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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16178
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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 Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 1:39 am Post subject: TIE Wing Panels |
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So, calling the wings on TIE Fighters "solar panels" has always induced a mental eye-roll from me. It's obvious they are tied to engine function somehow, but the SWU has never been clear and consistent about what they do.
What's your explanation?
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16178
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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Okay, I'll go first. In line with this piece of equipment, I've come to view TIE wing panels as solar ionization collectors, in that they draw in charged particles from stellar wind or other sources, which are then fed into the TIE's ion drives. So, rather than being standard photovoltaic panels or heat dissipators, they are an integral function of the drive itself by providing it with fuel (or augmenting onboard fuel supplies).
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
Last edited by CRMcNeill on Sun Sep 18, 2016 5:44 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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CaptainKorbak
Cadet
Joined: 11 Sep 2016
Posts: 13
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 7:42 am Post subject: |
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Long-time reader, first time poster. I am a big fan of your Starship work!
On the subject of the solar panels, yeah I agree that the most canon friendly explanation is that they are solar collectors, using some sort of field to draw in high energy photons.
Game Effect: when within 2 AU of a normal star a TIE fighter does not expend fuel when it is operating at cruising speed in space, or cautious speed in atmosphere.
But lets go with less likely ideas! On to a less canon friendly one. The panels could be large antennas used by the Empire to link up the telemetry on their fighters. Imperial doctrine is less concerned with fighters having excellent sensors and range, but they do carefully monitor pilot positioning and adherence to standard formation protocols.
Game Effect: +2 to the difficulty to jam transmissions for every TIE fighter in range.
Another option. The panels are not solar collectors at all be rather part of the TIE's propulsion. They are called TWIN ION ENGINE fighters, and those engines appear to be two tiny red dots on the back side of the hull. What if what look like solar panels are energy projectors, projecting powerful, twisting magnetic fields (insert better handwavium here) that shape the ionized exhaust giving the TIEs their speed and maneuverability far beyond a normal fighter of that size. I envision two curving plumes of energy coming off those large panels, giving the TIEs their distinctive roar in atmosphere.
This is really more flavor than a game effect. But if I were going to reach for one as a GM I would say that the powerful torsional field coming off the wings gives off a bigger sensor profile.
Game effect: +5 to detect TIE fighters |
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MrNexx
Rear Admiral
Joined: 25 Mar 2016
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Location: San Antonio
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 11:33 am Post subject: |
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I like some of your ideas, Captain!
For me, I don't have a problem with them being "solar panels", but with solar panels=/=photovalic cells.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16178
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 1:10 pm Post subject: |
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| CaptainKorbak wrote: | | Long-time reader, first time poster. I am a big fan of your Starship work! |
Thank you, and welcome to the Pit.
| Quote: | On the subject of the solar panels, yeah I agree that the most canon friendly explanation is that they are solar collectors, using some sort of field to draw in high energy photons.
Game Effect: when within 2 AU of a normal star a TIE fighter does not expend fuel when it is operating at cruising speed in space, or cautious speed in atmosphere. |
Unfortunately, there is no clear conversion in the RAW for AUs to SUs. A better approach would be to make it more general, based on positioning in the stellar system.
Also, since stellar wind is composed of charged particles (ions), I feel this ties in easier to the TIE's twin ion engines than do high energy photons. If nothing else, there would be no process required to convert photons (energy) into ions (matter)
| Quote: | But lets go with less likely ideas! On to a less canon friendly one. The panels could be large antennas used by the Empire to link up the telemetry on their fighters. Imperial doctrine is less concerned with fighters having excellent sensors and range, but they do carefully monitor pilot positioning and adherence to standard formation protocols.
Game Effect: +2 to the difficulty to jam transmissions for every TIE fighter in range.
Another option. The panels are not solar collectors at all be rather part of the TIE's propulsion. They are called TWIN ION ENGINE fighters, and those engines appear to be two tiny red dots on the back side of the hull. What if what look like solar panels are energy projectors, projecting powerful, twisting magnetic fields (insert better handwavium here) that shape the ionized exhaust giving the TIEs their speed and maneuverability far beyond a normal fighter of that size. I envision two curving plumes of energy coming off those large panels, giving the TIEs their distinctive roar in atmosphere.
This is really more flavor than a game effect. But if I were going to reach for one as a GM I would say that the powerful torsional field coming off the wings gives off a bigger sensor profile.
Game effect: +5 to detect TIE fighters |
Interesting...
I could actually see combining all of these effects to one degree or another. My theory on the purpose of wings on starships in the SWU is that they are part of the "ethereal rudder" vectoring system mentioned in the X-Wing novels.
So TIE wing panels could serve multiple functions, as heat dissipators, solar ionization collectors, maneuvering system planar arrays and comm antennas. The idea of a piece of equipment that takes up so much of a TIE's volume serving more than one purpose is an appealing one.
