[S.T.O.R.Y. 5/13/02] I find that form to be very offensive

[Chaos Priest]

http://www.egscomics.com/d/20020513.html

Should we be worried that Tedd knew right off hand what the best combat form is? That implies that he has thought about the military applications of his transformation technology. That's never a good sign with mad scientists.

I find a couple of things odd about this comic though. One is Grace's dialog in the second panel compared with her current level of pacifism. The second is just why Jeremy's form would be the best for combat. Sure, claws and quills would definitely be an asset, but is there seriously nothing better in there? A form with an extremely tough hide perhaps? I could see something like that being very useful for combat. A form based on an animal that's known for its size and strength would also be a good candidate for best combative form. Or why not a were-platypus? Not only would the odd appearance catch enemies off guard, but combined with a male body at least it would also provide poisonous barbs. It's even a mammal just like every other form the gun has so I can't see much of a problem with the gun having to make too many changes.

[nitpicking]

I find a couple of things odd about this comic though. One is Grace's dialog in the second panel compared with her current level of pacifism. The second is just why Jeremy's form would be the best for combat. Sure, claws and quills would definitely be an asset, but is there seriously nothing better in there? A form with an extremely tough hide perhaps? I could see something like that being very useful for combat. A form based on an animal that's known for its size and strength would also be a good candidate for best combative form. Or why not a were-platypus? Not only would the odd appearance catch enemies off guard, but combined with a male body at least it would also provide poisonous barbs. It's even a mammal just like every other form the gun has so I can't see much of a problem with the gun having to make too many changes.

Jeremy has incredibly strength and toughness, it's just not obvious. He can chew his way into metal cans! It's just that he's not very hostile.

Mind you, according to later in-strip explanations, the gun can't give someone special abilities, so ....

[Melvar]

I find a couple of things odd about this comic though. One is Grace's dialog in the second panel compared with her current level of pacifism. The second is just why Jeremy's form would be the best for combat. Sure, claws and quills would definitely be an asset, but is there seriously nothing better in there? A form with an extremely tough hide perhaps? I could see something like that being very useful for combat. A form based on an animal that's known for its size and strength would also be a good candidate for best combative form. Or why not a were-platypus? Not only would the odd appearance catch enemies off guard, but combined with a male body at least it would also provide poisonous barbs. It's even a mammal just like every other form the gun has so I can't see much of a problem with the gun having to make too many changes.

Several things to point out, in no particular order: Platypi are mammals like the other forms, but none of the others are monotremes. Making a new form can be quite complicated, especially if you don't have samples or need to code new features. Even porting features from one creature to another would be complicated to my mind. This last is a minor barrier, but at least requires a good usage plan to go with the form to eliminate waste. And,

Jeremy has incredibly strength and toughness, it's just not obvious. He can chew his way into metal cans! It's just that he's not very hostile.

Mind you, according to later in-strip explanations, the gun can't give someone special abilities, so ....

Special abilities seem to be anything linked to <insert result of terminology debate here>, meaning that if Jeremy's strength and toughness are realized without that, it works. This is also a requirement for any new forms as suggested by Chaos Priest.

[B.T. Isaac]

Should we be worried that Tedd knew right off hand what the best combat form is? That implies that he has thought about the military applications of his transformation technology. That's never a good sign with mad scientists.

Everyone who sees a device that can turn people into half animals have thought at least once how it can increase combat potential. Naturally, animals are better equipped for combat than humans are, after all, since without all the fancy technology and clever devices, humans are basically very weak apes, who could've died out if not for their ability to make use of the items around them.

I'd be worried if Tedd never thought of enhancing combat effectiveness with his gun. It would make him very ignorant. Especially for a mad scientist.

[SleepyOrigami]

And here I thought Grace was already spiky enough. I hypothesize that ones power in EGS is a function of the total number of their spikes.

[Melvar]

And here I thought Grace was already spiky enough. I hypothesize that ones power in EGS is a function of the total number of their spikes.

Do you hypothesize this function to be monotonically or strictly increasing?

[Illusionist]

Should we be worried that Tedd knew right off hand what the best combat form is? That implies that he has thought about the military applications of his transformation technology. That's never a good sign with mad scientists.

Have you never been bored while shopping and looked around thinking "That could be a weapon, so could that, that could be cover..."? People think about violent applications of non-violent tools all the time. It's the hunter part of our hunter-gatherer DNA speaking up.

[AmigaDragon]

http://www.egscomics.com/d/20020513.htmlShould we be worried that Tedd knew right off hand what the best combat form is? That implies that he has thought about the military applications of his transformation technology. That's never a good sign with mad scientists.

Whether he thought about it or not before the fact, how could he not consider the combat suitability of some forms after seeing them? And even if he hadn't thought of it on his own, when asked, he should find it easy to consider the suitability of each form.

[Raging Mouse]

I could easily imagine Mr. Verres telling Tedd to hypothesize about the combat abilities of various forms as an "exercise"

[ChronosCat]

== Spring, 2006 ==

Chronos: The mutant cat is...? Well, I guess, proportionately.

== Jan, 2009 ==

I find a couple of things odd about this comic though. One is Grace's dialog in the second panel compared with her current level of pacifism.

Crystal: I was thinking about that too. Of course, some of her current pacifism comes from the events of Painted Black, but even at this point in the comic she doesn't like violence (as mentioned in the next strip).