Variable Fire Rocket Pod Cars

My latest design, Protactinium, was to flesh out the concept of having a Sedan with a VFRP & HRSWC to compete in Div20 (or if possible 15). Now, the Car Wars VFRP was introduced after my heyday (1987, when I was in junior-high), but in terms of 20th century weapons, it made sense. 

Yet the VFRP cost/weight/space ratio is offset by the low to-hit. To make rockets valuable, they either need to be in low-price cars (because everything is hard), ramming designs (+4 to hit), or laser guidance (which is insanely pricey for 30 rockets)

I also have a weakness for putting things in turrets, which means vans or campers, both which have their major vulnerabilities.

Anyway, before I add to the VFRP pile, I should catalog - just for my own benefit - my previous designs.

The existing cars

1. Protactinium, Div20 Sedan, front facing VFRP with HRSWC
2. Corps, Unlimited Van: smartlinked VFRP in 3sp turret & front, ITL & LGL with Hires targeting computer, gas engine
3. Battlestorm, Unlimited Camper, VFRP with mag in 3sp turret, ITL & LGL with cyberlink
4. Palladium, Unlimited Van, C/A frame, 3 space pop-up cupola with HR & ITL & LGL smartlinked to VFRP front, HRTC
5. Armydillo, RPG Van (because this has passengers), VFRP in 3sp turret, SWC
6. Blowout, Div70 Van, VFRP in 3sp turret, 4 RL (2 front, 2 back), all TL & LGL, smartlinks, HRTC
7. Osmium, Div70 Camper, VFRP in 3sp turret, LGL & HRSWC {Div30 option removes LGL}
8. Atlas, Div60 Van, VFRP in 3sp turret, ITL & LGL, HRSWC
9. Fenrir, Div50 Luxury, RL with mag in turret, VFRP front & back, TL & LGL for all 3, all smartlinked (BTW, this is a mess!)

Six of nine designs (4 vans & 2 campers) have the VFRP in a 3sp turret, 1 van that's a concept car with a pop-up cupola, but nearly all of them have a smartlink between targeting lasers. My most recent, Protactinium, is the only real low-price entry. Which is where I need to go.

Also, I think I can update my 3 MML designs to at least have the VFRP variant (as that was the whole point of introducing the weapon, no?)

Images: The above gif is a real world VFRP in a tank-killer helicopter. The below image is somehow SJG idea of the future weapon which is both bad art and implausible substitute for the real thing.

New Weapon: Retractable Tire Shredders

Retractable Tire Blades:  $250, 30lbs, 1 space, 0 DP.

This is something from James Bond and I included it in my replica of the Aston Martin DBV.

Those stats above are for the brushcutter, and while in general I think things should weigh more, I'm also a stickler for consistency.  The other model is the retractable wheelguards which are $250, 50lbs, and 1space per pair, which I'll add to this as well, but instead of front/back, "pair" will be per side.

The write-up for the brushcutter states: "Extends or retracts in one second. Extending or retracting [it] is a firing action." So we'll keep that as well.  In the movie, these came out of the center of the tires and were able to shred the target's tires and chew up the side metal.  I think that they must come out of the axle, and so I'm thinking that the car won't be able to turn when it's deployed.  Also, there should be a hazard for both vehicles while the damage is occurring.  Damage should occur for each second.

So, proposed rules are that once the blades are deployed, the car cannot turn the wheels or the blades will break.   Once extended, any vehicle component next to the blade will take 1d6 worth of damage per second of contact, depending on a 1d6 roll: 1-2 front tire, 3-4 side armor, 5-6 rear tire.  If tire is targeted, then WG/WH will be affected in their same rate as other targeting.  The attacking car sustains a D1 hazard, the targeted car sustains a D2.

Again, these rules are proposed.  This really needs to be playtested.

UPDATE: Reader "Pat G" suggests this modification, which I think makes sense: "can only make D1 maneuvers"- which would allow drifts into the target.

Stuff to have in Car Wars

As I only get into Car Wars every year in the early fall (I don't know why, but that is really what happens), I missed the announcement that they are going to be making a 6th edition.  I need to write the SJG folks with all my wonderful obsessive points and plans.  But even if the 6e stinks, I probably will stay in 2.5e with just a lot of home-brewed ideas. 

