Great points. To me, the fight on Tatooine was Maul using his dark side wrath to the fullest. He was a hurricane of movement that Qui-Gon wasn't expecting or knew how to deal with. It was the personification of aggression. I agree that Maul's downfall was him not being aware of Qui-Gon's lightsaber off to the side as he erroneously gloated over someone who could make lightning fast leaps. I see this as being the dark side (his emotions of pride and victory) overcoming Maul's common sense. All Maul needed to do was force push Obi-Wan off his handhold instead of swinging his lightsaber dramatically back and forth. Hubris was Maul's downfall... not Obi-Wan.

On the first encounter on Tatooine, Darth Maul handed Qui Gon Jinn his butt in a paper bag. Qui Gon retreating to the ship was the only thing that saved him from what would happen to him later. Qui Gon was no match for Maul in both contests. Obi Wan got lucky because Maul got cocky at the end.

Within the game, one could say that even though you exited the ship and reached the loading screen of the planet while still in warp, the ship returned to realspace by the time you actually left the boarding ramp, making the loading screen a relativistic waiting room of sorts. The loading screen keeps you from being in warp and in real space at the same time... which therefore keeps you from being annihilated by velocity differences. What does the time in the loading screen appear to be to our characters? They seem to take it in stride whenever it happens so perhaps they don't even notice the pause relative to their world-line.

I interpreted the ending different than you, but I will concede that Revan's body falls and leave it at that. I will stand by the fact that the fact Revan's "good" side manifestation is present as a spirit contemporaneously to Revan still being alive which makes it different than the force ghosts Nox fed on previously. As I wrote earlier, the force ghosts were of dead people, not a projection of a split personality. Conceding that Revan "dies" at the end of the fight, I still think the recombining of Revan's two halves kept Nox from consuming him. /shrug

I don't think the apparition of Revan is a force ghost in the technical sense because Revan isn't dead. There's a schizm of his personality that manifests itself as a "spirit" but Revan is still walking around when you first come across the spirit in the temple on Yavin IV for the first time. At the end of the final fight, Revan isn't killed, but beat down and the spirit and corporeal Revan recombine. Revan isn't dead after the recombining so once again, he's technically not a force ghost like the ones Nox had used in the past. The force ghosts that Nox had "eaten" during the Story Quests were dead individuals. Revan's "ghost" was a projection of his good/sane side, not a force ghost.

Considering what the Lucas Story Group said regarding Old Republic Era lore: "It's canon until it's not." The game is in a particular quasi-state of canon/legends until the Story Group turns its attention back (which they said they aren't in a hurry to do) or make piecemeal picks and kill parts of the Old Republic lore as it suits their new shared universe. Having said that, I'd like to see Bioware go bold with SWToR and state outright that they are embracing an alternate timeline where the future isn't written as we know it. Right now, Bioware is in an awkward position where all of their effort might be for nothing if the Story Group chooses to change things to better fit their new "current" stories. The Sith Empire and all we know about Sith might be wiped away outside of a few key names, places and events already declared official canon (Darth Bane and K(M)orriban). So why not just go for broke and do their own thing instead of treading on microscopically thin ice... knowing it's not if, but when, it's going to break? Turn the table upside down and make the Sith dominant for centuries. Make the Republic a rebel faction withing the new Empire. Open the game up for the players. Have it dovetail into the prequels eventually, but change up how it gets there. Or.... Try to work something out with the Story Group so that historical canon can be made. That's unlikely to happen I'm afraid.

No. I was addressing how it's not really feasible to dismantle such a broad and numerous secret organization as the Star Cabal. From a intelligence/counter-intelligence point of view, it's easier and more functional for Imperial Intelligence (or the Sith) to take the reigns of Cabal covertly and direct it from within (which is why I think the Sith wanted the Black Codex). In game, you give the Black Codex to the Sith or you destroy it. The cutting off of the head of the Star Cabal and taking/destroying the Black Codex, effectively destroys the functionality of the Cabal as new instructions cease to be given out.

The best way to run a secret organization/conspiracy is to control both opposing sides... and here's the catch: without the top powers knowing they're being controlled. Allowing them to believe their agendas and motives are their own. Their victories and defeats are their own... when in fact, the secret society is simply playing one against the other. As shown in the story, the Cabal has great influence and power within the Empire and doesn't hesitate to use it on multiple levels. Their strength is acquisition of talent as shown by the numerous recruitment attempts the Cabal tries on the Agent. It' not really possible to completely dismantle the Star Cabal as its made in the story. The best thing to do is replace the leadership/decision making apparatus and allow the middle and lower levels to go on about their business... now following new (your) instructions.

