Why the Tie Interceptor was SO different

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The Tie Interceptor was a VERY different fighter than the Tie Fighter, and, unsurprisingly it all comes down to the wings. We'll discuss the strange heritage of the fighter and more on today's Star Wars lore video!
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[@LocalCryptidGhostdoll]

Also, you could solve the viewport problem instantly by saying imperial pilot helmets have headsup displays in them giving a wider, maybe even 360 degree virtual view It could even be intention, because then those ships become even more of a nightmare for any non-imp pilot to fly

[@thefitzthewitz]

Yeah, I still think they do indeed have some sort of system like the Distributed Aperture System (DAS) in the F-35 that allows the pilot to see through and around the craft. You often see the pilots look around the spherical cockpit where they shouldn't otherwise be able to see outside, such as when Vader's wingman says "Lookout!" as he looks up and to his left to see the Millenium Falcon bearing down on them. Without a DAS-like HUD or some sort of advanced sensor system that provides situational awareness, he wouldn't be able to see the Falcon at all.

[@LocalCryptidGhostdoll]

@@thefitzthewitz I figured there's probably some reference to a system like that a reference book or visual dictionary somewhere

[@johnadams5678]

@@thefitzthewitz Good point. And since their is nothing about a DAS system in any guide book I have read, I have to assume it does not exist. By having the DAS system would go against Tarkins doctrine. Cheap fighters and the cheaper the better. The tie fighter does have windows on the top and since the two fighters were providing cover, it also can be assumed that he could have seen the falcon. As far as movements of the head, I would say that would be acting. All tie fighters are horrible dog fighters because of their lack of situational awareness. Lose sight and lose the fight. And a tie fighter will always lose sight.

[@thefitzthewitz]

@@johnadams5678 I don't know, it doesn't have to be exactly like a DAS, but something to provide better awareness of surroundings. I disagree that just because the Empire wanted cheap fighters that they would totally forego any sort of sensor system that would improve their situational awareness. I also don't think his wingman could have seen the Falcon from the upper window slits just based off of where the Falcon's laser blasts come from. The window is to the pilot's zenith and a bit aft, while the shot from the Falcon above but also to the left. Also, it said in canon and legends that while TIEs may be relatively fragile and lack multi-role capability, at least for the standard TIEs, they are excellent dog fighters, especially the TIE Interceptor. So, I highly disagree with you there as well.

[@Padtedesco]

That DAS system was cannon and shown in the " X-wing alliance" game

[@Khymerion]

Honestly, with the Defender, Avenger/Advanced, and Interceptor being so iconic and prominent in terms of fan favorite fighters, the fact that we never got a seriously updated TIE in the sequels but instead just 'TIE Fighter 2.0, now with rear guns' really just felt depressing to see. Interceptors are just that beautiful a fighter.

[@WanderfalkeAT]

Yeah, using a TIE Fighter design so simmilar to the first TIE's was showing how much of a Lack of Knowledge about Star Wars Lore there was in Disney.

[@osets2117]

In all honesty the FO should've been using defenders

[@kornkernel2232]

Yeah the sequel just only care and capitalize blind nostalgia, but lore-wise it is stupid they still followed original TIE design. Empire already have superior variant of TIE's especially Defender which should have been a the new TIE for that First Order and even Sidious fleet. Just plain stupid really.

[@DerDai]

@@WanderfalkeAT & lazyness

[@watermelongaming3698]

It's funny because iirc the Lego Skywalker Saga gave the First Order new fighters and interceptors. The interceptors were actual TIE Interceptor variants.

[@SFisher1993]

The Interceptor is such a baller ship. The dagger wings alone are just glorious!

[@bluediamonddirector]

My first model kit I ever completed was a TIE Interceptor

[@WanderfalkeAT]

I always loved the Interceptor more than even the X-Wing Design. However the Crown takes the Defender. That's a Interceptor on Steroids :)

[@shadowuaw-0001]

Haha. Ball-er. I see what you did there.

[@matejk1889]

@@bluediamonddirector Im building one right now!

[@djcody492]

The TIE interceptor has always been my favourite Star Wars ship.

[@dasparado]

I prefer the defender but thats probably because its just do damn OP. The interceptor was probably the coolest/sexiest Tie.

[@watermelongaming3698]

@@dasparado I'm a Y-wing fan myself. Defender's pretty cool too though.

[@Ghiaman1334]

Big same.

[@SchwarzSchwertkampfer]

It is a Sith lord worthy ship, for smashing an dashing.

