Review: Transformers War For Cybertron: Siege: Episode 3

CONTAINS SPOILERS 

"It is my unfortunate duty to inform you that the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, have callously murdered one of our finest soldiers, the patriot Impactor." - Megatron, opening episode 3.

"Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong." - Luke Skywalker. 

While Megatron spins the events of Episode 2 to his own ends, the very-much-alive-but-injured Impactor is found by none other than Ratchet.  Except this is War For Cybertron, not G1, and Ratchet is not an optimistic medic, he's a cynical engineer-turned-healer who regrets designing weapons to end the war more quickly and now fixes and mends warriors from both sides (or neither) to atone for his actions.

So, naturally Ratchet takes Impactor to his makeshift field hospital. The Decepticons don't take care of their wounded, and the Autobots don't have the Energon.

There is the usual level of uncertainty, debate and hesitation at Autobot Command.  What if we find the Allspark? What if we take it off Cybertron?  

This contrasts sharply with discussions at Decepticon HQ. Starscream is in full flow, undermining Megatron's plan to use the Allspark to reformat the Autobots into Decepticons. These new 'Cons would not be "true, pure Decepticons" but would "dilute" their warrior heritage.  It appears Starscream is a Dalek or a war criminal who advocates ethnic cleansing - genocide - instead.  

Jetfire calls out Starscream's insubordination, and Megatron (doing his dramatic 'overhearing while entering thing) states it plainly: "Anyone who has a problem with my vision for Cybertron will not have a place in it."  There are no ifs and buts here, and if the Autobots don't get their collective alt modes in gear, they are going to get completely wiped out, and soon.

Elita, Optimus's advisor (or critic) directly challenges his what ifs, which are replaced by a crazy scheme with the episode 1 space bridge.  Prowl: "This is madness." Elita: "It's worse - desperation."

The Decepticons' interrogation of Ultra Magnus is not working, so Megatron gives Shockwave free rein to get results.  There are no compromises here; Megatron's ends justify any means necessary.

Mirage and the Autobots, meanwhile, prove Starscream's point that reformatted Autobots wouldn't be true Decepticons: Mirage can't hold a Decepticon holographic disguise for more than five seconds at a time.  Having said that: Mirage producing disguises and holograms!! Yes!! Somebody read his tech specs! He barely manages to hold his disguise together for long enough to exchange greetings with Skytread and Spinister, and the rest of the Autobot patrol has to wade in. Optimus remains a shadow of his later self, and can barely hold his own against Skytread.  He really needs to hit the gym or something.  The Autobots manage to chase the outnumbered Decepticons off, so that they can meet Ratchet at his field hospital. Wheeljack needs Ratchet to repair the space bridge so that Optimus can send the Allspark off-planet.

Ratchet's hospital is like all military hospitals: filled with walking wounded, under-resourced and failing.  Pretty much everything Optimus says in this scene ("This is admirable, Ratchet," and so on) just sounds patronising and pathetic. Optimus is weak. He's indecisive; useless in combat (except to help is troops retreat); lacking any kind of strategy... I really hope he gets the Creation Matrix/of Leadership soon, otherwise he might just as well pack his bags and give up.

The Bots present their plan to Ratchet. His reply: "What, just so you can take this war to another planet?"  Like Earth?

There's a touch of history between the elitist,  upper-class Mirage and the born-to-slave Impactor (and Megatron).  So they did read Mirage's tech specs and his biography!  

The interrogation of Magnus continues with red electricity instead of white, and with a staged escape by Magnus.  You don't really think the Decepticons let him 'escape' by accident?  Megatron knows Magnus has too much honour to shoot Megatron in the back - he said the same of Optimus in episode 1.  As he says to Magnus: always take the shot.  The Autobots really are going to get slaughtered if they don't start pulling the trigger more often.  I know Megatron = bad and Autobots = heroic, but I'm struggling to support this current batch of heroes and their lack of decisive action.

