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Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: BenRG on 12 Jul 2015, 07:23

Title: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: BenRG on 12 Jul 2015, 07:23
Well, we are now on the way to Strip 4000! What does the future hold?

I am a bit divided. I'd like for things to return to Faye and how her friends both help and hinder her. If I had a wish, it would be for her and Dora to have a surprise meeting and for this to lead to developments for them both. Maybe Dora knows a guy who needs an aesthetic metalworker (as opposed to a structural engineer)?

That said, more of Clinton and Emily would work, as would returning to Marten and Claire's day off and their misadventures. Jeph really in a plot clearing right now and could go in several directions.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 12 Jul 2015, 08:55
I'm thinking we'll see Date 2: Date Harder in regards to Clinton and Emily. I honestly want to see if 1: Clinton gets another tattoo (or improves upon the one he has) and 2: Emily gets interested in Actual Clinton.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Zebediah on 12 Jul 2015, 09:10
Faye said she  had some desperate job-hunting to do a while back. Maybe she'll wind up working alongside May at the convenience store.

Maybe May will become her supervisor.  :-D
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Kugai on 12 Jul 2015, 15:15
That's a horrifying thought
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: hedgie on 12 Jul 2015, 18:01
I don't know what is more frightening, the idea that they won't get on at all, or the idea that they *do* 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: jheartney on 12 Jul 2015, 18:40
Faye said she  had some desperate job-hunting to do a while back. Maybe she'll wind up working alongside May at the convenience store.

Maybe May will become her supervisor.  :-D

That could make for an interesting dynamic. Both have irascible personalities, and are in some form of rehab. There might be some commonality there. Not to mention the enormous opportunity for snarky dialog; can you imagine the insult wars they would wage?

And suppose they quit and formed a partnership in a murder-bot enterprise. May could manage the business side and Faye would build them.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 12 Jul 2015, 18:43
I'm thinking we'll see Date 2: Date Harder in regards to Clinton and Emily. I honestly want to see if 1: Clinton gets another tattoo (or improves upon the one he has) and 2: Emily gets interested in Actual Clinton.

Not Date 2: Electric Boogaloo?

I think there was another thing that was the electric boogaloo around here. Also I was channeling the "Dad 2: Dad Harder" from Marten back when his dad proposed to his now husband, can't remember his name.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: chaospersonified on 12 Jul 2015, 19:05
Well, comic suggests we're seeing the 'get a job' segment of Faye's recovery. I don't know if this will be a good job for Faye, but at least it's something that could lead to someone at a different job recognizing her skill.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 12 Jul 2015, 19:37
Ah, rats. Well, it looks as if Faye wants to make some extra money alright.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Zebediah on 12 Jul 2015, 19:44
She should have gone with the convenience store. This is going to end badly.

And nobody tell May about this; I am certain that it would violate her parole.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: chaospersonified on 12 Jul 2015, 20:00
This is going to end badly

Depends on how quickly she gets out of it. I foresee Faye's metal-working fighting-suit-building career being a short one. Either she quits quickly or she gets hired by legitimate folk after they see what she can do
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: MrNumbers on 12 Jul 2015, 20:02
This could only end well.

This could only end well.

This could only end well.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 12 Jul 2015, 20:17
This WILL end well. I already said that if robots tried to revolt, Faye has more than enough fight in her to turn them into compacted boxes.

And she has enough hatred in her to make absolutely terrifying murderbots. I'm expecting something akin to a fully buffed Deathtrap* to be in the works.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: mustang6172 on 12 Jul 2015, 20:41
This could end badly, but the journey is going to be so awesome!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: MrWoodchip on 12 Jul 2015, 20:57
I can't help but suspect that the end result will be Faye welding robots with massive gashes in their chasis back together on a daily basis.

Basically a shady backalley doctor, is what I'm saying.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Deadcoder on 12 Jul 2015, 20:58
I think Faye will get involved in the underground robot fights, and Momo will find out about it through the grapevine. She'll be horrified by both the fights and Faye's involvement with it. I suspect she'll bitch about it to May, who oddly enough, will be the voice of reason. That last part will horrify both of them.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: cesium133 on 12 Jul 2015, 22:22
Faye does the metalwork, Clinton provides the electronics, Emily provides the programming, and then Faye accidentally leaves some espresso out on the kitchen counter. Meanwhile, Dora and Tai get married. (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2126)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: jheartney on 12 Jul 2015, 22:27
Assuming all this murderbot stuff is not just talk, it takes QC into a place it has never been: a Mad Max distopian underground scene featuring violence and intentional killing. Up to now we've seen wacky millennials in an AI alternative universe, but the Sci Fi elements have been strictly secondary to interpersonal comedy and the small doings of the cast. We had a trip to orbit, but it remained grounded in comic narrative (Marigold getting makeouts, Marten again striking out with a gal, a portrait of Hanners' upbringing). This would change if we follow this story thread.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Stoon on 12 Jul 2015, 23:02
What's DMT?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Near Lurker on 12 Jul 2015, 23:08
Well, someone was listening to Coast to Coast Saturday night...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Timemaster on 12 Jul 2015, 23:12
Yay, illegal robot fighting.
Mechanical mayhem and meaningless malevolence.

Sounds like fun. On the other hand Iīm with jheartney here: this would take QC to a completely new level of storytelling and away from the personal interactin, which has been and is the trademark of the series. But wait and see. It is much too early so predict what Jeph will make of this. Actually the whole Robot-fighting-thing could still be a hoax or supid joke by Pintsize.

TM
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: BenRG on 12 Jul 2015, 23:51
Hmmm...

Okay, I think that I understand what Pintsize is saying here. The fighting league is illegal as in there are specific laws against it. However, the very people those laws are meant to protect actually enjoy the activity in question and it literally has no social stigma whatsoever!

So, it looks like Faye is at least going to explore this and doubtlessly encounter a whole new cast of robotic grotesques.

I wonder if Jeph is using this as a plot device for Faye to meet May?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ankhtahr on 13 Jul 2015, 00:55
Injecting drugs into your eyeballs reminds me of Transmetropolitan.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ReindeerFlotilla on 13 Jul 2015, 01:06
I was gonna say, but then didn't.

Now I'm gonna.

The Talk 2: Talk Harder would have been more satisfying if it had come after Date 2: Machiavelli Harder.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Scarblac on 13 Jul 2015, 01:32
She should have gone with the convenience store. This is going to end badly.
Would do you prefer as a reader, Faye in another low end service job, or Faye doing welding for an underground robot fighting ring? Questionable Content could use a bit more awesome in it.

