Lets talk all things Star Wars

[Riceball]

It and its predecessor have always looked like a prequel-ized, EA, buggy, poorly-optimized version of The Force Unleashed to me. I honestly don’t get how Disney as the copyright holders have fumbled the video game market for Star Wars so badly. You’d think they would have cranked out some kind of Mandalorian RPG or something like that as soon as the first season took off, but no. So, yes. I’m tired of seeing “not-Joker from the CW’s Gotham” wield his stupidly large lightsabers being marketed everywhere.

It's simple, they're not the ones producing or even publishing any Star Wars games and I believe that this happened well before Disney took over. Lucas Arts stopped creating original titles a long time ago, became just a publisher and I believe then disbanded under Disney. After LA stopped creating their own titles, both Star Wars and others, the license for Star Wars games was sold to various game publishers. The current one is EAS who had an exclusive license to produce Star Wars games, but I, believe, has now either lost its exclusive rights or the rights to Star Wars games altogether. Disney, as the rights holder, is only given the plot outline and demos and is probably otherwise hands off letting EA just do their thing. After all, no matter how a game is received, they (Disney) still get their money in the licensing money and/or a percentage of the profits.

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

...along with the crossguard...lol. I'm still scratching my head on that one...lol

Honestly, the lightsaber is such a perfect movie weapon that any derivation or embellishing on it just comes off as profane and needless; gimmicky. I remember then for Phantom Menace, some hoopla over Maul's staff-saber. I can give leeway to Maul's staff-saber, I guess it's fine. They even address the main problem with it in the movie with it being cut in half. However, adding small blades to the side for a crossguard or having it spin like a helicopter, or even just the blade being black...It just feels gross to me.

 

[CopperRevan]

Honestly, the lightsaber is such a perfect movie weapon that any derivation or embellishing on it just comes off as profane and needless; gimmicky. I remember then for Phantom Menace, some hoopla over Maul's staff-saber. I can give leeway to Maul's staff-saber, I guess it's fine. They even address the main problem with it in the movie with it being cut in half. However, adding small blades to the side for a crossguard or having it spin like a helicopter, or even just the blade being black...It just feels gross to me.

...so true...nailed it!

 

[HMSwolfe]

It's simple, they're not the ones producing or even publishing any Star Wars games and I believe that this happened well before Disney took over. Lucas Arts stopped creating original titles a long time ago, became just a publisher and I believe then disbanded under Disney. After LA stopped creating their own titles, both Star Wars and others, the license for Star Wars games was sold to various game publishers. The current one is EAS who had an exclusive license to produce Star Wars games, but I, believe, has now either lost its exclusive rights or the rights to Star Wars games altogether. Disney, as the rights holder, is only given the plot outline and demos and is probably otherwise hands off letting EA just do their thing. After all, no matter how a game is received, they (Disney) still get their money in the licensing money and/or a percentage of the profits.

I thought LucasArts was closed when Disney acquired the IP. And yeah, they’re not developing or publishing the games, but there’s still gotta be someone, maybe more at “Lucasfilm” rather than “Disney at large” that has dropped the ball for Star Wars games. Honestly, video games are something that Disney just has not seemed to figure out yet, so maybe if they are in charge, something like Fallen Order is the best we can get.

 

[Riceball]

When holding a sword, or in this case a lightsaber, you want as close a grip as you can get to the base of the blade or more specifically the "balance point". Those shrouds on his saber are way too long for him to wield the saber effectively especially when he makes it into a staff. Way back when, I had an idea to draw up a similar design where the blade is hugged by dual shrouds. I thought it would look cool but I quickly realized how impractical it would be.

Your grip depends on the sword type and the school of fencing that you follow. For instance, with military sabers, people often use what's called a saber grip where your thumb is placed on the top of the grip. With this grip, the bulk of your hand isn't up against the guard, only your thumb. There are probably other schools of fencing that teach you to not use a simple hammer grip with the top of your hand up against the guard or base of the blade but with it sitting back some. Then there are some swords where their guards and pommels are so close together that a hammer grip is the only option and there isn't enough room to move your up or down the grip much.

 

[Ron]

Your grip depends on the sword type and the school of fencing that you follow. For instance, with military sabers, people often use what's called a saber grip where your thumb is placed on the top of the grip. With this grip, the bulk of your hand isn't up against the guard, only your thumb. There are probably other schools of fencing that teach you to not use a simple hammer grip with the top of your hand up against the guard or base of the blade but with it sitting back some. Then there are some swords where their guards and pommels are so close together that a hammer grip is the only option and there isn't enough room to move your up or down the grip much.

Correct. At the other end of the spectrum, sometimes you'll see a grip where the index finger is on top of the guard gripping the blade. Definitely wouldn't work with a lightsaber lol.

