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Old 06-15-2021, 11:00 AM   #17
swordtart
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Default Re: Rev Trike Costs : Rules & Ambiguous Wording etc .

Firstly, I suspect Juris was not seriously expecting you to agree.

Whether it was "missed" in UACFH is opinion, there are plenty of errors in UACFH that didn't make the errata and plenty of rules that were reinterpreted unnecessarily (HESH effects on Metal for weapons OVER 6D for example). As for other sources, the piecemeal nature of editing in CW means that rules changed at the whim of the editor of the day (and sometimes as a result of an event at a tournament and therefore the judge of the hour). As those editors seem to have been drawn from the player base, they are about as authoritative as any fan interpretation.

The legality of a standard link could be easily answered without resorting to retconning the rules, there is no confusion. On trikes only, side mounts and front mounts using identical weapons can be linked with a $50 link. Any other weapons on trikes or weapons on any other vehicle must use the $500 smart link if they wish fire on anything other than automatic.

This is because side weapons on trikes use the both the front firing arc and the side arc. If a target is in LOS of the front of a normal trike, it is also in LOS for both side mounts. It can never not be. This is part of the design for the trike, it is not a retro-fit or component dependent, it is baked in (and about the only benefit of using trikes).

Side sponsons do not use the front arc, they use a hybrid arc that only covers part of the front arc, all of the side arc and part of the rear arc. Rear sponsons do not use the rear arc alone they also use part of each side arc. It is possible for a vehicle to be in LOS for the weapon mounted on that arc but not in LOS of the sponson. Turrets do not have an arc as such, but also clearly a target can be in LOS of the turret and not the linked non-turret mounted weapon.

I think this is one of the cases where errata and re-interpretation got it wrong.

I'd say put ice on it, but it's been so long since your post, your burn has probably resolved itself.

EDIT:
Pyramid 8 states that Smart Links were created to link trike side weapons. I am not sure I agree with SDH since the ability of trikes to link side mounted weapons predates the "Smart Link". The Smart-link was introduced in ADQ6-1 (Spring 2038) and ratified in UA 2038 the description makes no mention of trikes. Trikes were introduced in the 2034 AADA Vehicle Guide and the ability to link side weapons is there from the get go.

Car Wars Classic, CWC 2.5 and other rules sets that contain both "Smart links" and trikes states that side weapons on trikes can be can be "linked". In other cases such as front weapons and turrets it explicitly mentions "smart-linked". The rule books have always referred to smart links in the context of turrets and main body weapons.

CWRQ 4.6 has the following "Is a smart link necessary for right and left weapons on a trike to be fired at a target in the front arc, or will a standard link do?
You can use a standard link to utilize this feature for trikes."

My copy of UACFH makes no mention of smart-links in trikes.

The only mention of Trikes and Smart links I could find in the errata is the errata to the compendium First edition. No other compendium lists it in their errata and all have the identical wording that has always been there for trikes (and smart links where such things existed). The smart-links paragraph also seems to be an orphan as it gives no page reference to where it should be. This leads me to believe that it was deprecated in later editions (like the ban on forward firing flamethrowers was dropped).

In short you can chose your position and cite plenty of evidence either way. You position relies on one specific ADQ response (and responses in ADQ were always a bit random) and some errata for a superseded compendium that was never carried over to subsequent editions. I am content my interpretation is more evidenced.

Incidentally your example of trikes with 7 LMGs is not a unique trike issue (not that an LMG is the last word in fire-power). A luxury with EWPs can have far more spaces pointing forward (six rocket launchers is easy). Take a stock hotshot and remove the weapons only, add 3 2-spc ewps each with a pair of your incendiary LMGs, add another 6 on the front - 12 LMGs, you don't even have to remove the FE. I only just noticed that boats also have side mounts that traverse into the front arc (never used boat wars). I am content that all of these can just use conventional links.

Last edited by swordtart; 06-15-2021 at 01:39 PM. Reason: Lots of stuff
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