Absense of melee weapons in game

[R4dioS1lence]

They are penetrated when the Flechette is detonated, so an explosion, not the flechette just passing slowly through the shields.

From the explanation what I understood is that the round fired is a rocket that is carrying the flechettes (like a fragmentation grenade). When you explode the round, the flechettes come out of it, and bypassing the shields damaging the ship.
The rocket itself bounces of the shield (high energy, since it's a large kinetic projectile with self propulsion), but the flechettes bypass because they are smaller non-self propelled projectiles. Is that understanding wrong? I don't have one on me to read the in-game description.

 

[Shurimal]

The reason we lost armour was because mobility was a lot more important than shielding when it came to guns.

It's a bit more complicated than that. Contrary to popular belief renaissance plate harness does not constrict the wearer's mobility that much—one could still easily run, climb and fight in it. The plates were quite thin and light, and the weight was evenly distributed on the wearer's body.

Thin hardened steel plate works wonders against blades, is somewhat effective against blunt percussion weapons (warhammers, pollaxes) and does jack-all against even simple lead musket balls. To be effective against firearms plate armor would need to have been much thicker and hence heavier than practical, so it fell out of use.

Ironically modern materials make armor against firearms more viable. While no practical personal armor would stop a high-powered rifle rounds, it's perfectly possible to stop a handgun round, even when these rounds are probably more powerful and have more penetration than lead musket balls half a millennium ago.

As for melee weapons in E: D universe, well, the energy transfer tool in overload setting kind of qualifies as one, having approximately the same reach as a typical polearm.

 

[Oh Seven Commander]

Adding melee weapons and having a bunch of NPCs in a gun littered universe running around with sticks, knives, clubs, and maybe the barman can have a broom, would certainly do a lot to make Odyssey look more and more like Fallout 76 than it already does.

 

[Greasetrap42]

Instead of swords & clubs... which are kinda useless... moltov cocktails and equivalents. Imagine getting a bottle of flaming black oil splatted over your personal shield. Can't see anything, and the only way to get rid of it is to turn off your shield off for a moment. Of course then it falls onto your suit. Yes, oxidizing atmosphere req'd. Otherwise its just black sticky oil. Paint bombs would be good.

Wearing a helmet and space suit, how could someone continue to fight after this?

Short range paint canon mounted on your ship would also be good. One good shot and the opponent can't see out of cockpit. And of course ship weapon targeting is primarily visual based.

 

[Makroshlyta]

Need some new toys... nothing traditional would work with shields. Instead of punching and slicing... what about a mechanical lasso to break body parts or just the shield? Some pliers weapons and big crushing maces can have some space too. Anyway... too much work to balance, better not touch this.

 

[Northpin]

I do still wonder why with Oddessy there aren't any melee weapons available for players?

Well, we do have them fists and even an mod that increases melee damage.

What's wrong with having a Medieval broadsword type weapon, Roman Gladius, or close range dagger with a hilt? Does it really have to be long range plasma rifles and such all the time?

Well, as been said, it's pointless to bring a sword to a gun fight, however... a sucker-punch may do wonders

 

[BackToTheMud]

Considering the suits are bullet, laser, plasma, and explosion resistant, most close combat weapons would probsbly be pretty unless. The best would probably be something like a rondel dagger, but than we would run into the problem of game balance.
Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely love the be able to stab imperials to death, but I understand why Fdev chose to not include melee weapons.

 

[Makroshlyta]

"Oh, Wait! I want gimballed daggers!"

 

[MUTILADOR]

Shields. Unless there's some other mechanism to allow for melee weapon penetration, like the personal shields in the Dune universe that basically removed the use of ranged energy weapons as a paradigm then all you are going to be doing is blatting against a shield that can stop energy and kinetic weapons that carry far more power than anything you can possibly do by hand.

but if you already have your fists, and the shields are not always activated. The modification for fists also makes them more powerful.

 

[MUTILADOR]

You really don't see what's wrong with a medieval broadsword in a SciFi setting...?

???

Warhammer??...starwars??...Dune??

 

[metatheurgist]

I didn't know they had chainswords and laserblades in ye olde Englande.

 

[varonica]

but if you already have your fists, and the shields are not always activated. The modification for fists also makes them more powerful.

Melee weapons? If you are fighting and you don't have your shields up and are vulnerable to a melee weapon at close range, just what do you think you are doing in a fight? You shouldn't be there. Now I can see some sort of disabling weapon for use in taking out civilians in a settlement, but we already have something to do that at close range, a proper scifi weapon, not a silly metal stick or club that everyone will see you walking around with and immediately think...."oh that person must be up to no good walking around with that huge war hammer, maybe I should alert security!"

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

???

Warhammer??...starwars??...Dune??

Warhammer isn't SciFi, it's Fantasy. And I don't remember medieval broadswords being in Star Wars.

 

[Felix DiCestria]

???

Warhammer??...starwars??...Dune??

All of which have to make drastic compromises in order to include swords as effective weapons.

 

[aRJay]

???

Warhammer??...starwars??...Dune??

I didn't know they had chainswords and laserblades in ye olde Englande.

Warhammer isn't SciFi, it's Fantasy. And I don't remember medieval broadswords being in Star Wars.

And a broad sword is generally an edged weapon swung to cut at your opponent so possibly would have speed issues with Dunes shields.

 

[metatheurgist]

And a broad sword is generally an edged weapon swung to cut at your opponent so possibly would have speed issues with Dunes shields.

The slow sword penetrates nothing. It's like a stick. - Attributed to Duncan Idaho (unverified)

 

[aRJay]

The slow sword penetrates nothing. It's like a stick. - Attributed to Duncan Idaho (unverified)

Hmm!

Seems a reread is due. Fortunately I have the 6 volume ebook.

 

[Alien]

Why does it seem like there's a group constantly working to suggest more and more ridiculous things to ruin Elite?
Who looks at Elite, a game with spaceships and laser guns and thinks "what this game needs is swords"?

I used to tell people that they didn't understand what Elite "is" ... I'm not sure I do anymore to be honest, but it sure as heck doesn't need swords.

You know what Elite really needs? a 500cc petrol-powered dirt bike, yeah ... THAT's what Elite needs. That's about as valid as saying a sci-fi game set in the near-distant future needs swords.

 

[Shurimal]

When it comes to combat in any era, culture or technological level, range is king. Even back in the pre-firearm era polearms like spears and pikes ruled the battlefield, supported by archers and crossbowmen. Swords on battlefield were sidearms, used when you couldn't use a polearm. The only exception were two-handed greatswords like zweihänder, spadone, montante which were basically polearms with long cutting edges and requiered very different techniques compared to arming swords and longswords.

In scifi settings you need to do a lot of handwaving to justify the use of melee weapons as a primary tools of war if ranged weapons are available. Dune shield technology is the prime example of this and Star Wars jedi space magic is another (I wonder how a jedi with their lasersword would fare against Takada Eclipse, Manticore Intimidator or a long range shot with Aphelion... Or a Farragut vs. ISD space battle with Vultures against TIE-s in the background). The only use I see for melee weapons in Elite would be commando-style quiet stealth takedowns with a combat knife/dagger.

You know what Elite really needs? a 500cc petrol-powered dirt bike, yea

I'd love a dirt bike for exobiology. Should be electric, though, I don't think an ICE would work in tenuous CO2 atmosphere

 

[Leadfoot]

Short range paint canon mounted on your ship would also be good. One good shot and the opponent can't see out of cockpit. And of course ship weapon targeting is primarily visual based.

And you get a free new paint job.