WTF is it with the At-AT?

[Straha]

Look, though I admire the empire's military I fail to see one thing, why the fuck do they use a walker as one of their main assault vehicles. And most of all a poorly designed At-At.

For one, It's legs are thin as paper compared to the rest of it, and the thing CAN'T POSSIBLY TURN! Its front body has no visual moving joints, it's back legs can't expect to turn it, and it could probably be destroyed by a concentrated attack from the rear. Now getting to its center of balance issues, if you were to push it from the side it would probably tumble over and collapse.

Also, its head is connected by a poorly protected join which was destroyed by a snow-speeder. The head itself is one of the few well designed parts of the entire thing, though I disagree with placing the bridge there.

Finally it's ridiculously small weapons payload for something simply that big. You could probably fit a few missle launchers in the side, or prehaps more blasters, or a couple turrets (a design with turrets in the head can be seen in the art book of the ESB movie but that simply isn't enough) to destroy those pesky speeders. But NO! You have to put all the weaponry in the head of the beast.

End of my rant, enjoy.

[Darth Garden Gnome]

Have you read Mike's comments on it? All those questions are answered on the site.

[Kuja]

Look, though I admire the empire's military I fail to see one thing, why the fuck do they use a walker as one of their main assault vehicles. And most of all a poorly designed At-At.

For one, It's legs are thin as paper compared to the rest of it, and the thing CAN'T POSSIBLY TURN! Its front body has no visual moving joints, it's back legs can't expect to turn it, and it could probably be destroyed by a concentrated attack from the rear. Now getting to its center of balance issues, if you were to push it from the side it would probably tumble over and collapse.

Those paper-thin legs took shots for heavy artillery and shrugged them off. As for turning, well, they MIGHT b able to move the legs laterally to turn, although we never saw them do it.

Also, its head is connected by a poorly protected join which was destroyed by a snow-speeder. The head itself is one of the few well designed parts of the entire thing, though I disagree with placing the bridge there.

Offset by the fact that the head can twist and turn to blow away attackers. Once that one walker was down, it was already dead byt the time the speeder nailed it.

Finally it's ridiculously small weapons payload for something simply that big. You could probably fit a few missle launchers in the side, or prehaps more blasters, or a couple turrets (a design with turrets in the head can be seen in the art book of the ESB movie but that simply isn't enough) to destroy those pesky speeders. But NO! You have to put all the weaponry in the head of the beast.

The AT-AT is a TRANSPORT. AT-STs, repulsor tanks, and TIEs are supposed to provide cover.

[Straha]

Look, though I admire the empire's military I fail to see one thing, why the fuck do they use a walker as one of their main assault vehicles. And most of all a poorly designed At-At.

For one, It's legs are thin as paper compared to the rest of it, and the thing CAN'T POSSIBLY TURN! Its front body has no visual moving joints, it's back legs can't expect to turn it, and it could probably be destroyed by a concentrated attack from the rear. Now getting to its center of balance issues, if you were to push it from the side it would probably tumble over and collapse.

Those paper-thin legs took shots for heavy artillery and shrugged them off. As for turning, well, they MIGHT b able to move the legs laterally to turn, although we never saw them do it.

Heavy Artillery? Don't make me laugh, according to the technical guides the rebels were using out dated artillery, which they were forced to use because of the weather conditions and monetary problems. The other "artillery" they were using was designed to kill personal, not walkers.

Also, its head is connected by a poorly protected join which was destroyed by a snow-speeder. The head itself is one of the few well designed parts of the entire thing, though I disagree with placing the bridge there.

Offset by the fact that the head can twist and turn to blow away attackers. Once that one walker was down, it was already dead byt the time the speeder nailed it.

So? The head can turn? I would give it a maximum of 45 degrees of turning, someone attacks from the sides of it, what's it going to do? Secondly the Walker wasn't dead, it was on the ground, undamaged except for the fall which wouldn't of hurt the neck. The fact that the shots from the speeder made the walker blow up is the most disconcerting thing about the walker's neck armor, not just the fact that it is horribly under protected.

Finally it's ridiculously small weapons payload for something simply that big. You could probably fit a few missle launchers in the side, or prehaps more blasters, or a couple turrets (a design with turrets in the head can be seen in the art book of the ESB movie but that simply isn't enough) to destroy those pesky speeders. But NO! You have to put all the weaponry in the head of the beast.