Ratchet agrees to help the Bots fix the Spacebridge, but he's not doing it for the Autobots, and I don't blame him. Impactor (Decepticon, complete with all-in-one homing device and comm unit) demands to accompany them, and despite Autobot reservations is allowed to join the trip.  He's supposed to become the leader of the Wreckers, but he's not off to a good start giving away the location of Autobot command. Maybe it was accidental, but I'm not buying it.

In a tragic coincidence, Magnus concedes to Shockwave's torture at the same time as Jetfire and Skywarp pick up Impactor's signal.  This forces Jetfire's hand, as he will not slaughter the Autobots in their base, while Skywarp will not hesitate. Jetfire shoots Skywarp in the back (where Magnus would not) and allows Skywarp to flee.

Megatron closes the episode as he started it, the Autobots "defiling Cybertron's holiest relic" and "destroying the Allspark". He seems unstoppable, especially as he concludes with his own chilling interpretation of the Autobot maxim: "till all are one".

Transformers War For Cyberton Siege: Episode Reviews

Episode 1
Setting the scene, as Megatron starts executing his plan on Cybertron

Episode 2
Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus make some questionable decisions, as Shockwave searches for the Allspark

Episode 3
Megatron twists history to suit his own ends, while Impactor and Skyfire question their loyalties.

Episode 4
Megatron makes progress with his plan, while the Alpha Trion Protocols choose a new host.

Episode 5
Optimus Prime searches for the Allspark, Wheeljack needs more energon, and Megatron prepares to commit genocide.

Episode 6

Will the Autobots be able to secure the Space bridge, and the energon they need, and the Allspark?

Review: Transformers: War For Cybertron: Siege: Episode 2

CONTAINS SPOILERS

Episode 2 of Transformers: Siege picks up all the threads of Episode 1 and moves them forwards significantly.  This story does not lack pace:  Ultra Magnus visits the Decepticon base, and as military commander of the Autobots, surrenders to Megatron.  Misguided?  Yes.  Foolish?  Completely.  But it's also consistent with his character, as we saw in Episode 1.  Ultra Magnus will do anything to preserve the Autobots, even if it means surrendering.  Optimus, on the other hand, will never surrender to Megatron's tyranny, even if it means the extinction of the Autobots.   It's an interesting development to the discussion Prime and Magnus had in Episode 1.

Megatron insists that Ultra Magnus should convince Optimus to end the war; Ultra Magnus disagrees, and since Ultra Magnus will not order the Autobots to stand down, Megatron puts him in a prison cell.  This is not going to end well (even if we know that Magnus will survive).

This episode suffers from what I call the "prequel problem".  If Optimus, Bumblebee and Another Autobot go off on a suicide mission against the Decepticons, guess who isn't coming back?  Since we know how things work out in the end, we know what's going to happen to get there.  Optimus and Bumblebee must survive, because they do survive.  But will Another Autobot survive this dangerous mission?  It's not looking good.

Shockwave and his team want to find the Allspark, which, in this incarnation of Transformers, is dodecahedral.  Shockwave believes he can reprogram and then activate it so that it will reformat all Autobots into Decepticons.  Megatron carefully considers this; Jetfire describes it as a victory without honour.  The prequel problem strikes again, if you recall what happens to Jetfire in the future.

Ultra Magnus transmits news of Megatron's plan to Optimus, and Optimus gathers 'everyone'.  It's a tragic reflection on the current situation that 'everyone' consists of little more than Chromia, Elita 1, Cog, Hound, Sideswipe and Wheeljack.  Soundwave (with his G1 voice firmly in place) intercepts Magnus's message and Megatron lays a trap for the Autobots.  This all makes sense, and things go from bad to worse for Magnus.  Just how is he going to get out of this one?  We know he will do - courtesty of the prequel problem - but things are looking bleak.  

