A&A The Official Daniel Wallace Discussion Thread

"Coruscant's official population of 1 trillion is probably too low."
I agree. It is so nice to see someone who actually makes official stuff say that. Many fans just disregard that official number. Coruscant must have many trillions. Look at the large population count of Aqualish and Sy Myrthians on Coruscant in HNN, and those are only two of the many Republic-era races on the planet.



"I picked the figure of 2 billion for Makem Te by starting with Earth's current population of 6 billion and then applying the factor of Makem Te's general inhospitability. Plus, the Swokes Swokes don't seem to be all that common. (By that argument, the galactic population of Twi'leks should be about 700 gazillion.)"

LOL! What is it people like about Twi'leks anyhow?

Hey, Dan the New Essential Chronology sounds awesome. I'll admit that the original one, as you yourself say, seemed unbalanced at times, especially the heavy detail given some of Han and Lando's adventures which are really of no consequence of Galactic history (Luke's search for his Mom really didn't make a big impact on history for that matter), more character-centric stories. I also disliked the inuniverse disimissal of the Clone Wars, it was not satisfactory, but I realize that isn't your fault, nothing could be done to help it. Overall, the EC is still a goob book.

I so love Essential Guide to Planets and Moons; perhaps the best of the enitre Essential series! It was just neat. A pic of every pkanet, its people, and one or two or three native critters. It was well-desinged and interesting, and is the Ezsential book I have used the most. An updated version would rock, especiaalyy with color pics of the critters and races.


I would like to see more info on the worlds from the JEdi Apprentice/Jedi Quest books, and of course the planets of the Clone Wars battles (Queyta, Jabiim, etc.) and also the CIS planets need coverage (Neimoidia, Muunilinst, Kooriva, Skako, Gossam, Kooriva, Lethe, Metalorn, Serenno). I'm not sure how realisitc that is, but I'd like that. And a color pic of the mishalope from Firrerre would rock. The aliens from Jedi Apprentice and JediQuest DESPERATELY need to be illustrated (to my knowledge, none have save the Phindians and Sorrusians). I've never seen pics of Romins, Imbats, Mawans, Romins, Rutanians, Senalis, Quints, Galacians, etc.

Since Marvel has been reintegrated (if you will), some of the MArvel worlds could be included, like Nagi, Kindooine, Herdessa, Saijo, Iskalon, Stenos, Arbra, Golrath, Shalyvane, Skye, Tirahnn, Centares, etc.

 

An Essential Guide to Governments and Organizations would be neat. There's so much to keep track of. From the Sith to the Smuggler's Alliance. Just my thoughts.

 

Dan:

Excellent job on Geonosis and the Outer Rim. I particulary enjoyed the Mon Cal and Ryloth entries.

--Adm. Nick

 

Heh, my bookstore is waiting as long as it can to get the book (just to piss me off, too)! If I weren't so busy, I'd have checked other places besides Borders to get it.

Oh well, I've waited this long. Another week won't hurt (knock on wood).

 

Dan:

I have a question that I think only you can answer. I was wondering if you could clear up a simple question regarding the placement of an important event in the timeline.

In the Essential Chronology, which you helped write, the major battle between Ackbar and Pelleon takes place right before the Corellian crisis, about thirteen years after Endor.

Yet, more recently, the New Essential Guide to Characters, under the Ackbar entry, says that the major battles between Ackbar and Pellaeon took place after the Corellian crisis.

Could you please clear this question up for me? Which one comes first.

Thank you,

Adm. Nick

 

Mr. Wallace, there have been a few debates going around about Captain Pellaeon's retreat order at Endor. Since you wrote the article on Grand Admiral Teshik, could you answer wheather or not Pellaeon ordered for the fleet to retreat before or after the Grand Admiral's Star Destroyer was disabled?

If it was before, why would the fleet follow Pellaeon's orders if there was a Grand Admiral in command of the fleet? Wouldn't that be committing treason, to order an illegal order like that? I don't see why Pellaeon wasn't court martialed and executed soon after Endor if that is the case.

