Warmaker

Piiiiiiiiggss Iiiinnn Sspaaaaaaaace! There's a club in Fallon, Nevada with the name of "Pigs In Space." It deserves every bit of that name, let's just say

Hey, don't blame us for being the worst with Time Travel. If you ever watched Star Trek, humanity in general is!

I'll have to agree about how a weapon feels in your hands should be close to top of your list on selection. I have many friends who are avid Glock fans. They're nice guns but I hate how they feel in my hands. The basic feel of the control & levers just seems awkward and "slick" to me. As an Active Duty US Marine, I'm forced to deal with the M9 9mm. I absolutely hate the thing. The only thing I like about it is the ambidextrous control. Other than the caliber, my biggest gripe is the huge grip. I'm a 5 ft 5 in, 150 lb Filipino, and my H&K USP45 and my friend's SIG220 (the .45 cal model?) feels very comfortable in my smaller than average hands than the M9.

They expanded the controls / commands, updated the cockpit to pretty scary levels. Not for the light hearted "Secret Weapons Over Normandy" crowd. It's one of the more hardcore sims. It's my kind of sim! Makes me think of the old sims I used to spend countless hours on, including the mods for them: European Air War: I absolutely LOVED this game, it may not have had the flashy graphics of Janes WWII Fighters, but the campaign and ability to have a career covering a significant portion of the war was very nice. Example: I could be a Hauptman (Captain) in the German Luftwaffe in 1943 and finish the war alive and decorated, as a commanding officer or Oberst (Colonel) in my squadron. I could manage the aircraft and loadouts, aircrew, monitoring their success, promotions, and most of all: fatigue. I took the time, especially late in the war with so many good quality Allied aircrews in the skies, to team my newest pilots with a hardened veteran. It was great when you saw the youngest pilot attain the skills and experience to survive until the German surrender in '45. When I lost a pilot in my squadron, it was tragic. I also vividly recall an alert for us to scramble up into the air in fall of '44. The Americans were sending a HUGE box formation of B-17s against a German city. My ragtag squadron of FW-190's quickly scrambled... all EIGHT of our aircraft . I ask ground control for any local assistance... they basically said my squadron was all that was left of the Luftwaffe in the next several hundred kilometers . Oh, by the way, I then saw a whole fighter group of P-51 Mustangs above and to the rear of the Flying Fortresses. Nice! So, what did I do as the Commanding Officer? Turn tail? Preposterous. Attack? Not a whole FIGHTER GROUP, that's for sure! I maneuvered my "squadron" into a more favorable altitude and angle, and gave the order to drop tanks and attack the Bomber formation. The FW-190 is VERY heavily armed and we had rockets equipped. We only had time for ONE pass against the bombers before the Mustangs would give chase. My mere 8 bird squadron took out 3 Flying Fortresses. A 4th one was taken down but that was due to a horrible midair collission from one of our newest pilots. No one bailed out from that one, American or German. Longbow 2: My first game to experience the fluidity of Dynamic Campaigns. My first game to fly a helicopter with. Once I got the hang of the large differences in flying fixed wing aircraft and rotary wings, the experience took off. I quickly learned that Attack Helicopters are extremely powerful but also extremely fragile. Falcon 4.0: My first jet simulation. It was awesome, but buggy as hell on release. There were a few official patches, but the fans kept this game alive since 1998. The fans squashed bugs and expanded the game to much higher levels. Even on the original Korean War campaign the game shipped with, the Dynamic Campaign was excellent. Missions changed depending on the situation across the peninsula. There was one campaign where the UN is cornered again on the Southeastern portion of the peninsula, another "Pusan Perimeter" but with modern weaponry. When you were flying a sorty, you look around and listen to the radio chatter. The war is raging all around you, and you really feel very small and very vulnerable. BTW, I absolutely hate SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses). Janes F/A-18: Not as good as Falcon 4.0, but it had Carrier Operations. The scripted campaign hurt it, IMO, but the overall feeling was still very nice. I didn't fly Janes F-15E. I love the Eagles, but for some reason I never picked it up (how shameful). I also remember flight sims used to come not with instruction manuals... TOMES of knowledge. Controls, basics of flight and aerial combat maneuvering, aircraft recognition and general capabilities, etc. Jane's used to cram so much stuff, it was scary. Falcon 4.0 had the best when it was originally released: It had this cool blue binder with the manual inside it. Ready for you to flip through it. It was about quality and documentation back in those days.

