Stuff I felt should exist.... - Page 18

swordtart · 07-26-2016, 07:26 AM

As for the Electrolaser.

IIRC the Anti-Power Plant Rocket (APPR) doesn't short out all the components, it shorts out the plant. I am not sure it says all components stop working (and I am not sure "electronic" component is defined). I haven't seen an APPR used in... er... ever.

I would suggest removing the qualification and simply say the effects are equivalent to the APPR. That will relieve you from having to cover off all the compatability cases e.g. are the components damaged, how much does it cost to repair or do they just stop working, for how long? What is the effect on auto-pilots/auto-gunners? etc.

I also don't like the per component shielding. I would suggest Surge Protection is sufficient to cover all components (and always works).

This reduces the benefit of the Electrolaser to an underused secondary effect that already exists in the game (rather than inventing a new flavour of it). I generally find this is far cleaner than introducing yet another effect that spins-off a whole raft of exceptions and additions to established equipment.

You could simply make Electro boosting a modification to an existing laser, leave the stats of the laser alone (weight, damage etc) other than adding a cost multiplier (+50%?) and doubling the power consumption.

swordtart · 07-26-2016, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magesmiley

Just no on this one. It brings back some of the worst problems with laser guidance.

The major problem with laser guidance is that it is too cheap, if you look at the RL cost of (say) a 70mm rocket (Hydra 70) and a laser guided 70mm rocket (APKWS). The guided rocket is approx 30 times the price of the unguided one.

The other issue is the bizzare differential between any of the rocket launchers (MML, RL and this new HRL) vs the single shot rocket that does the same damage. 2 Light Rockets = 1 space = 10 MML. That's bad, now go and figure the weight, and the to hit number.

Add in the madness of the Rocket Magazine and you rapidly surmise that rockets in general require a major revision.

juris · 07-26-2016, 01:53 PM

Single shot rockets should've been adjusted up. Ie HR = 4DD, MR=3DD,LR=2DD, MnR=1DD. People SHOULD be scared of a one-shot weapon hitting them. Spending $200, a space and 100 lbs for a 3DD weapon (HR) seems anemic. It would certainly make duels more exciting ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by swordtart

Add in the madness of the Rocket Magazine and you rapidly surmise that rockets in general require a major revision.

DSumner · 07-27-2016, 10:34 AM

Thanks for the feedback gents, I'll tinker with the design and write-up to see if I can clean it up a bit.

swordtart · 07-27-2016, 11:22 PM

It occurs to me belatedly that the HMD (or FMD) could be achieved with existing components.

Minedropper with extra magazine provides the basic weapon.

A weapon timer is already available to tune "automatic" fire to something other than the standard 1 per phase of movement. This may be overkill however as we are not trying to provide a configurable drop rate, merely a different fixed one. The basic dropped weapon has this functionality already. It fires once on every 1" of movement, this isn't functionally different to firing once every 1/2" of movement (at 5 mph the basic MD will drop every 1/2" so the basic MD is clearly capable of this mode of operation).

I would allow that a minor adjustment to the mechanism is all that is required rather than a weapon timer. I would suggest at a mechanic task at one level harder than the standard installation (as you are "hacking" it). Unless you are making the adjustment under duress it is unlikely to have much game effect.

Traditionally weapon links were used to hand-wave away these sort of configuration aspects, so you may wish to require the mod to cost $50, but allow two fire options, regular 1" spacing and the custom 1/2" spacing.

DSumner · 07-29-2016, 08:01 AM

I made a slight mod to the Electrolaser write up, I clarified a few things, and made slight mod to the way it operates in the game. Hopefully this description makes more sense to everyone. I'm also tinkering with a design for a Heat Seeking Missile.

owenmp · 07-30-2016, 11:45 AM

DSumner,

Regarding your great idea of electrolasters, you may want to look at the rules below, if you have not already.

Charge of the Light Brigade: Charged-Particle Lasers. Autoduel Quarterly Vol. 10, No. 2. Summer 2042 (1992).
http://www.warehouse23.com/products/...ber-10-slash-2

Surge Rocket. Car Wars Fifth Edition.
http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=46297

Blue Ghost · 08-06-2016, 06:47 AM

My gut reaction to the OP's list is that a lot of that stuff either already exists or is emulated by other devices and weapons in the game.

Still, on the other hand, some of them are kind of unique and inventive.

Sill, on the other-other hand, this is the reason I had a group quit playing CW many eons back, because of what they saw as unwanted and unneeded weapons and devices.

rdeis · 08-08-2016, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Ghost

Sill, on the other-other hand, this is the reason I had a group quit playing CW many eons back, because of what they saw as unwanted and unneeded weapons and devices.

True. IMO the big danger is trying to keep track of all the interactions between the various special effects, especially when there's an "intuitive" answer that makes to strange or unbalanced gameplay.