Even in-comic, doing something similar to Coffee of Doom would just lead to Faye getting into similar trouble, and it would delay the rest of her life even more. Like many characters in this comic, she needs change.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: hedgie on 13 Jul 2015, 02:56
What's DMT?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N,N-Dimethyltryptamine  your pineal gland makes it in trace amounts, and it's often thought that it's linked to dreaming. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: swapna on 13 Jul 2015, 03:08
She should have gone with the convenience store. This is going to end badly.
Would do you prefer as a reader, Faye in another low end service job, or Faye doing welding for an underground robot fighting ring? Questionable Content could use a bit more awesome in it.

Even in-comic, doing something similar to Coffee of Doom would just lead to Faye getting into similar trouble, and it would delay the rest of her life even more. Like many characters in this comic, she needs change.

So, so so much. And I really don't think they are fight-for-your-life kind of robot fights - with AnthroPCs able and willing to change their chassis and being able to be uploaded to a computer, it seems more like boxing or wrestling to me. Without the threat of permanent injury. Or like the 'robot-fights'  people are doing now, but with consenting AIs at the helm.
I think the reason they are illegal are different kind of rules - those that state that anthroPCs can't carry deadly weaponry or armour except if sanctioned or employed by governments or something. (For example, mercenaries or security companies that do have an official license to carry certain weapons might be able to acquire the same license for their Deathbots).

And it would be a well-paid, creative job for Faye, in which she could use and hone her skills - if somebody discovers her and hires her away, even better. (Another plus - she doesn't have to go through job listings, doesn't have to fake-smile at people and she can start working immediately)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: hedgie on 13 Jul 2015, 03:20
I have actually speculated about what it would be like to be an AI who could freely exchange chassis.  Obviously, I'm limited here by my human mind, but I think that being *forced* to do so out of physical damage could be rather traumatic, unlike Momo's upgrade.  Hell, I'd love a new body, but I wouldn't like to wake up into one after being run over by a bus.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: improvnerd on 13 Jul 2015, 03:30
Unless the alternative was not a waking up at all....
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Tova on 13 Jul 2015, 03:37
No, I think it would be a fairly unlikable experience regardless of what the alternative was.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: katsmeat on 13 Jul 2015, 04:02
I think the reason they are illegal are different kind of rules - those that state that anthroPCs can't carry deadly weaponry or armour except if sanctioned or employed by governments or something. (For example, mercenaries or security companies that do have an official license to carry certain weapons might be able to acquire the same license for

Makes sense. An AI  having a chassis fitted with weapons and armour  would be like me walking the streets wearing body-armour, carrying a pick-axe handle and a machete.

That would not bar armed AI combat in a private arena.  Although there might be still laws technically barring armed chassis in all spheres, public and private - these would date from the era when AIs were a new thing, some people were still paranoid about the idea of a robot uprisings, and there would be politicians happy to take advantage of that.

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Welu on 13 Jul 2015, 04:45
I hope these are more like glorified Robot Wars than AI killbots.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: BenRG on 13 Jul 2015, 06:37
I hope these are more like glorified Robot Wars than AI killbots.

I predict a pastiche/homage to that recent CGI movie 'Big Hero 6'.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Method of Madness on 13 Jul 2015, 06:49
I hope there's a Baymax there.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Radium_Coyote on 13 Jul 2015, 06:56
While this probably will end badly, in the end it's good for Faye.  She was completely wasted on a service job like CoD.  In this, she can grow a talent that she's both actually good at and likes.  Plus nobody expects a welder of murder-bots to be especially friendly.

Plus, we get to see a cast of the equivalent of robot luchadores.  That can't be anything other than awesome.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 13 Jul 2015, 08:58
Civilian models can carry weapons. Momo's taser can go up to 250 milliamps, a lethal level.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: BenRG on 13 Jul 2015, 10:44
Civilian models can carry weapons. Momo's taser can go up to 250 milliamps, a lethal level.

That's nothing compared to electromagnetic coil-driven nailguns with kilometer ballistic ranges, titanium-teflon bladed bandsaws and kilojoule-range ultraviolet-frequency lasers!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 13 Jul 2015, 10:47
Ever since she was a chibi Momo favored close quarters combat anyways. That squirrel never knew what was coming to it.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ReindeerFlotilla on 13 Jul 2015, 10:53
That's nothing compared to electromagnetic coil-driven nailguns with kilometer ballistic ranges, titanium-teflon bladed bandsaws and kilojoule-range ultraviolet-frequency lasers!

That really depends on how they're used. Dead is dead. you can't really get more dead.

Dying, on the other hand, can hurt. A lot.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Method of Madness on 13 Jul 2015, 11:10
Dead is dead. you can't really get more dead.
WE ARE WORKING ON THAT TECHNOLOGY!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: cesium133 on 13 Jul 2015, 11:18
Dead is dead. you can't really get more dead.
(https://cinema1544.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/the_scalpel.jpg)
Class... Is... Dismissed.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: improvnerd on 13 Jul 2015, 15:29
Maxim 37: There is no "overkill." There is only "open fire" and "time to reload."

https://store.schlockmercenary.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=P-R37
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: amykathleen on 13 Jul 2015, 16:19
Deathbots aside... did Pintsize make coffee for Faye?  If he did, THAT'S SO SWEET.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Kugai on 13 Jul 2015, 17:00
Hey, look at it this way, at least we'll find out what Deathbot 3000 has been up to recently.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Method of Madness on 13 Jul 2015, 18:45
Deathbots aside... did Pintsize make coffee for Faye?  If he did, THAT'S SO SWEET.
Ha, I hadn't noticed that! Awww! :)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: DSL on 13 Jul 2015, 19:20
 I say it was Pintsize's coffee and Faye swiped it. Also, Jeph's background renderings seem to have taken a quantum leap in technique.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Method of Madness on 13 Jul 2015, 19:30
Probably for the best, we know what happens when Pintsize has food.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: chaospersonified on 13 Jul 2015, 19:40
I feel we'll know by Friday whether Faye will actually consider a job as deathbot designer
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Method of Madness on 13 Jul 2015, 19:49
Looks to me like she's already in.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 13 Jul 2015, 19:50
You know, if I didn't know that all the skateparks back at my hometown are outdoors I would believe they'd be pot smoking-o-dromes or something similarly "illegal but not too much." Do people ever learn to skate when they're not X-Games athletes?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Timemaster on 13 Jul 2015, 22:12
Wow, Jeph is actually going for it.  8-)

I expected at least some days of talking before heīd go for the robot fighting, but here we are already. Now Iīm really curious where this will lead. How will the fighter-robots look like? Who are the people or AIīs behind this fight-club? Will Faye actually do this? Will she make money of it? Enough to make a living? And if itīs illegal, will she need a regular job as a cover-up?

Questions over questions.