Hilarious reading

There's a promotional 25% discount for Force FX Lightsabers from here: fx-sabers.com Discounts straight off of Master Replicas.

They're going to put out a Studio Scale AT-AT? I own one of those AT-ATs they put out this year. It's freaking big and very impressive. How big is this Studio Scale AT-AT going to be?

Ahh, cool! I LOVE Blade Of The Immortal!

I'm sorry, but the Galactic Civil War, compared to how it was when I joined in Feb.2004, is dead. Yes, the Planetary Control Meta Game is there. Base takedowns are still there. But not enough people, esp. compared to the old days, participate in the GCW. I play on Ahazi. It was my starting server, and my character started on remote Doerba Goefel on Corellia, back when we weren't forced to start in 1 or 3 possible starting cities like Mos Eisley. Back then, everyone went "Overt" and fought for the Empire or Rebels. I'm not talking about 2-3 guys grouped together, or the rare squad of guys. I'm talking about massed fights regularly happening at Coronet, Theed, and the now-non-existent Bestine-Anchorhead flow of battles. On Ahazi, the Rebels, esp. back then, OWNED the server. Usually, for every Overt Imperial, you can count at least 5 Rebel Overts. But the fights still occured, and the struggle was best and at its largest in the Bestine-Anchorhead fights. As for the PCMG... does anyone really care who controls what planets? There is no incentive, nothing to entice wider player participation in the GCW as an Overt/Spec.Forces. So I see a Rebel NPCs at a city now instead of an Imperial NPC. Okay, and this matters to me how? The GCW needed a revamp long ago, but we got several Jedi publishes instead (for a supposedly "rare" profession). And let me get into space now... Jump To Lightspeed had the potential to be so much more. Some of us like myself, pictured JTL to be the last stronghold for a TRUE GCW. Maximum player participation since it was supposed to be based on player skill. I envisioned Star Destroyers and TIEs battling it out with Alliance ships an starfighters. But it still bothers me to see Droid Fighters when I should be seeing X-Wings and TIEs. I'm wagering we'll see a Republic Venator Destroyer before any new ships from the Original Trilogy. Another thing for space... what's to do? That, IMO, is a horrible question to ask, and it frequently was asked when I was in the JTL Beta, and still is being asked. But I guess the bad things are all on my part. I wanted to play in Star Wars' Galactic Civil War, serving as a loyal Stormtrooper to fight against the Rebel Alliance. I guess I was expecting too much. P.S- There is ONE positively good thing to come from the last 10 publishes... the Combat Upgrade. This system, though buggy still, already surpasses the old system. I give the devs alot of flak, but the CU is great. The only thing it needed was more time on the Test Centers to catch and squash bugs and game issues. The Current State of the Galactic Civil War

Doesn't that make sense though? As the Empire begins to phase in Stormtrooper armor, there would be a ot of Clone Trooper armor in surplus that wasn't being used. Surplus? Then why aren't they seen then in the Original Trilogy?... granted the OT came out before. Frankly, I wanted immersion in the Original Trilogy. Stormtroopers, X-Wings, Star Destroyers, TIEs, blaster fights, all for the Galactic Civil War. Many things implemented I question. The devs started the game post Ep.IV. There are things included nowadays that break the immersion of being even in the Original Trilogy. Seeing a squad of guys wearing Clonetrooper Armor instead of Stormtrooper Armor or other factional uniforms/gear (due to the tremendous credit costs). What era are we supposed to be in? We have GUILDS full of Jedi. We have Clonetroopers everywhere instead of Stormtroopers. Again, what era are we supposed to be in? The Clone Wars or the Galactic Civil War?

