So I have the new Clone Wars stuff

[Ender]

Ender, do have a masochistic disorder you haven't told us about?

I did 6 years in the Navy. I'm pretty sure my masochistic traits were on clear display.

[Illuminatus Primus]

BTW, if anyone here is offended so far... good. I'm lampooning some of the passive racism and sexism in this thing so far, I'm holding out for some homophobia as well so we can complete the trifecta. This is chock full of passive "all X are the same", "women are only for oogling" sad shit, so hopefully my active bullshit will prompt you to bitch out about the passive shit you can see in the pics.

Are you saying the novel, the visual guide, the general concept design, or all of the above?

[Ender]

Magna droids now. Keeps talking about how badass they are - can fight without their heads, back up eyes, make use of rocket launchers, tough opponents for Jedi Knights, strike fear in the heart of veteran clones... but a 14 year old dressed like a streetwalker can take them down. Also, apparently their combat skills make them exceptional pilots. SO I guess Napoleon Dynamite and his bowstaff skills make Goose, Maverick, and Ice man look like a bunch of bitches. Poor Goose ;_;




Splash page of the fishing lure being arrested. Padme thinks it is still very cold there. You know, this is a kids thing. You would think they could at least try and be subtle. Of course, the little mermaid has the priest popping a boner, so there you are.




A Jedi Bond. So yeah, pretty sure this marks the end of the movie, and everything else here will be the series. Basically a splash page saying how the psychopath and Mini-Hooker bonded. Also, Anakin is checking out her ass. First woman he hit on was 12, so I guess this is a slight improvement.




Shot of the CnC on the Resolute, which is pretty nifty. Looks a lot like the planning room in the Temple from ROTS. Apparently the Separatists are about to take a whole sector if Anakin doesn't stop them, Obi-wan wants to retreat. As much as we complain about underestimates of stuff, we have to worry about ignorant overestimates of things as well. Case in point, from the Holonet blurb there - "The technology that allows commanders to meet by hologram is a faster, more-robust version of the HoloNet, which allows people to speak in real-time despite being millions of light-years apart." Millions of light years. Someone else sort that out.




More fleet porn, this time for the Separatists. 4 Munifiecents leading an attack through a very dense asteroid field. Munificents are apparently the backbone of the Separatist fleet, which again supports the idea that Venators are only the backbone because of numbers, not due to power. Odd that the IBC would have more ships then the TF though, maybe they have more to spare because the TF is still trading. Anyway, at least 600,000 troops deployed against the Bothans. Remember, this is a brushfire war.




Closeup shot of the Malevolence. It notes the port Ion Cannon, so it mounts two of these things. Ion Cannons, being plasma weapons instead of massless like TLs are harder to quantify. But implication later in the book is that each of these can one shot a Venator. How much of that is due to brute force and how much the EMP effect is hard to say. But it also reasserts the fact that Ion Cannons do damage. Malevolence was also built by Quarren Separatist on Pammant. Honestly, would making up a different backstory been that challenging?




General Grievous. Not much new here. The animation style works well with him. Also, Mini-Hooker needs to learn not to pick up johns who are into asphyxiation.




Ship porn. The Munificents set all shields to the front to get through the field. Those walkers that are crawling all over the asteroids open fire on their unshielded rears. Boom Boom Boom, out go the lights. Now we don't know the rest of the details, and won't until the episode airs. But go ahead and start trying to figure it all out now. Do remember that the ROTS ICS specifically talks about how weak these and the Recusant are without their shields, and the previous description of the AT-TE main cannon as missile launcher. Me, I'm holding out for the rest of Anakin's fleet doing the bulk of the work.

[Ender]

BTW, if anyone here is offended so far... good. I'm lampooning some of the passive racism and sexism in this thing so far, I'm holding out for some homophobia as well so we can complete the trifecta. This is chock full of passive "all X are the same", "women are only for oogling" sad shit, so hopefully my active bullshit will prompt you to bitch out about the passive shit you can see in the pics.

