SOCL

I agree. We've got a flight simulator from the Imperial perspective, what about a first-person shooter from the perspective of a Stormtrooper?

The games I listed were, most certainly, not a complete list of all the games out there catagorized into Empire and Rebel/Republic/Jedi, simply a quick list. Well, the image of pure evil is what Emperor Palpatine and Lord Darth Vader gave it with their manipulation of the Force into whatever dark and evil powers they created and used to impose their power. What I mean is a pure Empire sort of game, such as TIE Fighter where one does not involve him or herself with the Force and the Jedi, but instead the fight between the Empire and the Rebels. See what I mean? But like you said, Scathane, that's how it goes. Just like how most of history: it's written from the point of view of the winner.

I agree 100%! His research is so well done and on so many facts and canon that you can basically not argue with it. And, yes, Colonel Scathane, it does take about a year to read it all (I have a little left before I've finally read every word of information on that site). I would suggest reading the sections on "Military Organisation" and "Insignia and Uniforms", concentrating on that of the Galactic Empire (respective links: http://www.theforce.net/swtc/order.html, http://www.theforce.net/swtc/insignia/, and http://www.theforce.net/swtc/insignia/empire.html). Those three links will get you directly to the "meat" of the information I've been posting like a mad man around this forum. You'll notice some subtile differences between our research into the area regarding rank, but close to none at all.

Yes, I suppose they can. :: SOCL looks to Colonel Scathane for approval :: Sir?

Yes, sir, this is the first thread I posted in when I joined, but I hadn't realize how long it had gotten. I suppose that my controversial proposals and arrival sparked a long a fierce debate that even got carried over to the Katana Fleet (Dark Force) thread. I take it with your smile that this is good occurance(?).

Well, for example, there are very few pro-Imperial games out there. They include: TIE Fighter and the ones that let you choose sides, like Rebellion and Galactic Battlegrounds, whereas you have dozens of pro-Jedi/Rebel games out there. These include: X-Wing, Dark Forces, Rebel Assault, Rebel Assault II, etc. I just wish there was more pro-Imperial stuff out on the market, but my statistics may be wrong.

I think you shall be quite pleased by it, Colonel. Much of my research came from their and most everything I state is what he writes or based on such. It's quite extensive, though, and may be overwhelming if you try to read it all at once. I would suggest that every STAR WARS fan (like us) read it and take time to digest it all. Please, sir, read it with an open mind and be ready to read many facts that may, at first, seem wrong. Even so, it's worth reading!

:: Sergeant SOCL smiles. "Excellent, sir." :twisted: ::

I'm rather stuck between Present and Future. I don't really like the whole Jedi/Force thing, but more the story of the Empire vs. Rebellion/New Republic. I want to see more Empire stuff, though, because there's way too much Jedi/Rebel stuff out there. Even so, I would be very intrigued with discovering and exploring the mysteries of the ancient times (especially the earliest times of the galaxy, like the first races, how different creatures evolved, and so forth).

No need to worry, sir, my mind shall not evaporate. COL Scathane, if you don't mind me asking, do you agree with Dr. Curtis Saxton's Technical Commentaries?

Thank you, sir. We'll be ready. . . . I'm at your command, Colonel.

Thank you, sir, that means quite a lot. Um . . . what language is this and . . . what does it mean?

I suppose it may be a little late to report in, but here goes anyway: Name: Socl Rank: Naval Lieutenant (I know my forum rank isn't so, but it's merely my RPG rank that shall not change until later . . . is that okay?) Affiliation: Galactic Empire Force Ability: None (I don't believe in that stuff except for the fact that it exists) Job: Formerly the skipper of a corvette patroling the Sluis system, now the bridge officer of a Star Destroyer (hoping to get hired as someone's aide-de-camp . . .)

:: SOCL works on his datapad, making a few quick calculations, then rellaies them to Colonel Scathane. "Fire Control reports ready, sir," he reports to his superior. ::

I think I should start this post off with an apology. I didn't mean to suddenly appear and start blaring and acting belligerent. I just wanted to try to bring facts to the STAR WARS community to help correct errors and common mistakes and assumptions people generally make. And what I put out is comprised with research and facts, not speculation and guesses. Along those lines, I realize that everything in STAR WARS does not have to make sense in accordance to Earth, but our languages, sciences, and mathematics are all we have, so I do what can be done. . . . I'm merely trying to be the voice of reason . . . and help.

