 January 13, 2015 - 5:06am | Just saw this picture on DA. i suspect that a bow would work in space but would also be prone to start a firer spinning if he was not locked down. It also reminded me the novel Semper Mars where US space marines tossed beer cans at opponents which exploded on impact and froze on the face plates of the enemy giving the marines a tactical advantage. anyone else have any unconventional methods of killing your fellow space traveller?  I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 13, 2015 - 5:20am | On second thought, an arrow is likely to tumble: 1. fletchings, if properly aligned, spin stablize the arrow and in a vacuum they do nothing. 2. The forces involved in firing an arrow actually flex and bend the shaft just after the moment of release and without atmosphere for the fletching to do their job I suspect the arrow will simply tumble. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 January 13, 2015 - 9:21am | Yes, all shaft-like projectiles will tumble. Plus, if you were trained to aim in gravity and atmosphere, your aim will be all wrong in space. Rifled bullets, on the other hand, will work just fine, provided your ignition mechanism works in vacuum. |
 January 13, 2015 - 8:50pm | would the same hold true for a mechanically launched projectile/arrow/missile like from a cross bow?
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January 13, 2015 - 9:24pm | would the same hold true for a mechanically launched projectile/arrow/missile like from a cross bow?
a quarrel uses fletchings so I'd expect yes. I've seen slow mo video of what a arrow does as the stored energy in the bow launches it but not of the cross bow. I would guess that something similar happens with a cross bow as its a bow storing energy and then the bolt is released. the mechanical release of the cross bow simply lets you store more energy that you hand does not have to hold back. Cross bow quarrels are shorter and thicker (at least the ones I've fired) so they perhaps dont quite flex as much but this shorter thicker feature might also be required by the higher ammounts of energy a cross bow can store. Still I expect that the crossbow bolt will tumble simply because the fletching dont spin stablize in a vacuum. My recurve bow was 45 lbs, compound was set at 65 but could be adjusted to 75 lbs (it was a pain to use at 75 lbs) and my crossbow was 150 lbs, the recurve was by far the most fun as it felt natural and was ideal for small game. Incidently there are trigger mechanism that can be mounted on a compound bow that will hold the bow "cocked" so that you only have to pull a trigger to fire but this is illegal in Maine and I would suspect that they are illegal as well in MA since since this state is usually to the left of states like ME and NH. EDIT: Third thought: even though such weapons would tumble over range they could be effective at point blank where an arrow can have the penetration power of a bullet. the penetration power of a crossbow is not to be sneered at either. I read one account of a knight being shot through the thigh and his horse was mortally wounded and as the horse spun around he was shot through the other thigh pinning him to the dying horse. There were also attempts to outlaw crossbows as barbaric weapons but generally these attempts were by authorities with large armies that could beat on smaller opponents and the generally their opponents said that they could take their crossbows when they pried them from their cold dead hands. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 January 14, 2015 - 12:36am | Another feature of the crossbow is a stable launching platform. The "rail" ensures a staight discharge so sights can be used to assist the aiming process. Of course the issue in space is you won't have the benefit of gravity to keep the quarrel in the rail. |
 January 14, 2015 - 7:33pm | Bring on sling shots and wrist rockets. A cross bow like device could be designed for accurate use in zero G. -iggy |
January 14, 2015 - 10:28pm | Wrist rockets are awesome. Assuming you have the requisite asbestos lined gloves.  |
 January 15, 2015 - 7:58am | They could launch mechanically like in a slingshot sort of thing and then fire once a few feet away from you... sort of they way missles leave the wings of a fighter jet. They fall off and get a few feet away before ingniting the thurster. ----------------------------------------------- |
January 15, 2015 - 9:57am | I was using wrist rockets as another name for sling shot. -iggy |
 March 6, 2015 - 8:30pm | Couple of points: The bow-and-arrow was used in "High Crusade" by the English Longbowman. They installed a device to spin the arrow so they could be used. HOWEVER, what I wonder is how it would have actually worked because Longbow archery is pretty much HIGHLY gravity dependent : Abub: Hollywood and Anime non-withstanding real world missiles do NOT work that way! Pet-peeve time but that was my job in the military. The missile fires ON the rail and accellerates off it. The ones that DO fire (and there are only a very few, mostly special purpose anti-ship or ground attack) fire their motors within few feet of the aircraft. (Basically at the point where their wire connection to the aircraft {and they ALL have those be their electical or mechanical} stretch enough to break and the motor fires) Slingshots: No getting around Sir Isaac I'm afaid. Granted the amount of "push" you'd get from a slingshot pellet is small but its still there. Conversly this points up that firing an arrow won't put TOO much rotation on you so a small gas thruster would be enough to stop the spin and probably not even be seen. Atomic Rockets has some good weapons suggestions both "conventional" and unconventional. Point of fact my favorite idea for a "conventional" space weapon is a duel magazine shotgun with gyrojet and flechete rounds :) Randy |
 March 15, 2015 - 9:44pm | A few crazy ideas: Tennis Ball/Baseball machine firing balls in a vacuum? Decompressing a cargo bay would shoot stuff into to space at speed... cargo and loose objects could kill or damage another ship? How about a projectile that delivers a device that opens up into a net of some sort could be pretty low tech or high tech? In my head the projectile casing fires/breaks off the "netting" which then springs open and instant barrier, the netting could be sharp, or charged some how... Last but not least "Duct Tape" challenge time... can a weapon be made of that? "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
March 16, 2015 - 4:22am | I recall a Traveller (IIRC) partial deck plan labeled as "anti-piracy" technique; Illustration showed the "airlock" actually was the muzzle of a laser cannon and the actual airlock hatch was covered by a false panel a few meters away. Randy |
March 16, 2015 - 4:32am | I recall a Traveller (IIRC) partial deck plan labeled as "anti-piracy" technique; Illustration showed the "airlock" actually was the muzzle of a laser cannon and the actual airlock hatch was covered by a false panel a few meters away.
Randy Awesome Trap! Of course there could be flame throwers in the walls too... "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
March 16, 2015 - 3:04pm | I recall a Traveller (IIRC) partial deck plan labeled as "anti-piracy" technique; Illustration showed the "airlock" actually was the muzzle of a laser cannon and the actual airlock hatch was covered by a false panel a few meters away.
Randy Awesome Trap! Of course there could be flame throwers in the walls too... "Awesome" as long as it works AND the option is actually available :) In most cases of "Space Pirate" attack the keyword is "resist and get fried" which means while you might get a couple of pirates with a trap you're probably well and truely screwed by the rest of them that stood-off and watched. The main point of a "boarding action" against a ship in the real pirate days was to keep someone from scuttling the thing at the last minute. Randy |
March 16, 2015 - 7:47pm | True on resist & die &... on the scuttling part. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
March 22, 2015 - 8:26am | I recall a Traveller (IIRC) partial deck plan labeled as "anti-piracy" technique; Illustration showed the "airlock" actually was the muzzle of a laser cannon and the actual airlock hatch was covered by a false panel a few meters away. Randy ROFL! How about electrically chargable plating in the air lock- peeps just love the mag boots for the advantages in zero g combat, flip the switch and everyone toching the plating experience the effects of an electric sword attack. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
