Alan tell Lucas film get the Gi;lroy team to either finish the SOLO trilogy with Alden Ehenrich. or make a series for TV because it will be far more interestng than whatever project is in the wind. Andor is 10 / 10 and a SOLO project would be both good AND have popular aupport. it would be nice if this would come to pass.
Well you get your friends to "acquire" it, change the paperwork and sell it on CZcams. All the while posing yourself as a "legitimate" lightsaber trader.
Computers used to be the size of a room. And according to Dune, one day computers will be the size of a guy who is forced to do drugs that make them good at math.
@Allen There was a interview where they said they are changing from CGI to practical on the lighting from the sabers, and the sabers are thicker due to having to have the battery packs inside the sabers now. Ahsoka's were thinner due to her battery backs being in her sleeves.
@@kelevra7711pixels die out about a good 40 mins of playtime at the most and are prone to damage if struck enough times, the sabers on set are connected up to the lighting set up so it’s doesn’t blow out the screen and are thicker to contain the batteries needed for long periods of time
@@anferneesuellcosplay5455 Sounds like a lot of hassle when they could just simply, do what the prequels did (films made during the infancy of CGI might I add)
That's legit what I thought. Problem with this as an explanation is we have seen canon lightsabers not being huge and fat before. Though I do hope they address stagnation in technology. It wasn't really a thing until KOTOR/SWTOR really made it awful. The old Tales of the jedi had primitive tech, and much of the old lore was about tech progression. I.E. Han Solo adventures, tales of the jedi, even dark empire did it.
Honestly between World War 1 and World War 2 military technology started to somewhat stagnate while the innovations from World War 1 fueled non-military innovation but during both World Wars military technology skyrocketed. I imagine this is the same in Star Wars. Large Scale conflicts fuel military technology like The Great Galactic War and the Clone wars. This is why the old republic could use the Hammerhead for 3,000 years. no high risk conflict to force them to innovate and these innovations couldn’t fuel non-military applications in turn
Technology didnt change drastically on earth for thousands of years. The pyramids were created a couple millenia before rome which had its height 2000 years ago and their techonology wasnt that different from egypt at least in our modern eyes. Maybe star wars universe has a similar bottleneck on tech
High republic comics and in Jedi Survivor they show lightsabers from that time and earlier and they arent fat, its just a problem with the show specifically
They changed the filming lightsabers to have LED blades. Originally they were wired to a battery pack hidden on person. For Acolyte they changed to lightsabers that actually hold batteries rather than deal with a wire.
yeah its not like sabertrio or other companys do the same thing and there hilts are not as thick and by only using light with no sound you can easly put a lager battery in and it would last longer that just 1h and still be not that thick
They are using the retractable saber tech from the failed hotel on set. Makes it super easy to edit because you dont need to cut. Those retractable sabers are that thick. Its saving money on props and lazy filmmaking.
not buying it even huge honk D batteries are skinnier than a weapon hilt. there's no reason for these thing to be that damn fat... they look like toys.
This. This is the exact explanation. They already have a hard magic system and FTL flight speed. There is nothing left to discover other than making things smaller and more convinient or just researching medical stuff for more spiecies
@@vikunthnanda7539 they have holographic message transfer across the entire galaxy. They have commsbthat link a space fleet to ground troops in a size of a handheld or an ear piece. They have fully functional protocol droids with human like mobility. This is also completely solved. At tgis point all that ia left is just... make it faster/more comfy and so on.
Louis Sullivan created the dictum of "form follows function". Much earlier Vitruvius (Marcus Vitruvius Pollio) postited that a structure must be solid, useful and beautiful. That one lived in the first century BC and he designed the siege engines of Julius Caesar. If a technological basis has achieved a certain level of utility it need not change that much. The shovel you cited is a good example.
I really appreciate the thought you put into these videos. But really, the explanation for why there are technological jumps each movie is because audiences expect to see something new, and, more importantly, each movie is an opportunity to create new merchandise. So they cram them with as much new stuff as they can.
I love that you made a video about this (I shouldn't be surprised) - I absolutely kept noticing it, but I didn't realize it was a whole thing! Would these be called "heavy sabers?" Those are the SW equivalent of the 80's "brick cell phone."
I think it's more of just a prop thing than anything that actually needs explanation. It's like the minor changes in Vader's design between Star Wars and Empire, they exist but they're more to do with production trivia than they are to be explained by lore.
I think the reason for the large saber hilts is far simpler than any in universe explanation: toys. The retractble plastic blades on the toy lightsabers caused the hilts of the toys to be much larger and longer than what we saw on screen. The lightsabres from the Acolyte look an awful lot like repainted toy lightsabre hilts, and even if they are not, if/when they make toys for these sabres, the toys will be pretty much the same size as the ones seen on screen.
I believe I read somewhere that at this time lightsabers were mass produced and reused after the nihil crisis with the crystals being the only things wholly unique to the wielder. I think it explains why they look so clunky and weathered in some cases like with Sol’s emitter being discolored from oxidization
7:12 the Force is NOT the only way to precisely align and assemble Lightsabre components. It just makes it easier. A specialist Droid like Huyang has all the requisite fine control and crafting subroutines to assemble a functioning lightsabre with any set of given components. The only thing that will be lacking is the full potential of an individual force user's intimate connection to a lightsabre of their own personal crafting. This capability was shown in canon. This is why crafting your own Lightsabre was one of the benchmark trials needed to attain the rank of Jedi Knight. In other eras (like the +150 ABY Legacy Era) the Lightsabres of the Imperial Knights are all mass produced and identical silver/white blades as a mark of their unity of purpose and badge of office.
Hell, two years since my car was made in 1993 when OBD two was implemented, you could see the transitionary. It was very awkward like they got rid of the distributor and went to ignition coils, but it was really slapped together. It was definitely an interesting time and will never see those weird bubble era cars again
They’re like the same size as a the Savi’s workshop lightsabers. At Disneyland, their Acolyte display in Tomorrowland were made with all Savi sabers, which are known to be heavy and huge.
Nothing drives innovation like war. A lot changed in the world between ww1 and ww2 and then jumped even more from ww2 to the Cold War. The stagnation during the old republic era and the changes during the clone wars/galactic empire eras make sense to me.
I like the differences personally. One of the things that winds me up is when you have a prequel and the technology is so much better than what is supposed to be the original film, like Alien. Alien is very industrial in the prequel technology. Has something become holographic? It's like there is a technological devolution in between those two films. I think the fact that the hilts are thicker in acolyte Just shows that the batteries aren't quite as good 100 years before as they were.
