So I have the new Clone Wars stuff

[Anguirus]

^ I sweat that poster. Notice the "ACME" logo?

Better yet, it classifies the ship as a "destroyer."

[VT-16]

Yeah, apparantly the company is an LFL licensee and is called Acme Archives or something. Funny coincidence with the SW vehicle spreadsheet.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

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.

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

The blueprints look nicer than most blueprints that came before.

[NRS Guardian]

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.

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

Considering they point out the HTLs, they might label them scanner globes. After all, in Sculpting A Galaxy Lorne Peterson (one of the main model makers for ILM) calls the globes on the Imperator, scanner globes.

[Anguirus]

So I flipped through the Clone Wars book at Borders the other day.

Geez, is it an ugly-ass book. What were they thinking?

Anyway, it looks like the grand finale is a Y-wing attack on the Malevolence, led by Anakin and Ashoka in one craft. Apparently those ion cannons can one-shot a Venator, but their intricate cooling systems make them very vulnerable to attack. For the first time since TPM, we get proton torpedoes in Star Wars!

Oh, and at some point there is a full-on fight to the death between two astromech droids. That might be worth the price of admission!

[VT-16]

Apparently those ion cannons can one-shot a Venator

Any indication of relative sizes for that story?

[Darth Hoth]

Apparently those ion cannons can one-shot a Venator, but their intricate cooling systems make them very vulnerable to attack.

Ugh, more nonsense from ignoramuses with no sense of scale, tactics or good taste. And thanks to "T-Canon", this overrides other more sensible portrayals. Just what we needed. Not that I am all that surprised, given what I already knew of the film/series and the fact that "Evil" is involved...

Oh, and at some point there is a full-on fight to the death between two astromech droids. That might be worth the price of admission!

[VT-16]

What portrayals? There's been dumb battle tactics since forever in the EU.

[Darth Hoth]

What portrayals? There's been dumb battle tactics since forever in the EU.

Well, but few where single fighters have brought down entire capital ships with their onboard energy weapons. Even the X-wing books were not that retarded in their take on space combat.

[VT-16]

Well, it's all a matter of surprise and gauging where the shield is being directed. The SOTE comic had Wedge make a big U-turn to charge a strike cruiser from behind with his X-wing once it was clear it was directing all its shield power towards the Rebel fleet it had discovered. That's reasonable, given the damage X-wings did on surface structures on the first Death Star.

[Darth Hoth]

Well, it's all a matter of surprise and gauging where the shield is being directed. The SOTE comic had Wedge make a big U-turn to charge a strike cruiser from behind with his X-wing once it was clear it was directing all its shield power towards the Rebel fleet it had discovered. That's reasonable, given the damage X-wings did on surface structures on the first Death Star.

Is that so? I never read that comic, only the book. It still sounds stupid that any reasonably competent captain would fall for that, though, given the ability to raise and lower shields in split-seconds and direct them very specifically (e.g., opening minute holes for the ship's own weapons).

[VT-16]

He was running away from an unexpected meeting with a huge enemy fleet, which was actively firing on him. That's what Wedge took advantage of, sneaking up on him from deep space.

[Darth Hoth]

He was running away from an unexpected meeting with a huge enemy fleet, which was actively firing on him. That's what Wedge took advantage of, sneaking up on him from deep space.

Did he hyperjump in on him like the Calamari task force did on the Allegiance in Dark Empire? Or just sneak up on him while he was distracted?

[VT-16]

Just sneak up on him, I think. Reading through it now, they told one fighter to do a wide sweep while they were still within the fleet. When the strike cruiser picked them up on its scanner, it only showed the ones in formation, not the guy going around them. Using all their deflector power on their stern, he hit their bow.

EDIT: No, that was the scanner on the Rebel command ship showing TIEs. My bad. Either way, the fleet was jamming the strike cruiser's comm system and probably did a number on their sensors too, like the Rebels got at Endor.

[Terralthra]

What portrayals? There's been dumb battle tactics since forever in the EU.

