first of all, really interesting read, it doesn't surprise me though, well maybe a little but i don't expect bungie to do everything perfect in one of their early games.
It would probably be correct to fix those "errors" in your remake but... what if we look at this as not errors? Since when do games need to be historically correct? After all we got a pyramid filled with unrealistic aliens and you gain information for fighting them through talking with dead soldiers via crystals, and you sit here and nag about the guns? :P
personal opinion, do not change the guns. There are perhaps three reasons why the guns are how they are in PID.
1. like you said, an error
2. Fun factor
3. connection to the ones playing the game, I'm no weapon expert but i can relate to the M-79 but i don't remember hearing about the M203. Therefor it's a lot more fun for me to use the M-79 than a M203 in a video game. Also I bet it's simply a lot more fun for most people to shoot from a Colt instead of a M9.
it's simply called marketing...
: Some weapon examination I did on PiD...some of it was obvious to me, but some
: was so obscure I had to do a little research. Turns out the inaccuracies
: were quite glaring at times.
: First: The M-16
: "This is a magazine of 7.62mm rounds for the M-16."
: Since when? All military AR family members are chambered for 5.56x45mm (AKA
: .223). Though there are civilian models available in .308 (7.62x51mm, AKA
: 7.62mm NATO), there has never, to my knowledge, been a military AR in
: anything but 5.56mm. Second, the M-16 would be a really crappy choice, in
: my opinion. Now, I'm not fond of AR's at all myself, but the proper
: selection for this type of mission (totally indoors, close range fighting)
: would be the M4 Carbine. Not only is it shorter and better suited to close
: combat, but it also has full automatic fire instead of three round burst.
: Next up: The M-79 Grenade Launcher
: The first M-79 GL's were delivered to the US Army in 1961. A very crude
: weapon by modern standards, they have been almost totally replaced by
: underbarrel systems (namely the M203). Modern uses of the M-79 have been
: extremely rare for a long time, and it was surprising to see some being
: dusted off for clearing IED's in the latest Iraq conflict. So, when you
: have an alien situation that has to be contained, best equip your soldiers
: with weapons systems that have been out of mainline service for a couple
: decades or more, right?
: Next up: The Colt .45
: Ok, I have to say, one of my favorite weapons of all time. "The Colt
: .45" is the term most people know the 1911 and 1911A1 by. A very
: distinct pistol with a 7 round magazine (oh...of course), and legendary
: combat reliability. But, would you see it in PiD? Of course not...these
: have been out of US military service since shortly after Vietnam, when we
: switched to NATO standard for mainline troop weapons (now we use M9s,
: which is a fancy name for Beretta 92Fs made for the military). So the M9
: would be more accurate? Given the situation, I'd expect a non-standard
: sidearm to be issued...the SOCOM AKA H&K Mk.23 mod.0. This is a large .45
: ACP pistol with a 12 round magazine. This pistol usually comes complete
: with quick detach silencer and underbarrel laser sight attachment, though
: it is quite modular and can easily be customized with other addons. All in
: all, this is what I'd expect to go into the alien pyramid...
: Next up: Relics, the Walther P4
: Anyone familiar with the Walther P4? It's actually quite obscure, only 7000
: were made and at least 6700 of those were for German police. The Walther
: P4 was basically a short barrel version of the P38 to the casual viewer,
: but did feature a few interesting modifications. One was a hardened steel
: hexagonal pin that was placed where the locking block recoiled into the
: frame when firing. This simple concept strengthened the aluminum alloy
: frame at the point where it received the greatest stress, and this was so
: successful that all P38 varients and weapons using the same short-recoil
: system were then manufactured with that pin. They also shortened the
: hammer which made the pistol more suitable for concealed carry, and
: replaced the traditional smooth trigger with a grooved one. Oh, and when
: were they made? From 1974 to 1982. A little late for WWII, actually. They
: were also assembled in France so the German police could use them (at the
: time they were not allowed under treaty to use German made weapons).
: Next up: The Schmeisser MP-41
: Again, this was not a military weapon. It was a police version of the MP-40,
: featuring a more traditional fixed wooden stock. The weapon we see in PiD
: is, obviously, not an MP-41, but an MP-40. Interesting bit of trivia, Hugo
: Schmeisser did NOT develop the MP-40, but he did help develop the MP-41.
: However, he was often associated with the MP-40 because he produced the
: magazines for them (thus the name Schmeisser was on every MP-40 magazine).
: Next up: The AK-47
: This one is really hard to screw up, honestly. Firing 7.62x39mm rounds, it is
: a very powerful weapon in close combat (sometimes too powerful, as the
: rounds often go clean through and thus do not impart their full energy
: into the target). The first big error is the SABOT rounds...honestly I've
: never seen a SABOT round for the AK, though I am sure someone has probebly
: made some. However, there ARE fairly common armor piercing rounds for the
: AK, but they are often called just that, or "steel core." They
: are just normal rounds with a conical steel core, not SABOT rounds. Now,
: the HE rounds totally blow my mind. There isn't enough room in that bullet
: to make anything 'highly' explosive, that's for sure. You could make crude
: explosive rounds by filling a hollow point bullet with mercury and capping
: it, but that's some serious McGyvering and not exactly safe. A hell of a
: lot of work too...if you want to fill whole magazines with them.
: So, here are my ideas to "fix" the weapon errors.
: *Replace M-16 with M4/M203 combo. Say you lost the grenades...award M-79
: point upon finding the first 40mm grenade.
: *Replace Colt .45 with SOCOM Mk.23 mod.0.
: *Replace Walther P4 with Walther P38.
: *Replace Schmeisser MP-41 with MP-40.
: *Replace AK-47 SABOT rounds with AK-47 AP (Armor Piercing) rounds.
: *Replace AK-47 HE rounds with AK-47 API (Armor Piercing Incendiary) rounds,
: which would actually seem the perfect round for use against nightmares.
: Then someone might actually use them...
: So, if I do pull off this remake...can I trust nobody will hunt me down for
: making
: these horrific changes?
: -Jonathan