Are you saying the novel, the visual guide, the general concept design, or all of the above?

All of the above. Novel is particularly funny in that regard - it makes a point of "treating them like they are all the same" WRT clones is wrong, and then does it with an entire species.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I wish I could punch Karen Traviss' face, seriously.

I guess the only point of watching the movie would be for the ship porn.

[Anguirus]

I almost said that hiding the AT-TEs and hitting the unshielded parts of the ships was clever, when I realized they could have just used fighters instead.

They are playing a little careless with the old continuity, considering that Zahn's Battle of Bothawui makes no mention of rings, and Jabba didn't get leadership of Desilijic in Crispin's books until he killed his Aunt Jiliac. But that seems to be the least of this movie/show's problems.

I thought AT LEAST it would be excellent spaceship porn, but the still images in the book seems very disappointing and hardly better than that found in computer games. I thought that the design philosophy was close to photo-real on weapons and equipment, and abstract on characters, but I guess instead I should assume everything is rather abstract.

[Darth Ruinus]

I almost said that hiding the AT-TEs and hitting the unshielded parts of the ships was clever, when I realized they could have just used fighters instead.

Wouldn't the fighters be easier to detect that something actually walking and hiding in the asteroids?

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I almost said that hiding the AT-TEs and hitting the unshielded parts of the ships was clever, when I realized they could have just used fighters instead.

Wouldn't the fighters be easier to detect that something actually walking and hiding in the asteroids?

Nope. Just have them power down for the most part and just sit still. Then when the ships past by, power up and torp the ships.

But still, why the hell are they going into an asteroid field unshielded? It doesn't make any sense!

[Anguirus]

^ I thought the idea was that only their front was heavily shielded, so they could plow through the debris faster. I.e. "Put your deflectors on, double-front."

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

^ I thought the idea was that only their front was heavily shielded, so they could plow through the debris faster. I.e. "Put your deflectors on, double-front."

There's still a slight chance of an impact on the rear. After all, there's probably millions of crap flying around in 3-dimensions.

[Anguirus]

^ Well sure, but if they accelerate fast enough, it's less likely. Plus, their drive plasma will obliterate rear impactors...unless they are lasers/whatever AT-TEs fire.

But hey, it's a scene that's an excuse to have walkers crawling on space rocks. It's going to be stupid.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

^ Well sure, but if they accelerate fast enough, it's less likely. Plus, their drive plasma will obliterate rear impactors...unless they are lasers/whatever AT-TEs fire.

But hey, it's a scene that's an excuse to have walkers crawling on space rocks. It's going to be stupid.

Probably the same people who thought putting a mobile artillery in the hanger of a Venator was cool (or these guys borrowed the idea).

Though for the AT-TEs to use their main gun, the Clonetrooper would have to be vacuum suited? I don't recall the AT-TEs ever being vacuum insulated.

[Ender]

Fuck you Daggersword. We are looking to ban someone in the Senate as it is for plagiarism, so you steal the shit I post here and post the images as your own? I'm curious, if I hadn't drifted over there tonight, how long would it have taken for those images I just put up to make it over there.

[Darth Ruinus]

Though for the AT-TEs to use their main gun, the Clonetrooper would have to be vacuum suited? I don't recall the AT-TEs ever being vacuum insulated.

Their armor is vacuum sealed isnt it?

[Bob the Gunslinger]

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought part of a Jedi's training involved strengthening the body as well as the mind... Why then does Mini Hooker have the muscle mass of an anemic Kate Moss?

Seriously, though, what is the point of her character? Is she a youngling just to give the younger members of the audience someone to relate to? If so, why does she dress like a hooker and have (and probably cause) obvious body-image problems? Or is she just tasteless jailbait thrown in to appeal to the kinds of 30 year old virgins who normally watch ST Voyager? Would it be asking too much for her to wear a goddamn shirt, so we can at least kind of pretend that Lucasfilm has some respect for its customers?



