The Walking Dead Season 4

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Dream, May 6, 2013.

  1. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Daryl's weapon is not only quiet it has recoverable ammunition.
     
  2. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    Crossbow has too low a firing rate for a lot of situations though.

    At least Carl has a silencer now on his pistol.
     
  3. wissaboo

    wissaboo Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    The crossbow totally makes sense for him. People actually hunt with crossbows. The sword thing just always takes me out of the show for a second.
     
  4. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

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    Good episode.

    Very surprised at Carol being the murderer, though I had already suspected the burning was for the "greater good" last week. Tyreese's takedown of the mob of walkers was pretty cool. I was getting tired of the gentle giant approach they were taking with the character, and was glad to see him become more badass. Looks like they will probably be continuing on foot for the medicine. I hope we see more walker herd action in future episodes!
     
  5. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Absence of proof means one cannot assume for the benefit of writers who do not care about details which are essential in a world where society has crumbled.


    You don't think stores were picked clean of electronic items? If people empty out stores for Black Friday, do you believe anything would be left once it was accepted that stores were abandoned thanks to the ZA? Even if part of the population did not fully buy into the ZA, they would loot simply because they are part of a hyper-materislistic culture. After more than a year, pegs and the warehouse would be stripped.
     
  6. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    As has been discussed it seems things hit the fan quickly and violently. It's likely there wasn't much time for people to loot and would think when they were looting they'd be more after survival items like food and water than electronics.

    As for the "absence of proof" argument. Feh. I'm on the side that assumes things are happening off camera for their society to operate. I don't need to see every detail of the things they do to survive. "Where did Rick get the pigs?" "We haven't seen them siphon gas! Where are they getting it?" etc.

    Unless were explicitly told they didn't harvest any solar panels or other things from Woodbury I think it's safe to assume that they did.
     
  7. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    A sword can be effective, but again, for TWD, it's like her Lightsaber--the super-wow weapon.
     
  8. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I was in Los Angeles during the L.A. riots, and in the middle of gunfire, fistfights, fires and fears of being pegged by the police as part of the problem, swarms had one thing on their minds: looting for comfort items. So, even in life threatening situations (one with an unpredictable end), the priorities are not always on necessities.
     
  9. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    You're missing the big point. Most people were (un)dead very quickly. There is likely more loot out there than people to get it, except maybe food. Especially batteries. There are very few stores I can think of that don't sell batteries. convenience stores, drug stores, supermarkets, etc. Batteries would NOT be hard to find.

    Even food should actually be possible to find as fast as this went down, but that scarcity is a plot driver so we're stuck with it.

    That was one thing I liked about the British show Survivors. The characters on that show survived a plague that wiped most of the planet. They got smart and found one of the distribution centers for a chain of grocery stores. A VAST warehouse of supplies.

    That's what our gang here needs to do.
     
  10. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Lawlessness and disorder during a riot is a bit different than "holy shit people are dying everywhere and the world is coming to an end."
     
  11. Mojochi

    Mojochi Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I end up noting that a lot too. I overlook it mostly, along with a lot of stuff, but we actually see him reload on occasion, & it's a laborious reload factor for sure

    When you hunt, you hunt/stalk a single kill. When you repel attackers, it becomes very useless, very quickly, until you can get distance enough to reload. It's a distance weapon, & the only handheld ballistic weapon I can think of with a lengthier reload time is maybe a musket that you have to repack all the components or something

    Fire, redraw to a lock position, reload a properly aligned arrow, raise & aim, fire, repeat. Plus, people who aren't superhuman will occasionally... miss... a head shot now & then. So imho her katana slicing a head every time is no less realistic

    I'll admit it awkwardly stands out in a visual way alongside everyone else with hammers & knives & such, but I can get past it. Frankly, a sword would be more handy than a knife & more people should try to fashion them, even if it isn't a katana. Even an axe is better than a knife

    Why does no one carry a bloody axe? You can get axes almost anywhere & is a top 2 or 3 survivalist tool
     
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2013
  12. Triskelion

    Triskelion Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I wouldn't want to use a knife. They glance off bone very easily.

    The katana work depicted in the series is realistic. I can understand why people would think it looked fantastic. However, I would agree that not every cut might be so clean, just as not every shot would hit every head every time. But - yes, absolutely, those cuts are possible. I won't spend any more energy arguing that yes, cars do indeed go faster than 55 mph. Believe what you want!

