What Makes a Good Sci-Fi Firearm?

[@davidjordan697]

Talking about the p90 also brings up one of the quickest ways to make a gun look science fictiony: give it a bullpup layout.

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

Add vector and ACR and leopard 2 tank from A5 onward and that polish tank

[@DomWeasel]

Depends which generation you're from. To the older generations; big boxy firearms like those in Aliens look futuristic and bullpup weapons look like toys. To the younger generations; it's smaller, sleeker weapons that look 'science fictiony' while bigger weapons look old and dated. Kind of like how when they switched to polymers for assault and battle rifles over wood and metal, the old soldiers thought that they felt too 'fragile' while new soldiers thought the old versions were heavy and clumsy.

[@GonzoTehGreat]

​​@@DomWeaselI think the design of the M41A Pulse Rifle from Aliens reflects the zeitgeist, as back then Hollywood equated size with manliness. However, times change. Nowadays, films and TV shows lean towards being more realistic to appear grounded, so audiences prefer props that resemble real weapons, instead of purely fictional ones.

[@thekaxmax]

Unless you're in one of the countries that use the AusSteyr....

[@TheOz91]

This is exactly why they chose the P90 for Stargate SG-1. In an interview, the armorer for the show said he went to Belgium to secure two real P90s for samples to present to the producers in the meeting, and one of the execs congratulated him on the quality of the props-except that they are actual, real firearms (in Canada, to support the film industry, there is a tier of firearms license where movie armorers can get whatever they want, including actual machine guns, and they have almost have no restrictions when it comes to transporting them, too).

[@winterweasel425]

One of my favourites is still the Lasgun from 40K. By all modern metrics, it's a fantastic weapon. Powerful, reliable, with ammo that can be recharged using solar power or even a frickin' campfire in a pinch. But we call it the flashlight because everything is so fucking bonkers in that universe.

[@herdsire90210]

Vanguard Bolter ❤

[@Robertsmith-un5cu]

sounds like a total bullshit gun to me. really? charging it by a fire? get the fuck out of here.

[@reganator5000]

Indeed. I always find it funny when people forget that the Lasgun has a modern service rifle beat in almost every aspect. Whilst only roughly as lethal when used against people, it's superior at attacking enemies in light cover as, because it leaves a larger 'entry' wound, you can remove soft cover through consistent fire. It preserves the fighting capability of units that become cut off from supply lines, making it excellent for siege situations or special ops. It seems to have a magnitude higher magazine capacity, as, whilst full auto does burn through power packs quicker, that generally seems to be over the course of MINUTES rather than the ~2 seconds that modern rifles manage. It is easier to aim and requires less skill due to lasers shooting straight. I mean, they'd be even better if the ad-mech managed to phase out including artificial felt recoil (given the actual gun doesn't generate any), but they probably don't know why the designers put that in.

[@herrfantastisch7489]

⁠@@reganator5000 I would disagree on it being a superior weapon system to be honest. Because traditional firearms are still so astronomically cheap in comparison to a lasgun, even including all the logistics of munitions. It’s why autoguns in Warhammer aren’t entirely obsolete because they’re just stupid cheap and reliable. Well, a good chunk of autoguns are reliable, when the other ones aren’t jamming left and right because they gave the penal soldiers the ones maintained with junk to use. 🧍 That, and ballistics are just more effective in many cases. A lasgun can do some serious damage, but it starts to struggle against armour, where bolters, melta, and plasma guns start to pick up the slack. Whereas lasguns burn away cover, ballistics just punch through. So a lasgun might need time to burn through a car, while a standard caliber assault rifle is just punching clean through on the first shot. And a larger entry wound could be good, but lasguns do cauterize, and as long as you can put holes in the other guy, you’re pretty good. Better if the bullet gets stuck inside. I could definitely see lasguns being used in campaigns for some grunts though. Because you’re correct that it has superior ammo capacity and the potential to be easier to learn due to negligible recoil. Though, a grunt might have a nightmare trying to maintain or clean it. I think special forces guys would honestly cling to AR platforms though. Especially since lasguns do give away your position very easily. But to keep things from getting too long, I can honestly see firearms and lasguns competing with one another, but having their uses. The military likes standardization, so they’ll definitely have to choose. Especially to save money in the long run. So either they stick with firearms and lasguns become a niche weapon for certain tasks, or they choose the Imperium of Man route. Despite the drawbacks, they standardize the lasgun for all its advantages, making logistics easier so you’re not having to deal with too many weapon types, and reserve ballistics for special forces or anti-armour situations, just like bolters.

[@JinKee]

@@reganator5000i never understood why nobody ever went blind from scattered lasgun light or reflections

[@janhornak5739]

6:41 Oh yes, Johnattan Fergusson, the keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armories museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history, was mentioned.

[@SN1PERx64]

And with Irregular Dave let go from Gamespot, one we may see less if at all :( (still have the museum website)

[@janhornak5739]

@@SN1PERx64 The newest video about the tiny flintlock was wild indeed.

[@Alyeska23]

@@SN1PERx64 Johnathan Fergusson, the keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armories museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history, he still posts new and interesting content on the Royal Armories youtube channel itself. He has also collabed with Ian McCollumn multiple times. Fear not, we shall continue to get more Johnathan Fergusson, the keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armories museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history.

[@nvelsen1975]

Oh, good that you mention it. I thought he was a sci-fi alien who's into guns.

[@mbpaintballa]

and has never used a weapon. he's an expert in the history, not the use.

[@王征服]

Props for showing "Jin-Roh", "Genicidal Organ", and OG "Ghost in the Shell" all in the first 34 seconds

[@DestructorN7]

Just watched Genocidal Organ this week and that shit goes insanely hard

[@B1llsy4ll]

Genocidal Organ is such an underrated sci-fi, like every sci-fi story from nowadays lacks the, with hindsight rather obvious, designs that a space-faring/FTL capable/technologically advanced civ would have, like inbuilt ballistic computers, EW suites, exoskeletons, datalink, combat algorithms, drop pods, with weapons, blackjack and hookers, I always feel like this type of stuff is underutilized in a sci-fi. Maybe one day someone will make a Genocidal Organ/MGR:R/Cyberpunk setting with all of these.

[@CesarDaSalad]

You forgot the other anime classic he showed, Lilo & Stitch.

[@padawanmage71]

I remember an episode of Babylon 5 where Garibaldi was playing around with a revolver, passed down to him from a great grandmother who was a Boston cop. A coworker asked what it was (given the use of phased plasma weapons) and he actually called it a 'slug thrower'.

[@Ishlacorrin]

Interestingly enough, the PPGs they used on the station and ships, were toned down versions so as not to damage the hull when fired as well. They put a fair bit of thought into those things.

[@CanadianFabe]

Didn't Garibldi also say slugthrowers were still in limited use for target shooting and even private security because they were easier to get then PPGs?

[@tba113]

A lot of characters say that, that they use Particle Projection Guns instead of gunpowder weapons because a missed shot with a bullet risks punching through the hull - but then they go on to use those same PPGs to blow through heavy airtight hatches when they need to break into a room. Either the budget didn't stretch to showing the station security teams planting breaching charges, or projectile guns are EarthForce Army-only and _terrifyingly_ powerful. Oh well. It's refreshing to see human tech in sci-fi from that era _not_ look anemic, so the odd bit of inconsistency is fine.

[@Ishlacorrin]

@@tba113 The difference is in the weapon, they talk about PPGs in the small hand held versions like that, but the ones they break doors down with are the PPRs or Rifle version of the PPG. I think we did see them break a door with PPGs as well, but remember it took like 50 shots to do that. They are a low initial damage but high damage over time weapon against harder materials. The speed you see them firing at is quite significant, especially the rifle version that looked semi/full auto.

[@hellacoorinna9995]

@@Ishlacorrin « ominous audible electronic _'tweeee'_ »

[@valettashepard909]

One example that stuck out to me as particularly well-conceived was the sidearm from the game Prey(2017), which has a suppressor built in from the get go. Not for special ops bs or anything mind you, but for one often overlooked reason that’s very integral to the game’s setting; shooting guns inside buildings is FUCKIN LOUD. The vast majority of the game takes place aboard a space station, so having guns that don’t blow out everyone’s eardrums when the security teams encounter threats is very, very important, and whoever was handling the guns in that game understood that well

[@Blaze6108]

This is a really good point. If you have good enough suppressors that they're not a trade-off, you'd just keep them on all the time.

[@stevenscott2136]

There's a real gun, the Maxim 9, designed with integral silencer. It actually looks pretty sci-fi, too.