The AT-AT is a TRANSPORT. AT-STs, repulsor tanks, and TIEs are supposed to provide cover.

A transport? What was it transporting in RoTJ? What use was were the stormtroopers it was transporting in ESB until the end? The point of the thing is to be an APC worth a tank. Not just a transport... but the material used to make one of these would obviously be better off making the tanks, apcs, and artillery that this performs.

[Kuja]

Heavy Artillery? Don't make me laugh, according to the technical guides the rebels were using out dated artillery, which they were forced to use because of the weather conditions and monetary problems. The other "artillery" they were using was designed to kill personal, not walkers.

It was outdated, but not underpowered. It's still a lot stronger than a laser cannon.

So? The head can turn? I would give it a maximum of 45 degrees of turning, someone attacks from the sides of it, what's it going to do?

Essential Guide to Vehicles puts the max angle at a full 90 degrees.

Secondly the Walker wasn't dead, it was on the ground, undamaged except for the fall which wouldn't of hurt the neck. The fact that the shots from the speeder made the walker blow up is the most disconcerting thing about the walker's neck armor, not just the fact that it is horribly under protected.

THE WALKER WAS DEAD. It wouldn't be getting up again, not without some serious support. The speeder blew up something that could no longer right back. Whoopee for that pilot.

A transport? What was it transporting in RoTJ?

Skywalker.

What use was were the stormtroopers it was transporting in ESB until the end?

Um, you'd rather have them run for ~25 miles through sub-zero conditions?

The point of the thing is to be an APC worth a tank. Not just a transport... but the material used to make one of these would obviously be better off making the tanks, apcs, and artillery that this performs.

Why? The AT-ATs at Hoth sure as shit did their jobs, losing only two in the process, minuscule losses to the Empire.

[Vympel]

Heavy Artillery? Don't make me laugh, according to the technical guides the rebels were using out dated artillery, which they were forced to use because of the weather conditions and monetary problems. The other "artillery" they were using was designed to kill personal, not walkers.

No artillery has ever taken out the legs of walkers. There is no evidence that they are not well protected.

So? The head can turn? I would give it a maximum of 45 degrees of turning, someone attacks from the sides of it, what's it going to do? Secondly the Walker wasn't dead, it was on the ground, undamaged except for the fall which wouldn't of hurt the neck. The fact that the shots from the speeder made the walker blow up is the most disconcerting thing about the walker's neck armor, not just the fact that it is horribly under protected.

That weak spot is impossible to hit without flying straight into the arc of the AT-AT's guns. In this case, the pilot hit a walker that had crashed and was unable to fight back. Hardly an impressive achievement. The AT-AT has only three weakspots

1: The top of the neck
2: The vents on the main body (see SWTC)
3: The hatch on the underside that can't be hit with conventional weaponry

A transport? What was it transporting in RoTJ? What use was were the stormtroopers it was transporting in ESB until the end? The point of the thing is to be an APC worth a tank. Not just a transport... but the material used to make one of these would obviously be better off making the tanks, apcs, and artillery that this performs.

The AT-AT is a massive APC. It holds up to 40 stormtroopers along with speederbikes. They are deployed by high speed cables. Those stormtroopers assaulting the base in ESB came from AT-ATs. Der.

[Cal Wright]

We've been over how damn great the AT-AT is. For your ignorance regarding any and all information on this incrediable work of art, I have but one flame for you Straha.

Knee joint, takes a shot, doesn't even flinch.
They all take blaster fire. It isn't until one has fallen and the hull integrity is fucked up.
The AT-AT General Veers is in actually tilts sideways and picks off a snow speeder flying past it.

Shove that up your candy ass, you closet Trekkie.

[Vympel]

I'm not saying the AT-AT couldn't use improvement, my design changes would be

- add the AT-TE ball-mount laser turrets to the front and rear of the AT-AT, so as to give it point defense from all angles.

and .... well that's about it really.

[God Emperor]

I thought the commandared scuttle the AT at Hoth, atleast that was the impresion I got with the troops runing towards it.

[Nathan F]

In the old NES Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back game, the level where you were in the snowspeeder attacking the AT-ATs, all of them DID have a turret on the back, so as to provide a bit of a challenge to the player. I would have liked to have seen something like this, as it would have really made the AT-AT just that much better.