[@jeffpierce6663]

It’s probably the most fun ship to fly in Star Wars Squadrons. Up there with the A-wing. The A-wing could be considered better (depending on who you ask) but the tie interceptor was definitely my favorite to fly. Really easy to go overboard with maneuvers and crash straight into debris. Lol.

[@robertbarrows6687]

The Interceptor seems like the perfect ship for a Jedi to use at the end of the day. Especially after the Jedi used the Ectis-2 Interceptor to great effect during the Clone Wars.

[@dat581]

Not in the slightest. Jedi always flew fighters with excellent visibility. The Interceptor does not have that. It's also quite easily outrun by Alliance fighters with all energy diverted to engines.

[@rpk321]

@@dat581 Where are you getting these info? We always see fighters die in drove on both sides to one another. And TiE pilot always turn their heads and look and be able to see things their vision ports shouldn't allow them to see. And a fighter game made by Lucas film in the 80s/90s had both imperial and rebel fighters possessed full sensor suite and indicators.

[@nightwolfnordberg9476]

​@@rpk321 and the only fighter the rebels had that they was force to make beacuse of the tie. That could surpas intcepters was a wings. Which the pilots took away there shield for extra speed

[@rpk321]

@@nightwolfnordberg9476 Eh...only the later versions of the A-wing. The earlier version still got done in by the Interceptor. But yeah, the A-wing is pretty good. Still, according the Legend, the Interceptors were very much still relevant long after the fall of the Empire. Maybe with some upgrades...

[@GiladPellaeon-ym2zw]

@@rpk321 Clearly with some upgrades. I'm sure most are equipped with shields by the Yuuzhan Vong War.

[@PetesHQ]

This is 100% my favourite imperial fighter

[@pokemon1895]

Same. Has been since the first time I saw Episode 6. TIE Fighter is still pretty cool, though.

[@ZombieJWR]

@@pokemon1895 I prefer the TIE defender they were just build so much better the the TIE fighters for a cost of course

[@blackc1479]

Loved the defender too when it came out for just being so op. now if someone would just make an affordable kit. (Hint hint you big bastards) My other would have to be the striker. Currently that and the interceptor are my 2 tie kits. Eventually I'll probably do a stock tie, but it's just kinda blah filling out the collection. And wish list would be a phantom kit, just to fanboy it to 10 lol

[@nickmhc]

Same. Aesthetically it’s cool looking. The Avengers in the old expanded universe kept the aesthetic but added more capability.

[@jeffersonCarter9915]

I agree! I remember my first glance of it during the emperors arrival at the death star there were a bunch parading outside the docking bay! I was in awe! Then when they attacked the rebel fleet at the end i couldn't get enough of them! 😊 i love flying them in the games too!

[@j.michaelpriester8973]

Regarding visibility, as any good pilot who graduated the Imperial college of starfighter training in the classic TIE FIGHTER game knows, there's no point in seeing anything other than out your front window. That's what the sensors are for, seeing everything that is not directly ahead!

[@sumukhvmrsat6347]

Yeah right , i mean everyone talking about a 360 view helmet , while a chep and best star fighter can have a cheap and best obvious sensor package

[@LonnieBrewer-dd4wi]

Bad idea..

[@ardentfire3956]

In the fan made TIE Fighter remaster the TIE pilots all have holo tech built into their helmets that lets them see through their fighter's blind spots.

[@thegodofallidiots.]

Tie interceptor needs more respect I’m glad you made a vid about it

[@cmdrpanorpa8631]

I've always preferred the look of the interceptor and the avenger as an effective successor to the interceptor as the next advancement, over the look of the original tie and the defender, just something about the curved inwards design that makes them look sleeker and better. It would be very nice to see the avenger officially around at some point. A good thing to mention is the different models of the tie advanced, the avenger has a normal tie cockpit, but I think an early variant had a more elliptical cockpit, which can seen in the tie fighter game somewhat.

[@badandymk3]

I wish the TIE Avenger was more widespread. For me it's tied with the Interceptor for my favorite starfighter.

[@xeoroth]

I love my 'knives of death' Interceptor. Seeing it in the Squadron cinematic 'hunted' made me feel like a kid again. So happy you reviewed it. Don't get me wrong, I adore the Defender, but Interceptor came 1st (going by 1st appearance).

[@Juliet1106Tango]

"Your generic TIE grunt is just plain suicidal. And the TIE Defender jockey is bloodthirsty. But the TIE Interceptor pilot, he's suicidal AND bloodthirsty. When you see a squad of those maniacs flying your way, you'd better hope your hyperdrive is operational." - Kyle Katarn

[@rexlumontad5644]

1:47 TIE Defender - Grand Admiral Thrawn's project to make the starfighter corps of the Empire more effective but didn't get to mass produce them due to the money and resources funneled to make the Death Star.

