main purpose of a fire arm: causing damage
main purpose of a melee weapon: causing damage
i am almost positive that weapons function as a modifier to the blockhead using them, potentially altering the method of play depending on the fore mentioned weapon
in code, a melee weapon practically attributes to a really really really short ranged gun and vice versa
both make use of a projectile, but the melee weapon's fade delay instantaneously rids off the projectile not long after a swing-generally visible by a particle effect to signify the point of impact
for the instance of a sword, the projectile lacks viewability, but the armattack animation represents that an act of producing the projectile has taken place; this provides indication when someone makes use of the sword or not
gameplay in effect has an arcadey sense of logic
as mentioned earlier, the sword will literally never hit past a few studs ahead of the player since the line of fire provides an impression of what we consider a melee weapon
maintaining the simple structure of the sword seems the only solution to complimenting the model of combat that the game provides
everything literally becomes a number management game for warfare
the player has to keep tabs on their health, movement speed, accumulated weapons, projectile velocity of that weapon, delay time between "shots", range of the projectile (before it fades), damage of the projectile, spread of the projectile, position of the muzzle point, and plenty more-including awareness of enemies & cover
i dont know about you, but most of these seem like
complete bogus to keep track of during such a stressful situation
all of these variables have relevence, but mostly end up sized down to make more sense of what to look out for or not regarded at all due to the obliviousness nature of gameplay
a couple of additional variables to track on a sword such as elemental/status effects wouldnt deter from the fast paced scenarios that weapons of this category find themselves in, but attempting to realistically establish a [sword] does not really have its place
are you really going to simplify dozens of techniques, stances, and blade travel direction into a few single keys, if not a single mouse button?
sure, but it would appear impractical if anything, especially in the context of a lego game governed by better more effective guns
the current sword that we have now as default fits perfectly into its own little niche of sword play;
contending with anything up means adapting
instead of creating a brand new sword with fancy animations and particles, adjust to the role that the default sword instills-every single server has the sword as a permanent weapon to enable for the server
open combat against any weapon with a longer lasting projectile places the user of the sword at risk, limiting your purpose to making use of guerilla tactics if you desire to effectively dispatch your foes
it makes perfect sense inside and outside of the game
the sword does not ask for anything aside from the relevance of your position to your target; it doesnt have any other ability than to eliminate as quickly as possible when in appropriate range
instead of weighing out the fundamental one sided design of melee weapons as a list of cons, try to view the positive aspects that they invoke
tldr: combat is only as unique as you take it; swords are rad