[Straha]

Heavy Artillery? Don't make me laugh, according to the technical guides the rebels were using out dated artillery, which they were forced to use because of the weather conditions and monetary problems. The other "artillery" they were using was designed to kill personal, not walkers.

It was outdated, but not underpowered. It's still a lot stronger than a laser cannon.

So? A WWI Tank is still more powerful then a regular rifle, but it wouldn't give me any pride as a APC designer to say my design can withstand a WWI tank.

So? The head can turn? I would give it a maximum of 45 degrees of turning, someone attacks from the sides of it, what's it going to do?

Essential Guide to Vehicles puts the max angle at a full 90 degrees.

Fair Enough, but still it's screwed if you attack from the side.

Secondly the Walker wasn't dead, it was on the ground, undamaged except for the fall which wouldn't of hurt the neck. The fact that the shots from the speeder made the walker blow up is the most disconcerting thing about the walker's neck armor, not just the fact that it is horribly under protected.

THE WALKER WAS DEAD. It wouldn't be getting up again, not without some serious support. The speeder blew up something that could no longer right back. Whoopee for that pilot.

The walker wouldn't be getting up, sure. But doesn't change the fact that the armor wasn't damaged, much less the neck where it was hit. Because of this it could be infered that any speeder that hit it in the back of the neck would destroy it.

A transport? What was it transporting in RoTJ?

Skywalker.

So you have an At-At stationed on a planet for one person? interesting approach.

What use was were the stormtroopers it was transporting in ESB until the end?

Um, you'd rather have them run for ~25 miles through sub-zero conditions?

No, but they could of used standard APCs instead of some glorified egineering failure.

The point of the thing is to be an APC worth a tank. Not just a transport... but the material used to make one of these would obviously be better off making the tanks, apcs, and artillery that this performs.

Why? The AT-ATs at Hoth sure as shit did their jobs, losing only two in the process, minuscule losses to the Empire.

So you point to two losses? The battle should of been a push over! Two losses of what should be able to destroy an army, no matter how infintasmel to the empire as a whole, is not acceptable!

[Straha]

We've been over how damn great the AT-AT is. For your ignorance regarding any and all information on this incrediable work of art, I have but one flame for you Straha.

Knee joint, takes a shot, doesn't even flinch.
They all take blaster fire. It isn't until one has fallen and the hull integrity is fucked up.
The AT-AT General Veers is in actually tilts sideways and picks off a snow speeder flying past it.

Shove that up your candy ass, you closet Trekkie.

A. Knee Joint takes a shot from an Inferior (and if I am remembering right) anti-personal weapon, and doesn't even flinch.

B. So you say that hull integrity is fucked up by all the fire? But wait! That means it would have been destroyed even before it was taken down. So the fact that it was brought down doesn't matter does it?

C. The Walker tilted sideways, once. The rest all got owned by the speeders.

Finally I wish to make my stance clear. I AM A WARSIE! Thing is I think the At-At was horribly designed, you can't disagree that there is not much room for improvment can you?

[Wicked Pilot]

My only concern about the AT-AT is the turning radius. It seams that hover and wheeled vechiles could easily out flank an AT-AT group.

[Darth Garden Gnome]

My only concern about the AT-AT is the turning radius. It seams that hover and wheeled vechiles could easily out flank an AT-AT group.

Good point. It's possible the AT-AT design was soley based on fighting a vastly inferior enemy. After all, what did the rebels have? Some usless antique artillery, a whole horde of useless infantry, and some very lucky speeders, that would've been useless had it not been for Luke's unorthodox tactics.

[AdmiralKanos]

AT-AT's are meant to act as a combination of self-propelled artillery and APC. Their flanks would be kept clear by AT-ST escorts or light hovertanks. There's no need to assume one-dimensional thinking and assume this thing is supposed to be a self-contained all-purpose military force.

[Illuminatus Primus]

So? A WWI Tank is still more powerful then a regular rifle, but it wouldn't give me any pride as a APC designer to say my design can withstand a WWI tank.

You're a moron. An APC's purpose is not to be an artillery platform.

Fair Enough, but still it's screwed if you attack from the side.

Stupid. That's what AT-STs and AT-AAs are for. Preventing air attacks and not allowing enemy vehicles to flank the AT-ATs.

The walker wouldn't be getting up, sure. But doesn't change the fact that the armor wasn't damaged, much less the neck where it was hit. Because of this it could be infered that any speeder that hit it in the back of the neck would destroy it.

