Oswald Rehnquist
1512
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Posted - 2015.05.06 02:44:00 -
[1] - Quote
I remember this conversation back from yesteryear
I remember advocating for a heavy melee weapon as well, funny how things come around full circle. Anyways, here is my idea, don't judge it until you give it some thought.
Nova Boulder, with successful lab demonstrations on Endor's moon, Allotek scientists have developed a new melee weapon by harnessing the quantum crystallization found within the crust to increase the viscosity of luminous waves to a stable solid. Friend Foe Identification allows safe handling for wielders who can use these as high intensity energy shields that also have the ability to roll over enemy infantry causing massive hemorrhaging. A secondary mode can also be activated by having wielders stand atop high places to push these down on unsuspecting foes.
MAKE IT HAPPEN CCP!!
To help further the trend of soft sci fi, I also advocate for multi colored alien space chicks with "open minds", but animal mounts or pscionics work as well.
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Oswald Rehnquist
1514
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Posted - 2015.05.06 21:04:00 -
[2] - Quote
This convo is mainly about the world of soft sci fi vs hard sci fi. Which is what my original post was attempting to hit in a humorous way. The Eve Universe tries hard to keep its sci fi on the harder side of the spectrum. They even have a rational explanation as to why we can keep our memories/experience upon death. Most other games just hand wave this.
I fence, I go shooting, I like weapons, I like the history of weapons and reading about future weapon technology plausibility. In no way shape or form would a sword be superior in any given situation as it exists in a world with guns of equal technology. To do so would be to reduce the hardness of the sci fi and into fantasy.
I don't think people truly appreciate how effective guns really are. Within current tech, our unaided bare fist punches as humans have more force and energy behind it than a bullet from a gun. Yet it is the bullet from the gun that kills, because the gun is not restricted by human limitations and dispersion. Its able to concentrate its force onto a smaller area.
So now with energy weapons, you have a weapon that spends a fraction of the energy for a millisecond, which can cover vast distances once it leaves its point of origin vs a theoretical energy sword that is burning away its energy for a much longer period over its entire blade spreading out the energy. So swords automatically do less damage with the same level of energy. Plus having that kind of energy so close to your own body is also equally dangerous, whereas in a gun the energy is safely compartmentalize away from the user. Even for non energy sword concepts like monomolecular blades, Van der Waals forces would cause the two pieces to reconnect again, so that isn't really feasible either.
Effective distance, essentially at the distance guns are no longer effective, swords are no longer effective. I know this entirely based on my fencing/sparing. Once you are within grappling range, you are able to manipulate your opponents melee hand or can outmaneuver it with a dagger. And any attack against an unsuspecting opponent with a melee weapon is equally taken care of if not done better by the use of a dagger due to the increased mobility to target more critical areas. So daggers definitely have an advantage here where guns or swords would have much less.
Mass effect, star wars, etc are examples of soft sci fi / space fantasies, where real world physics and tactics are changed for the sake of the "rule of cool". Eve tries to stay away from the rule of cool, which is why I think large melee weapons wouldn't fit into Eve's theme.
I am not saying large sci fi melee weapons aren't cool, they are as they appeal to our simplistic and biological understanding of violence, its why bone in thickest in our foreheads than other parts of our skull because we evolved to get punched and not shot when we get into fights. But large melee weapons are definitely apart of the space fantasy / soft sci fi culture rather than the hard sci fi culture due to how technology has outpaced our biological evolution.
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