Regular infantry droids in the Star Wars prequels and The Clone Wars series are dumb as rocks. They are constantly confused, deceived and tricked by thin paper schemes when they are not stumbling into disaster. Even more advanced droids, such as assassin droids, protocol droids, and astromechs such as C-3PO and R2-D2, are highly intelligent and are called "dimes" by Obi-Wan ("Fall of a Droid", The Clone Wars 1-6). ). Is there an in-universe explanation for why the Separatists don't provide better programming to their droid troopers?
vastra360
Please, no extraterrestrial explanations. I understand the motivation to go for cheap laughs in media that is marketed primarily to children.
DVK-on-Ahch-To
Need to hunt canons, but IIRC they are designed to control the central AI/mainframe (aka Dumb Terminals:). Except that the practice stopped post-Nanakin destruction of the central computer on Naboo. In addition, they did not need smarts - Revenge of the Sith: A Visual Dictionary claims that there were a huge number of them (quintillions). Remember the T-34 against the late Nazi heavy tanks.
Triton scamander
Are you talking about the B1 battle droids?
vastra360
Yes, thanks for the correct designation.
vastra360
Just curious, can anyone explain the reason for the downvotes?
Answers
Thaddeus House
B1 battle droids are less intelligent because they didn't need to be smart, nor were they designed to be. In fact, they were originally designed to coordinate with the droid Command Ship, which would coordinate and direct their strategy, firing patterns, and overall tactical movement.
The role of the B1 battle droid in combat
B1's role in combat was to keep blaster fire aloft, absorb damage, and hold back incoming fire until more powerful and dangerous droids could be deployed.
After the Battle of Naboo, control ships were considered problematic and potentially vulnerable, so the B1s were forced to become semi-autonomous, causing them to behave erratically. Not every B1 battle droid was unstable; some, thanks to better programming, could be leaders, commanders, or even commando droids.
To complement their capabilities, super battle droids were created. Super Battle Droids and Droidikas were much more powerful, adaptable, and smart. Like any other specialized force, when properly supported, in this case by thousands of B1s, such specialized droids can be used to devastating effect on enemy forces.
Was lack of mental ability a barrier for B1?
B1 battle droids did not need to think, and were not originally designed to think. They had leaders, handlers or managers software, to direct their movements to whatever terrain they find themselves in.
B1 battle droids were designed to respond to feedback from environment(other troops, terrain and any weapons they have) to destroy their enemies. They didn't have to be particularly smart, their machine programming was more than adequate for most of their missions and could be updated over time.
What the B1 battle droid lacked in brainpower, it made up for in numerical superiority. In a fight against living enemies, the B1 would be a terrible opponent if for any other reason their ability to simply absorb damage and keep moving forward.
If B1 and the other droids had arrived in the right numbers, it would have taken a force with a significantly higher power profile to stop their advance. Even the addition of Jedi to the defending forces was often no guarantee of the defenders' survival.
Tell me what you like about the supposedly idiotic B1 battle droid; on the field, they were able to hold off a rain of blaster fire from the enemy, suppressing their movement, tactics, and fire, allowing the stronger droids to move closer, rush into the defenders, and simply allow B1 to tear through any hole created. It's simple in terms of strategy, but like the army ants, the B1 battle droid used it quite effectively.
vastra360
This answer makes a lot of sense to me since droids are ineffective because they all function in the environment they were designed for. Thank you.
joshbirk
And how is this different from my answer? I will summarize the exact same conclusion and offer more detail. So why is this the accepted answer?
vastra360
Because his reasoning is different and more understandable. Your main argument is that they are cheap, except for Anakin's influence on the control computer on Naboo. Thaddeus's main point is that they are stupid because they are forced to operate without one of the main components of their original design (centralized direction)
vastra360
More information does not provide a better answer unless it is expanded to a valid argument in an elegant way. And like OP, the decision of what is trustworthy unfortunately falls on me.
joshbirk
And I should point out that I don't think Thaddeus is making this argument. He seems to be using Control Ship as an example of how they were designed to be core grunts from day one. It's not that their efficiency or general intelligence differs from each other.
joshbirk
Because they are cheap and expensive
A lot of them :
The B1s were perhaps the most numerous and expendable soldiers in the history of the galaxy, and unlike most organic soldiers, they were capable of operating in hostile environments such as underwater or in space. They were designed, for the most part, to defeat their enemies with prime numbers, not because of their ability to think (they were very vulnerable to tricks) and use combat skills (unlike clone troopers).