 

[Joek3rr]

Is this “Lucas sold to Disney due to toxic fans” lie an actual thing?

George has certainly talked about how hard it is to make content when everyone complains about it. So I'm sure it played a role. But it seems that when George couldn't get a new studio built for Lucasfilm to produce live-action shows, was what finally pushed him to sell.

 

[Joek3rr]

It and its predecessor have always looked like a prequel-ized, EA, buggy, poorly-optimized version of The Force Unleashed to me. I honestly don’t get how Disney as the copyright holders have fumbled the video game market for Star Wars so badly. You’d think they would have cranked out some kind of Mandalorian RPG or something like that as soon as the first season took off, but no. So, yes. I’m tired of seeing “not-Joker from the CW’s Gotham” wield his stupidly large lightsabers being marketed everywhere.

I actually really enjoyed Fallen Order. Probably the best Star Wars game we've had in a while. Definitely the best of EA's Star Wars.

 

[Joek3rr]

When holding a sword, or in this case a lightsaber, you want as close a grip as you can get to the base of the blade or more specifically the "balance point". Those shrouds on his saber are way too long for him to wield the saber effectively especially when he makes it into a staff. Way back when, I had an idea to draw up a similar design where the blade is hugged by dual shrouds. I thought it would look cool but I quickly realized how impractical it would be.

Though the physics of a lightsaber would in reality be nothing like a real sword.

You mean "Excalisaber" lol? How it's presented makes no sense because of the exposed emitters of the quillons. The only way that design works is if let's say you had a "T" shaped hilt. The top of the "T" would be one wide emitter with the center of it being a standard length blade and then a 'ridge' of plasma would make up the remainder on either side. Of course, lightsabers lock up on contact so I don't even think you'd have to worry about a blade sliding down and cutting you.

I highly suspect that the emitters are lightsaber resistant. Otherwise, Dooku's lightsaber would be highly impractical.

And lightsaber blades can slide, as General Grievous can attest. He lost a hand to Obi-Wan that way.

 

[Joek3rr]

It's simple, they're not the ones producing or even publishing any Star Wars games and I believe that this happened well before Disney took over. Lucas Arts stopped creating original titles a long time ago, became just a publisher and I believe then disbanded under Disney. After LA stopped creating their own titles, both Star Wars and others, the license for Star Wars games was sold to various game publishers. The current one is EAS who had an exclusive license to produce Star Wars games, but I, believe, has now either lost its exclusive rights or the rights to Star Wars games altogether. Disney, as the rights holder, is only given the plot outline and demos and is probably otherwise hands off letting EA just do their thing. After all, no matter how a game is received, they (Disney) still get their money in the licensing money and/or a percentage of the profits.

Post-2002 LucasArts started having other companies developing or co-developing games with them. List of LucasArts games - Wikipedia

 

[HMSwolfe]

I actually really enjoyed Fallen Order. Probably the best Star Wars game we've had in a while. Definitely the best of EA's Star Wars.

I don’t disagree, but that’s a pretty low bar considering the other games in that group are the two EA Battlefronts and Squadrons, basically. My point was that video games as a medium are practically fresh ground for the IP, and Lucasfilm/Disney/EA/whoever just don’t seem that interested in pushing that frontier. A Naughty Dog or Santa Monica-style narrative game. (Whoops. That one existed. And got cancelled and cannibalized for Fallen Order. RIP 1313.) A Mando RPG. Heck, they could take it one of three ways, as I see it. They could do “What Boba Fett was doing between AOTC and ESB (or TCW and ANH if you want to be pedantic)”, or “a Din Djarin game, maybe based off the existing episodes” or “a create-a-character open world type RPG.” Real time strategy games. Different eras of Star Wars. I even think they could do the films themselves as individual adaptations in game format. We’re a long way away from the old “game based on a movie” of the early 2000s, nowadays I think a really solid and respectable use of nostalgia could be through games. Want to play ROTJ as a AAA narrative game? The list is endless. But it just doesn’t seem like much us being developed. Of course, the gaming industry as a whole isn’t exactly super strong right now, so I suppose it’s not entirely fair to lay the blame on Lucasfilm or Disney.

Honestly, I think one change alone could make Fallen Order a lot better. Get rid of Cal Kestis. Is he really that interesting of a character that the audience wouldn’t be better served by making a “custom character” that they could feel more closely represents them in a “galaxy far far away”?

 

[Ron]

As I keep saying, make a VR Star Wars flight sim.

Though the physics of a lightsaber would in reality be nothing like a real sword.

Is this considered canon? Because I've heard both arguments: they're either "weightless" or they're "heavy".

I highly suspect that the emitters are lightsaber resistant. Otherwise, Dooku's lightsaber would be highly impractical.

