Stormtroopers vs. "Smoke" a contradiction?

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2002-12-09 12:28am

I just wanted people's opinions on this... with evidence to help back it up if possible.

Basically, I always assumed that stormtrooper gear would/could help you see a lot better in darkness, fog, etc.

In ANH, Luke says "I can't see a thing in this helmet" which might mean that it was simply damaged when the trooper inside was killed (again, the comlinks are broken... as shown later, so this is a feasible explanation).

In AOTC, the troopers appear to be able to hold their ground and continue fighting efficiently even in a cloud of smoke and light debris after a federation ship is destroyed nearby.

However, in ESB, R2D2 puts up a "smoke screen" of some type of mostly opaque gas to "slow down" the troopers.

Would this even be effective? What was the point if troopers can see through the smoke? Thoughts?

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2002-12-09 12:32am

Well, the ANH quote can be written off as Luke not having any training with the helmet. Han didn't seem to have any problems.

Post by **Kuja** » 2002-12-09 12:32am

First off: the uniform was not Luke's size, and the chest plate might have pushed the helmet up too far for him to see out of.

Second, the smoke R2 put out might have been thermally excited (IE hot) and would foul thermal imaging.

But the troopers still accomplished their goal of herding the Rebs.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2002-12-09 12:49am

The helmet was almost certainly the wrong size and or improperly adjusted. He was visibly short for a Stormtrooper.

MirrorUniverseSpy1 · Post by **MirrorUniverseSpy1** » 2002-12-09 01:19am

I also go with the idea of The uniform was not the right size for Luke.
This lead to several problems, such as the communicator foul-up,
difficulty seeing, etc.

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2002-12-09 02:22am

I was mostly concerned about the R2 thing. Hot gas might be a passable explanation though.

nightmare · Post by **nightmare** » 2002-12-09 02:31am

Mind you, Han Solo didn't complain about his helmet, and he's taller than Luke. The smoke might be phosphorous based or similar.

Post by **Kuja** » 2002-12-09 02:42am

Kurgan wrote:I was mostly concerned about the R2 thing. Hot gas might be a passable explanation though.

Or possibly some kind of mixture that contained sensor-fouling chemicals/gases.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2002-12-09 02:51am

I believe it was suppose to be his fire extinguisher. I have no idea what dry chemical FE's do to Thermal, but it probably fucks them up. Though R2 may indeed have an anti infrared smoke system built in for protection.

Boba Fett · Post by **Boba Fett** » 2002-12-09 08:03am

As far as I remember there're two types of stormie helmet.

The older version had just simple, built-in visors.

The newer versions has enhanced visors with a holographic 3D environment display with infrared vision, light-enhancer, motion trackers etc.

As for Luke's problem:

1. The armor pushed up the helmet so he couldn't see in it.
2. When he obtained the armor from the stormtrooper, Chewie hit it too hard and the helmet was damaged.
3. Luke was soooo stupid that he couldn't turn on the helmets visors...

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2002-12-09 06:36pm

That's another thing... how were the stormtroopers likely dispatched? I mean I know we never actually see it happen, but we hear two muffled blaster shots... like Han Solo's gun.

Did they clean off the carbon scoring from the shots on the armor?

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2002-12-09 06:38pm

If it was the "old style" here's the problem... the clone troopers in AOTC seem to have the "new style" but the Troopers in ESB on Cloud City don't?

Sure, maybe there were budget cuts later on... ; )

But you'd think that in an operation as important as capturing Skywalker and Solo, two dangerous Rebel agents (one of them his own son), Vader would have made sure to have the good ones, right?

Post by **Kuja** » 2002-12-09 06:51pm

Kurgan wrote:That's another thing... how were the stormtroopers likely dispatched? I mean I know we never actually see it happen, but we hear two muffled blaster shots... like Han Solo's gun.

Did they clean off the carbon scoring from the shots on the armor?

More likely they shoved the blasters into a chink in the armor (armpit, back of the neck) and pulled the trigger.

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2002-12-09 07:16pm

Ah, a good idea. And maybe with the blaster at a slightly lower setting than usual (Han's blaster always seemed to be a "souped up" customized weapon anyway), it might help eliminate some of the "mess."

He could set it just high enough to penetrate and kill, but not so much that it damaged the suit to the point it would be noticable.