Tyrphanax

Ryan McAvoy said:

Jaitea said:

 

much

Great catch. I dig.

Indeed. As a person who staunchly avoids the politics thread, it's lame when politics leaks.

I understand your frustration with the country, much of which I myself feel.

But your suggested methods are antithesis to the spirit of the country and thus I can only assume you are using hyperbole.

I'll be at Celebration! COME TO CELEBRATION AND SEE ME.

I like the tench look. It's kinda Deckard, kinda Endor, kinda cowboy. Feels very Han to me.

We're totally going to Hoth.

Jaitea said:

Tyrphanax said:

...

 The RPF had said that theres only one respirator on one side of the helmet & it's not symetrical

Aw, that's too bad. Oh well.

Well, Vader and the Emperor are dead, so we're definitely going to be seeing different big bads. Maybe at the head of a reborn and resurgent Empire?

Maybe the Empire has been relegated to a few small systems as part of peace treaties, and now the Republic needs new allies in the Imperial Remnant to take on the new bad guys?

Maybe the new Empire plays a very small role.

Lots of different options and we just don't know enough yet.

I'm not totally convinced of asymmetry in the helmet just yet. I see that the bottom seam in the concept illustration passes through the center of the respirator, and in the real-life photo, the seam either doesn't go through the respirator, or there isn't one on that side.

Just looking at the photo of the actual helmet and the way the plastic is molded, it seems to me that the respirators might be just out of sight on the "underside" of the chin area, with the seam passing above them instead of through them in the concept. Comparing the shape of the chin from concept to photo, there are definitely some shape differences, which would suggest that it was modified after the concept was completed.

I could be totally wrong, of course, but it's something to keep in mind.

dan76 said:

I don't like either of the new stormtrooper designs really. Why do these have to be updated, we don't want R2-D2 to look any different, or sleak Star Destroyers. These are iconic designs and can just be reused. 

Fair enough designing something for a new environment though, maybe that's what they are. Of the two, the second "snowtrooper" looks more like something from McQuarrie, where as the normal stormtrooper looks like and extension from the prequels.

I love the chunky look of the OT, I hope they keep some of that.

Well, we know that the things we love will be mostly the same. The Falcon looks like it should, for one, and Artoo doesn't seem to have changed either. Things they have changed, like the stormtrooper helmet here, as well as the new X-Wing still retain the general "feel" of the original while being updated.

I would have been fine seeing the same old designs from the OT, but it makes sense for military technology to stay on the cutting edge. Just as long as these Stormtrooper helmets don't just materialize out of thin air on their faces like Starlord's helmet, or wrap around the head like Iron Man, I'm cool with it.

I think we're being set up for some "they don't make them like they used to" jokes and "blasted new technology" jokes. I can see Artoo petulantly telling off a new-model astromech, or Han in his "ancient" Falcon and Luke in his "ancient" T-65 flying alongside brand new model X-Wings and other ships. And we all know the Falcon will always be faster than any new thing they come up with.

Here's a comparison shot of the evolution from the RPF.

I definitely feel like the new design is distinct from the PT and a continuation of the OT. Like I said before, the lines are all there.

I really should stop coming in here. So many spoilers.

I don't understand why people think that the Empire would just disappear after Jedi. That idea never occurred to me at all. I figured it would be a given that we would see them again, albeit in a very weakened state.

It's strange that so many people were torn up about losing the canonicity of post-Jedi EU like the Thrawn Trilogy, and yet there are people who are just as annoyed that the Empire is still alive and kicking when basically all post-Jedi EU included the Imperial Remnant in some form. You can't just end a galaxy-spanning governmental body by killing its leader (look at the United States, that, while not galaxy-spanning, would certainly have been gone long ago if all it took was waxing its leader); I'm sure one of Palpatine's inner circle or some ambitious Admiral or someone stepped into the power vacuum, and even if the Empire lost control of the galaxy and a New Republic was formed, then I'm sure there's some Imperial holdouts or some Neo-Imperial revival somewhere in the galaxy that holds true to Palpatine's ideals.

I'd love to see a tables turned scenario where the ex-Imperials are now the rebels and the New Republic becomes the beast it once fought against. It's a very "Lucasian" plot device and would bring up lots of interesting questions for Leia (who will undoubtedly occupy some form of leadership role), and moreso Luke. Perhaps he left the Republic when it became an engine of destruction, dedicated to hunting down and exterminating all Imperial holdouts.

I feel like the Empire deserves to still exist in some form, with all the build-up from the two existing trilogies to be dealt with on-screen rather in a footnote in some yet-to-come encyclopaedia.

Just saw those new helmets. Not sold on the snowtrooper, but I'm digging the normal stormtrooper.

As a designer, I can see that all the lines are still there. They have all the main beats of the originals, but they're more futuristic and updated. I'm digging it, honestly. You have to keep in mind that we're thirty years on here, as well, technology doesn't stagnate, especially within the military.

