# List Federation advantages over the Empire **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2002, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610 "2002-12-13T21:19:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/1 "2002-12-13T21:19:49Z")
First and most obvious are transporters and replicators. Create something out of thin air and instantly move it at an orbital distance. Also, low warp maneuverability: hyperdrive is basically a straight-line affair; microjumps require a destination to be scanned and calculated, whereas a starfleet vessel can just veer off. An obscure but significant problem is star wars vessels must follow an umbrella shaped shield ship when travelling very close to a star, such as visiting an inner planet. Starfleet vessels now have metaphasic sheilding (invented by ferengi engineer Dr. Rayga) and can actually fly into a star! The Romulans and Klingons routinely use cloaking devices that actually work, and the illegal federation phasing cloak can allow a starship to become transparent to incoming fire and “ghost” through barriers and obstacles. Can you list others? (sorry if this is a double post…I don’t know if my first attempt got through:smack: ) ---
**Author:** ![Roadwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Roadwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadwalker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/2 "2002-12-13T22:07:07Z")
Federation might be able to return to Earth once in a while for some good Chicago Style Pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/3 "2002-12-13T22:14:17Z")
Lack of slavery. Weapons with a stun setting. Better droids. Much better-looking female crewmembers. Money is no longer important. They have an explanation for why everybody speaks the same language, rather than speaking their own language and everybody just happens to understand it (without being able to speak it). ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/4 "2002-12-13T22:20:14Z")
One word: holodeck. ---
**Author:** ![robertliguori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@robertliguori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertliguori)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/5 "2002-12-13T22:55:11Z")
Blasters have a stun setting. Remember the one shot a Stormtrooper ever made on-camera? Star Wars has the Force. Of course, I’d like to see either a Federation starship or a star destroyer last 5 minutes in the Night’s Dawn-iverse. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/6 "2002-12-13T23:49:12Z")
Hmm… Hoshi…Amidala. Hoshi…Amidala… I’m torn… ---
**Author:** ![Shortie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Shortie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shortie)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/7 "2002-12-14T00:11:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enola Straight \* > **First and most obvious are transporters and replicators. Create something out of thin air and instantly move it at an orbital distance.** Not out of thin air, you need a variety of raw materials, (ie can’t alter atoms), and there are a number of things it can’t get quite right, or even at all. And transporters aren’t absolutely instant, and can be futzed by all sorts of stuff. Still both nice things though. Oh, and the Imps have an equivalent for the latter, if not so miniaturised (World Devastators). \*\* > [@](#): > > Also, low warp maneuverability: hyperdrive is basically a straight-line affair; microjumps require a destination to be scanned and calculated, whereas a starfleet vessel can just veer off.\*\* Well, it appears to be somewhat limited in manouevrability (“Faster than light, no left or right”), but it’s still good, if a hell of a lot slower than hyper. \*\* > [@](#): > > An obscure but significant problem is star wars vessels must follow an umbrella shaped shield ship when travelling very close to a star, such as visiting an inner planet. Starfleet vessels now have metaphasic sheilding (invented by ferengi engineer Dr. Rayga) and can actually fly into a star!\*\* A particular type of star, and are those metaphasic shields common to all ships? Or just a gizmo of the week? \*\* > [@](#): > > The Romulans and Klingons routinely use cloaking devices that actually work, and the illegal federation phasing cloak can allow a starship to become transparent to incoming fire and “ghost” through barriers and obstacles.\*\* 😕 Imp cloaks work too. And IIRC phase cloaks are pretty much lost. \*\* > [@](#): > > Can you list others? > > (sorry if this is a double post…I don’t know if my first attempt got through:smack: ) \*\* Uhhh… no.😛 Seriously, warp and transporters at the tactical level are about it. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Ethilrist_ > \*\*Lack of slavery. > … > Money is no longer important. \*\* The second has contradictory evidence both ways, but never mind. Besides, no-one ever said the Empire was _nice_ (kinda the point of the Rebellion after all), and **ES** seems to be interested in a vs. debate. (Dunno with whom though) \*\* > [@](#): > > Better droids. \*\* Nope, Guri beats Data. Who, IIRC is kinda unique. \*\* > [@](#): > > They have an explanation for why everybody speaks the same language, rather than speaking their own language and everybody just happens to understand it (without being able to speak it).\*\* Sorry? In Trek people don’t speak the same language, they have universal translators. In Wars people don’t always understand each other (take Chewie for a start). > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by kasuo_ > **One word: holodeck.** Eh. I’m with Scott Adams. ---
**Author:** ![Chocobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Chocobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chocobo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/8 "2002-12-14T00:36:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shortie \* > \*\* > 😕 Imp cloaks work too. And IIRC phase cloaks are pretty much lost. > \*\* Actually, Imperial cloaks work differently than the Alpha Quadrants (I say Alpha Quadrant because the only Federation ship with an actual cloaking device is the Defiant, and that’s on loan from the Romulans). In the SW Universe, the cloak is slightly more realistic, in that it creates a “shield” around a ship that basically renders it invisible to everything outside. The only catch is that the ship being cloaked can’t penetrate the shield with it’s own sensors, thus making it blind. Grand Admiral Thrawn worked around this using the crazy jedi clone to help him maneuver his ships while cloaked, but after Thrawn and the clone’s death, there was very little practical use for the cloak. ---
