VADER'S NEWSLETTER
BLOG ISSUE #4
STAR WARS CELEBRATIONS
"WE ARE NOW PART OF THE TRIBE"
Well my friends it is here. May the 4th, the unofficial Star Wars day, is almost upon us. But I say why not celebrate more than just May the 4th and May 25th? Ladies and gentlemen I give you the Revenge of the 5th, my own contribution towards celebrating Star Wars! With the official Star Wars day coming up on May 25th our calendars will be bursting with opportunities to revel in Star Wars. In the past year a lot has happened to the Star Wars galaxy. Star Wars the Force Unleashed was released and hailed the creation of works bridging the gap between episode III and IV. Star Wars the Clone Wars blasted it's way into theaters and then invaded our television screens through the Clone Wars television show. The fun and excitement doesn't end there because the second season the Clone Wars will be hitting our TV screens this fall and our weekly enjoyment of Star Wars will resume. In the coming days I hope we can all look back at the amazing things that have happened in the Star Wars galaxy since that legendary day back on May 25th 1977 and appreciate all things Star Wars (except for Jar Jar). All of you who celebrate May the 4th (May the 4th be with you), May the 5th (Revenge of the 5th), or May 25th (Official Star Wars day) please send in pictures of your celebrations and a short description of how you celebrated Star Wars and I will include it in our next newsletter's headline.

STAR WARS TECHNICAL CORNER

WHERE YOU SEE HOW THOSE MACHINES WORK
The subject of the Star Wars Technical Corner this time is the Republic All-Terrain Recon-Transport (AT-RT). The AT-RT was just one of the many precursors to the Imperial All-Terrain Scout-Transport (AT-ST) but was still a formidable machine capable of extraordinary agility and impressive firepower. The AT-RT had a major flaw due to the fact that it lacked a covered cockpit. The AT-RT pilot was completely exposed. The AT-RT was released after the debut of the Repblic's clone army on the plains of Geonosis and thus the Republic lacked many troopers capable of piloting it. Some of the only troopers capable of piloting an AT-RT compitently before the introduction of specialized AT-RT drivers were the ARF (Advance Recon Force) Troopers. The ARF Troopers differed from clone commandos and ARC troopers because they were an almost purely reconnaissance unit of clone troopers rather than a unit that excelled at sneak attacks. The ARF Trooper's specialized reconnaissance equipment was vital to communicating over the long distances that AT-RT units traveled from the main unit of clones and the Republic kept this in mind when they equipped the AT-RT drivers. The AT-RT drivers were often equipped with standard DC-15A blaster rifles or DC-15S blaster pistols, several thermal detonators rather than just one like the standard clone troopers, and enhanced comlink capable of long range communication like the ARF troopers, and a lifeform scanner strapped to their chests.

DISCUSSION CENTRAL

WHERE YOU CAN VOICE YOUR OPINION
This issue we will be discussing the Republic-class star destroyer. The Republic-class is supposed to boast more than 1 and a 1/3 times the power of an Imperial 1-class but unfortunately the artist tried to make it look like a combination of an Alliance Mon Calamari Cruiser and an Imperial Star Destroyer but just ended up making it look dumb U_U. Do you think it should be scrapped , re-designed (by yours truly), or kept as it is? Write in to me at steinerknievel@yahoo.com or just leave a comment on the blog. See ya next time and remember, the Force will be with you...Always.

LINKS TO ARTICLES DISCUSSED IN THE NEWSLETTER:

AT-RT:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/AT-RT
AT-RT DRIVER:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/AT-RT_driver
ARF TROOPER:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/ARF_trooper
REPUBLIC-CLASS STAR DESTROYER:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Republic-class_Star_Destroyer
IMPERIAL 1- CLASS STAR DESTROYER:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_I-class_Star_Destroyer
MAY THE 4TH:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/May_4th
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Day
MAY 25TH:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080203135805/www.starwars.com/community/event/celebration/news20070510d.html

