[JamesB922]

I want to start by saying that I absolutely cannot wait for this movie, and I'm not attempting to be negative! Just wanted to put my thoughts out there and see if anyone can head-canon me into submission or give another perspective on something that ONLY VERY SLIGHTLY bothers me...

With all the money Winston seems to have poured into R&D on new equipment and research, why would cobbled-together solutions in use on Phoebe's Afterlife pack, presumably due to Spengler being broke and living out in the middle of nowhere, be moved onto the new packs? Why bits of blue and red tape on the tubes coming from the HGA? Why the janky wires around the Clippard? WHY THE GASMASK HOSE, ELECTRICAL TAPE AND FUEL LINE ON THE LOOM??? Couldn't Winston's R&D have developed something a little more standardized to implement whatever those changes supposedly did for the pack in AL? Those all seemed like "working with what I've got" kinds of solutions, and yet the new packs seem to be bringing some of those home-grown solutions into the fold as standard? It seems silly to me, especially when I consider the parts they DID change, some which seem sleek and intentional and manufactured.

I love the incremental changes to the packs. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not a purist. I know the changes to the packs are necessary, and I think they've all made sense in-universe so far, but they need to tell a story don't they? The '84 packs looked like new, home-grown machines made specifically for a utility. The GB2 packs looked like version 1.5 of the 84 packs. Small changes that visually told the story of the parts they couldn't find anymore, the parts that needed replacing, etc. AL pack told the story of a desperate Egon doing his best to maintain/upgrade his pack while saddled with a lack of funds and short supply of industrial parts. This new pack seems to be trying to tell the story of Winston's research department, but the water feels muddied by including jury-rigged bits that don't make sense visually up against the more modern changes. Thoughts?

[JonXCTrack]

I agree with you. I was expecting something similar to what we see in Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed.

[One time]

Perhaps the colorful additions to the packs were at the orders of the EPA to make them safer?

So they prove to be underpowered.

Phoebe may be grounded at the start of the movie for hanging out of the car by Peck.

Then at the end it could be that she soups up all the yellow packs like Egon had improved his for Afterlife with the neon sleeve and the clippard cables.

[JamesB922]

Perhaps the colorful additions to the packs were at the orders of the EPA to make them safer?

So they prove to be underpowered.

Phoebe may be grounded at the start of the movie for hanging out of the car by Peck.

Then at the end it could be that she soups up all the yellow packs like Egon had improved his for Afterlife with the neon sleeve and the clippard cables.

See for me, the yellow additions, the new ion arm, the wand changes - they all felt like modernizations. Manufactured improvements, backed by research. It's the wonky stuff that makes no sense to me. For example, why would Winston's R&D unit source a bunch of gas mask hose and fuel line for every pack instead of coming up with a more elegant solution for the ENTIRE hose for every pack? That's the stuff that jumps out at me, the sort of thing that seems more for show and less for telling the story of those changes. I'm also POSITIVE I'm overthinking it, but where else to post my nerdy diatribe than a forum dedicated to my favorite pieces of fiction?

[One time]

Perhaps the colorful additions to the packs were at the orders of the EPA to make them safer?

So they prove to be underpowered.

Phoebe may be grounded at the start of the movie for hanging out of the car by Peck.

Then at the end it could be that she soups up all the yellow packs like Egon had improved his for Afterlife with the neon sleeve and the clippard cables.

See for me, the yellow additions, the new ion arm, the wand changes - they all felt like modernizations. Manufactured improvements, backed by research. It's the wonky stuff that makes no sense to me. For example, why would Winston's R&D unit source a bunch of gas mask hose and fuel line for every pack instead of coming up with a more elegant solution for the ENTIRE hose for every pack? That's the stuff that jumps out at me, the sort of thing that seems more for show and less for telling the story of those changes. I'm also POSITIVE I'm overthinking it, but where else to post my nerdy diatribe than a forum dedicated to my favorite pieces of fiction?

I'm not really sure. Personally I don't like the yellow accented packs. My favorite is the Afterlife pack followed by 1984 then 1989. Ben Hall from the production department stated on Adam's video that they did build 8 OG/AF proton packs alongside the 8 they built which were yellow accent packs. So there is a chance that FE will feature the OG packs as well.

[joezlo]

I like the yellow accents on the powerbar - a total nod to RGB.

I dig the new accent around the barrel as well; probably so people don't burn each others face off.

I'll wait to pass judgement until I see the movie in-person.

[ShandorMiningCo]

I don't overly despise the yellow hazard pattern on the power cell (RGB 4 life) but I don't love it either. And I would be a lot more open to the yellow bumper without the third 'leg' addition, I think it looks ridiculous at that weird angle. It just looks like the packs were caught parked illegally and clamped.

[SpaceBallz]

I want to start by saying that I absolutely cannot wait for this movie, and I'm not attempting to be negative! Just wanted to put my thoughts out there and see if anyone can head-canon me into submission or give another perspective on something that ONLY VERY SLIGHTLY bothers me...

With all the money Winston seems to have poured into R&D on new equipment and research, why would cobbled-together solutions in use on Phoebe's Afterlife pack, presumably due to Spengler being broke and living out in the middle of nowhere, be moved onto the new packs? Why bits of blue and red tape on the tubes coming from the HGA? Why the janky wires around the Clippard? WHY THE GASMASK HOSE, ELECTRICAL TAPE AND FUEL LINE ON THE LOOM??? Couldn't Winston's R&D have developed something a little more standardized to implement whatever those changes supposedly did for the pack in AL? Those all seemed like "working with what I've got" kinds of solutions, and yet the new packs seem to be bringing some of those home-grown solutions into the fold as standard? It seems silly to me, especially when I consider the parts they DID change, some which seem sleek and intentional and manufactured.

