(11-24-2014, 04:10 PM)Chuba Wrote:

(11-24-2014, 03:58 PM)Toris James Gray Wrote:

(11-24-2014, 02:22 PM)Omicega Wrote: too bad spang art online is trash xdddd

It's good. Too bad we can't have Novels though.

They are hating just for other people to rage over it.

(11-25-2014, 10:00 AM)Thyrzul Wrote: Spears worked as long as you could keep your opponent far enough, get closer and you are screwed against a sword (especially if it cuts the pole of your spear in half).

(11-25-2014, 10:00 AM)Thyrzul Wrote: As the blade is fully made of metal, it could serve as both an offensive and a defensive tool (master cuts in the early-Liechtenauerian tradition are pretty much for that, block and hit with the exact same move). Same goes for knives, get close enough that even swords are useless and they come into play during wrestling. Because of this you can't clearly define which was the primary or secondary because they worked for different ranges. On top of that, as there existed polearms of different sizes (pike, spear, etc), there were also swords of different sizes (one-handed sword, one-and-half-handed/bastard sword or longsword, montante, two-handed sword, etc.).

(11-25-2014, 10:00 AM)Thyrzul Wrote: Though I can mostly speak for European martial arts, I can say that out of many kinds of melee weapons, swords were used the most widely. In battles, in duels, 'blossfechten' or in full armor. Status symbol? Nah, rather if somebody had a horse or a shiny armor, or maybe both, I'd say a full set would be a status symbol, but swords only? Or just to point at things while looking cool on a white horse? Naaah. They were weapons. They are weapons.

(11-25-2014, 10:00 AM)Thyrzul Wrote: EDIT: Having a pointy thing in your face all the time can also be achieved against a sword (have experienced that a few weeks ago in a duel), but then whether it's a spear or a sword, it can be hit away, at which point all it matters is how quick you can swing your weapon. And at that, the sword beats the spear.

Also you can't do much else than stab with spear, while with sword you can also slice.

(11-25-2014, 10:50 AM)Thyrzul Wrote:

(11-25-2014, 10:30 AM)Mímir Wrote: the only somewhat useful bit is in the youtube comments on the skyrim video, where a game developer posted the reasons why melee weapons look the way they look in computer games.

"It may not be realistic, but we're talking about a game where you fight dragons and kill people by yelling at them."
You mean this one?

(11-25-2014, 10:50 AM)Thyrzul Wrote:

(11-25-2014, 10:30 AM)Mímir Wrote: the only somewhat useful bit is in the youtube comments on the skyrim video, where a game developer posted the reasons why melee weapons look the way they look in computer games.

"It may not be realistic, but we're talking about a game where you fight dragons and kill people by yelling at them."
You mean this one?

Some youtube poster Wrote:I'm a game modeler and most of the things criticized about the swords are things to make them more practical for video games. The blades are exaggerated more to read better due to the low amount of geometry being used to make the actual in game models. The type of Silhouettes use are so that if your playing a game on an old 19 inch tv or small screen you can tell things apart with out things becoming muddy like old ps 1 games. That is why the swords seem bigger, thicker and wider then they should be. Its a technique that be for a long time in game creation. If the swords were accurate they would only be a few pixels thick which would cause flickering popping and jagged edges.The swords are also exaggerated because you want the player to pick up on the design cues and know what is going on and what to do with it. If you were to make silhouettes of each of those blades and put them next to each other, even a causal player would at least know that their purpose was or type of weapon it was and maybe even if it was good or evil. I don't want anyone to get upset about what is said or what the author side in his video either i just wanted to bring about a point of view that is still in a sense a practical use of the use of these weapons.

(11-25-2014, 04:49 PM)nOmnomnOm Wrote: Fantasy lovers gonna qq on a guy on the internet.

Watch his other bids its actually cool what he talks about

(11-25-2014, 10:43 PM)nOmnomnOm Wrote: kinda bull because there is a mod that fixes the proportions and everything is fine

(11-25-2014, 07:30 PM)Derkylos Wrote: No such thing as "too close" with any melee weapon. Granted, there is an optimum range at which you can employ the intended striking parts, but the haft of the weapon can also be used to inflict damage or push your opponent back to where you can stab them again. As for "cutting a spear pole in half"... have you ever actually tried to do that? Especially against someone who is aware of and opposing you.

(11-25-2014, 07:30 PM)Derkylos Wrote: Again, you make the mistake of thinking that if you get too close to a spearman, he is helpless. Whilst a common misconception, it is still not true.

(11-25-2014, 07:30 PM)Derkylos Wrote: I will grant you that it takes some training and expertise to understand how to use the spear in a duel, but you essentially have a giant lever, which, if employed correctly, can be used to place your opponent wherever you need him.

(11-25-2014, 07:30 PM)Derkylos Wrote: Swords were common duelling weapons due to their prevalence and their precision (you'd need spectators to stand well back if a duel were to be conducted with, say, poleaxes). As for status symbols, check out the number of ornate/ceremonial swords that were forged and compare that to the number of ceremonial spears...

(11-25-2014, 07:30 PM)Derkylos Wrote: Not being an expert at spear duelling, I can't really comment, but I have seen good spearmen hold swordsmen at pole's length and not be in any real danger from receiving a sword stroke. Thanks to the fact that a polearm's grip points extend all the way to the head, you can get surprisingly precise control over it's striking surfaces.

(11-25-2014, 07:30 PM)Derkylos Wrote: Also, many polearms have much more versatility than a sword. My favourite, the poleaxe, allows you to stab, swing, grapple, damage on the recovery from a stab, hook, trip and all manner of dirty tricks thanks to it's wide variety of heads as well as it's shaft.

(11-25-2014, 07:30 PM)Derkylos Wrote: Ultimately, however, the efficacy of spear vs sword cannot be compared by examining their performance in a duel, as most battlefields involved the engagement of bodies of men, and this was where the polearm shined. A large formation of men with spears could quite easily hold off soldiers with shorter weapons, as well as stop a cavalry charge dead in it's tracks. This is why the pike became the dominant weapon on the battlefields of Renaissance Europe.