TIEs have shields

Brian Young · Post by **Brian Young** » 2003-02-28 07:18pm

Yes, TIEs have shields, and they are resilient enough to defend against direct hits from the Falcon's quad guns.
http://www.babtech-onthe.net/starwars/tieshields1.avi
This is immediately before Luke destroyed his second TIE in ANH.
http://www.babtech-onthe.net/starwars/tieshields2.avi
This is immediately before Han destroys his second TIE in ANH.
Both of these videos are from the SE, because that is the version I already had digitized and backed-up to CDR. This is from the widescreen version. It has been through the inverse telecine process, so there are no duplicate frames or half&half frames. I slowed these clips down to 6 frames per second, so you can see the shield effects more esily.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2003-02-28 07:37pm

Impressive. Most impressive.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2003-02-28 08:01pm

The question is, do we assume that these are specially modified TIEs, or that all TIEs have these shields?
Almost every official source indicates that for all intents and purposes, TIEs do not have shields capable of withstanding laser blasts. These sources should of course be considered.
I think that what we have here is evidence that shielded TIEs are more common than was previously mentioned in other sources, but not that they are the standard.

Other thoughts?

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-02-28 08:04pm

This is only from ANH, right?

I think it might be safe to say that maybe only the TIEs on Death Star I were shielded.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-02-28 08:29pm

...odd, the videos do not work for me...

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-02-28 08:41pm

Neither do they for me.

But, you would be able to tell if other TIEs have shields by doing a similar analysis of other movies, if possible.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2003-02-28 08:52pm

For those who can't get the videos to play: download Divx www.divx.com Don't worry, it's free.

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2003-02-28 09:45pm

Sticky this thread

The Trektards will never accept it, but still.

Brian Young · Post by **Brian Young** » 2003-02-28 10:39pm

Some of you can't view the files? That is unfortunate, you *need* Divx!

I transcoded the files to Quicktime 6. If you don't have Divx or QT6, you need to evaluate your software habits.

http://www.babtech-onthe.net/starwars/tieshields1.mov
http://www.babtech-onthe.net/starwars/tieshields2.mov

Enjoy.

Isolder74 · Post by **Isolder74** » 2003-02-28 10:46pm

if my sources are right then all Star Wars Craft have Particle Shields even Ties. It could be the lasers glancing off of these. This theory would keep all data stating Ties are not shielded intact.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2003-02-28 10:58pm

Isolder74 wrote:if my sources are right then all Star Wars Craft have Particle Shields even Ties. It could be the lasers glancing off of these. This theory would keep all data stating Ties are not shielded intact.

Something along those lines would be my guess. They refitted the TIEs to use ion cannons at hoth, I would think they would mount shields on TIEs being sent out to partol an area rich in debris from the former Alderaan.

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2003-03-01 12:26am

Brian Young wrote:Yes, TIEs have shields, and they are resilient enough to defend against direct hits from the Falcon's quad guns.

Jeez! I forgot all about this! Brian, you discovered this about 2 years ago, right?

Brian Young · Post by **Brian Young** » 2003-03-01 09:38am

Yes I did, Lord Poe. And I posted these clips in lower quality (I have superior equipment now).
My favorite hypothesis is that most of the "Official" material is worthless bovine feces.
How many "Official" sources claim that turbolasres are plasma guns, lasers, etc.? They even conflict with each other. How many claim that lightsabres emit laser beams that are folded in on themselves?
How many "Official" sources claim that a ship traveling through hyperspace is in another dimension? In reality, Hyperspace is the way the universe appears to an observer who is traveling faster than lightspeed.
How many "Official" sources claim that the Millennium Falcon's top speed is 1.5c?
How many "Official" sources claim that Executor is 5 miles long?

I have provided a canon source that demonstrates shields on two different TIE fighters. All "Official" sources must bow down to it. And it doesn't matter how many there are.

I suppose it was a brain bug that started this fallacy. We see TIEs explode with single hits from X-Wings, so they must not have shields, right? Take a look at the size of those guns on X-Wings! They are huge - much larger than the Falcon's guns.
And we also see single hits from TIEs damaging and/or destroying X-Wings and Y-Wings. I guess they don't have shields either, huh? Wait a minute, a couple pilots mentioned them in the movie...

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2003-03-01 09:46am

Well I guess its safe to suppose TIEs can be equipped with shields for special or elite duty work and on special assignments, like the Death Star and thus explains why it was no big strain for Thrawn to begin permanently mounting shields on all Interceptors and Line Fighters Empire wide.

Brian Young · Post by **Brian Young** » 2003-03-01 10:05am

Dude, if the TIEs assigned to the Death Star have shields, then they already ARE mass-produced. How many TIEs do you think are stationed at the Death Star? 4?

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2003-03-01 10:25am

Brian Young wrote:Dude, if the TIEs assigned to the Death Star have shields, then they already ARE mass-produced. How many TIEs do you think are stationed at the Death Star? 4?

They had a couple thousand on the DS, however the fighters going after the Rebels were under Vaders own command and could have been special. However just because the DS could have had shielded fighters does not indicate the entire fighter force is shielded. 25,000 ISDs with 72 fighters is 1.8 million Ties.

EU sources indicate that for sheer cost factors Ties are generally not shielded. Ties can be upgraded with both shields and hyperdrives, however these systems reduce the combat effectiveness of the Ties because they were not designed with these systems in mind. For a truly effective shielded Tie you need an Avenger or Defender.

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2003-03-01 10:25am

Darth Servo wrote:Sticky this thread

The Trektards will never accept it, but still.

