Old views on Star Wars, pre-debate

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Mr. Oragahn
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Old views on Star Wars, pre-debate

Post by Mr. Oragahn » Tue Feb 19, 2008 11:13 am

When I was a kid, and during all that time I bought EU books and games, my opinion about Star Wars weapons was that they were not necessarily better than ours, but just that Star Wars used glowing bullets instead of solid bullets.
In my mind grew that idea that they did so because of the advantage of using that kind of ammo regarding mass, quantity and storage.
Namely, that you had much more ammo by using those glowy things, that they were easier and smaller to store, and probably easier to shoot, than those big heavy metal bullets we use today.

That thought got eroded a bit when I started to read technical threads years later, but now, I wonder if that view regarding Star Wars was that wrong.

When I look at the evidence and the standards of observation, I realize that much of the events really support that idea that the weapons are just not that much more powerful in terms of sheer energy, and that the main advantage is above all how those weapons seem to be able to tap in relatively limitless reserves compared to, for example, modern air fighters which have a very limited amount of bullets to carry.

All in all, it fits with how SW's battles are fought, and the yields seen in the films. Basically, everything from WWII to 1980-style weapons and methods, in a different setting, with sometimes high tech gems (lightsabres, Death Stars).

The other views on Star Wars that I got used to is that it's an universe where everything is big, where everything is "a lot" in terms of unit quantity, and where balustrades are boring.

This makes it way easier to stick to films that way, and I'm actually glad I managed to remember those feelings, which were getting progressively erased by time spent talking technicalities.
This is my standard regarding Star Wars.

What's yours?

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Post by Cpl Kendall » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:07 pm

I'm not exactly sure what your asking but I was a big SW fan, then I read the EU. Notably the later EU and it killed it for me, especially the mandalorian and Fett BS. SW will forever be for me the first three films.

A big part of it was the fans too, how'd they lap up anything with SW in the title and acting like fuckmooks across any media you care to name. That's what killed Trek for me too. Now TOS is the only series I give a crap about.

So I've come to hold WH40K in the regard I used to hold the other two in. It's over the top and insanely stupid but it knows it. And there's far less dipshit WH40K fans than there are for the rest.

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Post by Narsil » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:56 pm

I was always a big Star Wars fan, and always a big Star Trek fan, both of which were an extension of my great love of science fiction. Though you can't blame me, I was nine years old at the time when I got the Star Wars Special Edition on video and started watching it endlessly. Fun times, with fun events and fun characters; lots of fun to be had all round, and I couldn't really tell much in the way of quality when it came down to it because I was young. I loved the both of them, really, preferring Star Wars due to how cool lightsabre fights tended to be to my prepubescent mind.

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Post by Mike DiCenso » Tue Feb 19, 2008 6:22 pm

When I saw Star Wars (before the "A New Hope" title), it was just what it was intended to be: a big popcorn Saturday matinee feature, ala the old Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials, just with a new, industrial design high-tech polish.

Most of the early EU, in particular Brian Daley's Han Solo Trilogy, kept that feeling about it. But I think I would have to agree with the other posters in this thread that the later material has lost that feeling. Most in particular I hate how they feel as though there has to be a constant state of war going on in order for it to be "Star Wars". The fighting with the Imperial Remnant made some sense, but now in order to keep perpetuating an excuse for large-scale conflict in the SW galaxy. Frankly, it's getting boring. I'd rather just see stories set in between the movies, and well-written ones at that.

Maybe I'am getting old, but I want that matinee popcorn feeling again for things Star Wars.
-Mike

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