Also, my long-term explanation for sound in space is that cockpits are fitted with surround sound audio systems in the cockpit that allow a pilot to "hear" what direction a sensor contact is. I call it an Ears-Up Display.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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CaptainKorbak
Cadet
Joined: 11 Sep 2016
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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| CRMcNeill wrote: |
Unfortunately, there is no clear conversion in the RAW for AUs to SUs. A better approach would be to make it more general, based on positioning in the stellar system. |
Good point. AUs aren't used at all in Star Wars are they. Hmmm. Maybe "within the habitable band zone of a stellar system"? I am sure there is abetter way to phrase that.
| CRMcNeill wrote: | | Also, since stellar wind is composed of charged particles (ions), I feel this ties in easier to the TIE's twin ion engines than do high energy photons. If nothing else, there would be no process required to convert photons (energy) into ions (matter) |
Agreed.
| CRMcNeill wrote: |
Interesting...
I could actually see combining all of these effects to one degree or another. My theory on the purpose of wings on starships in the SWU is that they are part of the "ethereal rudder" vectoring system mentioned in the X-Wing novels.
So TIE wing panels could serve multiple functions, as heat dissipators, solar ionization collectors, maneuvering system planar arrays and comm antennas. The idea of a piece of equipment that takes up so much of a TIE's volume serving more than one purpose is an appealing one.
Also, my long-term explanation for sound in space is that cockpits are fitted with surround sound audio systems in the cockpit that allow a pilot to "hear" what direction a sensor contact is. I call it an Ears-Up Display. |
I like this. It would better explain why the huge panels on the TIE fighter seems like such a radical departure from older fighter designs. Ears-up Display is a fine idea too. Would that be a feature of Passive sensors or a seperate system all together? Would the roar of a TIE fighter be because it has a bigger ion "wake" ? |
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16178
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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| CaptainKorbak wrote: | | Good point. AUs aren't used at all in Star Wars are they. Hmmm. Maybe "within the habitable band zone of a stellar system"? I am sure there is abetter way to phrase that. |
I used the system design rules from Battlefleet Gothic for this. It bases engine performance on proximity to a star.
It's also noteworthy that most planets have an ionosphere, so something like this would function anywhere one would find ions concentrating, even if quite a distance from the system primary, such as in the orbit of a gas giant.
It also raises the question of how a craft designed to scoop up ions for fuel would react to a hit from an ion cannon...
| Quote: | | It would better explain why the huge panels on the TIE fighter seems like such a radical departure from older fighter designs. Ears-up Display is a fine idea too. Would that be a feature of Passive sensors or a seperate system all together? Would the roar of a TIE fighter be because it has a bigger ion "wake" ? |
I'd rather go with specific audio signatures being used to represent the different energy signatures being emitted by different types of ships. The "TIE roar" would be like plugging a speaker into an oscilloscope and hearing an audio translation of what the energy signature "sounds" like. Of course, system designers could also configure the audio output to match the in-atmosphere noise made by the type of ship in question.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
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Whill
Dark Lord of the Jedi (Owner/Admin)
Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 10297
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 12:04 am Post subject: Re: TIE Wing Panels |
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| CRMcNeill wrote: | So, calling the wings on TIE Fighters "solar panels" has always induced a mental eye-roll from me. It's obvious they are tied to engine function somehow, but the SWU has never been clear and consistent about what they do...
So TIE wing panels could serve multiple functions, as heat dissipators, solar ionization collectors, maneuvering system planar arrays and comm antennas. The idea of a piece of equipment that takes up so much of a TIE's volume serving more than one purpose is an appealing one. |
That's cool. But I would be equally interested in a good explanation for the standard tie panel design that narrows the pilot's direct view. What if flight sensors go out? It's a lot smaller of a problem for the Advanced and Interception models. Aesthetically, standard TIEs are iconic-looking to me, but logically it just doesn't seem to make much sense from a design perspective.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16178
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 1:53 am Post subject: Re: TIE Wing Panels |
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| Whill wrote: | | But I would be equally interested in a good explanation for the standard tie panel design that narrows the pilot's direct view. What if flight sensors go out? It's a lot smaller of a problem for the Advanced and Interception models. Aesthetically, standard TIEs are iconic-looking to me, but logically it just doesn't seem to make much sense from a design perspective. |
It's part of the Imperial mindset that they approach problems from a technology-solution standpoint. The solution I invented for them in this instance ties in with the WEG stats for the helmets worn by TIE pilots. Specifically, it provides a bonus of +1D to Sensors. Since Electro-Photo Receptors (essentially, holo-cameras) are a common feature of starship sensor systems (per the SW Sourcebook), that +1D bonus would also to apply to visual scanning (perhaps offsetting a -1D Perception penalty on account of the wing panels blocking line-of-sight). So, as part of the TIE, put an array of wide-angle EPRs with overlapping fields of view tied into a central processor that projects the view onto the inside of the helmet visor, shifting the view as the pilot moves his head. It would essentially give the pilot the ability to look through his own fighter's hull and wings.
As for damage? They're TIEs. For gaming purposes, I'd rule that any damage severe enough to damage the camera system is going to be at least Severely Damaged, at which point the pilot will have bigger problems. Add that to the Imperial perception of TIEs as ultimately disposable, and, well...
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
Last edited by CRMcNeill on Fri Nov 24, 2017 4:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Whill
Dark Lord of the Jedi (Owner/Admin)
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16178
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 7:34 am Post subject: |
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| Whill wrote: | | Thanks, CRM. |
Glad to be of service.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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DirkCorman
Lieutenant Commander
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| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 12:04 pm Post subject: |
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And with my Shock TIE, they are circular..
Also, covered with a special coating they deflect certain sensor sweeps. |
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