Got any writing tips for introducing two characters in the middle of war in a believable way? Thanks for all you do with your blog and for being so patient and kind about it!

I mean, there are so many different ways to go with any character. Personally, I draw a lot on canon examples like TCW to get a feel of how certain groups tend to react to such situations. I can certainly help you out with the details of the war itself, and possibly even some specific things about your characters, depending, but I can’t claim to know a lot of things about writing a character in the middle of a war in general. However, depending on the sorts of things you’re hoping to explore, you may find @transcriptroopers, @scriptmedic, or @scripttraumasurvivors useful. I hope you find what you’re looking for!

~ Jacen

What are the differences between an X-wing and a TIE Fighter when it comes to piloting them?

Alright, this took a while! Sorry! Let’s start with functional differences of the fighters:

A TIE/LN fighter is faster in atmosphere (max speed 1,200 km/h) and has a higher maximum acceleration in space (4,100 G). It is also more maneuverable than an X-wing (rating of about 100 DPF). It has no hyperdrive, shielding, or life support systems, so the pilot must wear a pressurized flight suit. It comes equipped with two laser cannons but no projectile weapons, though missile tubes can be added. It’s a one-person craft, includes a distress beacon and an ejector seat (though many pilots choose not to use them), and usually carries one or two days’ worth of consumables as well as 65-110 kg of cargo. 

An X-wing (T-65; other models are different) can do a max speed of 1,050 km/h in atmosphere (faster with deflector shields on) and a max acceleration of 3,700 G in space, and has a maneuverability rating of 75 DPF, making it slower and less maneuverable than a TIE. It has a Class 1.0 hyperdrive (on the faster side), deflector shields, and life support, with space for one pilot, one astromech, 110 kg of cargo, and one week of consumables. It’s armed with four laser cannons, which can be programmed to fire in a variety of patterns, and two proton torpedo launchers equipped with three torpedoes each. 

In terms of the experience, a TIE can be described as touchy and sensitive to fly, due to its speed and agility. Pilots go through a lot of intense training to learn how to fly them well, with only 10% of trainees graduating from the flight academies. When flying, the pilot uses their feet to operate the control yokes and their hands to operate the control rods. Flying a TIE can be very claustrophobic, because the pilot must be strapped tightly into their shock couch, and because they must listen to the sound of their breathing tubes for hours at a time. 

The most noted characteristic of flying an X-wing is that the etheric rudders on its engines give it maneuverability such that it feels like flying in atmosphere. Since the fighter was equipped with life support, the pilot only has to wear the simple orange flight suit we see in the movies, and they have a lot more freedom of motion in the cockpit. Unlike a TIE, the X-wing can fly out on its own and does not rely on a carrier ship to take it to and from battles. The pilot’s preference in regards to the inertial compensator also does a lot to affect the flying experience. Set high (98-100%), they will feel little as a result of their combat maneuvers. Most experienced pilots will dial it down to 95-97% in order to get a sense of how they are moving through space and how the ship is performing. Due to the extreme speeds these craft can travel at, doing harsh maneuvers at even this high a setting seems to be roughly comparable to flying a fighter jet. 

I hope that helps!

~ Jacen

What do you think of the purgill and their helpfulness/ destructiveness?

I think they’re such a neat concept, I’m really loving all of Rebels’ new animals. It’s very interesting to see these animals who’ve been around for millennia and millennia willing to help out the crew (I’m kind of a sucker for Jedi-animal partnerships). And it’s interesting to consider that their example led to the invention of the hyperdrive (in new canon) and now they’re known for interfering with hyperspace travel and are shot on sight. I do hope they show up again somewhere. (I think it’d be cool if we got a canon book around the Before the Republic era involving them!)

~ Jacen

Would it ever be possible to use as a defense the propagation of a virus or reverse hack into an astromech as it links up to a central computer?

I’m no expert on computers, but we have seen this sort of thing before. In one episode of Rebels, the Empire manages to take control of Chopper and use him as a spy after he hooks up to an Imperial data port. From what I know of viruses (in the real world), it could be possible for a droid to get one if it downloaded something containing it. From what I know of them in Star Wars, one could hack into a droid using an artificially intelligent virus, and use that to take over its systems or search through its memory files.

Hope that helps!

~ Jacen

In the rogue one novelization the author made it clear that Yavin 4 smelled like rotting vegetation (mentioning it several times). Why has this never been an issue before this author’s commentary? No one seemed to mind in any movie instance of visiting Yavin 4 and people build their homes there? Just wondering, it’s a silly question but it stood out like a sore thumb in the novel.

I honestly have no clue. I can’t recall it being mentioned before, though I suppose many of the people who did go to live there have already spent a good deal of time on the planet and may have gotten used to it? Maybe it’s just a quirk of the new canon? Who knows!

~ Jacen

Is there a way to time a tractor beam? In Rebels, Hera gets Darth Vader caught up in the tractor beam of a star destroyer all because she evaded it?

I expect there is a way to program a targeting computer to activate a tractor beam in response to some sort of stimulus, but in the case of that incident I would guess that the beam operator simply got the wrong target while trying to capture Hera. A tractor beam is projected in much the same way a turbolaser is fired, by which I mean that an operator and/or a computer must get a lock on a target first in order to increase their chances of hitting it. If the ship’s evasive maneuvers work well enough, the operator may be unable to get that lock. 

~ Jacen

Hi again! I’m writing a story about cad bane and I just had two questions about Duros biology that i couldn’t figure out. 1: are duros warm blooded or cold blooded or somewhere in the middle? I have him go to a snowy planet similar to hoth or orto plutonium and I was just wondering if the cold temperatures would give him more trouble that usual. That was all. Have a wonderful day! :D

It’s never specifically said (sorry!) but since Duros are distant descendants of reptiles, it’s more likely that they are cold-blooded. If you choose to interpret him this way, then he would have trouble with a cold planet, yes. (Also I can’t help but notice that that was just one question? Was there another part?)

Hope that helps!

~ Jacen

Do you know of any tech that exists to stop a control takeover like how han locked on to the falcon in TFA?

In this case, a simple tractor beam was used. There are ways to counter it, but they aren’t so common. If the ship has a shroud fitted, it will be able to disrupt the tracking lock of the tractor beam and escape. Naturally, they don’t come standard. A very small, fast ship may be able to outmaneuver the beam, if it can outrun the targeting computer or operator. Damage to the tractor beam or power systems may also weaken or shut off the beam. 

~ Jacen

How often did the Empire and rebellion have to deal with space pirates, you think? Especially in terms of supplies and info? It seems like any of them could be bought and sold, much like DJ in TLJ.

It was pretty common for the Empire to have to deal with pirates, especially since the Alliance was known to hire privateers to interfere with Imperial shipping. The Empire did also use them, but generally less often and on a shorter leash. We don’t see as many pirate attacks against the Rebellion as the Empire, perhaps because the Rebellion didn’t own a whole lot for a long time, or perhaps because many pirates were not friends of the Empire themselves. The Rebel privateers didn’t really go after information, that was handled by spies, but they did seize supplies, resources, parts, cash, and even ships. They would attack anything from merchant ships to bases to mining facilities. Usually they had to hand half of what they took over to the Alliance and could do what they liked with the rest, though they often gave or sold more than that. 

Hope that helps!

~ Jacen