 

AdmiralNick22 wrote:

In the Essential Chronology, which you helped write, the major battle between Ackbar and Pelleon takes place right before the Corellian crisis, about thirteen years after Endor.

Yet, more recently, the New Essential Guide to Characters, under the Ackbar entry, says that the major battles between Ackbar and Pellaeon took place after the Corellian crisis.

Awp! OK, this is entirely my bad. I originally created the Ackbar-Pellaeon fighting out of whole cloth for the Essential Chronology because there seemed to be a need to explain why the New Republic was so desperate for warships that they would borrow some from Bakura. So the whole point of the battles are that they take place before the Corellian crisis. I will try to clarify this point in the New Essential Chronology.

President_Sharkey wrote:

Mr. Wallace, there have been a few debates going around about Captain Pellaeon's retreat order at Endor. Since you wrote the article on Grand Admiral Teshik, could you answer wheather or not Pellaeon ordered for the fleet to retreat before or after the Grand Admiral's Star Destroyer was disabled?

That's actually been a tricky bit of history for me! Just the other day I was writing something on Admiral Harrsk and had to figure out why he would or wouldn't have responded to Pellaeon's order. The fact remains that Pellaeon, a mere captain, had some real coconuts in ordering the entire Imperial fleet to retreat from Endor, and it says something regarding his leadership that almost all of the fleet followed him.

But regarding Grand Admiral Teshik, I think it's a given that his Star Destroyer was disabled before Pellaeon gave his order. The way I see it, all Admirals and Grand Admirals were out of the picture at that point, and Pellaeon was the first captain to step up to the plate and take charge.

Dan

 

Thanks Dan.

I had a figured it was a just a little slip.

I guess I will have to wait until after Episode III to see the New Essential Chronology.

--Nick

 

Dan, i was hoping that you could clear something up regarding the New Essential Chronology. In a SW Insider article, I read that the NEC would be released in conjunction with Episode III, like the NEGtC was with Ep. II. However, i've read posts that suggest that it would be released in October 2005, like some of the previous guides. Any clarification would be helpful.

 

Oh, good question. I hope it does conicide with the release of Ep.3. If it doesn't though, perhaps it'll mean a few things that are published after Ep.3 will be included.... one can hope.

 

Thanks for clearing that issue up Mr. Wallace! As for why Admiral Harrsk followed Pellaeon, don't forget that at the time Harrsk would have been severely injured, because in Darksaber, it is mentioned that an explosion on the bridge of Harrsk's Star Destroyer forced him to get bionic implants on his face.

One other question: According to new material, Pellaeon was already a captain in the middle of the Clone Wars. Does this mean that Pellaeon was already the captain of the Chimaera, but that the elusive "commanding officer" was not a captain, but another commodore or admiral in charge of a Star Destroyer group at Endor?

 

ElegosAKla wrote:

In a SW Insider article, I read that the NEC would be released in conjunction with Episode III, like the NEGtC was with Ep. II. However, i've read posts that suggest that it would be released in October 2005, like some of the previous guides.

It was originally scheduled for May of '05, but since that window is usually crowded with quite a lot of SW books, the decision was recently made to move the NEC to Fall of '05.

The2ndQuest wrote:

Could this be accounted for by Yoda using the Force to shave off time from their transit by taking a more direct route than the hyperspace lanes Jango likely utilized? Or is there another explaination?

That's what I would suggest. In the movies it's obvious that George doesn't really get hung up on transit time ("It will be a day long remembered...") and gets his characters places almost instantly (e.g. Yoda) or just long enough to have a conversation (e.g. the chess game in ANH).

From a fan perspective, however, there are a couple of ways to account for fast travel times that might work within the overall framework that's been established in the EU regarding the "speed of hyperspace." Speaking as a guy who's made retro-fixes in the past, here's some scenarios I might consider, depending on the situation or the characters or the type of ship:

1) The characters used a fast-flowing hyperspace lane. (If it's not on the galaxy map, that's because it's rarely used. And anyway, maybe we'll draw it in next time. )

2) One of the characters is Force-sensitive and can shave off time by bypassing mass shadows. (Precedent: Saesee Tiin, in one of the REPUBLIC comics.)

