[Darth Sane]

I agree with you diligent. the CGI allowed them to look a lot more "capable" More firepower, more menuverability etc.

[xenduck]

well, i guess looks are all that really matter anyway.

[Darth Sane]

exactly, for a movie, looks and sound are the only things communicated

[Giff]

and what BESIDES padme's ROYAL starship was shiny?

Sen. Amidala's shuttle...the parachute on Count Dooku's ship...etc.

[Mnesymone]

Things have gone both ways - the ships have gotten more brutal looking, the mainstream starfighters have traded their astromechs and hyperdrive rings traded for a simpler, more readily mass-produced fighter - the other fighters (the X-wing ancestry) has downsized, downpowered into a compact snub fighter. The shields technology seems to have gotten worse but is being used for bigger applications (the gungans had very advanced energy shield technology, while the droidekas had extremely effective deflectors, but in the OT the Death Star and Hoth shields provide much larger protective umbrellas.
The Imperial designs are much more brutal, possibly because of the artistic inclinations of the Empire, possibly because of a crock of shit, while rebel designs are well-worn and simple.
The droid armies were stupid - so it makes sense no one would keep using them - the limited intelligence and adaptibility, the susceptibility to the electronic battlefield (gungan energy balls anyone?), the dependance on centralised control (Anakin's deus ex machina) and the general patheticness of droid forces against organised sentient resistance makes it sensible for people to revert to living armies.
The clones - with sophisticated armour, communication and utility equipment, big guns and obvious external rankings (hint to the snipers, go for the guys with the yellow markings) to stormtroopers is an obvious regression, and the blue blasters to red was silly.
The actual transition of clones to stormtroopers is convincing enough - Palpatine wouldn't keep such a dangerous tool around.
Artoo and Slave I however... they were unforgivable.

[Giff]

More so R2-D2, though. What was done to him was INEXCUSEABLE.


Egads, man...what were they thinking when they gave him jetpacks?

"Hey...this'll be pretty cool. Hell, by the next episode, he will be taking out the same type of super battle droids that were killing Jedi on Geonosis"

[Mnesymone]

It all began with ROTJ - his saw and his lightsaber launcher and the zapper... then in TPM his magnetised wheels, then AOTC with rocket legs and his stair-climber, then he picked up the good catch arm, the oil launcher and his fighter-launch spring in ROTS.

[jariten]

So could anyone be kind enough to point out specific examples of this regression? Lets bear in mind the following (before someone says "but we did that on page 2!")

1. The Queens ships were meant to mirror the fact that she is A QUEEN.

2. The rebels WERE POOR, and did not have the disposable income that the Jedi clearly had (also see those funky medical droids), so based their designs as best they could on the best design that had come before (i.e those jedi fighters, obi wans ep 2 ship). But the technology does seem to have progressed in other areas (x wings seem capable of unassisted light speed travel), even if the designs arent quite as swish.

3. before we get too exicted, remember that the designs for most of the PT ships are in line with an PT-OT progression. That Republic ship in TPM for example.

4. The Empire was all about conveyor belt, IKEA type designs which were ugly, mass produced and totally lacking the aethetics of the Naboo ships- who represent a pre Empire society of art, beauty etc. that the Empire totally wipes out (another thing lost). Ironic, since Naboo is the Emperors home planet.

[Mnesymone]

The republic ship in TPM?
The brown one that got destroyed by the trade federation in the hangar?
What was that style based on?

Also - one tiny thing, originally Boba Fett was an imperial commando-turned-bounty hunter and so his gear was modelled off imperial cues. The Mandalorian Combat armour was brought in for the EU. Then the clone troopers in PT were designed around Jangos armour - so in effect, we are asked to believe that the stormtroopers are based on a design based on a design based on the stormtroopers - stormies, clones, Jango, stormies.

[jariten]

The brown one that got destroyed by the trade federation in the hangar?
What was that style based on?

I wasnt suggesting it was based on anything, only that there was nothing about it to suggest technological inconsistancy with the OT. A lot of people seem to be mistaking technology for design.

[xenduck]

I wasnt suggesting it was based on anything, only that there was nothing about it to suggest technological inconsistancy with the OT. A lot of people seem to be mistaking technology for design.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thank you, thats what ive been trying to say, but you said much better than i could.