Interesting weapons

[Octo]

I'm not sure if this deserves its own thread but I didn't know where else to put it...feel free to move it to a fitting location.
It's just a suggestion for non-lethal weapons that i think would interact nicely with the physics based animation.

1- Bola, which is just a string with 2 or more weights on the ends, used to throw at an enemy(s feet) to trip him. This wouldn't be for active combat but pre/post combat to get fleeing or charging opponents on the ground and such, or for hunting. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Boleadoras.gif

2- Gladiator style net. Used for tangling your opponent. This could probably be easily done with just a simulated cloth with a high friction and 'stickyness'. Dual weilding is in so it'd be a good matchup for a spear or something. Could also be used for traps and hunting etc.
http://latinculture8.wikispaces.com/file/view/gladiator_net_trident.jpg/104485313/gladiator_net_trident.jpg

That's all I've got for now...thoughts?

 

[the0thMonkey]

Nice idea for a post, Octo.

This might be a little off topic, but I was wondering what the implications of non-lethal would be (if any). What new options would be available if you were to just knock out your opponent and not actually kill them? I'm mostly thinking in terms of human opponents because I can't think of many advantages of just knocking out monsters (trained pet or workhorse, maybe?).

How about:

• Selling them into slavery
• Ransoming them (if they are upper class)
• Getting them to carry your stuff

If a Mount & Blade: Warband type of damage system was implemented, attacks using clubs, poison projectile, nets and bolas (hehe), would result in the opponent being incapacitated and not killed. I think this idea would lead to more interesting gameplay.

 

[MangoMarr]

Have traps been mentioned much before?

Sprung traps (maybe carry one at a time) could be useful. A bear trap that severely hinders the movement of larger enemies (such as that ogre/troll thing in the video). Maybe even a thaumaturgic spell that lifts dirt out of the ground leaving a pit to lure enemies into.. that you can then set on fire. The engine seems to be capable of on-the-fly procedural terrain deformation like that.

 

[BigT2themax]

I'm pretty sure with madoc's awesome programming skills pretty much any weapon could be implemented, and any effects and such could easily come about through locational wounds in characters and enemies. For instance, the bear trap Mango mentioned could first incapacitate the enemy by trapping their foot, and could then leave a severe leg wound that would hinder movement once they escaped from the trap.

Things like bolas and that would probably implement the physics engine at its best, I agree. The bolas would probably use something like attaching the enemy's ankles together if the rope successfully wrapped around them, and the net would probably just apply a small amount of limpness to an enemy if enough of their body was in contact with the net, instead of just relying on the physics engine to hold back the enemy, as that might get laggy or glitchy. I could see a lasso working this way, or maybe some other rope-based contraption.

Capturing enemies and selling them off is a nice idea, and a good topic of discussion, but would probably be discussed more if it were made into a seperate thread in the "gameplay" forum, the0thMonkey.

Actually, this thread would probably be better there as well.

Oh, well. Doesn't really hurt anyone.

 

[Cooper Holt]

The "Kukri" is a well-rounded weapon from Nepal. It is pretty much a cross between a machete and a knife.

It may have originated from Nepal, but it hasn't really caught on there. It is mainly used for chopping materials, but it can also be used for killing.
It has been used as a sidearm/secondary weapon in many battles throughout history, and is the close-quarters-combat weapon of choice for certain police forces in the middle-east and other areas.

Cool, huh?

 

[Luckeux]

The "Kukri" is a well-rounded weapon from Nepal. It is pretty much a cross between a machete and a knife.

It may have originated from Nepal, but it hasn't really caught on there. It is mainly used for chopping materials, but it can also be used for killing.
It has been used as a sidearm/secondary weapon in many battles throughout history, and is the close-quarters-combat weapon of choice for certain police forces in the middle-east and other areas.

Cool, huh?

Hell yeah! I have one the feel is amazing in hand. (I'm a martial art/knifes freak) The tip of the blade being larger then the rest had a nice weight balance to it. Did you know that the 2 lil nicks near the handle are there so that the blood drip from the blade? This way the handle don't get slippery...

It'd be really nice if we could use knifes in the game... In case of larger target you'd have the option to poison them or something...

 

[Orisoll]

This one's better.

 

[Mello]

Generally weapons from diverse cultures, rather than just european ones. Such as:

 

[Aarius]

I hope there will be some sabres:

 

[BigT2themax]

And here in this thread, you can now forget discussion and share pictures of swords and other melee weapons from around the world!

Come on, now, people. Sabres and exotic weapons are all well and good, and I realise that the different shapes may have effects on how they damage enemies, how they're swung, etc., but we're trying to come up with weapons and traps and such that could take advantage of the physics system to make them noticibly different and very unique when compared to any other random sword.

I can't think of any examples, but I'm not really an expert on weapons. I mean, things like chain-swords (you know, those swords that are broken up into segmented pieces and strung together) and whips, ring blades and such could be implemented very well and it'd feel great using them. They're not feasibly realistic, but they're unique, wouldn't you say?

