Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

[casualplayer]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

We have a "modest" collection

 

So, do you have boys or girls?

 

I know when we go to the local Toy's R Us the Ben 10 section is positively overflowing with Chromastones right now (usually quite a few Swampfires too). Might be that Bandai just massively over produced them, but I strongly suspect the average parent tends to avoid buying him:

 

"Oh, look the Smith boy has Ben 10 toys on his birthday list... Hmm, should we get him the dinosaur man, the blue monkey or this pink rockcandy man?"

 

Ever wonder why we don't see more Gwen action figures, despite her being in every episode, having gone through four costume changes and having her own alien transformation?

 

Two boys, and the eldest saved his money for months to buy a Omnitrix or, as he calls it, "an alien watch." Lotta Ben 10 love in our home.

 

Many guys or action figures and if they are about to do the season changeover it might be time to go land a bunch of last season's figs.

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

Many guys or action figures and if they are about to do the season changeover it might be time to go land a bunch of last season's figs.

 

New toys should be shipping in October. And despite what I just said about Gwen, we actually are getting her Anodite from in either this batch or the next one. Kinda forgot about that bit of news...

 

Ben's done. He's pretty much a straight conversion. He'll be posted up as soon as I can find a good 6E export template...

[Armitage]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

What annoys me is that at the end of last season, Ben looked through the Omnitrix selection after the reset and said "I don't recognize any of these guys."

Then in the season premiere we got nothing but recycled aliens. Granted, the Omnitrix was broken, but the only alien we saw prior to the breakage was old and the post-breakage dial just showed last season's selection with one substitution, which was also old.

But he turned into Upchuck, who wasn't on the dial, so maybe we'll see new aliens courtesy of random transformations.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

What annoys me is that at the end of last season, Ben looked through the Omnitrix selection after the reset and said "I don't recognize any of these guys."

Then in the season premiere we got nothing but recycled aliens. Granted, the Omnitrix was broken, but the only alien we saw prior to the breakage was old and the post-breakage dial just showed last season's selection with one substitution, which was also old.

But he turned into Upchuck, who wasn't on the dial, so maybe we'll see new aliens courtesy of random transformations.

 

That bugged me, too. On the other hand, we don't know how much time has passed since the end of Season 2, so it's possible there was another snafu with the Omnitrix between then and now.

 

I'm more bothered by the fact that all the maturity Ben picked up over the last 5 years and 2 seasons has been flushed down the toilet and he's acting like a ten year old jerk again.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

Ever wonder why we don't see more Gwen action figures, despite her being in every episode, having gone through four costume changes and having her own alien transformation?

 

(Warning: injoke approaching!)

They should just ship her figure with Kevin's. After all, everybody else ships them together.

(Injoke receding.)

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

That bugged me' date=' too. On the other hand, we don't know how much time has passed since the end of Season 2, so it's possible there was another snafu with the Omnitrix between then and now.[/quote']

 

I will point out we never got to see his playlist before Ben and Kev started tampering with the watch. Afterward, we saw 10 aliens on the dial, the same 9 from last season, plus Way Big replacing Alien X.

 

However, before that we saw Ben turn into Cannon Bolt. He also had Jetray, Spidermonkey, Big Chill, Humongousaur, Echo Echo and one other that I couldn't quite make out (but looked like Heatblast or Swampfire). That only accounts for seven, so it's possible the unfamiliar aliens from last season were the three (or more) unknowns.

 

But I have it on good authority that he has more aliens unlocked then we saw last night, he just hasn't used any of the new ones yet.

 

Of course, Diamondhead is presumably replacing Chromastone. Upchuck might only be used as an accidental transformation or perhaps he's unlocked now. Have to wait and see.

 

One of the goals for this season was apparently to increase the number of alien transformations we see per episode. Vengance of Vilgax had 10, plus we saw the four Genoarchtypes unleashed. Even War of the Worlds featured less than that.

 

I'm more bothered by the fact that all the maturity Ben picked up over the last 5 years and 2 seasons has been flushed down the toilet and he's acting like a ten year old jerk again.

 

Enough people tell you you're the greatest, and you don't have any major setbacks to prove otherwise, well...it can go to your head. I figure the choice probably upsets at least half the current fanbase, but tons of people were clamoring for this sort of thing.

 

I think the upside is that we have the opportunity to actually watch Ben mature this time. Last time it was just all "new series, five years have passed, new attitudes for everyone!"

 

But I think it's all about going back to the roots of the show.