On another note, I am totally sigging this quote:

"Surrender the Huttlet or die, Skywalker!"
--Count Jewku

[Anguirus]

Insanely skinny women seem to be a fetish of computer animators. Just look at April O'Neil in TMNT. Of course, she got to wear actual clothing.

[Noble Ire]

Insanely skinny women seem to be a fetish of computer animators. Just look at April O'Neil in TMNT. Of course, she got to wear actual clothing.

Perhaps the lack of clothing for our anorexic little friend can be explained.

We all know that the Clone Wars are directly analogous to the current war in Iraq; both are "brushfire" wars, infrequent affairs involving small-scale, continuously shifting theaters of engagement, and moreover, the dominant military powers of each, the Galactic Republic and the United States of America, have invested only a fraction of their fighting capacity in each respective conflict (hundreds of thousands for the US and a mere three million in the Republic's case).

Now, if we hold this correlation to be true, it can be inferred that any internal political concern of one can be extrapolated and applied to the other. Case in point, popular misconceptions of the strength of enemy forces, facilitated by domestic factions with ulterior motives: in the United States, the general public suffers the delusion, originating with the Democrats in Congress and the liberally-biased news media, that the conflict against Islamic extremism cannot be won, and we must "cut and run", despite the resounding success of the Surge, as seen in the US-initiated accords with the various rival factions and the rise of a stable, self-sufficient, secular, and corruption-free democracy in Iraq. Similarly, the citizens of the Galactic Republic are manipulated, despite the valiant efforts of the Brotherhood of Mandalorian Supersoldiers, by a secret cabal consisting of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi Council, into believing that the Separatist army, consisting of perhaps a few billion war droids, actually boasts quintillions of soldiers, despite the obvious infeasibility of such a force within a galaxy-spanning civilization.

The presence of a strong subversive element within the United States government led to a lack of appropriate funding for combat troops in Iraq, leaving them without, among other necessary equipment, body armor. If a similarly corrosive party (Palpatine and his unwitting accomplices on the Council) exists within the Republic, it stands to reason that the Grand Army of the Republic would also be limited by inadequate provisioning. Since the Jedi in the field are the primary targets of the subversion, they bear the brunt of the shortfall; after all, Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the only Jedi shown to actually have access to body armor throughout the war. It is only a short step from personal plating to tunics, robes, and pants of reasonable length. It can only be concluded that poor, scantily-clad defenders of liberty like Ashoka, Aayla Secura, and Shaak Tii are simple victims of Palpatinian bureaucratic maliciousness.

Brilliant in its simplicity, don’t you think?

[Ender]

Insanely skinny women seem to be a fetish of computer animators. Just look at April O'Neil in TMNT. Of course, she got to wear actual clothing.

Perhaps the lack of clothing for our anorexic little friend can be explained.

We all know that the Clone Wars are directly analogous to the current war in Iraq; both are "brushfire" wars, infrequent affairs involving small-scale, continuously shifting theaters of engagement, and moreover, the dominant military powers of each, the Galactic Republic and the United States of America, have invested only a fraction of their fighting capacity in each respective conflict (hundreds of thousands for the US and a mere three million in the Republic's case).

Now, if we hold this correlation to be true, it can be inferred that any internal political concern of one can be extrapolated and applied to the other. Case in point, popular misconceptions of the strength of enemy forces, facilitated by domestic factions with ulterior motives: in the United States, the general public suffers the delusion, originating with the Democrats in Congress and the liberally-biased news media, that the conflict against Islamic extremism cannot be won, and we must "cut and run", despite the resounding success of the Surge, as seen in the US-initiated accords with the various rival factions and the rise of a stable, self-sufficient, secular, and corruption-free democracy in Iraq. Similarly, the citizens of the Galactic Republic are manipulated, despite the valiant efforts of the Brotherhood of Mandalorian Supersoldiers, by a secret cabal consisting of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi Council, into believing that the Separatist army, consisting of perhaps a few billion war droids, actually boasts quintillions of soldiers, despite the obvious infeasibility of such a force within a galaxy-spanning civilization.

