Logic + FFVIII = Error. (Concerning Irvine's gun)

[Wightraven]

I apologize if this has already been posted. If so, delete it.

I've noticed a few things about Irvine's gun that lead me to believe it is some kind of super all-purpose gun. Let's review the facts...

Irvine was integrated into the party as a sniper.

Irvine's limit breaks sometimes involve him shooting off MANY rounds rather quickly.

Irvine's gun most closely resembles a shotgun.

... now, correct me if I'm wrong, but shotguns are crap for long-range and aren't capable of automatic fire...

*realizes most everyone hates Irvine and FFVIII is a game, so it doesn't have to be realistic*

OK, the above is true, but still... couldn't Square have taken the extra effort to changes guns' appearances?

[m4tt]

Well he does use a sniper rifle when he does that (SPOILER)assassination thing.

He only uses the shotgun type gun in battle.

[Paleghost]

would you go into a battle with JUST a sniper rifle?

[PhoenixAsh]

Is it just me or are some shotguns actually capable of automatic fire?

[Wightraven]

I do it all the time. Then again, I wouldn't be standing a mere six feet from my God of an opponent. I'd be FAR away, shooting at them with my trusty rifle of sniping +3.

[Big D]

Irvine's regular guns - not the sniper rifle, which was a one-off - are indeed quite strange.

If you input a command, then try to run from a battle, but [b]then[/i] stop running, Irvine re-loads his gun when he turns around. There, you can clearly see that it's a break-action design, like a shotgun.

It is possible to get guns that fire both conventional ammunition and shot pellets, but they're rare. Doesn't mean that they're unusual in FFVIII's world, though. I like the way Irvine's weapon can hande regular, armour-piercing, flame-throwing, poisonous and shotgun rounds, as well as the WMD-class Pulse Ammo.

Doesn't explain why he can fire so many times in quick succession - as with Quick Shot - without having to reload. Since his gun has a break-action reload, that suggests it has a rather limited capacity...

But then, maybe it takes a magazine, which fits into the space behind the chamber when he reloads?

That'd explain a few things.

[PhoenixAsh]

Well if we're gonna get technical it might be worth noticing he doesn't actually need ammo if he isn't using a limit break.

[Big D]

The same goes for Squall, who always reloads before performing Renzokuken, but never at any other time.

[Wightraven]

Nice points, D. Yeah, it IS possible for shotguns to fire both shot and slug ammo, and the poison rounds could have something to do with filling a hollow-point slug if you want to get THAT into it...

... on the whole, though, I'd say Irvine just has the best gun in history.

[Big D]

It's just a very versatile weapon, combining the most useful elements of other types of firearm. A hybrid, if you will; kind of like gunblades.

[Yuffie is a B****]

The game is set in the future. Y ou don't think they'd be able to upgrade shotguns a little bit?

[Big D]

I wouldn't say the game's set in 'the future'. It's not our world, after all.

Some of their technology is more advanced than ours, certainly, but some isn't quite as good. It's a whole other world with different societies and different histories, so some aspects of technology have progressed at different rates compared to our world.

[Zild]

Squall reloads before Renzokuken? Never noticed that...

As for Irvine, we've established that he uses a seperate sniper rifle should the need arise, and that indeed in battle he uses a form of shot-gun...

As an aside, I'm guessing he gained a liking for guns in general early on and tinted his training (SeeD and perhaps prior) to that general form of weapon...

The main question here seems to be the speed at which he fires in the limit breaks... Two thoughts on this...

Firstly, he has Fast Ammo for the fastest limit break, no? The name suggests this is specially designed to be fired more rapidly than other ammo... perhaps the shotgun has a secondary fire mechanism for smaller, less damaging ammo? Just one idea of how it could be done, I'll try to think up some more when I'm offline...

Secondly - magic. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the haste spell appears in FF8, no? Is it possible that some kind of longer-lasting magic has been applied to the weapon? If we compare to other gunmen, such as Barret in 7, does he fire faster when he has haste? (If he doesn't maybe he should and they were just too lazy to speed up his sound effect?)

The combination of magic and technology should not be discounted, even if it is rather rare in FF and other games... I think this might go far enough to explain the normal fire-rate, whilst the special ammo and a special way of using it could explain the second... (Or, perhaps Fast Ammo (or whatever it was called) has even more magic in each round, to make the effect all the more...)

[Rand Al'Tor]

Hmm, I think applying logic to this is indeed going too far. After all, how do you explain that Irvine shoots harder when he gets stronger. It's not like he's throwing the bullets is he?

[CloudSquallandZidane]

Originally posted by PhoenixAsh
Is it just me or are some shotguns actually capable of automatic fire?

There r some auto-shotties...