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The idiocy of buzz droids

Posted: 2005-07-14 10:21pm
by Rogue 9
Probably been done to death, I know, but I wasn't here for it. So, Obvious Objection #1: If the Trade Federation can reliably put buzz droids onto enemy fighters, why the hell didn't they just reliably put bombs on them instead? It makes no sense. Just blow them up and be done with it; there's no point in letting the fighter continue functioning for a few minutes while being slowly taken apart.

Posted: 2005-07-14 10:25pm
by Spanky The Dolphin
Perhaps to help kidnap Jedi.

Posted: 2005-07-14 10:28pm
by Mr. T
Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Perhaps to help kidnap Jedi.
This makes the most sense. A jedi blown in to a million pieces would be pretty useless, a captured Jedi would be valuable though.

Posted: 2005-07-14 10:39pm
by 000
LoE makes it clear that Grievous prefers to take Jedi live if at all possible so, yeah, it's reasonable to surmise that that's what buzz droids are for.

Posted: 2005-07-14 10:45pm
by Isolder74
Note they are only fired at Jedi Starfighters.

As such they must be intended to capture Jedi.

Or are you assuming that the Vulture Droids only have One Type of missile onboard?

Posted: 2005-07-15 12:24am
by Vympel
Vulture droids carry proton torpedoes as well accoridng to the TPM:ICS.

Out of universe, Buzz Droids are a mere plot device. Just like that other huge plot device, the Invisible Hand.

Posted: 2005-07-15 12:40am
by Rogue 9
gladius wrote:LoE makes it clear that Grievous prefers to take Jedi live if at all possible so, yeah, it's reasonable to surmise that that's what buzz droids are for.
And venting their atmosphere will leave them just as dead, and said venting is one of the (more obvious) effects of having one's spacecraft reduced to scrap metal. Some capture mechanism.

Posted: 2005-07-15 12:57am
by Jim Raynor
The SW.com databank states "buzz droids are designed to disable, not destroy, enemy craft."

Posted: 2005-07-15 10:14am
by Lord Revan
Remember Grievous likes to collect Lightsabers from the Jedi he has defeated, it pretty hard to take the saber if the Jedi it belonged and the saber itself are just a cloud of vapor.

Posted: 2005-07-15 10:54am
by Old Plympto
Rogue 9 wrote:And venting their atmosphere will leave them just as dead, and said venting is one of the (more obvious) effects of having one's spacecraft reduced to scrap metal. Some capture mechanism.
I got the impression that they weren't venting the cockpit atmosphere. The droids cut some sort of liquid or gas delivery line (coolant or such) and the gas fogged up the canopy.

Posted: 2005-07-15 11:10am
by Lord Revan
Rogue 9 wrote:
gladius wrote:LoE makes it clear that Grievous prefers to take Jedi live if at all possible so, yeah, it's reasonable to surmise that that's what buzz droids are for.
And venting their atmosphere will leave them just as dead, and said venting is one of the (more obvious) effects of having one's spacecraft reduced to scrap metal. Some capture mechanism.
well the droids didn't finish their work and Grievous wants to hunt and kill the Jedi not just take their sabers.

Posted: 2005-07-15 11:34am
by Illuminatus Primus
Vympel wrote:Out of universe, Buzz Droids are a mere plot device. Just like that other huge plot device, the Invisible Hand.
What do you mean?

Posted: 2005-07-15 11:53am
by Vympel
Illuminatus Primus wrote:
What do you mean?
The IH was clearly designed to serve the dictates of the plot first and any semblance of sensible design second:

- the shield generator on the side of the hangar;
- the ridiculously vulnerable glass-house bridge, seemingly there solely so General Grievous can make a dramatic escape from it, and very likely so that they can have that shot of the bridge skidding towards the camera as it lands;
- the huge spire, which was added so that the ship would stand out among all the others in the battle (as well as having a dramatic arena for the duel with Dooku);
- the shell-ejecting Separatist deck cannons, because George Lucas wanted a pirate ship sequence :roll:
- and also the flaps, dragfins, and emergency engine modes, which seemed to me at least to be there solely so the ship and it's crew/pilot could be seen to do something as it crashed;

The ship is a testament to style over substance and plot fiat. Worst ship of all six films, easily.

