Slings and slingshots!

[Fathi]

As it currently stands, slings in Armageddon are little more than a low-cost archery substitute.

I'd like to see them fleshed out a little more so that they become a hunting tactic in their own right. There's heaps of historical basis for this that I'm not gonna bother posting here.

Currently, hits from slings don't seem to do much stun damage. (Or NPC stun regen is so fast that they appear to have no effect.)

What I'd love to see is a chance for a sling's projectile to have the same knock-down effect as a throwing knife, depending on variables such as hit location and stats of the person doing the slinging.

Since wood is such a precious commodity in most parts of Zalanthas, it makes sense that certain regions would develop other long-distance hunting methods aside from archery, and I'm assuming that's why these items were implemented in the first place. However, as they're currently coded, there's no real benefit to using them. Personally, I think it'd be pretty awesome from an IC cultural standpoint and an OOC newbie-hunter standpoint if they were altered juuust a wee bit and bumped into the realm of valid hunting tactic.

[Ourla]

What I'd love to see is a chance for a sling's projectile to have the same knock-down effect as a throwing knife, depending on variables such as hit location and stats of the person doing the slinging.

Aaaargh yes, this bugs me to no end.  It makes no sense whatsoever that a knife propelled by the muscle power of an arm can do far more damage than a projectile propelled by muscle power + physical momentum.

[Synthesis]

Speaking of slings and slingshots, why do CROSSBOWS suck so much?

The accuracy is shit, and it takes me as much stamina to load a single bolt as it does to fire EIGHT arrows with a bow. WTF?

[Comrade Canadia]

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES.

Slings are a -staple- of ancient warfare. Slings are serious business, they're not dinky little toys. They kill people, and do so effectively. They should be all over the damn place. They're not the weapons bows are, but they certainly don't suck and deserve a lot more respect and use than they get. It fits the game world perfectly.

[jalden]

Slings would make a lot of sense in Nak. There are rocks everywhere, wide open spaces, and no wood.

[Eloran]

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES.

[Gunnerblaster]

Speaking of slings and slingshots, why do CROSSBOWS suck so much?

The accuracy is shit, and it takes me as much stamina to load a single bolt as it does to fire EIGHT arrows with a bow. WTF?

Crossbows should have some pretty decent accuracy, even for untrained archers since it's pretty much just point and shoot.

I can understand the larger stamina drain, though. Your not technically supposed to hunt with crossbows. A crossbow is a military weapon meant to punch through armor. And once you load it - It's already set to go.

[FantasyWriter]

I support the OP fully! Slings should be fleshed out better.



I agree with Gunnerblaster about the crossbows as well.



Do blowguns work off archery or is that something completely different?

[Eloran]

Do blowguns work off archery or is that something completely different?

Archery.

[FantasyWriter]

Do blowguns work off archery or is that something completely different?

Archery.

Thanks, Eloran.

[5 day lifespan]

I concur.  Hell, I was fully EXPECTING slings to do stun damage, since it's a whole lot of blunt force trauma.  I was really surprised that they didnt.  I have unloaded a full belt worth of stone into targets before (not going to name the type, but they are low in HP), went to the next room, got the stones that i missed, fired all of THOSE into the target,and when I finally tracked them down, they were STILL in moderate condition.  I skinned the corpse and retrieved some 32 stones.  Obviously slings have only one real purpose, and that is for learning archery.  If they caused stun, (or better yet, STAM) i could then use them in hunting.  Imagine the joy of hunting vestric, ritikki, and other fleer's when you can knock them out or slow them down on the hunt.  This still gives great incentive to use both forms, as slings will be great for hunting, while arrows can be poisoned (likely you dont want to use poison on an animal you intend to eat...)

[Agent_137]

lol. i sent a big log and email to the imms about this a few weeks ago:

I don't mind archery not working well at my low skill level with my simple slingshot. I'm sure archery becomes very potent later with a big bow and sharp arrows. But i'm surprised it's truly pointless at any skill level and any weapon. It should at least be worth . . . something. Otherwise why practice it but to grind up to fletchery and then switch to bows?