[@WillKeaton]

Something that this video made me think about: If you're wearing armor with some kind with a helmet, and that helmet has a heads up display, you can integrate the targeting of the weapon right onto the HUD. There are numerous examples, but the one that came to me first was _Metroid Prime,_ where there weren't sights anywhere on Samus' arm cannon, but there wouldn't need to be, because the HUD always shows where the weapon is being pointed.

[@Temjin747X]

What about Smart-Linking in Halo…?

[@knightofavalon86]

This is a standard UNSC thing. Master Chiefs armor and every Marine in Halo have this technology as standard kit. (Even if they stop putting the visor in the the model of the Marines helmets after Halo 1. ) Bungie (as is their habit) made a lore explanation for a game mechanic: the reticle floats in the middle of the screen. Chief is not literally sighting down the rifle like one would with iron sights or a red dot. The rifle is sending data to the suit about where the muzzle is pointing and the suit is displaying a reticle on the visor. Granted, they still tuck the rifle in against their shoulder, but in the Marines case that's probably more to do with good recoil control technique.

[@CptJistuce]

I love Metroid Prime, but the first thing that came to mind for me was the real-world F-35. Between vehicle-mounted sensors and a (basically) augmented-reality helmet, you can aim missiles by looking right through the plane.

[@ChissHansen]

Now that I think of it, as cartoony as Samus' arm cannon might look, Arm Mounted Weaponry might be the best thing to use for a space suit since you don't have to worry about the glove fingers interfering with the trigger and aiming with the forearm would be much easier when a helmet would interfere with properly aiming down a sight.

[@АндрейМонтаг]

And if you connect your firearm to your neurochip, you might not even need a trigger))) I have such weapons in the universe I'm creating: you can connect to a rifle, to a battle droid, to a ship cannon or to a whole space fighter and control it with your brain.

[@SuperFailzocker]

I love how in The Expanse, the more advanced military forces like the MCRN for example use Weapons that look a little bit more Sci-Fi (so they added some extra details to existing weapons), while Belters or Eric's gang in Season 5 use weapons like P90s and Vectors and MP7 and such things.

[@axelhopfinger533]

Yeah, Belters and gangsters use basically antiques. Like using black powder muskets in the current day. But those things and their low tech ammo are probably easy to manufacture with ubiquitous schematics, like 3D printed guns.

[@grantpark9093]

The ZF-1... "It's light. Handle's adjustable for easy carrying, good for righties and lefties. Breaks down into four parts, undetectable by x-ray, ideal for quick, discreet interventions. A word on firepower. Titanium recharger, three thousand round clip with bursts of three to three hundred, and with the Replay button - another Zorg invention - it's even easier. One shot..."

[@rwill156]

But what about the little red button on the bottom?

[@jefferydraper4019]

"My personal favorite."

[@KiloWhiskeyMike1592]

And the all new Ice Cube System

[@Nemoticon]

I like the fact that the trusty pump action shotgun pretty much feels at home in any scifi setting, lol. Against robots or aliens , when all else fails... a 12-gauge, point blank to the face is always pretty convincing🤣

[@davidsiepel6774]

short of a flame thrower, it will likely be the most devastating and horrific short range weapon for a long time

[@jaquigreenlees]

The added benefit of choosing the round to fit the mission making them perfect to use on a ship in space without blowing through the hull.

[@mandodelorian4668]

That is a very good point!

[@Nerdiness1985]

@@davidsiepel6774 Flamethrowers are not very good against machines and can be just as dangerous to he users as to the enemy. Plus you really don't want to use those in zero G settings and/or confined spaces. There is a reason they are not used anymore in combat. Wasn't that great of an idea.

[@achimdemus-holzhaeuser1233]

@@Nerdiness1985 Not to mention limited O2

[@4mobius280]

Regarding trigger guards, we already have situations where thick gloves are necessary in combat. The solution is a bigger trigger guard

[@tyrannosaurusimperator]

Or a winter trigger, which is usually a secondary trigger that folds down when you need to shoot while wearing gloves or mittens.

[@CptJistuce]

Removable trigger guards are also an option used in the real world.

[@TimberWolf99]

Canada's C7 rifle and C8 carbine have hinged trigger guards specifically for the purpose of using them with thick winter gloves.

[@fakename287]

All milspec ar-15 rifles have a trigger guard with a little hinge in it, you can use the tip of a bullet to push out a pin (or a screwdriver to unscrew in some cases) and the trigger guard swings down to give you more room for winter gloves

[@everythingsgonnabealright8888]

It’s much easier and cheaper to just get rid of a trigger guard than manufacture a specialized one. Not saying you’re wrong though, it again depends on the setting and tactical situation in the conflict.

[@makky-kat3719]

Love that you got my favorite part of that P90 scene, which was Amanda Tapping's small but almost-certainly-unscripted flinch when Richard Dean Anderson points his P90 a little too close to her face. (Also very funny that the first bit of footage of "specialized teams carrying proper rifles" was a Marine using an MP5 which is... not a proper rifle.)

[@brandonmoya3322]

Well, a second after that MP5 was 2 peeps using a M60 & m4(?)

[@makky-kat3719]

​@@brandonmoya3322 M4, or GAU-5/A, or something mocked up to look like one of those. As much as I love Stargate, they never put a ton of effort into making sure their weapons were either historically accurate or made a ton of sense contextually (I'm still looking at you, MP5A with a 3x or 4x scope.)

[@About37Hobos]

When are we getting spaceship breakdowns for Lilo and Stich. Y’all just ignored one of the most important pieces of sci fi in modern history /j

[@highvoltage6091]

fr tho 😆

[@abucket14]

This would be a fun video.

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

Also I'm going to pertend the live action doesn't exist it and insult to my soul for many reasons

[@Sovreign071]

Well, the giant red ship Jumba pilots at the end was originally going to be an earth airliner. But then 9/11 happened, so they had to re-skin it as a spaceship.

[@adamczechowski614]

The RED One. 😂

[@jonathanrobinson319]

I like that scene in the ghost in the shell movie were Major Kusanagi change the barrel and the bolt in her bullpup rifle to use it against a heavily armored spider tank.

[@wiq5284]

Just pointing out something for the editing department to fix. 4:04. Its men in black, not star trek lower decks.

[@TheVeritas1]

I was about to point that out.

[@44444444444444447287]

Wait you're telling me Will Smith isn't in Lower Decks?

[@Case16710]

We already have holographic sights. The sight at 6:27 is an Eotech XPS2 with a G33 magnifier. The Eotech XPS and EXPS sights aren’t red dots (reflex sights), but are present day holographic sights. Red dots (reflex sights) reflect a laser reticle back towards your eye, while a holographic sight projects a hologram. The holographic sight works better under magnification and has no parallax error, but the battery life is much shorter than a red dot. I think there are only two companies making holographic sights right now. Vortex makes a holographic sight called the UH1. Despite their name, Holosun does not make holographic sights. The technology has been around for a while, with Bushnell first releasing their Holosight in 1999.

[@dragonmaster1500]

6:45 If you're wearing a space suit, you could have the sights appear in a HUD inside the helmet which shows where the barrel of the weapon in pointing even if you're holding it lower down.

[@armedmage]

That's how Martian power armor in The Expanse and Spartan armor in Halo works.

[@GonzoTehGreat]

Also, the problem with firing projectile based weapons in space is the recoil, so energy weapons are preferable, as there's no atmospheric scattering, in which case it makes sense to mount them on the suit itself, leaving your hands free.

[@izak5356]

Magboots fix this problem, at least if we're talking about 9 mm type cartridges with low recoil. Handheld directed energy weapons that can pack a similar amount of fire power to a conventional 9mm handgun will not exist for centuries, if ever.@@GonzoTehGreat

[@dragonmaster1500]

@@GonzoTehGreat True enough, though if we're talking actual Zero-G Space infantry combat, I could see the wearer of the space suit using a type of exoskeleton with a laser/plasma weapon on a swivel or some such.

[@MM22966]

@@GonzoTehGreat There is an even simpler reason: It's hard to get a proper cheek-weld when you're wearing a full-surround helmet.

[@bananakinflyswatter904]

In regard to the sighting systems, a good point was briefly mentioned: maintenance. A holoscope (pure light, hologram-projected rather than image projection onto a solid screen) is always going to be more technically advanced than simple iron sights. Plus in darker areas, unless the holoscope is transmitted via augmented-reality feed to a user optic, it's probably going to give your position away before you even start shooting.