Anyway, this must be Pintsizes wet dream: carried around by Faye clutched to her bosoms. I wonder if he allready tried to squeeze them. Probaby not, as his head isnīt allready dented yet.  :-D

TM
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: swapna on 13 Jul 2015, 23:26
Wow, Jeph is actually going for it.  8-)

I expected at least some days of talking before heīd go for the robot fighting, but here we are already. Now Iīm really curious where this will lead. How will the fighter-robots look like? Who are the people or AIīs behind this fight-club? Will Faye actually do this? Will she make money of it? Enough to make a living? And if itīs illegal, will she need a regular job as a cover-up?

It's very in character for Faye, though. I think she thought this through before she approached Pintsize - she knew she'd give it a shot it if there aren't some really big reasons not to (it's illegal, and that didn't deter her - she just asked how severe it was, because it's not worth decades in prison).  There still are a few more hurdles, though - she has to get into the scene before she actually starts, get to know her clients, figure out prices, limits, etc. Maybe get vouched for by Pintsize...

And I don't know if she would need a regular job - she's basically just selling fancy metal pieces. She sold something like that before (The Espresso-Dinosaur), and nothing would stop her or the customer from declaring those things as art (which explains the prices) or fancy custom-made (very, very uncomfortable) chairs or something.

And I hope she doesn't get a regular job - Faye just isn't that good with random people. She might be able to work with customers she respects, who buy something that she loves to do, but she really isn't cut out to working retail, especially with that American the-customer's-always-right-and-if-you're-not-a-doormat-you-get-fired culture.

On to meta: I'm enjoying this storyline. It isn't heavy with unnecessary drama, it's got Faye and Pintsize who do understand each other at their really sarcastic and funny level, and it is actually a storyline with development. And the art is really, really nice.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: BenRG on 13 Jul 2015, 23:37
The question that occurs to me is this: Are the skater kids in on this or are the members of the robot fight club just hiding behind their incompetence? Either way works but I know which is funnier. The Three Stooges always gets more laughs than Illuminati.

Unless you're playing the Paranoia table-top RPG, in which case the two merge but I digress...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Killspree on 14 Jul 2015, 00:30
I feel like Pintsize has acknowledged that Faye needs more help with life and social issues than Martin and is shifting his attentions.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: MrNumbers on 14 Jul 2015, 00:39
I don't think I've ever been so excited for a QC story arc ever.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Akima on 14 Jul 2015, 02:07
I've never seen a skateboarder in real life bring off any trick ever anywhere either. BMX kids are marginally more competent, but not a lot.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: pwhodges on 14 Jul 2015, 02:15
You need to watch the kids in the space under the Queen Elisabeth Hall in London, then.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: QuestionableIntentions on 14 Jul 2015, 02:16
Haha Yes! All the win! Robt fights, robo fights, woohoo!  :-D
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ReindeerFlotilla on 14 Jul 2015, 04:21
I have indeed seen skaters pull off tricks. I do not live in Northampton. It has been some years since I've seen a skater do anything other than glide by, however.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Oenone on 14 Jul 2015, 07:42
Wow, Jeph is actually going for it.  8-)

I expected at least some days of talking before heīd go for the robot fighting, but here we are already. Now Iīm really curious where this will lead. How will the fighter-robots look like? Who are the people or AIīs behind this fight-club? Will Faye actually do this? Will she make money of it? Enough to make a living? And if itīs illegal, will she need a regular job as a cover-up?

It's very in character for Faye, though. I think she thought this through before she approached Pintsize - she knew she'd give it a shot it if there aren't some really big reasons not to (it's illegal, and that didn't deter her - she just asked how severe it was, because it's not worth decades in prison).  There still are a few more hurdles, though - she has to get into the scene before she actually starts, get to know her clients, figure out prices, limits, etc. Maybe get vouched for by Pintsize...

And I don't know if she would need a regular job - she's basically just selling fancy metal pieces. She sold something like that before (The Espresso-Dinosaur), and nothing would stop her or the customer from declaring those things as art (which explains the prices) or fancy custom-made (very, very uncomfortable) chairs or something.

And I hope she doesn't get a regular job - Faye just isn't that good with random people. She might be able to work with customers she respects, who buy something that she loves to do, but she really isn't cut out to working retail, especially with that American the-customer's-always-right-and-if-you're-not-a-doormat-you-get-fired culture.

On to meta: I'm enjoying this storyline. It isn't heavy with unnecessary drama, it's got Faye and Pintsize who do understand each other at their really sarcastic and funny level, and it is actually a storyline with development. And the art is really, really nice.

Ironically tho, it wasn't her issues w customers that got her fired. It was her issues w drinking.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Neko_Ali on 14 Jul 2015, 07:57
That sort of behavior wouldn't fly in pretty much any other kind of customer service job. She got away with it at the CoD because that is kind of their 'thing'. Jobs where you are a shit to your customers are pretty rare though.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Deadcoder on 14 Jul 2015, 09:15
I feel like Pintsize has acknowledged that Faye needs more help with life and social issues than Martin and is shifting his attentions.

Say what you will of him, his first duty is to be a companion. Of course he has acknowledged those issues.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: anahata on 14 Jul 2015, 09:58
Anyway, this must be Pintsizes wet dream: carried around by Faye clutched to her bosoms.

His grin says it all.
Surely panel 2 is a subject for the caption competition.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Kugai on 14 Jul 2015, 14:59
The first rule of Skate Fight Club is you do not talk about Skate Fight Club
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: DonInKansas on 14 Jul 2015, 15:35
I can't read Faye's shirt without thinking of the Everything is Awesome song.

Everything is awfuuuuuuuul....
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: TRVA123 on 14 Jul 2015, 16:50
I hope that Faye and pintsize get May into this and she channels her rage into being a battle bot!


(almost as good as being a fighter jet?)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: DSL on 14 Jul 2015, 16:53
I hope that Faye and pintsize get May into this and she channels her rage into being a battle bot!


(almost as good as being a fighter jet?)

Why not a battle bot fighter jet?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Zebediah on 14 Jul 2015, 17:33
After all, isn't a self-piloting fighter jet a battle bot by definition?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Neko_Ali on 14 Jul 2015, 17:36
The distinction has always been lethal hardware in the hands of the government vs private citizens.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Undrneath on 14 Jul 2015, 19:23
Anyway, this must be Pintsizes wet dream: carried around by Faye clutched to her bosoms.

His grin says it all.
Surely panel 2 is a subject for the caption competition.

Imagine if Faye had him in her back pocket (_!_)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Carl-E on 14 Jul 2015, 19:46
(http://www.lordheath.com/web_images/oliver_hardy___pardon_us.jpg)

I'm sorry, did he say "land an ... Ollie"? 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: DSL on 14 Jul 2015, 19:53
(http://www.lordheath.com/web_images/oliver_hardy___pardon_us.jpg)

I'm sorry, did he say "land an ... Ollie"?