I think that their lightsaber hilt designs are for more practical reasons. It saves money on CGI. They use practical props where they can just snap in the led light tube and tighten the screw. Back during the original trilogy, the lightsaber props had fragile rods that had to be colored in post production. It’s especially apparent in the original movie, where those rods rotated and covered with reflective tape and you could hardly tap two together without the risk of them breaking. Now-a-days, anyone can buy a prop/toy lightsaber that comes with a super bright and durable led tube for practice sparring, that you can just snap in and tighten with a screw, if you have ~$ 200 to spare.
Oh they had kyber blasters. It's all in the Jedi archives They had a lot of kyber-based weaponry that they don't use in the movies because you know plot
I noticed on first episode & i have nothing against thicky hilts shown in Le Beautiful The Acolyte 🙂 The deadly part looks el bueno. I know the reason why hilts are bigger in this beautiful Live Act Star Wars show as crew member explained it 🙂 I'll take that hilt any day over a too thin in order to get more balanced grip. Yes even when Lightsaber itself is very lightweight 🙂 Enjoy S01 finale via D+ if haven't yet & good times ^^ I'll stream it in few hours at 2am (yes it dropped half a day ago, but i don't stream at daytime) when wind-down before Zz 🙂
Other models may include: Thiccsaber, Pitchforksaber, Rainbowsaber, Slimmsaber, Fireworksaber, Dolphinsaber, Golfclubsaber...and the extremely rare Fishingsaber for Jedi vacation time.
Remember that there are always significant events that jumpstart technological change. It's possible that what was being used just worked, and no one saw a reason to change. Something happened, perhaps this small escapade in history, that was traumatic enough, that the Jedi and Sith, decided they needed more nimble weapons. We see this during global conflicts, pandemics and disasters. There becomes a sudden (and profitable) need to improve something or fast track a developing weapon, vaccine or electronic for warfare, public health or communications.
During the original and prequel trilogy they would just use either aluminum or VFX blades and add the blades in post later. During the sequel trilogy and moving forward to now, they use actual practical glowing LED blades that have battery packs in the handles. Now you have lighting from the actual lightsaber in the environment. Except for Ahsoka's for the Mandalorian, where they had a wire connectivity through Rosario's sleeves. When they got to the Ahsoka show, they were able to slim down the battery packs to put them within the curved sabers themselves.
@@grandsome1that’s exactly why they are so stiff in ahsoka. So you can tell they wanted to put the power pack in the hilt and that’s why they are so massive in the acolyte
@@jayblack3345 I'm wondering why these power packs need to be so massive, light saber glowing only matters in dark scenes they could just use lower powered LEDs as reference for enhancement in post.
Yeah no, it looks like they're putting like D size batteries in those things. Instead of using D size batteries just keep like several quick swap cells that you just recharge instead of you know having to go out and buy a pack of Duracell.
“Shadows of Starlight Issue #1” also explains/shows how the Jedi pivoted from having beautiful ceremonial lightsabers, to just barebones combat focused lightsabers. “They don’t have to be beautiful, they just have to work”.
I read an article recently about the new lightsabers being LED sticks requiring onboard power to work. That is why they are larger in circumference in Disney+ shows.
Great sabertrio and other companys have the same tech and still build smaller sabers, you can even just only lite them up so the battery is not empty after 1h
YES , the tech there using to make the sabers reacte in real time is run by someone with wireless controls ,, so there chunkier just to have the new tech in em
I really love the Ezra Bridger's first light saber. The first time I saw it, it looked like a stable gun. Then he actually used it like a stable gun to shoot stun blasts. I loved that design.
1:48 I think that, over thousands of years of super advanced technology, there would be a lot of stagnation with that technology, like you can only push technology so far. Also especially after centuries of peace and stability, it makes sense that star ships and star fighters would not have the same level of technical expertise dedicated to improving upon them. I think we see this in The Clone Wars, where they start the war with V-19s and Z-95s and by the end of the war their star fighters had advanced a lot to the venerated ARC-170s, Y-wings, and the advanced V-wings.
I really don't see why it's so hard to believe there would be very little advancement in technology. Look at our own history. Technology was very stagnant for well over thousands of years. How much advancement would remain for a galaxy wide civilization that has already mastered space, even to the point of faster than light travel?
@@FreebirthBoccara oh I don't know, how about 10,000 bc to say 300 ad. We made a few advancements in metallurgy. Swords were still swords. Chariots were still chariots. Not much in the way of change at all. The technology boom didn't really hit until after the dark ages were over. Or if you like, let's go back even further, back when stone tools were all the rage and the wheel wasn't even a thing yet. That seems to have lasted for a rather long amount of time. You see, technology reaches a point of diminishing returns and will stagnate until a major breakthrough is made. Then there is a period of rapid growth until the new pinnacle is reached and things slow down once again. For example, the cell phone, a device that saw rapid growth and evolution over a few decades, but has really started to slow to a crawl. The latest and greatest feature, a folding screen. Big whoop.
Could also be fashion at a time lightsabers are more a ceremonial weapon than a serious combat weapon. Kinda like military swords and sabers became less user friendly, but "more impressive" (metal scabbards that make THAT noise when drawn etc.) in the late 19th century...
Lightsabers being fat was probably it was for technical reasons for the tech and production but it could also have been they didn’t think about it and no one would notice my problem is the lack of aesthetically pleasing designs for lightsabers especially for the high republic but that might just be me
I've always wondered why the Old Republic had the same level of technology we see in the movies thousands of years later. The only way I can see that happen is if technology already peaked and can't get any better. I love KOTOR and SWTOR so I have a personal bias for the Old Republic and don't want it to change. But I do think it would make more sense if technology and galactic society/culture advanced and progressed a lot over thousands of years.
I always liked how Star Wars had technology peak and it become basically legos. It became entirely about how you put things together rather then inventing something new. It's why the Death Star having a giant lightsaber crystal was so cool, it was taking existing technology only used in lightsabers then scaling it up to use it another way. The whole lego aspect of Star Wars Technology also explains how Anakin could build C3PO. He only needed a specialized piece like the brain of the protocol droid but could scavenge rest of the parts from random junk.
That’s great but it’s 80 years before the Phantom Menace. It does not line up with a big technological leap happing in that span of time, especially when looking at other stories from even earlier during the high republic.