Vader's Newsletter
BLOG ISSUE #3

Star Wars Missions
IT'S ONE IN A MILLION KID
I have recently been playing the Star Wars Missions game. My friend Chris Bender very graciously (my thanks dude ^^) lent me the books to the game because I did not have them and so ever since I aquired them I have been zooming off to more adventures across a galaxy far far away then I can count. The game is played by first picking up the mission book and reading through a pre-mission story that sets the playing field for your mission. After you have read through the pre-mission you select a person from the availabe characters along with a vehicle and some weapons and you are ready to get going. Once you enter the mission itself the book narrates many of your actions until a confrontation or other peril occurs in which you will have the option to either avoid or fight whatever the problem is. A simple statistic system determines what you will need to roll with either a 6 or 12 sided dice. If you roll within the alloted numbers you procede triumphantly. If you fail however, you will be forced to face a penalty and either re-do the confrontation or take another course of action altogether. Many of the missions given to have you playing through as a character from the Rebel Alliance, but some of them allow you to play as a Stormtrooper or even a Bounty Hunter. What struck me most about the simple system used to play the game was not the game itself, but the fact that using very rudimentry tecniques you could easily duplicate cards and maps or you could even create your own (which I intend to do in the near future =D ) The Star Wars Missions systems is a system capable of granting hours of entertainment to countless numbers of people and has the potential to expand for as long as the Star Wars galaxy continues to grow.

Star Wars Technical Corner
WHERE YOU SEE HOW THOSE MACHINES WORK
This week the Republic's DC-15S blaster will be getting discussed in the technical corner. The DC-15S was designed by BlasTech for the clone army used by the Republic during the Clone Wars. The DC-15S was light enough that is was able to be dual wielded but was rarely used in this way. The DC-15S featured a stock that could fold back to give it's weilder more accuracy. Despite it's small size the DC-15S featured almost as much firepower as the much larger E-5 blaster rifle. The DC-15S could also be fitted with modifications like grapling hooks as was seen when clone commander Rex and the Torrent squadron of the 501st Legion used these to ascend the sheer cliff that lay ahead of the B'omarr Monk monastary on Teth. The DC-15 carried (like most blaster weapons) an astounding amount of shots and each of it's power packs held enough energy for around 500 shots. The DC-15A blaster rifle was the primary weapon of the clone army at the beginning of the war, but as the war dragged on the Republic decided it would be more cost effective to switch almost entirely to the DC-15S. The designs of the DC-15S would later be used to produce the BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle, which is also known as the "Stormtrooper Rifle" due to it's almost exclusive use by the Empire.

Discussion Central
WHERE YOU CAN VOICE YOUR OPINION
The discussion topic for this week will be the expanded universe of the Star Wars Galaxy. Do you think its the greatest thing since roasted Nerf or do you think thats its Bantha Poodoo? The Star Wars expanded universe is full of stories both good and bad that tell the continued tale of the Rebel Alliance's rise to power after Return of the Jedi, but deal with fantastic events that would make even the most hardcore fan shake his head and wonder. They also contain thrilling tales of adventure and wonder that will make you hungry for more. Send your opinions and comments in to steinerknievel@yahoo.com or just post it as a comment on this blog.

LINKS RELATED TO THE TOPIC DISCUSSED:
STAR WARS MISSIONS:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Missions
DC-15 BLASTER (ALL VARIATIONS):
http://starwar.wikia.com/wiki/DC-15
E-5 BLASER RIFLE
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/E-5_blaster_rifle
E-11 BLASTER RIFLE:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/E-11_blaster_rifle

B'OMAR MONK MONASTERY (ALL KNOWN):
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/B%27omarr_Monastery

THIS IS A BIASED PAPER

THE HYPE DIDN'T MATCH REALITY
The name the Force Unleashed brings to mind images of classic Star Wars characters performing outageous moves with the aid of the force. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The Force Unleashed didn't match the hype that accompanied it due to it's unbelievable storyline, generic characters, and one-dimesional lightsaber fighting system.

The game's story is about Darth Vader's "secret" apprentice. The apprentice is a rather plain looking young man who is unfortunately nothing like his master. He starts as a loyal servant who is willing to risk his life for his master's bidding, but as the game moves on he becomes softer and softer and even begins to befriend the very people who seek to destroy the Empire his master serves. Eventually the apprentice betrays Vader entirely, even going as far as to try to kill his former master. If not for the Emperor's timely intervention Vader wouldn't have survived the battle with his former apprentice.

Many outrageous claims are made throughout the course of the game. The apprentice is even given credit for the creation of the Rebel Alliance, right down to it's symbol. Many people will be happy to learn that jedi master Shak Ti survived order 66, but has strangely gone from almost religiously wearing long robes to wearing an outfit that could barely pass for a bikini. Shak Ti has also taken on an apprentice of her own: Maris Brood. Judging from her disfunctional lightsabers and lack of clothing you can tell that Maris shares her master's lack of common sense. When we first see Maris she is a slightly troubled jedi padawan, but the next time you encounter her she has turned to the dark side and is equal in power to the apprentice. The strange lack of
clothing that plagues the game's femal characters doesn't end with Shak Ti and Maris Brood. Even the apprentice's conveniently female pilot finds herself unable to follow Imperial dress codes by keeping her shirt closed.