[@ckl9390]

2:40 I remember reading about a proprietary pistol round that used the supersonic-to-subsonic transition, in relation to bullet geometry, to intentionally destabilise the bullet at a specific distance. This was so that a bodyguard or security officer could take a "safer" shot without backstop as the bullet would only travel a few hundred yards before tumbling out of the air. Also, regarding using projectiles in pressurised spaces or near sensitive equipment, I remember hearing about how air marshal services (I'm assuming that more nations than just the US have them) use special ceramic bullets. These ceramic bullets purportedly shatter on contact with "hard" materials, even as thin as an aircraft hull, but still adequately injure a "soft bodied" target to be useful for security purposes.

[@readingking1421]

I appreciate mentioning human/alien ergonomics. That was a fun detail from the first Honor Harrington book, where they mention how weird a muzzle-loaded musket looks when you design it for a three-armed alien.

[@MsZeeZed]

I like Judge Dredd’s load out of an heavy pistol with a voice activated ammo selection from his helmet mic. The mission-variable ammo (AP/Hi-Ex/Hot-Shot/Ricochet/Incendiary/Dum-Dum/Stun) is endlessly inventive and really can be changed by the author’s imagination. The pistol’s fingerprint access control (later extended to genetically tagged rounds) is a nice touch. His Lawmaster motorbike can also be remotely voice controlled, down to its twin heavy machine guns, which gives him a hefty ordinance package.

[@sam23696]

Variable ammo is something we never see enough off, either in games or movies. Give me a sci-fi 12-gauge that has ammunition that can be reconfigured by the gun to fire either flechettes, a slug, shot, or incendiary

[@everythingsgonnabealright8888]

@@sam23696 Fallout New Vegas alone has this implemented in the biggest variety. 12 gauge with 10(!) different variations of ammo, from your standard buckshot and slugs, to dragon’s breath to burn the living fuck out of living foes and pulse slugs to do pretty much the same with mechanical ones. You can easily solo the game with just a trusty pump action, called here a hunting shotgun, having rounds for every occasion you’d encounter.

[@mad_prophet]

I still consider strange the genetic/fingerprint authorisation feature when the gun user wears gloves. This feature looks much more suiting to a biopunk setting, imo.

[@plumdowner1941]

I always do appreciate when firearms in fiction are given proper thought into their design and function, but I also love when a setting has guns that are blatantly silly. Fifth Element is a great movie, and it does both! The mangalore's rifles look decently functional, while the ZF-1 is so over-the-top wacky it wraps back around to being cool.

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

I think one of the best options for starship security firearms is some sort of expanding, sticky foam like what you see Mr Incredible taken out with. It stops your intruders without doing an serious damage to ship systems.

[@ThePCguy17]

It does have the small problem of not stopping someone who did bring a gun from petulantly shooting holes in the place unless you go for a weapon-disabling shot, something that's a lot harder than it sounds, but so long as everyone's using them and no one decides to escalate to "kill everyone including myself" levels of stupidity it would make an interesting choice. Particularly since you'd also be giving everyone what amounts to portable cover on-demand, and most likely it would be difficult to have a sticky solution that you can melt down effectively but your enemies can't, so keeping the "de-goo" agent from being deployed would be its own whole thing.

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

@ThePCguy17 all good points. I have also considered the shots having an electrical charge, like a taser, perhaps mixing two fluids on contact. But I'm not sure if that would work.

[@MsZeeZed]

@@ThePCguy17in the case of restraining foam ammunition you’d probably aim for an opponents firearm first.

[@herrfantastisch7489]

This could definitely work if it’s meant to be sprayed and/or shot onto intruders to restrain them, though if they had firearms, you might be at a disadvantage pound for pound. So maybe like you said, a type of round that has poor penetration, but can deliver a shock or something. I’m leaning towards shock, because if your enemy is wearing some type of armour, at least the electricity could compensate. That, or maybe some type of shockwave round. So it doesn’t penetrate, but it “punches” whatever it hits. So the worst you’d be doing to the ship is bending metal, but absolutely concussing and mashing an enemy inside their armour… which sounds like a war crime.

[@ThePCguy17]

@@MsZeeZed Put simply, there's a lot of very good reasons why aiming for an opponent's weapon isn't a thing in modern firearm combat doctrine, starting with it being a small rapidly-moving target that doesn't fully disable an opponent's effectiveness and going all the way to "what happens in the very likely scenario where you miss?" Much better to just drop them with a body shot, since even in body armor it's unlikely that they'll walk that off completely unharmed. With some kind of rapidly-expanding foam you _might_ be able to usually get an opponent's weapon by aiming for bodyshots, but the easiest and most effective restraining shot to go for would probably switch to being the legs, since a near-miss on the ground will have the potential to still have about the same effect. The whole thing would end up being quite a mess, doctrine-wise and possibly also literally, depending on how hard the foam/whatever is to clean up and how desperate any hypothetical hostile boarding party is to not get captured.

[@brokenursa9986]

The correct answer is “whatever makes the most sense for the setting.” I’m personally a fan of mixed options for any given faction based on who they’re fighting. The enemy is a combined force of the armored bugs who are resistant to bullets and the lizard people with shields that only block lasers and plasma, but not bullets? Equip your soldiers with something akin to a Wookiee Bowcaster, which fires a solid projectile wrapped in a plasma sheath. The plasma will hurt the bugs, and the bullet will hurt the lizards. Failing that, have part of each squad equipped with lasers and the other part equipped with gauss rifles. Whatever works.

[@colonelhammerhead]

The M41A pulse rifle will always be my number 1 favorite. Soon followed by Genndy Tartakovskys Arc Trooper DC-15 with an underbarrel grenade launcher.

[@jamesthomas1213]

"Lemme introduce you to a friend of mine..." Agree coolest scene in one of the coolest movies ever!

[@euansmith3699]

The M41A sound effect is so chonky.

[@davidsiepel6774]

the M41A will never be surpassed and i will die on this hill

[@AngryUSARobloxandmore]

What about dc 17m

[@Tigerpaw4000]

"10 mm explosive tipped caseless...standard light armor piercing round."

[@Soguwe]

I like how the Wraith in Stargate Atlantis don't even _have_ lethal weapons. They have multiple variations of stunning weapons, but don't even carry anything more damaging. Because why would they? They're as smart as the Ancients, they could just make something akin to a Phaser or Zat'nik'tel, with the option to kill. But that would mean one meal less. The only things that have the capabilities to kill are darts and hives, which are meant to engage other Wraith or Ancients. When you have the capability to engage those you're a threat worth killing. Brilliant worldbuilding

[@SkyHawk2137]

Hell, factor in what the Wraith came from and how instincts do matter, even if sophonts can control it, and I wouldn't be shocked if the Wraith do have lethal small arms. It's just, so long as you are 'keeping to the hunt' and not actually threatening the Wraith's existence as a species yet, why *would* they go full lethal when instead they can have a challenging hunt? Of course if all of a sudden you do reveal that you are an actual danger to the species or stop trying to keep things an 'equal yet challenging hunt', well... The Wraith did crush the Ancients and whilst the Ancients did seem pretty damn bad at this 'fighting a war' thing, we've only seen hints of what the Wraith can do when determined to fight a true war. Those hints were pretty damn scary and effective.

[@Soguwe]

@SkyHawk2137 _neve_ anger the Wraith. There are exactly two outcomes: 1. You wipe them out in an instance. 2. You lose.

[@SkyHawk2137]

@@Soguwe You forgot the 3rd outcome: "You lose by a sufficient margin that the Wraith are comfortable spending effort on making sure all know to regret your loss in such a way they never dare allow another attempt in the future just in case that one also loses, because you didn't deplete them sufficiently they need to focus their available forces on just making sure you can't recover."

[@Soguwe]

@@SkyHawk2137 I call that losing

[@SkyHawk2137]

@@Soguwe There's a difference between 'you have lost and so are screwed' and 'you have lost so badly *everyone* except the winner is going to feel and remember this'. The 3rd option is the latter and the Wraith *strongly believe* in applying it.

[@Mjolnir117]

The weapon for any situation: Zorg VF-1

[@GoodOldGamer]

I appreciate the weapons in Mass Effect. They fold up to a degree when carried around, and while they have "infinite ammo", they use heat sinks as the reloading trope instead, which is a neat take on traditional gameplay.

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

I much prefer the system in 1 where the weapons can actually cool themselves, both for making sense in a military sense (the technology is already there, and I highly doubt any military would lose the advantage of basically just not needing logistics for infantry weapons for a supposedly better fire rate, especially when weapons in 1 ofter reach or exceed fire rates in 2 and 3), and for avoiding the occasional desperate search for clips. If the system was more fleshed out, with different ammo types, it would make more sense for gameplay than universal clips, but then make even less sense in-universe. Especially when you have Collectors and people with outdated weapons (like Jacob's loyalty mission in 2) using thermal clips for some reason.

