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I was more interested about Iego being "one of the millions of backwaters that no one cares about" and the Death Star style laser array (until new evidence to the contrary surfaces I am going with the theory that this was a testbed for the main gun of the Great Weapon).

Also, regarding the issue with NBC protection, I seem to remember that the clones who were part of the combat in vacuum in Rising Malevolence were in bad condition when they returned to their escape pod. I would suppose that the air reservoir (if it exists at all) is likely to be very limited, which would make the clonetrooper suit not particularly adequate to survive prolonged exposure to a deadly virus.

I doubt an advanced weaponssystem would be part of a defense of a backwater planet. And left there.

Why not? They build an immovable weapon system, performed some tests with it and possibly wanted to retrieve some data after running it for a long time (thus leaving it operable and intact).
A backwater planet it the PERFECT choice for such an experiment.
No one will care about it, you test device is unlikely to be discovered.
And long-time tests killing people can hardly be performed on an important world.

Furthermore, this specific planet was deep in seperatist territory. It was very unlikely that someone from the republic shows up there.
And even if he does, you have an (supposedly) inpenetrable defense system in place, which already killed a bunch of good pilots.

But i do not think the device was a prototype for the death star superlaser. It may have been an alternative weapon, or a test device for a part of the superlaser (redirecting high-power beams).
But the only thing in common is the dish-like structure - but other than that, it has a completly different effect.
Its not a fast, one-shot beam but a slow, constant stream of energy.

Oberst Tharnow wrote:But i do not think the device was a prototype for the death star superlaser. It may have been an alternative weapon, or a test device for a part of the superlaser (redirecting high-power beams).
But the only thing in common is the dish-like structure - but other than that, it has a completly different effect.
Its not a fast, one-shot beam but a slow, constant stream of energy.

No. It definitely wasn't a turbolaser, but the configuration (big beam created with the confluence of eight tributary beams) is the same. I know that we have seen the same kind of mechanism before in a smaller scale (the LAAT beam weapons in Geonosis, for example), but considering the size of this thing and the existence of the Great Weapon means that its superlaser and this laser emitter are almost certainly sibling technologies.

Also, there is another thing I forgot tech-wise. A lightsaber can cut through droideka bubble shields without overloading the shield itself. One of the most powerful pieces of evidence that I remember against the possible "shields with hitpoints" mechanism.

Well, i said that they DO have the dish in common.

Also, i think its quite possible that this weapon was used to test either an alternative to the superlaser or a part of its system.
The "alternative weapon theory" is supported by the completly different effect - the redirection of the beam served as a defensive mechanism.
But the same redirection could arguably be part of the superlaser system.

But the defensive beam network is NOT the same as the superlaser, because its used to create completly different effects:
-A continous beam, active for at least a couple of minutes (and propably much longer, possibly infinite).
-Its defensive nature: The beam was NOT aimed at an enemy, but rather used as an area-denial weapon.
-Size: It was much smaller (based on the dish) than the death star superlaser. Even if they use exactly the same mechanism, this is a HUGE difference. We differ between blasters and turbolasers, even if they use the same mechanics.

But all this does not mean it was no test device for the superlaser.
It may even indicate that the superlaser was intended to have an alternative useage.

Drooling Iguana wrote:Did the troopers that actually kept their helmets on get exposed to the virus? It seemed to me that it was only the two idiots that took their helmets off that got sick, there were a couple of helmeted troopers with them that were fine.

Idiots? I just assumed they'd had their helmets off when the shit hit the fan, presumably working on something in that room.

NecronLord wrote:Idiots? I just assumed they'd had their helmets off when the shit hit the fan, presumably working on something in that room.

They were in a lab that was developing a deadly plague. Keeping your helmet on at all times should be standard procedure in a situation like that.

Whether they had their helmets on at first or not, by the end they were all running around without their helmets. Most likely answer is that their limited supply of air ran out and they ended up having to take their helmets off. I believe the Visual Dictionary says (either clonetrooper or stormtroope) armor only has ten or twenty minutes of air anyways, they aren't designed for extended spacewalks or walking all day on irradiated battlefields (that's what RadTroopers are for).

VT-16 wrote:I doubt an advanced weaponssystem would be part of a defense of a backwater planet. And left there.

Not unless you know something is about to happen to make that planet valuable. Like the planet being the only source of the only known cure for a plague you are about to release.

Drooling Iguana wrote:

NecronLord wrote:Idiots? I just assumed they'd had their helmets off when the shit hit the fan, presumably working on something in that room.

They were in a lab that was developing a deadly plague. Keeping your helmet on at all times should be standard procedure in a situation like that.

Canonically, those things aren't easy to see in, you know.

NecronLord wrote:

Drooling Iguana wrote:

NecronLord wrote:Idiots? I just assumed they'd had their helmets off when the shit hit the fan, presumably working on something in that room.

They were in a lab that was developing a deadly plague. Keeping your helmet on at all times should be standard procedure in a situation like that.

Canonically, those things aren't easy to see in, you know.

Only if they aren't properly fitted.

Darwin wrote:

NecronLord wrote:Canonically, those things aren't easy to see in, you know.

Only if they aren't properly fitted.

You have a quote that says they are easy to see in if properly fitted? In the films, Lord Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, Right Hand of the Emperor doesn't rate vision equipment that isn't a sinister red pixellated HUD. I wouldn't fancy trying to work with fancy electronics (on which the survival of a whole planet depends) with Darth Vader's helmet on.

So yeah, I can easily see why a clonetrooper might want to remove his helmet when working with delicate electronics.

