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[flabort]

so a 3200 lb war hammer made of hollow diamond and filled with lead would be more likely to inflict a worse wound (more damage in subtractive standards), then a bolt of the same stuff fired from a crossbow? it would make sense, since the hamer would strike with 3200 pounds of kinetic force (read: send enemies thousand of kilometers away), while the bolt would't even reach the target (read: would land on shooters foot and remove it).

hmm... since adimantium can be drawn into thread and cloth, a whip of the stuff would inflict worse wounds then the hammer above, wouldn't it. especially if it menaced with spikes of diamond and obsidian. (cra-riiiip-snap!)

[Footkerchief]

Yes but it's a ranged weapon. User strength has little to do with the flight properties and the resulting strength of a crossbow shot. There's very little data on that to begin with. Solid metal bolts did exist but today we use carbon/aluminum. Which should deal more damage, a solid bronze bolt or a wooden bolt with a bronze tip? Is/should the range be reflected?

Crossbows are a special case in that they're always retracted a certain distance.  Other launchers such as bows, blowguns and atlatls will of course have to take user strength into account, up to a point.  And hand-launched projectiles depend heavily on strength, of course.

However, in general a heavier projectile of the same size and shape, e.g. solid bronze instead of wood, will have a higher ballistic coefficient.  A heavier projectile may also be able to make better use of the energy imparted by an inefficient launcher.    However, that only works up to a point, and then your velocity begins dropping off and you get more noticeable "drop," which nullify the advantages of higher ballistic coefficient.  That's what I'd expect from basic physics, anyway, and it's confirmed by the guy at the bottom of this page.

[Pilsu]

So a high quality launcher should effectively do away with penalties with lighter projectiles? Is that reflected in the new system? Is range reflected?

[Footkerchief]

So a high quality launcher should effectively do away with penalties with lighter projectiles?

I think so, at least at point-blank range.  At longer ranges the lower ballistic coefficient should cause a drop-off in velocity, no launcher should be able to get around that.

Is that reflected in the new system? Is range reflected?

No idea.  I don't think the current projectile system supports projectiles with variable velocity, but you could hack it in at the point of impact (factor the total distance traveled into the drag diff equation, solve for final velocity).

[Rysith]

In addition to the raw kinetic force of the projectile, remember that we are also going to have interactions with tissue/armor layers in the next version, so some materials (like diamond-coated lead) might be very good when you are shooting soft, squishy things but will shatter/deflect if they hit someone wearing full plate. Wooden and bone bolts, for example, will be near-useless against anyone in full armor because they won't penetrate at all. I'd expect the same for copper projectiles against steel/iron armor, though bronze, iron, and steel would probably be able to penetrate.

[Footkerchief]

^^^ Yeah.  I think Pilsu was comparing solid bronze to bronze-tipped so that we could focus on the ballistic aspects, but we might not get composite ammo (or weapons) anytime soon anyway, so the material's ability to penetrate will probably remain overwhelmingly important.

[ZeroGravitas]

Yes but it's a ranged weapon. User strength has little to do with the flight properties and the resulting strength of a crossbow shot. There's very little data on that to begin with. Solid metal bolts did exist but today we use carbon/aluminum. Which should deal more damage, a solid bronze bolt or a wooden bolt with a bronze tip? Is/should the range be reflected?

not true at all.  obviously with bows, the more pounds of pull you can exert means the the more force imparted to the arrow.

with crossbows, it's more indirect, but strength will still affect how fast you can cock it. a wooden crossbow is much much different than a steel arbalest.

[Alfador]

Best hammer: Lead, plated with adamantine, menacing with spikes of adamantine and obsidian and encircled with bands of demon bone.

[Mel_Vixen]

The crafting-quality of the crossbow can determine how good the release-mechanism and the rewindmechanism (if any) are. It alos could determin the accuracy.

Ancient plate-armor was tested against a crossbow from 10 meters before it got sold. Adamantine tipped bolts might be a problem thought.

Oh and mostly, round stones, leadballs or ironballs were used in crossbows. The bolt was rather expensiv in comparsion and occured later.

edit: Bolts were naturally used for war were you want to cause damage and shock. Balls were used for hunting because a ball makes a relativ tiny hole.

[Footkerchief]

Oh and mostly, round stones, leadballs or ironballs were used in crossbows. The bolt was rather expensiv in comparsion and occured later.

Occurred later?  I'd like to read more about this, if you have a source.

[Mel_Vixen]

Sure Footkerchief. Can you speak German? This would make it a bit easyer.

[Footkerchief]

Sure Footkerchief. Can you speak German? This would make it a bit easyer.

GRENATEN!  That's about all, unfortunately.  Could try Babelfish or the Google translator though.

[Mel_Vixen]

"Granaten" Anyway i look for it, iirc some guide on a Castle tour did told us the thing but i am sure i did read it also somewhere.

[G-Flex]

People are forgetting that a heavier object will be shot with less speed, and speed is a huge factor in determining kinetic energy to begin with.

[LegoLord]

Best hammer: Lead, plated with adamantine, menacing with spikes of adamantine and obsidian and encircled with bands of demon bone.

Somehow I knew that suggestion would be lost to the second page quickly before I even started it.