17 replies to this topic

[Casen]

K, the Lambda class shuttles have 4 lasers and 4 blasters, how will we implement that space-wise? Think about it.

Now on the ground you can tell the difference, blasters are what the AT-ST shoots, the soldiers shoot, the T2-B tanks shoot, and so on. Small bolts. The AT-AT and the Imperial Hover Tank shoot anti-vehicle lasers, and we can see what the big turbolaser towers shoot. Now in space blasters don't seem to be used, how will they be used? The B-Wing has them on the nose also, automatic ones.

Would they be too weak space wise?

Now in a more general Star Wars discussion, this always intrigued me.

Also what does the differences in laser color mean? Rebels use red and Imperials use green, except on the ground when pretty much all lasers besides the AT-PT's main blasters(which are green( are red, regardless of the side. But in the clone wars the Confeds used red and the Republic used blue, this went on the ground too. Despite this, Ion cannons are blue, though a lighter blue.

What do these different colors mean and why do they have different colors?

Also in images from the Legacy Era it's hard to tell but it appears the colors switched; the Imperial turbolaser towers seem to be shooting red and the other side (forgot the name) has Green...

[TheEmpire]

The verying colors could mean different kinds of blaster gas. The green being expensive so the empire had a better quality blaster gas. The Red being cheaper but poor quality. The blue could mean the the Venators cannons needed a special type of blaster gas. Have you ever seen a republic ship other then the Venator use blue bolts? Now the CIS goes by the same blaster gas as the rebels because they were cheap and most likely it is easyer to find in the outer rim worlds.

Blaster cannons could be in the game because they are powerful in space but only in large numbers. The Z95 has a light tri blaster cannon.

[Casen]

As far as I recall the Old Republic Ground Forces used blue lasers though honestly I don't recall what color the lasers of the other Old Republic ships were.

[Badwolfwho]

Couldn't it be just superficial and used to show the difference between factions

[Casen]

I'm just shocked I can never find an in-universe explanation for why lasers are different colors.

[Tropical Bob]

It probably has something to do with blaster gas and/or how the weapon is designed. A more efficient weapon and/or a weapon that uses blaster gas with a low specific heat will eject a more energetic plasma, which could likely emit a more energetic light, which would be the progression of red -> violet. So the Rebel/CIS weapons are possibly less effective than the Imperial/Republic weapons. And also that would make the Republic's weapons the strongest. Which makes sense of course, because the Republic was around for thousands of years and would have vast amounts of knowledge concerning the best way to blow something up. Not to mention, of course, that the Clone Troopers were supposed to the the best, and nothing short of blue blasters would suit them. And it also suits the Imperials, because they favor both quantity and quality in different circumstances. The Empire would not want to spend too much on their ships, which would detriment the whole mass-production part, but wouldn't want to give them too ineffective weapons, which would degrade the effort of keeping galactic peace/killing all galactic scum. So they would settle in the middle.

The in-game colors are just to differentiate factions though.

This is just my two cents about it, though.

[Casen]

Yet on the ground you rarely see green blaster bolts.

Notice that? However if I recall Padme's hand blaster had green bolts (in addition to a weird sound).

In addition, AT-PT's have green bolts every time I've seen them shoot, in all the Rogue Squadron games for instance.

[Tropical Bob]

The Empire looks down upon saving footsoldiers' lives, Kacen.

Well, maybe Naboo liked green blasters? I don't know. I was only speculating.

[Kaleb Graff]

because the Republic was around for thousands of years and would have vast amounts of knowledge concerning the best way to blow something up.

But the empire had all of the Republic's knowledge of weapons, plus some of it's own. That argument makes little sense. I doubt the secret of blue blaster bolts got lost during the Imperial takeover.

[Tropical Bob]

I don't think you read what I said after that line concerning the Imperials.

Making effective weapons and/or acquiring/refining better blaster gas would be expensive. The Empire doesn't outfit all of its stuff with the best of the best. The Empire goes more for the middle road. It doesn't want to compromise its mission of kill all aliens and war-mongers, but it doesn't want to spend too much on the common military man. I'm saying that the Republic would most likely have the upper hand in knowledge/acquisition/manufacture and all that what-not jazz over the CIS when it comes to blaster gas and weapons manufacture, especially since the Clone Troopers were made to be the best of the best. Not to mention, Darth Sidious couldn't have won the war so well with the Republic intact if he had the droid armies equipped with the best weapons available. And the CIS was more for overwhelming numbers rather than quality when it came to its troops. Business men watch the numbers when it comes to cost of mass production, and the CIS was headed by businessmen.

I may just be confusing everyone with what I'm saying, but I swear that it all makes sense in my head. Something gets lost along the way from my brain to my fingers.

[Kitkun]

Makes sense to me.

[Kaleb Graff]

Then why did the death star use green gas?

[Tropical Bob]

Well, if whoever said that the Death Star used a proton beam was correct...Then it would be a much much stronger version of the one aboard the Accuser, which is orange. It's possible that the proton beam weaponry progresses through the light spectrum emission slower than plasma weaponry.

Wookieepedia says, however, that the Death Star's superlaser fires directly out of the hypermatter reactor. If hypermatter is the core ingredient of the beam, that could also influence the color of light emitted.

[Kitkun]

Food coloring.

[Tropical Bob]

Ugh...why didn't I see it before!?! It's so obvious!!

[Phoenix Rising]

Right now in space, a light laser does 4 damage while a light blaster does 1. That makes auto-blasters next to useless and triple blasters only slightly worse than lasers. But their technology is identical. There is no difference between a blaster and a laser other than scale.

I've always concluded that the difference in colors is just an indication of using different blaster gas, like you've mentioned. The Wookieepedia article on it is interesting. You could probably assign a different color to each of those six examples. It would make for some interesting options in a shooter or RPG, but for strategy purposes, they're effectively analogous.

Edit: I almost didn't notice, but Wookieepedia does say that it influences color. Does anyone have Cracken's Field Guide to corroborate?

Edited by Phoenix Rising, 12 August 2008 - 06:38 PM.

[anakinskysolo]

I have it, but where I looked, it says nothing about the color of blasters, just the way a blaster works and how to acquire blaster gas.

Edited by anakinskysolo, 15 August 2008 - 05:27 PM.

[NovaCameron]

"Blaster bolts can appear in many different colors, dictated by the type of gas and crystal focusing device, although red and green bolts are most common."
pg. 5 "Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology"

The book says nothing about the Death Star superlaser mechanisms.