09-15-2012, 11:05 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Jun 2007
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Beam Weapon & Laser Sights
Hello everyone. I've been having a bit of confusion regarding beam weapons recently, particularly those of the laser variety. I have no qualms with their high Acc stat: damage traveling at the speed of light with no drop-off should benefit from a moment of aiming. However, I have a few questions on some of the details.
1) At TL9+, laser sights and other features come standard on weapons. Do the weapon statistics in UT reflect this automatic inclusion, or would aiming with the laser sight activated provide an additional +1 to the listed values? If the former, what Acc bonus should a player receive when they choose not to use the laser sight? 2) A +1 seems low when the laser sight is showing exactly where the beam will hit. The only difference between the dot and the damage is the steadiness of the player's hand when they squeeze the trigger. That clearly is why there is a skill roll, but balance concerns aside, +1 does not seem right. Are there any official rules re: this issue? |
09-15-2012, 12:34 PM | #2 |
Join Date: May 2008
Location: CA
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Re: Beam Weapon & Laser Sights
A laser sight doesn't add to Acc. It gives a straight +1 to hit, no matter if the person aims or not.
It's only a +1 to hit because you still need to point the weapon in the correct direction. |
09-15-2012, 12:42 PM | #3 | ||
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Beam Weapon & Laser Sights
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09-15-2012, 01:36 PM | #4 | |
Computer Scientist
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dallas, Texas
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Re: Beam Weapon & Laser Sights
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09-15-2012, 01:47 PM | #5 |
Dog of Lysdexics
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Melbourne FL, Formerly Wellington NZ
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Re: Beam Weapon & Laser Sights
And any gravitational bending effect effect your line of sight to the target as well. ye3ah Trick shots with Parallax!
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09-15-2012, 02:38 PM | #6 | ||
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Beam Weapon & Laser Sights
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EDIT: Okay, I see what you're saying now. Rangefinders may be less important for beams weapons because they aren't as affected by range-dependent conditions (wind etc). Last edited by vierasmarius; 09-15-2012 at 02:44 PM. |
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09-15-2012, 02:48 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: The plutonium rich regions of Washington State
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Re: Beam Weapon & Laser Sights
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Note that this does not necessarily hold for higher frequency lasers (x-ray, gamma ray) or for particle beams. These are +1 TL though (at least), so it is reasonable to assume that at this point computer assistance processes the information to display to you exactly where the beam will hit anyway*. Luke * Except that particle beams are known to have atmospheric instabilities, which make the beams veer off in random wonky directions. Whether this can be overcome in real life is an open question. In a game with particle beam weapons, presumably this problem has already been solved. |
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09-15-2012, 02:52 PM | #8 | ||
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Down in a holler
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Re: Beam Weapon & Laser Sights
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http://longrangebpcr.com/ImagePage.a...Targets600.jpg Quote:
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09-15-2012, 02:53 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Beam Weapon & Laser Sights
Hmm... for lasers at least, would it make sense for a Laser Sight to provide a bonus (on un-Aimed shots only) equal to some fraction of Acc, rather than just +1?
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09-15-2012, 02:57 PM | #10 |
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Beam Weapon & Laser Sights
Wow. It boggles my mind that they can even see the target at that distance. But then, I'm pretty nearsighted, so my impression of what normal viewing distances are may be skewed. I thought that 300yd was the practical limit for sighting human-sized targets, at least under combat conditions.
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