Do Jedi Starfighters lack shields?

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2006-08-31 09:36am

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:
FTeik wrote:JFC, did it ever occur to you to compare the size and mass of the fighters with shields and those without?
This is Kurgan we're talking about: a guy who has a habit of debating and discussing stuff to death purely for the sake of it while being generally too lazy and forgetful to retain information that might be useful.

click, click, click....

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2006-08-31 09:34pm

Well, came in to check on the thread. I guess that was the end of the conversation, but I'll throw in two bits more, just the same (sorry Spanky), and not to "have the last word" I swear...

The size issue makes a lot of logical sense (and is probably the best argument for why the tiny Jedi Starfighters would lack them). Shield generators take up space, and so a ship that's smaller wouldn't have room for them, right?

The only problem with that, is, don't we have small ships in Star Wars that allegedly have shield generators, like Vader's TIE, various other experimental TIE models, and even the Naboo starfighter? Somebody with the guide books and the official dimensions can mull that one over.

But another example that seems more compelling in terms of size is the TIE in ANH that seems to have shield flashes before it is destroyed (unless one wishes to dismiss that as a mere SFX gaffe).

The official explanation is that they just didn't feel Jedi needed shields, because they're Jedi.

That's all I've got, so feel free.

Perseid · Post by **Perseid** » 2006-09-01 04:32am

One problem there Kurgan, all of the small fighters that have shields as standard (Vaders TIE, the A-Wing, etc) are an additional 3 meters or so longer, therefore more space for shields. Even the standard TIE is slightly bigger than an Eta-2.

Meest · Post by **Meest** » 2006-09-01 05:19am

I thought they needed to be as fast as possible to combat droid pilots with "lightspeed" computing power.

freker · Post by **freker** » 2006-09-01 07:12am

I still don't see why the jedi didn't wear somethink like a spacesuit, ore at least a helmet, in the novelisation of RotS Obi Wan envy's the clonetroopers for having helmets.

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2006-09-01 07:36am

Mr CorSec wrote:One problem there Kurgan, all of the small fighters that have shields as standard (Vaders TIE, the A-Wing, etc) are an additional 3 meters or so longer, therefore more space for shields. Even the standard TIE is slightly bigger than an Eta-2.

Alright then, you win.

Tychu · Post by **Tychu** » 2006-09-01 01:20pm

glass wrote:
Spanky The Dolphin wrote:The RotS ICS states that the Jedi starfighters from that film didn't have heavy instrumentation, sensors, or shields because of the fact that they were piloted by Jedi.
I can see that Jedi, with their enhanced senses, wouldn't need much in the way of sensor equipment, targetting computers, etc. But why would being a Jedi be a reason to not have shields?

They might be badass, but they aren't going to survive their ship being destroyed. OK, they can dodge, but I'd think shielding would be more usefull if you are subject to a lot of near misses/glancing blows rether than less.

glass.

Look whos running the show and military department. Palpatine
Just look at how much Harder it would to have killed Plo Koon over Mygeeto (was it Mygeeto or Cato Neimodia?) If the Clones had to shoot through a shield before blowing up poor Plo. I liked Plo, even though he is the only one that i couldnt beat Darth Maul with in Jedi Power Battles

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » 2006-09-01 03:39pm

Kurgan wrote: The only problem with that, is, don't we have small ships in Star Wars that allegedly have shield generators, like Vader's TIE, various other experimental TIE models, and even the Naboo starfighter? Somebody with the guide books and the official dimensions can mull that one over.

But another example that seems more compelling in terms of size is the TIE in ANH that seems to have shield flashes before it is destroyed (unless one wishes to dismiss that as a mere SFX gaffe).

Vader's T/A-X1 has that big ol ducktail, plus much, much thicker main pylons. It probably has more internal volume and mass than an X-wing. The Naboo N-1 is a boutique starfighter that's probably way more expensive than it needs to be, and they can afford the miniturization to cram all the systems in. (and it's not THAT small..) Power generation is probably the biggest issue for the size of fightercraft, and it's already established that the N-1 is a short-range fighter that (usually) has no hyperdrive.

The TIE shield flashes in ANH could be a number of things. real combat shields, navigational particle shields interacting in minor ways with the blasts, or an FX gaffe.