“Copy that, Mad Dog.”
“Uh, I’m not Mad Dog.”
“Right, Red Rooster.”
“I’m ending this communication now.”
Esprix
Darn tootin’, Esprix!!
Apparently besides constantly recruiting Stormtroopers who can’t hit anything when they shoot, the Empire also can’t afford computers as good as the ones the Rebel Alliance has. Why didn’t the Empire feed the plans of their battle station into a computer and have it point out the fatal flaw of the exhaust port? Also, why didn’t the Empire simply blast the planet Yavin into fragments then destroy the rebel base instead of taking several minutes to get a clear line of sight? Even if the Deathstar’s primary weapon takes time to recharge, I would think having your base bombarded by a few million tons of planet fragments would knock the fight out of you.
Myth #1. If you knew anything about guns, you’d know that those Stormtroopers were pretty damned accurate. YOU try shooting at a human target, under cover, from thirty meters.
Additionally, look at the Stormtroopers invading the Tantive IV at the beginning of the movie. They run into unknown terrain, facing an unknown enemy, and they lose one… ONE… trooper on the initial entry. And they kill, what, a dozen rebels? That’s good shooting, friends.
Who says it did? The Rebel technicians spent hours poring over those plans. There wasn’t exactly a big ol’ sign that read “Blow me up here!”
The original Death Star had a horrible “recharge” time for its Superlaser (about one full day). The DS-II improved on this flaw, however.
I imagine that the Rebels had a planetary shield in place on Yavin. They had enough heavy equipment there that it wasn’t possible to evacuate in time. While the planetary shields wouldn’t be strong enough to stop the Superlaser, they’d keep planetary fragments from obliterating the base.
However, the REAL reason is that Lucas didn’t want to wimp out with that kind of plot gimmick. Additionally, look at the destruction of the DS-II over Endor… the metallic debris from that destruction should have brought about a nuclear winter on the forest moon.
Please tell me you’re not the person responsible for http://www.theforce.net/swtc/holocaust.html.
No, LNO, I’m not, but I reference that page (along with http://www.stardestroyer.net/Empire.html) quite often. I’ve found Curtis Saxton’s work to be impeccable and very thorough.
I always thought that the likely reason that Stormtroopers aren’t better shots was summed up by Luke himself when he and Han don stormtrooper armor to rescue Leia and Luke grouses, “I can’t see a thing in this helmet!”
In general, Stormtrooper armor clearly is designed more for visual effect (either by the costumer or by the Emperor’s armorer, take your pick) than for actual efficacy.
Chef, the reason Luke couldn’t see well was because he is shorter than the average stormtrooper…remember Leia saying “Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper”?
What would being short have to do with not being able to see?
I can see the aguments for the stormtroopers actually being decent shots. What I want to know is? What exactly does stormtropper armor protect you from, since a hairy midget with a rock is an obvious threat?
From my extensive X-Wing and TIE Fighter playing time, I remember that Y-Wings are slower (and larger/less maneuverable) than X-Wings. They wouldn’t have been able to keep up with Luke’s ship if they were used for covering him, and probably couldn’t make it to the trench in the first place (any TIE Fighter vet knows how easy they are to shoot down ;))
- Rob
>>>Quote from LoverBoy: “I remember that Y-Wings are slower (and larger/less maneuverable) than X-Wings. They wouldn’t have been able to keep up with Luke’s ship if they were used for covering him, and probably couldn’t make it to the trench in the first place.”
I thought the Y-Wings were originally sent to do the actual attack on the Death Star and the X-Wings were to provide cover and to take out as many of the turrets near the bomb run as possible. They just took over the job when the Y-Wings got blasted. Anyway, it would probably help if they couldn’t keep up with Luke if they wanted to provide him coverage. That way any TIE fighter going after Luke would have to be fly in front of the Y-Wing and be in their line of fire, or would have to fall back to take out the Y-Wing first and then try to catch up to Luke.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by SPOOFE *
**
Myth #1. If you knew anything about guns, you’d know that those Stormtroopers were pretty damned accurate. YOU try shooting at a human target, under cover, from thirty meters.
Then howcum in the numerous instances when the rebels weren’t under cover, the troopers STILL couldn’t hit them yet the rebels had no trouble picking off the troopers that were just as far away?
Who says it did? The Rebel technicians spent hours poring over those plans. There wasn’t exactly a big ol’ sign that read “Blow me up here!”
IIRC, there is a line in the film when R2D2 is presented to the rebel leaders at the base where it is stated that they’ll hook the droid up to the computer (or words to that effect–I don’t have my copy of the script in front of me at this time).
I imagine that the Rebels had a planetary shield in place on Yavin. They had enough heavy equipment there that it wasn’t possible to evacuate in time. While the planetary shields wouldn’t be strong enough to stop the Superlaser, they’d keep planetary fragments from obliterating the base.
Is there such a thing as a “planetary” shield? In RotJ I recall the shield generator protecting the Deathstar under construction, not the surface of the planet; in any event I didn’t hear anyone in the film say “Activate the planetary shield” so its presence is sheer speculation. Let’s work within the parameters exposed in the film people.
Chef Troy…
Stormtrooper helmets don’t have glass eyeports to look through. Where the eyeports would normally be is a holographic display that allows the trooper full vision (as if he didn’t have any helmet on at all). Luke had a hard time seeing because the helmet needs to be tuned to the individual wearer.
Loverboy…
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In space, it’s not “speed” that matters, it’s “acceleration”.
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Don’t ever try to use a video game as support for a point. They dumb everything down to make it easier to play.
Actually, the original plan called for the Y-wings to enter the trench FIRST. Why? They had better targetting systems, and had a greater chance of their torpedoes hitting the exhaust port.
“Numerous instances”? Like what?
Like in Cloud City, where they were running through the winding hallways, taking cover behind pillars, and blasting the Stormies before they could even take off a shot?
Here’s why the Stormies missed Luke & Co. so often… they were the heroes of the story!
They hook him up to the computer to transfer the data. And the line you’re thinking of is from Leia: “We have no time for our sorrows, Commander. You must use the information in this R2 unit to help plan the attack.” (This is paraphrased… I’m reciting from memory).
::cough Hoth! cough::
Granted, this wasn’t a planetary shield per se… most SW fans call it a “theatre shield” (i.e.- it creates a massive dome above the site it’s protecting). However, it’s not too much stretch of the imagination to assume that, if a small rebel outpost can generate such a large, powerful shield, it wouldn’t be too difficult to upgrade the power supply and/or number of individual generators to cover the whole planet.
But, yeah, planetary shields exist, although they’re described in far greater detail in the non-canon/official novels and sourcebooks. Coruscant, for example, was described in several sources as having a double-layered planetary shield. And some SW fans like to proclaim that the planetary shield over Alderaan managed to stave off the Superlaser… for a teensy-weensy fraction of a second.
Note: The official sources are held in higher authority than they are for Star Trek, simply because there’s far less information to work off of with the movies (ST has hundreds of hours of on-screen references). As far as George Lucas is concerned, if it’s in the novels or official sourcebooks, it’s good information. Except, of course, where it’s directly contradicted by the movies, movie novelisations, and radio dramas (and, unfortunately, that horrible “Christmas Special” hack of crap).