Ep 3 official tech discussion thread

Darth Mortis · Post by **Darth Mortis** » 2005-05-20 10:43am

Firefox wrote:
Darth Mortis wrote:I did not see Obi-Wan looking to concerned, I wouldn't do it, but then again, I'm no Jedi.
He's also highly trained in defensive lightsaber techniques.

Point taken, however this doesn't add to your argument.

This is the same man who surfs on red hot lava remember.
No, he was standing on a shielded platform floating above red-hot lava.

My point was he had no fear of the molten floor and actually, like me, was quite amused.

Firefox · Post by **Firefox** » 2005-05-20 10:49am

That doesn't change Terwynn's point (as well as my own) that Grievous's display was not some tantrum, but a psychological ploy he's used to kill Jedi before.

Darth Mortis · Post by **Darth Mortis** » 2005-05-20 10:53am

Well, to be honest, the only G.G. I know is from the film, possibly when I get a chance to see the CW cartoon, I will change my tone.

However, again, PERCEPTION is that was a silly wasted display in my opinion.

Firefox · Post by **Firefox** » 2005-05-20 10:56am

... And yet again, an inaccurate perception, given the scene in context, as well as precedent for Grievous' techniques.

Darth Mortis · Post by **Darth Mortis** » 2005-05-20 11:21am

Well, in my defense, I haven't read the novel, so my perceptions are bases on "I am trained in the Jedi way" now watch me spin my arms very fast and show off my ability.

GuppyShark · Post by **GuppyShark** » 2005-05-20 11:25am

weemadando wrote:I'm having visions of people bitching about how the engagement ranges were into the hundreds of metres during a lot of the opening battle and how this is indicative of SW engagement ranges being crap.

Can we get something straight in my mind - the ranges were that fucking tight, because the Republic forces were trying to prevent ANY seperatist ships from escaping the battle and a hyperspace jump "run up" in those kind of tight quarters would have been suicide for any ship there?

ICS also states they were constrained by being under Coruscant's own planetary shields.

GrandMasterTerwynn · Post by **GrandMasterTerwynn** » 2005-05-20 11:26am

Darth Mortis wrote:Well, in my defense, I haven't read the novel, so my perceptions are bases on "I am trained in the Jedi way" now watch me spin my arms very fast and show off my ability.

That actually lends credence to the theory of it being part psychological ploy. We've seen from the movies that showy, extravagant swordsmanship was pretty much the norm for Old Republic Jedi. Some of the less experienced ones like to preface their attacks with lightsabre spins and twirls. So if you're a Jedi taking on other fighters with showy swordsmanship, you see a spinning blade and you start anticipating an attack. You see two spinning blades, you begin thinking he's going to snap out of that spin and slash at you. The problem, of course, being that he has four lightsabres.

Darth Mortis · Post by **Darth Mortis** » 2005-05-20 11:28am

Also, we did not see the start of the battle.

One side may have initiated a close quarter engagement due to tactical advantage as well.

Vanas · Post by **Vanas** » 2005-05-20 11:43am

Haven't read too much of the thread, but I just saw the movie and wanted to add a few thoughts/questions:

1) The shields on Mustafa(r?)'s buildings were clearly angular, always a good sign.

2) I assume the broadside guns on the Invisible Hand are the Torpedo launchers? Unless Dooku has deployed 8-inch naval artillery. =/

3) Greivous: Ouch. Wonder why we don't see clone troopers go up like that? Were his organs being preserved in olive oil or what? Also, I guess he has eye -visor-things, to stop him from being blinded when in space.

4) Either Coruscant has planetary guns, or there's something odd about the lack of raining starship pieces.

5) Man, the Empire standardises things fast.

6) So it took 20 years to build the DS1? How'd they make the DS2 so fast? 0.o;

Crossroads Inc. · Post by **Crossroads Inc.** » 2005-05-20 11:47am

Vanas wrote:6) So it took 20 years to build the DS1? How'd they make the DS2 so fast? 0.o;

Take a good look at it, it's the the orginal DS. Looks funk, is wrong size in places. My guess, there building the one designed in EP-II as a Test bed.

Vanas · Post by **Vanas** » 2005-05-20 11:52am

You mean something akin to the Death Star Prototype from one of the EU books?
Maybe. I don't think that was the intention though.

AniThyng · Post by **AniThyng** » 2005-05-20 12:03pm

They couldn't even get Tantive IV right, why expect the same for the Death Star?

Winston Blake · Post by **Winston Blake** » 2005-05-20 12:03pm

Vanas wrote:Haven't read too much of the thread, but I just saw the movie and wanted to add a few thoughts/questions:

1) The shields on Mustafa(r?)'s buildings were clearly angular, always a good sign.

Aha, I'd forgotten about those shields. Though what showed they were angular? (i assume you mean in the sense of angle-dependent)

That reminds me, does anyone know if those big Mustafar lemon-slice-like structures on booms over the lava are described anywhere? For some reason i remember thinking they must be some kind of field generators to keep the volcano from erupting.

Crossroads Inc. · Post by **Crossroads Inc.** » 2005-05-20 12:07pm

AniThyng wrote:They couldn't even get Tantive IV right, why expect the same for the Death Star?