[@davidsiepel6774]

@@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem as do I, i HATED the change of weapons after ME2, and it not only crapped on the lore, but was done to attract the Call of DutyTards

[@MehrumesDagon]

​@@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem If I recall correctly, the point of new guns was meant to be more firepower not higher rate of fire, but still it makes no sense how in a span of 2 years whole galaxy is somehow supposed to switch from old style to new style and somehow get rid of all the old guns. Unilateral decision to drop self cooling guns would only even pretend to make sense if protective twchnology exploded to the point where old guns are unable yo damage anything but even then some of those old guns would still be laying around in such a short timespan....

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

@MehrumesDagon I suppose so, but we were talking about projectiles so fast that there'd be no practical point in making them faster, even as early as 1. And making the projectile larger would get rid of the practically unlimited physical ammo of these weapons while not being particularly useful, so this still makes no sense.

[@cass7448]

@@MehrumesDagon Even the Collectors somehow decided their weapons needed thermal clips.

[@DrakeAurum]

One option with space helmets is integrated aiming systems that can sync up with built-in or hand-held weapons. Bobbi Draper's armour in The Expanse is a pretty extreme example of that - her on-board computer can sync up and control Martian tech up to and including torpedoes.

[@noneedtoknow07]

Another thing about the SG-1 P90. They also used it because it ejects rounds out the bottom. The actors got tired of getting sprayed with expended brass of a MP5 during close combat scenes. Also I'm pretty sure the next major step of future optics is no optics save for a back up iron sight or red dot and soldiers now have full body armor with a helmet and HUD running around like an off-brand ODST. They actually have visors with HUD's now. But as of now they aren't working great.

[@theworkshopwhisperer.5902]

"One is for war and the other is meant for fear." that is a very accurate description for a lot of sci-fi weaponry.

[@EbenezerEibenhardt]

I always thought the jaffa stick was perfect to role. It was an elegant crozier of authority, a verge for holding back crowds of worshippers, a club for bullying primitives and prisoners, and a ranged weapon if you absolutely needed to kill someone.

[@Dreamfox-df6bg]

If you use a firearm while wearing a spacesuit or combat armour, the helmet of the suit could have a heads-up-display that gives you all the targeting data from the gun, maybe even with a camera in the gun. If the armour has any kind of strengh enhancement, the suit's computer could take over targeting and firing after the wearer designated a target. In 'Perry Rhodan' there is even the option of several suits working together to overload a target's force field, something one hand-held weapon there can't do. With that kind of tech you don't need any sighting help on the weapon and if an EMP or something similar affects the function of your suit, especially the life support system, the functionality of your firearm suddenly becomes secondary.

[@ponyote]

Starting with a clip of Stitch was S-Tier.

[@TheVeritas1]

Truth.

[@GmodPlusWoW]

Bringing up "infinite ammo" lines up with something I've been thinking of. Specifically a system I've been thinking of for my setting, which is admittedly more of a science-fantasy kind of thing, where guns and weapons in general are "post-bullet" in terms of ammunition, but not necessarily all lasers and plasma. In this setting, mana would take on different flavours, which sounds very Magic: The Gathering but to me was inspired more by Hexen. Weapons in the setting would use said mana as a sort of interchangeable ammo, meaning that ammo wouldn't be something restricted to a manufacturer, but would instead be a force of nature to be harnessed like wind, water, sunlight, etc. While people would be able to harness mana through willpower alone, augmented by gestures and vocalizations as abstract foci, the training required for such arts would be greater than simply training someone how to handle a pipe or a stick, along with physical implements being better suited to direct and forceful expressions of will. Anarchic as that system sounds, the rebellious powers that engineered mana had done so as a means to undermine the monopoly on violence exercised by the tyrannical forces that dominated the Dark Times, simplifying the uphill battle of logistics that any partisan force would face, and the "democratization of violence" present in modern times is a long-lasting side effect of that multiversal guerilla war, influencing all who came after like the aftermath of a roadside picnic. It was also devised as a partial counter to the development of "aura", where a being's life-energy could be channelled and configured into protective configurations, meaning that it would take several direct hits to take out a lightly-outfitted conscript, let alone a heavily-armoured dwarven stormtrooper. (it's basically "what if everyone had personal shields naturally?") In a world where it takes like ten bullets to drop an unarmoured target, even if all those shots hit their mark, supply lines would be GREATLY strained trying to produce enough ammo to properly fuel the war machine, and thus arose a method for weaving the forces of nature and reality itself into ammunition. Henceforth, armies would march more on their stomachs than on the manufactories of their homelands, since if a conscript can weave the wind itself into micro-cyclones capable of shredding skin and muscle, or concentrate sunlight into searing lances that can melt through flesh and bone, what point is there in dedicating base metals to forging bullets that do a similar job at far greater expense?

[@Timmycoo]

The see-through weapon in the movie, Eraser, was SO badass when I was a kid and saw it.

[@connorwgtn]

Other fun real world considerations are the logistics. Is the gun made of light weight parts that make it easy to carry and handy on the battlefield, but wear out, requiring regular replacement. Is your gun the latest and greatest, but the ammo supply chain hasn't caught up so ammo is hard to get. Or, with a head tip to Ian McCollum at Forgotten Weapons and Elbonia, is the ammo for your weapon very similar to that used by another, but maybe isn't compatible.

[@Bird_Dog00]

There are real life examples for that last point: The british 77mm HV gun for example had the same callibre (76.2mm) as the 17pdr. And actually fired the same projectiles - but with a shorter propellant casing. It was called the 77mm to prevent ammunition and spare parts to be mixed-up.

[@simonacerton3478]

Excellent discussion. One thing that matters is the relationship between weapons and armor. If armor is too strong than guns can quickly become less than useful. The Time Travel themed TV show Continuum has a firefight where both sides had no weapons that could penetrate the future armor or really even do blunt force trauma. This could get weird where spaceships are thin skinned so that standard rounds are say prefragmented slugs but spacesuits are made of reactive plastics and the rounds do nothing

[@Halotaku]

My favorite is the Zorg Industries ZF-1, the most over-the-top sci-fi gun ever conceived.

[@leftoverthoughts2275]

1001 Science Fiction Weapons for D20 by Plain Brown Wrapper Games not only gave us an equivalent, but actually topped it with an even more advanced weapons cluster.

[@battlesheep2552]

The hand phasers from TNG are an interesting case. They dont have good ergonomics, but they can be used adequately by anything with grasping appendages. Good for when you need to pass them out to a diverse crew so they can adefend themselves.

[@Krahazik]

As a multi-use tool/weapon with a focus on ship-board defense (close quarters engagements) they do the job very well. I can only think of 1 time in an episode of DS9 where they were looking at an engagement that was expected to be long enough, that extra power packs were being handed out.

[@Scuzzlebutt142]

That's a good point I hadn't thought about, anything short of a Horta would be able to use a TNG era Phaser. I think the MK2 with the slightly more curved grip is slightly better, as you could aim straight down your arm with one as it does sit in line. A flip up sight would be a major improvement though.

[@filanfyretracker]

the dustbuster or hand phasers were also meant to look less like guns, I think that was something Gene wanted in TNG. Of course they still killed when needed so its not like they nerfed the settings and did make things seem a bit more serious when they broke out the phaser rifles. But it was neat that they had in canon settings to allow them to do service tasks too making the hand phaser a vital tool for a survival kit. As we have seen them used for cutting, heating rocks to use in place of a camp fire, and even cutting into rocks in one instance. In a tactical sense heating up rocks with a phaser for warmth would be a fantastic idea because no smoke like you would get if you built a fire. But hey the phaser can light fires too. maybe the hand phaser is basically meant to be a man portable main deflector dish, It can do almost anything the plot requires at that moment.

[@keith6706]

If you look at the props, over time the phasers evolved from the almost-straight TNG season 1 dustbuster to later seasons of DS9 where the phasers had a distinct bend before the grip so they had a similar layout to, say, an 18th century flintolock pistol. The reason was that the actors found the dustbusters hard to aim. While they obviously didn't shoot anything, they still had to be aimed somewhat accurately, and they found the straight grips awkward. Moving to a more conventional pistol layout made them easier to use...which is exactly what centuries of handgun development had proven.

[@rodrigodelavega7252]

The only answer is the DAKKA ! The more the better.

