Star Wars engineering blunders

[stitch626]

I've been thinking about this for a while and decided to start a discussion on it and see where it goes. Currently only covers the movies.


Empire:
Bridges on all of their large ships stick way out. Kinda like a "shoot here" sign.
All of their large ships have a huge blind spot (weapons wise) in the back. I don't know if there is a reason for no aft coverage, but they have nothing covering their engines or the back of the bridge.
AT-AT: Can only shoot forward (ok a forward arc, but still terrible coverage) and if you get a cross wind, you would fall over. Real bright.
AT-ST: How is it supposed to be able to walk? It looks like its about to fall over while standing still, let alone while moving. Same goes for the AT-PT- and AT-RT.
TIE fighter: No shields, why do something that stupid. At least they corrected that later on.


Rebels:
Blind spots are the same as the Empire on large vessels, though slightly better aft coverage.
Nebulon-B frigate: Thin neck is really bad.
Fighters: Their pilots don't wear sealed suits; what if they have to ditch out of atmosphere.


Republic:
Their bridges and blind spots are the same as the Empire.
AT-RT, as discussed for the Empire.
Fighters: Their pilots also don't have sealed suits.


CIS (Trade Federation included):
Bridges and blind spot still a problem, seeing a pattern here...
Lucerhulk Battleship: If a small ship gets between the outer ring and the inner sphere, they could end up shooting themselves. Not to mention that their reactor is near the hanger.
Droid control (Ep I): Radio controlled droids = retarded idea. So many problems it isn't even funny.


This is all that came to mind at the moment.

[Lighthawk]

I've been thinking about this for a while and decided to start a discussion on it and see where it goes. Currently only covers the movies.


Empire:
Bridges on all of their large ships stick way out. Kinda like a "shoot here" sign.

True enough, but they did compensate a little by placing the shield generators right on top of the bridge. Still, yeah, asking for it.

All of their large ships have a huge blind spot (weapons wise) in the back. I don't know if there is a reason for no aft coverage, but they have nothing covering their engines or the back of the bridge.

Well in large ship battles, ideally you should have your rear covered by fellow ships. The shape of the star destroyer makes it very powerful from the front and sides, especially the front, you can bring almost all your guns to bear on a single target. I guess they figured it was worth leaving that gap in the back in order to get that much firepower, and letting other ships/fighters to cover it.

AT-AT: Can only shoot forward (ok a forward arc, but still terrible coverage) and if you get a cross wind, you would fall over. Real bright.

Agreed, just get around to the sides of these things, and they're not much a threat.

AT-ST: How is it supposed to be able to walk? It looks like its about to fall over while standing still, let alone while moving. Same goes for the AT-PT- and AT-RT.

I would imagine some kind of self correcting balance device.

TIE fighter: No shields, why do something that stupid. At least they corrected that later on.

They built the TIEs that way because 1) It made them cheap, 2) They had pilots by the thousands and didn't really care about loses 3) It made them lighter, faster, and more manueverable. Hell, TIEs didn't have enviromental systems or hyperdrive either, just big engines and guns. They were meant to be very fast, very agile, and swarm the enemy under with numbers. In those regards, they were very well built.

Rebels:
Blind spots are the same as the Empire on large vessels, though slightly better aft coverage.
Nebulon-B frigate: Thin neck is really bad.

Hence why so many of those were used a medical ships. Still, it is really silly to have such a thin neck connecting two large masses like that.

Fighters: Their pilots don't wear sealed suits; what if they have to ditch out of atmosphere.

Their suits contained an atmospheric forcefield generator. If they ditched it would kick on and seal them up. Granted, it was only a short term solution, and did little for heat. An ejected pilot was more likely to freeze to death than sufficate if help didn't arrive soon.

Republic:
Their bridges and blind spots are the same as the Empire.
AT-RT, as discussed for the Empire.
Fighters: Their pilots also don't have sealed suits.


CIS (Trade Federation included):
Bridges and blind spot still a problem, seeing a pattern here...
Lucerhulk Battleship: If a small ship gets between the outer ring and the inner sphere, they could end up shooting themselves. Not to mention that their reactor is near the hanger.
Droid control (Ep I): Radio controlled droids = retarded idea. So many problems it isn't even funny.

Yeah, lets not even get started on how many issues there were with the droids

This is all that came to mind at the moment.

And this is all the answers that came to my mind at the moment.

[Monroe]

Well the frigates were originally designed for planetary defense. So the thin neck is still an issue.

[Tyyr]

And built by the Empire first...

[Monroe]

And built by the Empire first...

I thought the republic?

[Tyyr]

I thought Empire. I think the actual name is Kaut something or other. The Republic certainly could have built them first I suppose.

[Monroe]

I thought Empire. I think the actual name is Kaut something or other. The Republic certainly could have built them first I suppose.

Ah well, either way- design flaw.

[Mikey]

Agreed with all and sundry, Stitch, but let me amend to say the idea of walkers in general, rather than wheeled/tracked/repulsorlift vehicles, is a bad one.

Also - DS2. Built so you could fly a Corellian freighter with a fighter escort through the structure.