I see the Sith feeding off of others fears to fuel their own emotions. They invoke fear to ignite contempt, rage or hatred for something weaker than them. Their own fear keeps them in check with their own Sith Masters until they feel an opportunity has arisen to strike them down. I see a fear/contempt for the Master towards the apprentice. Fearing the killing blow, but feeling contempt that their apprentices who aren't making the attempt.

I think all the wreckage on and above Oricon would show their initial arrival on Oricon was a victory in their favor. Plus the entire planet was being weighed down by their psychic influence. The planet was mutating because of their will. Were they wasted? Possibly, but they were used as a tie-in to earlier quests to show that your character's actions had repercussions on the greater galaxy that was independent of the Class Story.

Why would it have to have "vortex-like" holes? An energy radiating outwards in a spherical manner doesn't posses these "polar vortexes". Look at a light bulb as a simple example of this. You seem to be referring to a magnetic shield with polarity loops like Earth's own magnetic field with its magnetic polarity wells at either pole. Outside of no canon references to deflector technology being based on magnetic fields (with polarity wells), the ability for ships to change deflector shield strength forwards or aft points towards an energy field rather than a magnetic one. I understand that electromagnetism combines energy and magnetism, but magnetic fields act differently than a radiated energy field. The term "deflector shield generators" denotes that energy is generated rather than housing massive electromagnets. I know of no other non-rotational energy field other than magnetic, that produces "vortex-like" holes at the poles. Nothing in Star Wars canon suggests that the technology uses a magnetic field strong enough to deflect or absorb blaster fire (high energy). Star Wars universe ship deflectors absorb energy... the energy beams don't ricochet off in different directions. They gradually fail as more energy is absorbed than can be mitigated away in the form of heat waste. /shrug All that aside. The A-Wing in Ep6 hit the deflector dome from the side (rather than from above where it would have a "softer spot" if your theory was correct).

According to all Lucasfilm books and reference materials, the domes in question are deflector/communication arrays. That's not fan art. It comes from Lucasfilm itself. Case in point, the brand new "Ultimate Star Wars" book states about the Executor: [reference: [page 304. Vehicles Chapter: Executor (Super Star Destroyer)] That is as authoritative and definitive as you can get. It's official canon. The domes contain the shield deflector generators. The modellers used model kits of modern navy ships to help construct their ship models. The domes in question were indeed radar domes so the name probably stuck with the VFX and model teams. However, it doesn't matter what the VFX team or modelers labeled them as. It's what Lucas, Lucasfilm, LucasArts, LucasBooks and now Disney (The Ultimate Star Wars book being the first definitive encyclopedia using the new canon rules) label them as. All of those groups have labeled them as communication/ shield deflectors. That is what they are according to canon.

Yeah. The X-Wing PC game was when I fell in love with the B-Wing. The ship made me feel nearly invulnerable against TIE Fighters with all power to the shields. Sure I was moving 25 mph, but I was unstoppable! Fighter Design 101: A. Fast & Maneuverable B. Strong Survivability C. Lots of Weapons You can only have two of the three in any single design.

If you want speculation. Why wouldn't the Jedi want to get a firm foothold on a planet so deep in Sith Imperial space? Ziost is within spitting distance of both DK and Korriban if the Galaxy Map is any indicator. The fact that Ziost is now "lifeless" and supposedly abandoned by the Empire makes it a opportune spot for future actions against the Sith if they were to dig in, supply and fortify. I can't see the Sith Empire allowing the Jedi to actually do that, but it seems like that's a good enough reason for the Jedi to want to stick around.

In a government that spawns planets I think the Imperial worlds of Dromund Kaas and Ziost are fashioned more as administrative worlds rather than civilian. Of course there are talk of civilians on Dromund Kaas, but I see them as being somehow attached to the government (families, civic support etc). Without knowing how many cities DK has outside of Kaas City, it's hard to get a grasp on the demographic. I do see the Empire "relocating" people to other worlds for either work (forced or professional) or "seeding" a newly taken world with Imperial doctrine and ideology by way of forced immigration. I don't think poverty as we see it is tolerated on firmly held Imperial worlds. The impoverished are probably relocated to labor operations. In a society where slavery is tolerated and capital punishment is encouraged... social problems probably have a way of "disappearing" and most citizens are smart enough not to openly notice. Quality of life is probably great if you're attached to either the government, military or sith. Everything else is considered a resource to be reaped for the betterment of those three. Science, unless it's attached to one of the above is probably viewed no better than the merchant class.