It's fantastic to see so many of the characters in this episode using their specific abilities - Soundwave intercepting and then fabricating comms messages; Mirage using his holographic powers - as well as them exhibiting unique personalities.  Jetfire is the honourable warrior; Starscream is ambitious and conniving; Elita 1 is skeptical; Prime is heroic and optimistic.  There are no wasted scenes throughout the episode - the story is tight, and every character and every line is delivered with a purpose (whether immediate or long-term).

The Autobots fall straight into Megatron's trap:  Hound, Sideswipe, Six-Gun, Prime, Chromia and Cog take on the Decepticon ambush (guess who isn't coming back?).  Impactor, Skytread, Barricade and Spinister lead small groups of Decepticons from their vantage points.  I thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many Transformers from the G1 cartoon and previous comic series on the small screen - this series isn't afraid to introduce and showcase a wide range of characters (unlike Transformers Prime, for example, which focused tightly on a smaller cast).

The ambush fight scene features some great action sequences.  Optimus runs into the battle - armed, at last - and defeats Impactor (who is also suffering from the prequel problem).  There's a great sense of the chaos that follows as the Autobot squad struggle to retreat when it all kicks off.  Cog gets the force of the blast of the Decepticon ambush, and is very badly injured; the Autobots are able to make a getaway, with Prime transforming to vehicle mode and carrying Cog away.

The recriminations begin at Autobot base; Elita 1 doesn't quite say, "I told you so," but it's in every word she says to Prime.  They didn't capture the energon, they suffered casualties, and all because Optimus trusted the message that had apparently come from Magnus.

The situation is worse at Decepticon HQ.  Megatron has lost Impactor, and also lost the energon he put up as bait for the Autobots.  Assuming that Optimus seized the energon, Megatron goes to Ultra Magnus and demands the location of the Autobot base.  The situation has gone from bad to worse for the naive Autobot prisoner; he's going to suffer for his idealism.

So where did the energon go?  The opportunistic Bumblebee stole it during the chaos of the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons.

This was an excellent episode, possibly even better than the first.  The plot moves along at a phenomenal rate; the individual characters start to shine - this isn't "Optimus and the carbon-copy Autobot heroes versus Megatron and his 2-D troops" - and the fight scenes are extremely well directed and orchestrated.  It does suffer in from places from knowing what happens to some of the characters (although this does raise the question - how do they get to their destinations from these starting points?) but this is minor compared to the scale of the storyline.  I am already looking forward to the next episode (I just need to find time to watch it!).

Transformers War For Cyberton Siege: Episode Reviews

Episode 1
Setting the scene, as Megatron starts executing his plan on Cybertron

Episode 2
Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus make some questionable decisions, as Shockwave searches for the Allspark

Episode 3
Megatron twists history to suit his own ends, while Impactor and Skyfire question their loyalties.

Episode 4
Megatron makes progress with his plan, while the Alpha Trion Protocols choose a new host.

Episode 5
Optimus Prime searches for the Allspark, Wheeljack needs more energon, and Megatron prepares to commit genocide.

Episode 6

Will the Autobots be able to secure the Space bridge, and the energon they need, and the Allspark?

Review: Transformers: War For Cyberton: Siege: Episode 1

CONTAINS SPOILERS

I have been a Transformers fan since my first comic in 1984 (Issue 4).  I own all the DVDs of the G1 cartoon series, and all the movies (including the original, which I once owned on VHS).  I have been an on-and-off fan, as I grew too mature for 'toys', then rediscovered them, then got too busy, and then realised that transforming robots are great for leisure time.

I have therefore been waiting for the new Netflix series War For Cybertron Trilogy for months (since it was first announced).

It opens with a series of Decepticon flyers ("Seekers") strafing their way around Cybertron, while on the ground below them, Bumblebee and Wheeljack are sneaking around trying to find energon.  I like this - right from the outset, this mirrors the start of the original series .  However, this is not the spritely and perky Bumblebee (thank goodness) from G1, this is a cynical mercenary.  This initial mission uncovers a cache of energon and a space bridge (think of the Transformers Prime version, not the G1 comic version), and, unfortunately, a group of Decepticons led by Jetfire and Starscream (who sounds so much like the G1 character it's uncanny). 

