[chief1983]

Proton torps go through ray shields, I believe there are also particle shields that would stop a proton torpedo.

[jr2]

...Right, but I was of the impression that they were designed to punch through those.  Ray shields, of course, would have null effect.  Particle shields, IIRC, can be punched through with multiple proton torps.

[Agent_Koopa]

That actually makes sense... might not be accurate, but it certainly sounds accurate.

It's just my personal theory on the ISD structure.  I just wanted to throw out my 0.02 Imperial credits.

But seriously, a shield generator and a shield projector are the exact same thing. Destroying either takes out the whole system. It's always been my understanding that the shields are projected in a bubble around the generator, and can be fine-tuned to adjust the size and positioning, as well as to create a shield around the entire ship.

They're not exactly the same thing.  The generator creates the energy needed for the shield, while the projector actually emits the energy around the ship.  The generator can be buried deep in the ship, because you can use a power conduit to bring the energy to the projector.  But the projector would need to be placed in an external location on the ship to ensure maximum coverage for the shield.  By putting the projectors on top of the bridge, you can get the most coverage, at the expense of protection.  But you're right in that if you blow up either, the whole system goes down.

Then the shield generator is simply a dedicated reactor, not a structure designed for the express purpose of channelling energy into a shield bubble, unless of course you mean that shields are composed of, say, alpha radiation, or something, and therefore needs a reactor designed to produce that sort of particle.

[jr2]

I always thought of shields as some sort of electro-magnetic force field operating at a certain frequency... who knows.  It's hard to understand something that only exists in yours & others' imagination.