Talking about softness in Star Wars characters like Hayden Christensen makes me want to hurl.

Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Councilor (2013)

This film is why Tyler Perry shouldn't make movies. Terrible acting (Kim Kardashian can't even play herself); terrible one-name (one-name characters and the title? Sounds like Cinemax porn to me), one-dimension, stupidly-motivated, incredibly braindead characters (especially the lead); a predictable and obvious plot twist with a shoehorned reveal in a character's monologue; a tedious, drawn-out, sluggish plot; all stuffed to the gills with incredibly ham-fisted religious parables and metaphors in a wannabe-intelligent and clever, "hey do you get it yet?" fashion. If you decide to watch this, watch the first ten minutes or so and then skip to the last fifteen minutes or so.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

If you haven't seen it, see it now. It's incredible.

So excited.

I don't mind the rear of the cockpit looking like that. To me, it looks like cable management for wiring the cockpit with the covering panels removed for better access for repairs and whatnot.

It's ugly because it's something that technically want meant to be seen, but is uncovered for access. It fits the Falcon. If you compare that photo to the one with Mark and Harrison that Jaitea posted, you can see that there are larger panels on the cockpit side of the ring (behind Harrison's back) that weren't there in the OT. Chalk it up to thirty years of improvements and repairs.

"Faster, more intense"

I love the extended/expanded Phantom Menace soundtrack. Most of the PT soundtracks are great though, but that's Williams.

Tobar said:

What doesn't make sense is why Obi-Wan can have a live conversation between Coruscant and Kamino which is described as being "beyond the Outer Rim." But then later has to relay a recorded message from Geonosis to Tatooine before it can reach Coruscant.

If I remember correctly, his long-range transmitter was damaged in the duel over Geonosis with Jango.

I do agree that in the OT, mass communication (at least beyond the outer rim) isn't a big thing. Perhaps that's due to Imperial sanctions on the news or just general information lockdown, which seems very evil Empire to me.

If you wanna really reach, in the Holiday Special, there's a lot of long-range communication, Empire-mandated viewing of certain programs, and even a live transmission directly from Tatooine. =P

DuracellEnergizer said:

To put things more succinctly:

• In the continuity of the Marvel comics, Boba Fett was a Mandalorian who fought in the Clone Wars alongside Fenn Shysa and other Mandalorians under the banner of the Empire before going rogue and becoming a bounty hunter.
• In the post-Marvel, pre-AOTC EU, Boba Fett was a Journeyman Protector-turned-bounty hunter whose real name was Jaster Mereel. He had no known ties to the Mandalorians beyond wearing a suit of their armour he found some time after adopting his new identify.
• In the post-AOTC EU, Boba Fett was once again a Mandalorian. It wasn't said so in AOTC, but the EU writers ran with the idea because -- well -- just because.
• In the post-TCW continuity, Boba Fett is back to being just a bounty hunter who wears Mandalorian armour without having any ties to them.

Crap, I forgot about this thread and was going to post a rundown similar to this.

I've always felt Boba was always Boba and a Mandalorian, mostly down to the Marvel interpretation, but I also love the Moran-written Fett stories. I always chose to believe that the Jaster Mereel identity was one Boba invented after the Clone Wars and the enslavement of Mandalore by the Empire in order to rewrite his own story.

darklordoftech said:

Traviss's Mando worship. Wearing cool armor doesn't make you the good guy.

This. She successfully turned an interesting and diverse group into a homogenous slop of "really-awesome-never-wrong-always-cool-'badass'-fanservice" mush.

The Chopper clip was great. It felt OT to the max to me; made me laugh, was action-packed, suspenseful, but you knew the good guys would win the day. I like Chopper, he's funny, but in an Artoo way, not a Jar-Jar way. It wasn't too over the top.

The Filoni clip just posted is good, too. I like the idea of disparate bands of rebels becoming the Rebel Alliance. I like the idea of exploring different parts of the whole we see in the OT.

I'm excited. Having seen GoTG today, I'm getting a lighter version of that as a vibe from the show so far.

A forum full of lefties. No wonder we never get along.

Saw it today. Incredible. Not Star Wars incredible, but the same vein for sure. Best movie I've seen in forever.

TheBoost said:

...and Peter Sefernowitzcz...

So that's why he looked so familiar! I could not for the life of me place him.

yoda-sama said:

That's it, we're going to need to hire an official fact checker, these assumptions are getting out of hand.

Now there are two of them?

darklordoftech said:

Tyrphanax said: PT Boba who gets killed by OT Boba.

Should OT Boba's real name be Jaster Mereel?

Sure, I'd be cool with that.

I'd also be fine with him being just Boba Fett, but that's been ruined by the PT. It would have been great had Boba just been adopted by Jango, or a Fett clan member or something, but here we are.