3) It's a fast ship. (I wouldn't use this one for Yoda, since he was leading a fleet.)

4) If nothing else works, there's always the possibility that funky weirdness was involved. There are several precedents for instantaneous travel across the galaxy (e.g. the Ang-Tii monks, the gates of Kooroo, the Endor Gate), though most of them have weirdness strings attached. (Again, I wouldn't use this one for Yoda and the fleet.)

President_Sharkey wrote:

One other question: According to new material, Pellaeon was already a captain in the middle of the Clone Wars.

I don't think I've seen this reference yet. Where is it from?

Dan

 

"I don't think I've seen this reference yet. Where is it from? "


It's in the upcoming Republic # 64, set for release on Wed.

 

Pellaon's been a captain a long time. Nice sample, 2ndQuest.

 

Dan:

Do you think that WotC will ever develop some of the stats for the various new ships from the NJO like the Mon Cal Star Defender or Ranger gunship?

Back in the old WEG days, we always got new ship stats.

Do you know if there is ever any chance of these being incorporated in a future RPG or sourcebook?

Thanks.

--Adm. Nick

 

AdmiralNick22 wrote:

Do you think that WotC will ever develop some of the stats for the various new ships from the NJO like the Mon Cal Star Defender or Ranger gunship?

I wish I had more info for you on this question, but I really don't know much regarding WOTC's future release schedule. I do share your fondness for the old WEG books, which, despite some design problems, were generally meaty sources of EU info at a time when the EU was still pretty bare-bones.

Dan

 

Hey, I just wanted to let everybody on this board know that Amazon has just updated with the cover for the DC Comics Encyclopedia, a book I co-wrote with Scott Beatty, Phil Jimenez, and Bob Greenberger. The cover is an original piece by Alex Ross!

Check it out here:
DC Comics Encyclopedia

If any of you are also fans of the rich, 60+ year-history that is the DC Universe, be sure to give this book a try when it's released this fall. And you thought the SWEU had a complicated backstory!

Dan

 

Whoa! That's some impressive stuff in that encyclopedia.

I too hope that WOTC will someday publish some stats for those NJO ships like the Mediator battle cruiser, Star Defender, and Ranger gunship.

 

Dan:

Have you began working on the New Essential Chronology? If so, about how long will it take you to write it?

Do you expect it to have full color pictures in it?

Lastly, is there any chance you might mention some of the newer NJO warships in the NEC, like you did for some of the New Class warships in the Essential Chronology? Perhaps even a pic or two.

No matter what, I plan on purchasing this book. You and Kevin did a fantastic job on the first one. To this day, it is probably my favorite SW sourcebook.

--Adm. Nick

 

Dan:

Is the New Essential Chronology going to have a 2-page Galaxy Map in it like the last one? If so, will it be a totally new one (unique graphics, etc...) or will it be a reprint from the NJO books? I ask this because I'm not a big fan of the NJO map, it looks really silly and cartoony, plus it misplaces Kamino (it's supposed to be beyond the rim) and makes the Unknown Regions look huge, when they're really only 15% of the galactic rim.

Will we get a map from a "top" view, instead of that slanted one in NJO? Something more like in the DK Inside the Worlds of... books, because those ones look much better than the "treause map" style of the NJO.

 

Dan, I have a couple of questions about Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds. Of course, I know you didn?t write a lot of the entries, but I was wondering about the Thule entry. The whole concept of the planet being led by a General seems to my mind a very good backstory for General Grievous. Also, the entry seems to allude to the idea that a lot of the darksiders that appeared in clone wars computer games came from Thule as well. Was this the intention? Also, Ko Sai?s entry has her skills as read/write Spaart, which suggests an alternate history to the Spaarti cylinders was being developed, as opposed to the Hero of Cartao. Is this the case?

 

That's a mean looking DC Comics Encyclopedia cover, all right.

 

Is the New Essential Chronology going to have a 2-page Galaxy Map in it like the last one?

That would be a good addition. It would also be great if it was a pull out poster like the one in Insider #65. That's the kind of thing that belongs on a wall.