art is looking suspiciously like it may come with some level of CH on it since it is one of the few IA units that has its armour mostly covered in a camo pattern. Likely not levels of Infiltration, but something sort of like the Hac Tao or PanO's camo TAGs. Either way, this thing will be a punchy centerpiece (I think its name means Devil King?) Though with that said, I'm a lot more interested in what the hell the Daoying is. Its name means (I think) Mirror Image (could be wrong since the diacritic marks don't quite match up) and it has those tell-tale robo-legs that imply it will be zippier than 4-4 and may have movement abilities beside. The name might imply holo or (dare I dream) impersonation (though with a sniper option I probably dare not dream). Either that or it has a bunch of varied profiles. Holo+Minelayer would be all kinds of nice for mid-field work though. The list (from what we know of it) is still feeling a bit top heavy, but sadly the utility stuff I want to know more about in the low-mid range isn't the kind of sexy stuff that sells a faction. I suppose we'll know when we get the stats and costs on them, I just hope the list isn't over-bloated with top-tier units that we can barely field in-sectorial because there is no low-end to support them. Here's hoping the Zhanshi get an efficiency pass so we can actually field more than one of our new toys without breaking the bank. That said, it should be a big help in vanilla where we can spam some cheap Kuang Shi. Might give me some more diversity in my hunter-killer second combat group instead of just fielding a Rui Shi. I could see something like a Xiu Ling or the Mowang doing quite well as a dedicated attack piece in a 6-order second pool in vanilla.
