Silver, I'm not arguing for laser weaponry. I'm arguing for magnetic weaponry (meaning coilguns and railguns). Those projectile weapons in Red Dwarf were most likely magnetic in nature.

Draco's pretty much summed up what I'm arguing here. If you're going to do a custom SciFi RP, you have to consider the science as well as the fiction. There's a big difference between science fiction and futuristic fantasy. Star Trek is science fiction, while Star Wars is futuristic fantasy. There's actual hard science backing up Star Trek and virtually none backing up Star Wars.

So please consider the science. Do you really, really think that the Browning M2, to use your example, would really continue being used centuries, or even decades, from now when it's barely used today?