Well, but few where single fighters have brought down entire capital ships with their onboard energy weapons. Even the X-wing books were not that retarded in their take on space combat.

I'm pretty sure the above means that the Malevolence, itself a capital ship, could one-shot a Venator. Not that the Y-wings could one-shot the Malevolence.

[Darth Hoth]

Just sneak up on him, I think. Reading through it now, they told one fighter to do a wide sweep while they were still within the fleet. When the strike cruiser picked them up on its scanner, it only showed the ones in formation, not the guy going around them. Using all their deflector power on their stern, he hit their bow.

EDIT: No, that was the scanner on the Rebel command ship showing TIEs. My bad. Either way, the fleet was jamming the strike cruiser's comm system and probably did a number on their sensors too, like the Rebels got at Endor.

Well, all right, then. That does not appear too unreasonable.

[Darth Hoth]

What portrayals? There's been dumb battle tactics since forever in the EU.

Well, but few where single fighters have brought down entire capital ships with their onboard energy weapons. Even the X-wing books were not that retarded in their take on space combat.

I'm pretty sure the above means that the Malevolence, itself a capital ship, could one-shot a Venator. Not that the Y-wings could one-shot the Malevolence.

It does? No problem, then.

Sorry for taking up your time, VT...

[Anguirus]

Yeah, that's correct. From my reading the Y-wings are powerful, state-of-the-art craft during this period of the war, but they have to use proton torpedoes to hurt capital ships. And even then, they have to target the giant ion cannons on the Malevolence, which as I said are very powerful but very fragile (something about one component being damaged taking the whole thing offline).

Of course, you may be newly incensed by the following...the Malevolence is attacked by a partial squadron of Y-wings, some of which were destroyed before the battle by flying through a gas cloud filled with weird space creatures. It sounds like an old kid's book my brother had growing up.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Yeah, that's correct. From my reading the Y-wings are powerful, state-of-the-art craft during this period of the war, but they have to use proton torpedoes to hurt capital ships. And even then, they have to target the giant ion cannons on the Malevolence, which as I said are very powerful but very fragile (something about one component being damaged taking the whole thing offline).

Of course, you may be newly incensed by the following...the Malevolence is attacked by a partial squadron of Y-wings, some of which were destroyed before the battle by flying through a gas cloud filled with weird space creatures. It sounds like an old kid's book my brother had growing up.

Sigh... it's like this movie was written by a bunch of Stackpole wannabes. As if Travissity writing the novel wasn't bad enough.

I guess I will just watch the movie to see how bad it turns out.

[Block]

By Stackpole wannabes you mean good authors who follow the direction they're handed from up above? If you want to blame someone for the "awful" Rogue Squadron (some of the best written books in the EU, but whatever), blame the one who hands him down the outline of the story. This hatred for him makes no sense.

[Anguirus]

Was Stackpole working from an outline, apart from "don't step on continuity"? I didn't think there was any master plan in the Bantam days.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

By Stackpole wannabes you mean good authors who follow the direction they're handed from up above? If you want to blame someone for the "awful" Rogue Squadron (some of the best written books in the EU, but whatever), blame the one who hands him down the outline of the story. This hatred for him makes no sense.

If I recall correctly, the standard modus operandi for authors is they submit the story for approval, along with the outline. Prior to that, they would probably invite the author along and talk to him about writing a book. The authors themselves have quite a bit of freedom on what they write.

And he himself said that he based the book on the X-wing games, so you were saying?

[Block]

He himself also said there were a number of plot points he had to address, which is why he didn't like writing in other people's universes.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

He himself also said there were a number of plot points he had to address, which is why he didn't like writing in other people's universes.

So? What do the plot points have to do with writing a realistic battle?

[Block]

How do you make a space opera focusing around a single squadron of fighters who are supposed to be powerful enough to bring down a large portion of the remaining Imperial strength realisitc WITHOUT taking the focus off of that specific squadron?