For some reason, this part of the game is my favorite, hence all my posts under the tag "weapon analysis".  I don't want full verisimilitude, but I think there needs to be some correspondence to what is useful in current anti-tank warfare (which is what CW is).

Part of the problem in calibrating the CW-RW (Car Wars - Real World) correspondence is that CW was slapped together with different mentalities over the 12 or so years of it's heyday (1981 to 1992; CWC2.5e was 1990, UACFH was 1992... although the pdf of CWC2.5 lists 1996 & 1998, so I wonder if that book is now more authoritative.)

I go through this part of the CW project/obsession every year as well.  It starts with analyzing the weapons, like the "The State of the Art, 2039,Part I", by Craig Sheeley and Charles Oines (and HTMLized by Gustav Dahlström); see all my blog posts for the whole Sturm und Drang.

What I want to do with this post is to get the notes down of what I think needs to be added, for now (unless noted, all pictures are from the linked Wiki article):

• Personal equipment:  Pistol Gripped Sawed Off Double Barreled Shotgun (PGSODBSG, or "Mad Max Gun" or even "Bronze Gun").  As I tipped off, this is the weapon of the police force, the Bronze, in the Mad Max movies.  And how can that *not* be in Car Wars?! (Note, the pic below is  from Rage, a computer game that came out in 2011, and I totally missed it!  It looks like a Mad Max/CW hybrid game, coooooool!)
  
• Mini-Multiple-Fire-Rocket-Pod (I wrote it up already, here). Cloest to the Hydra 70mm rocket system.
  
• Minigun - 30 cal gatling gun.  I've written about it here, and here, and I realize that I really should consolidate all of this.  Hrm.
  
• Grenade Machine Gun (GMG) - like the Mk 19, which was used even in Vietnam. 

• 25mm Chain Gun - the famed M242 Bushmaster, which could possibly be the CW "Autocannon"
  
• 20mm Autocannon - like the famed 20mm Oerlikon, back in use since WWII!, which could be the CW "heavy machine gun" 
  
• 40mm Bofors - This may be too big for standard CW vehicles.Still, it's an old military standby, in use since 1934!  
  
• 30mm Avenger - Oh baby, the best of the best, the 30mm GAU-8 Avenger.  For all I know, this could be the RFTG (6 spaces), the HVMG (3), or the GC (5).
  
• 25mm Equalizer - A lesser known Avenger type. To quote from the Wiki: "GAU-12/U Equalizer is a five-barrel 25 mm Gatling-type rotary cannon." (Pic from here).  Same quetions as above, is this the HMVG or GC?
  

I can add more later, but that's all for the ballistic weapon system.  Most antitank weapons nowadays are actually missiles and as far as I can tell, most of the missiles have been taken care of with the Aeroduel nonsense.  Since most CW cars are designed to carry laser guided rockets, that actually fits the current state of the art, and that wasn't the full intention of the CW designers.  Which shows that it actually makes sense.

Nifty Idea - Laser Paint Array

I don't know if this works, but I am proffering it as a nifty idea to be tested.  The working title is the Styx Laser Paint Array. This requires:

1. 4-5 laser reactive webs
2. a PS with a full load, and hooked up under the car so that if fired, it will put a paint cloud on the car itself.
3. a no-paint windshield (critical)
4. all of the webs hooked up to trigger the PS.  I think 1 link should take care of this; each array already costs a link each (as far as I know), and I'm rules-ruling that 1 is enough.

As you can piece together, the idea is that if any of the webs is triggered by a laser, the PS will fire.  PS (as opposed to SS) have 25 shots, so this will work for a whole battle.  With the no-paint windshield, your car will be unaffected (except for a constant paint bath; I recommend using glossy black), except if you have laser weapons - not a small drawback.

Total Styx Laser Paint Array system is: $2200, 75lb, 1 space, 2 DP =  (5 webs $500, 1 link $50, NPW $1000, PS $650/75/1/2).

Feedback desired.

State of the Art, 2011 Edition - Part 1, introduction

As seen in the obsessions about weapon analysis, I am committed to finding out what the Car Wars weapons are in our real world terms. Why?

