[karajorma]

The GTVA were already in full retreat at that point. It seems pretty unlikely they'd retreat everything else but move the Colossus into the 2nd Knossos.

[Bobboau]

speaking of the com nodes, now might be a fun time to point out that they are the only object other than the knossos it'self, to have the "knossos" ship flag. which means as far as the game engine was concerned, they are little more than knossos devices.

as to whether or not this has any impact on cannon or not I can't say, but it does show that V might have had more plans for those things.

[Snail]

Personally I find it unlikely that they are graviton disruption devices or life support systems. The term "comm node" in itself is rather descriptive already.

[Hades]

I agree with Snail.
Oh yea if you go close enough to one you can hear Shivan communications.
Or at least in retail FS2

[Snail]

I think it's the engine sound of the ship that makes the comm node sound.

[Hades]

But try it some time, that is not the usual Shivan sound, that sounds like the communications you here from the cruiser that talks to Bosch in one of the Nebula missions.

[Snail]

I've checked; the Comm Node sound is the engine sound, so it will work in FreeSpace open too. Given that it's also the ETAK sound, it more or less confirms that the Comm Node is just that, a Comm Node.

[Hades]

Yes, it is not anything else than a comm node or a fighter AI deathtrap.

[Snail]

If you liked Snail's Theory, then you'll love his Shivan Comm Node non-canon unofficial tech description!

All details concerning this object have been classified level Omega, accessible only by those immediately authorized by the GTVA Security Council.

These enigmatic static emplacements are essentially extremely powerful subspace communication arrays. It is theorized that these communication terminals, or Shivan Communication Nodes, as they have been named, are designed with the purpose of communicating with specific points over intergalactic distances.  However, the amount of energy needed to do so is immense, and hence upon its destruction considerable amounts of energy are released. The spinning blades and shell form a highly directional subspace field through which quantum pulses are exchanged. It is theorized that the objective vortex can also be used as the inceptive vortex, through which subsequential quantum pulses can be relayed. This creates a form of two-way communication between vast distances. The technological implications of such a device pose numerous significant questions. Could the same technology be used to communicate with Earth? Or more urgently, could a similar principle be applied by the Shivans to create jump nodes which are traversable by ships of significant size? Though these questions will not soon be answered, the enigma of this device yet more emphasizes what little we know about the race we call the Shivans.

[Hades]

You forgot about the part that if a fighter gets caught in its blades its dead automatically.

[eliex]

Unless it's Alpha 1!