Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony
Note that, had ultra-tech been written completely from scratch in 2007 rather than being based on earlier work, I suspect liquid propellant guns wouldn't even be in there; liquid propellant guns were a hot topic briefly in the early 90s, and thus made sense for inclusion in GURPS Vehicles, but appear to have subsided back into obscurity since then.
The big theoretical benefit of liquid propellant is that it lets have variable muzzle velocity relatively easily. This is a significant benefit for artillery (with fixed muzzle velocity, at close ranges you're forced to choose between low angle shots that may not clear near obstacles, or very high angle shots that have extreme travel time), but is not terribly useful for direct fire weapons.
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It also adds complexity. I have a suspicion that liquid-propellant direct-fire weapons would (at least in their earlier incarnations) have a lot of reliability and maybe safety issues to deal with.