 

Gwen will use actual magic spells again, she has more practical clothes/shoes/hair and even broke out the trusty laptop again. Kevin is horribly mutated, angry and blaming Ben for his misfortune. Ben is incredibly cocky, winning with a mix of luck and skill and he won't be getting any help from Azmuth any time soon. The Omnitrix has a mind of it's own (We only saw 1 in the previous 26 episodes. We saw 2 just on Friday night), we saw capture mode for the first time in a long time and four aliens returned from the first series. We're supposed to see a lot more of Max this season, as well as several returning characters from the original series, like Charmcaster.

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

Ben's done. He's pretty much a straight conversion. He'll be posted up as soon as I can find a good 6E export template...

 

Ben's up. Added a few things from last season that never made it onto his previous sheet, as well as a few new things from Vengeance of Vilgax.

 

I think I got the VPP right. I was going to limit it to "Only For Multiform" but figured leaving it open allows it to account for some of the random Omnitrix strangeness.

 

Chose not to use Unified Power on all the Omnitrix powers, but I may revise that stance.

 

Still have to figure out the build for Capture Mode (leaning towards Dispel Summon) and some other stuff, but it's a work in progress.

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

Did a preliminary analysis on Way Big. He's probably going to clock in closer to 750 pts, so the Omnitrix needs a few more points.

 

I also seem to recall reading somewhere that he's even bigger. Until I can confirm that, I'm going to write him up at his previous size. But I think he looked bigger. He was "only" 100' tall in the original series...

 

Must watch again >.>

 

Hopefully, his return to the dial means Humongousaur will finally use his other power

[Dr Archeville]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

Humongosaur had a power besides growth?

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

Humongosaur had a power besides growth?

 

Well, it's not really confirmed until we see it in on TV but...

 

 

 

I'm 99.99% sure he's got Shrinking too.

 

When I asked about it during the first season, I was told by writer/editor Dwayne McDuffie that I was going to "ruin all the surprises", so that strikes me as pretty good confirmation

 

Now, with Way Big around, there's not as much need for a alien who's main schtick is growth, especially since even at maximum size he's considerably smaller than Way Big.

 

So the Shrinking would give him a unique angle again.

 

Totally random fact: his powers work through extra-dimensional extrusion, so pretty much just like Pym Particles. No idea if that means he'll be able to extend them beyond his own body, but it's an interesting thought...

 

 

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

Way Big is up. Came in a little bit less expensive than I thought, since the cost of Stretching and AoE were both reduced in 6E.

 

Considered reducing his DCV, but made it a 5 on the off chance that he fights somone of similar size. The Size mods will make him an easy enough target for smaller opponents anyhow.

 

Not sure if I want to add some lims to his Damage Reduction, so that it only works vs smaller opponents. I may actually end up going with Damage Negation instead. I'm not very familiar with that mechanic yet (obviously), but I think it may end up being a better fit for giant sized opponents.

 

Also, I did not give him any extra leaping, even though logically his stride alone carries him ore than 4m. But, we've never seen him leave the ground... and coming from a space race based on Ultraman, he can probably fly anyhow...

 

Not sure if he's ultimately tough enough, but since Vilgax managed to cause him pain in the last fight and he got KOed hard by that giant Highbreed arch, I felt his defenses shouldn't be TOO high and I tend to keep the DC's on the lower side anyhow.

 

Any requests for which alien should be next?

 

Votes for Metamorpho...er... Kevin, will be ignored out of tradition!!!

 

J/K, he's actually got a pretty simple writeup based on what little we've seen of his new abilites...

[Dr Archeville]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

I'd not mind seeing Big Chill or Brainstorm next.

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

I'd not mind seeing Big Chill or Brainstorm next.

 

Big Chill it is!

 

He/she/it hasn't changed too much since Save the Last Dance, though now that we have seen the ice block restrain a brick on par with Vilgax, I may need to increase the points there some.

 

Of course, I'll need to review the new rules for Barrier and Entangle...

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

DOH! Just lost some of Ben's Powers/Tactics info and his Appearance text. Was trying to edit and copy them into HD and something seems to have gone wrong

 

Hope I didn't write anything particularly clever... then again, what are the chances of that...

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

Not sure if I'm happy with Big Chill. Need to review some notes and rewatch a few key episodes.

 

I note that his big entangle against Vilgax was likely aided by the fact that they were fighting in a water fountain, so we could probably get away with a few less points in there normally and just buy extra with an OIF water of Opportunity type limitation.

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

First pass at Brainstorm is up. Once again, I need to review some more footage, but there's really not that much of him to review

 

I intend to add some KSs and SSs to him, but it's not very clear what he actually knows. He uses a lot of big words and seems to understand a few things that Ben probably shouldn't (like how the Highbreed jumpgate works). But he hasn't really done anything too impressively brilliant that I can recall.

