Starwars.com Databank update

[Firefox]

Here.

They've added many new ships from RotS, including CIS and Republic cap ships.

I didn't see it posted elsewhere.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

About fucking time, Pablo...

[Firefox]

A few interesting tidbits from the Venator entry:

Its surface was dotted with eight heavy turbolasers, two medium dual turbolaser cannons, 52 point-defense laser cannons, four proton torpedo tubes and six tractor beam projectors. In a creative move, some captains would use carried SPHA-T walkers to fire out of the ventral docking bay, supplementing the ship's considerable firepower without taxing its energy reserves.

Of course, SW.com can be taken with a grain of salt, but I thought this was interesting, since the ICS could've been taken to mean only the guns were mounted in this fashion.

Though it was capable of making planetary landings, this versatile Star Destroyer was used mostly as a spacebound fighting ship. This meant its hangars were stocked with starfighters rather than ground craft. Its standard complement included 192 V-19 Torrent or V-wing fighters, 192 Jedi starfighters, 36 ARC-170 fighters, and 20 LAAT/I gunships.

Includes figures for the V-19, but halves the number of LAAT/is.

Potential spoiler:

Though the term "Star Destroyer" is never used in the film to describe these starships, the use of the classic Star Destroyer bridge set to represent this vessel's interior leant the classic moniker to this new warship.

Sounds like my Imperator theory was wrong.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

A few interesting tidbits from the Venator entry:

Its surface was dotted with eight heavy turbolasers, two medium dual turbolaser cannons, 52 point-defense laser cannons, four proton torpedo tubes and six tractor beam projectors. In a creative move, some captains would use carried SPHA-T walkers to fire out of the ventral docking bay, supplementing the ship's considerable firepower without taxing its energy reserves.

Of course, SW.com can be taken with a grain of salt, but I thought this was interesting, since the ICS could've been taken to mean only the guns were mounted in this fashion.

That's mostly Pablo just being his irrational self, this time aparently unaware that the SPHA-Ts don't really have enough power to serve as gun platforms in such a manner. The ICS piece makes more sense, since then the weapons would be able to draw off the main reactor for power.

[Noble Ire]

That's mostly Pablo just being his irrational self, this time aparently unaware that the SPHA-Ts don't really have enough power to serve as gun platforms in such a manner. The ICS piece makes more sense, since then the weapons would be able to draw off the main reactor for power.

They seem to be fairly effective against TF core ships.

Although I admit, the one-shot capacity of the SPHA-Ts and the fact that they are artillery pieces and probably less than accurate, and thus this tactic might be used only as a last resort.

[Vympel]

It's gotten what the ICS said a bit wrong- the Imperator was renamed Imperial, it wasn't an earlier design.

This is cool:

The design of the Jedi attack cruiser is meant to bridge the look of the Acclamator-class vessels seen in Episode II and the Imperial-class Star Destroyers in Episode IV. Though the term "Star Destroyer" is never used in the film to describe these starships, the use of the classic Star Destroyer bridge set to represent this vessel's interior leant the classic moniker to this new warship. The red coloration is consistent with color schemes first started in Episode I -- vessels of the Republic carry the red hue, while the Separatist vessels fly blue colors. By the end of the film, the Star Destroyers lack color altogether, symbolizing the Empire's emergence over the Republic.

The lack of color is confirmed

And this

Though the finished space battle would include thousands of capital ships, the central action followed the course of the two Jedi starfighters as they sped through a maze of larger vessels. This combat was mapped with major starships and combat engagements serving as landmarks. Confederacy destroyers were among the ship designs peppering the crowded skies. The Episode III Art Department borrowed from abandoned design concepts first illustrated for Return of the Jedi capital ships used by the Rebellion.

In the chaos and confusion of the Battle of Coruscant, rampant signal jamming led to crossed-orders among the Republic ranks. Had they known the flagship contained the Chancellor and their Jedi heroes, it may not have taken the brunt of so many brutal broadsides. A final cannonade from the Republic Star Destroyer Guarlara mortally wounded the Invisible Hand, causing it to succumb to Coruscant's gravitic stresses.

Gualara delivered the final smackdown.

Also, Plo Koon is flying an older Delta-7 in the film, even though they film him in the Eta-2 cockpit. Blooper! (from the Behind the Scenes section).

[Spanky The Dolphin]

From the Behind the Scenes page for the ARC-170 entry:

Known simply as a clone fighter in the script, the ARC-170 can trace its name to the filename assigned to the piece of art that established its look -- ART 170. Meant to be a progenitor of the X-wing fighter, the ARC-170 features similar designs as the flanking cylindrical engines from which extend splitting wings tipped with laser cannons. The clone pilots seen aboard are computer-generated, or element photography of actor Temuera Morrison's face adorned with computer-generated helmet and costuming.