I think the best explanation for the Holdo maneuver is that it happens at the precise transition from regular space to hyperspace. If you engage the hyperdrive a fraction of a second too early, you just slam into the other ship's shields, doing little damage to them while destroying your ship. If you engage it a fraction of a second too late, your ship harmlessly passes through their but will still likely destroy yours depending on the gravity of the other ship. That explanation would make it a "one in a million" shot.
Because Disney is using glorified toy sabers that need bigger components to operate. It’s not an in-universe thing. Otherwise, Yoda’s saber would be bigger than he is.
And don’t say “it’s the high republic era designs” because that’s just cope. The Old Republic had designs such as Orgus Din, Satele Shan and Revan’s clawed lightsaber in which were all absolute masterpieces. There’s no excuse for them looking like those $10 hasbro lightsabers we all used to have back in the day.
You call that thick, but... Greatsabers /or great lightsabers) are also a thing. I honestly don't mind them looking bulky if that shows how over the years, the art of building a lightsaber was perfected. After all, there's archaic lightsabers and retrosabers in the lore as well.
The real reason the Lightsabers are so freakin' big is super simple & involves making Money. Disney & Galaxy's Edge Lightsabers don't make that much money because they don't look screen accurate, they're just WAY too big. These Lightsabers are the size of the Lightsabsers that Disney & Galaxy's Edge make, so if you buy from them you're actually now buying a more screen accurate Lightsaber (cheaply made). Look up the size of Disney & Galaxy's Edge Lightsabers to other more accurate Lightsabers (89 sabers is known to be the most accurate) & you'll see what I mean.
...Or "BBLs": Big Beautiful Lightsabers. Body shaming is wrong, even towards lightsabers! In my personal opinion, lightsabers have conscious experiences, and thus feelings. Okay, not sure about that, but droids definitely have conscious experience--and thus feelings. The way droids are treated in the SW universe, and how morally wrong it is, needs an entire series to explore. In my head canon, at least some droids are force-sensitive (and so necessarily conscious)...regardless of their lack of midichlorians! In fact, in my head canon, midichlorians are just a marker for force-sensitivity, not the direct cause of it (and I'm not sure if this really contradicts the "lore", exactly--particularly the Disney SW lore). R5-D4 was force-sensitive, dammit! At least according to EU/Legends lore! Amiright, or amiright? A bit off-topic, but have you heard of the "Hard Problem of Consciousness"? 🤔
My dad had a small gripe about this as we've been reviewing the Acolyte. Your input has been very informative lol. I'll share this with him as I'm sure he'll definitely agree with this concept.
I actually like the thicker hilts. Look a lot comfier than the thin ones for a strong style. I've got big hands, and always liked the look of vaders saber, another chunky one
We already do, they just want to use D size batteries so that they don't have to build the prop around a customized power cell. Which they could do, just have a specific power cell shape or whatever that they produce to put in their stupid hilts. Yes I know They make batteries those are the cells I'm talking about specifically shaped lithium ion battery packs I got a little tiny ass speaker that uses a little tiny ass lithium ion battery pack I guarantee you that thing will provide enough power for LED lights on a little lightsaber pack no problem and this little ass speaker weighs 39 grams It is a tiny ass battery and it lasts for 15 hours and it gets doggone loud
I personally like the chonky sabers, they got weight. haha. I also really like the stun blaster, the Jedi order in the high republic acts much like a police force, it makes since for them to have basically what amounts to a taser.
Your explanation makes a lot of sense for in-universe. Personally, I think they're that thick because the lightsabers at Disneyland are weirdly thick too, so Disney wanted one of their shows to have lightsabers that look like the ones you get at Galaxy's Edge, so people stop complaining.
I enjoy these deep conversations and I really prefer the stories move away from the forced narrative that is policed and “lorded” over by fans who won’t be satisfied by much of anything Disney does. 💯
Alan, let me introduce you to the concept of hyper beam sabers. That's not like, a joke or anything. It's a Gundam thing, Universal Century, to be more accurate. Bigger hilt, bigger beam blade, cutting power enough to slash through several mobile suits in one go.
Hrm, though it didn't seem they were *all* so very thick. (Though I'm pretty sure Kelnacca's Wookie-sized one was getting passed around in the battle scene which sure added to the impression. )
I've always 'Hand Waved' away how the Old Republic period looks like 'Modern Day' Star Wars. Even before Disney, almost all of the Old Republic expanded content was considered "Low Canon" (don't know if that's the correct term). In other words, it was considered official unless other Expanded Universe material addressed it (and I'm not Wookiepedia, but I don't think much ever did) But for those who play the games, it just looks cool to have 'modern day' sabers and ships (even if it does mean that the SW Galaxy has been technologically stagnant for thousands of years 😅)
Some civilizations become stagnate because leadership doesn't or won't let free will. Or outside thinking aloud. And if there is a lack of inspiration due to laziness. People become numb because of their lack of training in thier job. Upper management will say, you're not aloud to think, just do the job you're paid to do.
This is a fun in universe answer but realistically it’s bc they’re hiding the actual LED’s to power the blade in the hilt. So basically using Disney’s Batuu Galaxy’s Edge toys
I hope Disney doesn't take away from the Acolyte failing that people only want to see Luke and all the same characters. There's so much more they could do in the IP, assuming they keep it consistent.
Who says that Acolyte is a failure? I've read that it's done pretty well in viewership. I think that people forget that what we read online is usually just a very small sample of the general public. 99% of people watching Acolyte are just like, "Neat! Star Wars!" and not going on social media complaining about lore inconsistencies and stuff.
@@jayb8934 180 million spent for a show even the hard core shills say isn't great tells me it's a failure. That kind of money should have been "season 2 renewed after 1 episode" level.
SW toxic fans have no thought process. Trekkies/Trekkers can have fun discussion about everything including tech. And yet, the toxic SW fans keep muttering disney, disney, disney etc... ya'll are truly lost. Appreciate, Generation Tech for keeping the discussions open to all things SW.
I think the fat lightsabers should more just be glossed over as "they're borrowing tech from those lightsabers at the failed Star Wars hotel so they can do practical lighting more easily" than it should be explained.