Watch the movie? Look at how the blasts are dispersed. It is probably shielded. Only after it fell and the shields went out did the lasers touch the armor.

So you have an At-At stationed on a planet for one person? interesting approach.

You think the base was constructed in case Lord Vader's son would come down and have to be transported? Are you ignorant.

If a platoon or two of stormtroopers needed to get several kilometers away to attack some approaching force, should they march?

So you point to two losses? The battle should of been a push over! Two losses of what should be able to destroy an army, no matter how infintasmel to the empire as a whole, is not acceptable!

You negate that certain interference fields can hurt repulsorlift vehicles like repulsortanks, and that theater shields can interfere w/ attacks according to the ICS...do you read your sources?

A treaded vehicle could not be that heavy and still function over the same diverse terrain. A lighter vehicle would mount lighter armor that would get shot to shit by the Rebel arty. They brought in attack forces they knew the Rebels are little to no affective weapons against. You saying they should've known the civie modified T-47s would have harpoon cables that MIGHT trip a walker? Don't be absurd. The plan was great. You're just ranting like a lunatic.

[Sea Skimmer]

[1] Imitation
[2] Extended line of sight, indirect fire with blasters doesn't seem to be possibul.

The Empire has a full range of hover tanks and other vehicles, these are no doubt used against strong defenses while the AT-AT is used to overwhelm the light infantry/aircraft combination the Rebels must rely on.

[Darth Garden Gnome]

I retract my statment. I was thinking of an AT-AT being a self contained military unit, which is wrong. Indeed combined arms are the key.

Sooooo, you suck Straha.

[Shinova]

I would like to propose again my idea that perhaps the AT-AT is shielded, since when those shots from the speeders hit, they made that white, flashy ball thingy but left no scorch marks or anything. But a speeder was later able to destroy a walker when it had tripped.

My guess is that the shield generator went to hell after the walker tripped. So anyway, what do all of you say about my shielded AT-AT theory?

[Sea Skimmer]

I would like to propose again my idea that perhaps the AT-AT is shielded, since when those shots from the speeders hit, they made that white, flashy ball thingy but left no scorch marks or anything. But a speeder was later able to destroy a walker when it had tripped.

My guess is that the shield generator went to hell after the walker tripped. So anyway, what do all of you say about my shielded AT-AT theory?

I saw after it stopped moving the Speeder had a chance to line up for a perfect shot into the segmented neck, where the armor was both thinner and had gaps. The other shots where against solid segments.

[Straha]

So? A WWI Tank is still more powerful then a regular rifle, but it wouldn't give me any pride as a APC designer to say my design can withstand a WWI tank.

You're a moron. An APC's purpose is not to be an artillery platform.

And an At-At is? But wait, someone said before that it WAS supposed to be an APC... funny.

Fair Enough, but still it's screwed if you attack from the side.

Stupid. That's what AT-STs and AT-AAs are for. Preventing air attacks and not allowing enemy vehicles to flank the AT-ATs.

So, At-Sts are supposed to stop air attacks? Look At-Sts are well designed, they have a purpose they do it. Their purpose is NOT to knock out fighters. Your suposed to use Ties for that, and where were the Ties at Hoth?

The walker wouldn't be getting up, sure. But doesn't change the fact that the armor wasn't damaged, much less the neck where it was hit. Because of this it could be infered that any speeder that hit it in the back of the neck would destroy it.

Watch the movie? Look at how the blasts are dispersed. It is probably shielded. Only after it fell and the shields went out did the lasers touch the armor.

Besides the grammar that could of come out of an Infant I'll try to answer that. The At-At's main body was undamaged, the head was not, the legs were. and it was the head that WAS hit. Secondly if the damn thing is shielded why was it possible to attach something to it?

So you have an At-At stationed on a planet for one person? interesting approach.

You think the base was constructed in case Lord Vader's son would come down and have to be transported? Are you ignorant.

If a platoon or two of stormtroopers needed to get several kilometers away to attack some approaching force, should they march?

HELLO STUPID!!!! ENDOR'S MOON IS A FOREST!!!!! YOU CAN'T MOVE A WALKER THROUGH A WOODED FOREST, OR ELSE IT WILL FALL OVER!
Look, they SHOULD have normal repulsor apcs, or better yet what they used in the Movie, Biker Craft. Your not going to have a huge army down there, cause why would you? there are a bunch of Ewoks down there, that's it. When the battle actually takes place then it gets icky, but even then an AT-AT couldn't help, that's why they used AT-STs which are designed to do things like that.