While I knew that we'd see things like Clonetroopers sans helmets that would be acomplished with Morrison being given CG armour, the full extent and impact didn't really set in until I read that.

I mean just think of that: effects technology is at the point where even computer-generated costuming can be implemented at at least a semi-regular basis...

[Jim Raynor]

A few interesting tidbits from the Venator entry:

Its surface was dotted with eight heavy turbolasers, two medium dual turbolaser cannons, 52 point-defense laser cannons, four proton torpedo tubes and six tractor beam projectors. In a creative move, some captains would use carried SPHA-T walkers to fire out of the ventral docking bay, supplementing the ship's considerable firepower without taxing its energy reserves.

Of course, SW.com can be taken with a grain of salt, but I thought this was interesting, since the ICS could've been taken to mean only the guns were mounted in this fashion.

Though it was capable of making planetary landings, this versatile Star Destroyer was used mostly as a spacebound fighting ship. This meant its hangars were stocked with starfighters rather than ground craft. Its standard complement included 192 V-19 Torrent or V-wing fighters, 192 Jedi starfighters, 36 ARC-170 fighters, and 20 LAAT/I gunships.

Includes figures for the V-19, but halves the number of LAAT/is.

The ICS is supposed to be a bit higher than the SW.com databank, right? I really don't like the small bits of EU minimalism (it's either that, typos, or sloppy work) that was snuck in here, like halving the number of LAATs and saying the ISD is the ultimate warship design. Did Pablo really write this stuff himself?

At least the Venator's fighter complement stayed at 420. Before, a lot of people were speculating that the ICS meant 192 V-wings OR Eta-2s. I find it interesting though that an alternate fighter complement of 192 V-19 Torrents (I was wondering where the hell they went in the time between the cartoon and ROTS) was stated here, but replacing the V-wings instead of the Eta-2s. It's strange, because every other source implies that the Eta-2 is so stripped down that only Jedi can fly it. I would have thought that it would be the Eta-2s, not the V-wings that wouldn't be found on many Star Destroyers. This lends credibility to the theories that Jango (and therefore his clones) are remarkable enough pilots that they can fly the ship as well, or that there is a variant of the fighter designed for normal non-Jedi pilots.

[Ender]

I love the fact that you get great, clear images of the broadsides of the seppie cap ships on their EU pages.

[Vympel]

The ICS is supposed to be a bit higher than the SW.com databank, right? I really don't like the small bits of EU minimalism (it's either that, typos, or sloppy work) that was snuck in here, like halving the number of LAATs and saying the ISD is the ultimate warship design. Did Pablo really write this stuff himself?

It's taken from the ICS- any errors or misinterpretations the databank makes in that regard are just that.

At least the Venator's fighter complement stayed at 420. Before, a lot of people were speculating that the ICS meant 192 V-wings OR Eta-2s. I find it interesting though that an alternate fighter complement of 192 V-19 Torrents (I was wondering where the hell they went in the time between the cartoon and ROTS) was stated here, but replacing the V-wings instead of the Eta-2s. It's strange, because every other source implies that the Eta-2 is so stripped down that only Jedi can fly it.

I don't see why such an implication is necessary. The TIE Fighter is more stripped down an Eta-2 ever will be.

[Illuminatus Primus]

The TIE is only more stripped down in weapons; it has scanners and sensors. And some TIEs have shields too (though whether they're full combat shields is debatable).

[Ender]

This lends credibility to the theories that Jango (and therefore his clones) are remarkable enough pilots that they can fly the ship as well, or that there is a variant of the fighter designed for normal non-Jedi pilots.

If you consider the velocity required for asteroids to be in geosyncronous orbit, then Jango was dogfighting at atleast Mach 30 in AOTC. Faster if they were orbiting.

[Illuminatus Primus]

This lends credibility to the theories that Jango (and therefore his clones) are remarkable enough pilots that they can fly the ship as well, or that there is a variant of the fighter designed for normal non-Jedi pilots.

If you consider the velocity required for asteroids to be in geosyncronous orbit, then Jango was dogfighting at atleast Mach 30 in AOTC. Faster if they were orbiting.

With the aid of sensors and scanners and the protection of shields. Eta-2 has none of that.

[Jim Raynor]

This lends credibility to the theories that Jango (and therefore his clones) are remarkable enough pilots that they can fly the ship as well, or that there is a variant of the fighter designed for normal non-Jedi pilots.

If you consider the velocity required for asteroids to be in geosyncronous orbit, then Jango was dogfighting at atleast Mach 30 in AOTC. Faster if they were orbiting.

