Talk:Universal stream

Gone Official

That's right. Even Takara stuff is using this system now. Dude! --ItsWalky 14:41, 2 April 2009 (EDT)

Wow. Maybe Ichikawa again? We assumed he was responsible for the material used in that World of the Transformers feature back in 2007. --FFN 14:52, 2 April 2009 (EDT)

I require links! - Chris McFeely 15:36, 2 April 2009 (EDT)

There are none. Peeps just know (people who can read) Japanese! --ItsWalky 15:47, 2 April 2009 (EDT)

Well, then! I require... tacos! - Chris McFeely 15:48, 2 April 2009 (EDT)

Here: From Here to Alternity/src‎ --ItsWalky 00:39, 3 April 2009 (EDT)

Bulletbike (G2)'s tech spec bio has its own Universal Stream of Primax 095.0 Beta. Does that mean it isn't even in continuity with other tech spec bios, such as Drench (G2)'s which would presumably be Primax 093.0 Beta? - Starfield 18:53, 9 August 2009 (EDT)

It'd be in continuity with other tech spec bios from 1995! --ItsWalky 11:12, 6 October 2009 (EDT)

...wait. Does that mean the Allspark Almanac was actually written by Shattered Glass Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster? --Andrusi

Only in-universe. Out of universe, it was written by the non-Shattered Glass versions of us.--Jimsorenson 12:06, 6 October 2009 (EDT)

Shattered Glass Jim Sorenson doesn't put billions of in-jokes in his writing, because he doesn't know how to read!--Rosicrucian^Talk 12:07, 6 October 2009 (EDT)

But he apparently knows how to write...? Maybe he dictates to SG Bill Forster.--Apcog 12:24, 6 October 2009 (EDT)

Thanks guys, you have now totally melted my brain. Dead Metal 12:32, 6 October 2009 (EDT)

Is there a universal stream for TransTech itself? Or do they consider themselves above that sort of thing? I guess they'd be ### Epsilon, but they don't technically fit into a continuity family, do they? --Xaaron 20:06, 30 December 2009 (EST)

What is the origin of these names, anyway? We know how the numbering system works, and there's a note explaining where they got the name Quadwal (which is actually pretty funny), but what about the rest of them? - Arborday 13:33, 10 May 2010 (EDT)

Can't figure out the others, but "Primax" for Generation 1 seems quite straightforward. One meaning of "prime" is "first", and the -ax ending is just to make it sound cool/foreign. --Khajidha 13:43, 10 May 2010 (EDT)

How the System works

Just making sure I understand the system. If for example, a new animated series came out this year, and it was a completely new continuity family, would it be:_____- 010.0 Alpha? I ask because I'm working on my owned fan-based Transformers series (non-profit of course)--Chipmonk328

Almost. It would be: ______ x10.y Alpha, with x and y being the month and day the first episode was aired. If the first episode aired today (Feb 12, 2010), it would be: ______ 210.12 Alpha.--24.224.153.106 18:15, 12 February 2010 (EST)

The numbers that feature zeros for x or y come from continuities where parts of the date are unknown or undefined. The G1 Marvel Comics continuity started in September 1984, but if there was any exact date in September, we don't know about it. If the comic was known to have been officially released on September 13, then it would be Primax 984.13 Gamma instead of Primax 984.0 Gamma. Similarly, Bulletbike came out "sometime in 1995," and if it was even in a specific month then we don't know about it, so he's just from Primax 095.0 Beta; if he'd had a "street date" of April 13, then it would be Primax 495.13 Beta. And if we didn't know when in 2007 the live-action movie came out, it'd be Tyran 007.0 Delta (or maybe just Tyran 07.0 Delta). --Andrusi

The Greek

Just a thought. I don't know how the original writer (inventor) of the universal stream think, but Gamma is an equivalence to G, so it fit more to represent "game", while Kappa is an equivalence to K, which should used for "comic" ([ko mi k]). --TX55^TALK 23:46, 25 June 2010 (EDT)

Gamma's also equivalent to "c", if memory serves. --Jeysie 23:54, 25 June 2010 (EDT)

I think it was more a "c" is the third letter of the Latin/English alphabet and "gamma" is the third letter of the Greek more than any direct equivalence of sounds. --Khajidha 00:02, 26 June 2010 (EDT)

New continuity families

"Gargent—the Tonka GoBots continuity family. Xobitor—the, uh, Robotix continuity family." Does this mean what I think it means? --Khajidha 21:24, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Japanese continuity

I just realized that with universal streams like Aurex 103.10 Alpha and Primax 787.3 Alpha that Japanese fiction has been canonized as part of the western multiverse. I find this both a bit confusing and, in the case of Primax 406.3 Eta, a bit unsettling.
Anyhow, this gives me an opportunity to ask how this works. "Primax 787.3 Alpha" is the Headmasters, and Headmasters is in continuity with a bunch of other things, like Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers and Car Robots etc. So is "Primax 787.3 Alpha" the Universal Stream for all of it? - Starfield 23:10, 26 July 2010 (EDT)

Sourcing

We probably ought to directly source where each named stream was mentioned. --M Sipher 23:27, 26 July 2010 (EDT)

G1 stream

I looked at the G1 universal streams and noticed a critical flaw. The G1 cartoon is missing. --LokitheGrammarNazi 10:07, 18 October 2010 (EDT)