I love the incremental changes to the packs. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not a purist. I know the changes to the packs are necessary, and I think they've all made sense in-universe so far, but they need to tell a story don't they? The '84 packs looked like new, home-grown machines made specifically for a utility. The GB2 packs looked like version 1.5 of the 84 packs. Small changes that visually told the story of the parts they couldn't find anymore, the parts that needed replacing, etc. AL pack told the story of a desperate Egon doing his best to maintain/upgrade his pack while saddled with a lack of funds and short supply of industrial parts. This new pack seems to be trying to tell the story of Winston's research department, but the water feels muddied by including jury-rigged bits that don't make sense visually up against the more modern changes. Thoughts?

Because it was cheaper to cannibalize the Hasbro packs. That's the only explanation as to why they look like Phoebe's Afterlife pack with upgrades.

[Namssorg]

See for me, the yellow additions, the new ion arm, the wand changes - they all felt like modernizations. Manufactured improvements, backed by research. It's the wonky stuff that makes no sense to me. For example, why would Winston's R&D unit source a bunch of gas mask hose and fuel line for every pack instead of coming up with a more elegant solution for the ENTIRE hose for every pack? That's the stuff that jumps out at me, the sort of thing that seems more for show and less for telling the story of those changes. I'm also POSITIVE I'm overthinking it, but where else to post my nerdy diatribe than a forum dedicated to my favorite pieces of fiction?

That's exactly how I read it. These packs have been 'industrialized' - they're more than pieced together prototypes, but they're the next gen of a likely safer, easier to use, further refined pack, based on Egon's design. Something that probably has sat dormant for awhile, but is now a more formalized manufacturable design. They're not reinventing the wheel, just doing an iteration. As we call it in the product design business, it's had a 'mid-life kicker'. After all, the fuel cells have a half-life of 5000 years

Also, i think to answer your question, the reason for the continued wonkiness is likely just down to art design. As we see in the new lab, the new technology isn't all THAT different from 1984/1989. I sort of think this was to keep the right feel of the larger Ghostbusters world we're starting to see. It's just what Ghostbusting equipment looks like. Hoses, clamps, switches, greeblies, It has a real physical Ghostbusters vibe. The beefed up containment units, traps, and such are all pretty similar to the old equipment, it's just been iterated on. Even the computer displays were a bit older looking, for example. I thought this was a great way to go forward - the packs are already VERY powerful devices, they don't need to suddenly modernize everything, at least not yet. It won't feel 'Ghostbusters'

[JamesB922]

See for me, the yellow additions, the new ion arm, the wand changes - they all felt like modernizations. Manufactured improvements, backed by research. It's the wonky stuff that makes no sense to me. For example, why would Winston's R&D unit source a bunch of gas mask hose and fuel line for every pack instead of coming up with a more elegant solution for the ENTIRE hose for every pack? That's the stuff that jumps out at me, the sort of thing that seems more for show and less for telling the story of those changes. I'm also POSITIVE I'm overthinking it, but where else to post my nerdy diatribe than a forum dedicated to my favorite pieces of fiction?

That's exactly how I read it. These packs have been 'industrialized' - they're more than pieced together prototypes, but they're the next gen of a likely safer, easier to use, further refined pack, based on Egon's design. Something that probably has sat dormant for awhile, but is now a more formalized manufacturable design. They're not reinventing the wheel, just doing an iteration. As we call it in the product design business, it's had a 'mid-life kicker'.

Also, i think to answer your question, the reason for the continued wonkiness is likely just down to art design. As we see in the new lab, the new technology isn't all THAT different from 1984/1989. I sort of think this was to keep the right feel of the larger Ghostbusters world we're starting to see. The beefed up containment units, traps, and such are all pretty similar to the old equipment, it's just been iterated on. Even the computer displays were a bit older looking, for example. I thought this was a great way to go forward - the packs are already VERY powerful devices, they don't need to suddenly modernize everything, at least not yet. It won't feel 'Ghostbusters'

I think you're totally right, and hit the nail on the head.

[MOSUGOJI]

So did anyone cringe when Podcast smashed up that Proton Pack? I was lie "just sever the hose you idiot!". And I don't think that he could have smashed the pack up that badly especially with his Harley Quinn mallot. I had the impression that the cyclotron and other larger parts were aluminum. I mean just about every weathering the pack tutorial involves silver paint to show wear on the pack.

[One time]

Yeah, the shot showed the cyclotron cover smashed with a hole taken out of it. There’s no way a wooden hammer takes a chunk out of steel plate (er even aluminum).

I didn’t really care a lot because it was a yellow cyclothong “new” pack and not an original pack.

[Kingpin]

"just sever the hose you idiot!".

1) Podcast may not know how to detach the thrower from the Pack, and he didn't have anything that could easily cut through the hose.
2) Podcast didn't have the time to attempt to disconnect the thrower from the hose; Trevor's, Gary's, and Nadeem's lives were all at risk from the possessed Proton Gun.
3) It might not've been possible for him to get at the hose connector without risking personal injury. The possessed thrower could've easily turned on him in a moment's notice.
4) The possessor might've even been able to prevent him from disconnecting the Proton Gun.