Star Wars Weapons: Lasers/Ordnance

[stillakid]

After watching TPM and AOTC and CLONE WARS, it appears as though non-energy based weapons were used quite a bit. The Gungans even had energy balls wrapped up in a non-energy packet which could first penetrate energy shields to then open up and deliver the pain. Jango used some kind of seeking torpedo which was not energy based. Clone Wars armaments include conventional armaments (and even a laser which arcs to its target).

So, why didn't the Empire use similar technology to:

- attack Hoth
- attack the Falcon after Hoth

Why didn't the Rebellion use similar technology to:

- attack the Death Stars

[tagmac]

The Rebels DID use non-energy based technology to take down the Death Stars. It took proton torpedos to beat DS I, and Concussion Missles to take down DS II. Neither was energy based, as they would otherwise have not been able to penetrate any deflector shielding (specifically in ANH). The energy weapons were only used to take out TIE fighters and gun emplacements.

[LTBasker]

I think they did basically, they probably wouldn't have much effective non energy weapons they could attack with on Hoth, but it would explain how they got through the shield.

The type of shield they had around Hoth could've been more advanced than prequel shields, and been more effective against physical objects. The Imperials could've had to of found a weak spot to slip through in.

As for the Death Stars, I doubt an X-wing could carry a big enough physical weapon in order to make any dent. The shields were the problem for escaping and such, not using their weapons. They easily got past any shielding on the second generators with the proton torpedos.

As for that Clone Wars reference, I think that was just for show as obviously it's impossible for a light beam to arc by itself. I'm sure if Lucas didn't figure that himself then we'd be seeing curved lightsaber blades by now as well. Maybe it could be taken as the shot looked like it curved from a distance perspective when it actually stayed straight?

Just my thoughts.

[stillakid]

I'm sure if Lucas didn't figure that himself then we'd be seeing curved lightsaber blades by now as well.

How cool would that be, even if it didn't make any sense...

[2-1B]

For a little while there, rumor had it that we would see a curved saber blade. When the rumors hit about Dooku's "curved saber", some people speculated that the blade itself was curved and not the hilt.

[mrmiller]

The problem with conventional weapons is the carrying compacity of the ships for all the ammo. In theory, an Energy based weapon has near infinate ammo for a small ship. I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud.

=MATT=

[LTBasker]

How cool would that be, even if it didn't make any sense...

Yea it would be pretty interesting, specially if there was a Sith that looked like a grim reaper with a curved saber blade on a scythe.

I guess if someone was strong enough in the force, they could bend the blade of the saber like that.

[JediTricks]

Proton Torpedos used on the DS1 and 2 are jacketed in a proton-based energy field.

The real reason for so many energy-based weapons is that they're far more visually dynamic on screen than conventional armorments, and also non-energy-based weapons are not terribly science-fictiony. One would think that in a galaxy where faster-than-light travel and sentient robots are commonplace, they would have created armorments that can withstand bullets and rockets and such. You see the sandpeople using their rifles in Ep 1, and the point is that they are primative weapons.

[stillakid]

Proton Torpedos used on the DS1 and 2 are jacketed in a proton-based energy field.

The real reason for so many energy-based weapons is that they're far more visually dynamic on screen than conventional armorments, and also non-energy-based weapons are not terribly science-fictiony. One would think that in a galaxy where faster-than-light travel and sentient robots are commonplace, they would have created armorments that can withstand bullets and rockets and such. You see the sandpeople using their rifles in Ep 1, and the point is that they are primative weapons.

That's what I'm getting at. Even in DUNE ( big influence on Star Wars ), the characters relied on old fashioned knife fighting because they could penetrate the personal shields (whereas in that story, interaction between Holzmann Shields and laser weapons created a nuclear reaction )

In any case, when the Falcon is being chased down by the Star Destroyer after the Hoth sequence, the Destroyer could have fired off a ton of those Jango Fett type "seeking" torpedoes instead of firing lasers into the energy shields. So why didn't they? Chances are, like JT said, lasers were more "sci fi" to George in 1980 and more to the point, he hadn't thought yet of the types of conventional weapons he uses freely in AOTC. So by introducing this "new" technology of olde in the PT, he is making the Empire look even more like ignorant fools in the OT.

[JediTricks]

Plus, the Falcon's quad-lasers can fire backwards.