Holy shit. Are the reflexes of the best real-life pilots anywhere near what is needed to do such a thing? Jango must have been a great genetic specimen to be used as the basis for the clone army, but I thought he was still human. What do we know about his past? Is he genetically enhanced or something?

[Spanky The Dolphin]

No, not that I"m aware of.

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

If you consider the velocity required for asteroids to be in geosyncronous orbit, then Jango was dogfighting at atleast Mach 30 in AOTC. Faster if they were orbiting.

Wouldn't that only matter if that was the relative velocity? From what I'm reading, he's going Mach 30 relative to the planet, but the only velocity that should matter is relative to the asteroids and fighter themselves, right?

[Ender]

If you consider the velocity required for asteroids to be in geosyncronous orbit, then Jango was dogfighting at atleast Mach 30 in AOTC. Faster if they were orbiting.

Wouldn't that only matter if that was the relative velocity? From what I'm reading, he's going Mach 30 relative to the planet, but the only velocity that should matter is relative to the asteroids and fighter themselves, right?

Yes, I was waiting to see how long it would take for someone to catch that.

Don't mind me, I'm just getting drunk and amusing myself at y'alls expense.

[Cykeisme]

I'm a little confused here.. why would a Venator stock 192 Jedi Starfighters (Eta-2s..?)? Do they mean that they have clones piloting the Jedi Starfighters? If that's the case, why are Eta-2s referred to as "Jedi" Starfighters?

If the Jedi Starfighters are referred to as being so stripped down that only Jedi can fly them, I suppose they're referring to a lack of sensors that Jedi make up for with sensing threats and targets through the Force.. and not just the lack of combat shields.

I digress, but I'm sure TIEs have some shielding to protect against navigational hazards (micrometeorites and debris), just not combat-rated shields that offer real protection against fighter-scale blaster cannons. There were those flashes around the TIEs that the Falcon was shooting at, after all. As an aside, do TIEs really seem less robust than Rebel fighters in the OT?

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

As an aside, do TIEs really seem less robust than Rebel fighters in the OT?

IIRC TIEs tend to simply explode when they're hit, while the rebel fighters break up over a matter of seconds. There are exceptions to both trends, though.

Note that I don't have numbers to back this up; it is just what I've noticed.

[RedWizard]

If that's the case, why are Eta-2s referred to as "Jedi" Starfighters?

Marketing. The Venator has also been called a "Jedi attack cruiser."

[Master of Ossus]

How can the Venator carry so many more fighters than an ISD? We're talking on the order of 4 times the hangar capacity (though, admittedly the ISD carries troops and garrisons and such), with similarly sized craft. It's not like the Venator is considered a carrier, either--it's designated as a warship and it seems that its officers just bring them straight in to battles like you would expect with a cruiser or front-line combatant.

[Lord of the Farce]

How can the Venator carry so many more fighters than an ISD? We're talking on the order of 4 times the hangar capacity (though, admittedly the ISD carries troops and garrisons and such), with similarly sized craft. It's not like the Venator is considered a carrier, either--it's designated as a warship and it seems that its officers just bring them straight in to battles like you would expect with a cruiser or front-line combatant.

Just looked at the ROTS:ICS, and by my eyeball estimation, something like 2/3 (or more) of the entire front half of the Venator is mostly empty space used for the storage of (edit: or used as runway for) fighter crafts.

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

How can the Venator carry so many more fighters than an ISD? We're talking on the order of 4 times the hangar capacity (though, admittedly the ISD carries troops and garrisons and such), with similarly sized craft. It's not like the Venator is considered a carrier, either--it's designated as a warship and it seems that its officers just bring them straight in to battles like you would expect with a cruiser or front-line combatant.

According to the ICS's cutaway drawing, almost the entirety of the ship from the front of the side notches forward is devoted to hangar space. There is some room on the sides devoted to shielding, crew quarters, and small guns, but I'd say around 80% of it is just hangars and other things devoted to its fighters.

I haven't seen the OT:ICS yet, but I would assume that the ISD has much less room devoted to its fighters.

Edit: Beat to the punch by Lord of the Farce...

[VT-16]

Actually, that´s the impression I get from seeing it, it´s a carrier with warship-capabilities.

I would assume that the ISD has much less room devoted to its fighters.

Yes.

[Kartr_Kana]

The OT:ICS shows the ISD with almost no space(relative to the venator) for fighters, it is dominated by a huge reactor and multiple smaller ones.

Interesting note the Delta's, Eta's, Cloakshapes and Firesprays were all designed and built by KSE rather the KDY. And all were superior craft for their niches when they came out.