To get more of them, they were almost certainly made from cheaper parts. Slower processors, less memory, etc. Speaking modern language they're stupid for the same reason a $299 Dell special can't run Crysis the same as a $4,000 gaming rig.
IN " Innocents of Ryloth" Ahsoka comments on this:
“Remember, they are droids. They're a little slow."
Their less mass-produced predecessor, the OOM series, was smarter:
The OOM series battle droid was the predecessor to the B1 battle droid. Although physically identical to the latter, the OOM series featured more advanced and independent programming. They were already a common sight in the galaxy before the invasion of Naboo, serving as guards and crew for the Trade Defense Force. They later served in the Clone Wars alongside their more common but simpler B1 descendants.
And during the Clone Wars show, we also see that there are more capable commando droids. They are designed for stealth, a handful of them can take down a soldier's outpost... but vice versa:
The only real downside to these droids was that they were much more expensive to produce than regular infantry. This made the droids happy rare species on the battlefield and therefore allowed them to be used exclusively in special and/or critical missions. Apparently the head was weaker than the rest of its body, as Senator Amidala could easily kill one by shooting the head with the ELG-3A Royal Blaster Pistol, which was little more than a remote blaster.
So we see a pretty consistent trend that the more common droids are, the cheaper they are... and the dumber they are. As to why droids often behave in strange ways, such as talking to each other while trying to shoot Jedi... this is how all droids in the Star Wars universe work. For some reason, droids in Star Wars have personalities, not just protocol droids. Why does the MSE "mouse" droid "run in fear" from loud noise?
This may not make logical sense, but still, Droid AI works in the Star Wars universe... this behavior is not uncommon.
As for "constantly confused, deceived and fooled by thin paper schemes" - this usually happens when droids don't do what they're good at... which shapes huge army and kills things. As a standing army they are quite good. Remember that the droid army:
- Would have won the Battle of Naboo if the central computer had not been destroyed. The support for the central command computer was then removed
- They pose enough of a threat that the Republic must begin mass production of clones.
- Repeatedly in The Clone Wars we are reminded how close the war is...deals with the Hutts and Rodians are only portrayed as vital in the first season. No matter how stupid they are, droids remain a threat to Jango Fetts clone army, one of the most capable soldiers in the history of the Galaxy.
They are stupid. They are, however, effective. When used as directed. And while it's true that they seem to fail as guards, they are often portrayed this way when they look at the Jedi knights . A good example this is "The Hidden Enemy", where:
Anakin, Obi-Wan and their clones prepare to ambush the advancing droids from two towers. Just as they are about to shoot the droids, the advances are divided into three columns and the droids suddenly appear in Obi-Wan's building. Anakin calls a gunship for immediate evacuation before dispatching his team to assist Obi-Wan. They escape to the roof with the droids following them. Their gunship arrives, picking them up, but not before taking the command tactical droid's head to find out how the Separatists discovered their plan.
In the opening scene we see the B1s being used correctly - accompanied by a tactical droid, they nearly overwhelm and defeat a squad of clones and two Jedi. This is no small threat. They are not designed to be smart - they are designed to follow orders, walk the lines and keep shooting.
However, I can't answer why Separatists don't rely on more human/intellectual assets for roles that require more individual tasks (which is where B1 usually fails).
DVK-on-Ahch-To
FYI: This Wikia article is quite subtle, so quoting from it is questionable even in canon.
vastra360
For example, you never see droids fail because they freeze or take too long to figure out a situation. They usually act like stupid, irresponsible, stupid soldiers, but their computers are not slow. (My understanding of canon isn't great, but I don't think I've ever seen the script " blue screen death" which makes them screw up)
vastra360
My main point is that the "cheap = dumb" argument is not the type of stupid that they are. It's not that they're slow or that they're only programmed for a limited number of scenarios. The fact is that they are programmed extremely poorly.