The characterisation is excellent:  Starscream is manipulative; Megatron is full of plans; Jetfire is loyal; Wheeljack is principled. And Optimus?  Heroic, as you would expect, but not a warrior.

And the visuals?  Outstanding.  These bots are not shiny and new, not even the Decepticons are fresh and clean; they're battle-scarred.  The bots have the perfect blend of tough metal and flexing steel to enable them to move without looking like disjointed steel boxes. 

Elita One:  "What exactly are you?" 

Bumblebee:  "What?  Don't you mean 'who'?"

Wheeljack: "He's a pain in the ass, that's who he is."

Jumping for joy at this clear statement of Bumblebee's annoying history.

The touches of history are fantastic - there are references to the original series (including Alpha Trion) throughout, and especially half-way through when we meet the Ark.  I wasn't expecting to see this ship so early in the series - after all, the flight on the Ark marks the end of the war for Cybertron as we move into the G1 era.  

This episode makes a great start:  the focus is on a limited number of characters, but only until we reach the interior of the Ark, at which point the cast list explodes into a crowd of G1 favourites:  I spotted Hound, Mirage, Sunstreaker (and later Sideswipe); Ultra Magnus and Red Alert are name-checked.  In a development which is consistent with the G1 comic, the Autobots are low on energon, and can't function properly without it.  

The Ark is the gathering point for the energy-depleted Autobots, as they face a war that they aren't winning.  They aren't gathering enough energon, and they are facing extinction at the hands of the Decepticons.  This is truly a no-win situation, and Magnus and Prime discuss this at length while the returning Autobots are directed to Red Alert for medical attention.  Random question:  where's Ratchet?

Optimus asks Bumblebee to join the ranks of the Autobots, but cynical Bumblebee declines the offer.  It seems that all the Autobots have is their principles, and Optimus is going to hold on to them, no matter the cost.  Things look grim for the Autobots, and this is an excellent first episode, setting the scene and bringing a good-sized cast into play.

Megatron, on the other hand, is winning.  He's manipulating events, and presenting his version of them to the Decepticons:  there can be no peace with the Autobots, so the Decepticons must arm themselves to end the conflict.  As Megatron explains, in the final scene: "We must forge weapons from his weaknesses: honour, brotherhood, love.  That's how we'll defeat Prime and win this war."

Transformers War For Cyberton Siege: Episode Reviews

Episode 1
Setting the scene, as Megatron starts executing his plan on Cybertron

Episode 2
Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus make some questionable decisions, as Shockwave searches for the Allspark

Episode 3
Megatron twists history to suit his own ends, while Impactor and Skyfire question their loyalties.

Episode 4
Megatron makes progress with his plan, while the Alpha Trion Protocols choose a new host.

Episode 5
Optimus Prime searches for the Allspark, Wheeljack needs more energon, and Megatron prepares to commit genocide.

Episode 6

Will the Autobots be able to secure the Space bridge, and the energon they need, and the Allspark?

Targeted Banners: A study in permutations

"How are our banners performing?"

It's a question I'm being asked increasingly frequently, as we step up our on-site marketing. And banners are banners: they've been around for years; customers are accustomed to them (and possibly tired of them) and the challenge is to make them fresh, useful, relevant and just plain interesting. However, banners are easy, straightforward and simple to execute, measure and analyse.  You didn't think I was going to recommend adding banners without commenting on KPIs for them?

"Which banners are doing the best?"

So the challenge becomes: how do we make sure we have the right banner for the right customers?  How do we drive clicks and - more importantly - increase revenue?

Some form of targeting helps, and this could be keyword, or geo targeting, or behavioural targeting.  But why not try promoting multiple products instead of just one (or just one family of products)?  If you can split a banner slot into two, you can promote twice as many products in the same space.  And, if you can use some form of targeting, then the options for what to show increase significantly. 

