possible reason we never seen the phaser rifle after w.n.m.h.g.b.

[T'Girl]

phase pistols

Just another name for the "intermediate stage" pistols.

The transition weapon between the obsolete EM pistols, and the still not ready for deployment laser pistols.

 

[Gary7]

. . . A pistol grip with a chamber that rests across the wrist is the most practical design for a human held hand weapon.

For an explosive-propelled projectile weapon, yes. But an energy beam weapon could have a completely different shape.

It's not about the inner workings of the device that I mentioned this. It's due to the hand-eye coordination needed to aim the device. A TOS P-II phaser is fine for close quarters but not long range. Anything further than 50 feet needs direct eye sighting to be effective for precision shots.

The Space:1999 hand gun actually makes a weird squiggly vertical laser pattern, so all you need to worry about is one axis (X). With that you can kind of get away with the staple gun design.

 

[Timo]

Beyond 50 meters, a slugthrowing pistol already compensates for the non-beeline trajectory of the bullet: the aiming system doesn't equate line-of-sight with line-of-flight / line-of-barrel. There wouldn't be need to equate the two for other types of weapon, either.

Really, hand-eye coordination would probably be the one thing that is completely removed from the equation once futuristic recoilless, barrel-less personal weapons are introduced. Taking the weapon off the hands of the user would free those hands for meaningful work; the weapon could be mounted elsewhere (say, on a simple body harness, or on a helmet, but preferably hovering autonomously somewhere near the user), and targeted by sight alone.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[T'Girl]

the weapon could be mounted elsewhere (say, on a simple body harness, or on a helmet

If someone is shooting at me, I'd rather stick my fist (with weapon) around a corner, than expose my head or chest.

A hovering weapon the size of a hand phaser would seem to be beyond TOS technology.

 

[Darkwing]

I find it easier to assume phasers were invented in the 23rd century, finally replacing all lasers in the mid-2260s, and that phase pistols are a product of a different universe.
That, and the phaser rifle was tested, then discontinued, and replacements were only fielded by units showing a need, such a MiliOps Command vessels, Marines, etc.

I don't see how the "different universe" rationalization is easier.

Assuming Ent is a reboot means I don't need to rationalize any conflicts between The Only Series and Early Nu Trek.

You needn't follow my example, just sayin' it's easier, IMO.

 

[Timo]

If someone is shooting at me, I'd rather stick my fist (with weapon) around a corner, than expose my head or chest.

So naturally the weapon would have a telescoping arm for the purpose.

Dramatically speaking, a shoulder mount such as seen in Predator would probably be the way to go.

A hovering weapon the size of a hand phaser would seem to be beyond TOS technology.

Only in the sense of being difficult to do VFX- or SFX-wise. Otherwise, not only would TOS have been free to establish its level of technology, after which the various spinoffs would have had to comply - but TOS as actually portrayed is fully compatible with hovering, remotely operated things. They have silent and strong antigravs, for example. And while independently intelligent robots seem to be a no-no, waldo technology would be right up the 1960s alley. Heck, they even turned Spock into a waldo once!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Wingsley]

A hovering weapon the size of a hand phaser would seem to be beyond TOS technology.

What about Flint's M-4?

TOS didn't dwell on hoverbots, for obvious reasons, but it's not like that couldn't exist.

We know from hearsay in "The Immunity Syndrome" that Federation starships can launch probes into hazardous areas so that the mothership can hang back in relative safety while gathering intelligence. We know a hand phaser, small enough to fit in your palm, is powerful enough to disintegrate a creature the size of one of Neural's Mugatos. So it's not a stretch to consider the possibility that armed probots could exist. Maybe the whole thing wouldn't be the size of a phaser, but that would probably be because, like TOS communicators, tricorders, and other gadgets, these would have to be seen as field equipment items, serviceable by "stone knives and bear skins".

I assume they would be frowned upon by the Federation. Armed, unmanned probots "can't think", in other words, they can't make judgement calls that a human field officer should place his/her faith in. In an Universe where Federation explorers are bound by rules like the Prime Directive, and no doubt concerns about probes falling into the wrong hands, their use may be severely limited. We pat ourselves on the back for finding clever ways to wage war with remote-controlled drones armed with Hellfire missiles today, but if we had to fight a more formidable foe that could jam our communications or intercept our machines, we might discover how fragile and potentially dangerous that kind of strategy could be. (That, and it should be noted that it was "boots on the ground" that went after bin Laden, not a drone.)

So, on the one hand, I would not be surprised if Kirk's Enterprise had at least some limited storage of combat-capable probot/hoverbot machines tucked away. They would've come in handy on Cestus III, but that's the obvious nature of interstellar confrontations in TOS: "they're never there when ya need 'em".