The issue with Impervium, again, isn't that logically it should be unobtainium. It's just that's what it's had to become because for a long time (as I understand it) anytime someone was in peril, they'd pull the 'My body is made of Impervium' card right out of their cloaca and be done with it. It was lazy, and really, really, REALLY bad writing. To counter it, people came up with 'Impervium is difficult to get/work/blah'. Because this is a universe where everyone already dodges bullets and heals critical wounds instantly. Where losing a limb just means getting super impervium cybernetics and magic mega-parts. Impervium was just another excuse to win always.
You say swords can't cut through steel, but clearly they can otherwise they wouldn't still be used in this sci-fi setting. As for the use of sword, an explanation could be that with future-tech, someone could close the distance between you and them even after being shot, because of advances in body Armour, when in real life with modern tech a single shot would most likely knock you down even with a bulletproof vest.
Alright. But... if armor's advanced, wouldn't that just make swords even less effective. Guns would still be more likely to punch through more advanced armor than swords, because guns advanced too. Swords exist because it's a gameplay mechanic, more than anything, I'm sure. But if you fire a bullet at someone wearing durasteel, it's going to have more of an effect than a knife.
That's the only reason swords are in the game. HAving pure ranged play would be dull in a game like this, hence why they included melee weaponry-but it's the easiest thing to get. Why? Okay, take a stick. And a rock. Which would be easier, making a gun out of it, or a close-ranged weapon? Exactly. From a gameplay standpoint, it makes sense why the swords and such are in-game. From a tech standpoint...? Not so much.
If we're using in game stats, and not logic, then I'm going to have a deep concern as the USCM has armor that reflects actual damage and I can go make a dagger that rips worlds apart.
That's why I use Warhammers. Good against armored scrublords. That's why there's lightsabers you noobs, cut through armor ez pz. Watch Star Wars, it works all day. Impervium: So rare, but so common in Antares Sector. (Edit: I'm pretty sure Iron/Steel is a lot more rare than Impervium in this server, why are we talking about steel armor?)
While hammers can be used more effectively than a sword, gun>hammer If you can get close enough with a hammer to an unarmed opponent with armor, then it's better than a sword. But a gun is almost always better.
Except, as I explained, durasteel couldn't cut through 2 inch-thick steel nearly as effective as a bullet. And if it's the argument of material, make impervium bullets. They'll be far more effective.
2 inches of steel is way too generous an estimate for armor, that's more 'small town bank vault' then 'average human's armor plating'. I always saw melee weapon users as going around the armor plating -- such as in joints or the point between two seperate plates. As for bullets, it's once again not about breaking through the armor as much as it is causing severe bruising / internal bleeding / blunt trauma from the high velocity of the bullet (Unless you have AP rounds). If you did manage to get a bullet through the plating, then impervium would be a horrible choice since your goal is having the bullet break apart to maximize injury. Impervium bullets, with the unbreakable nature of the material, would just get lodged in and with the extreme heat conductivity maybe help in cauterizing the wound. I imagine plasma projectiles would be entirely based on literally melting the armor. If this is completely irrelevant to the argument or if it doesn't make sense, I'm really tired okay.
Weapons in Starbound do not use "real" plasma. Actual, legit plasma would probably kill the person who shot it, and people around it due to how...dangerous it is. SB plasma (And most plama weaponry, actually) is more akin to electricity than anything. Which is very effective. Problem? Well, bullets are cheaper than expending a shitton of energy. Guns as well are probably easier to make to fire bullets than "congealed electricity", leading to conventional ammo being more common. Now, of course guns and such this far in the future are going to be more advanced, but not every weapon will be plasma-based, nor will plasma be incredibly common I would assume.
But like, there's a good number of people who think Swords > Guns in terms of coolness, myself included. I mean, really, some people would rather do their thing by being as cool as possible, rather then being stupidly realistic about it. Perhaps more so because this game is more Science Fiction than Science Fact.
I think not acting like a typical anime character has to bend the laws of reality in order to be cool is a pretty cool thing to do.
...You realize there are a good number of things besides Anime that do that, right? >.> And I'm not talking about bending the laws of reality so much as I'm talking about one's personal preference. You know, "I like swords better then guns. Sure, I'll probably be at a huge disadvantage against anyone with a gun, but at least I'll go down in style, right?"
Why are we arguing that you can't use rare types of weaponry like plasma when people easily get rare impervium armor, or have a ship that's probably worth more than a small-plasma weapon. Heck, people were throwing millions of pixels over a ransom a few days ago. "What? A ransom you say? 200K pixels!" -Random Guy "No no no, I got this 2 MILLION PIXELS!" -Julie or something, ICIA dude. Everybody has so much money somehow, rarity of the item isn't an issue. No need. Everyone should have plasma weaponry.
