My idea for why we can't use weapons.

[TerroRichard]

For good of all people, humanity as a whole has decided to implant each individual with a chip that doesnt allow them to use weapons altogether (with exceptions, obviously).
Or there could be "evil" goverment, that did this to simply stop rebelions and so on. After all, this could be necersary for them to stop new colonies becoming independent.
Perhaps this is just temporary, used only on people going to other planets.

You can use knife, yes it is a basic survival tool, you need it to do certain tasks.
Altho you can use your subs to ram fishes, well, the subs are not defined as weapons, so human being with the implant should be able to use it, and we do not know if we can use it to kill human being, after all it could either kill the person, or simply force him to stop before he would ram another human being.
You can use laser cutter, which is once more a tool.

All you can use are more or less tools, person with such an implant might not be able to pull the trigger, or it could maybe straight out kill him.

The reason why humanity would do that ? Well, how many people have already asked for a weapon in a game that was and is supposed to never have one ?

Edit: removed few grammar mistakes

[badgerfroth]

A more simple explanation is that a firearm in a spaceship is a disaster waiting to happen. So no firearms (or blueprints that would enable the manufacture of firearms) are allowed on spacecraft. It would also suit the inclusion of the stasis cannon (a weapon used by security to immobilise and detain.)

[Atlas MK II]

But then the Aurora is in the same universe as Natural Selection, so wouldn't you expect a few weapons on board in case of a Kharaa outbreak?

[TerroRichard]

Kharaa were a biological liveform on one planet wasn't it ? I mean, it could spread (don't know much of the lore), but it would not start unless it was already on that ship.

As for badgerfroth's explanation: If you don't use it, someone who is willing to do so will have happy fun times killing entire crew of the ship - unless the non-lethal solutions of humans aren't more advanced.

My reason would explain why we can't craft something as simple as a spear.
(edit): Then again, with all the tech it's not really necersary, but some weapons could be crafted to deal with bigger liveforms. Implanting most of the crew would stop rebelions and such, but some crew (loyal enough, let's say) could freely craft and use weaponry, minimising possibilities of rebelion or such, but still giving the crew chance of fighting back.

[aaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

No it's probably that humanity has come to global peace and has no use for lethal weapons

[Colonel Yum Yum]

Originally posted by Modern dimetrodon:

No it's probably that humanity has come to global peace and has no use for lethal weapons

Bwahahaha!! Oh Goddess, my sides hurt!

I think it's more fun to use stealth and guile to get around then just shooting everything. You can kill somethings with the Seamoth and drive others away so you don't "need" a gun.

[Fatal]

At this point in development, the lack of lethal weapons is more of an arbitrary decision made outside of the game's internal lore. The 700+ reply thread on weapon usage probably beats this topic to death, so I won't start blabbing my opinions here.

Originally posted by Modern dimetrodon:

No it's probably that humanity has come to global peace and has no use for lethal weapons

Ask anyone in the process of being devoured by bleeders or staring down the maw of a reaper if they believe there's "no use for lethal weapons". I surmise they would heartly disagree in their few last terrified moments until they were messily and painfully killed. Humans aren't the only hostile creatures out there in the universe.

Originally posted by Colonel Yum Yum:

I think it's more fun to use stealth and guile to get around then just shooting everything. You can kill somethings with the Seamoth and drive others away so you don't "need" a gun.

Perhaps not, but one does not go exploring the African savannah by running over lions with their car and scaring off the rest of the wildlife blaring annoying pop music through a megaphone and flashing strobe lights, either.

[Fly]

Originally posted by badgerfroth:

A more simple explanation is that a firearm in a spaceship is a disaster waiting to happen. So no firearms (or blueprints that would enable the manufacture of firearms) are allowed on spacecraft. It would also suit the inclusion of the stasis cannon (a weapon used by security to immobilise and detain.)

This is by far the most sensible explanation so far.

I buy that one.

[Berry]

Another explanation is that the Aurora doesn't carry weapons as it is not a military ship. The Aurora was an exploration vessel and not technically part of the Imperial Fleet

[ImHelping]

Weapon blueprints are protected by more stringent copyright laws in the fabricator.