The presence of a strong subversive element within the United States government led to a lack of appropriate funding for combat troops in Iraq, leaving them without, among other necessary equipment, body armor. If a similarly corrosive party (Palpatine and his unwitting accomplices on the Council) exists within the Republic, it stands to reason that the Grand Army of the Republic would also be limited by inadequate provisioning. Since the Jedi in the field are the primary targets of the subversion, they bear the brunt of the shortfall; after all, Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the only Jedi shown to actually have access to body armor throughout the war. It is only a short step from personal plating to tunics, robes, and pants of reasonable length, and fabric is expensive. Therefore, it can only be concluded that poor, scantily-clad defenders of liberty like Ashoka, Aayla Secura, and Shaak Tii are simple victims of Palpatinian bureaucratic maliciousness.

Brilliant in its simplicity, don’t you think?

Actually, there is a bit of the VG that would support that interpretation.

[Bob the Gunslinger]

Noble Ire, you have convinced me. If only your post could fit within my sig, I would treasure it forever.

[Darth Hoth]

As for homophobia, we do have Travis's "Mandos are vitreous family men" idiocy, and "family values" is usually code for "gays are the evil". It's a bit of a stretch, but not as much as a huge numbers of all male clones raised together and going through adolescence together and none of them ever having any of that nasty, immoral, soul destroying homosexual activity.

I do not think that would hold: Traviss is, as far as I know, the first author to bring in a male homosexual character, and he is, naturally, Mandalorian (specifically, Medrit from Legacy of the Force). The wonderful Mandalorians cannot be bigoted; of course they are PC as well and support gay marriage!

[Imperial Overlord]

I do not think that would hold: Traviss is, as far as I know, the first author to bring in a male homosexual character, and he is, naturally, Mandalorian (specifically, Medrit from Legacy of the Force). The wonderful Mandalorians cannot be bigoted; of course they are PC as well and support gay marriage!

Truly I underestimated the virtues of the noble Mandalorians. I liked them so much better when they were dangerous assholes. I will have to concede that having her paragons of nobility support gay marriage slightly improves my opinion of Traviss.

[Revy]

I've never read any Wars novels (except Heir to an Empire, which I just picked up and am half way through), so I have to ask, what's the deal with this Traviss author? I take it she writes primarily Mando characters and trumps them up all out of proportion? I participated in a Wars RPG a few months ago with a Mando-wanking player that sounds like that.

[Darth Hoth]

I've never read any Wars novels (except Heir to an Empire, which I just picked up and am half way through), so I have to ask, what's the deal with this Traviss author? I take it she writes primarily Mando characters and trumps them up all out of proportion? I participated in a Wars RPG a few months ago with a Mando-wanking player that sounds like that.

Wank does not cover half of it; for example, she had, what, one squad of L33T M4ND0 4EVER supercommandos take over a Super Star Destroyer on their lonesome. She also claimed that the Mandalorians were as important to Galactic affairs as the Jedi or the Sith.

Then there are also other matters, such as her idiosyncratic and unfounded anti-Jediism (making Jedi evil/stupid whenever she can) and her moronic defence of the "3 million uberduper clones trash quintillions of battle 'droids" fallacy. Add to that the fact that she is even technically a bad author, that she does not give a damn about continuity and that she is personally vindictive and immature, and it is no wonder that she is the most hated author yet. Others can probably provide better specific examples than I, but that is the general gist; put simply, she is the Darkstar of SW canon-makers.

[Ender]

FYI, holding off on updating this until I get the go/no go signal from forum administration. It occurs to me that this could be in violation of board rules.

[VT-16]

Not to derail this thread, I just thought this Comic-Con licensee info poster on the Imperator-class was relevant, given the name is also used in TVG.

Imperial Star Destroyer - Class: Imperator, Type: Destroyer. :D

I'm hoping the text near the globe calls it a sensor globe, but I'm not that optimistic.