[@enoughothis]

Gun must go BOOM. Simple as

[@TheTrueAdept]

In most of my settings, good ol' iron sights are considered the final backup. When everything else fails, the iron sights are the ones you rely on for mostly accurate fire. Even when your weapon is an advanced energy weapon like a pulse gaser (pulse gamma-ray laser) or fusion gun, they have iron sights to ensure that you have *_something_* to aim down for accurate fire. It also helps that they're designed to be as unintrusive when unused as possible. You can have the most advanced FCS Scope in the world, but it's useless if it doesn't work. Sure, that is incredibly rare in most settings, but it is better to be safe than sorry if the situation *_does_* come up.

[@SkyHawk2137]

"Congratulations sonny, you've created a spectacular optics package for all our small arms there. But how well does it fair when the enemy is raining air-burst nuclear EMP charges by the megaton, the air is filled with E-Haze so strong that the ECM isn't just jamming sensors, it's actively short circuiting electronics and said air is also filled with enough metallic dust and thermal smoke that even visual sensors are wondering if this is a battlefield or a nightclub?" "Not well? This is why we have the iron sights boy. That said, if you modify your optics package to allow installation alongside iron sights and also harden the electronics against that E-Haze, I'll take thirty million."

[@TheTrueAdept]

@@SkyHawk2137 well, in quite a few of my settings, the FCSes are in scenarios where you need to ruggerize them enough to work in that environment (like the unpredictable universe or Tiberium-laced wastelands). Hence why I said the situations that make those FCSes unusable are rare in most of my settings.

[@SkyHawk2137]

@@TheTrueAdept You might want to read what I said again, because I specified that it wasn't the environment and all that which was what rendered the FCS useless. It was various levels of 'the enemy really doesn't like you using the FCS to hit them, so they've tossed out everything, the kitchen sink and then the kitchen sink's meaner cousin along with all of said cousin's family' that was making the optics package less than useful. In other words, enemy action specifically undertaken in order to neutralise the benefits of a very effective FCS, which is just standard in warfare. And I then noted that if said optics package was modified so it could be installed along with iron sights without either interfering in the use of the other *and* could be protected against actual disruption/damage of the fancy optics package so it could be used in such an environment even if it wasn't exactly beneficial, they'd still take 'enough for their whole military'. Because in any situation below that level of disruption, yeah. You absolutely want those benefits.

[@desel8737]

3:43 carter's reaction is still gold two decades later

[@Majere613]

It always amuses me in that SG1 clip when you see Sam oh-so-briefly panic when O'Neil accidentally points his P90 at her. I'm not aware if it was ever main series canon, but in the Aliens PnP roleplaying game the smartgun heavy weapon that Vasquez and Drake use is revealed to have an auto-targeting computer so effective that it can place every round of a burst between the eyes of a different target, but it freaks the Marines out so badly that they almost always disable it.

[@meeep9099]

yup designed to defeat armor. Very nifty

[@reganator5000]

They have a smaller auto-targetting weapon in Alien: Romulus at one point, so the idea is still preserved in main series cannon, even if it's not confirmed for that particular weapon.

[@Derpsterchief]

​@reganator5000 yeah,the F44AA pulse rifle,which now that I think about it,it's basically just the M41A and Smartgun put in a blender lol

[@JonathanFergusonRoyalArmouries]

Thank you for the shout-out - I've been a subscriber for several years :) To expand upon my ranting about iron sights on scifi guns, it's based on the fact that we already have actual users of firearms in the field who deem present-day optics robust and reliable enough to not bother with iron sights at all. Anything with an etched reticle means even if your illuminated reticle goes down, you can still fight. Add on another 50-500 years of development and you have a situation where the existence of iron sights in any form would increasingly be akin to a little man with a red flag walking in front of a modern motor car. At the very least, iron sights integrated into the weapon itself should never appear on any vaguely 'hard' scifi gun without some very specific lore justification. We are already past that in the majority of modern military firearms. If you want irons, you have to buy them separately (and as noted, they are increasingly just not needed).

[@snappa_tv]

Self aiming I can almost guarantee is already being worked on by DARPA. Future weapons tech is really really cool and I am extremely excited to see where it goes in the future

[@thomaswakefield6889]

We already have those weapons in testing, and the military has been using smart rounds for 15 years already.

[@PaulGuy]

@@thomaswakefield6889 Yeah, the "future force warrior" program from the early 2000s was a big part of that. They were working on headgear and electronics like the marines in Halo seem to have. And that was only part of the program.

[@thomaswakefield6889]

@@PaulGuy special operations units were using them in the late 90s.

[@ivanjason1863]

Cornershot design combine with smart bullet and steadycam= Smartgun

[@DanielLCarrier]

One advantage for energy weapons is that they make a self-aiming weapon easier. Lasers could get away with moving tiny mirrors and could aim very quickly and easily. And particle beams could use a magnetic field to alter the path of the beam, making them even easier to redirect. The real question is how long will it be useful to have a human carrying the gun? At some point, you may as well just automate it completely. Or at least have whoever's in control be well outside the fight.

[@FearlessSon]

Regarding the bulk of space suits, I spoke once with the concept artist (Robt McLees) for the weapons on the original _Halo: Combat Evolved._ He pointed out that part of the difficulty of designing the weapons were allowing something that looks equally at home in the hands of the Master Chief, UNSC marines, or any of the various Covenant species, given the difference in scale and ergonomics between them all. Especially so since the original Halo couldn't do individually animated fingers on the models when seen from third person. This is a huge part of why none of the weapons were designed with a conventional trigger guard, instead favoring designs that didn't require a dedicated trigger guard to keep the trigger from being accidentally depressed (i.e. the way the magnum has a guard for the entire hand instead of just the trigger.) Having a narrow trigger guard would have made it too difficult to properly animate the various characters gripping the weapon in a believable way.

[@mnxs]

Huh, interesting! Thanks for sharing!

[@Dianasaurthemelonlord7777]

I’d say a small splash of realism and more importantly, it making sense for the setting. Boltguns are possible in theory, and there are even prototype weapons that are effectively Boltguns. And makes sense for an almost Demigod-level living superweapon to carry a really big one. Rail and Coil Guns are a reality know, but extremely limited in application by current human technology but have huge possibility. We got lasers know, so…

[@rayzerot]

Just so you know, I think you meant "now" in all the places where you said "know" in that comment

[@pougetguillaume4632]

Tbh rail/coilgun are a bit wasted on infantry. You don't need the kind of punch they give you because if the munition is too penetrative it will go straight through a target without doing much. Meanwhile if the ammo impart enough force onto its target it's likely to be widely overkill and turn anyone inside into mush. If you're not planing to take advantage of a railgun's theoratical limit then it makes more sense to use something less complicated Laser have the problem of power generation, how many batteries are you going to need? I personally don't see chemical ammo for infantry use to go anytime soon. They're just too damn efficient at the scale infantry operates in to justify replacement. Other methods are much more suited to heavier mounted plateform than infantry I think boltgun are genuinely one of the most intriguing and probable evolution for infantry small arms

[@mnxs]

​​@@pougetguillaume4632I don't see how it's a problem that a projectile would impart enough energy into a target to turn them into 'mush'? Rather, that sounds like the holy grail of the mythical "stopping power", lol. The problem is overpenetration, both because it's inefficient but also to prevent harm to unintended targets. But I agree with you otherwise.

[@HanJia879]

One thing I would love to see in sci-fi guns used in space is how they deal with heat and vacuum cementing. While I do not expect a full on solution to these, at least I wish to see them mentioned.

[@mnxs]

By vacuum cementing, I assume you mean metals' tendency to weld together in vacuum? This already sort of solved; coatings and lubrication. It's still a problem though, insofar that you need to be quite on top of maintaining said coatings and lubrication. Ironically, heat might be one of the reasons it'd be useful to keep current metal cartridge designs. As it turns out, the brass (or whatever the casing is made of) is a sink for a significant amount of the heat generated, which then just gets ejected. To cool the barrel, I imagine a simple water or light oil sprayer down the inside of the barrel might work; in vacuum, it'd boil off either way in short order, but it will also take a lot of heat with it.

[@ivanjason1863]

Usefull for lunar, rare earth like planet and asteroid settlement or boarding ships

[@MrHws5mp]

Cameras on guns are too expensive? Almost every phone has one now!

[@matthewconnor5483]

Exactly. Red dots were crazy 20 years ago. Now they are everywhere for dirt cheap. Now you will pay the same for a holoson red dot as you will for some back up irons from a brand name manufacturer.