The graphics on the game are unbelievable and represent the Star Wars galaxy in almost perfect accuracy. The character models are stunning and almost eerily lifelike and the games environments are rendered beautifully, but appear shiny and metallic even when they shouldn't. The game's lightsaber fighting engine was, sadly, lacking. There wasn't a solid enough system to believe that you were controlling a deadly sith warrior. The ability to control the force was the game's strong point. Your character had extremely precise control of the force and the game's engine represented the force just as well, if not better, than it's movie counterparts. While most of the force powers look utterly perfect some look strange and distorted. For example: when the
apprentice uses sith lightning his hands are at a completely incorrect angle and the lightning is coming out of his palms rather than his fingertips as it should. The game also has problems with the force maelstom move, and the force bubble had a tendency to explode either before or after the apprentice performed the move's animation. An implausible story, common characters, and substandard lightsaber fighting is what kept the Force Unleashed from matching up to the hype that followed it.

Vader's Newsletter
WHERE A GEEK CAN BE A GEEK
BLOG ISSUE #2
The Curtain Comes Down
CLONE WARS SEASON #1 ENDS
Well my friends, season 1 of the Clone Wars has come to an end and we will have to waittill fall to see more. Throughout the many episodes of the first season we have seen many enlightening events and thrilling adventures, but the final episode brought about a series of events unlike anything seen so far. During the course of the episode a group of bounty hunters infiltrate and take control of one of the wings of the Republic Senate building before proceeding to hold a number of Republic senators hostage.The ease with which the bounty hunters were able to capture the building perfectly illustrates the weakness of Old Republic security. Further into the Clone Wars the Senate building would be constantly kept in a state of emergency and guarded 24-7 by Clone Shock Troopers. Incidents like the aforementioned senate hostage situation and the abduction of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine during the battle of Coruscant seriously shook the comfortable idea of security that many Republic citicens have and was a major reason for the overwhelming success of the movement to Imperialize the Republic. Further episodes of the Clone Wars will no doubt show the transition of the Old Republic from democracy to empire.

Star Wars Technical Corner
WHERE YOU SEE HOW THOSE MACHINES WORK
Here we are again for another Star Wars Technical Corner. This time we will be telling you about the Republic TX-130 Saber-Class Fighter Tank (TX-130S), a little known battle machine commonly used throughout the Clone Wars. The TX-130S (also called the IFT-X) was an effective hover tank designed and constructed by Rothana Heavy Engineering. Despite the fact that it would later be put aside in favor of it's successors the TX-130T and 2-M Hover Tank the TX-130S was a revolutionary design for it's time and featured both heavy weaponry and a deflector-shield generator. The TX-130S boasted a massive payload of concussion missiles, powerful twin laser cannons, and (in later models) a beam cannon turret. The beam cannon turret was fixed onto the entrance hatch of the tank and was capable of rotating 360 degrees. It was amazingly powerful for the time and carried enough stopping power to bring down Seperatist Vulture Droids in a single shot. The twin laser cannons were mounted on either side of the tank and were linked to fire in turns, so as to conserve both energy and tibanna gas. Jedi frequently took to piloting these craft due to their amazing speed and manueverability and often led squadrons of TX-130s to great success. Even during the times of the Galactic Civil War the TX-130S is commonly used by planetary defense forces and regional governments in large numbers. The 130S was able to use momentary speed boosts (monitored by an onboard R2 unit) to quickly escape from any nearby enemy or threat. It was also armed with a highly-efficient scope attached to the main turret so that pilots could pick enemies off from a safe distance. The TX-130S was one of the finest hover tanks ever designed and gave birth to entire lines of extraordinary battle machines, thereby ensuring its place in the history of Star Wars vehicles...

Discussion Central
WHERE YOU CAN VOICE YOUR OPINION
This issue's discussion topic is the Death Star. The Death Star is the single most powerful machine featured in the original Star Wars trilogy. Admiral Motti claims it is the ultimate power in the universe. Vader claims that it is insignifigant next to the power of the force. Which do you agree with? Send your thoughts, comments, questions, or anything else to me to have it answered and featured in the next newsletter.