And generally, the EU is a mess, ranging from Stormtrooper helmets improving vision considerably (visual dictionary, RPG statistics, others) to being pains in the ass to see out of and the subject of jokes and derision (comics, occasional novels, a particularly fun rant in Jedi Outcast...), and I see no reason the series would adhere to anything from the EU in that regard.

NecronLord wrote: You have a quote that says they are easy to see in if properly fitted? In the films, Lord Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, Right Hand of the Emperor doesn't rate vision equipment that isn't a sinister red pixellated HUD. I wouldn't fancy trying to work with fancy electronics (on which the survival of a whole planet depends) with Darth Vader's helmet on.

To be fair, it was only just initializing at the time.

If ST/CT helmets were hard to see out of, we'd see them getting pulled off all. the. time. The fitting process is probably quite intensive if you aren't a clone, so it's understandable if the occasional rebel who tries one on and gets mismatched images from either eye and generally bad visual performance to think that all STs are half-blind.

Darwin wrote:If ST/CT helmets were hard to see out of, we'd see them getting pulled off all. the. time.

Which is err, exactly what happened here. In this series, clones remove their helmets "all. the. time." as you say. Stormtroopers appear to do so much less often, (there's out of universe reasons for that of course) but clone troopers regularly remove their helmets whenever they're not actually being shot at.

The idea that it's implausible that they may want to remove helmets (which are probably hot as well) to work at a task for which their (rather limiting, given what's been shown of them) HUDs are not designed for¹ is... farcical.
____

¹ Occasional computer-game 'engineer troopers' and suchlike aside.

I don't think we see Clone helmets pulled off "all the time". They're mostly only not worn when the Clones are off duty. They wear them as crew on Star Destroyers, for pete's sake.

The reason we don't see Stormtroopers take off their helmets is that we never see them in barracks or otherwise taking it easy, IMO.

Weren't they inside the safety room at the time? Maybe they thought it was safe to get a breather, literally.

I'm not sure what the room they were in was, but I do distinctly recall there being alarms going off for a minute or two as Ashoka et. al. ran down the corridor, which should have been plenty of time to put a helmet on.

Drooling Iguana wrote:I'm not sure what the room they were in was, but I do distinctly recall there being alarms going off for a minute or two as Ashoka et. al. ran down the corridor, which should have been plenty of time to put a helmet on.

You're right. And frankly, there's no indication that there were any others in there than the guys Asoka brought with her.

It could just be that clone trooper armour doesn't protect against biological weapons.

Clonetrooper armor not protecting against Bioweapons could explain the upgrades we see on Stormtrooper armor going into ROTS + ANH. Upgrades to deal with biological weapons.

I just watched the eps last nite.

First off, has anyone actually noticed how fucking bizarre that "virus" was? First there was the "lightning" bit to turn it to vapour - yeah I'm sure electricity is just what you want to zap a virus with. Then there was the whole "Lethal in small doses to every known race in the galaxy" in a matter of hours no less it seems. Somehow I don't quite see that happening. The REALLY funny part was when the blue mist o doom zipped along the corridor at high speed of its own accord... man thats a really active gaseous virus there! So right off the bat there's something fucked up here.

That siad, even if it was a virus, its quite possible that the suits were battle damaged.\ (or at least some were) there was alot of fighting, after all, and its quite possible integrity was breached on some/many suits.

Alternately is quite likely some of the clones simply decided that they didn't want to wait around to die in an apparently hopeless situation (or watch their comrades do so) so they may have taken their helmets off. It may be stupid, but its also a very human type reaction. THey do only carry limited oxygen s upplies (Stormie armour had something like 20 minutes, though you could extend that with a backpack)

It could also be that perhaps the "sealing" mechanism is manual or faulty. A lousy design consideration, but IIRC the Kaminoans designed it. (Discomfort was in fact a problem with the Mk1 suits as I remember, because the Kaminoans had designed em.)

I checked the Ep2 DK books and the NEGW&T.. all those sources agree the Phase 1 armor was airtight against vaccuum, and that it also protected against extreme temps as well as caustic and/or poison vapors (chemical weapons, in other words). And the AOTC ICS also mentioned that its protected gainst germ agents (so I would assume its also biologically secure.) Of course, the fact that it was basically sealed against vaccuum should pretty much prove that point I think. (I've heard of real life space suits that had uses in other forms of protection that include biological.)

I think the simple fact is is that its just a Magic Death Gas in the same vein as the 40K Life Eater and thus it can have Magic Death Gas properties. Hell, we dont even know how the Virus was engineered or modified, it may not even really resemble a "natural" virus anyhow.

Maybe it was some uber nanotech particle swarm that can systematically overwhelm whatever air filters clonetrooper armor is equipped with ?

Sarevok wrote:Maybe it was some uber nanotech particle swarm that can systematically overwhelm whatever air filters clonetrooper armor is equipped with ?

I'm perfectly fine with it being a combination of battle damage, too nasty for the filters, and not enough oxygen supply in sealed mode, that the troopers who hadn't already unsealed their helmets were eventually forced to so as to not suffocate.

And tonight's episode demonstrates handily once again that droids suuuuuuuuuuuuck in command roles.

SylasGaunt wrote:And tonight's episode demonstrates handily once again that droids suuuuuuuuuuuuck in command roles.

The "Tactical Droids" don't seem too bad, but yes, the OOM series isn't fit to lead a mess detail.

At least there was some ship-to-ship fighting, although I wish the battle had been bigger. Damnd EU minimalism.

EDIT: Also, It seems that Venator's are pretty sturdy as long as no one gets a shot at the command deck or the main hanger. The Resolute was taking a beating from six Municifent-class frigates and didn't seem too worse off for it.