Fun read

[Aaron]

Personally I would rather doors like that only worked when there actually was a pressure drop. Rather less lethal that way.

Better to have the doors shut all the time and open when required, then if there is a hull breach or contamination you don't actually have to do anything.

[Captain Seafort]

Than use a stun or gas grenade then. Even a smoke grenade would have been acceptable. The Stormies have imaging devices in their helmets, they could see the Rebels through the smoke and the Rebels would have been pooched.

Good point. Although, IIRC, all those methods still run the risk of killing their targets. A very small risk, but one the stormies may not have been willing to run, given Vader's notoriously short fuse.

[Mikey]

As far as the doors, I think Seafort's right - the large one in particular from ANH was between a main corridor and a landing bay, and seemed to be double-thick to serve as a blast/pressure door.

[Sionnach Glic]

IIRC, there was a lot of smoke generated by the initial destruction of the Tantive IV's entrance door. Maybe that was supposed to serve the same function as a smoke grenade? And then there's all the shrapnell and smoke caused by the guns themselves blowing chunks out of walls.

[Aaron]

Good point. Although, IIRC, all those methods still run the risk of killing their targets. A very small risk, but one the stormies may not have been willing to run, given Vader's notoriously short fuse.

Depending how close you are to a stun grenade you might lose your hearing permantly, a gas grenade could kill you if it displaces all the oxygen (unlikely given the Tantive IV had functioning air vents). In 20 years they might get cancer from the crap in the smoke grenades.

All in all, a small chance. I'm not privy to how Vader wanted the assualt run, or even if he set guidelines rather than have the Stormie officers run it.

IIRC, there was a lot of smoke generated by the initial destruction of the Tantive IV's entrance door. Maybe that was supposed to serve the same function as a smoke grenade? And then there's all the shrapnell and smoke caused by the guns themselves blowing chunks out of walls.

That was pretty thin smoke, a smoke grenade can make it so you can barely see your own hand in that enviroment. Good point on the wall fragments, I don't remember if it did anything or not though.

[Sionnach Glic]

Ah, right.

As for the shrapnel, I don't remember if anyone actualy went down to them (unlikely, IMO, given that both sides were wearing protective clothing), but there was definitely a lot of crap getting blown around the place.

[Graham Kennedy]

Personally I would rather doors like that only worked when there actually was a pressure drop. Rather less lethal that way.

Better to have the doors shut all the time and open when required, then if there is a hull breach or contamination you don't actually have to do anything.

Better still to have one that works when it needs to and not when it doesn't.

[Aaron]

Better still to have one that works when it needs to and not when it doesn't.

What are you talking about? Does SW have a history of malfunctioning doors?

Modern naval vessels keep most of their doors shut without problem (and yes some of them are powered).

[Aaron]

Ah, right.

As for the shrapnel, I don't remember if anyone actualy went down to them (unlikely, IMO, given that both sides were wearing protective clothing), but there was definitely a lot of crap getting blown around the place.

Well the Rebels had helmets but I'm not sure about body armour. Wasn't that vest supposed to be some sort of load bearing vest/armour?

[Sionnach Glic]

No idea. The vest itself, if I'm remembering right, was pretty thick, which is why I credited it with some defensive abilities.
The fact that we were seeing the walls explode, yet no limbs go flying around, would seem to lend credence to that idea.
Of course, they're energy weapons. No idea how well it'd deal with shrapnel.

[Graham Kennedy]

Better still to have one that works when it needs to and not when it doesn't.

What are you talking about? Does SW have a history of malfunctioning doors?

Things malfunction. Always have, always will. Personally I don't want my doors to malfunction in ways that result in bits of me becoming unconnected to other bits of me. My bits are fond of one another and enjoy the feeling of togetherness that they are accustomed to.

I most certainly would not want my doors to have that potential in order to save themselves, what, a whole whopping five seconds of closing time?

Of course your mileage may vary. But I for one am glad we do not live in the land of the killer doors.

[Sionnach Glic]

Consider where they are: on spaceships. The most likely case where those doors would come into play is probably when the hull itself is breached, which you need to seal immediately. Personaly, I think knowing that any breach or other emergency will be dealt with quickly, efficiently and automaticaly outweighs the very unlikely chance of some guy getting pulped while walking through one.

[Nutso]

No idea. The vest itself, if I'm remembering right, was pretty thick, which is why I credited it with some defensive abilities.
The fact that we were seeing the walls explode, yet no limbs go flying around, would seem to lend credence to that idea.
Of course, they're energy weapons. No idea how well it'd deal with shrapnel.

Here's an image of the Rebels on Endor.

I think it's possible that the Rebels prefer the hit-and-run guerrilla tactics considering their camouflage and no visible armor. They could prefer stealth and speed for ambush.

[Sionnach Glic]

Technicaly, we're talking about the Tantive IV rather than Endor. The commandoes on Endor were going for speed and stealth over protection.

[Graham Kennedy]

Consider where they are: on spaceships. The most likely case where those doors would come into play is probably when the hull itself is breached, which you need to seal immediately. Personaly, I think knowing that any breach or other emergency will be dealt with quickly, efficiently and automaticaly outweighs the very unlikely chance of some guy getting pulped while walking through one.

Why? Why do you need to seal it immediately, rather than five seconds later? Five seconds is not going to make a huge difference to the amount of air you lose through a hull breach.

And if you really are that desperate to limit hull breaches, then you simply have slower closing doors and keep them closed during combat. That's exactly what the present day navy does. They don't go around installing killer doors.