Master_Xan

Just think: Dark Trooper. Or maybe Imp. Commando? Yuuzhan Vong! Me, I'm running the lowest-possible gaming machine... that is, the lowest machine that will run most games. That's 768MB RAM, with three hard drives that give me a combined 24 GB of space... that's right, three drives and I still only have 24. Top it off with a cheap video card and a 2.2 processor, and its in need of some upgrades.

Not trying to be smart (or a jerk for that matter), but I'm going to guess you don't know too much about most religions. Most people don't know squat about religion. If you are a rare person who has studied some religions, I'd still guess you don't know much about many (there are dozens of major religions, after all). It may not be that you find all religions flawed, but perhaps you simply need to look around a bit more before finding one you like. And of course, as a Mormon I'd recommend checking us out... Though a warning for you; most websites about Mormons are waaaay out there. Best to find an actual person and ask them, the web isn't so reliable for fact-finding regarding religion. Too many heated arguments.

Click here I changed my mind, rather then setting up a gazillion links, I just linked to the master download. Simply click on the link above, then click on "DNA" towards the bottom of the page to download the entire ship list. There's stuff in there a normal person would never think of, and some pretty cool ones too. The Battletech list is kinda interesting, as is the Generals file and of course the Monty Python file. Here's a quick list of several that apply directly to the Star Wars universe (and therefore worth a look even if you ignore all the others). The two best are SW-Reb and SW-Emp. Also of note is SW-Huttese, SW-Ewok, SW-Gungan, and YuuzhanVong. I also like weapons, UPL, SJ, Silver Skull, Illuminati, mm6beast, and Doppleganger. To name a few.

I had to go with Yoda vs Sidious as well... though I feel the scene could have been done better, it was still awsome. My true favorite isn't a lightsaber duel (hence it becomes my runner up, even though I liked it more). The final Shimrra battle was cool, but I liked one of the other NJO scenes better. Forget which book, but its when Jacen kills all but one of the dhurams... dyhrams? I can't spell at all. The 12 precursers to the World Brain. Anybody who has read the book will surely remember Jacen using the amphistaff grove, taking the YV warriors' own weapons to fashion armor, and proceeding to decimate everything in the whole area, only to be stopped by his teacher's tears (the symbolism just kills me).

Huh? Wha... oh. *slaps forehead* I got my spelling mixed up with the medieval-ages 'tarkan', a mounted warrior fighting for the Huns. See Age of Empires 2.

I actually know this from first-hand experience as well... except I was on the other end of the battle. My three SSDs (naturally, filled to the brim with a TIE Defender/Intercepter mix) took down the amassed Rebel fleet. The entire fleet. Now of course, they didn't have a ton of stuff left, but still, I've never seen a Mon Cal go down so fast as when 3 SSDs were on it all at once...

In SEIV, those names actually are used for ship classes (rather then individual ship names). I always liked attaching 'Terminator' to a lowly escort-class ship... "Sir, I'm detecting multiple enemy ships inbound from the Omega Sector. Sensors are picking up... 23 Terminator class ships." "Alright Lt., looks like we've got a little target practice today. Have the Slider-class Dreadnaughts engage at extreme range, and if any of those Terminators get to fire a shot I'll buy you dinner tonight." You might also notice that I included "Eraser"... that's another name for Mr. Arnold from a movie. But it doesn't have any neat catch phrases recognizable by nearly every living person on the planet.

A great read. Very nice.

There is another game with some really great ship lists... the game is Space Empires IV. There are literally dozens of seperate lists. I'm going to put up a few links tonight/tomorrow for some weird lists, but I'll copy/paste the list(s) that apply to the Empire or Alliance. There are some really good ones for the Empire, and the best part is that each list contains great names for powerful ships (like ISDs) or smaller ships (like Corracks). I'll try and take out duplicates, but I make no promises. Here's a tickler till I get home tonight... from memory: Ravager Defiant Eraser Searcher Traveler Waylander Terminator Courage Venerable Swarm Slicer (various animal names, like...) Bear Wasp Serpent Hyena Bat (more later today!)