[@martytu20]

Imagine TIE Defenders in the Outer Rim as a vanguard unit to expand imperial control in areas not worth sending an entire fleet to.

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

And we all saw how well that went.

[@Lord-Emperor-Vader]

You are right and wrong since the Defender was in legends before canon and this is the canon story of the Defender.

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

You're mistaken, Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin invented the TIE Defender. Discan merely had that blue upstart steal that idea from his better.

[@dasparado]

The Tie Defender was a pretty ridiculous ship. Incredible speed, incredible manuverability, better than average shields, 4 laser cannons, 2 ion cannons, warhead launcher, beam system, countermeasures. Just hitting the ship was difficult, and then it had heavy shields and a huge battery to send power away from its other systems to the shields if it did get into trouble. It was nearly invincible. Its only weakness was the price tag, which is very fair. If Star Wars was real, the Rebels would be in big trouble if the Empire ever fielded a good many of those beasts. I recently loaded that Tie Fighter remaster using the Xwing alliance engine and cant wait to play with the defender and missile boat again.

[@VonDoogan]

So glad to see a video on the TIE Interceptor. It's been my favourite ship ever since I played the original (and better) Battlefront II

[@rexlumontad5644]

TIE Interceptor was more of an elite version of the TIE Fighter to be honest.

[@Richy0326]

When I played the X-Wing flight sims it always amazed me how a ship that was a tiny bit faster, a tiny bit more manoeuvrable, and had a very slightly smaller wing span could be so much harder to hit than it's standard TIE fighter counterpart.

[@auzrael]

As an old school X-Wing v Tie Fighter player and Interceptor Ace, I always scoff at the "omg viewport so bad" stuff. TIEs ae a weapon system of a capital ship, not an independent combat unit. And the TIE has all the sensors of the capital ship feeding you with combat information. A quick glance at your instruments show you where the red blips are, you point your ship at them, and they die. I once participated in an 8-way free for all tournament, where everyone else chose the A-wing, and I chose my interceptor. I cleaned up and won myself a copy of the soon to release X-Wing Alliance. Mindset though is a huge part of why the Interceptor was dominating over the A-wings - No shields means you fly differently. When an A-wing gets hit by quad linked blasters, its shields collapse, and the pilot panics and dumps their power back into their shields, leaving them weak and slow. The Interceptor doesn't have that psychological weakness. Go go Interceptors!!

[@daleks]

the A-wing is like a toyota corolla 1980s model

[@markvicferrer]

Wasn't the design based on feedback from the original TIE, hence why the plan was to replace it with the Interceptor? The standard Interceptor only fired from it's wingtip blasters, but it was easy to modify it so that the chin blasters also worked. With 6 blasters linked to fire sequentially, it's rate of fire would pretty much be a solid stream of blaster bolts.

[@owlwaifu4949]

The TIE/IN is probably my favorite fighter in starwars And the thing is super versatile, you mentioned the sheilds but it was also modified with hyperdrives and I remember on several occasions them carrying missles and even torpedos The things really were the best fighter the empire ever produced and it's a damn shame we dont see them more often

[@andyb1653]

Tie Interceptor's always been my favorite TIE model. Vader's TIE X1 is a close second. TIE Defender always seemed a little OP to me. As user-friendly as an X-wing, packs the payload of a Y-wing, as fast & nimble as an A-wing, and as durable as a B-wing. No starfighter should be so ridiculously good at EVERYTHING. And this might be an unpopular opinion, but: The thing's f*ckin' UGLY. Like if you asked a 12-year old "what if there was a TIE Interceptor that was even **MORE** TIE Interceptor-y?"

[@prion42]

There has to be some trade off . If nothing else, physics demands the greater mass requires more power to drive.

[@andyb1653]

@@prion42 Ultimately, it was the result of power creep in the old TIE Fighter games. They needed more and more badassed fighters for the player to fly, resulting in this monstrosity. Excellent games, but the T/D was an unfortunate side effect.

[@andyb1653]

@@michaelandreipalon359 Between those two models specifically, It comes down to rule of cool. I just think the X1 looks better, never liked the squished cockpit on the Avenger.

[@andyb1653]

@@michaelandreipalon359 Yes, but like I said, only when it comes to the TIE X1 vs. the TIE Avenger. And the X1 had a better shield and stronger hull IIRC, if you REALLY need a stat difference.

