I wonder what percentage of people thinking this design is a good look for JSA is based on the CB can do bo wrong bias. I don't need people to say they thing it's this % or that % but just food for thought.
I really liked the old design, but I like the new one, too. I feel like it still keeps the same general silhouette, with a fairly hourglass figure, stylized “hair”, and a very chunky and disjoint hip/thigh interface. However, the new ones look like they are going to be in the more modern scale (old ones look a bit small these days) and should be easier to assemble and less fragile.
Oh I'm sure because I've commented at all that's created a disgusting bias. I actually think people on these forums are of at least average intelligence and it's obvious many are of above average intelligence but I have witnessed way too often that even when presented with information from official sources that counter their beliefs, way too many people here think they are immune to biases and cognitive dissonance. The text book examples of these psychological tropes are literally the inability to to entertain new ideas even if their is evidence if they counter someone's preeastiblished beliefs. And again, above average intelligence is no cognitive slouch but there isnt a whole lot of questioning one's self either. In the defense of everyone's opinions here though, I will say a poll on aesthetics will at least be based more on personal opinion than any hard data which are where my usual arguments are. I say, if you wanna do it, I'll participate. I would hope we get at least 50 participants and then options of the poll are enough to cover peoples varying opinions. Things like, old concept vs new, this design is good but would have preferred an update instead, does this theme go well with the rest of JSA etc etc.
Whether people like the new design is definitely going to be based on personal opinion. There's not really any way to objectively measure whether the old or new Karakuri are a better match for the rest of the army.
I actually quite like the new design from a fluff sense, though I'm ambivalent about the model. Old fluff had them as impassive combat androids, but it seems from the concept art these new ones are built to entertain as well as fight, and like it or not that "kawaii" style is hugely popular amongst Japanese escapists- and I imagine demand for escapism is very high amongst the Japanese Secessionist Army, given it's been fighting an uphill clandestine battle against Yu Jing for three years now. Having a friendly construct hanging around instead of a nightmare puppet would probably be great for morale in the high-pressure environment of an honor-driven, flawlessly disciplined army.
I'm telling you their fluff is gonna be they're basically weaponised VTubers that wander around the battlefield shooting and spewing memes and shitposts while they do it.
Ok, one of you weebs is gonna paint your Karakuri like this. You might as well confess your sins now.
No, but I do have a friend who's excited about the potential of using a micron pen to make little ascii faces on them.
Have you ever thought how Japanese culture contains parts that can be counted as totally immature by European people? Why should we judge other cultures with presumtion that we have the one and only truth how it should be? Why should we translate these jugements on references without appreciating it as a nod to thing both sides love?
Fixed the Desgin with crappy paint skills. it´s the only software i have access to on Work to do something like that... so don´t be too harsh on me. i know it looks like shit :D And can we please take a moment and think about the design of the PanO MK12 that is so much better then the very old Yu Jing one, but how the PanO Multirife is such a monstrosity that it is singlehandedly the reason that i will never ever collect PanO :D
It's very Aristeia! and kawaii, and tbh my initial reaction was a big thumbs down. But then I had a think and yes, you know maybe the JSA aesthetic does take itself too seriously. I've changed my mind and dragged my ass back onto the fence, and await the other renders before passing judgment!
After all this butthurt I'm itching to make a Geisha Karakuri. And I don't even play JSA. Damn you all! Something in between these two:
I've already scoured fiverr to find someone who would be interested in sculpting exactly that :P. Answers are pending ... are you a 3D artist?
So far the new Karakuri has been overwhelmingly positively received, so I am not sure a poll would change anything on that front, I do not feel it conflicts with the JSA aesthetic, if nothing else it give them a tone they miss, JSA needs its "kawaii" aspect and it is not as prevalent as it could have been (for example the Kuge delegate's Geist who many think is an actual cat...) and there is no better candidate than a unit that also function as population suppression unit (if not primarily used as), been cute makes the unit far more acceptable to the average citizen who may interact with them (and I can only assume been murdered on the battlefield by them looking and acting cute will be more infuriating than usual). Personally I like the sculpts evolution, exposed mechanical parts have been shielded making them more durable and less prone to damage, face screen makes the "uncanny valley" disappear and retains the "human touch" a remote than needs to interact with civilians needs (ok not needs but it is a definite advantage) and overall looks like an improved model from the previous unit. To answer the question of why the main weapon is a standard handheld instead of build in, simple economics and logistics, it is cheaper as it is standard weapon and not a build in miniaturized version and can be exchanged on the spot instead of needing to either uninstall and reinstall a new miniaturized weapon system or needing a specialized model.
A redesign would make sense if their fluff changed. The first line of their description states that " They also perform crowd control and anti-mutiny operations in the Nipponese regions of Yu Jing." I think this would make them hated by the Japanese, and surprising the JSA would take them with them at all. I even had Karakuri with State Empire colours for using in Vanilla, in addition to my three red and white ones. But seeing as they did, a friendly make over would be in order for the repurposed Karakuri. I don't expect the background text to acknowledge any of this, after all, the Daofei are still "the Tactical Section of the Invincible Army" despite not being available to invincible army. On that note, I already bought both Zhenchas, and Daofei is buried in an expensive operation box that I also bought on preordered. I believe this to be a common experience. Therefore, from a balance and an economic standpoint there is no longer any reason to be stingy about Daofei availability in Invincible Army. Please add Daofei at AVA 2 to Invincible Army. Back on topic, this thing shouldn't have Immunity: Total. It's the exact kind of thing Armour piercing bullets and EM weapons are supposed to be more effective against. ARM and STR are stats that perfectly capture damage resistance and damage tolerance.
... Y'know that IS really weird. Unless I'm mistaken, the Immunity: Total is more to represent the dozen of backup systems that Karakuri's have built-in to their framework. It's less that they're impossible to damage and more that damaging them sometimes doesn't actually do anything to stop them. I imagine more than a few Karakuri have been reduced to a skeletal frame while still being fully operational. If a Bronze can get Immunity: Total by throwing a jacket over his Power Armor I don't see why the Karakuri shouldn't have it.