Look again. It's there, dude. Primax 984.17 Alpha—the Generation 1 cartoon continuity. --ItsWalky 14:04, 18 October 2010 (EDT)

Wasn't there when Loki made this post, I checked the history. --Khajidha 14:12, 18 October 2010 (EDT)

That isn't a comprehensive list of all known universes, only of those whose designation has been given in an official source. If no such source exists for the toon, it wouldn't be listed. --Khajidha 10:09, 18 October 2010 (EDT)

But, come on, it the cartoon that everyone grew up with! I understand that even though there isn't a reliable source we can't put it in there (ignoring the massive amount of citation needed tags), but if we did wouldn't we put it in there? --LokitheGrammarNazi 13:56, 18 October 2010 (EDT)

I would imagine most Transformers fans haven't grown up with the original cartoon at this point. And, no, if the universe hadn't been called out specifically in fiction, we wouldn't have put it in the list. That's the whole point of the list. --ItsWalky 14:10, 18 October 2010 (EDT)

I'm not even sure what Loki was saying here, but I agree with Walky 100%. --Khajidha 14:12, 18 October 2010 (EDT)

I just meant that if there was an official source for the exact universal stream, would we put it in there. Case closed. --LokitheGrammarNazi 13:53, 19 October 2010 (EDT)

Streams listed on franchise pages

Would it make sense to mention the universal stream designations on the individual franchise pages? For example, "this series takes place in universal stream Primax XXX.XX Gamma," so you don't have to go back to this article to know that. --JMM 18:46, 30 June 2011 (EDT)

Streams as pages

Does each stream really need to be its own page? I'm not saying they don't, I'm just wondering if they do. I'd be open to persuasion either way.--Jimsorenson 15:19, 10 August 2011 (EDT)

I'm of the opinion that anything with a proper name deserves a page. Not only that, but it allows for greater elaboration on the specifics of the universe and how they're used in the fiction itself. —Interrobang 15:28, 10 August 2011 (EDT)

Why isn't the information just folded into the relevant stories' pages? I mean, what are the odds of ANYONE looking things up by a universal stream designation? It's infinitely more likely someone will look up the 2007 movie, or even "Another Time And Place", by those names, than whatever string of nonsense words, digits and Greek that got assigned to them. Having these as separate pages is pointless and only makes that little tidbit of trivia LESS likely to be found. --M Sipher 14:01, 11 August 2011 (EDT)

I'm inclined to agree. The stream identifiers are, after all, just another name for worlds and stories which already have pages. - Chris McFeely 14:11, 11 August 2011 (EDT)

You guys realize it's impossible to have fiction sections with stuff like "From Primax 406.3 Eta in the year 2009, a Megatron attacked the Primax 903.0 Beta Alternity Optimus Prime..." in story pages, right? The story pages go over the story itself. They don't detail the actual universe from a fictional perspective. And some of those universes don't have anywhere to point to, Primax 109.0 Beta for example. Those pages are also a way to consolidate references to the universes; Primax 207.0 Epsilon is said to destroy a GoBot universe and the AT&P universe, but there's nowhere that says both in the same article because both facts aren't relevant anywhere else. —Interrobang 14:28, 11 August 2011 (EDT)

It's called the trivia/notes section. --M Sipher 14:36, 11 August 2011 (EDT)

I don't like the idea of having the information folded into the relevant stories' pages because the relevant stories don't typically use or acknowledge the universal stream concept, so putting it there would be awkward. It is nice to have an article written from the multiversal perspective. Notes/triva is an option, but the information is more than trivia, it is part of fiction. I like the way it is, but as a compromise idea, how about, for the universes that have an appropriate story page, we make a new section that is written from the multiversal perspective. Example: have a "Primax 984.0 Gamma" section on the Marvel Comics continuity page where it talks about how "The destruction of Unicron created an unusually high number of tangent universal streams." - Starfield 14:58, 11 August 2011 (EDT)

I'm starting to come around to this point of view, seeing how the articles are working in practice.--Jimsorenson 15:05, 11 August 2011 (EDT)

I could abide a "Role in the Multiverse" subsection of the relevant already-existing page. But a separate article just seems pointless. --M Sipher 15:08, 11 August 2011 (EDT)

But a lot of those aren't limited to one particular work. Primax 388.whatever starts with the Masterforce manga, but evidently involves the Zone manga, as the AAII puts Zone elements in it. Primax 109 was created entirely for one character in Alternity and is the setting for three stories. It's silly how you're insistent on not giving articles to settings and things that exist in fiction just because they happen to be a metareference. —Interrobang 15:30, 11 August 2011 (EDT)

It's stupid how you're making information harder to come across for a microscopic percentage of minor exceptions. For the eleven millionth time, we do not need a whole gigantic new system or re-work because 1% of something doesn't quite fit. Here's a thought for your Masterforce example... PUT THE INFORMATION IN BOTH RELEVANT PRE-EXISTING ARTICLES. Put the Alternity new universe IN THE ALTERNITY HUB ARTICLE. There is no need whatsoever to send people scattering across pages with thoroughly unintuitive titles for microscopic shreds of information that could easily have been put in an unobtrusive subsection. --M Sipher 16:57, 11 August 2011 (EDT)

Beast Wars

Where exactly would the beast era of transformers fit in? Would it get its own universal stream, or would it be in the same universe as the Generation 1 stream? Bookwormdalek 19:55, 25 September 2012 (EDT)