You don't know how much cheaper transportation is than artificial intelligence. It seems that in the SE Universe, moving huge masses through space does not seem to be a big problem.
ace
They were disposable and used for cannon fodder because it was politically smart; no one cares whether droids are sent to war as opposed to whether their sons or fathers are killed and killed.
They are also cheap and very effective. Sometimes the enemy does not need a smart opponent, but an unyielding, overwhelming, overwhelming one, which is what droids do in huge numbers. Smart and intelligent means nothing with a control ship around.
It also gave Palpatine the perfect opportunity to use clones: "but they are smarter and much more effective than just dumb droids..."
IG_42
In short, the Trade Federation are complete cheap scats, the droids have a minimal level of quality in construction, equipment and intelligence. Passing them through control ships is another example of cost savings, while the obvious military target- This is the easiest way to control an army.
as a personal opinion, I think it's doubtful that the Trade Federation actually initially used the B-1 with a real war in mind, instead relying on sheer numbers to intimidate enemies or in the case of Naboo picking what was considered an easy target. Plus, by the time the Clone Wars started, they of course had super battle droids to fight bigger battles, so by the end of the war, B-1s were mostly relegated to ships instead of combat.
Corey Watchman
I think this has been stated before by several people, however I am going to emphasize it again. Droids in SW canon behave in a unique way. They seem to carry human qualities within them. They, however, fall victim to poor programming (especially on B1, which we are also talking about).
If we look at perhaps the most destructive battle droid ever conceived, the Droideka, we see that it is used in incredibly small quantities. For example, this is seen twice in ROTS and once in AOTC. Obviously, a droid with the ability to hold itself in a shield would be expensive, and so field armies are not made entirely of them. So cost will play a role in the droid's development, which is why the B1 (and to some extent the more beefed-up B2) have decision-making problems.
There are no decisions on the field, they follow the directions of a pre-set battle plan or the decisions of the command/tactical droid. The only scenes in which they are ever distracted and confused are scenes in which they have to make decisions because something is out of the ordinary; such as the Jedi escorting the pilots to the Naboo hanger, or Obi-Wan and Annikan riding up an elevator full of security droids. Like a raw recruit, they must first think for themselves whether they need to take action and what action to take. That's where their lack of memory and processing power falls down. This also brings us back to the human features that the droids wear in Star Wars.
Droids don't follow the same rules that our robots and AI follow, which would seem like "competent computing power" in our world - a flaw in the Star Wars universe. Why do droids fuss and stumble, why do mouse droids run away from loud noises, why do pit droids (or whatever they call them, the big nose droids in the subrace scenes of The Phantom Menace) laugh and get annoyed at each other, and why is C3-P0, protocol droid talking about mistreating his astromech droid friend? These are the traits that distinguish droids and AI in star wars, and that seems to answer half your question. Droids, especially B1, have negative and comical human traits.
Jeff
Hello and welcome to the Sci-FI Stack Exchange. I have corrected your answer to improve spelling, punctuation and capitalization. I hope I haven't changed any of your intentions, feel free to come back if I haven't improved it.
Maxi
Battle Droids are supposed to be ineffective from a storytelling perspective. We needed to see the evolution from Battle Droid > Clone Trooper > Stormtrooper. Palpatine uses the CIS infantry due to the vast amount of resources, and then gets rid of them when the time is right.
Valorum
OP is looking for an answer in the Universe .
Oldcat
What evolution? All three of them were completely ineffective in battle. Did the stormtrooper hit something??