You are quite right, Commodore Trejivanat. I never meant to imply that the STAR WARS ranking system is the same as that of any country (I thought I made that quite clear, but apparently my examples or real-life situations confused the readers), but I what I have posted on this forum as the ranking system is about as close to canon as you're going to get. I have done extensive research (I mean HOURS upon HOURS of research), along with the combined research of others (i.e. Dr. Curtis Saxton and MANY, MANY others). About Wedge's promotion: I was simply saying that by the time of Anderson's trilogy he was a general, in no way did I mean he was promoted at that time. I try to choose my words carefully and hope that readers would read them carefully. Colonel Scathane, you are quite correct. According to interviews and e-mails and "snail"-mail I have read and interacted with the different STAR WARS authors, they did get different answers from different people. In regard to the ranking system, most of them couldn't find a clear concise answer from anyone at LucasFilm, so they took their best guess (most basing the ranks off the U.S.'s own, which I have NOT done with what I wrote in these forums). Simply put: What I try to do with my research and writing I spread is do what Dr. Curtis Saxton attempts to do with the STAR WARS Technical Commentaries site and that is "[use] the methods and language of science to consider the question: 'If the STAR WARS universe were real, how would its phenomena be understood?' " By the way, congratulations, Trejiuvanat and Scathane, on your respective promotions.

I don't purposely try to confuse people, but merely give the facts. Okay, Garm Bel Iblis: he's an interesting character as far as rank and branch goes because you can't really tell. He's a general, so he can't be part of the Navy (contrary to popular belief), but may very command a ship an Army officer. He may be a Fighter officer, though, because many personnel within the military use slang for Fighter ranks (that's why you find generals and majors within the Fighter Force rank system). Simply put, he may be from either the Fighter Force or the Army (yes, that still does allow him to command a group of ships). He is a general by the end of the Thrawn triology, which most definantly means he was a very senior general by the time of the Hand of Thrawn duology (probably a High General or maybe even a Surface Marshal). Wedge, on the other hand, is a called a general by the time of the Anderson's Jedi Search. By the time of the Hand of Thrawn, he is probably still considered junior in the command ranks, probably the equivalent of a lieutenant general (though his real rank would probably be that of a Fighter Force marshal, which the counterpart of an Army lieutenant general and a Naval vice admiral). Simply put: if Wedge is part of the Fighter Force, he is probably a marshal and using slang terms (which is quite common), he is called a general. Wormie, I can address any specific questions you have about the ranks, just ask one at a time so I don't end up putting out so much information I confuse you or anyone else.

I would LOVE to have Golans, but I am still trying to figure out how to exchange them . . .

Good point, but it would be interesting to see, along with what the authors would write about them. I just dread the amount of prequel stuff they're going to probably cram into the book...ugh!

Interjecting about the problems most of us have faced with Coruscant: The majority of the time I keep a VERY strong defense on the planet. You know: two ground laser batteries, a Death Star Shield, along with dozens of troops on the ground, dozens of fighters, and a fleet in orbit that includes a minimum of one Death Star, a Super Star Destroyer, 10 Star Destroyers, and a dozen Victory-class Star Destroyers. Usually all escorted by an assortment of other ships. Every ship filled to their limit with troops, fighters, and one of each kind of special force. Well, I was very sleepy one night and went to go do something with the fleet (I do no remember exactly what), and accidentally hit Planetary Bombardment . . . well, as you can imagine, not much was left on the planet (I think all that was left was the Emperor, and I believe I ended up wounding him). What a horrible mistake . . . but the interesting thing was not that, but the fact that Imperial support did not fall on the planet, nor anywhere else in the galaxy. Odd, ehh? Those are some highly motivated Imperial citizens to not even mind a planetary bombardment of the capital. Since then, I have made sure Coruscant has at least two GenCores. Sorry, just wanted to share that.

I like the color pictures, but I'm sad to see they haven't included the original black and white line drawings they had in the first edition. I also hope they add in some of the ships from the EU that were not included last time, such as the Sovereign-class "Super Star Destroyer" and the Allegiance-class "Star Destroyer". I would also like to see the Darksaber and the Whirlwind (a modified "Imperial-class" Star Destroyer), both from Anderson's Darksaber.

