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Pistola de combate

Buscábamos darle la sensación de arma compacta a la vez que poderosa, con algunos toques del diseño original de NS1. Durante la fase conceptual diseñamos unos cuantos bocetos, explorando diversos estilos.



Como parte de "detrás de las escenas" queremos compartir los bocetos con la comunidad. Ninguno de los diseños nos terminaba de convencer, no obstante internamente elegimos la opción 6, la cual nos pareció un buen punto de partida, dado que posee muchos de los elementos que buscábamos que tuviese una pistola. It was visually distinct, and felt like an appropriate backup weapon, not a whimpy pea shooter but also not some powerful hand cannon that some of the other designs hinted at. We checked our decision with the community pistol poll, and found that #6 seemed to be in the top running among the public as well, so we felt that we were going in the right direction.

Como puedes ver en el diseño final, hemos combinado diversos aspectos de otros bocetos que creímos que funcionarían bien, como por ejemplo la zona de agarre de la pistola número 8.



Further design refinements were made, adding details as well as resolving some of the shapes to work better. One of the big design additions during this stage was to add the Luger style toggle mechanism.



While we had chosen the pistol with the more distinctive slanted back half, this posed problems in the believable functionality of the weapon. Since the pistol is firing standard ammunition, an empty shell needs to be ejected and a new one chambered with each shot, and the angled design, as well as the ammo counter screen on the back, made incorporating the typical slide mechanism present on most modern day pistols very problematic. The solution was to take the mechanical workings of a WW2 Luger and merge them with the futuristic pistol design, and this combination of old and new not only added the real world functionality we were looking for, but also a distinctive visual look that makes for interesting animation and is cohesive with many of the mechanical elements on the marine structures and equipment.




2.Seg Switch-Ax

A continuación la nueva arma melee. Cuando todo lo demás nos falla, y nos encontramos en un combate cuerpo a cuerpo, ¿que mejor que tener en nuestra posesión el nuevo hacha?



Para describir mejor esta nueva e improvisada arma melee, hemos tomado un extracto del manual de campo TSA:

El 2.Seg Switch-Ax

El Switch-Ax reemplaza al cuchillo. La nomenclatura "2.Seg" describe el tiempo que tarda desde que la montas hasta que hieres con ella a alguien (o a alguna cosa) en el cráneo. Algunos marines dicen que el sonido que produce desde que pulsan el botón hasta que queda fijada suena como "dos...segs!". En la forma comapcta, la hoja se pliega en un sustrato nanoscópico que convierte los desechos en una substancia aceitosa. La "2.Seg" nunca se queda atascada -- de hecho, contra mas uso le des, mejor funcionará. The blade's edge is very slowly consumed as well. It's getting sharper while it hangs from your belt.

The 2.Sec was deployed after field data confirmed two things:

1. Non-Combat tasks, especially time-critical ones, usually involve severing materials just at or over the knife's capabilities, or opening jammed or locked containers -- a function that can easily result in damage to a knife. The Switch-Ax is rated to cut steel cable, and makes short work of the standard shipping or storage crates. The Ax's edge is still sharp enough to friction-cut lesser substances such as cloth or rope with sufficient precision for commonly reported tasks.



2. Most combat uses are against Kharaa, who are tough skinned, and frequently biologically armored in ways that grant high resistance to surface wounds. While the Switch-Ax cannot deliver successive strikes as quickly as the knife, its first blow is of comparable speed, and the piercing, weight driven concentration of force delivers greater aggregate damage-per-second against alien hostiles. Of course, melee combat with the Kharaa is still strongly discouraged. The 2.Sec, however, is superbly effective against Kharaa tactical growths, quickly hacking past the fibrous flesh to pulp sensitive internal organs. This may be its most popular use in the field.



Finalmente, aquí tenéis como se ve el hacha dentro del juego:



Fuente: http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/news/2010/3/friday_update_the_pistol_and_axe