My project has a lot of weapons (each with their own play style) and many come from different time periods (the world of the game has worlds with different levels of advancement coexisting).
As such, you'll find swords and bows along side modern weapons like grenades, RPGs, missile launchers, ect. as well as a few futuristic weapons like laser guns and laser blades.
It works out in my game because each weapon differentiates in how it is used. So you really can bring a knife to laser gun fight and still have an advantage if you're just that good with a knife.
As for realism...eh. I know realistically you'd never go into a fight against a guy with an assault rifle/grenade launcher combo (they exist in real life as a prototype, so I put one in my game) with a long sword, but, then again, the fact that characters can withstand being burned, shot, and electrocuted without much trouble, then I think realism is out of the window.
That being said, the weapons on the enemies you encounter will generally stick to their location. Of course, I guess in my case, nothing in the world of my game is an anachronism.
Here's a list of the futuristic weaponry in my game, if you want some inspiration/ideas:
-Plasma Pistol - A pistol that fires a hot beam of high-energy ionized gas, mainly used to burn. Is a bit more effective on mechanical foes due to electromagnetic pulse. They have a slight degree of armor-bypass, as the beam melts its way through.
-Phaser Pistol - A pistol that emits a destructive radiation pulse. The pule burns
through biological and mechanical foes alike, but is a bit more effective
against biological targets due to radiation. Unlike plasma weapon-
ry, however, the phaser cannot be focused into a blade, and rapid bombardment
of radiation pulses is not safe enough to be recommended, which is why a large
rapid-fire weapon (like the Plasma Cannon) was never developed beyond a test model for this particular type of weapon. Phasers completely ignore the armor rating of the target.
-Plasma/Phaser rifle - A more powerful, more accurate version of the above weapons,
and with better aim, but must be held with two hands.
-Plasma Cannon - Delivers repeated pulses of high-energy ionized gas, bombarding
targets in a wide range, or dealing massive damage to larger targets.
-Plasma Blade - A blade consisting of high-energy ionized gas. Superheats the target,
causing burns as well as slashing damage. It deals more direct damage than any
metal blade, and it ignores a portion of the target's armor. However, as the heat
of the blade immediately cauterizes any wounds made, no the foe will not be
left bleeding out HP as it is with standard blades. If a target attempts to parry a
strike from a plasma blade, the weapon will simply burn right through their block,
unless the opponent's weapons or shield are made of the heat-resistant "living metal".
Biosteel - Biosteel comprises many traditional weapons, ensuring that melee combat
still exists in the days of plasma and photon weaponry. Biosteel is an artificially created lifeform. The living Biosteel cells continue to divide and multiply until they
are subjected to an electrical shock. The shock kills the living biosteel and causes
the viscous-form of the entity to immediately harden and become almost indestructible. By placing living biosteel in any number of molds, biosteel can be put to any purposes that traditional metal is used for.
-EMP - Electromagnetic pulse weapons (such as grenades) disable or outright
destroy machines.
-Cyber Armor - A battle suit powered by battery that enhances the user's attributes,
and reduces the cost of their physical actions. Directed-energy weapons can be
wired into the suit to run off the suit's power when their own power cells have been
depleted.
-Electric Interface Implant - An, as of yet, unstable implant that allows the user
to affect some degree of change on the world around them with just their thoughts. Still in the experimental stages, little effect is seen when the average person uses it. But it has been said those infected with the Palingenesia virus are capable of using the implant as a proper interface with the world at a kinetic and even atomic level.
-Freezeray - This one is barely futuristic. I haven't decided it if it could exist on Earth's more Victorian-era level of technology or not. My current design is more futuristic. The name kind of says it all. It alternatively freezes targets while delivering ice damage, or it bombards them with super-cooled water for a heavily-damaging physical assault.
-Hacking and Interface tools - these really aren't "weapons" in the traditional sense, but any computer, or personal-use tablet can be used as an implement to hack
machines, computers, or electronic weapon systems for various effects. This system will replace the wrench (used to upgrade or sabotage simple machines), and
the punched cards/morse code cables used to reprogram more advanced machines equipped with analytical engines.
-Chemical and Biological Agents - the preferred method for killing things today. Why use messy explosives if all you want is the other person's stuff? After all, explosions destroy their stuff, too! And you want that stuff. Chemical and biological agents are guaranteed to clear a room/city/country/small enclave of dissenters within minutes, and all without a single loss of valuable property. There are host of biological and chemical weapons with various uses and delivery systems, and there's bound to be one that fits your specific needs.
Mini-Nuke - Though the atomic age is long past, the most destructive weapon by far is still the nuclear bomb. The weapon has been miniaturized, but is still dangerous.
Failure to aim properly will result in possibly even yourself getting a full dose of
the blast. Mini-Nukes deal massive damage, but the battlefield will be flooded with
radiation for generations to come.
There are also a few weapons exclusive to the mechas in the game: The Schwable (a kind of phaser submachine gun), the stinger (a small dagger-like plasma blade that can be
installed on mechas that don't have arms, and hidden away as a secret, unexpected threat), and the pole sword (a massive metal sword on usable by mechas with
arms to hold it).
That's really the gist of the futuristic stuff in the game. A lot of the weapons listed here aren't called by those names in-game, but by company/model names. A lot of it is stock-standard sci-fi stuff. I got to be a bit more creative with the Victorian weaponry, but I have an intended reason as to why the futuristic environment
uses a lot of stock sci-fi stuff.
EDIT: OH! And, though these weapons listed are the stand-out futuristic stuff, it should be noted that traditional firearms, grenades, and tried-and-tested military weapons are still in use, more often than not. In space combat, beam weapons are more preferable because they dissipate with time and distance, whereas traditional bullets keep going until they hit something, a liability which increases the risk of friendly-fire.
Discord
Light Style