[@rayzerot]

You might be thinking on too small of a scale. Sure a camera isn't too expensive for an individual person. But if you're equiping a million soldiers (a small regiment on a galactic scale) with hardened, military grade, securely sourced, and military industrial complex priced cameras? Absolute minimum would be $200 each which is $200,000,000 to equip that 1 million soldiers The camera would be the cheapest part though. The issue is integration with the soldier. Adding a screen or display plus a processor plus energy storage to a soldier's kit- all so the camera could be used and seen- would likely be another $2,000 to $3,000 optimistically. So another $2,000,000,000 for those cameras This could be an absolute struggle for small but military heavy nations, for rebel alliances, or for societies at the brink of collapse or grasped in total war If it was so easy to put cameras on guns? Every country on Earth would be doing it right now

[@enisra_bowman]

@@rayzerot also, a Camera has quite a small Sensor and while a bigger Sensor doesn't cost the world, the optics in front of them does

[@matthewconnor5483]

@@rayzerot red dots are a good example of this transition. 30 years ago only the most elite units where using them. 15 years ago every rifle the US army was fielding in combat units had an aim point, eotech or acog (the marines went all in on the acog). Now budget red pots cost as much as good iron sights and electro optics like holosun's digital NV or thermal are sub $2000

[@taelim6599]

@@rayzerot The whole point of sci fi is that the technology is better than modern technology. Something that's difficult and impractical now could very well be the standard in 20 years, or a century, however long it takes.

[@gdragonlord749]

I remember a comic I read in highschool that had a bullet developed for space (near future scifi). Because depressurization was such a concern, the bullet flattened into a disk of it hit a hard surface. As range was not much of an issue, any reduced firepower was acceptable.

[@Krahazik]

Forgot to mention hud based sighting systems, that displays a reticle representing where the gun is aimed on the user's helmat visor. Especially useful for space suits and power armor. Also security features such as weapons that simply won't exit safe mode if the user is not authorized such as the Mars Military rifles in The Expanse, or go a step further and electrocute unauthorized users like the Force Lance in Andromeda.

[@CanadianLegionaire]

Being in the military has taught me a couple of things about firearms and sort of slightly changed my view about sci fi weapons. Don't get me wrong, I shall always love me a cool looking sci-fi gun, rule of cool and all, but I can't help but ask questions now when I see certain sci-fi weapons. I personally believe that conventional firearms are the best form of weapon to equip a sci fi army with. At least when it comes to the regular army, the grunts. They would, in my opinion, be much cheaper to produce, easier to maintain and simpler to repair for the common infantry soldier and/or weapon's tech. The better, elite formations can get the Gucci stuff, as they do in real life, since chances are slim of them sticking around in trenches like the grunts. I can see weapons like the ones in Mass Effect for example being hell to maintain with all those moving parts on planets such as desert worlds or others with equally harsh ecosystems. Sand or mud getting stuck between the moving parts of the gun that allows it to fold or unfold would be detrimental to its efficacy. In those circumstances, the more moving parts a firearm has, the higher the chances of a stoppage, Mass Effect just has (I assume), most if not all of its moving parts on the outside instead of inside the frame. Also, I tried researching it but I couldn't find specifics about the metal cube that makes up its actual ammo. Like, can a grunt replace it himself or does it require the ME equivalent to a weapons tech to do it? if it's the latter, you'd need a shit ton of weapons techs. Realistically you would want your infantry to be able to "reload" it so to speak but then the question comes as to how is it done? do they need to field strip the weapon to do so or is there a miniature port you can just open and shove the cube in? If its the former, that could get problematic in a long, protracted battle/firefight. Where energy based weapons are concerned, you have the advantage of potentially unlimited ammo but then other problems arise, such as heat. Helldivers displays this very well with its laser weapons, where on hotter worlds the batteries overheat much quicker, which then means your potentially replacing burnt out batteries much more often. Not to mention how much more expensive such weapons would probably be to produce and maintain. What if something in the weapon short-circuits and ceases to function, what then? will every grunt be trained on how to maintain this, most-likely, complex piece of machinery? how hard is it to repair/replace said something? Magnetically accelerated weapons have the problem of requiring ammo to fire, as well as a power source to propel it. Modern attempts at rail/coil guns require massive power sources to allow their limited function. Obviously technology in sci-fi is much more advanced however such weapons would still need a power source. Lets just look at a typical railgun like the one in halo or helldivers. You would need ammo to fire as well as a battery within the weapon to fire it, potentially adding extra weight to the weapon and an extra load for the soldier to carry should he be required to carry extra batteries if they require periodic changing. Finally, the more reliant the weapon is on electronics to function, the more vulnerable it will potentially be to electronic warfare. Maybe a planet has a naturally high electro-magnetic field that jams or limits these electronics, like Pandora's flux vortex did to vehicle equipment in Avatar. Having electronic attachments assisting the user should be a bonus not the general rule. Weapon weight is also something to take into consideration since you'll be carrying that thing everywhere. The more stuff you slap on it, the heavier it gets and if you're not wearing an exo-skeleton or power armour, that could become tiring real quick. There is a reason armies generally go with the "good enough" option for their standard issue rifles.

[@DecidedlyNinja]

Even in the days of muzzle-loading black powder weapons, there were options for repeating firepower, but they were very expensive and rare. In WW2, most armies considered automatic fire too expensive and gave it only to machine gunners and, in the form of submachine guns, to squad leaders and specialized assault troops. Now, every soldier gets an automatic weapon every bit as complex as a WW2 SMG. There are similar stories on different timeframes (and not quite as complete) for magnified sights and night vision. It's tempting to look at the drawbacks of some fancy technology and imagine they'll keep it from ever becoming common, but remember that the same could have been said in the past about the technologies that are common today. Each technology trends towards more reliable, lighter, and cheaper over time while industrial output grows to make costs that once seemed excessive reasonable. Just as the boundary of what's possible expands, behind it, so does the boundary of what's practical.

[@CanadianLegionaire]

@DecidedlyNinja I agree, my point wasn't to say that such technologies would never be common over time. I didn't mention 40k weapons for example for pretty much the reasons you brought up. It's my fault for not specifying, but I was referring to the relative majority of settings that occur in a near future time frame. A few centuries from now and whatnot. A time where these technologies are definitely present and well, but if your goal is to equip potentially millions of soldiers whilst expanding in space, conventional Firearms would be the "good enough" option over the potentially more expensive alternatives. I do however, remain firm in my belief of the impracticality of the Mass Effect weapons folding thing they have going on. I love it, it's awesome, the Harrier and Mattock are my babies, but I'd never want my weapon to do that for the same reasons I specified prior. I can feel the pain in field cleaning that thing, especially on desert or tropical worlds.

[@geoffreyganoe5246]

One thing to think about in sighting systems is Augmented Reality. A HUD that would allow proper stabilization of a weapon and allow accurate fire while compensating for a spacesuit or bulky armor

[@patrickdusablon2789]

Which is not to say the weapon at hand could not also have something closer to sights as we know them today as well. And really, within the confines of a ship or space station, sight lines longer than 100m are likely going to be really scarce, if only by virtue of closing doors to prevent venting out atmosphere and slow down boarders/mutineers.

[@montecorbit8280]

At 7:01 Physical backup sights.... A lot of combat weapons will have say an optic, and then also iron sights that can be flipped up or the gun canted over to use....

[@slipdagger2350]

Kill-O-Zap is a deadly silver brand of handheld weaponry. The designer was clearly not instructed to beat about the bush. “Make it evil,” they’ve been told. “Make it totally clear that this gun has a right end and a wrong end. Make it totally clear to anyone standing at the wrong end that things are going badly for them. If that means sticking all sorts of spikes and prongs and blackened bits all over it then so be it. This is not a gun for hanging over the fireplace or sticking in the umbrella stand, this is a gun for going out and making people miserable with.”

[@RoonMian]

3:42 I will always chuckle at how Amanda Tapping flinches when Richard Dean Anderson points the muzzle of his prop gun almost directly at her face. A bit of realism in an unrealistic situation, since in-universe Colonel O'Neil proooobably wouldn't do that.

[@Yora21]

If they are ever using blanks on set, that was a potentially very dangerous situation. And given the scene they were shooting, there might have been blanks in that gun at that moment. At this range, it could seriously maim or kill someone.

[@RoonMian]

@@Yora21 Fair.

[@ytgray]

@@Yora21 Also, AFAIK they were using real P90s with, as you suggested, blanks as much as possible when there was shooting to be done. This scene might be either, considering Tapping was shooting the tree trunk just moments before (in-story time). The reaction definitely suggests that was a real gun.