Let's take an online toy retailer as an example.  What would you promote on your home page if you were an online toy shop?

There are several categories you might want to feature:

Construction toys

Dolls

Dinosaurs 

Cars

Robots

Board games 

Outdoor toys 

However, your website design only allows space (or 'real estate') for three.  And besides, you've found that having more than three diluted the effectiveness of them - your visitors get "banner blindness".  So which three do you show?  

You could determine which three to show based on various factors:

What does the customer search for?  If they search for "Lego" or "Jurassic Park", then they'll probably appreciate the banners for construction toys and dinosaurs.  Setting up some form of tracking on search usage across the site, and then matching this to the banner categories will enable you to show content that's more likely to be appealing to your visitors.

Better still, what was the inbound keyword that your user searched for?  I know Google doesn't share natural search terms (for some strange reason, the tracking only applies to Google paid search terms), but if you can access the search term that the visitor used when she came to your site, then you can start targeting her from the moment she arrives on your site, and that's a key advantage.

Alternatively, which marketing campaign did she click when she came to your site?  Was it an email that advertised your range of sports toys?

Or which pages has this visitor been viewing? If they're browsing your pages on Barbie, Sindy and similar, then this gives you a better indication of her purchase intent.

What has this customer purchased before? This will take longer for your targeting to initialise as you'll have to wait for your customer's first purchase, and once it's running it will be less dynamic than the other methods, but will be more specific as you'll know that this user has made a purchase in this category before.  The segment will be smaller, but have a higher likelihood to purchase.  Thinking outside the toy store example to other industries, maybe you could target your banners based on items added to basket (cart); videos viewed on site (what were they promoting); PDF downloads and other success events on your site.

So, you can see, there are various options for how you target, and you can then determine how effective each method is, through testing.  The model doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be testable, and you can be confident that your testing model will go some way towards making your site more relevant (and better converting) for your visitors.  After all, there are so many variations, surely there's a good chance that you'll find a better set of banners than the one you show to all your generic customers.

So, how many permutations are there?

In our example, there are three slots available on the site, and we have seven different banners we can show.  Here are some example images, taken from various online sites.  In practice, these would be more uniform in design and messaging.

We have three slots in total:

The first slot could be filled by one of seven images.

The second slot can be filled by one of the remaining six images.

The third slot can be filled by one of the five images that we haven't used yet.

7 * 6 * 5 = 210 permutations (we use permutations here, because we can't use the same banner in two slots - that would give us combinations, and would be an even larger number).

If we decided we wanted to use only six of the banners - for example if we decide that board games aren't relevant any more - then the calculation would be:

6 (for the first slot) * 5 (for the second slot) * 4 (for the third slot) = 120

Conversely, if we introduced soft toys as an extra variation, so that we had a bank of eight banners altogether, then we'd have:

8 * 7 * 6 = 336

This is an example of "permutations without repetition" - the sequence of the banners is important, and we only show each banner once (we don't repeat them).  I recommend this site for more on the calculations of the number of permutations.  I've also written an article explaining the difference between combinations and permutations (they're not the same thing). The short answer is that the more slots you have, and more banners you have, the more permutations there are (significantly increasing with scale), and the greater the likelihood of showing the best banners to your users.

So, target your banners - you'll be able to dynamically target your content to your users, and start to reduce the guesswork from your marketing.  Even the smallest increases in possible locations or banners will rapidly improve your chances of presenting the ideal banner (if not the ideal permutation) to your users.

Undo or Save Changes?

The UK is now heading towards "life after lockdown", as we are seeing daily or weekly changes to the lockdown rules and things are heading back towards 'normal'.  Schools are partially re-opening; you can get Drive Thru McDonald's (if you're prepared to queue); zoos and parks will be re-opening soon, and the two-metre rule could be relaxed to just one metre.