I thought that with Disney's takeover of the IP, they changed all the Expanded Universe into Legacy, and also changed some of the timelines specifically about The Old Republic to be more like 1000 years before BBY instead of 5000. Perhaps I just got that part wrong, but it would make a lot more sense actually. Also if you compare the game Star Wars: The Old Republic to the early KoTOR comics, the technology is vastly different and isn't coherent at all
Yeah that's the trade off we lose the expanded universe all the amazing stuff but also people tend to forget how confusing and messed up it was. The technology stagnation was just one of the many issues
considering it not from a filming and prop view, but a lore universe view, you need to consider the current time of star wars has considerably slower advancement because they are already near the peak of their technological capabilities, beyond that, changes would be more likely influenced by aesthetic preferences, which could lead to explain why there is not much of a difference across such a long timeframe, especially with the rebels, because they have just continued to use what has been working all this time, and simply made alterations to existing things, rather than making whole new stuff, this explains a lot of the rebel ships not changing much in design, whereas sith creations are built with more of a focus on the preferences of the sith in charge? Just an idea
The Republic at the time of the Prequels was being influenced by Sith designs thanks to Palpatine's influence, then the Empire basically resurrected Sith Empire designs once it no longer needed the veneer of the Republic. So the change in design language was due to a harmonization between Sith and Republic designs that had remained previously separated for that 3000 years period. Star Wars is a fantasy and in fantasy technology is usually stagnant and different factions have clear design language. So it doesn't surprise me that they remained the same for so long. From a production standpoint, it's simply that they want to tell original stories set far in the past but need to draw in people who only know the later stuff and so have to use designs that are similar but not identical to things seen in the Original Trilogy.
Problem is, the High Republic established some great lightsaber designs in the books and comics. There were crossguards, alternate materials, and rather elegant hilts. We see none of that in the Acolyte. Even if the hilts had to be thicker, due to practical reasons, it does not explain why the hilts are visually so dull.
Stay within a reasonable range of Ralph McQuarire's concept art. - "Its not da length, it's da wiff" ~ some dude being interviewed on HBO's "Real Sex" back in the 90's
I always assumed the constant wars caused constant technological regression. We even seen in The Mando that the New Republic actively was destroying technology that belonged to the empire. I get the feeling this has happened a lot over the history of the galaxy.
They are basically playing with glowing toy lightsabers on set. Rather than adding the glowing effects in post production. Although it's cool they are glowing IRL it looks way crappier than it used to.
What happens to a dead Jedi's lightsaber? >>> czcams.com/video/eZJ6JmNFFFE/video.htmlsi=KWzHCSHLPv3j5Dl5
I think the fandom gone too far using batteries for lightsabers. And I don't think there's any point to explain why as nobody will hear it anyway.
The lightsabers are thick because the lightsabers bought at Savi's Workshop are thick.
They're trying to justify selling a poor design.
Alan tell Lucas film get the Gi;lroy team to either finish the SOLO trilogy with Alden Ehenrich. or make a series for TV because it will be far more interestng than whatever project is in the wind. Andor is 10 / 10 and a SOLO project would be both good AND have popular aupport.
it would be nice if this would come to pass.
Dunno. Jealous of your apartment view tho 😅
Well you get your friends to "acquire" it, change the paperwork and sell it on CZcams. All the while posing yourself as a "legitimate" lightsaber trader.
Computers used to be the size of a room. And according to Dune, one day computers will be the size of a guy who is forced to do drugs that make them good at math.
Also mentats are pookies😊
Rebels: lightsabers r too thin😭
Acolyte: lightsabers r too thick😭
Prequels: 👌
In rebels they had normal handles w thin blades
The acolyte uses handles that are almost too big for some of the actors to properly wield
@@theCantinafanfilms 👌
(Sequels don’t count)
The rebels talk about lightsabers is about the blade being too thin, not the hilt ya doing dong
@@ethanlukegaming380 tbh the lightsabers themselves weren't too bad in those movies
@Allen There was a interview where they said they are changing from CGI to practical on the lighting from the sabers, and the sabers are thicker due to having to have the battery packs inside the sabers now. Ahsoka's were thinner due to her battery backs being in her sleeves.
So... Fans with limited budgets do better sabers than a 180 mio $ Disney show with almost limitless Disney money?
@@kelevra7711the show has to use fighting capable versions, not show toys.
@@kelevra7711pixels die out about a good 40 mins of playtime at the most and are prone to damage if struck enough times, the sabers on set are connected up to the lighting set up so it’s doesn’t blow out the screen and are thicker to contain the batteries needed for long periods of time
There are a lot of "toys" specially design to fight... @@F0XD1E
@@anferneesuellcosplay5455 Sounds like a lot of hassle when they could just simply, do what the prequels did (films made during the infancy of CGI might I add)
The lightsabers are being made super thick so their Disney official lightsaber "replicas" can't be complained about anymore.
To distract from their crap replicas, they introduce crappier crap?
@@thatHARVguy This *is* the way.
That's legit what I thought. Problem with this as an explanation is we have seen canon lightsabers not being huge and fat before. Though I do hope they address stagnation in technology. It wasn't really a thing until KOTOR/SWTOR really made it awful. The old Tales of the jedi had primitive tech, and much of the old lore was about tech progression. I.E. Han Solo adventures, tales of the jedi, even dark empire did it.
i actually thought they just pulled some disney land replicas from stock to save money on the series;.
I was thinking the same.
I’m glad you spend so much time on these videos every day because I’m enjoying all of them
Same! Thanks Alan 🙏🏻
thanks for watching, and thanks to congo for editing these !
@@GenerationTechlove your work!
"His saber was well endowed and as thick as a beer can" - excerpt from the Erotic/Romance novel Fifty shades of Grey Jedi
Honestly between World War 1 and World War 2 military technology started to somewhat stagnate while the innovations from World War 1 fueled non-military innovation but during both World Wars military technology skyrocketed. I imagine this is the same in Star Wars. Large Scale conflicts fuel military technology like The Great Galactic War and the Clone wars. This is why the old republic could use the Hammerhead for 3,000 years. no high risk conflict to force them to innovate and these innovations couldn’t fuel non-military applications in turn
tru
Not to mention you look at naval vessels, the nearest equivalent for the space fleets, and they regularly serve for many decades.
Technology didnt change drastically on earth for thousands of years. The pyramids were created a couple millenia before rome which had its height 2000 years ago and their techonology wasnt that different from egypt at least in our modern eyes. Maybe star wars universe has a similar bottleneck on tech
That would be wrong though. Weapons look completely different from those two time periods. Metallurgy was vastly different.
@@andrewli6606 Well weapons were still spears and swords and such, not guns. Ships still used the wind and manpower to move not coal or oil
Pyramids are way older than originally thought, new evidence suggests it could be 12000 years old.
