[diligent_d]

So after watching the prequels, why the hell are the ships in these movies more technologically advanced than the ones in the later movies? Anyone else ever notice that or ask themselves that?

Would it have killed the idiot Lucas to add a couple Blockade Runners or maybe a Y-Wing or a Lambda Shuttle in the two to the prequels instead of the sleak, shiny, morphing, (and stupid looking) ships that we see in AOTC and TPM? What a clown. And I absolutely love the fact the clone armor, their weapons and walkers are way more technologically advanced (however not saying from a standpoint that they are better...) in the prequels than the Empires equipment in the later movies.

And oh how we've evolved from rapid-fire lasers on the Slave I in the prequels to normal one-shot lasers in the second. I dunno, just one more inconsistency between the movies.

This post has been edited by diligent_d: 17 May 2005 - 12:11 AM

[Failureboy2]

Yep, another poor design choice of Lucas's.

I think it was Helena who made a good point the other day that war, historically, tends to bring technological improvement - not regression.

[Voodoo Dog]

Let me think...

You could say the technology in the PT was more advanced because the imperial conquest sent the galaxy into an economic depression. Yep, the Death Star is hugely advanced but it belongs to the Emperor. The rebels, a desperate band of freedom fighters from ruined planets all over the galaxy, would pool their resources, but they still would only be able to buy and make shitty technology due to the economic climate.

And I've just thought of something. The force field around the death star was invisible, but the one deployed by those fucking bastards the gungans was clearly visible. The fuck? I'll tell you the fuck. They were primitive in the PT, but by the time of the OT they had developed stealth deflector shields. Simple.

But I don't care if there IS contradictions or not, the PT is complete fucking shit either way.

[diligent_d]

I dunno, I thought of that one before and it just didn't really add up for me. A total digression of technology and design in 20 - 25 years (which I'm assuming is the time-span between Episode III and IV?) I mean a lot of the stuff from the previous films would still be kicking around.

And those force-field droids seem pretty lethal (and lame) - more lethal than say a platoon of Stormtroopers. I just think he should of intergrated the old designs more into the new. Imagine Obi Wan and Anakin fighting an IG-88 Assasin droid rather than some cheese-dick "Changeling"?

That said, I hope Lucas doesn't try to add more consistency by adding more new shit into the old movies - I would flip out if he tried putting Gungan on Hoth or Pod Racers on Endor.

[StarWarsIsUs]

I've thought about this for a long time. The ships are a lot more colorful and cartoonier, and have more technology. Then we get to the OT, and the ships are somewhat bland, and the technology is modest for their average technilogical capabilities. Like going into lightspeed. They can go into lightspeed, but their ships are still bland.

[Devout Catalyst]

Let me think...

You could say the technology in the PT was more advanced because the imperial conquest sent the galaxy into an economic depression. Yep, the Death Star is hugely advanced but it belongs to the Emperor. The rebels, a desperate band of freedom fighters from ruined planets all over the galaxy, would pool their resources, but they still would only be able to buy and make shitty technology due to the economic climate.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, you could say that, but it would still be a flimsy excuse to explain away the discrepancy.

ALL of the technology in the prequels is different (and more advanced) than that of the originals. That includes the fledgling soon-to-be Imperial technology. Why would THAT suddenly become more primitive twenty years down the line? There's no convincing explanation for it. If they get poorer and less advanced themselves, then there was no point in them establishing their Empire in the first place.

I can't buy the "galactic economic depression" theory for that reason. Things should become more prosperous for those on the side of the Empire, not less. I understand that oppression was a major tool of theirs, but if times were so hard for everyone, why was the Rebellion so small? The Empire must have placated their colonies somehow. Bread and circuses.

[azerty]

The ships in the PT are different certainly, but I don't know about more advanced. What does "technologically advanced" mean in a fake universe were nothing needs to make sense anyway? The new movies look flashier because they can.

Sure the Naboo ships were shiny, but they were supposed to be royal chariots. Hell, QEII still rides around in her golden carriage sometimes. Won't see her in a Hummer anytime soon. As for the improvement over time of technology (or appearances), just go to any city (in Europe or Asia anyway) and check out the modern cinderblock dumps where most people live these days with the original old part of the city with the cathedral and all. Take Prague as a prime example. That is not progress. And the best looking building in Athens is still the Parthenon.