1. Because even more than playing the game, I like designing cars (as this website attests) and the best cars to design are replicas of fictional entities (like James Bond vehicles) or of fearsome real-world vehicles (like the Apache helicopter).
2. Because in general, my imagination is engaged when I can picture the car's behavior using real-world analogues. I like the VMG not just because of game dynamics but because the real-world Vulcan, especially in the F-15 Eagle, is so awesome and practical. And, in contrast, since I can't imagine just what SJG means by an "autocannon" I have trouble with that weapon and the game world.
3. Because whenever new weapons are introduced by the game-makers or the fans, having real world cognates will help keep the game balanced. Even though I suggested that a MG and an RR aren't weapons but just the average guns for their sizes, at the same time the (idiotic) "blast cannon" was introduced as a large RR, and even the AC is supposed to be some large machine gun. What gives?

Just by going with game names alone, I was going to attempt to recreate the real-world cognates, starting with the "MG" as the 50 caliber M2A1 "Ma Deuce." This is based on the very first page of the very first booklet (c) 1981 which stated:

Eight years ago: "Crazy Joe" Harshman wins Fresno destruction derby by mounting a surplus .50-caliber machine gun in his Chevy.

That's as good as I can get to think that the MG in the original game is 50 caliber (and, probabilities being what they are, is the M2A1). This also meant that the M2 does 1d damage - and considering that M2s are used in an anti-aircraft role, even in 2011, 1d is a heckuva lot of damage!

Next easily identified weapon is the Vulcan Machine Gun. There actually is something called a Vulcan (see above) and it's 20mm with 3-6 barrels. One Vulcan is good enough for an F-15 to take down another fighter jet. Those babies do 2d damage, no problem compared to 50 cal's 1d. And the Gatling gun action explains the higher accuracy. These 2 weapons can give me a basic system, the Box Set System, to extrapolate. Or so I thought.

I was also told there's an "Anti-Tank Gun" (whose picture, in the first Uncle Al's, made it look like an actual tank gun), but there's not something like that term in common use. Recoilless Rifles are rarely used as well. And rocket launchers? That's either the Hydra 70mm system, or the simple Bazooka and its descendants. These did not adapt well to a real-life system. And that would have been OK, had the whole Car Wars Military scene not expanded in impossible directions. In real life, an Autocannon, for example, is just a big machine-gun. MFRP all come with ripple-fire and can be 19 shots - even at once.

All this confusion would be bad enough if the ADQ didn't introduce the first official comprehensive attempt to actually explain the whole system. According to "The State of the Art, 2039,Part I", By Craig Sheeley and Charles Oines (and HTMLized by Gustav Dahlström) make these claims about the weaponry of the Car Wars world (this is cut and pasted from the HTML site with sci-fi weaponry deleted and typos fixed):

Weapons Definitions

Machine Gun - A 5-6mm machine gun firing rifle charge rounds at a cyclic rate of about 1,200 rounds per minute. In use this figure is smaller, since the gun is not continually discharged. Most MGs use caseless-propellant rounds, although some use brass or plastic cased rounds. Cased-round MGs typically have a slower rate of fire, around 800 rpm.

Vulcan Machine Gun - A 5-6mm multi-barrel machine gun firing rounds identical to the MG but firing more of them. Typically VMGs have two to three barrels and fire at 2,000 rounds per minute, cyclic. VMGs always use caseless ammunition.

Autocannon - A 10-20mm cannon firing cased high-explosive rounds at a cyclic rate of 400-600 rounds per minute.

Recoilless Rifle - A 3Omm recoilless rifle, firing a 2-lb. high-explosive anti-tank fin-stabilized round in classic recoilless fashion. The muzzle velocity is low due to the lack of enough propellant to shoot the shell; the recoilless principle of 20% propellant to 80% backblast leaves the 21/2 lbs. of propellant too small for high-velocity. RR-armed cars can occasionally be identified by the "exhaust pipes" necessary for venting the backblast.

Anti-Tank Gun - A classic 37-40mm projectile gun; the base design is over 120 years old. The ATG fires a 4-5 lb. cased high-explosive or fin-stabilized, discarding-sabot round at fair muzzle velocity.

Blast Cannon - A 6Omm recoilless rifle, twice the size of the standard RR. It has the same drawbacks and strengths as the RR.