High republic comics and in Jedi Survivor they show lightsabers from that time and earlier and they arent fat, its just a problem with the show specifically
They changed the filming lightsabers to have LED blades. Originally they were wired to a battery pack hidden on person. For Acolyte they changed to lightsabers that actually hold batteries rather than deal with a wire.
yeah its not like sabertrio or other companys do the same thing and there hilts are not as thick and by only using light with no sound you can easly put a lager battery in and it would last longer that just 1h and still be not that thick
@@Revan638sabertrio isn't the only company making quality lightsabers, and I don't think Disney cares about quality anymore.
They are using the retractable saber tech from the failed hotel on set. Makes it super easy to edit because you dont need to cut. Those retractable sabers are that thick.
Its saving money on props and lazy filmmaking.
not buying it even huge honk D batteries are skinnier than a weapon hilt. there's no reason for these thing to be that damn fat... they look like toys.
Glad you were able to get away from your dolphin captors. We were all worried.
I’m trying to imagine a lightsaber spork
Why did you have to put that in my head... just... why
@@pacboy7673 Have you seen the College Humor parody of Star Wars?
You tried to make a joke image, but now I'm visualizing a laser trident. Badass
@@hollywoodguy70 Check out Jedi Knight: Outcast/Academy game mods.
May the spork be with you.
0:10 She's using the whip in a Castlevania Belmont style.
So that's why she's using a Lightsaber whip
Like when he uses The morning star?
"I'm not fat, I''m big b....... crystalled...."
Master Aeric Caertmainn (Chiss) with his padawan kaennii (is the butt of every joke)
Technology in Star Wars hasn't changed much over thousands of years because the civilization has already reached its technological singularity.
This. This is the exact explanation. They already have a hard magic system and FTL flight speed. There is nothing left to discover other than making things smaller and more convinient or just researching medical stuff for more spiecies
They have droids to do basic searches. Apparently not as they need a wookie with a metal detector to find the plot in acolyte 😂
@@zwidowca1 what about digital technology? Most of them still use analog computing. Much of our software is way more efficient and secure than theirs.
@@vikunthnanda7539 they have holographic message transfer across the entire galaxy. They have commsbthat link a space fleet to ground troops in a size of a handheld or an ear piece. They have fully functional protocol droids with human like mobility. This is also completely solved. At tgis point all that ia left is just... make it faster/more comfy and so on.
@@juliandarch9278 I do not care what Master Narezz tells you, DROIDS CANNOT BE FORCE SENSITIVE
Louis Sullivan created the dictum of "form follows function". Much earlier Vitruvius (Marcus Vitruvius Pollio) postited that a structure must be solid, useful and beautiful. That one lived in the first century BC and he designed the siege engines of Julius Caesar. If a technological basis has achieved a certain level of utility it need not change that much. The shovel you cited is a good example.
I really appreciate the thought you put into these videos. But really, the explanation for why there are technological jumps each movie is because audiences expect to see something new, and, more importantly, each movie is an opportunity to create new merchandise. So they cram them with as much new stuff as they can.
I love that you made a video about this (I shouldn't be surprised) - I absolutely kept noticing it, but I didn't realize it was a whole thing! Would these be called "heavy sabers?" Those are the SW equivalent of the 80's "brick cell phone."
Then why didn’t Yoda have one?
@@ericp1139 Maybe he did have one? Jedi have been known to rebuild their lightsabers.
@@DaddyHensei oh, I’m sure Disney is just itching to retcon that too.
I think it's more of just a prop thing than anything that actually needs explanation. It's like the minor changes in Vader's design between Star Wars and Empire, they exist but they're more to do with production trivia than they are to be explained by lore.
Aku: *"EXTRA THICC!"*
Avoid Ultra Sabers!
I think the reason for the large saber hilts is far simpler than any in universe explanation: toys. The retractble plastic blades on the toy lightsabers caused the hilts of the toys to be much larger and longer than what we saw on screen. The lightsabres from the Acolyte look an awful lot like repainted toy lightsabre hilts, and even if they are not, if/when they make toys for these sabres, the toys will be pretty much the same size as the ones seen on screen.
I believe I read somewhere that at this time lightsabers were mass produced and reused after the nihil crisis with the crystals being the only things wholly unique to the wielder.
I think it explains why they look so clunky and weathered in some cases like with Sol’s emitter being discolored from oxidization
I especially liked the detail that the mass-produced design was clearly Anakin's design
Multipurpose lightsaber.
😈
Oh ffs... Absolutely not 🙅🙅
💀lol
"High" Republic
Was it made by the Swiss army? 😂
7:12 the Force is NOT the only way to precisely align and assemble Lightsabre components. It just makes it easier. A specialist Droid like Huyang has all the requisite fine control and crafting subroutines to assemble a functioning lightsabre with any set of given components. The only thing that will be lacking is the full potential of an individual force user's intimate connection to a lightsabre of their own personal crafting. This capability was shown in canon.
This is why crafting your own Lightsabre was one of the benchmark trials needed to attain the rank of Jedi Knight.
In other eras (like the +150 ABY Legacy Era) the Lightsabres of the Imperial Knights are all mass produced and identical silver/white blades as a mark of their unity of purpose and badge of office.
Your point on Cars is definitely on point working on my car from the early 90s versus my sisters year-old car is always an eye opener
Hell, two years since my car was made in 1993 when OBD two was implemented, you could see the transitionary. It was very awkward like they got rid of the distributor and went to ignition coils, but it was really slapped together.
It was definitely an interesting time and will never see those weird bubble era cars again
They’re like the same size as a the Savi’s workshop lightsabers. At Disneyland, their Acolyte display in Tomorrowland were made with all Savi sabers, which are known to be heavy and huge.
Nothing drives innovation like war. A lot changed in the world between ww1 and ww2 and then jumped even more from ww2 to the Cold War. The stagnation during the old republic era and the changes during the clone wars/galactic empire eras make sense to me.
You are the best thing that has come from the accolyte for me. Found you cause of it. Best thing ever.
I like the differences personally. One of the things that winds me up is when you have a prequel and the technology is so much better than what is supposed to be the original film, like Alien. Alien is very industrial in the prequel technology. Has something become holographic? It's like there is a technological devolution in between those two films. I think the fact that the hilts are thicker in acolyte Just shows that the batteries aren't quite as good 100 years before as they were.
I think that their lightsaber hilt designs are for more practical reasons. It saves money on CGI. They use practical props where they can just snap in the led light tube and tighten the screw.