Personally, I originally didn't like the Jaster Mereel thing at all. I always wanted Boba Fett to always have been Boba Fett, and I still feel that way, honestly, but now the name has been ruined by Lucas, so I'd be fully behind a Jaster Mereel coming along and popping Lucas' lame-ass Boba (no offense, Daniel Logan) and replacing him, maybe because Jaster is a Mandalorian and Boba is a disgrace to their name. At this point, I'm more attached to Boba being Mandalorian than I am to him being Boba.

The reason I'm attached the the Mandalorian part is because I want to see them undo at least some of the bullshit Karen Traviss cooked up in her horrible fanfictions. I love them, but I love them because they're badass, ruthless mercenaries that don't need the Force to go toe-to-toe with Jedi, not always goodie-two-shoes infallible Mary Sues who love the Jedi and learn the Force and act all heroic and Boba is crying has daddy issues and children and loves Han and his kids.

Crappiness.

luckydube56 said:

You are attempting to use logic to explain the illogical.  The PT among other things lacks continuity but the bottom line is that it sucks.

The truth is there are logical gaps in the OT as well.  But at least it was good.  The PT was supposed to be a mystery movie + political intrigue + tragedy and loss and fear of loss.  It fails on all three levels.  The OT was about friendship and confronting fear and growing up and all these other very personal themes and it succeeds.  The former requires logical continuity to work and it doesnt.  The latter does not rely on logical continuity but emotional connectivity to the characters and it succeeded. 

My post has little to do with your question.  But trying to explain and understand the PT is an exercise in futility.  No amount of explanation will fix it.  It's as if Star Wars fandom is still attempting to find a way to like the PT.  

This sums it up really well.

I feel like the reason people still try to justify it is because it's a damn shame that this is what we now have. It's forever what actually happened, Anakin Skywalker will forever be Hayden Christensen, the entire galaxy was apparently neuralized after RoTS, et cetera. As much as it sucks, it's official and will likely never change, so of course people will try to find some way to justify it so maybe it won't hurt as badly.

Also, I agree that Dooku was one of the best character concepts for the PT and also one of the most criminally underused. I would have loved to see him develop some kind of tragic hero role (because, if you think about it, Dooku was right and should have been played as more grey than absolute evil). Or perhaps developing a relationship with Anakin to draw him away from the Jedi as his apprentice, which Palpatine turns against him in some way. I dunno. There are a thousand better ways to have done it.

Loved both KotORs. Haven't played the Restored Content mod yet, but I'll get around to it.

Loved Rogue Squadron. Loved the Jedi Outcast demo I played.

I got into Star Wars during the heyday of Shadows of the Empire, so I can't listen to the ESB soundtrack without lovingly remembering Shadows of the Empire on N64 (I love that cue, it always makes me wonder what Williams was scoring it to; does anyone know?).

I also grew up with The Phantom Menace, so I loved Battle for Naboo as the continuation of Rogue Squadron. Episode I: Racer was fun and different. Once we got an Xbox, I played Star Wars: Obi-Wan which was a lot of fun and seemed like a predecessor to Bounty Hunter, and was worth it for the Trainspotting spoof during the end credits.

When AotC came out, I was kinda out of luck, because everything was either for the Xbox or the PS2, neither of which I had for awhile. Once we got the Xbox, I played The Clone Wars, and I played a bit of Bounty Hunter on a friend's PS2, but never got to finish it. AotC was weird, because most of the games were on handhelds like the GBA, there were only a couple big console games.

This was around the time I was transitioning to the Glorious PC Master Race, so I played Galactic Battlegrounds and its expansion, The Clone Campaigns, which were lots of fun but total ripoffs of the Age of Empires series.

I also enjoyed Force Commander, despite its flaws, and the music is still awesome.

Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy were huge fun for me, moreso for the multiplayer experience with mods and friends in Jedi Academy than anything else.

Republic Commando is an incredible game despite its setting and content and the ruination it went through under Karen Traviss later on.

Today I've gone back and played a lot of games I missed, especially the old Dark Forces series. I'd love to get into the X-wing/TIE fighter series, too.

Pretty much everything else has been lackluster with the bright spots of Battlefront and Battlefront II and likely a couple others I'm forgetting. Today I play Tiny Death Star and Assault Team on my phone here and there and am really excited for the future of OT-focused games coming up.

*Edit, forgot to say that TFU was fun but garbage, TOR was just meh, and Star Wars: Galaxies, though incredibly flawed and woefully wasted potential is the best Star Wars game of all time.

I should be okay now that I've tied it to my Facebook account. I was originally playing it on my Windows Phone, but that apparently doesn't have the capacity to connect to Facebook, so after the wipe, I switched to my Android tablet to continue. Progressing faster this time, but it sucks to know that I was getting to Tier 5 on my WP before I lost it.

There are actually quite a few odd differences between the WP version and the Android version. Very odd.