I do think that was uncalled for. This is the PSW forum.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2003-03-01 11:12am

Alyeska wrote:
Brian Young wrote:Dude, if the TIEs assigned to the Death Star have shields, then they already ARE mass-produced. How many TIEs do you think are stationed at the Death Star? 4?
They had a couple thousand on the DS, however the fighters going after the Rebels were under Vaders own command and could have been special. However just because the DS could have had shielded fighters does not indicate the entire fighter force is shielded. 25,000 ISDs with 72 fighters is 1.8 million Ties.

But these weren't the ones under Vader's command, these were sentry ships.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2003-03-01 11:22am

Brian Young wrote: How many "Official" sources claim that turbolasres are plasma guns, lasers, etc.? They even conflict with each other.

Actually, the EU is pretty consistent in calling them lasers, or coherent light.

How many claim that lightsabres emit laser beams that are folded in on themselves?

None that I can recall, they say it's plasma that arcs back in Shadow hunter and some others

How many "Official" sources claim that a ship traveling through hyperspace is in another dimension? In reality, Hyperspace is the way the universe appears to an observer who is traveling faster than lightspeed.

While I think Saxton has done some excellent work, if official information says it's one thing, he theories are null and void.

How many "Official" sources claim that the Millennium Falcon's top speed is 1.5c?

Not a single one. They say it has a 1.5 hyperdrive rating, but all say it does not go 1.5 c

How many "Official" sources claim that Executor is 5 miles long?

Just about all of them.

vakundok · Post by **vakundok** » 2003-03-01 11:40am

Well, if a shielded Tie was so uncommon why Solo was not surprised by it?

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2003-03-01 12:33pm

vakundok wrote:Well, if a shielded Tie was so uncommon why Solo was not surprised by it?

Because he knows longer-range sentry TIEs, or TIE dispatched to special installations, TIEs in dangerous areas (high velocity Alderaan asteroid field) or whatever, are shielded from his training as an officer at the Imperial Academy.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2003-03-01 12:39pm

Brian Young wrote:...*snip purist wanking*...

While your agenda is sure purday...Official is regarded as true unless contradicted, and TIEs generally are a lower-quality and durability seeming craft.

Notice none of the shield-beam interactions occur in front of the TIE cockpit, pylons, or radiator panels. They might just be shield/beam energy bursts commonly known as "flakbursts." We know from AOTC screen captures that the beam even continues through the bled off energy from a "flakburst."

See Disproving flakbursts.

I think these are special sentry/Death Star/dangerous environment (high-velocity asteroid field) TIEs with shielding, OR the bursts are simply interference from volumetric navigation shielding and near-misses.

In ROTJ Falcon, A-Wing, and X-Wing laser bolts vaporized every observed TIE outright (big flaming explosition) with a single hit. Thus it would appear this is the aberrition and intended to be the less observed example. To take this and assume that all Official sources in general are worthless is bullshit agenda.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2003-03-01 12:39pm

Ok, it's clear that those ties have shields. the objsective now is to try and find a rationalization, and if that can't be found, try and figure out if this invalidates the EU and how much.

I can see a coulpe of ideas, such as the shields being cut from later production models that came out with the huge upsurge in production following Yavin, that they are some kind of nav deflector, or that (depending on whether the shields are still visible in the later movies or even in the DS attack) this was a SFX goof.

Patrick Ogaard · Post by **Patrick Ogaard** » 2003-03-01 02:08pm

The existence of a TIE variant with shields does not really contradict anything at all.

There are at least six major variants of the standard TIE fighter, after all.

The T.I.E. is the original model produced by Republic Sienar.

Then comes the TIE, an upgraded model created under Imperial auspices.

Then comes the TIE/In, a further upgrade with separate power supply for the weaponry, and this is what can be considered the plain vanilla TIE model of the Empire, deployed to the ships of the fleet.

Then comes the TIE/rc, the recon/commo modelthat carries only one laser cannon.

The TIE/fc is the fire control model, equipped with target designators and jam-resistant data feeds that allow them to fly in close to targets in space and on the ground to give warships the opportunity to fire accurately from beyond the range of effective counterfire.

The TIE/gt, finally, is the variant that has an elongated hull and a launch system for "a wide variety of torpedoes and bombs," and is used mostly as a ground support craft.

So what does all that mean? It means that a TIE variant equipped with shields in order to increase its survivability in adverse environments is not exactly unreasonable, especially if that TIE is used as a picket, or as a short-range interceptor with sharply limited endurance.

Similarly, I believe that Thrawn was supposed to have begun a program to retrofit the TIEs under his command with limited shields in order to improve pilot survivability. Considering the considerable speed and maneuverability displayed by TIEs, a slight sacrifice there in return for limited shielding might be seen as a reasonable trade-off. Also, Thrawn would likely not have done that if it were an unreasonably complex operation with serious adverse effects on combat performance, so that it actually seems possible that the fighter is already designed to accept a few modular add-ons, or at least has a few spots where a shield generator could be easily snugged away.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2003-03-01 02:52pm

Brian, you also have to remember that the Falcon was destroying TIE's in one shot with no troubles at the Battle of Endor. Y-Wings also handily vaped TIE Interceptors with their guns, which are significantly smaller than the ones on the Falcon or an X-Wing.

It's nothing new for TIE's to have shields. Vader's TIE Advanced had them, as does the TIE Defender. The Defender has the same basic pod structure as a normal TIE Fighter, so it probably has the same power plant. It's hardly surprising that a normal TIE's power plant could support shielding if needed. The question is whether or not it's practical to equip all fighters with them. The answer is probably not. Sienar Fleet Systems probably manufactures all the models with the same power plant to cut down on costs, rather than putting a different power plant on each model. I wouldn't be surprised at all if TIE's were very modular, meaning that you can tack on different stuff, like shields and missile launchers, to them on a moment's notice.

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