Makes as much sense as anything else.

In the end the only thing keeping us from making a slingshot (Man, it wouldn't be very effective vs predators, but it would really make earlygame crash berable) is design choices.

"Lore friendly" and "realistic" only last as long as it fit's someones desired outcome, and once it doesn't fit the design desires, gets thrown out the window. But great free PR spin when it does fit what they already want for the game. Something hardly unique to subnaitca

One of my favorite examples is off in Elite Dangerous, where Devs and players will cite lore and realism for why we can't have tractor beams to make scooping up cargo and ore easier without expensive drone systems.

But once you bring up how unrealistic asteroids with multiple chunks of metal larger than the biggest playable ships running out of ore in a few scrapings is, or how the previous Elite games had set and forget automated mining machines? Lore and realism don't matter to the Devs and players anymore, because that doesn't fit what they want.

[Jhonis]

This makes me wonder what they would do if they ever meet outlaw or hostile aliens if that was true?
I would guess that they just simply die, as for what they tell their family at home what they died for, well I don't know except that they may of reviled their planets location and are now doomed to die or be enslaved.

[Falaris]

Originally posted by Fatal:

Perhaps not, but one does not go exploring the African savannah by running over lions with their car and scaring off the rest of the wildlife blaring annoying pop music through a megaphone and flashing strobe lights, either.

Oh damnit, I've been doing it wrong all these years!

Originally posted by Jhonis:

This makes me wonder what they would do if they ever meet outlaw or hostile aliens if that was true?
I would guess that they just simply die, as for what they tell their family at home what they died for, well I don't know except that they may of reviled their planets location and are now doomed to die or be enslaved.

The solution TODAY for that sort of thing is: The captain has a key to a gun locker. Which in subnautica's case would also contain the blueprints. On the other hand, this place seems a bit star-trek-ideal-future-ish. Probably no known raiders - after all, technology includes fabricators that if you have access to that sort of technology, you're set for life. No need for raiding.

[Berry]

It might have been more common to bring weapons, but not the way to actually make weapons. Handy if the ship was attacked/captured

[Jhonis]

Originally posted by Falaris:

Originally posted by Jhonis:

This makes me wonder what they would do if they ever meet outlaw or hostile aliens if that was true?
I would guess that they just simply die, as for what they tell their family at home what they died for, well I don't know except that they may of reviled their planets location and are now doomed to die or be enslaved.

The solution TODAY for that sort of thing is: The captain has a key to a gun locker. Which in subnautica's case would also contain the blueprints. On the other hand, this place seems a bit star-trek-ideal-future-ish. Probably no known raiders - after all, technology includes fabricators that if you have access to that sort of technology, you're set for life. No need for raiding.

Except if the captain was the first one killed or got captured.
As for the raiders, who knows, maybe they just like their freedom, I have hear of people doing stuff for more crazy reasons.

[Sir Harlz]

I think the Aurora was a ship built for science purposes. WHy would scientist be carrying military grade weapons? The fabricator was made for the aurora and her crew. So the fabricator has no schimatics for guns in it. Instead it has what you could turn into a "improvised" weapon like the stasis rifle and propusion cannon. None of the "weapons" were meant for self defence but can be used for that purpose if you have to.

I think you are looking into it too deeply. THere will alawys be bad people, so humanity saying "ALIGHT. NO MORE WEAPONS" sounds silly.

[TerroRichard]

Originally posted by Profaned Sir Harlz:

I think the Aurora was a ship built for science purposes. WHy would scientist be carrying military grade weapons? The fabricator was made for the aurora and her crew. So the fabricator has no schimatics for guns in it. Instead it has what you could turn into a "improvised" weapon like the stasis rifle and propusion cannon. None of the "weapons" were meant for self defence but can be used for that purpose if you have to.

I think you are looking into it too deeply. THere will alawys be bad people, so humanity saying "ALIGHT. NO MORE WEAPONS" sounds silly.

As I have said, with exceptions, which mean militari and such.
Aurora was a mining ship, and why wouldn't you have someone with a military equiptment on un-colonised, not properly documented world ?