[@VegetaLF7]

@@prion42 The trade off for the Defender is that it is *insanely* expensive compared to other TIE designs. For all the seemingly limitless resources available to the Empire, both Legends and Canon only saw a handful of Defender squadrons actually developed at best because the ship was just too costly. Why spend all that money for a single squadron of Defenders when you could use it to get an entire wing of TIE Fighters or Interceptors?

[@rexlumontad5644]

1:37 Click to skip advertisement.

[@Lord-Emperor-Vader]

I am so glad that you are straightforward about your sponsorships because the most annoying thing about them is when the people try to hide them in the video acting like they are extremally subtle when they introduce it but you can see it coming from miles away.

[@Horseshoecrabwarrior]

I agree. The classic, presenter-style "This video is sponsored by" or "Brought to you by" has always stuck with me as the peak of professionalism.

[@Lord-Emperor-Vader]

@@Horseshoecrabwarrior They don't even need it they can just go in half way to the video and be like I will tell you of the video's sponsor. I hate it when the channel (ex Screen Crush) tries to build up to it and acts like it is part of the video and then are like let me introduce you to our sponsor. It is so obvious I am able to skip the ad before it even starts and is almost always poorly placed. Some people have been fine like Mat Pat and his Theory channels but it is more often then not really bad.

[@macwelch8599]

I’m still wondering why the First Order didn’t use the Intercepter

[@SFisher1993]

Just another missed opportunity in a trilogy full of them…. 😞

[@sumukhvmrsat6347]

Because they're just a modern LOOKING old imperial navy

[@TheWorkmonkey1]

Because the writers didn't know anything about star wars...

[@isimiel3405]

because Disney is lazy and would rather do more palette swaps then classic wow

[@daleks]

the same reason why they reversed the colors; directorial stupidity

[@sirmister5383]

Wasn't the Jedi starfighter in episode 3 a precursor to the tie. Same panel shape, smaller. The cockpit seamed similar as well

[@patta8388]

Partially, if you look at them, you'll find that both the Eta-2-Actis (aka Jedi Starfighter from Ep3) and the Alpha-3 Nimbus "V-Wing" (also Ep3) are basically retconned as the TIE's predecessors. You have part of the cockpit-design on the Eta-2's, and the "fast, agile, no shields". And you have the 2 screeching ion engines aka TwinIonEngine on the Alpha 3. In Ep3 you can hear those things a couple of times, and they even sound like TIE Fighters.

[@QuantumNova]

The "TIE" Scimitar assault bomber will always be my favorite. It can kill an AT-AT with one missile/bomb.

[@borgurman]

I love the tie reaper such a cool design (and it's even more of an underrated ship)

[@RexTenebrarum]

I love the TIE Interceptor! I would use it as my mainline starfighter if owned a Star Wars Faction.

[@skep2l]

this was always my favorite ship. I really dislike that in modern toys, newer series and movies they always focus that much on the tie fighter. as a kid i had the micromachines of it. i wish i would know today where to find it... would make a great ornament to my christmas tree.

[@KunoMochi]

Same, I've been looking for the Tie Interceptor toys and/or Bandai model kits but haven't had any luck so far. :( This is one of those ships that piques my imagination but often goes unnoticed even in the community. The other ship/fighter that forever piqued my imagination would be the Northrop Grumman YF-23, which is also hard to come by as a toy and model kit.

[@osets2117]

I'd love to have the ultimate collector's edition Lego tie interceptor kit (they made an xwing and awing too)

[@callumpears1523]

Yeah they're finally making a new LEGO version next year, for the first time since 2005.

[@petervizzini4006]

I saw a tie interceptor ornament once on Black Friday in 2011

[@brodiegardiner3574]

5:36 Anyone notice that it sounded like he said "have been making shit a little more sith like"

[@T4Eagle137]

When I played Squadrons, I'd always go with an interceptor when I played as the Empire.

[@itsthatguyarc7186]

Certainly weren't the only one, I loved flying that thing. I mean, come on, it's the TIE Interceptor. Of course, it definitely made a lot of games...interesting...when commonly 3-5 people all had that same idea and maybe 1 of them actually knew what they were doing, which certainly made playing NR feel like just being the protagonist at times.

[@PeterFendrich]

My favorite fighter design in the entirety of Star Wars. I had also claimed back when squadrons first came out, that if you just unleashed the actual philosophy behind all the different starcraft that were in the game, the TIE interceptor would instantly become a lot of people's favorites. Don't underestimate the ability of maneuverability over actually somewhat meaningless shielding in a real combat situation. Both sides have merit, but history has pretty consistently proven that in a dog fight the person who gets the first rounds of shots off will likely win the encounter. Now that doesn't solely come down to mobility obviously, but it's a huge part of it....