:: Nurses converge on SOCL. I panic and point past them. Stupid as they are, they both turn to look behind them to find . . . nothing. They stare stupidly where the ceiling meets the wall for a long while, beforce finally turning back. There they find . . . no one . . . SOCL has gone missing. ::

I hadn't known that the Ducth armed forces was as how you described it, Scathane. I hadn't meant to imply such a rigid system as I apparently have. Secondly, I do not mean to imply that the STAR WARS ranking system is based on that of the United States. You'll notice a lack of Sub-Lieutenant, Acting Sub-Lieutenant, all the Fighter Force ranks, Surface Marshal (which roughly translates to Field Marshal), High Admiral, Grand Admiral, Grand General, High General, etc within the U.S.'s own ranking system. After careful study, the ranking system is most obviously based on a combination of Britain's and World War II Germany's ranking system (i.e. British: the Fighter Force ranks. Germany: Grand Admiral, High Admiral. ETC). I also, Scathane, do realize that an Army Captain is lower in rank than a Naval Commander, but they are two seperate branch's and do not fall under/interact with each other as commonly as you might expect. And yes, I do know that an Army Captain is equvalent to a Naval Lieutenant, but that is simply how the ranks evolved within each seperate branch of the Armed Forces. I also do know that an Army Lieutenant Colonel is equivalent to a Naval Commander, as well as Major~Lieutenant Commander. But again, they are parts of SEPERATE branches of the Armed Forces. Here's a quick list of STAR WARS equivalent ranks side-by-side. From left to right are Navy, Army, and Fighter. The ~ seperates the counterpart ranks, a ? means that this rank is unsure and may not even exist, and a -- means there is no equivalent (yes, this can occur). Grand Admiral~Grand General~? High Admiral~Surface Marshal~?High Marshal Fleet Admiral~High General~?Force Marshal Admiral~General~Chief Marshal Vice Admiral~Lieutenant General~Marshal Rear Admiral~Major General~Vice Marshal Commodore~Brigadier~Commodore Line Captain~High Colonel~-- Captain~Colonel~Group Captain Commander~Lieutenant Colonel~Wing Commander Lieutenant Commander~Major~Squadron Leader Lieutenant~Captain~Flight Lieutenant Sub-Lieutenant~Lieutenant~Flying Officer Acting Sub-Lieutenant~Second Lieutenant~Pilot Officer Ensign~--~Acting Pilot Officer Midshipman~Officer Cadet~Officer Cadet Please don't simply dismiss the above, but ask questions first. Don't believe any of this? Then read the STAR WARS Technical Commentaries. The rank table above is not the exact same thing (Acting Pilot Officer was the only addition), but the evidence for the rank system is there, nonetheless. A link to the site is in my signature (the second link).

::watches the piggy-faced nurse enter and twitches "Colonel, is this truly necessary?" SOCL said, stumbly over and mispronouncing his words due to fatigue. Scathane mumbles something inaudible under his breath. "Yes, quite so, corporal," Trej said, looking around the room. "You'll find it's the best way to cure PZSD. You'll thank me later." SOCL sighs heavily, trying to stay out of the nurse's sight. "Yes, sir."

Crap, I did mess up. Sorry, I've been sick with the flu and have been messing up on everything I read and write. I must have thought it said Lieutenant Commander instead of Lieutenant Colonel or something. I'm just out of it. Isn't that list in accordance to the game TIE Fighter, Trejiuvanat? In reality, it's wrong because the rank of commander will always (no matter what branch, even though it's only naval) be below captain. The actual Fighter Force ranks are as follows (from top to bottom): ?High Marshal ?Force Marshal Chief Marshal Marshal Vice Marshal Commodore Group Captain Wing Commander Squadron Leader Flight Lieutenant Flying Officer Pilot Officer Officer Cadet The reason you have the mix up of Naval and Army ranks amongst these as well is because when a Fighter officer is stationed with Naval or Army personnel, they will sometimes be referred to the respective branch's counterpart rank. For example: a squadron leader in an Army garrison may be called a major/a squadron leader in a Naval base may be called a Lieutenant Commander (which is simply verbally addressed as "`Commander"). That is why you have the mixing up of the different branch's ranks. It's common and not unexpected, but is in no way correct or formal. Don't believe me? My father (when he was in the Navy) would work closely with the Marine Corps. In the Navy he was an O-3 (a Naval lieutenant), but in the Marines an O-3 is a Captain (just like in the Army). Because of that, many Marines would end up calling my father "Captain" instead of "Lieutenant".