As for technological advancement in transport versus appearance and style, tell me A SINGLE classic car produced in the last 30 years! Or yacht, motorcycle, bicycle, train, or fighter plane either. Put a Spitfire next to a Stealth bomber and tell me which has cleaner lines.

[The Other]

The new movies look flashier because they can.

And there in lies the whole problem. Lucas thinks that just because he can use all this new CGI technology for his movies he should. He can't figure out that there is a time and a place for everything in a movie and that includes CGI.

What does "technologically advanced" mean in a fake universe were nothing needs to make sense anyway?

It means having stuff that would be very beneficial to a war just up and disappear. For example the Trade Federation have droids with shields that can absorb blaster fire. You would think the Empire would snatch up this technology and try to improve upon it so their fighters could have impenetrable shields. Yet twenty years later their TIE fighters have...no shields!

The TF also has this huge army of nothing but droids why isn't the Empire making any use of those? Since they come off an assembly line and can be made in a much shorter timeframe than recruiting and training a legion of stormtroopers (and the droids are a much more accurate shot than stormtroopers). And no I am not buying into the whole the stormtroopers are really clones thing I refuse to join Lucas' delusion that that was a good idea.

In ROTS we see a ship that looks like an X-wing only it has an extra wing on each side (seen in a two second clip off the TV and I think there is a Lego building set of it too). Personally I think it looks like a wagon wheel and thus stupid, but that is beside the point. If each wing has one gun each that's six guns in all. So why are the Rebels using the X-wing with only four guns and thus less fire power as their fighter of choice? Where did that wheel-wing get off to?

[diligent_d]

They've been making the M1 Abrams (with slight modifications) since 1980 and they are still the top tank of choice in the world. F14 Tomcats have been in service since 1972 and are only now talking about being replaced in fiscal 2007. I could go on and on.

Bottom line is the above post is dead on. Whenever America goes into an economic slump, they don't mothball the M1's and their modern aviation assets for some older shit.

I agree it was George being too fancy with the CGI. He should have stuck with the ships we loved and admired from the first movies - and maybe added one or two extra, but kept them in line with the rest of the ships already created.

[Helena]

As for technological advancement in transport versus appearance and style, tell me A SINGLE classic car produced in the last 30 years!  Or yacht, motorcycle, bicycle, train, or fighter plane either.  Put a Spitfire next to a Stealth bomber and tell me which has cleaner lines.

This may be true, but I seriously doubt that anyone would have any trouble telling you which one was made more recently, regardless of which looks more elegant. The technology in the PT simply looks far more modern and advanced, no two ways about it.

The stupid thing is that I wouldn't actually have much of a problem with this if Lucas would just come out and admit it. Yes, of course a movie made in the 1990s is going to look more advanced than one made in the 1970s - so what? What annoys me is when he starts dreaming up lame, implausible excuses which only draw attention to the problem in the first place, like in Star Trek where they tried to explain why all the aliens look so much like humans. Why does he insist on doing this, and why do people go along with it? Plenty of far better writers than Lucas have used similar 'artistic licence' in long-running series, yet at least had the guts to admit it.

[xenduck]

i think the 'economic digressions' is perfectly acceptable, however, it is my belief that the technology is hardly more or less advanced, only not as shiny and streamline. art is always what suffers the most in a dictorial regime, not technology.

[Helena]

i think the 'economic digressions' is perfectly acceptable, however, it is my belief that the technology is hardly more or less advanced, only not as shiny and streamline. art is always what suffers the most in a dictorial regime, not technology.

Actually, it's often the other way round. Dictators often spend huge amounts of money building themselves gorgeous palaces and holding lavish parades to show off their shiny new military hardware - they're the ones who can afford to waste money on that kind of thing, after all.

[Grand Moff Lebowski]

Why would Vader end up with such a shitty robot body, when there are better ones like Greivious to use?

What a jip.

[StarWarsIsUs]

Lucas said he used the PT Vader suit to show the premitivity of the era.

[Veer]

I agree it was George being too fancy with the CGI.  He should have stuck with the ships we loved and admired from the first movies - and maybe added one or two extra, but kept them in line with the rest of the ships already created.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But then how would he have sold more toys/action figures?

You must admit that, forany self respecting SW collector, it's a must to have both Jango Fett and Boba Fett action figures, even though they both look absolutely identical!