[@locarno24]

It was always very much the case in the X-wing board game, too. The interceptor is no tougher than the TIE fighter and pretty much any ship in the game has a non-trivial chance of one-shotting it with a single burst at short range........ if it ever *gets* one.....

[@Futuretense101]

It's one of the best fighters in the Civil War Era and it doesn't get nearly as much credit as it deserves. They're fast, insanely maneuverable, well armed, and a match for any starfighter if piloted by a real ace. If you play any Star Wars flight sim, one or more TIE Interceptors will make any mission more challenging.

[@festivevacancy]

Also in Return of the Jedi, as a kid i noted that the Tie interceptor had a different "screech" sound that of the fighter, idk if it's true

[@festivevacancy]

as in onomatopoeia the fighter does the iconic "aaaeeeiiiuuu" but the interceptor does more like a "swwoooggg"

[@christianfoster3806]

I heard that after a squadron of regular TIES smashed into some asteroids, the Empire redesigned the wings to be able to fly in tighter spaces, in addition to making a smaller target for enemy blasters.

[@RexTenebrarum]

The TIE Interceptor would have given the Empire have a lot more space superiority if they started using it earlier. They would have won the battle of Scarif and the death star would have most likely been spared from destruction.

[@bigwitt187]

Tarkin never launched the Death Star's fighters, it was only Vader's squadron that fought. They should have been in squints, seeing as how they would definitely be considered elite, not sure why they weren't.

[@MaynardCrow]

It is an interceptor, meant to intercept enemy starfighters. There are other ships better suited for attack against larger targets as the aggressor.

[@RexTenebrarum]

@@bigwitt187 I'm saying at the battle of Scarif. That scene where all the TIE fighters come out of the orbital station. What if those were all TIE Interceptors? Would have been nearly impossible for the rebels.

[@bigwitt187]

@@RexTenebrarum Ah, now I see what you're saying.

[@dat581]

Highly doubtful. A-Wings have little trouble dealing with them. X-Wings can kill them with a single quad-linked shot.

[@bubbasbigblast8563]

The TIE Interceptor and TIE bomber both seemed like logical extensions of the Empire's strategy: cheap, effective ships that don't do much to keep pilots alive, but have the speed and power to deal with anything Star Destroyers can't. TIE Fighters were simply too cheap to actually be worth a living pilot, and even the TIE Defender would probably have been too expensive to be used for more than very specific specialist operations.

[@DanBen07]

Great video! Tie fighters & there variants are one of my favourite things in Star Wars.

[@terryflopycow2231]

3:10 In Legends the Tie Interceptor uses a solar ionization reactor, which generates a mini sun for energy, this is stated to require solar panels to work. So the panels work to fuel or kickstart the reactor, not the ship itself.

[@1COMIXMAN]

As a kid i had 3 loves in sci fi space genres. First came star wars when no was 3, then came battle star galactic when I was 4, then buck rodgers. That's the toys I got for years from my parents. I had the interceptor, the falcon an xwing along with the first gen full size action figures of han,luke,Leia and chewie. Then i had the Ceylon fighters and the star fighters a gen 1 cylon figure and apollo from the galactica. Then i had the buck rodgers fighter. And to be honest the buck rodgers the galactica fighter and the xwing all bore strange resemblances lol. But as a kid the crossover space battles were epic.

[@thethan302]

it's a magnificent example of design evolution. tie fighter -> tie interceptor -> tie avenger -> tie defender. with each generation you get more and more performance and better fighting capability out of the design. it's really a testament to how robust and capable the tie design is.

[@Quan10Mack]

"The wings on a TIE are solar panels" (cuts to technical manual page showing the wing houses a heat exchange matrix to radiate heat from critical systems into space)

[@BoisegangGaming]

The TIE whisper was apparently the result of some First Order engineer doing a line of spice, seeing an Interceptor, and thinking "you know what that needs? More guns!"

[@jeffreycarman2185]

I do like the TIE Interceptor. Thanks for the video.

[@blackc1479]

Loved the interceptor since I was a kid. Had the amt model then, have the Bandai now lol. The lineage thing just brought up a question. Why are the only ships that have the "solar collectors" dark side/imperial? Yeah, x, b wings (did the k's fold? ) and the various clone craft have s-foils for heat, but the dark side is the only environmentally friendly despotic faction?

