The type 2 phaser - what were they thinking?

[Sionnach Glic]

Can someone please explain to me the logic behind the design of this weapon? It's completely unergonomic, has no trigger guard, no sights of any kind, forces you to hold it in such a way that you can't accurately sight down the barrel, is built in such a way that the end of the gun is obscured from vision (reducing accuracy further) and has virtualy no redeemable features that I can see.

I know, out of universe, it looks that way because it's supposed to be "advanced", but what possible in-universe reason does Starfleet have for designing such a retardedly bad weapon?

[Aaron]

Can someone please explain to me the logic behind the design of this weapon? It's completely unergonomic, has no trigger guard, no sights of any kind, forces you to hold it in such a way that you can't accurately sight down the barrel, is built in such a way that the end of the gun is obscured from vision (reducing accuracy further) and has virtualy no redeemable features that I can see.

I know, out of universe, it looks that way because it's supposed to be "advanced", but what possible in-universe reason does Starfleet have for designing such a retardedly bad weapon?

I believe the explanation has to do with making it look like a tool for when they are on a primitive planet, so they don't give away to the locals that they are space dudes.

And IIRC OU Roddenberry wanted to distance the show from current weapons, feeling they were to militaristic for his future utopia.

[Graham Kennedy]

Not "advanced" as such. It's a result og Gene's vision of TNG Starfleet as a non-military organisation that had a military role as one of its functions. He asked that the phasers be designed to look as if they were not actually weapons, but general purpose tools that could be used as weapons in a pinch. It's basically a future version of having people use sickles and scythes instead of swords. Sure a sword is better, but the idea is that this isn't a soldier, it's a farmer who has ended up in a fight.

[Captain Seafort]

I believe the explanation has to do with making it look like a tool for when they are on a primitive planet, so they don't give away to the locals that they are space dudes.

I think even that is OOU grasping at straws, rather than an IU statement, although Riker did try and blag his way out of just such a problem (with singular lack of sucess) in "First Contact" (the episode, not the film).

As for the "weapon", the only good thing I can think about it's design is that you can easily check the power setting while aiming it. Somewhat damning with faint praise.

[Sionnach Glic]

I believe the explanation has to do with making it look like a tool for when they are on a primitive planet, so they don't give away to the locals that they are space dudes.

So why arm their entire military with it? If that's the case then I can understand having a couple dozen on the ship in case you need to go down to such a planet, but to arm your entire crew with them?

And IIRC OU Roddenberry wanted to distance the show from current weapons, feeling they were to militaristic for his future utopia.

That would fit with him, all right.

Not "advanced" as such. It's a result og Gene's vision of TNG Starfleet as a non-military organisation that had a military role as one of its functions. He asked that the phasers be designed to look as if they were not actually weapons, but general purpose tools that could be used as weapons in a pinch. It's basically a future version of having people use sickles and scythes instead of swords. Sure a sword is better, but the idea is that this isn't a soldier, it's a farmer who has ended up in a fight.

Did the phasers actualy have any non-military use? Aside from heating up rocks and killing people, I don't remember then being some sort of multi-tool.

[Aaron]

I think even that is OOU grasping at straws, rather than an IU statement, although Riker did try and blag his way out of just such a problem (with singular lack of sucess) in "First Contact" (the episode, not the film).

Yeah, I tthink it was the only time it was mentioned.

As for the "weapon", the only good thing I can think about it's design is that you can easily check the power setting while aiming it. Somewhat damning with faint praise.

Aliens did that better anyways. As did STV.

[Aaron]

So why arm their entire military with it? If that's the case then I can understand having a couple dozen on the ship in case you need to go down to such a planet, but to arm your entire crew with them?

I'm sure I don't need to remind you that for a good portion of TNG, they claimed not to be a military organisation and Picard and Riker openly scoffed at the idea of wargames. It's not hard to see where that attitude would lead.

That would fit with him, all right.