SWG is a game of extremes. I love the new Combat Upgrade System (played since Feb.2004). There are some great experiences in the game. Some locations are done great. Corellia is lovingly done. In the wilderness, she looks great. Tatooine, is well... sandy! Talus looks great also, but is not visited frequently. Buuuut... There are some horrid flaws in the game. The flaws are quite terrible if you're a fan of the storyline of Star Wars, namely the Original Trilogy since that's what the game was supposed to be set in (starting in between Ep.IV & V). The Galactic Civil War isn't a Civil War, it's dwindled down to small fights between a handful of individuals at most, or worse, Jedi Wars. Speaking of Jedi, they are now EVERYWHERE. Remember, this game is set in the Original Trilogy... so what's the use of that joker named Luke, anyways? The near total superiority of Prequel era equipment over Original Trilogy equipment. I can find Droidekas & Super Battle Droids but I can't find an AT-AT. More people wear Clonetrooper Armor than any type of Imperial Armor (i.e.Stormtrooper) put together. It's far easier to get a set of Clonetrooper Armor from some easy quests than to spend about 2-6 million credits on a single set of Stormtrooper Armor. I can find Droid Fighters more easily than I can Rebel & Imperial Starfighters. In all of space, there is only ONE Star Destroyer. So much for the vaunted Imperial Fleet. The game is increasingly becoming a system hog, and it was a hog even at launch in 2003. No one flies in space since there's nothing there to do. Kashyyyk, in the new "Rage Of The Wookies" expansion, is small and graphically ugly compared to anything from the normal game. Again, the areas are small, terrain with "invisible barriers" (poor, rushed design, if you ask me), and graphics there are terribly simple. Colors aren't rich and lack variety. It's like someone took one type of bright green paint, and splashed my screen with it. RotW should have been done better.

I prefer my weapons fairly simple. Iron sights, a simple sling, and uncluttered. Is that old fashioned? Maybe it was because of the training when I joined the USMC. Even today, namely due to my occupation, I've never had optics or fancy schmancy gear for my M16. The configuaration's been the same since I joined the Corps in '93. And I'm comfortable and more importantly, extremely confident with my Rifle. Even though I'm not a grunt.

Bah, it seemed to me like a "Bennifer" movie, except with guns. I'll pass on this one.

I vote for a remake of the Star Wars Christmas Special!!! (Dons SAPI Body Armor and Kevlar Helmet, ducks back into foxhole)

I didn't vote for it, but I just now recalled a good Lightsaber moment from the Original Trilogy... in Return of the Jedi, of all places. Aboard the Death Star II, in the presence of the Emperor, Luke hides from Vader, not wishing to fight him. But of course, Luke's feelings betray the knowledge of Leia as a Sister to Vader. If Luke didn't turn, then perhaps she would. Right then and there, Luke snapped, just as his father did at that age, long ago. His hatred defeated Darth Vader but unlike his father, Luke held back on the killing blow. Luke's final series of attacks on Vader in RotJ weren't as flashy as any other SW Lightsaber duels, but the moment you could feel was critical. Luke was one swing away from being exactly as his Father.

I voted Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul. Best Lightsaber fight in Star Wars. I was shocked that they killed Darth Maul in TPM. I wanted him to be just bad*** in more SW movies. One of the great moments was when they had those ray shields come up to keep Qui-Gon and Darth Maul apart from each other. Qui-Gon meditates, but Darth Maul just paces back and forth, glaring at him the entire time, probably thinking, "I soooo want to kick your *** right now."

Up until the point where Anakin strikes Mace Windu and declares his allegiance to Sidious, his decisions wouldn't have been far off what I think many people would do or consider doing. Risking alot to save a friend or loved one. For all of Anakin's b****ing and whining about Obi-Wan "holding him back," Anakin risked life, limb, and operational success to save his friend. NUMEROUS TIMES, even from Obi-Wan's own admissions from the books and movies. And I still see no fault in him trying to save his wife and unborn son (which of course turned out to include a daughter also). For a man to willingly and knowingly sacrifice his family, without doing anything about it, is completely unacceptable. But yes, there is a corner that Anakin turned on his own choice. Once murder & slaughter was involved, that was it. As for the Jedi Council doing Anakin a favor by actually allowing him to join the Order, it worked both ways. He became a Jedi, but the Order got their beloved "Chosen One," to be used as a tool.

I try to save them. If I was in THEIR shoes, I'd expect the same from a loved one and a true friend.

