I hate that they changed that final shot in RotJ to replace Sebastian Shaw with Christensen... I really didn't care to see that twit stare through his eyebrows at the camera one more time... Watching the OT used to be about forgetting that miserable performace.
lol Personally, that didn't really bother me. I was more bothered that all they did was replace Shaw's head with Christensen's. That's why Hayden's build doesn't match the prequels. But yeah, even though I like Hayden, I think it wiser to have left Sebastian alone for ROTJ.
Anyway, regarding ion cannons, the main reason why they're so effective in combat is that they actually bypass deflector shields. An ability that's misrepresented in Star Wars games. Typically in Star Wars games, ion cannons deal extra damage to deflector shields rather than ignoring them altogether. And naturally, the power of the ion bolt depends on the type of ion cannon system it's fired from like the B-wing's more powerful SW-7a ion cannons versus the Y-wing's SW-4 ion cannons.
Speaking of deflector shields. They're another element that's been incorrectly portrayed. There are
two basic types. Energy shields for deflecting laser fire and particle shields for deflecting physical attacks such as concussion missiles, proton torpedoes, space debris, those pesky asteroids, etc. Most craft are equipped with both types, but neither have been implemented correctly in past games.
You'd think that a company like LA, a division of LFL, who has access to all official Star Wars canon, tech manuals, schematics, etc., could make a great Star Wars game that implements great gameplay mechanics without unnecessarily skewering canon. lol Shame on LA. As much as I love the classic X-wing & T.I.E. Fighter series, they were among the first to absolutely butcher canon. So much for the term
simulator.
Aren't the Ion Cannon equipped fighters mentioned more heavily in the EU content? I also don't remember much Y-Wing and B-Wing combat from the films, but its been awhile.
The B-wings don't see any combat in the films whatsoever. "All craft pull up!" is the last you ever see of the B-wing at the battle of endor. Meanwhile the Y-Wings in both films just tend to get blown apart. I recall one spiraling into a Star Destroyer in BoE right before one of the cuts to the surface of Endor.
Okay, I know this is an old post, but I just wanted to put my two cents in. I hope nobody minds.
There were only 8 Y-wings that participated in the BOY, only two had working ion cannons. Of course 3 dove into the trench, but according to LFL, the other 5 were engaging the T.I.E.s, turbo lasers, and deflection towers "just off screen".
During the BOE, Y-wings were successfully engaging Imperial forces including T.I.E. Interceptors as there were a couple scenes showing Y-wings pursuing and destroying them. And aside from the one scene you mentioned with the Y-wing getting blasted and slamming into the SD's hull, I can't remember any other scenes showing a Y-wing getting blitzed. I'll have to check it out. lol
Unfortunately, the extensive B-wing scenes planned for ROTJ had to be cut due to the limitations of '80s blue screen technology working against the B-wing's design. I'm still miffed LFL never included CG versions of the original B-wing scenes for the SE releases.