Argg! please, I'm trying to block the desecration of that lovely ship from my mind

Vanas · Post by **Vanas** » 2005-05-20 12:16pm

They were angular as in they turned through 90 degrees instead of curving.
When a lava bomb hit the sheld, you could see the glow looking like it'd hit a box rather than a bubble.

Winston Blake · Post by **Winston Blake** » 2005-05-20 12:24pm

Vanas wrote:They were angular as in they turned through 90 degrees instead of curving.
When a lava bomb hit the sheld, you could see the glow looking like it'd hit a box rather than a bubble.

I see now, that's interesting, i didn't notice that.

Vanas · Post by **Vanas** » 2005-05-20 12:45pm

It's sorta how I expected things like SD shields to work. Not segmented but more boxed.

VT-16 · Post by **VT-16** » 2005-05-20 12:59pm

They couldn't even get Tantive IV right, why expect the same for the Death Star?

Good thing we can blame the first on refits in-between ROTS and ANH. Bit harder to refit a moon-sized battlestation.

MrAnderson · Post by **MrAnderson** » 2005-05-20 01:07pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:SW has never had all that amazing ground forces compared to what they could have. They should be doing this Dinochrome Brigade with VLS missile barrages hitting targets over the horizon and megaton level directed energy and kinetic weapons blasting shit. They could do with decent CIWS and AP batteries too.

Or maybe the Wookies dont want to win the battle only to lose the war. Seeing as how the wookies appear to live very closely with nature this may limit their desire to use more powerful less precise weapons that will do heavy damage to their own homeworld.

MrAnderson · Post by **MrAnderson** » 2005-05-20 01:10pm

Gil Hamilton wrote:OK, I had some serious objections to the Buzz-Droids. What exactly where the point of them?

My guess is that the buzzdroids are meant as anti-capship weapons and they were the only rounds available for the Vulture Droids to fire at the two starfighters that broke through the defensive screens.

Imagine dozens or hundreds of those buzzers on the hull of your capship digging their way in and disabling stuff. There would be little another cap ship could do to stop them.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-05-20 01:12pm

MrAnderson wrote:
My guess is that the buzzdroids are meant as anti-capship weapons and they were the only rounds available for the Vulture Droids to fire at the two starfighters that broke through the defensive screens.

Imagine dozens or hundreds of those buzzers on the hull of your capship digging their way in and disabling stuff. There would be little another cap ship could do to stop them.

Sounds plausible. They seem to bypass shields and are an ongoing infestation rather than a single blast that may or may not take down the ship. They could potentially zombify the ship, maybe turning it against its own.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2005-05-20 01:13pm

MrAnderson wrote:
Gil Hamilton wrote:OK, I had some serious objections to the Buzz-Droids. What exactly where the point of them?
My guess is that the buzzdroids are meant as anti-capship weapons and they were the only rounds available for the Vulture Droids to fire at the two starfighters that broke through the defensive screens.

Imagine dozens or hundreds of those buzzers on the hull of your capship digging their way in and disabling stuff. There would be little another cap ship could do to stop them.

A nuclear weapon would be far more destructive than a bunch of buzzdroids no matter how industrious they are. Those things make the most sense if you assume they were designed for capturing enemy fighter pilots alive by disabling their ships.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-05-20 01:17pm

It would've been nice to see nukes going off like in the Neo-BSG mini-series. Just see a single missile hit a ship in the background and then a huge flash and fireball and then so much molten debris and vapour left.

MrAnderson · Post by **MrAnderson** » 2005-05-20 01:22pm

Darth Wong wrote:
MrAnderson wrote:
Gil Hamilton wrote:OK, I had some serious objections to the Buzz-Droids. What exactly where the point of them?
My guess is that the buzzdroids are meant as anti-capship weapons and they were the only rounds available for the Vulture Droids to fire at the two starfighters that broke through the defensive screens.

Imagine dozens or hundreds of those buzzers on the hull of your capship digging their way in and disabling stuff. There would be little another cap ship could do to stop them.
A nuclear weapon would be far more destructive than a bunch of buzzdroids no matter how industrious they are. Those things make the most sense if you assume they were designed for capturing enemy fighter pilots alive by disabling their ships.

Buzzdroids can be used at much closer ranges and in much tighter fights without worrying about collateral damage. If those two missles had been nukes then you would have wiped out lots of droid fighters and depending on how close they are a great deal of damage could have been done to the Invisible Hand or another cap ship.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2005-05-20 01:27pm

MrAnderson wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:A nuclear weapon would be far more destructive than a bunch of buzzdroids no matter how industrious they are. Those things make the most sense if you assume they were designed for capturing enemy fighter pilots alive by disabling their ships.
Buzzdroids can be used at much closer ranges and in much tighter fights without worrying about collateral damage. If those two missles had been nukes then you would have wiped out lots of droid fighters and depending on how close they are a great deal of damage could have been done to the Invisible Hand or another cap ship.

Capships aren't supposed to fight at super-close ranges. That's highly abnormal and would only happen in exceptional circumstances. Besides, you could simply dial down the yield if you're worried about collateral damage; an explosive device is still going to do much more damage to the ship it hits than one which is a kilometre away.