Paraphrasing Stan: "He said it and he's glad."
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: cesium133 on 14 Jul 2015, 19:59
A tournament of robot lovin'. I wonder what clientele that attracts.  :-D
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Neko_Ali on 14 Jul 2015, 20:09
I am reasonably certain I do not want to know...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Undrneath on 14 Jul 2015, 20:37
I am reasonably certain I do not want to know...

I am reasonably certain Pintsizes IS the target audience.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: hedgie on 14 Jul 2015, 21:20
He'll never be able to use that USB port again.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Gladstone on 14 Jul 2015, 22:37
Jeph really needs to work on finding a separate style for his two comics, because this looks like Faye just wandered onto the set of an upcoming Alice storyline.  It's way too early for a crossover.

Edit: Sorry, that sounded less snobby in my head.  Still, the look of this strip (location and new character) feels more like it belongs in Alice Grove, so it's just a bit jarring to see it in QC instead.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: BenRG on 14 Jul 2015, 22:37
Well... If nothing else, they need a cleaner. I know that dirt isn't as much as an issue for synthetics as it is for organics but, even so, there are going to be a lot of exposed machinery in this place and I, for one, wouldn't want grime getting into my joints, servos and interface sockets!

Meanwhile... Am I the only one who thinks that Jeph based Big Red's face on Alice?

Also, a prediction: Big Red is going to be Faye's 'interface', the character she talks with to get her questions answered. She might even end up as her friend!

Finally, yes, it occurs to me that if you are going to have illegal prize fights, then illegal cyber-porn is a logical side-business. I have no doubt that, to Faye's biological eyes, it will look like an exercise in practical multi-device peer-to-peer networking.

[EDIT]
P.S.: Jeph's news post puzzles me. If Big Red's name is 'Bubbles', then I, for one, would insist on hearing her back-story. The thought that she might be the companion/guardian to a sweet little girl occurs to me.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Penquin47 on 14 Jul 2015, 23:06
Well... If nothing else, they need a cleaner. I know that dirt isn't as much as an issue for synthetics as it is for organics but, even so, there are going to be a lot of exposed machinery in this place and I, for one, wouldn't want grime getting into my joints, servos and interface sockets!

Meanwhile... Am I the only one who thinks that Jeph based Big Red's face on Alice?

Also, a prediction: Big Red is going to be Faye's 'interface', the character she talks with to get her questions answered. She might even end up as her friend!

Finally, yes, it occurs to me that if you are going to have illegal prize fights, then illegal cyber-porn is a logical side-business. I have no doubt that, to Faye's biological eyes, it will look like an exercise in practical multi-device peer-to-peer networking.

[EDIT]
P.S.: Jeph's news post puzzles me. If Big Red's name is 'Bubbles', then I, for one, would insist on hearing her back-story. The thought that she might be the companion/guardian to a sweet little girl occurs to me.

Title of the comic is "Her Name Is Bubbles".  I want the backstory too!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Stoon on 14 Jul 2015, 23:33
Quote
Massive fighting robots to face off in battle

A Japanese developer of massive robots has accepted a challenge to battle from a U.S. rival.

Wearing American flags as capes, MegaBots co-founders Matt Oehrlein and Gui Cavalcanti issued their challenge to Japanese robot maker Suidobashi in a video posted to YouTube.

"We have a giant robot. You have a giant robot. You know what needs to happen," Oehrlein says in the clip.

Suidobashi has accepted that challenge.

"We can't let another country win this. Giant robots are Japanese culture," says Suidobashi CEO Kogoro Kurata in a response video.

Both of the robots, MegaBots Inc.'s Mark II and Suidobashi Heavy Industry's Kuratas, are piloted by humans from within a cockpit. The Mark II weighs 6,800 kilograms, has massive paintball guns in place of arms and requires two pilots to operate. The Kuratas, which has been in development for three years, is much lighter than its American rival, has a single pilot and carries a BB Gatling cannon capable of firing 6,000 rounds per minute .

<snip>
Full article, videos at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/robot-duel-fight-japan-us-1.3140345 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/robot-duel-fight-japan-us-1.3140345)

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Nepiophage on 14 Jul 2015, 23:38
I like Bubbles too . . . No wonder Pintsize is attracted.

Am I human? Am I a robot? Who knows?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Near Lurker on 14 Jul 2015, 23:46
You know, the thing is, before I noticed the title, I'd assumed Bubbles was male... but looking again, I can't not see it.  She's basically Gavia after a trip to the gym.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Lubricus on 14 Jul 2015, 23:49
I can't read Faye's shirt without thinking of the Everything is Awesome song.

Everything is awfuuuuuuuul....

Everything is cruel when you're part of a crew
Everything is awfuuuuuul
When we're living in screams
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: KOK on 15 Jul 2015, 01:54
A tournament for lovers. Just Pintsize's thing. Or so he would believe. He may be in for a rude awakening.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Zebediah on 15 Jul 2015, 04:22
Bubbles: "Last month's Lover's Tournament was won by this singing dildo that just kind of wandered in off the street. He's become a...  very good friend of mine."
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 15 Jul 2015, 05:39
Pintsize: "HEY, THAT'S MY PROTOTYPE!"


Now more seriously, Bubbles does strike me as the type of personality that would get along well with Faye. Still rooting for Whitaker's Foundry of Pain btw.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: chaospersonified on 15 Jul 2015, 07:56
Bubbles: "Last month's Lover's Tournament was won by this singing dildo that just kind of wandered in off the street. He's become a...  very good friend of mine."

Second place went to buttrocket
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Rincewind on 15 Jul 2015, 08:50
Having this "Bubbles" meet up with the one from Skin Horse,  http://skin-horse.com/comic/labs-any/ (http://skin-horse.com/comic/labs-any/) would make for a pretty interesting crossover.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Deadcoder on 15 Jul 2015, 09:38
I like Bubbles. Traditionally, the fighting robot niche has always been for men and male robots. However, she is a positive role model for violent women everywhere!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Kugai on 15 Jul 2015, 13:36
So, is Bubbles going to wind up as Fayes new boss?


And where are Blossom and Buttercup??!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: BenRG on 15 Jul 2015, 13:48
So, is Bubbles going to wind up as Fayes new boss?

No, I think that Bubbles is going to be Faye's fighter. More specifically, Faye is going to be Bubbles' chief engineer, pit boss and crew chief. Introducing her new work colleague to her friends will be... interesting.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Method of Madness on 15 Jul 2015, 14:04
Are we sure Bubbles is a robot?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Neko_Ali on 15 Jul 2015, 14:27
It seems a reasonable assumption so far. Either that or a nearly full conversion cyborg. She has the same square speech balloons that Pintsize has, and plenty of Anthro PCs have sufficiently life like synthetic coverings. Remember that Momo has been mistaken for a human teen a few times.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Eternal_Newbie on 15 Jul 2015, 14:38
You need to watch the kids in the space under the Queen Elisabeth Hall in London, then.