[@dragonmaster1500]

4:03 just noticed there's a slight misattribution here. This clip is From 'Men In Black', not Star Trek: The Lower Decks'.

[@neoquegon]

I remember there was a book by an 80s sci-fi author, might have been the Starship troopers author I don't remember his name, but in it there were a species of aliens that used low tech shrapnel guns to penetrate space suits as in space they could accelerate the shrapnel over range doing little to no damage to structures but being highly effective against troops. I don't remember the species name but I remember they had jump drives that had side effects on people and they captured the main characters ship and integrated it into their own then sprayed some weird toothpaste like gel to grow plants for food and air.

[@Tigerpaw4000]

General shout out for the arsenal of the Colonial Marines in "Aliens," and with that a comment that a factor not really explored much in the video is the ammunition type - caseless ammo (as used by the Colonial Marines) gives more efficiency of weight/per ammo load out, plus there's other details like specialized fuse settings for each round (something detailed in the CM Technical Manual).

[@imaencuru]

A personal favourite of mine is when the setting has lots of fancy tech, and then there's a weapon that is just a souped up old design, like the SPT32 from cyberpunk. Even in setting it's a bolt action almost a century old, but it's built simple, built strong, and will remove even heavily enhanced enemies from existence in a snap.

[@Blechfuchs]

Law Giver - basically all you need. And if things get hot and wild, there’s always the Zorg ZF-1 😎

[@alperkaanbilir1776]

They have to help flesh out your characters. Star Trek's phasers and the Vulcan nerve pinch, for example; allowed Enterprise's away teams to deal with threats in a non-lethal way. Kirk's improvised bamboo cannon was the triumph of knowledge and ingenuity over brute force. All of which fit a crew of peaceful explorers nicely.

[@LordInsane100]

The high flexibility of the phasers plays into the main characters being peaceful explorers, too - it's a tool to let them handle issues, of which some but not all include combat.

[@PerkythePro]

I really liked the selection of clips going on while you were talking. I recognized most of those, and they just felt like the right picks.

[@jasziegl8983]

Every time I hear the battlezone intro music to your videos it takes me back 20 years haha

[@henryfleischer404]

I've been working on a sci-fi FPS for a while now, and I've thought about this for a while. A lot of my inspiration is from older sci-fi, because advanced computers create a lot of storytelling problems, so some of the weapons are outdated even now. Currently, there are 3 guns in it, a revolver based on a weapon that aircraft pilots were going to be equipped with in the 1970's, a combination break-aciton shotgun and rifle, and a laser. The laser, if used properly, has infinite ammo, as it draws it's power from the player character's power armor's nuclear reactor, but if it gets too hot the coolant starts to boil off. It's good against unarmored enemies, but against armored enemies it's pretty bad.

[@mittensfastpaw]

Always fun to see all the references you do for each video. It shows the research and gives me a smile.

[@Yora21]

For my 1910s-retro-futuristic space opera, I am going with railguns in early-automatic-weapon looking shells as the primary military guns. But deep space frontier settlements still use a lot of brass cartridge, smokeless powder firearms, because they have the technical capabilities to produce them locally and create more ammunition in spaceship and mining equipment repair shops. Which not only makes them more easily available, but also dirt cheap in comparison.

[@benkennedy1239]

This reminds me of a world building/writing thing I did once where people were stuck underwater with cassette futurism tech. They mostly used flechette guns (similar to the Steyr and AAI submissions to the Advanced Combat Rifle program) since they had to prioritize armor piercing and making it work underwater. Their hard-suits could interface with the guns in a sort of fighter-jet HUD way, which had an augmented reality sight and readouts. It pretty rough and I just remembered it. If y'all have even nerdier insights to give that's be awesome.

[@pougetguillaume4632]

Rocket boosted smart handgun ammo with an array of payload including HE, airburst, kinetic penetrator sounds like the most overpowered and versatile infantry weapon you can imagine. It's basically a guided bolter round with ranges in the mid to high 4 digits. Combine that with drones or satellite datalink and you can legitimately blow up a room in a building on the other side of a hill through a tiny window that's 5 km away from the shooter's position.

[@AlastorKrieger]

Whether or not explosive decompression occurs is not dependent on the presence of explosives. It is dependent of the size of the exposed compartment, the pressurization level of the craft and the relative strength of the hull to resist further damage from gas pressure after the puncture event.

[@thefob9675]

IMO Mass Effect still has the best SciFi handheld weapons. The descriptions of how they worked in terms of ammo (including special ammo types), mechanics of bullet acceleration and aiming systems were very well thought out and the heat management issue gave them some contraints (though one can argue about the switch to manual heat sinks but that was a clear case of gameplay before lore consistancy and that's fine in my book). And while the folding may not have been super realistic, drawing the weapons and having them unfold just looked super cool.

[@roguevector1268]

I still wish they did a hybrid of the 'cooldown sink' instead of switching to the disposable heat sinks; think a revolver (make it lever action!) but instead of bullets the cylinder is full of heat sinks, after shooting to a heat sink's capacity, you can cycle the heat sink to a fresh one and the one you were just using gets a chance to cools down as the other fresh heat sinks cycle into the 'chamber'.

[@dgh6g33gf]

Most of mass effect lore is top tier. Eezo is awsome.

[@dgh6g33gf]

I love the in-game scene of an officer describing the weapon systems of the Isaac Newton Alliance dreadnought.

[@herrfantastisch7489]

@@roguevector1268 That’s genuinely such an amazing idea. I uh, I gotta steal that for my sci-fi 🥺

[@tba113]

I kind of wish they'd done the heatsink mechanic a bit closer to how Battletech games managed it: ejecting a saturated heatsink for a fresh one (like venting coolant in BT) is a great way to stay in the fight and keep shooting _right now,_ and may be needed for high-powered rapid-fire weapons - but if you can manage the battle a bit more carefully, you can let the weapon disperse its heat without needing a new heatsink. That would be especially handy in the early game, when your weapons are not only low-powered popguns that need a fair few hits to hurt a target, but the Shuriken SMG - the intended primary weapon for half the character class options - is hilariously inaccurate as well. It brings back memories of the Goldeneye Klobb, and not in good ways.

[@TheSaneHatter]

Safety features for use deserve all the discussion in the galaxy, especially when the subject of dangerous or hazardous ammo comes up.

[@KiloWhiskeyMike1592]

Props for showing love to For All Mankind. I remember in the first book of The Expanse series they kill someone using a "Gel" slug from a shotgun. Thought that was a great concept.

[@montecorbit8280]

At 1:23 "....so much penetration you can shoot straight through cover...." By definition, you cannot shoot through cover! If you can shoot through "cover", then it is technically "concealment". If you can't see somebody well enough to shoot at them, then it's concealment. If you can't see them well enough to shoot at them and/or your bullets won't penetrate, then it is cover. Cover is relative. You can be hiding behind cover with somebody shooting a 9 mm at you, but if somebody else pulls out a 50 caliber and blows a hole in your "cover", then you just found out that you were behind concealment!!

[@fplasil]

I was wondering when the Fifth Element gun shows up. Thanks for including it. That one is a classic!

[@cugamer8862]

Always a good day when a new Spacedock video drops.

[@AutumnMacGregor]

That last point is something I liked about the fairly brief period of SG1 when the standard loadout was Zats and P90s. Having a side arm that you don't need to reload but is only particularly effective at short ranges, and reliably disables targets seems like exactly what you'd want for exploration.

[@berndbernd3464]

SG1 is such an amazingly well aged show!

[@ploed]

What I love from The Expanse is how they resolved the Gravity on Spaceships. Not like others using some "magic". You forgot District 9, that movie had some sick alien weapons.

[@tba113]

Regarding guns with cameras as sights, we've had those for about two decades now. The 'CornerShot' system mounts a digital camera along a hinged frame that clamps around the actual weapon - originally a 9mm pistol, but later models were built to hold carbines and grenade launchers. The rear of the frame houses the grip, a remote trigger, and the camera's display. It's not exactly cheap - more than a grand per each last I checked, and that's just for the frame and camera, not the weapon you install into it - and it's nowhere near as advanced as the next-gen stuff shown in the clip from Genocidal Organ, but it's a real system that's been in service with various special forces units for decades now.

[@EnRandomSten]

Not to toot my own horn or anything but in the rpg that I'm writing with some friends; the justification for melee weapons in the universe is the fact that weapons can only have so much penetration when used inside ships so given enough time, body armour has caught up with ammunition in terms of protection vs penetration meaning that sometimes all you have to deal with boarders is a good ol mace or axe. There are smart weapons and special ammo that is designed to seal any holes they make in ships but melee weapons are always brought as a backup.

