Popular Things in Scifi and Fantasy that many people love but you hate.

[Emperor Tippy]

Swords and melee combat don't belong in a far future setting.

As with anything sci-fi, that depends on the technology involved. It also depends on the combat environment and the actual environment.

Knives are more dangerous and deadly than guns in close already. Make them out of super materials and put them in the hands of a transhuman cyborg and what counts as "in close" becomes much further. Now have them fighting inside a confined environment like a building? In such a situation, the knife may well be a better weapon than the gun.

 

[Marduk]

Yeah, melee may or may not make sense in sci-fi depending on the circumstances of - who are you fighting, in what environment, how tough/armored they are vs guns and vs melee, are there other limits like need for weapons to be compact or concealed.
For IRL example, did you know that not all soft bulletproof vests that stop pistol bullets are necessarily very stab proof?

Then you also have some sci-fi enemies, including the most basic trope of space bugs, who will go into melee range no matter the cost, at which point a long reached melee secondary, or at least a rifle with a bayonet, is a viable tool for physically keeping them out of biting and clawing distance, while a handgun, not so much - you probably won't hit the space bug's central nervous system in chaos of surprise melee if the space bug even has those exposed in handgun vulnerable position, and its gonna be of little consolation that the bug bleeds out from the wounds after he's mostly done eating you.

And then there's power armor, which has potential to change a lot of considerations. In some scenarios may well make lighter guns completely useless against someone in it, so melee becomes both an ammo saving feature against chaff, and in some exotic cases of unnaturally powerful melee weapons like chainswords or really anything amplified by power armor's mass and power, a way to deal with stuff that's too resistant to your average pistol, or even assault rifle.

 

[Buba]

For IRL example, did you know that not all soft bulletproof vests that stop pistol bullets are necessarily very stab proof?

I know
I once read up on UK Police stab-vests and - although I did not understand the Science behind it, it went over my teeny-weenie brain - I understood that they are made differently from bullet-proof vests ...

The future?:
Drive me closer! I want to hit them with my sword!

 

[AnimalNoodles]

Swords and melee combat don't belong in a far future setting.

Dune did it pretty good. I remember a sadly obscure series called Yamato that did it pretty good as well. Both had personal shielding systems that rendered firearms obsolete.

 

[Robovski]

The ability to beat on someone or threaten them with a less-lethal melee weapon makes sense for some situations, such as police or thuggery. I am not saying this justifies swords in a sci-fi setting, but I'll be fine with the likes of your space truncheon subduing someone.

 

[Zachowon]

Let me put it like this... never look to TV / movies for accurate security practices. Never. they never practice proper security measures even for basic things like area access control. My account here on TS has better security on it than most TV Top Secret controlled access vaults simply because I have proper 2FA installed.

About the only time I can recall seeing proper two-factor authentication done has actually been on Star Trek, ironically enough (despite their numerous other failures), where they locks high level information requiring both a voiceprint and a specific code as voiceprint is a biometric, a "Being" category for authentication factors and a code is a "knowing" category for authentication. It may even be three factor, if the security is also tied to having their communicator on them (the "having" factor), but that's pure speculation on my part, we only ever see the voice+password used.

2FA isn't that common from what I have noticed

"The Epic Battle" where both sides mindlessly charge into each other headlong with no thoughts into things like flanks, supporting fires, and any sort of envelopment. It all just degenerates into a graceless brawl that becomes a series of mano-a-mano duels meant to heighten the drama but bears no resemblance to the real thing. The worse offender was the last two Thanos Marvel films....and please don't get me started on the Wakandan Royal Guard...spears in a frigging fight with superheroes who have the firepower of your average MBT? Nope. I want more than a freaking pigsticker.

Ironically describes the main villain of SWTOR: the Sith Emperor, Darth Vitiate. Born the bastard son of Lord Dramath, from childhood he was marked as especially powerful in the Dark Side even for Sith Purebloods. By the time he was 10, without any formal training, he was powerful enough to simply overpower Lord Dramath, and to impress the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith Marka Ragnos. Not to mention devious enough to avoid drawing the attention of other Sith Lords, or even the Jedi and the Republic towards the end of the Great Hyperspace War. He also ultimately became the Sith closest to ever achieve complete immortality.

And ultimately subverted in the end, with the PCs - even the Imperial characters post-Shadow of Revan expansion - turning against him and finally destroying him once and for all. All of whom started out small, and struggled to become the heroes (or anti-heroes) they eventually became.



Seconded; this especially annoys me, since it's as easy as watching a documentary or opening a history book to look up proper battle tactics. Even simple ones like double-envelopment, or a Cannae-style ambush.

So, if we look at TV shows and Movies, we have to take into account the budget and the story they are going for with it. Also what kind of battle it is etc etc.
If it is a more modernish ir realistic military or near future or something, that makes sense. Use those kinda tactics is realistic.
For something like Avengers for instance, as it was brought up, using the infinity war over end game. They had to focus the amount of bad guys to avoid hitting the city, so they opened the field so it was focused in a small number against them. They used thier air support do do damage and the like, keeping them bottle necked.
Endgame, that was story limitations more then anything.

So mainly ot depends on setting and what is going on.

For the thread: Fuck doctor who. It is overrated trash and I don't know why people think it is so amazing.

 

[S'task]

2FA isn't that common from what I have noticed

That's because you're not noticing it.

Do you work in a building or room that requires both a scanned card and entering a number to enter? That's 2FA. I know for a fact you logon to your work computer using both a CAC and PIN as that's standard practice in the DoD and Federal government, which is again, 2FA. 2FA is standard practice in the Federal government in all departments.

 

[Zachowon]

That's because you're not noticing it.

Do you work in a building or room that requires both a scanned card and entering a number to enter? That's 2FA. I know for a fact you logon to your work computer using both a CAC and PIN as that's standard practice in the DoD and Federal government, which is again, 2FA. 2FA is standard practice in the Federal government in all departments.

Touche.
I do use a card and pin to enter scif.
Only 2FA I have that isn't for SIPR or NIPR

 

[Vargas Fan]

I think swords vs. guns can be justified but the writer needs to put some thought into why swords would still exist and come up with the proper justification.

Dune famously has shields that can block bullets but not a slow-enough moving blade. Outlaw Star has armor and personal shields good enough that blasters capable of use in combat will also punch through a space station wall, so pulling a gun instead of a knife inside said station will get every inhabitant after your head. Star Wars melee is mostly used by various flavors of wizards or pigmen that might not be smart enough to trust with blasters.

It's been a while since I read the Dune novel, but Duncan Idaho in the Lynch film die to a slow moving projectile weapon, but it looked more like a low velocity dart weapon.

 

[Bear Ribs]

It's been a while since I read the Dune novel, but Duncan Idaho in the Lynch film die to a slow moving projectile weapon, but it looked more like a low velocity dart weapon.

Yes, a Maula Pistol. They fire slow-moving darts that can penetrate a shield but they kill by poison since the dart is moving too slowly to do much damage.