[SuperSaiyaMan12]

Agreed with all and sundry, Stitch, but let me amend to say the idea of walkers in general, rather than wheeled/tracked/repulsorlift vehicles, is a bad one.

Also - DS2. Built so you could fly a Corellian freighter with a fighter escort through the structure.

The DS2 *wasn't finished*. Wasn't that an engineering shaft?

[Mikey]

The central infrastructure, where the Falcon shot the reactor, sure seemed finished. I don't care if it was a coal mine - allowing a freighter to be able to fly straight through to a spot which could detonate the whole damned thing is a bad idea.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

How the heck would the Falcon get to the central core when the DS II was finished? The outer hull hadn't been built over. When it was, then there'd be no gap/access shaft for the fighters to fly into.

[Sionnach Glic]

Bridges on all of their large ships stick way out. Kinda like a "shoot here" sign.

Aye, very stupid.

All of their large ships have a huge blind spot (weapons wise) in the back. I don't know if there is a reason for no aft coverage, but they have nothing

Where did you get that from? Nothing I've ever seen indicates they've no aft weapons coverage.

AT-AT: Can only shoot forward (ok a forward arc, but still terrible coverage) and if you get a cross wind, you would fall over. Real bright.

Given that the AT-AT is capable of taking hits from aircraft in its flanks without wobbling, it seems stable enough.
Also, I think it's clear that it was supposed to be used at long range (they were still 17.28KM from the Rebel shield generator on Hoth when they destroyed it), meaning the forward fire arc isn't that much of a weakness.

AT-ST: How is it supposed to be able to walk? It looks like its about to fall over while standing still, let alone while moving. Same goes for the AT-PT- and AT-RT.

Given that they can walk, this isn't a blunder. It works just fine.

TIE fighter: No shields, why do something that stupid. At least they corrected that later on.

They were supposed to be mass produced, designed to swamp their enemies in sheer numbers. Also, the lack of shields and hyperdrives supposedly made them very fast and maneouverable. Given that they achieved their design goals, I'd hardly call this a blunder.

Blind spots are the same as the Empire on large vessels, though slightly better aft coverage.

Again, where are you getting this from?

Nebulon-B frigate: Thin neck is really bad.

Yeah, that ship's awful.

Fighters: Their pilots don't wear sealed suits; what if they have to ditch out of atmosphere.

Then they're pretty screwed.

Their bridges and blind spots are the same as the Empire.

Once more, where?

AT-RT, as discussed for the Empire.

Which, as pointed out earlier, works. Thus it is not a design flaw.

Fighters: Their pilots also don't have sealed suits.

Probably figured the clones were expendable. Though that's a rather innefecient view.

Bridges and blind spot still a problem, seeing a pattern here...

Funny, the Lucrehulks were more than capable of shooting at Amidala's yacht when it was behind them. Thus there's no problem with fire arcs.
Also, the only TF ship with a bridge on top was the Control Ship. The standard types didn't have that tower, indicating that the bridge was inside the Sphere section.
Though the rest of the CIS ships do continue with that idiotic flaw.

Lucerhulk Battleship: If a small ship gets between the outer ring and the inner sphere, they could end up shooting themselves.

1) They were designed as freighters, not warships.
2) Any ship small enough to slip in between the arms would likely be too weak to pose a threat.
3) They have guns mounted on the interior, so it's no problem hitting something there.
4) Their shields are presumably strong enough to withstand a few accidental hits from their own guns.

Not to mention that their reactor is near the hanger.

It's at the very back of the hanger, where the arms meet the engine section. Given that no one could realisticaly reach there (bar that one exception) it's hardly a flaw, as it'd be perfectly protected there.

Droid control (Ep I): Radio controlled droids = retarded idea. So many problems it isn't even funny.

Curtis Saxton has a few possible explainations on this, though I agree it's a stupid flaw. Still, at least they fixed it post-Naboo.

[Sionnach Glic]

but let me amend to say the idea of walkers in general, rather than wheeled/tracked/repulsorlift vehicles, is a bad one.

Damn right. Any legged vehicle is just plain stupid.

Also - DS2. Built so you could fly a Corellian freighter with a fighter escort through the structure.

Yeah, provided it's not finished. If it were finished, then the Falcon couldn't have gotten inside.
It's like saying that the Pentagon has a huge design flaw because enemy agents would be able to walk down the coridors....provided security wasn't there to stop them.

[Mikey]

If it were finished, then the Falcon couldn't have gotten inside.

According to whom? By the look of it, the whole structure around the reactor was as complete as it ever would have been.

It's like saying that the Pentagon has a huge design flaw because enemy agents would be able to walk down the coridors....provided security wasn't there to stop them.

It's more like saying the Pentagon would have a huge design flaw if you could drive a semi-rig (sorry: "articulated lorry") through the corridors, right to the center.

[Sionnach Glic]

According to whom? By the look of it, the whole structure around the reactor was as complete as it ever would have been.

And how's the Falcon going to get anywhere near the reactor when the surface skin is finished? There'll be a little matter of having to blast through the entire surface to get down there.