LIST OF LINKS TO TO SOME OF THE ARTICLES DISCUSSED:
TX-130 SABER-CLASS FIGHTER TANK:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TX-130S
TX-130T FIGHTER TANK:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TX-130T_fighter_tank
2-M REPULSOR TANK:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/2-M_repulsor_tank

LIST OF LINKS RELATED TO SENATE HOSTAGE CRISIS:
EP - 22 HOSTAGE CRISIS
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hostage_Crisis
CAD BANE:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cad_Bane
AURRA SING:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Aurra_Sing
ROBONINO:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Robonino
SHAHAN ALAMA:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Shahan_Alama
IG-86 SENTINEL DROID:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/IG-86_sentinel_droid
BX DROID COMMANDO:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/BX-series_droid_commando
SENATE COMMANDO:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Senate_Commando

VADER'S NEWSLETTER

BLOG ISSUE #1

STUNNING MESSUP ON CLONE WARS:
BOTCHED BROADCAST GIVES PEEK AT NEW EPISODE
Last week's showing of Star Wars:The Clone Wars showed episode 9:Cloak of Darkness in which Seperatist leader Nute Gunray is freed from Republic imprisonment by Asajj Ventress and the a traitorous Captain Argyus of the Senate Commandos (the men in blue armor who follow Palpatine around) had been shown early on Starwars.com! The way that the website's Clone Wars archives work is that a week after the an episode has aired on TV it will be released for viewing on the website. In this manner you will be a week behind, but won't have to pay for cable TV. By the time that that episode 9 had aired on TV episode 10:Lair of Greivous had already been posted on the website. In episode 10 Kit Fisto and his apprentice Nahdar Vebb are sent after Nute Gunray but soon find that they have been tricked and are confined within the booby-trap ridden lair of General Greivous. The fact that episode 10 has been broadcast on the website before on television gives unique bragging rights to many fans who watch the clone wars via their computer's and allows for shocking (albeit early) revelations to those who have not yet seen episode 10.

STAR WARS TECHNICAL CORNER:
WHERE YOU SEE HOW ALL THOSE MACHINES WORK
This week on Star Wars Techinical Corner we are going to talk about the little-know Republic All-Terrain Personal-Transport (AT-PT). The AT-PT was designed decades before the Clone Wars, but was overlooked during the arming of the Clone Army. Sometime during the Clone Wars the republic found the need for a heavier walker than their All-Terrain Recon-Transport (AT-RT) and a lighter walker that the All-Terrain Tactical-Enforcer (AT-TE) and that was when they discovered the AT-PT. Unfortunately the AT-PT was never put into active duty due to the Katana Fleet incident in which a group of Dreadnought-class cruisers that had been slaved together (being slaved together means that the lead ship controls all the rest) was attacked by a deadly virus (this virus may have been a strain of the virus used against the clones of kamino) during a hyperspace jump. The crew of the lead ship died before they could disengage the hyperdrive and the rest of the crew onboard the ships died of the virus shortly afterwards. Most of the shipment of AT-PTs that the Republic had ordered for testing were onboard the Katana fleet and so when it disapeared that was pretty much the end of any chance that the AT-PT had of making it into active duty. The AT-PT was armed extraordinarily well for a walker of the pre-clone wars era. A powerful twin blaster-cannon was located on the walker's chin and a devestating concusion-grenade launcher was mounted on the lower section of the walker's chasis. The AT-PT primarily held only 1 man but could carry a passenger in emergencies and was modiefied in later versions to hold a gunner.

DISCUSSION CENTRAL:
WHERE YOU CAN VOICE YOUR OPINION
This week's discussion topic is the expanded universe of the Dark Empire series. Many controversial events occur within the pages of these 2 books including the spontanious bestowing of force powers to individuals, using the force to inhabit other people's bodies, new imperial superweapons, multiple romances, and new (and strange) characters. Be sure to write in to have your comments and paper's featured in the newsletter.
LINKS TO SOME OF THE ARTICLES DISCUSSED:
KATANA FLEET:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Katana_fleet
AT-PT:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/All_Terrain_Personal_Transport
AT-RT:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/All_Terrain_Recon_Transport
AT-TE:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/All_Terrain_Tactical_Enforcer
DREADNOUGHT:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dreadnaught-class_heavy_cruiser
HIVE VIRUS:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/All_Terrain_Tactical_Enforcer
FIRST CREATED ON 12-29-08