Affiliation: KNS(Confederacy of Independent Systems)
Home planet: Varies where the factory is
Race: Absent
Weapon: Various, mainly blasters and vibroswords
Army of battle droids– troops of the KNS (Confederation of Independent Systems). Unlike Republic clones, droids do not think creatively, as a result of which they are not able to perceive the experience gained in battles. Their production costs big money, but this is compensated by the speed of construction. Comparing the two armies, we can say that the KNF droids are not as effective as the Republic clones, but they are much cheaper (compared to the latter) and there are more of them. Droids are divided into several “types”:
1. Battle droidsB1 - the main troops of the KNU, cheaper than super-battle droids, but less effective than the latter. The droid has no brain, and its head fits little more than a large and sensitive receiving device. It is thanks to him that the droid receives commands from the Droid Control Station. Small processors are responsible for movement and some sensory data, which they transmit to a central computer. The voice generator allows the droid to speak in a monotone mechanical voice. There are several B1 droids:
1-1. B1 no difference – beige- standard battle droid. Armed with a rifle, pistol and thermal detonator.
1-2. B1 with blue circles– a mechanic droid whose main task is to maintain equipment and pilot it.
1-3. B1 with green circles – landing
1-4. B1 with yellow marks – squad commander.
1-5. B1 with red stripes on the shoulders and chest – security droid. Protects various KNS facilities.
Droid Commander and Battle Droid Infantry |
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https://pandia.ru/text/78/345/images/image004_8.jpg" align="left hspace=12" width="200" height="298"> 3. Droid saboteurs- elite KNU troops, used only during covert operations. In addition to improved armor that could successfully withstand most standard clone blasters, droid saboteurs have improved artificial intelligence, independent of the control station and can think creatively and analyze the situation on the battlefield. The voice generator of these droids allows them to reproduce different tones of sounds, creating different voices of many species and races, as well as clones. However, their lexicon too small and specific, so they can be quickly exposed. The weapons of the rank and file consisted of a rifle and vibroswords. In addition, droid saboteurs wield not only ranged and melee weapons, but also have hand-to-hand combat skills. Thanks to their mobile limbs, their strikes are precise and deadly. The only drawback of these droids was their high price, so during the Clone Wars they were used only in special operations. Their "ancestor" was the B1 battle droids.
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5. Droidek (Droid Destroyer)- A combat type of droid used by the Trade Federation and the CIS. Droidekas, during the Clone Wars, gained a reputation as deadly creatures that even the Jedi feared. They were valued for their versatility and firepower. Destroyer droids participated in many battles of the Clone Wars, usually in small units, and also served as security guards in various Separatist installations. Droidekas were superior to B1 Battle Droids in several ways. They could fold into a cylindrical shape, reminiscent of a wheel, and due to this move quickly. When faced with danger, the droids unfolded into a three-legged structure equipped with two twin blasters and, as a rule, a protective field generator that could reflect or absorb any type of energy charges, including shots from light cannons, as well as counteract lightsaber attacks. In addition, the effectiveness of Destroyer Droids was ensured by an expanded range of vision sensors that were not affected by light tricks. Despite its formidable equipment, the Droidek had a significant drawback: its shield was designed for protection in an upright position. If the droid fell on its side or crashed into a wall,
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https://pandia.ru/text/78/345/images/image008_6.jpg" align="left" width="348" height="222">6. Magnadroid (Magnaguard)- Personal guards of General Grievous. This droid's weapon was a special electrostaff made from Freak, a material that can resist lightsaber. The magnaguard could also use rocket launcher or the B1 droid rifle. They were known as formidable assassins, capable of easily dispatching both Republic clones and the Jedi themselves. Magnadroid was one of the most dangerous droids of the Confederacy. Used to protect Separatist leaders from the Jedi. Their staves did not deflect blaster shots, so they were useless in a large battle.
7. Octuptarra droid– actively used during the Clone Wars by the Techno Union and the KNU. The three-legged arachnid automata had a large spherical head mounted on thin body. Below the head, laser cannons were installed. The droid's standard armament consisted of three laser turrets, spaced evenly on each side, below the photoreceptors. The height of the droid, moving on three zigzag, divided supports, was 3.6 meters. It was almost impossible to get close to the droid unnoticed, since the photoreceptors located with different sides, gave an all-round panoramic view of the area, and an articulated rotating block allowed them to immediately open fire in the event of a sudden collision with the enemy, which made them a difficult and dangerous target. The Octuptarra Droid was most effective to use at a distance, since its weapons and height allowed it to fire at long ranges, but if the enemy got close, the droid became vulnerable, since the weapons did not allow firing at close range, and the large head was poorly protected from dense fire from enemy side.