In the NJO series, Palleon became Grand Admiral, and leader of the Empire Remnant (as far as I understood, he never seemed to answer to anyone else). He is also the only GA from that time period I'm aware of. Tarkin would hold a similar rank to, say, a governor. Its a political position giving him power over whatever territory he is assigned. However, Tarkin also held a military position (not possible in the US political system, so no real world examples come to mind). So in addition to his political power, he had military power. It made for quite the combination. As for his relationship to Vader, I always saw Tarkin as having the higher authority, as Vader has no official rank. Vader is more like the head of a secret service, with powers and authority unknown. As such, most lower ranking officers don't want to run the chance of stepping on his toes, whether they actually could do something or not, and when the Emperor puts Vader in charge of something, he has more power then even Tarkin. But Vader wasn't in charge, Tarkin was.

I'll bet they do if you meet all three at the same time...

Anybody looking for a multiplayer noob, tha'd be me. masterxaan@hotmail.com I'm advanced against the computer, but I've only been involved in one multiplayer game, about 5 years ago. And since the computer isn't exactly what I consider a smart opponent... I don't know how good I am multi. But I'm around once or twice a week, and more often in the next few weeks (boss is cutting hours).

I suggest taking a look around using RebEd. Check out the ships and so forth. If you feel up to editing it, then go for it! You'll never get exactly what you want from somebody else's TC. However, many (if not all) of the TCs floating around here are very fun, and often have things you wouldn't have thought of yourself. Plus you don't have to do much work, and as a lazy guy that can be all the difference. Also, you could get a TC you like and edit that instead of editing the stock values (less editing for you). If I understand what your problem is, its similar to mine. I was disappointed in never being able to use some of the really powerful ships (like SSD or the Bulwark equivalent). Using RebEd, change the research values for all the ships. Make some of the basic ships take 0 research (B-Frigate and troop transport ships are examples). Then lower the advanced ships, which means it will take fewer successful research missions to get them. If you really wanted to see them, you could even make all ships available at start... though I personally wouldn't want to.

*Applaudes*

What, an informant, or a Mormon? And how about I go get that source code right now? Does that sound okay with you guys? Wish me luck! Pray for me! May the Force be with me! *insert whatever other similar phrases you can come up with.* (picks up telephone and dials Lucas...) EDIT: (hangs up) Well guys, I've got some good news. I don't have the source code! It was worth a shot though, don't you think?

Not to be a party pooper or anything... but... well... *calls police and informs them that Tofu is flying to Wisconsin (with a gun) to assist in a suicide and is also involved in a conspiracy theory. I also inform them that George Lucas is head of the conspiracy, and as a reward for tipping them off I should get 1% of his net worth and free rights to the Rebellion source code*

That is probably the biggest fault of the TIE series; they can't be deployed nearly as fast because of the lack of a hyperdrive. But withdrawing isn't as big an issue; if you have to withdraw, then either the battle hasn't begun (your ships are still in hangar), you're about to loose (you don't have many ships left to put into a hangar) or the enemy has just gotten reinforcements (you have time between when they exited hyperspace and when they arrive to round up your TIEs and get them into a hangar, all while your ships are preparing to leave). This assuming your commander has good enough timing. Although the ability to jump the capital ships while keeping the fighters to cover their retreat, then jump the fighters, would certainly be useful. No no Tex, you misunderstand. I didn't completely disable the shields, merely reduced them significantly. Usually down to 25% for the Defender (so several shots). If the ship I was attacking was slow, I'd do fly-bys, therefore I'm always moving and difficult to hit. If I'm attacking another fighter, then because they are trying to evade me and I'm following them, their buddies have a harder time hitting me. The shields I leave up pretty much take care of the stray shots that actually do hit me, but leave me with plenty of laser energy so I'm never waiting for a recharge, and lots of engine power for a speedy getaway. And by putting full shield strength to the rear, I can maintain my super-fast laser recharge, full engine speed, and be protected from most any laser attack long enough to get a missile into their engine or lock my tractor on them (which means I don't need all that engine power, so I promptly put it into shields). I must admit, it's a complicated system and took some practice, but once I got it down I was nearly unstoppable. Only the missions where I had to protect somebody else posed a serious problem.

So that's why there wasn't the same dialogue with Jones! I knew something was up.

