Felix: Then why don't we have laser weapons on all ships? Why don't we have shields? Were is our plasma tech? Why is Halo tech crappier than ours?
One word. Verisimilitude. If the UNSC ships had lasers and shields, then they would be like every other Sci-Fi human ship. Halo wouldn't have the uniqueness that it does.
But it's five hundred years in the future...
This doesn't matter. In fact, this adds to the verisimilitude. Because we the viewers know that this is 500 years in the future, we accept that it's a science-fiction story that will display higher technology than we have today.
Now, having lasers on ships is not a requirement for a science-fiction story. It should be enough for you that the Covenant employs plasma-weaponry- something that could be considered lasers. Honestly for me, if the UNSC would of been slinging around photon ray-guns or whatever, I would have tossed the game away as just another cheesy sci-fi shooter. However I, among others, view this world 500 years in the future and say to ourselves, "Yeah, I can see this being an obtainable future for humanity."
Felix:
I'll save you the trouble. In the beginning of Halo: Combat Evolved, you see a few Longswords fly past the Pillar of Autumn. At the end of Halo: Combat Evolved, the Master Chief is able to make it back to UNSC space in a Longsword. In the beginning of Halo 2, several Longswords engage Seraph fighters, and drop bombs on CCS Cruisers. This is seen again at the end of Halo 2. In Halo 3, we see Longswords and Pelicans engaged in combat against Seraphs yet again. Several times in Halo canonical gameplay we see small ships engaged in dog-fights. To deny this is to deny the game itself. Then I laugh.
I meant, it can't physically happen. There can't be actual dog-fights in space, no complicated manuevors and stuff like that. It's against the laws of nature. Unless, the vacuum of space suddenitly had air currents in it...
Most sci-fis do it because they look cool. But, it's just not possible(in real life).
How do you know? Have we tried it yet? You know, a long time ago there was a man named Icarus. His peers told him that his dream of flight was foolish, that if man were meant to fly the gods would have graced us with wings. Granted his idea was a bit outlandish, but look at us now; flying around as if it were a natural thing. Dare to dream, Felix.
Now, you say that there are no air currents in space. This is true. However, there are solar winds. Particles of matter are able to be propelled through space. Our satellites are able to make slight shifts in their orbital paths through the use of gas thrusters. Astronauts are able to maneuver in the "vacuum" of space through the same means. Is it not possible for small ships in the Halo Universe to use both thrusters (you know, the engines on the back?) and thrusters to maneuver? If it was impossible, then the Voyager project would have never been able to photograph most of the Solar System.
Another point that comes up. In every space dog-fight that I've seen, the small ships are always zipping around larger ships, much more gigantic space stations, or a planet. Now, is it not possible that they're using the gravitational fields of those objects to "anchor" them enough to maneuver?
I'm glad you're not a scientist, because innovation and exploration would go nowhere. Much like the people who scorned Galileo for his theories on the Universe, and the masses of people who feared to explore past the horizon, keeping to the known has never led us anywhere. You say that these technologies don't exist. They don't exist for the sole fact that they haven't been discovered. You say it's not possible in real life. Issac Aisimov wrote books on robots taking over humankind. At the time, it was seen as a good story, but never possible. In today's world, who builds your cars? Your computer? Who places that tiny microchip ever so precisely into your videogame system so it operates?
Don't say that it can't exist until it's been tried.
Felix:
What? The only reason they do this is for gameplay reasons...
So, why didn't the Forward Unto Dawn just land? Why didn't the Spirit of Fire just land? Those weren't during a gameplay point of the game. It was either a cinematic or a "wow" moment, as Ensemble called it. That excuse doesn't work.
It's a cutscene moment, so you can call it a "wow" moment if you wish. Doesn't mean it should happen.
However, it did happen. The Forward Unto Dawn clearly hung in the air above a plateau on the Ark. The Spirit of Fire was clearly suspended above the surface of the unknown Shield World. Just because you feel it to be an impossibility, doesn't mean it is. Please refer to my above paragraphs. You can't keep throwing the same excuse of "Just because it happened doesn't mean it should" out there. It holds no water, and is a poor rebuttal to this debate.
Felix:
Well, most people don't know the fundimenatiels behind half the stuff they do...
I don't know how that applies to the principles of a frigate/cruiser hovering above ground.
You brought star wars up, so I said most people don't know the fundimentals behind half the stuff star wars has or does...
I feel compelled to ask; do you? Are you an astrophysics major? An engineer of any sorts? Do you know the mechanics of slipspace, or for that matter Shield Worlds and portals? What about laser weaponry technology, or militarized plasma projectiles? Do you know how an Unggoy is able to breath methane? On the point of Star Wars, do you know how the Force works? How a lightsaber holds it's shape? How they were able to implement lasers into the most common and tiniest of blasters?
I'm going to throw this out there because I feel that it's the cause behind this "conflict of intellects", and I feel it needs to be said.
You won a contest. That's great, so have I. It'll most likely happen a few more times in your lifetime. You got Halo Wars before anyone else- even before we got the demo. Again, terrific. You were able to tell us things about the game that didn't give away pertinent information, but were still helpful. This elevated your status on the Forums to "the guy with all the answers."
However, now everyone has the game. We've all played it. Most have completed the game to it's fullest, and some have a deeper understanding of what's going on than others do. The fact that you've had the game longer doesn't give you some godly knowledge of the Halo Universe, and does not in any way mean that you have the final say for everything pertaining to the game. Just because you think the game has serious flaws doesn't mean that everyone else has to share your view; or even that your view is correct.
For example, I know more- and have been able to clarify- about the Halo storyline to friends of mine who have played the game much longer than I have. I noticed things that they never before saw, and was able to apply that to occurrences in the game that then made much more sense. Having the game longer doesn't give a superiority of knowledge. You are not the Arbiter of information on this game and on this forum anymore.
Now, thus far you've been unable to explain to me a "why" as to how ships have zero-maneuverability in space and as to how Frigates and Cruisers are able to remain aloft in a planet's atmosphere. Thus far, your argument has gone nowhere.
Current Fan Fictions in the Library:ODST: Hellbound
The Interrogation of Ellen Anders
Halo: Archangel