« Star Wars"- these are primarily seven films, to which many new ones will soon be added. But the saga of George Lucas made its way into the world of television with difficulty, and only in the last decade and a half did it finally succeed on the small screen.
Typically, all Star Wars series are animated. In the first part of the article we will talk about the two oldest and most forgotten of them.
The first ever Star Wars cartoon was released in 1978 as part of another film - and a very unsuccessful one. CBS made a holiday TV movie based on the franchise ( Star Wars Holiday Special). The release was a monumental failure and went down in history as one of the worst projects created under the Star Wars brand. Its budget was so small that many scenes were made using re-editing and re-sounding of the original film. Later, George Lucas made every effort to ensure that no one would ever see this film again.
The only bright spot of the TV movie was the ten-minute animated segment “The Tale of the Devoted Wookiee,” produced by the young Canadian studio Nelvana (which later released the TV series “Inspector Gadget” and “Beetlejuice”). According to the plot, Chewbacca's son watches this cartoon on TV. Lucas was pleased with the work of the animators. When he started thinking about new Star Wars cartoons six years later, he turned to Nelvana.
In 1984, Lucas was still unsure whether or what kind of Star Wars films he would continue making. Therefore, George appointed the heroes of the animated series as those who are least important to the plot - the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 and the Ewoks. In addition, both of them were liked by the target audience of cartoons - children. Nelvana head Clive Smith tried to persuade Lucas to use the central characters from the saga, but failed.
Before work began, Lucas met with the writers and explained the concept to them. According to his idea, “Droids” were supposed to resemble “Lassie” - every few episodes, C-3PO and R2-D2 ended up with new owners and experienced adventures with them. And the animated series “Ewoks” was supposed to show the development of the Ewok Wicket, who shortly before became the hero of the television movie “Ewoks: Caravan of Daredevils.” However, apart from the location and a number of characters, the TV movie and the series have little in common.
Lucas ensured that “Droids” and “Ewoks” were head and shoulders above their competitors on the broadcast grid. In practice, this resulted in extremely complex and expensive filming. The characters in "Droids" changed every few episodes, so the animators constantly had to create new characters, locations and equipment. The cost of one episode amounted to 250 thousand dollars, foreign studios were involved in the work, and still the creators missed the deadlines.
With “Ewoks” it was simpler: the action took place in the same place. Artists painted monotonous trees and crowds of teddy bears, differing only in the color of their fur and hoods. This made the series cheaper, but also more boring and monotonous.
The ABC television channel, which undertook to show the series, dictated extremely strict censorship restrictions. The weapons were not supposed to resemble firearms, the characters could not hit each other and were required to fasten their seat belts when getting into any vehicle. In addition, the channel rejected all experiments, reaching the point of absurdity. For example, in one of the episodes, an Imperial pilot was supposed to befriend the Ewoks, who would have to choose between the duty of the Empire and loyalty to his friends. Potentially strong plot was rejected by ABC as, please note, "too starry-eyed"!
For Droids, the first season was also the last due to low ratings and high costs. The Ewoks were a little luckier. The series was renewed for a second season, in which Lucasfilm refocused it on a very young audience. And they ruined everything. The first season of “Ewoks” could at least boast well-developed plots and characters. In the second, the characters lost depth and the plots became primitive. The changes did not help, and after the second season, Ewoks was also canceled. After this failure, the Star Wars series was forgotten for almost twenty years.
Droids and prequels
The Droids had little in common with the rest of the Star Wars universe, but they did influence the prequel trilogy. At the suggestion of screenwriter Ben Bart, four-armed chefs, the Riot race and the planet Bogden meet here and there. And the design of the car driven by one of the heroes of “Droids” formed the basis for the wheel of General Grievous from “Revenge of the Sith.”