I see they seemed to have dropped the plans to close up the undercroft and build shops there. As if London needed more coffee shops.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Method of Madness on 15 Jul 2015, 15:14
square speech balloons
...holy shit. I've never noticed this. Do all robots have these?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Omega Entity on 15 Jul 2015, 15:39
square speech balloons
...holy shit. I've never noticed this. Do all robots have these?
Yup.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Undrneath on 15 Jul 2015, 16:27
square speech balloons
...holy shit. I've never noticed this. Do all robots have these?

Momo sometimes doesn't but I think that was just Jeph misformating.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: chaospersonified on 15 Jul 2015, 17:31
I gotta be honest, I'm extremely interested in seeing the rest of Jeph's Northampton. This is a very different area than we've seen before, and I'm excited to see how Jeph creates the ambiance of an (technically in a non-specific manner)illegal robo-fight-club of an outwardly ordinary college town.

More importantly, we need to meet Bubbles.



WHO

IS

BUBBLES
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Akima on 15 Jul 2015, 17:55
You know, the thing is, before I noticed the title, I'd assumed Bubbles was male... but looking again, I can't not see it.  She's basically Gavia after a trip to the gym.
Curious. It didn't occur to me that Bubbles' outward gender-presentation was not female. Her overall body-shape, with hips wide in proportion to her shoulders, is a pretty solid cue, even before we get into her eyelashes. She certainly looks formidable, though I'm sure Faye could improve her armour protection (http://www.tor.com/2013/05/06/boob-plate-armor-would-kill-you/).

You need to watch the kids in the space under the Queen Elisabeth Hall in London, then.
It would be a bit of a long trip...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Zebediah on 15 Jul 2015, 17:56
More importantly, we need to meet Bubbles.



WHO

IS

BUBBLES

Uh, she's kind of hard to miss, being eight feet tall and kind of maroon-colored.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Endellion on 15 Jul 2015, 18:03
In before Pintsize VespavengerBot rematch  :-D
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: chaospersonified on 15 Jul 2015, 18:41
More importantly, we need to meet Bubbles.



WHO

IS

BUBBLES

Uh, she's kind of hard to miss, being eight feet tall and kind of maroon-colored.

Oh, Zebediah, your name makes you sound ancient and wise, can't you see, I'm talking about the person on Bubbles, not her physical body! You could literally put Bubbles on Momo's chassis, but that wouldn't make her Momo! I repeat the question from earlier!

Who is Bubbles!?

I'm thinking, because I'm hyping this up, she's not even going to be a recurring character.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: cesium133 on 15 Jul 2015, 19:15
New comic.

Well, you wanted to know who Bubbles is.  :-P
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: mustang6172 on 15 Jul 2015, 19:31
Are all fighting robots supposed to be humanoid?  Seems like the best design would be some kind of self-aware tank.  Are there different classes?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Gladstone on 15 Jul 2015, 19:35
Yep, Bubbles is definitely in the wrong comic.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: chaospersonified on 15 Jul 2015, 19:58
New comic.

Well, you wanted to know who Bubbles is.  :-P

I am satisfied
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: wlewisiii on 15 Jul 2015, 20:23
Neat strip.

And yeah, an undercut would look good on Bubbles.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: SubaruStephen on 15 Jul 2015, 20:31
(http://cdn.hark.com/images/000/553/762/553762/original.jpg)

"Her name's Bubbles."
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 15 Jul 2015, 21:00
I can never get enough of Jeph's AI's.
This will be AWESOME!
(bounces up and down)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ZoeB on 15 Jul 2015, 21:19
Proof against 3cm Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot.

Oh spit.

For my sins, I worked with 25mm APFSDS rounds in the past.

Good rule of thumb - AP can penetrate its diameter in armour steel.  APDS - twice. APFSDS - thrice.

Bubbles has rather better protection than a WWII Tiger tank. That had 8cm side armour.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Akima on 15 Jul 2015, 22:06
I had no idea that it was possible to produce a discarding-sabot round in so small a calibre, but search-fu revealed that it is indeed so. A hyper-velocity needle ever ready to inject the depleted uranium of the people :-\ (with apologies to William Plomer (http://literaryballadarchive.com/PDF/Plomer_6_Murder_on_D.pdf)).

So... Is Bubbles ex-military? One would assume so. An interesting filler comic.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Zog on 15 Jul 2015, 22:08
Anyway, this must be Pintsizes wet dream: carried around by Faye clutched to her bosoms.

His grin says it all.
Surely panel 2 is a subject for the caption competition.

I thought that he was just very happy to be doing something besides just being entertaining/annoying.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Indicible on 15 Jul 2015, 22:19
She looks like the perfect girlfriend for Sechs from Battle Angel Allita Last Order (Gunnm in Japanese and French).
The only worries we might have is the destructive nature of their frollicking...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: QuestionableIntentions on 15 Jul 2015, 22:46
Yay Bubbles  :-D

Though I still want Deathbot9000 to show up again. With or without his canadian girlfriend.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: BenRG on 15 Jul 2015, 23:12
It's odd but some of Jeph's text today really does suggest to me that Bubbles' day job may be in child care.

That aside, an I the only one expecting a personality a bit like Faye's? I'm predicting her to be tough, determined to be independent and strong but with a soft heart. In the end, she wants to be accepted for what she is!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: pwhodges on 16 Jul 2015, 00:43
The tickle zone supports that.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 16 Jul 2015, 01:26
Considering one of the screens on a nintendo DS is a touchscreen, I wonder how would that work for Bubbles. I assume the stylus means it's usable by non-humans but there's the weak construction of the stylus itself.

Also, I wonder how Bubbles feels / will feel about Iwata's death. Probably super-sad.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: MrNumbers on 16 Jul 2015, 03:31
I feel Jeph's comedic and Slice of Life mastery is let down a little by his art skills for this one.

If we're getting a pinup for a comic, I wouldn't mind if it was prettier than usual, rather than a character sketch with annotations.

On the other hand, they really good annotations.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ZoeB on 16 Jul 2015, 03:38
I hope Bubbles is a Ref and not a Competitor.

