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Old 01-11-2022, 04:01 PM   #1
Racer
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: London, UK
Default Old Equipment : Stats & are they still Legal ?

Quick questions for now -

1 : Are Pedestrian Laser Batteries still legal ? And what would be it's weight & Hand stats ? ( We presume it's a Backup Backpack item ?)

2 : Hi-Res Binoculars are mentioned in a Pyramid Article , but no stats posted .

Any help on these is very welcome .
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Old 01-12-2022, 01:53 AM   #2
swordtart
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Default Re: Old Equipment : Stats & are they still Legal ?

Do you want them to be? :)

The Pedestrian Laser Battery is simply a Backpack Power Pack laid on the ground (See the entries for tripod light laser and laser rifle in UA 2035 catalogue), so they still exist as these are still used for the laser rifle etc. They are more expensive and have much lower capacity than the Laser Battery and this is plenty enough balance to compensate for the weight and space reduction in my book.

The issue would be normally we calculate the number of shots based on the PUs and use that to determine the number of shots for each laser type (since that tripod can now take more than just the light laser originally specified) and these are not specified for the pack, but we can simply back calculate that as the backpack power pack provides 12 shots for a light laser it has 12 PUs. That isn't a lot for a twin laser but it might be enough. Clearly you can use those PUs for other power draining equipment like Gauss guns (24 shots) or even radar jammers etc.

Can you cite the reference for Hi-Res binoculars as it could just be fluff text*. Binoculars in CW Tanks already reduce the range penalties for spotting by a significant margin (from -1 per 20" to -1 per 60", if you make it more than that you might as well ignore the penalty entirely) and there is no logical read across between Telescopic sights and the Hi-Res version as these go from 8" to 20".

To be honest I like having spotting rules, but the way they are implemented is not great. Spotting range should have a far greater effect as not only is the target further away and smaller, the arc that needs to be swept means you have less time per unit area to actually see a target.

I prefer to keep the spotting range penalties to the normal ranges penalties (so the same for weapon fire) and it is also one less rule to learn. I would allow std. binoculars to half the range increment before calculating penalties like telescopic sights do for shooting. You could read across from telescopic sights for the high-res version.

I also double the speed for calculating penalties when using telescopic sights sights (or quadruple for the Hi-Res version - these have a 16" range increment in our rules rather than 20" as it is more consistent and makes other rule mods easier) as it is much harder to track a fast moving object when it is magnified. This would read across to binoculars for spotting as well.

And standard telescopic sights / binoculars are not military, they are sporting goods.

This tends to make snipers effective at what they are supposed to be good at (finding a place to brace up and waiting until the target is stationary and hitting every time) rather than blatting away at fast moving targets and hitting only slightly less frequently.

But to be honest there are more issues with ranges shooting than just these.

*I have conducted a text search of all the Pyramids I have and can only find the word binoculars mentioned in two of them 3-3 has them in a setting article (Zippemart) but this isn't specifically Car Wars anyway. UA Catalog update 2050 mentions them in reference to blinding lasers. Neither mentions them as Hi-Res. My collection of text-searchable Pyramid Magazines is not comprehensive however.

Last edited by swordtart; 01-12-2022 at 06:03 AM.
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Old 01-19-2022, 04:50 PM   #3
Racer
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: London, UK
Default Re: Old Equipment : Stats & are they still Legal ?

We've played around with Ped Laser Battery stats & reckon on 20 PUs for 20lbs is fair - more so with the $1,000 cost .
The Laser Rifle would most likely get 30 shots out of it . As it's such a rare - and expensive - item , this has negligible effect on game balance . With two shots 'charge' already in the weapon , this brings it to a reasonable 32 .
A Tripod Gauss Gun is a truly nasty idea & will probably feature in future games .

Both myself and Big Mac have 'Hi-Res Binoculars' in our collection of notes : I had thought it was included in Recon in Force Scenario by a Certain Someone , in Pyramid #3 . But apparently not . We both noted it in 1999-2003 period , so assumed it was an item in another issue ?

I judged it to be a twice as effective Binocular - -1 per 120" - but needs a stand , to be used only when stationary & took x amount of seconds to use properly . Think of those bulky models w8th 4 inch plus wide lenses , used at rocket launches etc .

It's not a big deal , just another of the endless notes & photocopies we've accumulated that need clarification .
Thanks for your help :-)
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Old 01-20-2022, 02:38 PM   #4
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Default Re: Old Equipment : Stats & are they still Legal ?

Every time I see "tripod" weapons in _CW_, I think of _The Empire Strikes Back_, and the Snowtroopers trying to manhandle their tripod weapon into position; it doesn't go well. Similar tended to happen in _CW_ -- big, immobile, and even a gunshield didn't help much.
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Old 01-20-2022, 03:44 PM   #5
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Default Re: Old Equipment : Stats & are they still Legal ?

You say that until a concealed tripod mounted VMG on a highway overpass drills your roof...

Quote:
Originally Posted by 43Supporter View Post
Every time I see "tripod" weapons in _CW_, I think of _The Empire Strikes Back_, and the Snowtroopers trying to manhandle their tripod weapon into position; it doesn't go well. Similar tended to happen in _CW_ -- big, immobile, and even a gunshield didn't help much.
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Old 01-20-2022, 03:59 PM   #6
swordtart
 
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Default Re: Old Equipment : Stats & are they still Legal ?

If you haven't emplaced your tripod weapon before you expect to need it, you are an idiot who deserves to be outcompeted in the gene pool by the persons who PLAN their ambush.

If you you want to fire from the hip, save your dependents some of their inheritance by buying a AR instead. Then you can stumble into combat with your pants half down and still have a chance of dying semi-honourably.
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Old 01-21-2022, 01:47 PM   #7
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Default Re: Old Equipment : Stats & are they still Legal ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by juris View Post
You say that until a concealed tripod mounted VMG on a highway overpass drills your roof...
[snort] And you wonder why my convoys always include a helicopter? Or why my "road" designs don't look a thing like my "arena" designs? :)

The SO and The Me were discussing this just last night -- she's been going through my TSR _Car Wars_ solo adventures; I've been explaining to her how some of them were based on stuff pub'd in _ADQ_, and the differences between the two pub's. One point I made clear to her: Universal Turrets were not often seen in Arenas; on the road, there were a sine qua non.
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