Technological Innovation

I have spoken before about the technological plateau of the Star Wars universe. It remains for me, a child of the 20th century, a difficult concept to grasp. So many things have changed so drastically even in my short time on this earth. When I first started playing Star Wars, I hadn't really given any of this much thought. I had just assumed that all the technology of the clone wars (which, at the time, I thought was 30 years prior to the original trilogy), was obsolete junk compared to the 'new' stuff we see in the movies. Just like WWI bi-planes were crap compared WWII fighters.

But that obviously isn't supposed to be the case.

It doesn't help that West End Games lost the Star Wars license prior to the prequel trilogy. Thus, all the ships and tech from those movies has no 'official' game stats to build off of. Then again, considering how wonky WEG stats were, maybe that's not such a bad thing. But in any case, all of this is just a prelude to one of my current tasks—creating coherent stats 'accross the board' for vehicles and technology of both the Original and Prequel trilogies.

What I have decided is this: There IS a nudge up in overall performance between the Clone Wars and Rebellion Eras. It isn't anything drastic, number-wise, but for a technologically 'stagnant' civilization like the Star Wars Galaxy, it is notable. Considering the amount of strife and social upheaval during this time period—the pressures put on designers working for the Empire and the Rebellion—I think it is logical enough that things could change. Maybe the plateau climbs a couple more feet. Considering the fact I don't really have to worry about history in the 'long run', it works just fine for me!

...unless you consider the New Republic Era and its technologies. Do you move THOSE up another notch? Perhaps. Though maybe it is more just a 'streamlining' of technological concepts developed during the previous era—now that there is a little breathing room to actually stop and think before throwing things into combat. Well, anyway, that's what I'm thinking at the moment. Back to work.