Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4957813-20140510034158/@comment-24042984-20140608142041

Sure every material has its limits, but the likelihood of reaching that level in orginary combat is unlikely for a number of them. If you fear taking "unnecessary risks" so much, might as well stick to using a conventional flail and machine gun instead. That way you wouldn't have to endure the unecessary risk of losing a third of your ammo when some chump damages your magazine or risk breaking your weapon due to a supposedly weak hinge. Also, as I mentioned before, better materials in addition to well-designed reinforcers (and a cover slide) can negate the "stress point" problem, as the energy will be dispersed over a wider area rather than just the hinge itself. And no, the "new materials" arguement cannot be carried over to magazines, since these materials are usually not cheap and not easily produced, both of which are significant in magazine production. In addition, these materials may weigh more, and the extra weight isn't worth it as there are potentially better alternatives ways to bypass this issue. Of course, you could argue the U.S. military tells its troops to reuse magazines, but magazines, by design, are expendable and are supposed to be easily (and cheaply) replaced.

Yes, things become the norm for a reason. It is because they are the best option available ''at the time they were designed/created. ''Bullpups have been shown on multiple occasions to excel in CQC situations. Sure they may be more complicated than a conventional rifle, but many of the other disadvantages you list simply aren't a problem with the bullpup system itself. Firstly, having the firing chamber next to your face isn't a flaw or problem at all. If you are talking about the possibility of the chamber blowing up in your face due to malfunction, that belief is highly baseless. The chances of that happening is pretty much equal with that of a conventional rifle. Also, regarding balance and ergonomics, bullpups such as the Steyr AUG don't have this problem, so though there is a tendency for these systems to have this problem, it can be resolved with a good design. Thus, the norm does not necessarily mean it is always the "best".

Again, you are citing a fictional series/universe which, by nature, is not credible. Especially in regards to what is and isn't a good weapon design.

Sure StormFlower's magazine extends past the grip quite a bit, but have you seen how long the blade is? It's almost double the length of the magazine. Even if you manage to make that deep of a stab, you will have already deaccelerated to the point where it won't damage the magazine. Regarding Blake, I can't deny that they possibility does not exist, but from what I've seen, Blake has never failed to keep the blade pointing outwards by the time it makes contact with the target/enemy.

I'm not sure if the trailer can be taken as canonical, since there have been quite a number of things that have changed since then... but I may be wrong on this.