Starfleet Jedi

The 17.2 km figure may not have been that wrong on the sheer idea that the unit was terran-like.
After all, they already use parsecs, right? Maybe seconds or hours, I can't remember, but there are probably such cases in SW.

I guess a good method would be to check how fast those bolts travel, and how long it takes them to reach the generator.

That should be easy with DVDs.

Maybe a good way to get an idea of the scale of the generator would also to be look at the explosion, and see how long it lasts.

...

+: Erm... I checked that video, and the time it takes for the bolt to reach the target. The distance seems to lie between 1 and 5 km in fact.

Even the sheer size of the bolts before impact seem to indicate a moderately sized structure.

... and considering that they were firing with maximum power, even assuming the whole explosion was solely due to the bolts and not whatever is used to power that shield up, then we're far from the big numbers.
Though the initial flash and explosion is mostly due to the AT-AT's fire, since we can see that the generator is not destroyed after impact, but explodes a bit later on, resulting into the large fireball.

However, it's still pretty vague, and harder numbers will only come with some frame by frame analysis.

Well, in the end, it's still a range higher than anything the tripods ever achieved.

In terms of sheer velocity, they seem to be on equals terms.

AnonymousRedShirtEnsign wrote:I just rewatched the Hoth battle and there is no way that it was 17.28km, hell it probably wasn't even 1.728km, unless that generator was absolutely huge. Well before they are in range (right after we first see an AT-ST) we can see the generator across the ice plain and it is maybe a kilometer away, assuming no zoom (since there was no display info on screen which we see with the rebel binoculars) and a 20-30m tall generator. When the crew member calls out the distance and Veers says to fire, they appear significantly closer. If it the distance was given in a metric measurement then 172.8m is the closest to what we see. What's funny that the AT-ATs demonstrate significantly further range earlier in the battle when shooting at the trenches when they are about a km away, they just don't have very good accuracy until they are about 500m away.

Do you have any kind of a scaling for the generator, or are you just guessing here?

As for the shooting range, the shots fired by the AT-ATs from that distance were also in the low megajoule range, probably because the AT-ATs can't pump enough power to maintain the heavy maximum firepower over that distance in addition to being able to hit targets accurately.
-Mike

I was just estimating based on the angle the AT-AT fires at, and the size of the walkers from the trenches in the early part of the battle. While it seems silly that the power level of the shot would effect accuracy you might be on to something there since the Veers' AT-AT does take a few shots at the generator from across the ice plain and nothing happens.

I think you may have misunderstood me a bit; in addition to the lack of accuracy over that range (never mind whether or not the blaster bolts can travel that far without dissipating), the ability of the AT-AT powerplant to produce sufficent energy to power the bolts to maximum and keep them from dissipating may not be possible as well.

But yes, you are correct. I checked the DVD of TESB, and found that early on Veers' AT-AT is shown taking a couple of shots at the generator, yet the bolts don't seem to do anything to it. So it would seem that he had to maneuver in closer and power up to have any effect on it.
-Mike

AnonymousRedShirtEnsign wrote:I was just estimating based on the angle the AT-AT fires at, and the size of the walkers from the trenches in the early part of the battle. While it seems silly that the power level of the shot would effect accuracy you might be on to something there since the Veers' AT-AT does take a few shots at the generator from across the ice plain and nothing happens.

He was shooting at airspeeders.

No kiddin'.

That was just idol speculation, but the fact remains that even though they are well within visual range, AT-ATs have to march across the ice plain and at least as far as the first trenches in order to hit the generator.