So you point to two losses? The battle should of been a push over! Two losses of what should be able to destroy an army, no matter how infintasmel to the empire as a whole, is not acceptable!

You negate that certain interference fields can hurt repulsorlift vehicles like repulsortanks, and that theater shields can interfere w/ attacks according to the ICS...do you read your sources?

A treaded vehicle could not be that heavy and still function over the same diverse terrain. A lighter vehicle would mount lighter armor that would get shot to shit by the Rebel arty.

When have the Rebels ever used effective artillery? Hoth they used outdated junk, Endor they could have used mortors, but didn't. And never in all of my recolection have they used Artillery... So why should they worry about heavy artillery when lighter artillery would do?

They brought in attack forces they knew the Rebels are little to no affective weapons against. You saying they should've known the civie modified T-47s would have harpoon cables that MIGHT trip a walker? Don't be absurd. The plan was great. You're just ranting like a lunatic.

The plan was good, it wasn't great. It did its job, and killed a bunch of over powered, crappily armed Rebels... good job. Secondly they KNEW the walkers could do that, It's in the biographies, and some novels that a CADET identified the problem, and Veers was notified. What happened to the Cadet? He got demoted to a stormie, and then they lost walkers to this. NExt time, think and check Cannon before you speak.

[Exonerate]

Why bother using the AT-AT as an APC instead of just making an aircraft equally armored, while possessing more mobility?

[Straha]

Just to clarify something yet again. I DON'T THINK THE EMPIRE WOULD LOSE! I just think that the AT-AT is badly designed for what it should be doing... that's all.

[Darth Wong]

And an At-At is? But wait, someone said before that it WAS supposed to be an APC... funny.

Why do you assume that a SW vehicle must fit neatly into a present-day designation? The AT-AT seems to mix functions of both a modern-day APC and an artillery piece.

So, At-Sts are supposed to stop air attacks? Look At-Sts are well designed, they have a purpose they do it. Their purpose is NOT to knock out fighters. Your suposed to use Ties for that, and where were the Ties at Hoth?

Perhaps you missed the part about the theatre shield, and how they couldn't start their landing until the shield generator was destroyed? You know, the whole point of the ground assault?

Besides the grammar that could of come out of an Infant I'll try to answer that. The At-At's main body was undamaged, the head was not, the legs were. and it was the head that WAS hit. Secondly if the damn thing is shielded why was it possible to attach something to it?

Ray shields.

HELLO STUPID!!!! ENDOR'S MOON IS A FOREST!!!!! YOU CAN'T MOVE A WALKER THROUGH A WOODED FOREST, OR ELSE IT WILL FALL OVER!

We never saw the AT-AT fall over. We never saw AT-ST's fall over either, until one of them ran into a log-trap. Tell me, when you walk through the forest on your two legs, do you fall over constantly?

Look, they SHOULD have normal repulsor apcs, or better yet what they used in the Movie, Biker Craft. Your not going to have a huge army down there, cause why would you? there are a bunch of Ewoks down there, that's it. When the battle actually takes place then it gets icky, but even then an AT-AT couldn't help, that's why they used AT-STs which are designed to do things like that.

They weren't expecting an assault in large numbers. They were told to expect a dozen Rebels. They were figuring on a quick arrest, not an actual battle. It probably took quite a while to realize they were facing many hundreds, perhaps thousands of Ewoks rather than just a handful, and that these Ewoks had actually planned their assault. That was just overconfidence.

The plan was good, it wasn't great. It did its job, and killed a bunch of over powered, crappily armed Rebels... good job. Secondly they KNEW the walkers could do that, It's in the biographies, and some novels that a CADET identified the problem, and Veers was notified. What happened to the Cadet? He got demoted to a stormie, and then they lost walkers to this. NExt time, think and check Cannon before you speak.

It's a special-application walker. For outright combat, they use the AT-SE, which is much lower to the ground and more sure-footed. In terms of profile, it's much more like a tank than the tall walker-types.

[Sea Skimmer]

Why bother using the AT-AT as an APC instead of just making an aircraft equally armored, while possessing more mobility?

They can't pass through a theater shield.