[@Krahazik]

In one of my fictional worlds, the military primarily relies on energy weapons especially for ship board defense, but every soldier and security officer is equipped with a sword and trained to use it as a backup hand-to-hand weapon. There are species that are resistant to energy based attacks and sometimes armor.

[@mnxs]

​​@@KrahazikWhy swords though? Given that they're a backup weapon, it seems to me it'd be better to use a weapon type that requires less skill to use reliably. As OP said, a mace or battle axe/hatchet would make more sense. Note also, if you weren't aware, that medieval maces and battle axes were actually typically rather smaller than you'd imagine; it turns out you don't need to add that much extra metal stuff to a stick to make it _much_ more deadly. The crucial part is that it requires little to no training to use those things; here's the hard/heavy/pointy bit, swing stick so that bit goes fast and heavy into the target, done. Soft tissues tends to still get squished by the concussion when the (hard) armor above gets hit. With swords, you need a bunch of training on technique and form; here things like properly aligning cutting angles matters a lot.

[@Krahazik]

@@mnxsYou do make some good points. I might expand things with blunt weapon use being what most security personnel start with, with more advanced weapons training occurring at higher levels, subject to the skill level of the officer. Another thing to consider is how the weapon is worn when not in use, and how it is drawn.

[@thomaswakefield6889]

The scope with atmospheric sensors range calibration and so on has been around since the late 80s. I know this because I used 1 on my .50 cal rifle during Desert Storm.

[@Daedalus-BC308]

One way to approach aiming while wearing a spacesuit is to have a HUD with a virtual crosshair that shows precisely where you are aiming. Makes hip firing just as accurate as aiming down sights.

[@kellysmith1144]

Use an invisible laser a sensor on the helmet tracks to cue the virtual crosshair.

[@Daedalus-BC308]

@kellysmith1144 Exactly my idea! The laser would be attached to the barrel/emitter of the gun and the spacesuit uses sensors to track the laser.

[@JAF30]

Johnattan Fergusson, awesome. You should also talk to Ian over at Forgotten Weapons channel some time as well. I love that you bring the real world consequences of using regular firearms with or without armor piercing rounds inside a closed atmosphere with things that don't like to be shot at.

[@mryan3123]

As for the electronic gizmos, they are wonderful until they are not. A perfect example of this would be in the Joe Haldeman novel The Forever War, where they need to resort to medieval weapons to fight inside a stasis field which neutralizes all electromagnetic radiation in anything not covered with a protective coating.

[@Huwbacca]

One of the most paradoxical scifi weapon things is how often theyll use caseless ammo. In a space setting, especially in a vacuum, caseless is a really bad idea as cases take a lot of heat out of the firearm. Caseless guns would overheat horribly quickly in a vacuum.

[@mc-zy7ju]

The guided mini missles on goliath armor in the expanse, fantastic application.

[@beneisen6982]

I'd see futuristic aiming done with a HUD on a helmet taking input from the weapon. This can be integrated easily into space suits/armor and negates the bulkiness. The weapon can even be integrated into the armor itself, like in The Expanse with the Martian Goliath power armor.

[@UNYEILDING]

Space Dock: "You can't have a gun that's great for every situation" Modular weapons designers: *cries in dozens of failed experiments*

[@Revi2151]

I think the most important thing for a Scifi firearm is that it doesn’t stand out within the setting. All your points are completely right but if it doesn’t seem like it should be there, it’s odd - like using the AK model weapon in Andor

[@DrownedInExile]

I once wrote an Aliens fanfiction story featuring a laser carbine-style weapon system. It handled like a classic 12-gague pump-action shotgun. Lasers produce no recoil, which made it ideal for zero-G combat. Unfortunately that also meant no automatic fire. The trigger-guard could be removed to accommodate bulky spacesuit gloves. The discharge had a low chance of penetrating hulls compared to bullets. The actual blast was invisible, but produced a terrible seething roar when fired in pressurized areas, thanks to the ammo capsule burning out after every shot. I may have over-played that for drama. Was it the ideal weapon system? No. It had to be made of heat-resistant ceramics and titanium, making it more comparable in weight to an LMG. Though superior to most conventional firearms, it was derided in my setting for having many drawbacks. It excelled in space combat, but not so much on-planet. And as my protag discovered, laser blasts still had a high risk of causing certain unexpected enemies to spray their lethal acid-blood everywhere!

[@Derpsterchief]

Honestly,that sounds pretty cool!

[@Rawkit_Surgeon]

Irons will never be completely replaced.

[@MM22966]

Honorable Mention for the humble Clone Trooper/Stormtrooper, combining the best of infinite ammo, aiming, and also walking fire.

[@MrChupacabra555]

2:48 Yes, this movie was So Very Silly, but the kid I was just LOVED that space combat sequence (My first 'Space Marines' 😅)

[@ApocGuy]

I saw that one, but can't remember the title....

[@MrChupacabra555]

@@ApocGuy "Moonraker" (1979......damn, I'm old....😅)

[@ApocGuy]

@MrChupacabra555 thanks 😁

[@Bvoid-b]

Cameras on the gun itself wouldn't be more costly than what we have on mobile phones, and even then there area alternatives like dissociated aiming with a low quality camera that is only used for identifying the target, then another more powerful camera can fill in the details. Iron sights might even end up being the costlier option, considering they change the silhouette of the gun, and without it it could be possible for more modular or simpler shapes.

[@RayleeRaven574]

i was expecting something like gun language design, something like: -killzone and wolfenstein's dieselpunk having a lot of steel on their guns -steampunk in general having brass -modern tactical guns having 23 thousand rails on them because of attachments you could put on it -rusty, crude pipes in a post-apocalyptic setting for obvious reasons -sleekness of cyberpunk/"clean sci-fi" artstyle -the unconventional nature of alien weapons because we're been using the same "throw lead at high velocity" principle for centuries etc etc.

[@harvest5218]

I was a BIG fan of Mass Effect's first weapons. Virtually infinite ammo and all you had to keep track of was overheating. And with the right mods, not so much. Or you could mod the rounds to be so deadly you only had to hit something a few times to take it out, which is a novel concept for a videogame gun.

[@jasonreed1631]

Yeah. I had a Soldier Assault Rifle build where I literally could not overheat the weapon deliberately, the cool down was higher then the heat generation. It would only overheat if I was hit with a sabatoge attack. The change to thermal clips in 2 and 3 might have made sense from a gameplay mechanic point of view, but from a world building point of view it made absolutely no sense. I appreciate the devs kind of openly admitting that in 3, when your fanboy questions it and Shepard's only response was "but there's this one specific situation where it might kinda sort of be better". From a world building perspective the obvious solution would be to continue to use the first style of weapon, but upgrade to a quick swap heat sink for when you need heavy sustained fire, just like many machine guns dating back to at least the 1940s did with quick change barrels to allow for more sustainable fire.

[@Myomer104]

​​@jasonreed1631 I believe that was the original plan, but they couldn't get the coding to work in time, so we ended up with the limited ammo system. We did end up getting it with the Prothean Particle Beam and M7 Lancer from the DLCs for 3, sort of, with them having the ability to quick-dump their heat with the reload button.

[@MrNicoJac]

My favorite gun from ME2 (and ME3) was the Collector SMG. Shoots crazy fast, very accurate, can be given a massive magazine with max upgrade, weighs almost nothing, and still does great damage. Perfect to combine with a Charging Vanguard build! (and I added an N7 Crusader shotgun as sniper rifle, hehe)

[@MrNicoJac]

I would've _loved_ if all your guns needed to cool down, and did you independently. Aka, you shoot your sniper until it overheats, then your rifle, then your SMG, then your shotgun - and by that time your sniper has cooled down enough. It would've been cool if cooler/ammo packs would be relatively rare, but could be used in a pinch to reload immediately. Or just having one gun by like 10 heat sinks that cooled down individually, and you keep swapping in the coldest - and if you overcharge all of them, you're in trouble.... (but can still solve it with bionics or tech armor or melee or whatever)

[@armorhide406]

I like the point on something ineffective/imperfect still sees widespread use, due to budgetary reasons

[@HappilyHomicidalHooligan]

If you have the Tech, one way to counter the helmets of space suits interfering with properly using the weapon sights is to make those sights electronic with a camera and then have the image from that sight superimposed on the helmet visor so you always know exactly where your gun is pointed...that also lets you shoot around corners without exposing more than your hand and gun...