**Author:** ![Shortie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Shortie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shortie)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/9 "2002-12-14T00:49:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chocobo \* > \*\*Actually, Imperial cloaks work differently than the Alpha Quadrants (I say Alpha Quadrant because the only Federation ship with an actual cloaking device is the Defiant, and that’s on loan from the Romulans). In the SW Universe, the cloak is slightly more realistic, in that it creates a “shield” around a ship that basically renders it invisible to everything outside. The only catch is that the ship being cloaked can’t penetrate the shield with it’s own sensors, thus making it blind. Grand Admiral Thrawn worked around this using the crazy jedi clone to help him maneuver his ships while cloaked, but after Thrawn and the clone’s death, there was very little practical use for the cloak. \*\* I wouldn’t go that far, I can think of quite a few off-hand. The cargo hold and asteroid tricks should work just fine on someone who hasn’t seen them before. There may be a few Jedi around (depends exactly when and whom this is supposed to be), and say having a stealthy probe or fighter just sticking a sensor out the field should be pretty hard to spot. And dead-reckoning still works, so it can give the other guy a hell of a shock at least once. ---
**Author:** ![Alexei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@Alexei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alexei)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/10 "2002-12-14T01:40:10Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Chocobo_ > First and most obvious are transporters and replicators. Create something out of thin air and instantly move it at an orbital distance. I thought Klingons had transporter technology… I mean, I’m sure I’ve seen the pads at least on their ships. Thinking about it, I’m not too sure if they have Replicators, but is that just out of preference as they like their food to be alive? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/11 "2002-12-14T01:40:55Z")
I just got back from Nemesis. I thought you meant the Romulan Empire. Doy. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/12 "2002-12-14T02:03:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > **Better droids.** Better droid, not droids. Data is pretty much an non-reproduceable one of a kind construct, and IIRC the only attempt to reproduce him was pretty much unsuccessful. The droid in the Empire might not be so polished, but they’re so common they’re practically furniture. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/13 "2002-12-14T02:13:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Smeghead \* > I just got back from Nemesis. I thought you meant the Romulan Empire. Doy. Yeah I thought that too. Then I thought, maybe they meant the Empire and the Trade Federation from Star Wars. They basically fought at the end of Episode II. Turns out I was half-right each time. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/14 "2002-12-14T02:31:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alexei \* > **I thought Klingons had transporter technology…** They do. In Star Trek IV (whales, San Francisco), they’re beaming all over the place in the Klingon ship. Hell, they beamed up two whales and a parsec of water. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/15 "2002-12-14T02:40:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chocobo \* > Actually, Imperial cloaks work differently than the Alpha Quadrants (I say Alpha Quadrant because the only Federation ship with an actual cloaking device is the Defiant, and that’s on loan from the Romulans). I’m not totally sure, but I think you meant Beta Quadrant. The Klingon and Romulan Empires are in the Beta Quadrant. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/16 "2002-12-14T04:45:08Z")
There’s no Jar Jar Binks in the Federation. But on the other hand, Harrison Ford never did an ‘interpretation’ of Sir Elton John’s “Rocketman” ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/17 "2002-12-14T05:25:57Z")
As far as droids go IG-88 would kick Data’s ass. There is no one in Star Trek more badass than Boba Fett. Star Destroyers lauch hundreds of TIEs. From what I’ve seen Federation ships shoot a drawn out powerful laser that can only shoot one target at a time (along with torpedos). I don’t think Federation ships are capable of dealing with that many targets. X-Wings would beat the crap out of Shuttles. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/18 "2002-12-14T05:46:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas \* > \*\*Hmm… Hoshi…Amidala. Hoshi…Amidala… I’m torn… \*\* So was Amidala’s cute little skin-tight outfit… MMmmmmmm…! > [@](#): > > from _Wearia_ > There is no one in Star Trek more badass than Boba Fett. Yeah, you’ve really got to respect the bad-ass-ness of a guy who got **accidentally** killed by a still temporarily blind Han Solo… > [@](#): > > Star Destroyers lauch hundreds of TIEs. From what I’ve seen Federation ships shoot a drawn out powerful laser that can only shoot one target at a time (along with torpedos). I don’t think Federation ships are capable of dealing with that many targets. The **Defiant**. It would tear through a whole quadron of TIE fighters. * * * The Federation also has Fun and Games With Q… (“So, Worf. Eat any good books lately?”) Who provides the Omnipotent Entertainment in the Empire? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/19 "2002-12-14T05:46:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wearia \* > Star Destroyers lauch hundreds of TIEs. From what I’ve seen Federation ships shoot a drawn out powerful laser that can only shoot one target at a time (along with torpedos). I don’t think Federation ships are capable of dealing with that many targets. > X-Wings would beat the crap out of Shuttles. Yeah, well the Empire doesn’t have X-wings, now does it? I think that, the Death Star aside, _Star Wars_ firepower doesn’t hold a candle to _Star Trek_’s. Proton torpedoes? Give me a break. There’s no way the rusty, sewn-together shields of a _Star Wars_ vessel could handle quantum torpedoes _or_ phasers. Of course I realize that more firepower doesn’t mean it’s a better show. If that were the case, then Dragonball Z would be the greatest show ever. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610/20 "2002-12-14T05:49:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ranger \* > **There’s no Jar Jar Binks in the Federation.** Yeah… But there are Ferenghi. :rolleyes: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-federation-advantages-over-the-empire/142610.md?page=2)