Back during the original trilogy, the lightsaber props had fragile rods that had to be colored in post production. It’s especially apparent in the original movie, where those rods rotated and covered with reflective tape and you could hardly tap two together without the risk of them breaking.
Now-a-days, anyone can buy a prop/toy lightsaber that comes with a super bright and durable led tube for practice sparring, that you can just snap in and tighten with a screw, if you have ~$ 200 to spare.
Apparently fire control has changed, they don't have sprinklers in the future lol
probably because Osha hadn't reached her full potential at that point
Explain? So technology doesn't expand to fire sprinklers or she hasn't done what?
It's a stone keep but whatever
@@GenerationTech 🤭well played sir.
@juliandarch9278 OSHA is also the name of a gov administration for health and safety. That's the joke
Yu are all right and i am glad to see "technological developement" finally happen in Star Wars, even if that sounds a little bit confusing
"jedi would never have a lethal bastler on hand"
Cal Kestis: 👀
Oh they had kyber blasters. It's all in the Jedi archives They had a lot of kyber-based weaponry that they don't use in the movies because you know plot
The editing in this video is truly amazing. You guys are an inspiration.
Glad to see I'm not the only one who noticed it
It was one of three first things I noticed... of maaannyyyyyyy!
I noticed on first episode & i have nothing against thicky hilts shown in Le Beautiful The Acolyte 🙂 The deadly part looks el bueno. I know the reason why hilts are bigger in this beautiful Live Act Star Wars show as crew member explained it 🙂 I'll take that hilt any day over a too thin in order to get more balanced grip. Yes even when Lightsaber itself is very lightweight 🙂 Enjoy S01 finale via D+ if haven't yet & good times ^^ I'll stream it in few hours at 2am (yes it dropped half a day ago, but i don't stream at daytime) when wind-down before Zz 🙂
Other models may include: Thiccsaber, Pitchforksaber, Rainbowsaber, Slimmsaber, Fireworksaber, Dolphinsaber, Golfclubsaber...and the extremely rare Fishingsaber for Jedi vacation time.
Remember that there are always significant events that jumpstart technological change. It's possible that what was being used just worked, and no one saw a reason to change. Something happened, perhaps this small escapade in history, that was traumatic enough, that the Jedi and Sith, decided they needed more nimble weapons. We see this during global conflicts, pandemics and disasters. There becomes a sudden (and profitable) need to improve something or fast track a developing weapon, vaccine or electronic for warfare, public health or communications.
Luke Skywalker had a sidearm blaster for a while i thought
The spear which gave way to the bayonet is the oldest weapon dating back to the dawn of humanity.
Considering anything can be a weapon, rocks, sticks, and even bones would have been the first weapons used
During the original and prequel trilogy they would just use either aluminum or VFX blades and add the blades in post later.
During the sequel trilogy and moving forward to now, they use actual practical glowing LED blades that have battery packs in the handles. Now you have lighting from the actual lightsaber in the environment.
Except for Ahsoka's for the Mandalorian, where they had a wire connectivity through Rosario's sleeves. When they got to the Ahsoka show, they were able to slim down the battery packs to put them within the curved sabers themselves.
You think the connecting cable is, why the fights in Asohka are so stiff.
@@grandsome1that’s exactly why they are so stiff in ahsoka. So you can tell they wanted to put the power pack in the hilt and that’s why they are so massive in the acolyte
@@jayblack3345 I'm wondering why these power packs need to be so massive, light saber glowing only matters in dark scenes they could just use lower powered LEDs as reference for enhancement in post.
Yeah no, it looks like they're putting like D size batteries in those things. Instead of using D size batteries just keep like several quick swap cells that you just recharge instead of you know having to go out and buy a pack of Duracell.
@@AdmiralStoicRum And seeing how they only need basic lighting, they could drop the sound and clash FX board, making the cells last longer.
“Shadows of Starlight Issue #1” also explains/shows how the Jedi pivoted from having beautiful ceremonial lightsabers, to just barebones combat focused lightsabers. “They don’t have to be beautiful, they just have to work”.
I read an article recently about the new lightsabers being LED sticks requiring onboard power to work. That is why they are larger in circumference in Disney+ shows.
Great sabertrio and other companys have the same tech and still build smaller sabers, you can even just only lite them up so the battery is not empty after 1h
Exactly this. This channel wayyyyy overthinks Star Wars and is forcing in-universe explanations for real life explanations.
@@Revan638 maybe Disney will allocate some of their $180 million to that.
@@ericp1139 its not like they actually need sound and clashing efects on those sabers
YES , the tech there using to make the sabers reacte in real time is run by someone with wireless controls ,, so there chunkier just to have the new tech in em
I really love the Ezra Bridger's first light saber. The first time I saw it, it looked like a stable gun. Then he actually used it like a stable gun to shoot stun blasts.
I loved that design.
1:48 I think that, over thousands of years of super advanced technology, there would be a lot of stagnation with that technology, like you can only push technology so far. Also especially after centuries of peace and stability, it makes sense that star ships and star fighters would not have the same level of technical expertise dedicated to improving upon them. I think we see this in The Clone Wars, where they start the war with V-19s and Z-95s and by the end of the war their star fighters had advanced a lot to the venerated ARC-170s, Y-wings, and the advanced V-wings.
I really don't see why it's so hard to believe there would be very little advancement in technology. Look at our own history. Technology was very stagnant for well over thousands of years. How much advancement would remain for a galaxy wide civilization that has already mastered space, even to the point of faster than light travel?
When do you think this was? Because there arent many periods in our history that we have evidence for that there was any real stagnation.
@@FreebirthBoccara oh I don't know, how about 10,000 bc to say 300 ad. We made a few advancements in metallurgy. Swords were still swords. Chariots were still chariots. Not much in the way of change at all. The technology boom didn't really hit until after the dark ages were over. Or if you like, let's go back even further, back when stone tools were all the rage and the wheel wasn't even a thing yet. That seems to have lasted for a rather long amount of time. You see, technology reaches a point of diminishing returns and will stagnate until a major breakthrough is made. Then there is a period of rapid growth until the new pinnacle is reached and things slow down once again. For example, the cell phone, a device that saw rapid growth and evolution over a few decades, but has really started to slow to a crawl. The latest and greatest feature, a folding screen. Big whoop.
Could also be fashion at a time lightsabers are more a ceremonial weapon than a serious combat weapon. Kinda like military swords and sabers became less user friendly, but "more impressive" (metal scabbards that make THAT noise when drawn etc.) in the late 19th century...
