Here's another method for rating universes:
Set all weapons technology equal. The same systems that operate behind turbolasers operate the Terran Huge Turret, etc...
In this scenario, FS pwns.
Not at all, since we have no idea what the table values for the ISD's guns are. What about ISD-mounted beam weapons, as seen on the Open Circle Fleet (not strictly ISDs, but actually more primitive ships)?
Turbolasers appear to be about the size of a WWII AA gun or battleship deck gun. THTs are larger than your average house, and the barrels' diameter is the length of a fighter. Thus, THT = turbolaser on steroids in said equivalency scenario.
In FS canon the same weapons are fired from turrets of vastly varying size so this is hardly relevant. Look at the flak firing from those COLOSSAL Hecate turrets!
I'm probably going to get upbraided for being all about size, so I'll move on to a more comprehensive argument:
On-screen evidence is the best indicator of actual power, and the lasers used in bombardment in KOTOR are a little more powerful than a cruise missile.
In FS, we never see a canonical planetary bombardment, but seeing how large and powerful the blasts of nuclear devices are w/o any atmosphere to transfer kinetic energy, just unleashing one Harbinger or Helios in atmo would = serious s**t.
Actually, the blasts of the nuclear weapons in FS are pretty tiny compared to what they should be on FS scales.
Also, seeing that beam cannons can do equivalent damage, we can assume a beam would cause damage similar to a nuclear device if fired towards a planet. I'm not sure about EU, but to my knowledge, no movie-era SW starships carry similar firepower.
Yeah, but the SWverse seems to blow up planets - fully disintegrating them, not just taking out the surface! - so it's kind of a wash.
SW does have hyperspace, and while it may be faster than subspace travel, the ships must arrive in the same orientation as departure, and must use hyperspace lanes, very similar to subspace nodes, thus limiting maneuverability.
How is the orientation thing at all important?
Hyperspace lanes aren't anything like subspace nodes. Hyperspace offers tremendous freedom over long distances. Subspace offers in-system freedom or tiny linear hops between close systems.
The argument that an ISD could traverse the entire GTVA in a matter of minutes needs more supporting evidence. How far apart are GTVA systems?
Use a basic star chart: almost all GTVA systems are real stars.
What stellar obstacles are in the way? Subspace allows a ship to move without fearing collision with another celestial body.
Given canonical travel times, a Star Wars ship moving in a straight line would probably cross GTVA space in seconds. These guys can get across the
galaxy in a reasonable timespan. GTVA space is literally a tiny chunk of one spiral arm.
Interdictors would not be able to stop a FS fleet jump. No canon examples of an FS ship being pulled out of subspace due to gravity exist, giving FS ships a safe haven from attack since no node technology exists in SW.
We have no idea whether they would or wouldn't. There's no grounds for comparison.
Using nodes to travel in the SWverse, however, is akin to moving your troops by wheelchair and tricycle.
And as for Orion v. ISD, an FS1 Orion might barely squeak out a victory, FS2-era would dominate. Even with the shields, an ISD's can be lowered by sustained turbolaser fire. A beam cannon is equivalent to thousands of turbolaser blasts, and could quickly pierce these shields and make quick work of the ISD's hull.
We have no idea what a beam cannon is equivalent to.
The point of all this is that any comparison between the two universes requires a ridiculous amount of assumption and wank.
Furthermore, the fundamental idea that the
coolness of a universe is somehow related to whether it can
beat another universe is just absurd.