So, as the worst of the pandemic is over (and I know this is debatable), what will you do in the post-lockdown world?  Undo, or save changes?

Would you prefer to go back to things the way they were?  Exactly as they were?  Back to the office commute; the school run; the weekend dash to the supermarket?  The cinema, the theatre, football matches?  Don't misunderstand me, a lot of 'normal' was good, while other aspects have benefited from the change.  Do we all need to pile into our cars and drive to an office several miles away, or can we work from home?  Have Zoom, Skype and Teams been able to substitute for face-to-face meetings (with colleagues, customers, friends and family)?

Would you like to preserve some of the changes?  Is working from home suiting you?  Do you miss the school run?  Yes - me, I do.  Have you had to support local businesses more, because queuing outside the supermarket and round the car park hasn't appealed to you?

I'm not saying lockdown has been all good.  It has, quite honestly, been a struggle.  Human beings aren't designed and built to be isolated - "it is not good for a man to be alone" - and I am eager to see my friends and family face-to-face, with a hug and a handshake.  The underlying tension of, "Will I catch it?  Will I transmit it?  Will I be a serious case?" has certainly helped me focus on staying in lockdown, but as lockdown is easing I will be delighted to see people I've missed.

What have I learned?  On one occasion in about week 4 or 5 of lockdown, I was encouraging my children, saying, "We'll find things to do, we'll have lots of activities, we can do this, or that...." and so on, and one of them replied, "Dad, you're really cheerful, aren't you?" Maybe I'm more optimistic than I thought I was (and I know I can usually find the bright side).  I'm also less of an introvert than I believed.  

So: things I will be delighted to undo:

- not seeing friends and family (I will be doing this more, offline and online)

- not going to church. I have really missed meeting my church family

- not going charity-shopping. It's one of my favourite going out activities

- not shaking hands. If you're reading this, I owe you at least a handshake

- depending on social media for contact

Things I will be saving:

- spending more time looking after my neighbours 

- spending more money on local businesses instead of supermarkets

- a more patient approach to online shopping (yes, Amazon is fast, but I am preferring to wait and buy from other sites, or even local stores who've moved online).

So: undo, or save changes?

 

Reckless Chess, Part 2

My online Blitz Chess games seem to be developing a pattern, and it's a trend which is suiting me very nicely.

1. e4   e5
2. Nf3  Nc6
3. Bc4  d6
4.  0-0  Bg4
5. Re1 Nf6
6. h3  Bh5
7. g4  Nxg4

This is now the second time I've been able to pile in with this king-side sacrifice, and it's going fairly well.  Clearly it's wrong-footing my opponents, but it removes two of the three pawns in front of his king, and gives me a some entertaining games playing with my queen in front of his king:

8. hxg4 Bxg4 
9. Re3 Nd4 



Piling on the pressure, and developing my pieces while White's pieces stay in their starting positions.

10. c3 Nxf3+ 
11. Rxf3 Bxf3 
12. Bxf7+ Kxf7   

13. Qxf3+  Ke8 

Maybe my opponent thought a counter-sacrifice would work, but all he's done here is give me more material - I'm now ahead by the exchange and a pawn - and he's kindly opened the f-file.

14. d4 Qh4  - direct Chess at its most fun.
15. Kf1 Be7 
16. dxe5 Rf8 
17. Qe2 

Black (me) to play, played dxe5 and missed Qh1#

17.   ....   dxe5 (missing Qh1#)
18. Qb5+ c6 
0-1

The threats piling up around the white king include Qxf1# and if Qe1 then Qh1#.  There's also cxQ if White doesn't move his Queen.

As I said, I am enjoying the sacrifice on the g4 square, and so far it's reaping its benefit against people trying to play some form of Fried Liver Attack, with Nf3 and Bc4.

More to follow, I'm sure!

Some of my other Chess games:

My very earliest online Chess game
My most bizarre Chess game
My favourite Chess game