Blue Ghost · 08-09-2016, 08:29 AM

Yeah, it's like when I did go looking for a CW gaming group few people were interested, and I couldn't help but feel that it was because of the sheer number of weapons and devices. Me, as long as it's plausible and fun I don't mind.

Does anyone know of a CW based group in the Bay Area? I'm kind of itching for a game.

07-26-2016, 07:26 AM	#171
swordtart Join Date: Jun 2008	Re: Stuff I felt should exist.... As for the Electrolaser. IIRC the Anti-Power Plant Rocket (APPR) doesn't short out all the components, it shorts out the plant. I am not sure it says all components stop working (and I am not sure "electronic" component is defined). I haven't seen an APPR used in... er... ever. I would suggest removing the qualification and simply say the effects are equivalent to the APPR. That will relieve you from having to cover off all the compatability cases e.g. are the components damaged, how much does it cost to repair or do they just stop working, for how long? What is the effect on auto-pilots/auto-gunners? etc. I also don't like the per component shielding. I would suggest Surge Protection is sufficient to cover all components (and always works). This reduces the benefit of the Electrolaser to an underused secondary effect that already exists in the game (rather than inventing a new flavour of it). I generally find this is far cleaner than introducing yet another effect that spins-off a whole raft of exceptions and additions to established equipment. You could simply make Electro boosting a modification to an existing laser, leave the stats of the laser alone (weight, damage etc) other than adding a cost multiplier (+50%?) and doubling the power consumption.

07-27-2016, 10:34 AM	#174
DSumner Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: The North American Combine	Re: Stuff I felt should exist.... Thanks for the feedback gents, I'll tinker with the design and write-up to see if I can clean it up a bit. __________________ "There is no such thing as a dangerous weapon, only dangerous men." "Death is certain, life is not." "No one assails me without punishment"

07-27-2016, 11:22 PM	#175
swordtart Join Date: Jun 2008	Re: Stuff I felt should exist.... It occurs to me belatedly that the HMD (or FMD) could be achieved with existing components. Minedropper with extra magazine provides the basic weapon. A weapon timer is already available to tune "automatic" fire to something other than the standard 1 per phase of movement. This may be overkill however as we are not trying to provide a configurable drop rate, merely a different fixed one. The basic dropped weapon has this functionality already. It fires once on every 1" of movement, this isn't functionally different to firing once every 1/2" of movement (at 5 mph the basic MD will drop every 1/2" so the basic MD is clearly capable of this mode of operation). I would allow that a minor adjustment to the mechanism is all that is required rather than a weapon timer. I would suggest at a mechanic task at one level harder than the standard installation (as you are "hacking" it). Unless you are making the adjustment under duress it is unlikely to have much game effect. Traditionally weapon links were used to hand-wave away these sort of configuration aspects, so you may wish to require the mod to cost $50, but allow two fire options, regular 1" spacing and the custom 1/2" spacing.

07-29-2016, 08:01 AM	#176
DSumner Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: The North American Combine	Re: Stuff I felt should exist.... I made a slight mod to the Electrolaser write up, I clarified a few things, and made slight mod to the way it operates in the game. Hopefully this description makes more sense to everyone. I'm also tinkering with a design for a Heat Seeking Missile. __________________ "There is no such thing as a dangerous weapon, only dangerous men." "Death is certain, life is not." "No one assails me without punishment" Last edited by DSumner; 01-02-2021 at 05:25 PM.

07-30-2016, 11:45 AM	#177
owenmp Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bellevue, WA, USA	Re: Stuff I felt should exist.... DSumner, Regarding your great idea of electrolasters, you may want to look at the rules below, if you have not already. Charge of the Light Brigade: Charged-Particle Lasers. Autoduel Quarterly Vol. 10, No. 2. Summer 2042 (1992). http://www.warehouse23.com/products/...ber-10-slash-2 Surge Rocket. Car Wars Fifth Edition. http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=46297 __________________ Michael P. Owen Seattle Washington Autoduel Team https://www.seanet.com/~owenmp/swathome.html Twitter: Car Combat Central https://twitter.com/carcombat

08-06-2016, 06:47 AM	#178
Blue Ghost Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Spinward Marches	Re: Stuff I felt should exist.... My gut reaction to the OP's list is that a lot of that stuff either already exists or is emulated by other devices and weapons in the game. Still, on the other hand, some of them are kind of unique and inventive. Sill, on the other-other hand, this is the reason I had a group quit playing CW many eons back, because of what they saw as unwanted and unneeded weapons and devices.

08-09-2016, 08:29 AM	#180
Blue Ghost Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Spinward Marches	Re: Stuff I felt should exist.... Yeah, it's like when I did go looking for a CW gaming group few people were interested, and I couldn't help but feel that it was because of the sheer number of weapons and devices. Me, as long as it's plausible and fun I don't mind. Does anyone know of a CW based group in the Bay Area? I'm kind of itching for a game.