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Saga Artillery?

Discussion in 'Star Wars Saga In-Depth' started by darthbarracuda, Feb 6, 2013.

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  1. darthbarracuda

    darthbarracuda Jedi Knight star 3

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    Nov 4, 2012
    Why are basically all the artillery on the sides of the capital ships? Like on the Venators or Imperial Star Destroyers? Space has 3 dimensions so your enemy isn't always going to end coming straight at you...ships are gonna be coming in from all angles. IMO the artillery should be all over the ships in every angle.

    And how come the artillery on the ground doesn't really do that much damage? If it hits enemies, only a small group go down. The kind of technology that exists at the time should be capable of making an artillery that can blast a whole bunch of people. It has the same firepower as WWI/II artillery.

    And why are there hardly any mention of orbital bombardments? I know there's BDZ, but that's rarely happened. And surely they can have some degree of accuracy when it comes to targeting units. I know the wouldn't want to target units in cities for fear of destroying the cities, or target enemy units when they are in close proximity with their own units....but still just think about it. A little carpet bombing on Geonosis in AOTC by the Republic and blam there goes the majority of the droid army. No need to rush at each other in an open area with futuristic weapons when you can just drop a few bombs and be done with it. And Geonosis doesn't really have anything valuable...in that area at least...that the Republic might want.

    (This is kinda a sub-continuation from one of my older post on the weapons and tactics of Star Wars.)
     
  2. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

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    Sep 2, 2012
    Concentration of fire, maybe. Being able to point all your guns the same direction (with a little tilting down at the nose) allows you to punch through the shields of an enemy ship fastest.
     
  3. Darth_Zandalor

    Darth_Zandalor Jedi Master star 4

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    Aug 2, 2009
    Because Star Wars treats space like the ocean, where ships line up in neat rows parallel to each other to exchange 17th century broadsides. Then you have EU creations like the Lancer, which is much more reasonably designed, with guns on every point of the ship. That said, the gun positioning on the starships allows for some interesting tactics. Star Destroyers are deceptively built. Lining up all their main guns in parallel banks would have you believe that only their forward weapons could fire, but you dip the bow of the ship, and suddenly you have lowered the profile of your bridge and presented your entire broadside complement on BOTH sides of the superstructure to pummel an incoming vessel.
     
  4. darthbarracuda

    darthbarracuda Jedi Knight star 3

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    Nov 4, 2012
    This? : http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lancer-class_frigate
     
  5. Alpha-Red

    Alpha-Red Chosen One star 7

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    Apr 25, 2004
    I think when it comes to capital ship main armament, there could be a benefit to having all the guns on one side. It would allow you to have all your guns aimed at a target rather than say only half or two-thirds of your firepower available. As for land artillery and lack of orbital bombardment, well again I would blame the authors.
     
  6. darthbarracuda

    darthbarracuda Jedi Knight star 3

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    Nov 4, 2012
    Yeah I kinda guessed it was the author's fault but I still want to see if we can come up with some reason why it might be that way...
     
  7. Darth_Zandalor

    Darth_Zandalor Jedi Master star 4

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    Aug 2, 2009
    Yep. This thing is built for anti starfighter duty, and it has 360 degree arcs of fire. It's a long tube with guns covering every point, allowing it to fire regardless of it's orientation.
     
  8. darthbarracuda

    darthbarracuda Jedi Knight star 3

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    Nov 4, 2012
    Cool. How bout the TIE Fighters? The design isn't that great IMO. There's no side-to-side view. And sure you have sensors but really the pilot is the one that fires the cannons so he/she should have better knowledge of the battlefield.

    I can't get over the fact that if you staked the Republic Grand Army against a portion of the US military, the US would totally win.
     
  9. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

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    Sep 2, 2012
    Clone armour is supposed to be very good against ballistic weapons- "slugthrowers" - it's energy weapons that are designed to penetrate it.
     
  10. darthbarracuda

    darthbarracuda Jedi Knight star 3

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    Nov 4, 2012
    So then why wear it if no one uses slugthrowers anymore?
     
  11. Darth_Zandalor

    Darth_Zandalor Jedi Master star 4

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    Aug 2, 2009
    Because not everyone can afford plasteel armor. And armor piercing slug rounds still exist. In Republic Commando, Trandoshan slugthrowers were able to rip through shielded Katarn armor, which is a suped up version of regular Clone Armor to begin with.
     
  12. darthbarracuda

    darthbarracuda Jedi Knight star 3

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    Nov 4, 2012
    But they weren't used as much as a blaster was. And I thought the armor was supposed to block slugs? So how come the Trandoshan slugthrowers pierced them?
     
  13. Darth_Zandalor

    Darth_Zandalor Jedi Master star 4

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    Aug 2, 2009
    Because they used armor piercing rounds.
     
  14. darthbarracuda

    darthbarracuda Jedi Knight star 3

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    Nov 4, 2012
    Why doesn't everyone just use armor piercing rounds instead of having to use some special Tibanna gas that's only found in certain places across the galaxy?
     
  15. Darth_Zandalor

    Darth_Zandalor Jedi Master star 4

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    Aug 2, 2009
    Because gasses are easier to collect than bullets. Bullets can be traced, blasters are more difficult. They are cheaper, easier to maintain, and have stronger firepower. High range slugthrowers like the ones Trandoshans use are much more expensive, and you have limited ammunition.
     
  16. Alpha-Red

    Alpha-Red Chosen One star 7

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    Apr 25, 2004
    Uh actually, wouldn't bullets be more difficult to trace as opposed to a big red blaster bolt that screams "here I am, please come and kill me"?
     
  17. Darth_Zandalor

    Darth_Zandalor Jedi Master star 4

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    Aug 2, 2009
    Not what I meant. Blasters leave an energy discharge on their target, fried flesh and a large puncture wound. Bullets leave shrapnel fragments. Given that Star Wars forensics seem ridiculously advanced, finding out what type of bullet was fired can leave a bread crumb trail back to the shooter.
     
  18. Alpha-Red

    Alpha-Red Chosen One star 7

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    Apr 25, 2004
    Oh you mean that kind of tracing. Nevermind.
     
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