Other simple things could take advantage of the physics. Maybe have a spiked shield one could hit enemies with for a bit of stab damage, or maybe if an enemy charges into you, just put your shield up and let them impale themselves. One could easily implement a sling which you could use to throw rocks. Hold down the mouse button to swing harder, release to throw at the right time.

Little things like that would make the combat in this game go from 'pretty good' to 'amazing and memorable'. Not just a large selection of sharp things. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[Luckeux]

As to not spam this thread with pictures, I recommend googling the terms...

What I found so far:

Chain whip: A nice (more realistic) alternative to both the regular whip (which wouldn't work against armor) and the chain sword (which doesn't work with realistic physic)... (no offense dude)

Tonfas: This is as close as hand-to-hand combat we could get... But I don't think they'd be heavy enough to deal damages against an armor.

Falcata: This is just like the Kukri but bigger... Size DO matter.

Pata: It's like having a sword for an arm!

Balisword: You know what's a butterfly knife? Same thing in a sword format.

Hook Swords: They're just pretty fucking rad... Dunno if a hooking mechanic could even be workable though.

Kanabo: It's a huge metal bat with a lot of studs/spikes on it. Ssssmashin'!

Omi Yari: It's a polearm with a loooooong blade and an equally long handle.

Italian folding Spetum: Similar to to the Omi Yari, now coming in a folding format! And also a bladed guard thing.

Meteor Hammer: It's a chain weapon consisting of two weight connected by a rope or chain. THIS would be insane to have access to.... although I think that would be a fuckload of work...

Kusarigama: Also known as chain-sickle, it's a chain ended by a sickle on one side and a weight on the other.... same as the Meteor Hammer, would be sick to have but seems hard to implement in a game.

Regular shield: I'm personally not much of a fan of spikes but I like the idea of using a shield as a weapon. These things are really underrated as weapons! What people usually think about shield attacks is bashing with it, but people often forget how deadly its edge is as well! Not to mention that you can sharpen it too...

 

[nox]

What about throwing weapons, like javelins, throwing knifes and axes and such.

 

[Baerke Hinn Gauzki]

Hm... Does anyone think a semi-polearm like the Thracian Rhomphaia would be something worth implementing? It's more of a weapon to be used in formation though... hm. Well.
Polearms in general are my passion so I hope for a wide variety within these! If any at all of course. But may the gods give Madoc and the team the epic inspiration they need to make blades on sticks.

 

[Cooper Holt]

I am now officially in love with the Thracian Rhompaia and especially the Falcata.
thanks for showing me some awesome melee weapons, guys. Feel free to share more!

 

[Tony]

I am now officially in love with the Thracian Rhompaia and especially the Falcata.
thanks for showing me some awesome melee weapons, guys. Feel free to share more!

Careful wielding such weapons while wearing your space suit. Many o' good astronaut met their end while carelessly flailing about such weapons!

 

[Baerke Hinn Gauzki]

I am now officially in love with the Thracian Rhompaia and especially the Falcata.
thanks for showing me some awesome melee weapons, guys. Feel free to share more!

Hehe he. I suppose you've stumbled upon the Dacian Falx as well by now?

Does anyone know what the team's opinion are on all these damn weird Sikh weapons there are? And I don't mean those rather regular curved sabers... These things for example.
Behold *Goes into a warrior trance*

We're back at the question regarding throwing weapons now though. Do we have any info on that?

 

[BigT2themax]

We don't really need realistic information on weapons, exact info on how they're wielded, techniques and such. As long as we can get basic info on what their typical size and weight, their shapes and the like, as well as how you hold it if it's a polearm or a sword or if you just throw it like a disc or a knife or an axe or whatever, and also any extra features on the weapon (if they have any ropes or chains on them, in the case of the bolas and the net and such), then the physics engine should be able to recreate the weapon with realistic physics and the physics-generated animations can do the rest.

So, in the case of the shurikens and throwing knives and such, we can simply do some basic research on how heavy they were, their basic sizes and shapes and make educated guesses on how they were thrown, so a shuriken would have likely been thrown like a disc, and throwing knife and axes like a... well, like a throwing knife or an axe.

Why can't we have chain-swords or elephant warhammers? They'd be unwieldly, but as long as the physics engine can realistically emulate the weapon, I'd say anything goes. You could have a JRPG giant sword in the game, you'd just need ungodly strength to weild it past just dragging it around. The chainsword could just be slashed around in large motions and controlled by extending it during a cutting motion or retracting it and such as needed, the player character could just get training from an NPC somewhere on how to use it without cutting their heads off.

Why do we have to restrict what we can have in the game for the sake of following what people did in the middle ages and similar times? Heck, we could invent an entirely new weapon that could be implemented in this game. Wouldn't you rather do that than just look at existing weapons?

 

[Cooper Holt]

As long as the thracian rhompaia and the falcata are added, anything more exotic is just positive overkill for me.

 

[Mello]

Are we going to able to wield anything we can pick up as a weapon?

 

[Cooper Holt]

Are we going to able to wield anything we can pick up as a weapon?

I certainly hope so. I've mentioned this to the devs before, but I don't think they they replied.