Lightsabers being fat was probably it was for technical reasons for the tech and production but it could also have been they didn’t think about it and no one would notice my problem is the lack of aesthetically pleasing designs for lightsabers especially for the high republic but that might just be me
for me there is no reason to have about 10mm of space between the end of the hilt and the beginning of the blade they definatly can make them thiner
Lack of aesthetically pleasing designs? Have you seen the book covers?
I've always wondered why the Old Republic had the same level of technology we see in the movies thousands of years later. The only way I can see that happen is if technology already peaked and can't get any better.
I love KOTOR and SWTOR so I have a personal bias for the Old Republic and don't want it to change. But I do think it would make more sense if technology and galactic society/culture advanced and progressed a lot over thousands of years.
I always liked how Star Wars had technology peak and it become basically legos. It became entirely about how you put things together rather then inventing something new. It's why the Death Star having a giant lightsaber crystal was so cool, it was taking existing technology only used in lightsabers then scaling it up to use it another way. The whole lego aspect of Star Wars Technology also explains how Anakin could build C3PO. He only needed a specialized piece like the brain of the protocol droid but could scavenge rest of the parts from random junk.
That’s great but it’s 80 years before the Phantom Menace. It does not line up with a big technological leap happing in that span of time, especially when looking at other stories from even earlier during the high republic.
I think the best explanation for the Holdo maneuver is that it happens at the precise transition from regular space to hyperspace. If you engage the hyperdrive a fraction of a second too early, you just slam into the other ship's shields, doing little damage to them while destroying your ship. If you engage it a fraction of a second too late, your ship harmlessly passes through their but will still likely destroy yours depending on the gravity of the other ship. That explanation would make it a "one in a million" shot.
I’m glad someone else noticed this. I haven’t watched the show just clips but I was wondering why the hilts were so damn chunky
Because Disney is using glorified toy sabers that need bigger components to operate. It’s not an in-universe thing. Otherwise, Yoda’s saber would be bigger than he is.
@ericp1139 - Pretty sure Yoda could've gotten an upgraded saber at some point in the last hundred years...
@@BugRib oh, I’m sure Disney is just waiting to retcon that too.
@ericp1139 - What retcon?
@@BugRib Yoda’s lightsaber
And don’t say “it’s the high republic era designs” because that’s just cope. The Old Republic had designs such as Orgus Din, Satele Shan and Revan’s clawed lightsaber in which were all absolute masterpieces. There’s no excuse for them looking like those $10 hasbro lightsabers we all used to have back in the day.
I've been thinking, could Qimir be an assassin for a Sith...?
in the old republic books lightsabers where connected to a power supply backpack
Speak softly and carry a thick lightsabre.
I got that hondo reference.😂
You call that thick, but... Greatsabers /or great lightsabers) are also a thing. I honestly don't mind them looking bulky if that shows how over the years, the art of building a lightsaber was perfected. After all, there's archaic lightsabers and retrosabers in the lore as well.
You mean lightclubs?
The real reason the Lightsabers are so freakin' big is super simple & involves making Money.
Disney & Galaxy's Edge Lightsabers don't make that much money because they don't look screen accurate, they're just WAY too big.
These Lightsabers are the size of the Lightsabsers that Disney & Galaxy's Edge make, so if you buy from them you're actually now buying a more screen accurate Lightsaber (cheaply made).
Look up the size of Disney & Galaxy's Edge Lightsabers to other more accurate Lightsabers (89 sabers is known to be the most accurate) & you'll see what I mean.
Respect for the Young Jedi Adventures images👏🏽👏🏽
When you fight with chonky lightsabers from the Target toy aisle.
I think of phones and monitors that no longer focus on how skinny they are.
Nice thing to bring up. I definitely noticed the older looking tech.
Great video!
They're known as, "plus sized lightsabers" don't body shame them, that's not the Jedi way...
...Or "BBLs": Big Beautiful Lightsabers. Body shaming is wrong, even towards lightsabers!
In my personal opinion, lightsabers have conscious experiences, and thus feelings.
Okay, not sure about that, but droids definitely have conscious experience--and thus feelings. The way droids are treated in the SW universe, and how morally wrong it is, needs an entire series to explore.
In my head canon, at least some droids are force-sensitive (and so necessarily conscious)...regardless of their lack of midichlorians!
In fact, in my head canon, midichlorians are just a marker for force-sensitivity, not the direct cause of it (and I'm not sure if this really contradicts the "lore", exactly--particularly the Disney SW lore).
R5-D4 was force-sensitive, dammit! At least according to EU/Legends lore! Amiright, or amiright?
A bit off-topic, but have you heard of the "Hard Problem of Consciousness"? 🤔
My dad had a small gripe about this as we've been reviewing the Acolyte. Your input has been very informative lol. I'll share this with him as I'm sure he'll definitely agree with this concept.
I actually like the thicker hilts. Look a lot comfier than the thin ones for a strong style. I've got big hands, and always liked the look of vaders saber, another chunky one
Well there's chunky and then there's what looks like it came out of the store for children to play with in the target toy aisle
Well, it´s exactly the opposite. Such a thick hilt weaken the grip and loosen you control over your weapon.
@mytotim8978 dude, I'm 6ft 8 and got massive hands lol. The thin ones would be uncomfortable because I'd have to overlap my fingers so much
@@gizmo66 then you would build a nice thicc hilt, the image shows a hilt not suited for the hand it is in
i think in the next few years the technology will be able to fit into a normal size hilt and we'll look back on the chunky sabers all funny
We already do, they just want to use D size batteries so that they don't have to build the prop around a customized power cell. Which they could do, just have a specific power cell shape or whatever that they produce to put in their stupid hilts. Yes I know They make batteries those are the cells I'm talking about specifically shaped lithium ion battery packs I got a little tiny ass speaker that uses a little tiny ass lithium ion battery pack I guarantee you that thing will provide enough power for LED lights on a little lightsaber pack no problem and this little ass speaker weighs 39 grams It is a tiny ass battery and it lasts for 15 hours and it gets doggone loud
Generation Tech Rules!!!🧡💛
Nice talk about em 🤫 Good reasoning was given why hilts are lil thicker than many others. Not a bad thing at all 🙂
I personally like the chonky sabers, they got weight. haha. I also really like the stun blaster, the Jedi order in the high republic acts much like a police force, it makes since for them to have basically what amounts to a taser.