Anything which requires that degree of armour protection is Bad News. Collateral Damage waiting to happen.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ZoeB on 16 Jul 2015, 03:57
I had no idea that it was possible to produce a discarding-sabot round in so small a calibre, but search-fu revealed that it is indeed so. A hyper-velocity needle ever ready to inject the depleted uranium of the people :-\ (with apologies to William Plomer (http://literaryballadarchive.com/PDF/Plomer_6_Murder_on_D.pdf)).
Tungsten. Cheaper, less controversial, easier to store.
25mm APFSDS using a 14.5mm long rod penetrator, designed to go into one end of an incoming armoured hypersonic missile, and out the other, transferring a significant quantity of its kinetic energy to the target as it does so, disrupting guidance, fusing, warhead and propulsion.

This is one scary piece of kit.


Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Zebediah on 16 Jul 2015, 04:02
I hope Bubbles is a Ref and not a Competitor.

Anything which requires that degree of armour protection is Bad News. Collateral Damage waiting to happen.

Bubbles is a trainer/manager. She retired from the ring after an unfortunate accident in her last match - it turned out her opponent wasn't a bot after all, but a member of Daft Punk. She still has bad flashbacks every time she hears "Get Lucky".
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Welu on 16 Jul 2015, 04:50
I like Bubbles and her truthful hips.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: chaospersonified on 16 Jul 2015, 06:51
It's odd but some of Jeph's text today really does suggest to me that Bubbles' day job may be in child care.

She's labelled specifically as an autonomous combat droid in the top left. I suspect reference to kittens and kickball to be largely incidental, if only because who the goddamn hell would put military tech in charge of their child
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 16 Jul 2015, 07:17
My idea is quite the contrary to BenRG's. Those annotations go for her free time, which she enjoys either keeping herself active (hence the kickball reference) or staying at whatever she calls home with an assortment of different loving cats.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: DSL on 16 Jul 2015, 08:33
Or maybe humor.

I just want to know whether "slinky abs" means she's alluringly curvy -- or that she walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkety sound.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 16 Jul 2015, 08:44
Why not both?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Timemaster on 16 Jul 2015, 08:46
Quote
Bubbles! Bubbles!
My bubbles!!!

Remember the yellow fish from Finding Nemo?  :-D

Oh, I canīt wait for tomorrow.
Bubbles raises a lot of interesting questions. Her chassis appears to be military hardware (like Pintsize). But a lot more powerful and advanced. I wonder how military ground combat is conducted in a world where humanoid warbots are used. Maybe her chassis is designed for special ops.
But how can such a chassis get out of militarys hands? How does an AI get to run around in civilian enivironment and even have it painted red "because it looks cool"?
OK, this is the USA, so it may be common, but for someone from Europe this feels quite strange.
I wonder how the NRA thinks about this.

Bubbles seems to be involved in organising the fights. Maybe sheīs some kind of bouncer or referee, once the the fights get out of hand. But who is the manager then? Maybe May is involved here? I wouldnīt put it beside her.
Does Bubbles run around in this chassis in her free time? We know AIīs can change their chassis without too much trouble. Maybe she changes hers when she leaves the skate park. Maybe she even knows Momo, perhaps from the robot support group...

In a world with artificial intelligence, invisible aircrafts, space stations and Vespa- or deathbots some other new technology comes as no surprise. So the high-effective armour  and the artificial muscles are pretty logical in my oppinion.

Aaah, this is a lot of fun. I canīt wait for tomorrow. So many questions, so many possible answers. So much potential for hilarius fun here.  :-D

TM
(Did I mention I canīt wait for tomorrow?)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: pwhodges on 16 Jul 2015, 09:01
or that she walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkety sound.

Or simply goes down like a Slinky:

(http://www.coolest-toys.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/slinky2.jpg)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Rghfrgl on 16 Jul 2015, 09:13
With pressure against the inhumanity of self destruct buttons even among the robot fighting community the tickle zone was created as a alternative built in weakness should the robots go rogue and try to destroy their masters.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ReindeerFlotilla on 16 Jul 2015, 10:30
I don't think Bubbles's chest plate is supposed to be conforming boob. It looks more like sectional articulation, like the Nolan Batsuit.

Still not a good idea, because of impact guidance, but Bubbles probably doesn't have a heart and lungs under there. In fact, I'm thinking a missile emplacement ala Striker Eureka. Changes the meaning of "Nice rack."
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: DSL on 16 Jul 2015, 11:36
or that she walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkety sound.

Or simply goes down like a Slinky:

(http://www.coolest-toys.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/slinky2.jpg)

I believe we're saying the same thing, there.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Timemaster on 16 Jul 2015, 12:45
I don't think Bubbles's chest plate is supposed to be conforming boob. It looks more like sectional articulation, like the Nolan Batsuit.

Still not a good idea, because of impact guidance, but Bubbles probably doesn't have a heart and lungs under there. In fact, I'm thinking a missile emplacement ala Striker Eureka. Changes the meaning of "Nice rack."

This section of her chassis is probably the most heavily armoured. Because I suppose this is where the most important and vulnerable part is hidden: her CPU.
It doesnīt make sense to put the CPU of a warbot in his head. It is exposed, relatve small, has to be equipped with a lot of sensors and a speaker, plus the device that mimics facial expressions. Not so much place for a heavily armored "brain" left here. The chest provides a lot of space for the CPU and can be protected even better by additional external armour. Together with the energy source of the bot.

Hah, fictional robot technology. I love it.  8-)

TJ
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Kugai on 16 Jul 2015, 13:03
I still want to know where Blossom and Buttercup are
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ReindeerFlotilla on 16 Jul 2015, 13:37
This section of her chassis is probably the most heavily armoured. Because I suppose this is where the most important and vulnerable part is hidden: her CPU.
It doesnīt make sense to put the CPU of a warbot in his head. It is exposed, relatve small, has to be equipped with a lot of sensors and a speaker, plus the device that mimics facial expressions. Not so much place for a heavily armored "brain" left here. The chest provides a lot of space for the CPU and can be protected even better by additional external armour. Together with the energy source of the bot.

Hah, fictional robot technology. I love it.  8-)

TJ

As previously pointed out, the seam and contouring on Bubbles's chest actually makes that section of her body MORE vulnerable. While arguments can be made for placing the most critical systems there, there's no actual reason they have to be.

Assuming that seam is just a point of articulation, given the stated resistance of her armor plate, anything that penetrates that seam is going to stay inside. It won't be able to get out. To borrow a phrase, it will "rattle around in there like Pac-Man until [she's] dead."

Whether the head is a better or worse location depends on how it is built. There's nothing that said human level AI requires a human sized brain. There may be no need for a kilo of matter in 1.3 liters of space. It might be much much smaller. That means much more of the skull could be devoted to armor. Since the skull is largely not articulated, it can be a much sturdier set of thicker armor.

There might be advantages, as well, in keeping the signal distance between the "brain" and primary sensor groups short. This might be off set by the added distance between the brain and primary motor groups, but that could be addressed the same way as humans do it- have a lot of basic motor function directed by the spine.