Possibly. Certainly, the main bodies are not hence Obi-Wan cutting Maul's staff in half.

Dooku's lightsaber is impractical as well, but much less egregious than the Fallen Order one don't you think? Then again considering Dooku's style, that prong may not be that much of an issue.

 

[Joek3rr]

As I keep saying, make a VR Star Wars flight sim.


Is this considered canon? Because I've heard both arguments: they're either "weightless" or they're "heavy".

I believe the technical mumbo jumbo, is that lightsabers produce a sort of gyroscopic effect. So while the blades technically lack mass. The lightsaber kinda sorta acts like it's weighted. If that makes sense.

Possibly. Certainly, the main bodies are not hence Obi-Wan cutting Maul's staff in half.

Dooku's lightsaber is impractical as well, but much less egregious than the Fallen Order one don't you think? Then again considering Dooku's style, that prong may not be that much of an issue.

Cal's lightsaber just has long double emitter shrouds. Kinda like Ahsoka's saber. And originally it was masters' lightsaber.

Reminds me of Bastila's saber from KOTOR.

 

[Riceball]

Dooku's lightsaber is impractical as well, but much less egregious than the Fallen Order one don't you think? Then again considering Dooku's style, that prong may not be that much of an issue.

From what I've heard, Christopher Lee designed the hilt himself, or at least had input on its design based off of his years of fencing experience. Even if it wasn't completely designed by Christopher Lee or had his input, it's actually not that unergonomic, you're all just used to straight hilted/gripped swords like European longsword and arming, or Asian designs like the katana. But some Chinese designs like the dao have an angled grip and man military sabers of the 18th and 19th centuries have angled hilts. A slightly angled hilt allows you to give point more comfortably and naturally putting the blade, and particularly the point, more in line with your arm.

 

[Jaitea]

I also think Lee’s arthritis in his hands had something to do with the design of the hilt

J

 

[Ron]

From what I've heard, Christopher Lee designed the hilt himself, or at least had input on its design based off of his years of fencing experience. Even if it wasn't completely designed by Christopher Lee or had his input, it's actually not that unergonomic, you're all just used to straight hilted/gripped swords like European longsword and arming, or Asian designs like the katana. But some Chinese designs like the dao have an angled grip and man military sabers of the 18th and 19th centuries have angled hilts. A slightly angled hilt allows you to give point more comfortably and naturally putting the blade, and particularly the point, more in line with your arm.

Oh I agree. I like the curved hilt. For a one handed rapier attack style, it makes sense. I was talking about that prong looking emitter accent piece.

I believe the technical mumbo jumbo, is that lightsabers produce a sort of gyroscopic effect. So while the blades technically lack mass. The lightsaber kinda sorta acts like it's weighted. If that makes sense.


Cal's lightsaber just has long double emitter shrouds. Kinda like Ahsoka's saber. And originally it was masters' lightsaber.View attachment 1700918
Reminds me of Bastila's saber from KOTOR.
View attachment 1700919

I gotta imagine those shrouds take a lot of hits with how extended they are from his hands…

All that being said, I hope you realize I’m not seriously trying to bash on this hilt. It’s a video game lightsaber so of course the “cool factor” is going to play a role in its design and it doesn’t have to be realistic. Just having a fun discussion .

 

[blewis17]

In the SW Universe, with sabers not having hand guards it seems like the best strategy is to aim for the hand/hilt.

It is canon that when sabers clash, the blades will "lock" to some degree? Where they combatants have to physically push themselves away from each other to separate the blades? Otherwise, I would think one could slash the saber downwards toward the opponent's hands. And with no hand guard, you're instant Dooku.

 

[blewis17]

A little OT here, but this is a film from 1980 RE: shopping for SW toys. I remember those days. If I knew then what I know now, I would have bought every vinyl caped Jawa I could find.

 

[Psab keel]

I appreciate the vintage footage but Junkman lives up to his moniker.

 

[Joek3rr]

Oh I agree. I like the curved hilt. For a one handed rapier attack style, it makes sense. I was talking about that prong looking emitter accent piece.

I gotta imagine those shrouds take a lot of hits with how extended they are from his hands…
View attachment 1701026
All that being said, I hope you realize I’m not seriously trying to bash on this hilt. It’s a video game lightsaber so of course the “cool factor” is going to play a role in its design and it doesn’t have to be realistic. Just having a fun discussion .

Oh, yeah. For me personally I just gave up a long time ago trying to compare lightsabers to real swords. They're so impractical on multiple levels. The lack of hand guards, and horrible ergonomics, etc. But with that said, putting my Star Wars glasses on.... This lightsaber from the High Republic might be most "practical" I've ever seen.

Really as dangerous as lightsabers are, I feel like armored gauntlets or some sort of hand encompassing "basket hilt" style would be absolutely necessary.