[@number3766]

It's just a TIE fighter made correctly. Just slap some weak to decent shields on it and it's golden! It already can carry ordinance, has great speed and maneuverability, and if the sensors are actually that reliable have great visibility for close quarters dogfighting! Until Star Wars gets longer range tech like we got on earth, the interceptor will do just fine!

[@Eskeletor_210]

Old school bf2 the interceptor was my go to, even had my own interceptor Lego set

[@thundercricket4634]

I remember the audio description of the Tie Interceptor in what will forever be one of my all time favorite games: Rogue Squadron. "...and is so maneuverable that a skilled pilot can literally fly circles around an x-wing"

[@thefitzthewitz]

The TIE Interceptor is definitely the best-looking TIE design in my opinion, even if the TIE Defender is a much more powerful ship overall, it's just not as streamlined as the interceptor.

[@BlackMethos]

Always loved the Interceptor and always loved that quote from Kyle. One of the things I know by heart. :D

[@erictheblue7256]

I agree that the TIE Interceptor (my favorite TiE design) has a clear styling advantage over the original TIE fighter. However, their is something about how the original TIEs are filmed in Andor that make them appear far more menacing that in other SW movies. This is especially true when you see them flying in atmosphere. BTW, if you haven't watched Andor yet I highly recommend it. It's very different that any other SW production, with superior writing and acting.

[@bluediamonddirector]

The 128th Tie Interceptor Squadron.... My bros will understand ;)

[@elisekehle8520]

Next you should do a video on how the Empire should have replaced ATSTs with ATPTs!

[@albertwesker3299]

Honestly I love the Defender and Interceptor, but I think my absolute favorite will always be the Hunter. I do wish it got more influence in other media outside of its source material but oh well.

[@Mr_Spooner]

Thanks for making videos, Justin. You helped me get past my last days….

[@FireFox64000000]

I've loved the Tie Interceptor ever since Star Wars rogue squadron on the N64.

[@chrisreilly1290]

Tie interceptor has to be my favorite design in star wars

[@drahcirsirrap9804]

The Interceptor was my favourite ship to fly in Rogue Squadron on the N64. Definitely underrated!

[@stargazeronesixseven]

Agreed! Nothing sync us right back to STARWARS Space Battles than the sight of the Imperial TIE Interceptor >>> 🌏

[@robertadams3506]

This ship is iconic and loved by most fans. 🤣

[@michaelramon2411]

I remember back in 2015 (as a much less well-read Star Wars geek) being confused and disappointed that the First Order wasn't using TIE Interceptors as their mainline fighter. They were in the OT - it would have been a really simple way to demonstrate their status as an Imperial evolution faction.

[@luclin92]

yeah it was weird that the design philosophy regressed, and i totally agree that they should have built on what was before. to be fair that would have gone against the nostalgia bait that they where going for, but still

[@michaelramon2411]

@@luclin92 Personally, if I had been in charge of art direction, I would have gone for a more "cyborg" First Order that mixed droid usage into the Imperial aesthetic (demonstrating both their technological advancement and relatively low numbers). I think a base TIE shape with red photoreceptors in place of the hexagon window (showing it is a droid starfighter) would have tickled the nostalgia bone while clearly being something new, and then could be mixed in with Interceptors or the like for more elite human pilots. TIE droids could be massacred by protagonists while piloted TIEs would pose an actual threat. (The TIE droids use the old wings because it's cheaper and they need the extra solar panel space to keep charged.)

[@luclin92]

@Michael Ramon and again I see better ideas for the sequel trilogy. And yeah it would have been kinda awesome having the first order being more reliant to droids. Would have been a neat way to have it also refer to the prequel trilogy with this new faction basically taking parts of both of the big villain factions of star wars. Hell they could lord with stuff like them not using organics for senseless actions(but they really don't care about them)

[@michaelramon2411]

@@luclin92 I would have had organic stormtroopers, but mix in a lot of support droids - small hover probes like in Battlefront EA 2, bear-sized quad walkers like the CIS crab droids, bit-larger-than-a-human humanoid droids (Darktroopers, essentially) with the squad's heavy weapons. Maybe tactical droids at the mid level of command. (I actually thought that Captain Phasma was a droid in my first viewing of TFA.) Maybe some staff-wielding riot control droids that Rey could slice up with a lightsaber. It's mostly an aesthetic shift, but I think it would give off an aura of menace while also making the FO look more distinctive.