While there are arguments to doing it either way, there's nt absolute best way to build a QC warbot, until Jeph says there is.

Until that point, I'm going to continue to imagine that Bubbles's chest is full of missiles and she's all Itano Circus up on any challenger.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: War Sparrow on 16 Jul 2015, 16:11
I still want to know where Blossom and Buttercup are

Now I'm sad cause she isn't blue.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Zebediah on 16 Jul 2015, 16:15
For that matter, there's no reason that Bubbles needs to have her intelligence localized in a single processor. Spread the processing units throughout the body and you have a much more robust system.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: SubaruStephen on 16 Jul 2015, 16:28
Is it too soon to start thinking of Bubbles as a potential romantic partner for Pintsize?

Considering she could launch him into space with her bare hands, I'd like to see what happens when she decides she's had enough of his crap and dumps him. (My money's on Robot Jox level destruction.)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: katsmeat on 16 Jul 2015, 16:30
I wonder how the NRA thinks about this.

I can see this being their solution to any problems....
http://digital-art-gallery.com/picture/1716 (http://digital-art-gallery.com/picture/1716)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Omega Entity on 16 Jul 2015, 16:31
Considering one of the screens on a nintendo DS is a touchscreen, I wonder how would that work for Bubbles. I assume the stylus means it's usable by non-humans but there's the weak construction of the stylus itself.
Yup, they're just a touch screen, not a capacitative (the kind that require contact with skin to work). I always have to remind myself that I need to use my fingernail instead of the pad of my finger to get it to do anything.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: cesium133 on 16 Jul 2015, 16:39
One person I know had a cheap iPhone clone that had a resistive touchscreen. He used his keys to touch the screen because they were sharp enough to put enough pressure on it.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ReindeerFlotilla on 16 Jul 2015, 18:19
I had no idea that it was possible to produce a discarding-sabot round in so small a calibre, but search-fu revealed that it is indeed so. A hyper-velocity needle ever ready to inject the depleted uranium of the people :-\ (with apologies to William Plomer (http://literaryballadarchive.com/PDF/Plomer_6_Murder_on_D.pdf)).
Tungsten. Cheaper, less controversial, easier to store.
25mm APFSDS using a 14.5mm long rod penetrator, designed to go into one end of an incoming armoured hypersonic missile, and out the other, transferring a significant quantity of its kinetic energy to the target as it does so, disrupting guidance, fusing, warhead and propulsion.

This is one scary piece of kit.

The 'Hog nerds did a kinetic calculation on "upgrading" the Avenger with APFSDS and came to the conclusion that it wouldn't hit any harder. Apparently, 11inch 30mm (why they gotta mix metrics) shells are really all you need with the right gun.

I think the Russians built an even more powerful 30mm gun system, but it kept damaging the aircraft when fired, so they gave up. If Bubbles can stand up to that, she's a super hero.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 16 Jul 2015, 19:14
I did not expect that response from Bubbles after the Pintsize comment.

Now being serious on her metalworking skill, an espressosaurus seems more than enough statement of metal shaping skills, but they didn't have joints.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Zebediah on 16 Jul 2015, 19:39
And just what the hell is Pintsize doing up there anyway?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 16 Jul 2015, 19:40
I don't think Bubbles's chest plate is supposed to be conforming boob. It looks more like sectional articulation, like the Nolan Batsuit.

Still not a good idea, because of impact guidance, but Bubbles probably doesn't have a heart and lungs under there. In fact, I'm thinking a missile emplacement ala Striker Eureka. Changes the meaning of "Nice rack."

Um, Aphrodite A from Mazinger Z.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08VMDWRtn_I And Go Nagai has a lot to answer for.

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ReindeerFlotilla on 16 Jul 2015, 20:23
I'm familiar with Aphrodite A. While boob missiles make a fine joke, in some sense, I was actually referring to the fact that Striker Eureka has an actual rack of missile launchers in its chest.

Not embedded, cuz it doesn't need to be. https://youtu.be/QLHGLn2PdyY?t=35s (https://youtu.be/QLHGLn2PdyY?t=35s)

Since Bubbles has a sectional chest, launching whole plate would be odd. Unless it is reactive armor.

I know I'm pooping on the joke, but I was never really fond of that particular bit of anime stupidity and must, therefore, distance my joke from it as much as humanly possible.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: electromgneticDstroyosaur on 16 Jul 2015, 21:44
Can this possibly mean what I desperately hope it means? I dare think that our lovers' tournaments are becoming mission-critical to the plotline.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: SubaruStephen on 16 Jul 2015, 21:54
In fact, I'm thinking a missile emplacement ala Striker Eureka. Changes the meaning of "Nice rack."

I'll just put this here....

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ReindeerFlotilla on 16 Jul 2015, 22:23
Speed, forearm blades, chest weapons... I suspect the Guyver may have had some influence on the Striker Eureka design.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Kugai on 16 Jul 2015, 22:25
i wonder if Bubbles will wind up a regular character

It'll prove interesting if she does.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Omega Entity on 16 Jul 2015, 22:26
Man, the art is really off tonight. Especially those last two panels.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: BenRG on 17 Jul 2015, 00:38
I wouldn't be so quick to shout at Pintsize, Faye. Depending on how weird Bubbles' boss is, the ability to shape metal in the way the little pervert has just described may yet at least earn you the chance to give a practical demonstration of your skills.

Man, the art is really off tonight. Especially those last two panels.

I dunno; it seems okay to me. Jeph has said on Twitter that he's trying to work out how to improve his art so we might see him experimenting with a few new styles.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ReindeerFlotilla on 17 Jul 2015, 01:00
Jeph's always trying to improve his art.

I don't always see his choices as improvements, but that's why it's his art. I wouldn't care much about his opinion of my art, so I'm not overly concerned about his quality at any given moment.

Sometimes Marten still looks kinda creepy, but hey, if I find myself thinking that's somehow not good art, I click the first button.

Jeph got from comic 1 to his best art by constantly challenging himself. Odds are he'll reach a new height, and if the dice fall against the odds, it's not like I'm paying for it.

Actually, come to think of it, I was paying for it but I got my money's worth. The comic delivered what I paid for. Nowhere did it say I had any say in how Jeph did that.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Earin on 17 Jul 2015, 04:27
For that matter, there's no reason that Bubbles needs to have her intelligence localized in a single processor. Spread the processing units throughout the body and you have a much more robust system.

Latency's a killer in that sort of setup, though. An easier setup would be active-passive failover, with several modules like "upper body control", "lower body control", "missile targeting", and "intelligence" usually running one per processing node but with redundant copies waiting to take over if, say, one of the nodes gets exploded.

