A number of times in the Imperial Agent story, you see people wearing holographic disguises that are completely convincing. (For spoilers' sake, I won't discuss any examples or provide screenshots of them.) Given how holograms are typically shown in the Star Wars films and even in the game during holocalls, does this make any sense? Star Wars holograms have always been consistently "unrealistic": blue, glowing, and often covered with scanlines.

Are there any examples in the Star Wars canon of holograms that are "photorealistic," consistent with the holographic disguises in TOR? Or am I correct in my belief that these holographic disguises don't really fit with established Star Wars canon?

Well, to give one example Thrawn had a collection of holograms in his chambers that rendered the sculptures so well Pellaeon didn't realize they were holograms.

Ah. So there is some kind of precedent for this. Though there's a big difference between a portable hologram emitter and a static display...

Established canon? This game is establishing canon for this particular time period of the Old Republic, and so you should go by how the game displays technology as canon.

While that's certainly one way of looking at it, when you're evaluating whether something fits into a universe, it's not an especially useful perspective. For example, I would be a little taken aback if suddenly people were traveling interstellar distances using something like a Star Trek warp drive rather than hyperdrive. I wouldn't just say, "Well, looks like this is the new canon."

While that's certainly one way of looking at it, when you're evaluating whether something fits into a universe, it's not an especially useful perspective. For example, I would be a little taken aback if suddenly people were traveling interstellar distances using something like a Star Trek warp drive rather than hyperdrive. I wouldn't just say, "Well, looks like this is the new canon."

The invention and use of hyperdrive was well established in time periods pre-dating the Old Republic, all the foundation of technology exists in the EU. The status and appearance of that tech is what changes and what SWTOR has the right to do being in an unexplored time frame.

What I want to know is how thorough and convincing they are, I mean, as an agent

you interact pretty heavily with someone who wears one, and you have no idea about it ever, until the person reveals it. I understand that that person would have absolutely top of the line technology, likely even things that wouldn't be available to anyone else, but still. I have disbelief suspension issues with this.

Exactly what I was thinking. If it's that convincing and it's portable... that seems pretty advanced for Star Wars hologram technology.

I think it was in one of the NJO books where Luke and Wraith Squadron infiltrated a Vong world with a mixture of actual Vong armour and holographic overlays, so there is precedent in the EU for hologram shrouds, albeit thousands of years into the future.

This game takes place 3000 years before the movies.

If you go a little further into the timeline, about 1000 years before the movies, there was a galaxy wide war between Dark Jedi who had taken up Sith Teachings and the Republic that spanned for centuries that essentially pushed the entire galaxy into a dark age where much of their technology was lost.

There is technology in plane sight in Star Wars that nobody even understands how it works anymore because it was made by some civilization that no longer exists, but it still functions. Star Wars is full things like that.

you interact pretty heavily with someone who wears one, and you have no idea about it ever, until the person reveals it. I understand that that person would have absolutely top of the line technology, likely even things that wouldn't be available to anyone else, but still. I have disbelief suspension issues with this.

In addition, the technology shows up (briefly) in other classline quests. And earlier on in agent quests. (Hello Tattooine! And Watcher One!)

To be fair, you really don't. If you look back on how often you see the person in question, it's very briefly at a bar, very briefly on Hoth, and very briefly in "his" lair. During the period of time you see "him" in "his" lair, the hologram begins to flicker. (Plus, it is implied that it's special top of the line technology that the character in question has access to.)

 

 

In addition, the technology shows up (briefly) in other classline quests. And earlier on in agent quests. (Hello Tattooine! And Watcher One!)

Eh. I don't have issue with the quickie versions of it in other quests.

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I just have a hard time believing that neither the agent, nor the people with whom that person was working when you meet them never even touched that person, because what was inside the illusion and what was outside, when finally revealed was significantly different, and you would have to think someone would have noticed.