Posted: 2005-07-15 12:58pm
by Molyneux
Vympel wrote:
Illuminatus Primus wrote:
What do you mean?
The ship is a testament to style over substance and plot fiat. Worst ship of all six films, easily.
Do podracers count as "ships"? 'Cuz if they do, I think they just edge out Hand for that title.

And buzz droids may not be the best anti-starfighter weaponry imaginable, but they'd probably be fairly effective against larger craft; the shell gets them through the ship's shields, and then they can run amok.

Posted: 2005-07-15 01:41pm
by VT-16
and also the flaps, dragfins, and emergency engine modes, which seemed to me at least to be there solely so the ship and it's crew/pilot could be seen to do something as it crashed;
There´s a ship in ANH that has flaps as well, it´s the big one that is positioned almost diagonally in one of the scenes added to the SE.

Posted: 2005-07-15 01:50pm
by The Jazz Intern
I didn't like the buzz droids either. And, Why make it so ineffective? just mount a small ion cannon on the buzz droid. Also, about the invisable hand, why the heck does it have such a small piloting crew. You know, how its piloted by 1 person? In the Imperator class Star Destroyers in the movies, the bridge has at least 25 people at computers.

Posted: 2005-07-15 01:57pm
by Noble Ire
The Jazz Intern wrote:I didn't like the buzz droids either. And, Why make it so ineffective? just mount a small ion cannon on the buzz droid. Also, about the invisable hand, why the heck does it have such a small piloting crew. You know, how its piloted by 1 person? In the Imperator class Star Destroyers in the movies, the bridge has at least 25 people at computers.
There were at least a dozen pilot droids on the bridge of the IH, as well as a dozen or so Neimodians. And its a smaller ship than an ISD, and it most likely has more automation involved in its construction. What's your complaint?

Posted: 2005-07-15 03:15pm
by The Jazz Intern
How did anakin land the ship? If there were all those droids onboard the bringe, where were they when anakin land the invisable hand peice?
By the way, I only saw the movie once so I may be wrong. When I saw it it looked as though Anakin was the only one piloting the Invisible hand down onto the planet.

Posted: 2005-07-15 03:20pm
by Noble Ire
How did anakin land the ship? If there were all those droids onboard the bringe, where were they when anakin land the invisable hand peice?
They were either destroyed or had fled by then. In fact, you see the bridge crew fleeing.
By the way, I only saw the movie once so I may be wrong. When I saw it it looked as though Anakin was the only one piloting the Invisible hand down onto the planet.

He wasnt flying it, he was trying to hold it together as it crashed. As some would say, "Falling with style." :wink:

Posted: 2005-07-15 03:45pm
by Manus Celer Dei
Obi-Wan seemed to be doing something to help him, as well.

Posted: 2005-07-15 06:18pm
by Isolder74
Noble Ire wrote:
How did anakin land the ship? If there were all those droids onboard the bringe, where were they when anakin land the invisable hand peice?
They were either destroyed or had fled by then. In fact, you see the bridge crew fleeing.
By the way, I only saw the movie once so I may be wrong. When I saw it it looked as though Anakin was the only one piloting the Invisible hand down onto the planet.

He wasnt flying it, he was trying to hold it together as it crashed. As some would say, "Falling with style." :wink:
Aslo note they are only flying half a ship. In a way it was falling with style. All I Saw them doing was controling how bad it crashes and where. i wonder where the other half landed?

Posted: 2005-07-15 06:23pm
by Noble Ire
i wonder where the other half landed?
Presumably, it landed in high density urban sector, killing millions on contact, as happened with the other battleship fragments that fell from under the shields. A lot of people died during that battle.

Posted: 2005-07-15 07:14pm
by Crossroads Inc.
You ever wonder why the Planet didn't have ground Based TurboLasers to deal with such things?

Posted: 2005-07-15 07:17pm
by Sea Skimmer
Crossroads Inc. wrote:You ever wonder why the Planet didn't have ground Based TurboLasers to deal with such things?
Any ground-based turbolasers that exist would be rather busy engaging those Separatists ships still in action.

Posted: 2005-07-16 03:34am
by Vympel
The novelization makes it clear that if not for Anakin's efforts, they would never have survived.