This is some conceptual stuff that I'd either like to get more clear on in my own mind, or inspire a discussion on. I'm spoilerizing them so I don't assault people unintentionally with word wave attacks.
1. Shades of the Force
Spoiler: show
My interpretation of the divide of the Light Side vs. Dark Side, video game mechanics aside, is that of intent.
If your intent at heart is selfish (I want to become stronger, I want to have control, I want to be respected), you're going to be tap-dancing on the edge of the Dark Side of the Force with most things you do involving the force. Not merely by virtue of how you perceive it, but by extension, how you choose to act on what you perceive. As a consequence, most (but not all) of the Dark Side abilities would have direct and observable effects, and nearly all Dark Side-specific abilities would affect others in some way (usually malicious), rather than yourself.
If your intent is selfless (I want to see, I want to understand, I want to know), you'll be leaning toward the Light, unless the selfless intent (I want to understand) somehow becomes twisted to become selfish (e.g. I want to become powerful so I can understand). Because of this perspective, most abilities affiliated with the Light Side would affect yourself (and those mostly to affect one's ability to sense things around them), and the sizable number of abilities associated with the Light Side that affect things outside of yourself are fairly versatile. Unlike the Dark Side abilities, not very many Light Side abilities are specialized for adversely affecting others.
With this view, you can envision a couple Force abilities that would be "on the edge" of one side or another - using the Force to plant suggestions in someone's mind can skirt the edge depending on how (and why) you use it, as can using the Force for telekinesis (especially when you use it to choke someone, or throw a heavy cargo crate at someone).
With this in mind, you should conceptually be able to use an emotion like resolve instead of fear/anger to fuel certain Dark Side abilities, as long as your intent for using them isn't harming someone. For instance, being able to use a variant of Force Lightning to recharge a battery or stun a droid, or using the Sith Inferno trick to burn through a starship's engine (if you don't have a lightsaber handy). However, I don't see the reverse being true for Light Side abilities - once your intent becomes selfish when you're using the Force, then even an ability to use telekinesis can be used to eject someone you don't like out of an airlock.
Is this more or less correct, or are there things I'm missing?
If your intent at heart is selfish (I want to become stronger, I want to have control, I want to be respected), you're going to be tap-dancing on the edge of the Dark Side of the Force with most things you do involving the force. Not merely by virtue of how you perceive it, but by extension, how you choose to act on what you perceive. As a consequence, most (but not all) of the Dark Side abilities would have direct and observable effects, and nearly all Dark Side-specific abilities would affect others in some way (usually malicious), rather than yourself.
If your intent is selfless (I want to see, I want to understand, I want to know), you'll be leaning toward the Light, unless the selfless intent (I want to understand) somehow becomes twisted to become selfish (e.g. I want to become powerful so I can understand). Because of this perspective, most abilities affiliated with the Light Side would affect yourself (and those mostly to affect one's ability to sense things around them), and the sizable number of abilities associated with the Light Side that affect things outside of yourself are fairly versatile. Unlike the Dark Side abilities, not very many Light Side abilities are specialized for adversely affecting others.
With this view, you can envision a couple Force abilities that would be "on the edge" of one side or another - using the Force to plant suggestions in someone's mind can skirt the edge depending on how (and why) you use it, as can using the Force for telekinesis (especially when you use it to choke someone, or throw a heavy cargo crate at someone).
With this in mind, you should conceptually be able to use an emotion like resolve instead of fear/anger to fuel certain Dark Side abilities, as long as your intent for using them isn't harming someone. For instance, being able to use a variant of Force Lightning to recharge a battery or stun a droid, or using the Sith Inferno trick to burn through a starship's engine (if you don't have a lightsaber handy). However, I don't see the reverse being true for Light Side abilities - once your intent becomes selfish when you're using the Force, then even an ability to use telekinesis can be used to eject someone you don't like out of an airlock.
Is this more or less correct, or are there things I'm missing?
2. Lightsaber Crystals
Spoiler: show
Ok. So we've seen Jedi with green, blue, yellow, and even purple lightsaber blades, but Dark Side Jedi & Sith appear to all want to use artificial crystals, which all generate a red blade.
So - is the trope basically that if you make a lightsaber crystal, it'll inevitably be red, whereas if you find a naturally-occurring crystal, it'll potentially be any color EXCEPT red?
Is there any explanation for this, and have any exceptions to the above been shown? i.e., has anyone made an artificial crystal that created a yellow, green, blue, purple, or even pseudo-cerulean blue hue?
And is there a reason for Dark Siders to all want red blades, apart from wanting to differentiate themselves from Jedi?
So - is the trope basically that if you make a lightsaber crystal, it'll inevitably be red, whereas if you find a naturally-occurring crystal, it'll potentially be any color EXCEPT red?
Is there any explanation for this, and have any exceptions to the above been shown? i.e., has anyone made an artificial crystal that created a yellow, green, blue, purple, or even pseudo-cerulean blue hue?
And is there a reason for Dark Siders to all want red blades, apart from wanting to differentiate themselves from Jedi?
3. CapShip Design Philosophy post-ROTJ
Spoiler: show
So, the Empire took the old Venator design, and shifted it's intended role pretty significantly. If the sources I'm going by are correct, the old Venator-class didn't have all that many guns on it, but did have a metric fuckton of space with which to launch small craft, such as fighters. The Imperator design drastically reduced the number of small ships it could service and carry, and used that space to install a large number of additional turbolaser & ion cannon batteries.
So, if a new Republic (note the lack of capitalization on "new") arises to replace the Empire as a governmental entity, how might the Star Destroyer design philosophy change further? Would they go back to the Venator sorts of designs, where most of a ship's functionality was offloaded to the small craft it carries? Or, would they refine the Empire's approach, and focus on having small numbers of very capable small craft to fulfill specific roles (and actually give all their fighters shield systems while they're at it)?
Secondly, would there be a reason for a new Republic navy to focus as much on larger ISD designs, as the Empire does? I ask because one of the threads of the Empire's philosophy towards warfare was the Tarkin Doctrine (which was basically "scare them into submission") seems to lend itself toward making immensely large and powerful ships. However, during the Clone Wars, the only ISD design I saw was the Venator.
So, if a new Republic (note the lack of capitalization on "new") arises to replace the Empire as a governmental entity, how might the Star Destroyer design philosophy change further? Would they go back to the Venator sorts of designs, where most of a ship's functionality was offloaded to the small craft it carries? Or, would they refine the Empire's approach, and focus on having small numbers of very capable small craft to fulfill specific roles (and actually give all their fighters shield systems while they're at it)?
Secondly, would there be a reason for a new Republic navy to focus as much on larger ISD designs, as the Empire does? I ask because one of the threads of the Empire's philosophy towards warfare was the Tarkin Doctrine (which was basically "scare them into submission") seems to lend itself toward making immensely large and powerful ships. However, during the Clone Wars, the only ISD design I saw was the Venator.