[@lightspeedvictory]

#askeck How were the Seperatists able to get past Coruscant’s planetary shields when they attacked in Episode III? Lore ship Versus video request: Resurgent vs. Starhawk Tie Striker vs. New Republic V-Wing World Devastator vs. Vong Worldship Tie Silencer vs. X-83 Twintail Tie Silencer vs. Tie Defender (legends version) Keldabe vs. ISD II MC90 vs. Nebula class star destroyer Nebula class vs. Pellaeon class Majestic class vs. Bothan Assault Cruiser EAWX: FOTR’s Mandator II portrayal vs. Subjugator Praetor vs. Subjugator EAWX: TR’s Mediator portrayal vs. Resurgent Starhawk vs. Bulwark MK III

[@screenname8267]

I always thought it weird the Interceptor could be the same size as the fighter but have more power to the point of being faster while still having twice the weaponry... makes you wonder what could have been if they had made a variant that used the 2 laser cannon spots on the cockpit instead of keeping them empty and adding 4 more weapons. Would have been a genuine A-Wing killer.

[@voxorox]

I loved the Interceptor from the first time I saw it on the big screen in RotJ. Love it so much it's the only full size toy I still have.

[@splatoonistproductions5345]

Could you do a little video on the republic class star destroyer? The one the NR developed in legends along with the nebula class, it’d be interesting to find out more bout it and some more opinion on it

[@Eco19]

Im obsessed with the TIE Baron, same performance and styling as the Interceptor Except with the addition of shields and a hyperdrive 👌👌

[@romuluselessar6123]

The TIE Interceptor is my personal favorite starfighter in all of Star Wars. Just an iconic and sleek design, and even without shields capable of keeping up with and somewhat outperforming X-Wings and A-Wings.

[@GracenLucas-p7f]

Everything about the interceptor is great, it shows that the empire learned from it's misteakes, it looks awesome, it shows fighter evolution, and every time you see it on screen you go "f**k yeah, this is going to be good."

[@Kurayamiblack]

The TIE Interceptor was my favorite Imperial ship (excluding the Executor) back when the original Trilogy was all I knew. Later, the TIE Avenger stole that spot and the TIE Defender is just so objectively good it forced me to "tie" it for 1st place with the Avenger (still excluding the Executor btw)

[@PaDDy7389]

The form language of the Sith Infiltrator is particularly evident when looking at the TIE Advanced v1.

[@realDubb]

100 % agree with you across the board on this one

[@Pastor.Dragon]

The Interceptor has been one of my favorite Imperial vessels for most of my life! As they say in Legends, I love the squints!

[@bigwitt187]

I only recall one mention of how TIE fighters are powered in the novels. In the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy, an Imperial patrol craft launches fighters either against Lando's ship or the Teljkon Vagabond, I don't recall which. The Imperial captain soon realizes that they won't catch their prey, since they are far from any star. It's implied that they are moving at a small fraction of their normal top speed. This suggests that solar is their primary source of power.

[@fostermoody]

I always thought the black panels being solar collectors was silly. My headcanon is that the exhaust ports for the engines are so small compared with other fighters that waste heat has to be radiated in other ways, so that's why the panels are there, the opposite of collecting energy.

[@NutjobGTO]

I saw this pop up in my feed and would've scrolled right on past, if not for the auto-generated subtitles. The Thai Interceptor, huh? Sounds spicy.

[@swytchyglytch]

correct me if I'm wrong... but don't pilot helmets include some sort of AR display allowing them to see what the sensors are showing, so that various tie wing panels don't end up being all that obstructive?

[@miqvPL]

before someone bashes tie line (naturally those starships have glaring flaws) - tie/ln was designed for the time when the most dangerous ships around were v-wings, z-95s and y-wings. Ties could easily outspeed and outmaneuver these, especially wehn huge number of fighters were deployed. X-wings were the first real threat to ties, especially the modified rebel ones. In my headcanon tie/interceptor was designed to combat x-wings. More speed, more maneuverability and more than twice the original firepower, upgradeable to more than three times. If Empire didn't fall we would probably see another factory model designed to combat a-wings

[@Owen_Rubix]

My favorite Imperial fighter by far. I love these ships. It’s like the Empire’s answer to the X-Wing.

[@trainertealvgc2267]

I always imagined a TIE series ship with the Phantoms cockpit, and the wings of the interceptor. That way it could have everything an interceptor has but with the good visibility.

[@IdleDrifter]

The Tie Interceptor and Tie Bomber are my favorite Imperial Fighters.

[@PatriciaCross]

After seeing Return of The Jedi in theaters as a kid, I immediately went home and turned the wings of my Darth Vader Tie Fighter (wasn't called the Advanced yet) around to face the other way. From then on, it was a Tie Infiltrator to me.

[@Ghiaman1334]

Absolutely love the Interceptor. One of, if not the, best looking Star Wars vehicles. Building a custom Lego MOC version as probably my first Lego Star Wars model in a long while.

