How does a gunblade work?

[jammi567]

An extract from the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimcia Omega:

"GUNBLADE
Combining the sword with a standard shotgun's mechanisms, the Gunblade is a unique weapon. If you pull the trigger while the bullet is "set," a strong wave of power will travel down to the edge of the blade, raising the attack power of the Gunblade. By pulling the trigger at the right time, one can release a powerful attack; however, achieving competency in usage of the Gunblade is very difficult and therefore requires a high degree of aptitude."

From the sounds of it, the bullet isn't actually fired in any way. Instead, it appears to be lodged in the barrel, so that when the trigger is pulled, the force of the bullet not being able to be fired is transfered to the blade.

Have i got this right, or am i totally on the wrong path?

[Corrugo]

that sounds a bout right, I think there's an Ultimania Translation floating around here somewhere about the gunblade

[jammi567]

I think the one ou're talking about is the one i posted above.

So i suppose that would mean that you wouldn't have to buy any bullets for it.

Another curiousity. As well as the blade being upgraded, it appears that the barrel also gets upgraded, so that by the time you reach Lionhart, it has either a semi-auto, or an auto barrel. What difference would this make to the overall performance to the blade?

[Corrugo]

I'm an idiot, for some reason I thought that was a different quote, but yeah that was the one I was referring to.

[Rikushomegirl7]

if thats how they say it works then it works that way xD

[Aerith's Knight]

With just a twinkle of fairy dust and a whole heap of wishing..

you might just turn gay thinking about it.

[WhiteEagle]

Wouldn't a bullet firing into your sword hurt your hand more than anything? Well, maybe it just fires and we don't see it

[Super Sepiroth]

as far as i am lead to belive theres no bullets at all, just that pulling the trigger at the right time sends a shockwave down the blade causing more damage.

This happens cos of whatever happens inside the gun in order to fire a bullet is very forceful and therefore adds more force to the blade.

thats just what i can gather though from what quistis says in the game

[jammi567]

as far as i am lead to belive theres no bullets at all, just that pulling the trigger at the right time sends a shockwave down the blade causing more damage.

This happens cos of whatever happens inside the gun in order to fire a bullet is very forceful and therefore adds more force to the blade.

Fair enough, but doesn't there need to be something within the barrel for the trigger to push against to create the force? Otherwise, it would just be a useless clicking sound, with nothing happening.

[Eiko Guy]

And where does the bullet come out once its used?

[Namelessfengir]

its a revolver, you flip the wheel out to the side for loading or on older versions you just spin the wheel one slot at a time and pull the casings out

[Soulforge]

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<tb>Perhaps the force from the round, when fired at the correct time, actually increases the vector of the blade- IE: when fired in mid-swing, the force from the round transfers into the motion of the blade, causing it to accelerate much more quickly and powerfully.
</tb>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<tb>This would explain the length of time spent training in the gunblade discipline to master it- it would require precise timing to enhance the attack without either diverting the strike or even completely nullifying it and incredible control to recover from it- with the force induced into the weapon it'd send most people spinning to the ground after an over-shoulder swing.

</tb>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<tb>However, unlike Irvine, Squall never has to buy ammunition for his weapon, nor do we ever see him reloading after six attacks. Maybe it's just an oversight on the part of the developers (after all, in the grand scheme of the plot and gameplay it's a pretty small detail), but it makes one wonder if the rounds are consumed upon pulling the trigger. Maybe they just need time to "recharge" after expending their force, hence the revolver cycle. However, it wouldn't really explain how the Hyperion (Seifer's) gunblade works, being an semi-automatic design.

</tb>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<tb>On that subject, assuming this theory is correct, how would a semi-auto design compare to a revolver design? I think it would be far harder to master considering the point (in my opinion, anyway) would be to fire multiple rounds in rapid succession, increasing the velocity of the blade far beyond what the revolver design could achieve. Maybe that would explain why even though Squall and Seifer are evenly matched (or close to it) in Garden, Seifer has a much harder time executing attacks with his gunblade until much further in the game.

</tb>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<tb>I</tb><tb>n any case, I'm going to be building a functioning gunblade- or as close to it as I can get without having to register it with the ATF (lol!) so it's a pretty neat coincidence that this discussion should come up as I log into EOFF. I'd like to collect as many theories and ideas as possible.</tb>

[jammi567]

Like i said in my firs post, maybe the bullets are stuck inside the revolver, so that, although the trigger has somthing to pull against, they won't be able to come out.

[Aerith's Knight]

or maybe it went like this..

developer1: "Omg i have such a good idea.."
developer2: "Do tell"
developer1: "Swords are cool right? And guns are cool too.."
developer2: "So..."
developer1: "So why not make a gunsword!?!"
developer2: "Thats just stupid.. i mean.. where would the bull-"
developer3: "I like it!!"
developer4: "Me too!!"
boss: "Well then, thats settled"
developer2: "But-"
boss: "No buts.. swordgun!"
developer2(under breath): "retards.."

[TyphoonThaReapa]

Lol Ak, that's classic...

Anyway, I was thinking, have anybody played Devil May Cry 4 yet? Nero had a sword called "The Red Queen" and it can charge by continously pulling the valve by the handle making attacks flamed and much more powerful. Maybe the gunblade was going on a similar sloop of an idea. I mean, I know you have to pull the trigger on the gunblade every time you strike instead of just charging it like the Red Queen, but it's still sort of like charging the blade for an increased attack.