Your explanation makes a lot of sense for in-universe. Personally, I think they're that thick because the lightsabers at Disneyland are weirdly thick too, so Disney wanted one of their shows to have lightsabers that look like the ones you get at Galaxy's Edge, so people stop complaining.
I enjoy these deep conversations and I really prefer the stories move away from the forced narrative that is policed and “lorded” over by fans who won’t be satisfied by much of anything Disney does. 💯
Alan, let me introduce you to the concept of hyper beam sabers.
That's not like, a joke or anything. It's a Gundam thing, Universal Century, to be more accurate. Bigger hilt, bigger beam blade, cutting power enough to slash through several mobile suits in one go.
Even though the lightsabers have been ehh designs there are a couple of standouts that I like such as Qimir’s.
Advancement in the SW universe appears to move at the same pace as our society. It appears to be driven by conflict and population growth
Hrm, though it didn't seem they were *all* so very thick. (Though I'm pretty sure Kelnacca's Wookie-sized one was getting passed around in the battle scene which sure added to the impression. )
My fav star wars CZcamsr fr. Genuine scholar and you have a great way translating the universe
I've always 'Hand Waved' away how the Old Republic period looks like 'Modern Day' Star Wars. Even before Disney, almost all of the Old Republic expanded content was considered "Low Canon" (don't know if that's the correct term). In other words, it was considered official unless other Expanded Universe material addressed it (and I'm not Wookiepedia, but I don't think much ever did)
But for those who play the games, it just looks cool to have 'modern day' sabers and ships (even if it does mean that the SW Galaxy has been technologically stagnant for thousands of years 😅)
Some civilizations become stagnate because leadership doesn't or won't let free will. Or outside thinking aloud. And if there is a lack of inspiration due to laziness. People become numb because of their lack of training in thier job. Upper management will say, you're not aloud to think, just do the job you're paid to do.
This is a fun in universe answer but realistically it’s bc they’re hiding the actual LED’s to power the blade in the hilt. So basically using Disney’s Batuu Galaxy’s Edge toys
I figured they were just using saber hilts from Galaxys Edge. Those things are chonky
I hope Disney doesn't take away from the Acolyte failing that people only want to see Luke and all the same characters. There's so much more they could do in the IP, assuming they keep it consistent.
Who says that Acolyte is a failure? I've read that it's done pretty well in viewership. I think that people forget that what we read online is usually just a very small sample of the general public. 99% of people watching Acolyte are just like, "Neat! Star Wars!" and not going on social media complaining about lore inconsistencies and stuff.
@@jayb8934 180 million spent for a show even the hard core shills say isn't great tells me it's a failure. That kind of money should have been "season 2 renewed after 1 episode" level.
SW toxic fans have no thought process. Trekkies/Trekkers can have fun discussion about everything including tech. And yet, the toxic SW fans keep muttering disney, disney, disney etc...
ya'll are truly lost. Appreciate, Generation Tech for keeping the discussions open to all things SW.
I think the fat lightsabers should more just be glossed over as "they're borrowing tech from those lightsabers at the failed Star Wars hotel so they can do practical lighting more easily" than it should be explained.
Different show-runners, different prop departments. Nuff said.
I believe it was said that the reason the lightsabers hilts are larger is because the blade is an LED tube and the batteries are pretty thick.
Those room size computers had less power than a cheap basic calculator.
“They don’t even have as much processing power as all these birds being employed by the government.”
We landed on the moon with less technology than what's in a Nokia from 1998
8:33 “That would have been awkward.” 😂😂😂
It's weird you didn't talk about speeder bikes and the one used by Sol.
I thought that with Disney's takeover of the IP, they changed all the Expanded Universe into Legacy, and also changed some of the timelines specifically about The Old Republic to be more like 1000 years before BBY instead of 5000. Perhaps I just got that part wrong, but it would make a lot more sense actually. Also if you compare the game Star Wars: The Old Republic to the early KoTOR comics, the technology is vastly different and isn't coherent at all
Yeah that's the trade off we lose the expanded universe all the amazing stuff but also people tend to forget how confusing and messed up it was. The technology stagnation was just one of the many issues
considering it not from a filming and prop view, but a lore universe view, you need to consider the current time of star wars has considerably slower advancement because they are already near the peak of their technological capabilities, beyond that, changes would be more likely influenced by aesthetic preferences, which could lead to explain why there is not much of a difference across such a long timeframe, especially with the rebels, because they have just continued to use what has been working all this time, and simply made alterations to existing things, rather than making whole new stuff, this explains a lot of the rebel ships not changing much in design, whereas sith creations are built with more of a focus on the preferences of the sith in charge?
Just an idea
that's exactly what I was thinking, why everyone's lightsabers are just clunky tubes
They make lithium ion cells that hold plenty of power in small packages. This looks like it takes D batteries.
In the acolyte bad dragons were the primary reference for these new designs
I like the idea of a past era with thinker sabers. It reminds me of a legends comic where early lightsabers had a cord linked to a belt-pack.
The Republic at the time of the Prequels was being influenced by Sith designs thanks to Palpatine's influence, then the Empire basically resurrected Sith Empire designs once it no longer needed the veneer of the Republic. So the change in design language was due to a harmonization between Sith and Republic designs that had remained previously separated for that 3000 years period.
Star Wars is a fantasy and in fantasy technology is usually stagnant and different factions have clear design language. So it doesn't surprise me that they remained the same for so long. From a production standpoint, it's simply that they want to tell original stories set far in the past but need to draw in people who only know the later stuff and so have to use designs that are similar but not identical to things seen in the Original Trilogy.
Problem is, the High Republic established some great lightsaber designs in the books and comics. There were crossguards, alternate materials, and rather elegant hilts. We see none of that in the Acolyte. Even if the hilts had to be thicker, due to practical reasons, it does not explain why the hilts are visually so dull.
Stay within a reasonable range of Ralph McQuarire's concept art.
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"Its not da length, it's da wiff" ~ some dude being interviewed on HBO's "Real Sex" back in the 90's
I always assumed the constant wars caused constant technological regression. We even seen in The Mando that the New Republic actively was destroying technology that belonged to the empire. I get the feeling this has happened a lot over the history of the galaxy.
They are basically playing with glowing toy lightsabers on set. Rather than adding the glowing effects in post production.
Although it's cool they are glowing IRL it looks way crappier than it used to.
i mostly chalk it up to the lightsaber technology in lore wasnt as advanced, therefore more bulky