[arkhangelsk]

Originally Posted by Keroko

Which still does not alter my point: These devices are created for combat, hence they are designed to perform optimally in this situation.

No. They are at best designed to perform optimally in accordance to the creator's conception of what combat is.

Excuse me? I am doing exactly the same thing, actually. Using your line as a base:

"Suppose my theory about a guidance system in the devices is wrong, the fact that a nine year old having just been given a device can shoot with deadly accuracy does not change." Unless Nanoha has been secretly following shooting lessons, I can't really see how she can be as accurate as she was in the first season.

She can shoot with "deadly" accuracy at targets that are relatively close using unchoked shotgun blasts. Admittedly, it is impressive for a beginner, but it is also made clear that she's considered absurdly talented, and good as it was, the performance was not really superhuman. If I can believe that 9-year old Fate, having studied for 2 years, has a Masters' equivalent knowledge in magic and at least a high school level knowledge of math, I can certainly buy it. And thus, this can be explained with completely natural explanations, unlike the appearance of devices.

Come to think of it, Nanoha is extremely calm in deadly battle, something very unusual for a kid. Maybe Raising Heart has the ability to transmute various transquilizers as well ... wait.

To add even more evidence, we already know devices assist in the forming of spells, both offensively (plenty of examples about, Nanoha's first spellcasts, A's after device upgrades, StrikerS after device upgrades) and defensively (again, plently of examples about) and even supportive (Nanoha's Flyer Fin, Nanoha had never flown before yet could even dodge Fate's attacks, Raising Heart was clearly aiding her in flight control). With all these examples, why on earth is it so hard to think "Hmm, if devices can help me form attacks and defenses, or even cast them on their own, and even control my flight capabillity, maybe, just maybe they can help me aim too."

Ooooo ... it can "play back" magic. Thus, it is a fire control computer. (To be fair, this is an exaggeration, but you get my point. The two are actually different branches of capability).

Maybe less complicated terms, or explanations of complicated terms would help. Not everyone is a scientist.

See if JimmyC's quickie explanation suits your appetite better. If not I can try to bat.

*jerks thumb to A's again* Bardiche lost about 40 to 50% of his mass, and recovered fully. Funny thing is the way how he recovered. He glowed, the glow expanded, disapeared and he didn't have a scratch. To me, that seems like he reverted to energy, added more energy, and converted it back to mass again.

You can do that with the forcefield-pseudomatter theory also except you won't have to come up with 9E16J of energy for every kilogram of missing Bardiche as mandated by E=mc^2. Also, IIRC, Bardiche was cut into two, so technically all the mass was still there.

Aim in the general direction, the weapons adjusts only slightly (it's not going to make 180 degree turns, just a little nudge where it is needed. Uncomfortable? Not really, only if you resist) and fire.

That little nudge, coming all of a sudden will feel very un-natural to you. Imagine yourself trying to aim, thinking you have it right, and then the darn thing bucks into what it thinks is the right position.

Replicators don't exactly use 'megaton class energy' you know.

If you make them use energy-matter conversion, that's what they'll start using. Ergo, they use something else. The fact they can't make things like latinum or (IIRC) gold further suggests that they are only molecular level manipulators.

As for where the energy goes, remember how Fate was converted into energy and absorbed into the Yami no Sho? (hey, look at that, canon example) same basic princible. The matter is converted into energy and 'absorbed' into the device, changing it to the sealed mode.

Remember that they can actually still detect Fate's vitals, which would be rather impossible had Fate been converted into energy even temporarily.

Long range, I give although not the physical sights, as Nanoha demonstrated a mental scope works just as well.

She demonstrates that it works adequately at 100m, which is far end of the no stock range. It is far from the same thing.

Fast response? Still not convinced that a magic gun is faster, as mages can generate attacks from all directions. And they often need charge times as well (Tiana, episode 5 takes 4 full seconds to fire for example) the only time they get around that is when they spam cartridges like mad (Vice, episode 26, also note the 6 second charge he needs to deal with the Type 2) which makes one wonder how healthy gun-based devices are.

They do need to charge. In fact, Teana took her time charging Shot 1 in Ch1 too. The point is how she managed to alter targets. It is clearly the same tube of charge, but she does not have to work with an Attack system.

I'm not apealing to their authority, but since it is obvious TSAB personel has the freedom to choose their device's apearance, why did not more people choose a rifle or handgun-based device?

Various, from cultural concerns to lack of understanding.

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

While there's not much I can add to the rest of the discussion, I do take an issue with this. Do you know why matter can be broken up and still be solid? That's because each atom is half of the field emitter. Join two together and you have the bond that appears as solid matter on the macro scale. When a solid breaks, the bonds on the breaklines are gone. The field there vanishes. The remaining pieces remain solid, because their fields weren't disrupted.

No contention here. Thanks BTW for explaining the whole matter business to Keroko. I can try but somehow I doubt I can get through to him...

That doesn't apply to these fictional forcefields. They have only one emitter projecting the entire field. Disrupt the field or its emitter, it's gone. For example, if you snap a neon tube in two, you get two broken pieces of glass, not two glowing tubes.
You can assert that forcefields projected by mages and their devices are actually maintained by many mini-emitters and each can project its own tiny field even when seperated from the rest. However, I will have to point out that there's no evidence for such a system. If you wish to argue that just because it isn't shown doesn't mean it doesn't exist, I have to point out that you're the one who earlier argued that we can't assume devices have unmentioned features like auto-targetting (or was it stablization?) because evidence for their existence was never shown.

1) The difference is that we don't need a special magic mechanism to explain why they shoot to the degree they do - which is good but hardly superhuman. But we need a magic mechanism of one sort or another to explain BJs and devices.
2) You see a forcefield. You really have few clues as to its operation. Yet you automatically assume it must have only one emitter?
3) A single emitter model may be appropriate for the Field type of defence, but especially for the shield type, its "wall" nature strongly suggests multiple emitters. It is hard to see a single emitter forming a flat planar.
4) Also, the fact that barriers can shatter suggests that there are indeed some "mini-emitters" maintaining some cohesion, though a main emitter is also involved.
5) Then we can consider the Crystal-like Panzer Hidernis in EpA Ch 5, which even cracks. Hard to see a single emitter field "crack".
6) But why even continue raising logic and examples when i can dodge into the Bunker of Officiality:

Spoiler for MGLN StrikerS The Comics, Ch2, P.10:

It is officially stated that a BJ is a mix of Barrier and Field defences.

If a BJ is barriers and fields, it stands to reason a staff can be made in very similar fashion. Nuff' said.