To me, it seems realistic enough:  chunking rocks at something (especially a scrab) is not going to be as effective as firing arrows at something.  I don't think your log proves or disproves any of your assumptions, as you did not use a bow and arrow.  Regardless of strength, you're still using a slingshot to sling rocks rather than a bow to fire arrows.

[5 day lifespan]

David v Goliath.

/argument.

[FantasyWriter]

Yeah, I can see how slings would be ineffective against things with an exoskeleton.
Hitting a small-headed jozhal in the head with a fist-sized shot of granite, on the other hand, should send it to the ground.

I wonder if its possible to easily code the differentiate between the two, if the code doesn't already, that is.

[Is Friday]

Yeah, I can see how slings would be ineffective against things with an exoskeleton.
Hitting a small-headed jozhal in the head with a fist-sized shot of granite, on the other hand, should send it to the ground.

I wonder if its possible to easily code the differentiate between the two, if the code doesn't already, that is.

There is different armor types for humanoids, the question is just if they have applied these to beasties.

[X-D]

The funny part is the staff response. Proof, as I have always found, that staff often has no clue at all on weapons.

I am not trying to be mean but the only reason to use a bow over a sling is the amount of practice needed to become a danger and the room needed to use.

A bow can be used behind cover or even crouched and needs very little training to be useful.

A sling, you have to be in the open, standing and need some training.

BUT, it is actually the far more deadly weapon, specialy in war, with longer range and over all MUCH higher damge.

Long ago I learned how to make and use a traditional sling. And yes, David and Golieth is the reason.

After about three months practice I could hit a pumpkin at 50 yards 9/10 times and it would explode...very fun for a 10 year old.

By the time I was 14 I was making my own sling bullets from lead and able to hit that same pumpkin at 100 yards with enough force that the exit hole was the same size as the entrance hole. Of course I could only hit it about 6 of 10 at that range, but then I did not train every single day either.

Even today, more then 24 years later, I still practice with slings, and entertain myself at work making small slings from rags or rope laying around and plinking people around the warehouse. It only takes 1.5 times around to sling a stone BTW and I can actually load and fire and load again faster then somebody with a bow.

Slings should be even more effective IG then a bow against armored. You are imparting MANY MANY times the kinetic force. An arrow weighs maybe an ounce or so, you can sling a stone weighing nearly half a pound at near 200mph, the math on that force is HUGE, when you consider the average longbow barely propels an arrow at 200mph.

(edit)
Off topic,

The pumpkin, perfect cheap target for learning many ranged skills, including knife throwing, bows, crossbows etc and if you live in the right areas you can pick them for a good 4 months of the year woot.

[Is Friday]

Just when I thought X-D had run out of Zalanthan skillsets to branch...

[Nile]

It seems like X-D is a real life zalanthan. Congrats.

[Eloran]

Yeah. He's done everything and a master of all. I believe him 100%.

[Salt Merchant]

Slings were pretty deadly weapons of war and were used a lot in ancient times.

Staff-slings were even deadlier, although their wielders lost the ability to hold a shield at the same time.

The whole point is to extend the length of the human arm, thereby propelling the bullet much faster than it could be thrown by the arm itself. There's a reason that crafted ammunition for slings is called bullets.

[Synthesis]

Yeah. He's done everything and a master of all. I believe him 100%.

You have to translate statements from Internets-world to real world.

So for example, the statement: "I could hit pumpkins at 50 yards and they would EXPLODE" translates to, "I once managed to -hit- a pumpkin that was about 15 feet away, and it sort of fell over off the post."

[Eloran]

Oh, thanks Synthesis. That makes a little more sense now. 

[Thunkkin]

Yeah. He's done everything and a master of all. I believe him 100%.

You have to translate statements from Internets-world to real world.

So for example, the statement: "I could hit pumpkins at 50 yards and they would EXPLODE" translates to, "I once managed to -hit- a pumpkin that was about 15 feet away, and it sort of fell over off the post."

http://xkcd.com/331/

[jalden]

Really cool video about making slings from plants.  It's in spanish, but you can still see how it's done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=ES&hl=es&v=-ouNR6djZy4

[X-D]

Oh wait, it is the intertube! Nobody on it can possibly be telling the truth!!!

Of course I feel that way because I am a 300lbs nerd afraid to leave my PC for fear somebody would noptice me.