Weapons of the marines/army

st3lt3k said:
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I'd say that this is the same kind of technology used to disintegrate Angel's crew.
 
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Crowley said:
I'd say that this is the same kind of technology used to disintegrate Angel's crew.
Anything's possible, but I don't think this is likely - here, the execution is done via two handheld guns that generate beams, while Angel's crew is killed by some kind of large circular device that generates some kind of fog-thingy. The only thing they really have in common is that in both cases, no traces of the victim remain (and this is true for several other situations in WC, too).
 
Quarto said:
Anything's possible, but I don't think this is likely - here, the execution is done via two handheld guns that generate beams, while Angel's crew is killed by some kind of large circular device that generates some kind of fog-thingy. The only thing they really have in common is that in both cases, no traces of the victim remain (and this is true for several other situations in WC, too).


Considering the changin visual aspect of things within wc canon, its quite possible that the it matters not if its a laser weapon or swirling illuminated gas cloud that disintegrates the subject. In both cases the purpose is the same: Its a form of execution that shows a marked lack of respect and honor. A kilrathi who had failed like this one had would never have the um... "privilege" (if you can call it that) of being gored by a claw. Maybe the method changed over time but ceremonialy speaking it was the same thing. And one could argue that were there ever a live action FMV of that scene it would look much like the one in the WC3 intro.
 
It seems pretty clear that the weapons in The Secret Missions are handguns and the device in Wing Commander III is some sort of special installation. That's a change in more than just visual style.
 
AD said:
In both cases the purpose is the same: Its a form of execution that shows a marked lack of respect and honor.
I would question that, too. We know that Gilkarg's executed like a commoner, but that doesn't necessarily mean that his execution is supposed to be entirely dishonourable - all that we know for certain is that it's quite different to what his noble status should have warranted him (presumably, the priviledge to kill yourself). Still, there's a difference between being shot by someone and being evaporated by some kind of machine. I daresay, this difference would mean a lot to the Kilrathi - the personal touch matters :). This is all idle speculation, but I can certainly imagine that Gilkarg's execution was also supposed to restore his honour (though the fact that he was brought before the Emperor in chains instead of willingly killing himself seems significant).
 
The Kilrathi culture probably wasn't fully thought out in detail during the time this game was made. I'm sure things would have looked different if it was taken into deeper consideration.....?
 
I don't have a screenshot, but doesn't Iceman briefly flash a revolver when he's on the Tiger's Claw? It's part of his 'sitting' animation.
 
Wulf said:
The Kilrathi culture probably wasn't fully thought out in detail during the time this game was made. I'm sure things would have looked different if it was taken into deeper consideration.....?
Yeah, that's true. Actually, it seems like at that point they hadn't even decided to make Gilkarg the Emperor's son.
 
Quarto said:
This is all idle speculation, but I can certainly imagine that Gilkarg's execution was also supposed to restore his honour (though the fact that he was brought before the Emperor in chains instead of willingly killing himself seems significant).

I've always imagined restoring the clan's honor was the prime concern. If it was only Gilkarg honor in question, zu'kara(how do you spell that anyway) would be the way to go.

It's of course true that their culture wasn't fully thought out at the time, but we have to treat it as if it was, or well end up like some of those WCU people.;)

I do believe this was the only execution of a noble kilrathi we have ever seen, so we can't really say if it was honorable or not, although the chains would suggest that it was not. (but then again, they might just have been there in case he would try to jump the emperor or something funny like that.)
 
Fatcat said:
I don't have a screenshot, but doesn't Iceman briefly flash a revolver when he's on the Tiger's Claw? It's part of his 'sitting' animation.
I don't know if it's a revolver specifically, but he seems to be cleaning/polishing some sort of handgun.
 
I always thought it was some kind of future-luger. Don't think theres any revolver type pistols left around the WC universe (at least that I've seen).
 
From Wing Commander Privateer at the commodity exchange on Perry Naval Base. This would seem to be some kind of non-laser rifle
 

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Yes, it should. I'll play around with it a bit this weekend.

I'm not trying to make work for you or anyone else. I was thinking of something simple, basically identifying where the image came from.
 
st3lt3k said:
From Wing Commander Privateer at the commodity exchange on Perry Naval Base. This would seem to be some kind of non-laser rifle

How can you tell? Could be a magazine, or maybe some kind of battery pack.
 
Yeah, I'm pretty sure you can't make any determination at all about what kind of rifle that is from that picture.
 
Why I think it's some kind of non-laser rifle

First, I am definitely not an expert on firearms of any century.

Here's why I thought it wasn't a laser rifle:
  1. it has what looks like a magazine that can be removed which could be for ammunition
  2. it has a handguard under the barrel that possibly protects agains the heat of the barrel. Do beam or energy weapons in Wing Commander get hot? I don't know.
  3. it has what looks like an ejection port for spent casings
 
How can you tell anything from that pixelicious image, though? I mean, the game was made at like 320x200 (IIRC), so there's not a lot of detail available.

As for the first item, who says a beam rifle can't have a removable energy cell that looks like a projectile firearm's clip? Nevermind the ease of switching out power cells when the heat's on, there's also the tradition angle.

(Granted, the square pistols of the cartoon, which don't look anything at all like 20th C pistols, show that there's not an absolute requirement to follow weapon tradition.)
 
st3lt3k said:
First, I am definitely not an expert on firearms of any century.

Here's why I thought it wasn't a laser rifle:
  1. it has what looks like a magazine that can be removed which could be for ammunition
  2. it has a handguard under the barrel that possibly protects agains the heat of the barrel. Do beam or energy weapons in Wing Commander get hot? I don't know.
  3. it has what looks like an ejection port for spent casings

My video camera has a battery that, if reduced to a 10x6 pixel representation, would look identical to what you're calling a "magazine." Why wouldn't a laser rifle need a 2x15 pixel "handguard" just as much as any projectile rifle? Your 2x4 pixel "ejection port" might as well be a switch to select how powerful you want the laser to shoot. It's pretty crazy to take anything from that picture and try to make determinations like you have.
 
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