Is it really selfish to keep your loved ones alive? Is it really selfish to somehow prevent something disastrous to happen to someone you love? Let me say this: For some unknown reason, you KNOW, it will be GUARANTEED, that your Wife/Husband/Girlfriend/Boyfriend, will be killed by something at a certain time, will you stand by and let it happen? I, myself wouldn't. Fate be d**ned. The Jedi Order seemed to have a desire to promote emotionless beings with absolutely no attachments. DROIDS, in a manner. If there was a Jedi with slight nuances, they are exempt from the highest levels of the Order. The best example in the Prequels? Qui-Gon. The Phantom Menace was subpar, but one of the best things I felt was Qui-Gon. Calm, never to anger, firm, yet does what is right and needs to be done. It is the latter, that tad bit of rebelliousness, that kept him from the Council. If Anakin Skywalker had followed every teaching of the Jedi Order, he would never have risked his life to save Obi-Wan numerous times, if it risked an operation. Obi-Wan, for all his greatness, would have been dead LONG before Episode III. You hear about this in Episode III and Episode II. You hear repeated mention of Anakin saving Obi-Wan. In the book, you read about Anakin risking entire systems and operations, to save his friend, Obi-Wan. P.S.- As for the Prophecy, Anakin does indeed restore balance. HE was the one to kill the Emperor. The road was twisted and long, but he did destroy Palpatine, due to his son. Also, IMO, the Republic would have became an Empire and the Jedi Order STILL destroyed even if Palpatine didn't have Anakin's support. Palpatine's manipulations and stealth, and total control of the Republic military would have achieved the same. Turning Anakin was a huge bonus in the cause of the Sith. If he failed turning Anakin, he would probably have taken him down the same way he was going to take down Luke.

Having played and being a fan of the Knights of the Old Republic games, there is another reason why I believe the Clones turned very easily on the Jedi. Not just programming, training, or indoctrination. In the KOTOR games, there was a huge war, the Mandalorian War, between the Old Republic and the combined Mandalorian Clans. The war was catastrophic, but the Jedi won the war for the Republic by being in some ways "un-Jedi-like." The war was a defeat for the Mandalorians that even though it was glorious even to them (they relished battle), it was a defeat that they will never recover from. Now, Jango Fett is Mandalorian. His clone "son," Boba, would then be Mandalorian. The Clonetroopers are of course Mandalorian due to being based on Jango. Darth Tyrannus / Dooku probably had this in mind when selecting a suitable template for the Kaminoan Cloners. The Jedi & Republic crushed the Mandalorians rougly 5000 years before The Phantom Menace. But with Revenge of the Sith, the Mandalorians get the last laugh and even the score. That's my take on it. Plus, the Mandalorians just seemed really cool in the Star Wars background "fluff."

Estacado06479 and Duke Togo, I forwarded the same PM I gave Max Jenius.

There was something else the book added that I felt meant alot. The scene where Windu, Yoda, and Obi-Wan are riding in the Rep.Gunship in preperation for Yoda's Kashyyyk operation. I dont' want to give it away, since I felt it was waaaaaaaaaaaay more meaningful than the movie's version. Can you pm me what they say? PM sent, with one extra scene from the book.

The various Clone War era books make mention of people in the Republic starting to give the Clone Troopers names. Everyone at first thought of the Clone Troopers as mere Droids. But the Clone Wars had changed that over time. Their loyalty was unquestionable to the Republic and most of all, they were dying in large numbers for the Republic. Leaders started giving names instead of using the serial numbers given to the Clones.

There was something else the book added that I felt meant alot. The scene where Windu, Yoda, and Obi-Wan are riding in the Rep.Gunship in preperation for Yoda's Kashyyyk operation. I dont' want to give it away, since I felt it was waaaaaaaaaaaay more meaningful than the movie's version.

Yeah, the book added alot. Where it added a whole lot to vs the movie was the dilemna Anakin was in regarding the Chancellor and the Council and the whole trying to save Padme thing. It stretched it out to make you see how he felt while in the movie, due to time constraints, felt rushed a little. And the ending in the book was FAR superior. When they didn't show Qui-Gon in the movies, I was like, "WTF?!?"