 

Brainstorm get's hit a fair amount when compared to some of Ben's other forms, so his DCV may be a little too high. He doesn't seem to dodge much, using his Barrier or Deflection instead. The Barrier has a somewhat odd quirk, in that he can englobe himself and then project another force field without disrupting his own, so that the reason it has the limited one way transparent. No evidence he can shoot through it with his atual attacks.

 

Of course, as a result of getting hit we know the little guy's pretty tough

 

I'm really not sure how big he's supposed to be. In several scenes he looks rather small, maybe about 3' or so. In other scenes he looks to be about Ben's size (which is still kinda short, but not hobbit sized). So I may add that Complication and the corresponding abilites after I review.

 

Might also add some kind of environmental movement power, since he skittered up the Spidermoneky web with ease.

 

While I was working on Brainstorm I ended up working on Ben at the same time, so I have some updates that I'll try to post for him later on tonight. Unfortunately, in the process I also realized that I should add most of Ben Perks and many of the Omnitrix's extra features to each of the alien forms, so that's potentially going to increase each of them by around 150-200 points

 

I also decided to add Max as a contact for Ben, Gwen (and to a lesser extent) Kevin. Not sure if I should add the "Max Force" and consider them all an Organization Contact, but it's something to thin about. I'll probably hold off until I see how much screen time they get this season...

 

So, who's next?

[Dr Archeville]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

I think Brainstorm does have some KSs and SSs; on one of the marathons where they had Pop Up Video-like tidbits, I believe one said that Ben, working as Brainstorm, Grey Matter, and Benvicktor was able to make some upgrades on the Omnitrix.

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

I think Brainstorm does have some KSs and SSs; on one of the marathons where they had Pop Up Video-like tidbits' date=' I believe one said that Ben, working as Brainstorm, Grey Matter, and Benvicktor was able to make some upgrades on the Omnitrix.[/quote']

 

If I recall, that's in the Ben 10,000 alternate future. It's how Ben was able to create a new Omnitrix for his son, Ken. So it's conceivable that, by that time, Ben/Brainstorm gains considerable skills.

 

So far, the best I could probably muster from the show itself would be something like KS: English Vocabulary and maybe SS: Physics. But I may be forgetting something... I still need to review 2 of his 5 appearances (the second least of any season 1 alien)

 

I decided to work on Chromastone last night. I was surprised when I checked my notes. He was actually tied for third most used transformation (I figured he'd be in 5th). In any event, he's almost done and I don't expect he'll need an update anytime soon, but we'll see...

[palaskar]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

D'oh! How could I have overlooked that purple-pink-rainbow thing?

 

I think Wig Big is bigger than 100'. He picks up 20' Vilgax with one hand, and chucks him into space. So if Vilgax is proprotionally 6" and Way Big proportionally 72" (6 feet, or x12 bigger), that's a good 240 feet.

 

I think the alteration of Kevin was due to him being nerfed early on in the show. Plus, we wanted to see why he couldn't absorb powers like he used to -- he could, he just didn't want to for fear of being turned into a monster (like when absorbed the Omnitrix.)

 

I also think that the Anodine/magic thing was just so there could be a unified explanation for Gwen's and everybody's powers. I imagine it as: "Maybe she has magic. Maybe she's an alien. Hey, why not both?

 

About Ben's getting rid of his maturity? I'm not sure why that was done...maybe it was because Future Ben (from the one Ben 10 ep) was kind of a jerk, and the writers wanted continuity?

 

Seriously, I'm not sure why that happened, or if it's a good thing.

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

I think Wig Big is bigger than 100'. He picks up 20' Vilgax with one hand' date=' and chucks him into space. So if Vilgax is proprotionally 6" and Way Big proportionally 72" (6 feet, or x12 bigger), that's a good 240 feet.[/quote']

 

Vilgax was probably "only" around 12' actually, though in some shots he looks much bigger. In any event, Way Big was officially 100' tall in Secret of the Omnitrix, so that's I went with.

 

I do think he's probably much bigger now though...

 

I think the alteration of Kevin was due to him being nerfed early on in the show. Plus, we wanted to see why he couldn't absorb powers like he used to -- he could, he just didn't want to for fear of being turned into a monster (like when absorbed the Omnitrix.)

 

He was never really showed to absorb powers straight up though. It was just an aspect of his mutant/Half-Osmosian energy absorption powers and how the Omnitrix functioned.

 

In AF season 1 and 2 he could allegedly still absorb energy if he wanted to, but chooses not to because "bad things" would happen... not entirely clear what that would be though.

 

Many people speculated he would either turn into energy or mutate back into a monster. Gotta admit, I'm looking forward to seeing how this all shakes out.