I think I've said before that Roddenberry had a good concept but was poor at execution, the vibrator phasers weren't his only shite idea that made it into TNG.

Did the phasers actualy have any non-military use? Aside from heating up rocks and killing people, I don't remember then being some sort of multi-tool.

I believe they used it as a cutting torch a few times.

[Captain Seafort]

Did the phasers actualy have any non-military use? Aside from heating up rocks and killing people, I don't remember then being some sort of multi-tool.

There's the common "heating rocks" scenario, they used them to blast through rock walls a couple of times, used them to set fire to some substance once to lay down a smoke screen, and tried to cut through a door on DS9 (failing miserably I might add). Compared to countless examples of shooting people. Then again, this is an organisation that's fighting a war one episode, and claiming that they aren't a military the next. Coherent doctrine isn't exactly their speciality.

[Mark]

Some more stuff to complain about;
I don't see that they have a saftey.
Two buttons over the trigger, with each half of a button for a function (left for widening and narrowing the beam, right for increasing or deacreasing beam strength) You can't "quickly" reset to the beam strength you want.
You have to break line of sight and "adjust" the weapon, which takes you out of a firefight for crucial seconds.
No apparently easy way to swap out a used power cell.

And on the small type ones, if your not careful how you place your hand, you could vaporize your own finger!!!

Not the best design at all IMO

[Sionnach Glic]

So the answer simply boils down to incompetence?

Well there's a shock.

[Mark]

Seems Starfleet had a bit of a dishonest streak in them when they designed those phasers. They wanted weapons that didn't look like weapons to fool the local populace. They call them tools, but use them to shoot people.

It's like going to a pipe shop and buying a bong saying your only going to smoke tobacco out of it. Who's kidding who?

[Aaron]

Seems Starfleet had a bit of a dishonest streak in them when they designed those phasers. They wanted weapons that didn't look like weapons to fool the local populace. They call them tools, but use them to shoot people.

It's like going to a pipe shop and buying a bong saying your only going to smoke tobacco out of it. Who's kidding who?

You know a hash bar on the E-D would have explained a great many things.

[Mikey]

You know a hash bar at Starfleet R&D would have explained a great many things.

Fixed.

Honestly, aside from safety issues - much easier to check power settings, etc. - I can't think of the design as anything but a way to make the weapon (call it what it is) anything but less easy to use.

As far as arming the crew for true, foreknown combat situations, we did have the Type-III's; the DS9 type weren't perfect, but at least they had pistol grips and a stockl (poor one that it was.) Then we get to the FC type, which were even better. Finally, we go backwards to the VOY type, which looked like they were devilishly unwieldly to pick up a new target in combat.

One can reason that no such development was made for the pistol because pistols weren't intended for true battlefield purposes; although IMHO I'd have liked to have seen at least a few well-designed combat pistols for the same usage as modern militaries put them to - officer's weapons and limited-space scenarios.

[Captain Seafort]

As far as arming the crew for true, foreknown combat situations, we did have the Type-III's; the DS9 type weren't perfect, but at least they had pistol grips and a stockl (poor one that it was.)

They gave them stocks in DS9? I thought they gave some of them sights, but otherwise they were the same design as TNG - half decent SMGs, but nothing beyond that.

Then we get to the FC type, which were even better. Finally, we go backwards to the VOY type, which looked like they were devilishly unwieldly to pick up a new target in combat.

I think they stopped using the Voyager ones at some point, when the ship seemed to magically accquire the FC design.

One can reason that no such development was made for the pistol because pistols weren't intended for true battlefield purposes; although IMHO I'd have liked to have seen at least a few well-designed combat pistols for the same usage as modern militaries put them to - officer's weapons and limited-space scenarios.

They already had some decent pistols - the STV & VI designs, complete with a mechanism for checking the power cell/cocking the weapon, and the magazine extended out of the base which made it easier to check if there was one in and to change it.

[Teaos]

It really doesnt look like a easy to hold gun. In combat and with sweaty hands it would be damn easy to drop.