Haesslich
Spaceman
Bloodspray said:I see where this is going.
Look, it's not a case of me disagreeing and assuming that things are only the way I want them to be.
There's more to what I remember from that guide than what you pointed out, but, that is part of it. Ok, so it included some of what happened in the game, and? Like fanfiction doesn't? Let's be real here.
Again, the stamp of approval doesn't mean much. Unless you know the context under which it got that stamp (the whos hows and whys of it).
Lucas has gone on record before as saying that anything that was in a novel was part of the SW timeline. It's no surprise to see him draw on that. However, Paramount hasn't taken that stance in all cases. The Lost Years and The Prime Directive were excellent novels, they are officially licensed, yet they are not part of the "actual" Trek universe timeline, although they do use classic trek characters and events that had happened in the series and movies. (much like the references made by the guide that you mentioned)
That's why there's an Extended Universe, yes, but even then there are events like Splinter of the Mind's Eye which do not easily fall into classification. He's also managed to completely reverse some things in the transition between the 'classic' SW (Ep IV-VI' and the 'new' SW (Eps I-III) in ways which have had quite a few fans howling for blood.
However, your argument here has several downfalls - one being that Origin has incorporated what's gone in most of these sources you've decried (Academy, novels, sourcebooks) as canon sources later on, or else they've been used to describe what happens when the games aren't taking place (Freedom Flight, False Colors). The Kilrathi Saga manual itself has a page from Blair's Academy yearbook which includes both Larry Dibbles vowing to eat a whole flightsuit, minus the buttons, and Maniac's own signature in it... indicating that both of them knew Blair at that point, though Dibbles was assigned to the Claw before Blair was, for his first actual non-Academy cruise.
I've just reread the whole bloody guide here, and I'm having problems with what you're considering non-canon. Do you mean the interviews, or the way they assume that the end of WCII is the end of the War? That's never stated there, though it does state that LaFong was around for the end of the war, and since has retired. As to whether or not this IS Blair under a psuedonym, or something else entirely is going on, is not explained.
Paramount has declared the novels are non-canon - there's no conflict there, since every ST book has to be approved and go through the vetting process. However, Origin has used the novels and everything else as a canon source. This includes Academy, as tied in through the Confederation Handbook, and other events (Blair and Maniac knowing one another) which have been confirmed through game documentation.
Bloodspray said:
Actually, it does make -some- sense, if we assume that, at least for the moment, bomber squadrons were transferred off the ship for the first game. I recall that, for most of the first (WC1) game, we were operating behind enemy lines or without fleet support, only occasionally encountering Terran Confederation craft to refill our stocks, or to save them from Kilrathi. In this case, including torpedo stocks would make little sense, as we -can- hurt them severely with regular missiles and guns (already able to penetrate current phase-shielding), but the torpedoes are large and take up space better used for other general-purpose munitions. In SM1 especially, we got so low on supplies that the Rapiers had to be taken out of action for some serious maintenance, resulting in our launching with Scims and Hornets for missions that the Rapier would've done better with. Only in SM2 did we really operate with any support, that being the TCS Austin, and only then for half the game.
There's a reason I stated it was more cost-effective, and survivable, to fly with regular missiles than torps - they take time to bypass the phase shields, which is already unnecessary with current-generation missiles and targeting computers. You've done nothing to refute my statement about WC1 here. WC2, with its improved shielding, DID require the larger and heavier torpedoes, which included the bombers to deliver them. The Epee, which could carry -one- torpedo, was capable of it... as was the Strakha, but the latter did two torps at once. Given a mission where I had the option to fly with a regular missile load... or I could fly with just a few missiles and one torpedo, I know which I'd rather do, given the damage capability of WC1/2 weapons against WC1-style shielding.
And we're STILL able to use guns against ships in WC3-WCP... it's just that shields and armor have improved enough to make anything but a high-powered gun less useful in most cases than a torp. Which is why we still use them in WCP, even with Plasma Cannons and similar technology being available.
But in WC1, the situation was far, far different - at that stage of the war, almost thirty years in, shield and gun technology were pretty much on the same level, with the balance tilted ever-so-slightly in favor of the gun. Torps were unnecessary, and a liability on a Strike Carrier working far behind the lines. Academy, IIRC, at least let us have some fleet support. They also yanked Tolwyn off the ship before WC1 began, but his presence in Academy explained why Blair and Tolwyn clashed in WC3: the whole 'taking command of the ship away from Captain Thorn' bit in the novel was telling, and an official source.
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I kinda got the impression that Ugly(sorry, easier to spell) and Viper had a copy of instruction manuals written by torquemada they were gettin' ready to dust off for me. lol
The Japanese have something against South Africa? lol Never cared for Nintendo much once the Genesis hit the scene, and then the PSX, so I missed that bit of strangeness. Was the SNES port text only like the PC version? If so, it's something that could be considered a minor point (not that it is, just that it could be glossed over more easily) as he didn't have any hintings of accent in his dialogue like Paladin did.