 

I also think that the Anodine/magic thing was just so there could be a unified explanation for Gwen's and everybody's powers. I imagine it as: "Maybe she has magic. Maybe she's an alien. Hey, why not both?

 

Yeah, this is one of those tricky half-retcons. I'm pretty sure they wnated to change it and decided against it due to fan reaction, but the dual origin may have been planned from the start of AF.

 

Technically, I don't recall anyone on the crew saying that it wasn't magic or that there is no such things as magic in the Ben 10verse anymore. Of course, the characters in the show think the her Anodite Spark is the sole source of her power, but they'll be seeing otherwise shortly

 

About Ben's getting rid of his maturity? I'm not sure why that was done...maybe it was because Future Ben (from the one Ben 10 ep) was kind of a jerk, and the writers wanted continuity?

 

Seriously, I'm not sure why that happened, or if it's a good thing.

 

I've already voiced my opinion on why I think they did it. I reserve judgment on it for now, but think it will make for some good stories in the long run.

 

However, the Ben 10K setting is a divergent timeline and has been since the beginning. 30 year old Ben has no recollection of ever traveling to the future and meeting himself. So while they can definitely do stuff to move it in that direction, I don't know that they will. Of course, the plot of the next series does seem to nudge it ever closer....

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

First draft of Chromastone's up and he's a powerhouse. When Fully juiced up, he should be able to dish out 20d6 Blasts!

 

He's supposed to have incredible laser precision. In fact the only time I recall him missing a shot was when he had escaped the Omnitrix. As such, his OCV is pretty massive. Might need to change those levels so he can use them with Reflection, now that I think about it.

 

I peg his STR at a 50, though there aren't many examples of his lifting stuff to work with. But he goes toe to toe with several bricks and does a few brick trick like things (didn't put the Shockwave Punch since he never actually hit anything with it, but might add it later). His leaping may not be enough, but they change the camera shot almost every time he uses it, so it's hard to judge just how far he travels.

 

His power defense is there because of his immunity to the Xenocite Transform. He probably deserves more Life Support (I can't imagine he's vulnerable to conventional poison or disease, he probably doesn't need to breath and I'm pretty sure he eats energy). But for now I'll just assume the Power Defense catches most of that type stuff.

[palaskar]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

Bloodstone wrote:

In AF season 1 and 2 he could allegedly still absorb energy if he wanted to, but chooses not to because "bad things" would happen... not entirely clear what that would be though.

 

Ah, it was energy not matter? My bad.

 

Bloodstone wrote:

Technically, I don't recall anyone on the crew saying that it wasn't magic or that there is no such things as magic in the Ben 10verse anymore. Of course, the characters in the show think the her Anodite Spark is the sole source of her power, but they'll be seeing otherwise shortly

 

Yeah, the multiple power origins in the Benverse is part of what lent it its charm. Although I was wondering if they'd just use the "Green Lantern" explanation for Gwen's powers -- merely a tool for focusing her Anodite powers. I like the multi-power origins..so yeah, real spells are nice.

 

Bloodstone wrote:

I've already voiced my opinion on why I think they did it. I reserve judgment on it for now, but think it will make for some good stories in the long run.

 

Hey, I didn't mean to dis you, just voicing my thoughts out loud.

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

Ah' date=' it was energy not matter? My bad.[/quote']

 

In the original series, his power was to absorb energy, though there was some indication there was more to it. In AF season 1 and 2, he mimicked/absorbed matter but was never actually shown to absorb energy anymore.

 

Hey, I didn't mean to dis you, just voicing my thoughts out loud.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that. Reading over it, I can see how it could be taken that way

[Bloodstone]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

Aww no new alien on Inferno

 

We have proof that Brainstorm is pretty damn huge. And can fly...or at least levitate... that was slightly unexpected. His TK is also a LOT stronger (and less limited) than the guess I had down before. I'm estimating the total STR needed to lift the 13 train cars at around 70 STR... and that's assuming they are empty

 

The Omnitrix is more broke than I thought. Might need to reduce the recommended activation roll for the Variable Limitation.

 

Some other interesting tidbits to think about...

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Ben 10: Alien Force -Season 3 (6E)

 

His power defense is there because of his immunity to the Xenocite Transform. He probably deserves more Life Support (I can't imagine he's vulnerable to conventional poison or disease, he probably doesn't need to breath and I'm pretty sure he eats energy). But for now I'll just assume the Power Defense catches most of that type stuff.

 

I would make that a limitation on the Xenocyte Transformation; it can't affect any target that's inorganic or covered in an inorganic shell (the latter being largely speculative, but the Xenocytes seem to be based somewhat on Starro, and that's how he worked last I knew).