    In terms of that video with the long sword, look at how much force that guy uses to make his cut. A sharper blade needs less force (basic physics) to cut. If you are hammering zombies, you're gonna die. Did you see that Mythbusters episode? The numbers will simply overwhelm anything short of say, a gatling gun-type attack. Hammer blows will wear anyone out in a couple minutes. (Zombies don't protect themselves or back off for a breath. A zombie crush will easily enter the radius of a longsword and then the force is useless; a sharp, arced blade can cut with very little windup room or waving around).

    By comparison, a katana cut - done properly - uses focus (ki), not force (hammering). This would conserve your energy far beyond what you can do say, chopping with an axe or a broadsword. So of all the swords, give me a katana. For all weapons, give me something like an automatic rifle, a pistola, a tomahawk, and for clearing out an arm's length radius - a katana. If you hit a zombie more than once you're playing with it. I think crossbows are an engraved invitation to die. Utterly useless in melee.

    It's all about preparing for different attack distance radii. Projectile range, spearing range, sword range, arm range, knife range, grappling, wrestling, etc. One weapon does not fit all distances. Each weapon has its context - outside of that context, it is a weakness, not a strength.
     
  13. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    I've never used a crossbow before but to re... cock(?) it do you really have to put it down, stand on it, and pull the bow-string back?

    I'd think there'd be an easier/quicker method to do it.
     
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2013
  14. Venardhi

    Venardhi Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Depends on how powerful it is. I used to have one when I was a kid that could be pulled fairly easily, but it was still a bit of an ordeal.
     
  15. Mister Fandango

    Mister Fandango Fleet Captain

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    You mean the bastard sword that was intentionally dulled to the point of having no edge whatsoever, all to demonstrate his point that katanas are overrated by their fanboys? Yeah, I saw that he put a bit more force into the swing. The point, however, was that a bastard sword -- or pretty much any other similar weapon -- will do just about as well as a katana will. Any competently made sword in the hands of anyone competent in their use will be just as effective as any any other.

    Katanas aren't super magical weapons. Michonne just happens to have learned how to use one rather well, and would have done just as well with any other kind of decent sword she had gotten her hands on.
     
  16. Triskelion

    Triskelion Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Hey, I wouldn't want any sword coming at me, that's for sure!

    It's not a contest. However, you're talking about a heavier sword, a bashing cut rather than the kind of slicing permitted by a curved blade (not only katanas), and there is no question but that a katana is a more precise and efficient instrument. Now, this is all fictional, but when you're battling an endless army, you can burn out your energy faster or slower, it's entirely user's choice.

    Endurance doesn't factor into your anecdotal example, but in the field, it does.

    Now I agree with you that lots of different media portray the katana as "magical" and I agree that it's dramatic and not necessarily realistic. I also invite you to attempt a comparison with both swords in reality - though I advise you to train with a katana at least 5 years before assessing it - in order to better understand the mechanics involved. The broadsword - frankly any idiot can swing with similar results. Not that it's not a proud weapon, it is.

    Your insistence that the TV show portrays the katana in less than realistic terms can be extended to include every weapon on that show.

    But your insistence that a broadsword cuts in the same fashion as a katana only demonstrates your inexperience on the topic. They both kill, yes. But equally? No.

    Then again, you don't seem to understand the mechanical differences in the cuts, and if you want to believe these cuts are the same, go ahead. As a matter of fact, you can also kill with a butter knife, and it is absolutely the same thing. Efficiency? What's that?

    You are essentially arguing that a horse is equal to a car because they both deliver you from A to B. And you know what? You're right, the car isn't magical!
     
  17. Thestral

    Thestral Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Gahhhhhhh katana fanboys....

    Re: the crossbow. It's a really good weapon, but as noted takes Daryl awhile to reload. I wonder why nobody's picked up or tried to use a regular bow/longbow? Hell, with the relative ease these zombies are dying I bet you could do pretty well with a sling and some heavy stones. :p We really should be seeing more axes/swords I agree... knives are such close-in weapons. Tyrese's hammering away was awesome though, and straight out of the comic.
     
  18. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    One of the Woodbury wall watchers had a longbow.
     
  19. Mojochi

    Mojochi Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Agreed. You could fashion your own sword and have it be just as useful against a decaying corpse. It's not like she's in a samurai duel

    & I too would rather have a long bow than a cross bow, for reload speed alone. Even a flail could come in handy in their situation
     
  20. DarthTom

    DarthTom Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Shit, Walmart has no less than 6 distribution centers located in the metro Atlanta area. These are not obvious targets to looters and they are located in rural areas.

    Walmart Distribution centers