[@raenfox]

Where are the scenes at 5:45 in this video from?

[@Hammi4Real]

Rogue Squadron is what really hammered in the TIE Interceptor for me as the most indisputably insane fighter in terms of speed, manoeuvrability and ferocity out of everything in the hangar. A close second to me was the Naboo Starfighter which I needed a cheat code for off the Internet to unlock. Needless to say, Factor 5 was responsible for getting me into Star Wars when previously I would just shrug at the franchise. A set of rip-roaring fighters did the trick.

[@Anti-Smart]

I'm glad that the tie interceptor is finally getting the attention it deserves.

[@tkc1129]

The wing sensors seems a bit strange to me. Those lasers are fixed straight forward, after all. Sure, later X-Wing games introduce convergence, but a lot of ships can use autoconvergence. I always thought that in Legends, Rebels and Imperials had different doctrines for fighter development. Imperials had production fighters that gradually phased each other out, plus some special-purpose TIEs like the Hunter. Generally, though, you would have tiers of ships that pilots could graduate between, and over time, those ships would all shift down as new ships (like the Avenger and later the Defender) are made. That said, I'd bet even if the Avenger eventually phased out the Interceptor, the hyperdrives would be removed. But the Rebels specialized their fighters a bit more and had a family of ships that were all active at once.

[@caselleknoxiv589]

Rogue Sqaudron for the N64 was my introduction into the nightmare that was the Tie Interceptor.

[@TheJedaiHero9000]

Indeed, the TIE Interceptor is an Interesting Starfighter I remember playing Star Wars Rogue Squadron on the N64, input a cheat code to pilot the TIE Interceptor in most missions

[@jetoak]

This is the Alfa Romeo equivalent of the starfighters. If a Cool Wall existed for Star Wars ships, the TIE Interceptor would without a doubt be placed on Sub-Zero.

[@jordank1813]

If Thrawn was loyal and had his way, the Empire would have been able to control the entire galaxy and for SOOOOOO much longer than like 30 years lol

[@sonofeyeabovealleffoff5462]

Later it was upgraded to have four heavy blaster cannons and two laser cannons. Although I wish in the EU it was explained how they went from having power issues from mounting six weapons (and as such they kept the chin-mounts empty) to having solved the issues.

[@Hailthecloudslayer]

The sexiest of the Imperial starfighters. Fo Sho

[@Wese28]

Baron Soontir Fel, and Saber squadron. With their blood stripes on the wing pylon. Thats a character that I would like to see back

[@Sawtooth44]

honestly in the OG battlefront games the best ships to fly around was an interceptor, an xwing, a tri fighter and the jedi starfighter the common thread between most of these was they where best at fighting other starfighter

[@seanahmed9079]

No mention of the Jedi Interceptor??!

[@biharimark5506]

Ah, my precious fast af boi. Best fighter in the imperial navy.

[@zipzeolocke2]

literally my favorite Imperial ship. Any game that allow you to pick, I always choose the TIE interceptor

[@biostemm]

Do we ever see the lasers on the pod section used in any of the movies? I thought they were more vestigial than anything...

[@Astro_Brown]

Tie Interceptor is goated. My favorite imperial star fighter is the reaper though.

[@matthewkeeling886]

Definitely my favorite TIE (Well, unless I'm playing X-Wing Miniatures... I play Rebels). The connection between this ship and the Infiltrator is interesting and I would say the Grand Inquisitor's TIE is a good intermediate in that regard. This is the ship the sequels should have based their TIEs on, not the original, but that is far from the biggest worldbuilding issue in those films. I had an interesting idea for a New Republic TIE a while back, basically taking the tips off the Interceptor's wings, connecting them top and bottom, shortening the wing pylons, installing the wing cannons in the main body and installing a Droid Tri Fighter derived Droid Brain to create the O-Wing, a droid interceptor that beats out the Defender Class Eyesore as defense for the New Class Program ships. Then the program gets shut down because it looks like a TIE.

[@thefitzthewitz]

The TIE Interceptor also has much more powerful cannons than a standard TIE Fighter as well, in addition to having 4 instead of just 2. In both legends and canon, the interceptor is equipped with L-s9.3 laser cannons which are said to be much more powerful in order to quickly overload enemy shields. The TIE Defender is also equipped with these guns, and in _Rebels_ they are said to be "heavy cannons". Both the Interceptor and Defender make quick work of shielded enemy fighters and transports in that show with those guns. So, yeah, _much_ more deadly than a standard TIE Fighter.