Alternatively, you could have three completely separate intelligence units with a quorum module, but then you risk MPD if the link breaks.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Radium_Coyote on 17 Jul 2015, 07:13
Truthfully, given the available technology, latency wouldn't be much of an issue.  If you've already got artificial intelligence, distributed AI is a no-brainer.  "Cut off my head, and all you've accomplished is removing my conscience and some very disturbing poetry."

I mean, an android battle-chassis is basically an aesthetic choice in this universe.  The tech is clearly available for a distributed consciousness.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: amykathleen on 17 Jul 2015, 08:11
Am I the only one wondering what Pintsize is doing on the ceiling, how he got there, and what sort of havoc he plans to unleash now that he's up there?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Nepiophage on 17 Jul 2015, 08:22
Faye is regressing to her roots. I think this is the first size she has actually said "y'all" except possibly as a joke.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Omega Entity on 17 Jul 2015, 08:55

Man, the art is really off tonight. Especially those last two panels.

I dunno; it seems okay to me. Jeph has said on Twitter that he's trying to work out how to improve his art so we might see him experimenting with a few new styles.
It's not even a style change thing. The line work itself in panel 4 is straight up sloppy.

But yeah, I have no right to complain. It honestly was just an observation, not a complaint.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: jwhouk on 17 Jul 2015, 09:10
Faye is regressing to her roots. I think this is the first size she has actually said "y'all" except possibly as a joke.

Uncomfortable situations will cause you to regress. I know, I've been there.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: ReindeerFlotilla on 17 Jul 2015, 09:41
Pintsize has suction cup feet.

Signal lag would not be an issue for a machine moving and fighting at human speed.

Obviously building such a machine means you don't have to send a human to fight.

Why settle for human speed? Eventually, yes, the time it takes electrons or optical signals to move from one part of the machine to another will actually be a factor in that machine's performance
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: KOK on 17 Jul 2015, 12:44

It's not even a style change thing. The line work itself in panel 4 is straight up sloppy.


I don't see it.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Method of Madness on 17 Jul 2015, 13:09
(shrugs) Me neither.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Kugai on 17 Jul 2015, 14:37
Some people are just nitpicky


And no, I don't see it either.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Omega Entity on 17 Jul 2015, 15:02
Meh, maybe I am nitpicky. But it usually has to really jump out at me to say anything.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Method of Madness on 17 Jul 2015, 15:07
I'm looking at panel 4 and I don't see anything to have an issue with.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Reaver on 17 Jul 2015, 23:19
While this probably will end badly, in the end it's good for Faye.  She was completely wasted on a service job like CoD.  In this, she can grow a talent that she's both actually good at and likes.  Plus nobody expects a welder of murder-bots to be especially friendly.

Plus, we get to see a cast of the equivalent of robot luchadores.  That can't be anything other than awesome.

She was also WASTED at COD as well as being wasted am I right?  :claireface:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: katsmeat on 18 Jul 2015, 12:46
It's interesting that Bubbles is a anthropoid ai who doesn't feel the need to wear clothes.  Others, who are only vaguely anthropoid or non-anthropoid clearly don't bother.  I suppose May, Momo and the crew at the  chassis shop do so because they spend most of their time interacting with people and it helps them fit in better. 

I guess Bubbles doesn't care about fitting in amongst people; and possibly they wouldn't last long anyway.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: BenRG on 18 Jul 2015, 12:59
It's interesting that Bubbles is a anthropoid ai who doesn't feel the need to wear clothes.

Her armour layer look enough like clothes that there wouldn't be much point.

I think that Momo and May's chassis, although not particularly 'anatomically correct' are close enough to humanoid that they would look like life-size Barbie dolls without clothes, sufficiently weird to draw a reaction from passing humans that most AIs just wouldn't want to deal with. Bubbles, on the other hand, looks like a very, very big woman in body armour. There is no question of people seeing her as 'naked'.

That said, I can see her wearing a muscle vest, cut-off shorts and sneakers if she feels like wearing apparel.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Method of Madness on 18 Jul 2015, 13:07
Or maybe she takes off her armor and puts on clothes when she's not at work.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Kugai on 18 Jul 2015, 14:45
Or has a second, more Humanoid looking Chassis.

I swear I've seen that face in QC before.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: jwhouk on 18 Jul 2015, 15:43
Consider that Pintsize has never worn clothes... at least, not regularly.

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 18 Jul 2015, 19:04
While this probably will end badly, in the end it's good for Faye.  She was completely wasted on a service job like CoD.  In this, she can grow a talent that she's both actually good at and likes.  Plus nobody expects a welder of murder-bots to be especially friendly.

Plus, we get to see a cast of the equivalent of robot luchadores.  That can't be anything other than awesome.

I'm looking forward to the Ultimate Murder Chassis. With Pintsize at the helm. COMPLETELY COVERED WITH DONGS!
Then Faye will whip up something equally awesome for the fighting tournament.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: osaka on 18 Jul 2015, 19:25
FAYE: "Ok, now I have someone to bring to fight"
BUBBLES: "He doesn't look too stern"
FAYE: "I tested him myself. He's ready"

FAYE'S BOT: "I wouldn't recommend getting her angry, ballistic covering isn't effective against the rage of a southerner"
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Arancaytar on 19 Jul 2015, 02:11
Faye is regressing to her roots. I think this is the first size she has actually said "y'all" except possibly as a joke.

I noticed it too; I wondered if she might be (consciously or not) playing it up to project an image. The southern accent does make her sound more like an experienced machinist than an ex-barista (maybe I'm influenced by this guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNgNBsCI4EA)).
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: jwhouk on 19 Jul 2015, 03:54
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: KOK on 19 Jul 2015, 12:34
Meh, maybe I am nitpicky. But it usually has to really jump out at me to say anything.

I don't see anything to be nitpicky about. I have no clue why you chose that panel among all the recent panels to call sloppy.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Omega Entity on 19 Jul 2015, 13:29
Look, obviously I must be wrong and stupid since no one else sees it. Let's just drop it and move on.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Method of Madness on 19 Jul 2015, 14:38
I'm just genuinely curious what I'm not seeing is all. I'm not saying you're wrong.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: Omega Entity on 19 Jul 2015, 20:03
I think it's in Faye's face, hands, and hair (and not entirely just the window line overlapping it), and there also appears to be less care taken with the details on Bubbles's armor. Something also seems off on the posing as well, but that's not unheard of - we had T-rex-armed Marigold a while back. It just seems more rushed than anything. Which would be understandable/expected, as the previous day was a bad day for Jeph.

But again, nitpicky. My brain latches onto weird crap sometimes.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3001-3005 (13 to 17 July 2015)
Post by: pwhodges on 19 Jul 2015, 23:53
I picked out Faye's hair as substandard.  I think you're right it's a little off - but it's no big deal if Jeph has an odd off day.