Well, this isn't going to be a sucky rp, now is it? That and a stranded clone trooper joining would be different then an officer who actually decides that Order 66 isn't the way to go and thus betrays the Republic.

The original movies couldn't contain all the tactical information about TIEs and Xwing abilities. The movie can only be so long. I would assume that some of the Rebel fighters destroyed took hits before the fatal hit the movies show. I'd look at other LA productions to correctly determine the abilities of a fighter. Like Xwing vs. TIE or the TIE Fighter games. In Rebellion, Xwings are far superior to TIEs one on one, but they are significantly slower, longer to build, and take more to maintain. Particularly when you look at TIE Intercepters, the Empire has a far superior fighter then the Alliance. TIEs don't have hyperdrives or missiles because they don't need them. They are designed to be launched from another ship, meaning there is always another ship around to provide those roles. Really, if you've got an ISD around, you probably don't need to have missile launchers on all your fighters, and with a launch platform like that you don't much need hyperdrives. These luxuries would only slow the fighter down, make them more costly, and require additional supplies (like missiles) to be shipped all over. They aren't much needed for the combat that TIEs typically see, so they don't make sense. Shields are also a luxury not needed by TIEs. They would cause a power drain, making them slower. If you're slower, then you'll be hit more often, requiring more shield power... its a never-ending spiral of doom. The Empire got out of that spiral by removing the shield system altogether. Yes, a glancing hit can easily destroy them. But they outnumber the Alliance, meaning there are fewer people shooting at them, and they are faster and more agile, meaning there are fewer hits. Add in the intense training pilots receive, and they are superior in most ways for the type of combat they see. Personally, I don't like the shields on TIE Defenders. When I play TIE Fighter, I almost disable the shields when I'm in a Defender. I put that power to better use for my engines and weapon recharging, leaving only a tiny bit devoted to shields in case somebody sneaks up on me when I'm not looking. This kind of limited shield system is what I as a pilot would have prefered, allowing for the speed and agility of a TIE but allowing me a moment of inattention so I could survive when I'm firing at somebody and his wingmate surprises me with a double-twist, dropped thrust and he gets a shot off at my rear before I can juke him. I also liked the alternate histories. You might just inspire me to think up my own alternatives (though I'd probably be thinking more about NJO alternatives, as the prequels and originals are fairly well picked over by now). A good read.

And how he trips over his vowels... I didn't think the acting was too bad in any of the movies. I thought the directing was terrible in the prequels though. Seriously, the way GL handles the Anakin/Padme thing in Episode 2 makes me cringe. Literally, I cringe and fast-forward through parts of the movie. Anakin manages to 'accidentally' destroy the Trade Federation mothership in Episode 1? Ok, if you have to have him do it, you could pull it off more realistically then how he did. Need I even mention Episode 1's Jar Jar? Talk about dumbing the movie down for 5 yr olds. Some of the lines from Episode 3 were terrible as well, and it wasn't the fault of any actor. The lines were just written horribly.

I too would like to see this one finished up. I took a particular intrest in the NJO series awhile back, really enjoyed the books. I think the conversion would be pretty hard, but well worth it. I'll help in any way I can, but unfortunately I'm no good with model creation. But if you need a tester, voice actor, or somebody to dig through the books for facts (I've been looking for an excuse to reread some of those...), then I'm your man.

Never done an rp before, but I like how this is sounding. I'll join in. And I've even got an unusual character for ya; the only clone trooper to break loose of his training and betray the Republic, managing to help one jedi escape...

My absolute fastest game... small galaxy, easy AI, HQ victory. I was the Alliance, took my fleet from all over and nailed Corescant with two carriers, med. transports and a few corvettes. Under 100 days. My fastest game that really took some actual skill was just under 800. I wasn't trying for the super-fast victory, but rather the long haul. Took those Imps out sector by sector using popular support to put his planets into uprisings. Caught most of his people when I went in to free those planets, including Vader. The ship battle over Corescant was a doozy, lost several mon cals, over a dozen corvettes and who knows how many fighters, but won it. That was large galaxy on hard. My typical game is 1200 days, large galaxy on hard, whether I'm Imps or Alliance. Every once in awhile I limit myself to get a really good game... those are 3000+ days long.

Yep, but you're not supposed to know that...