What is the claw on the ISD for?

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2006-06-21 11:55am

I never realized TIE Bombers were big enough to carry entire squads.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » 2006-06-21 12:06pm

VT-16 wrote:

I thought they were there to provide additional firepower through the shots stored up in the walkers, not taking away energy from the ship itself. :S

Nope, check your ROTS:ICS its just the cannons, not the walkers. The main point of the guns in the callout is to improve the firepower of the poorly defended ventral surface. No mention, of power being made. The walker reactor would be of very limited used regardless. Have a look here:

SWTC - SPHA-T:

Sources [NEGV&V] state that the SPHA-T requires an unusually “huge reactor”. They imply, but do not explicitly state, that the reactor is within the vehicle itself. It could alternatively mean that a SPHA-T needs access to recharge from a powerful reactor, such as that of an Accalamator transport ship. Firing depletes the SPHA-T's internal store of energy; they need to cycle back to their motherships for recharging during battle [ITW:AOTC]. This facility was probably an important design constraint of the Acclamator and other military transport ships that are more specifially adapted for SPHA-T support.

Peculiarly, the twelve SPHA-T guns typically carried aboard an Acclamator give the ship the theoretical possibility of firepower exceeding that of a star destroyer with eight heavy turrets. However this is only a capability in theory. The main reactor of the Acclamator is inadequate to keep the SPHA-Ts continuously charged, and they are not mounted externally. Their mounting and fire control systems are not suited to the accelerations involved in space combat.

And in regards to the yeild of the SPHA-T cannons:

Approximately five SPHA-T guns were able to penetrate the shields and cut into a single launching core ship. If the core ships were fully shielded (as a sane and cowardly Neimoidian captain must command when evacuating an invasion zone), then we infer a lower limit on the output of an individual SPHA-T. By this reckoning, each gun yielded an instantaneous maximum firepower of around ~1.2×1023 W. However this rate was only sustainable for a little over a second before the SPHA-Ts were exhausted. This implies that the gun's reactor initially carries, and eventually annihilates, the equivalent of around a million tons of fuel. This much mass-energy, in whatever exotic form it takes, must contribute significantly to the effective weight of the walker.

VT-16 · Post by **VT-16** » 2006-06-21 12:12pm

Firing depletes the SPHA-T's internal store of energy; they need to cycle back to their motherships for recharging during battle

That didn't answer my question. I thought they would tank up those walkers, stick them out the hangar openings and use them as a surprise. If they are connected to the main ship, then I guess they can keep on shooting.

AK_Jedi · Post by **AK_Jedi** » 2006-06-21 03:08pm

Elfdart wrote:I never realized TIE Bombers were big enough to carry entire squads.

I thought that they used TIE boarding craft, ships that looked like TIE Bombers, but are slightly bigger.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2006-06-21 04:33pm

I think I've been afflicted with another WEG brain bug. They depict TIE craft much smaller than they appear in the movies and ICS.

It still seems rather inefficient to launch a craft with only a dozen troops inside a hangar to connect to the main airlock on a fairly large ship. If the rebel troopers inside the Blockade Runner had put up a better fight, the Devastator would have to wait for the first assault ship to withdraw before they could move in another squad through the main corridor.

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » 2006-06-21 05:20pm

Elfdart wrote:

It still seems rather inefficient to launch a craft with only a dozen troops inside a hangar to connect to the main airlock on a fairly large ship.

That's an excellent point. But then again the stormies have so many advantages: full NBC gear, heavy weapons, etc.

If the rebel troopers inside the Blockade Runner had put up a better fight, the Devastator would have to wait for the first assault ship to withdraw before they could move in another squad through the main corridor.

Well, the boarding party would know how many occupants were abord the Tantive IV, and their general locations; thanks to sensor scans. Your right about the rebels though they broke and ran to quickly. A single thermal detonator through the boaring hatch would have baked though stormies cookies.

I re-watched that scene and between 10-14 storm troopers emerge in the initial wave. Vader and the storm trooper officer arrive sometime latter with at leat another 6-8 stormies. So, I'd say that there were at least to trips over.

VT-16 · Post by **VT-16** » 2006-06-21 08:15pm

The TIE boarding craft in the ICS was drawn too small compared to the CR90 behind it, btw. That might not have that much effect on the boarding craft's dimensions as it looks similar to a bomber anyway.

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2006-06-21 08:52pm

VT-16 wrote:The TIE boarding craft in the ICS was drawn too small compared to the CR90 behind it, btw. That might not have that much effect on the boarding craft's dimensions as it looks similar to a bomber anyway.

Wasn't it suppost to be the same craft we saw Needa take from the Avenger to the Executor in ESB?

VT-16 · Post by **VT-16** » 2006-06-21 08:56pm

Two different models based on the TIE bomber. The TIE shuttle only has seating for two people, while I guess the boarding craft has a slightly enlarged pod for troops.