Tank Gun - A short-barreled 75mm/3" cannon firing high-explosive or fin-stabilized discarding-sabot rounds. (Unscrupulous advertisers have billed it as a 105mm gun in the past. This is a falsehood.) The base design of this cannon dates back 150 years.

Grenade Launcher - An automated grenade launcher, firing 1-lb. cased grenades with an auto-loading mechanism.

Mini Rocket - A 20mm rocket.

Light Rocket - A 25mm rocket. This is also the size used by VLAWs.

Micro-missile Launcher - A ten-shot launcher for 25mm rockets.

Six-Shooter - A six-shot ripple-fire launcher using 25mm rockets.

Variable-Fire Rocket Pod - A 30-shot advanced ripple-fire launcher for 25mm rockets.

Medium Rocket - A 40mm rocket. This is also the size used by LAWs.

Rocket Launcher - A ten-shot launcher for 4Omm rockets.

Heavy Rocket - A 67mm rocket. This is also the size used by bazookas.

Wire-Guided Missile - A 67mm warhead...
Radar-Guided Missile - A 67mm warhead...
Surface-to-Air Missile - An 80mm warhead...

Problems with this list.
Where to begin? Well, a 5mm MG is just laughable. That's called a "light machine gun" today and is definitely not used in an anti-armor role - which is what *all* weapons in Car Wars need to be continued (hence every gun is technically an anti-tank gun). An M249 cannot be expected to tear apart an armored car. And a 5mm Gatling Gun is called a micro-gun and is similarly not meant for vehicles.

Most of the State of the Art details are implausible and make my task much harder. Moreover, I believe many other weapons were developed by SJG based on the ADQ scale - and that frankly makes it worse and worse. The "Heavy Machine Gun" is hard to understand according to my Box Set System - because above 50 cal, a MG is called a cannon (or even an autocannon). But in the ADQ system, the HMG is probably the 50 cal MG.

So what I plan to do is analyze the whole system based on current real-life, doing the best I can with what is frankly a broken, or at least bifurcated, base.

Sources:

When doing research on weapons, I have needed to go to outside resources than my own military experience (health reasons kept me out of the main military but I have done my share of voluntary paramilitary defense work in the middle-east; nothing to brag about and I've never been under small arms fire, but my knowledge of things that go bang still needs to come from research).


1. Weapons: An International Encyclopedia from 5000 BC to 2000 AD, by The Diagram Group.
I fell in love with this book as a teenager, right when I started playing Car Wars. When I became an adult, with my own income, I had that realization one day that I could actually buy stuff I liked (a middle class child vs. middle class adult makes all the difference).


2. Encyclopedia of Modern U.S. Military Weapons by Timothy M. Laur.
This is a very comprehensive book that isn't for the guy looking for pretty pictures. It's detail rich and covers almost every aspect of what a weapons researcher would need.

3. The Intertubes. God Bless This Web.

Started 10-17-2010

Pyramid: Uncle Al's 2050 Catalog Supplement

Finally finally finally, Steve Jackson Games allowed their Car Wars articles up on the intertubes, including a long lost article on the [insert retching sound] Stickyfoam: Pyramid: Uncle Al's 2050 Catalog Supplement. Thanks to Michael Owens of SWAT for letting me know, here.

Here's the crucial data, just in case something happens:

Stickyfoam Sprayer (SfS) - $750, 25 lbs, 2 spaces, 3 DP; 25 shots ($30 and 2 lbs each). Loaded cost $1,500, loaded weight 75 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $800 and weighs 65 lbs. The sprayer mixes two binary chemicals to produce an instant 1" x 1/2" patch of stickyfoam. Any hazard suffered or maneuver performed on stickyfoam adds D4 to the difficulty; stickyfoam also does 1 point of damage to each tire and slows the vehicle down by 5 mph per 1/2" of stickyfoam crossed. Stickyfoam does not burn or melt, but its effects can be negated by Sand Ammo, Stickyfoam Neutraliser, or Superacid. Pedestrians entering a square with stickyfoam will be stuck fast until the foam biodegrades or is neutralised.

Catalytic Spikes -- $60 and 5 lbs each. Look just like regular spikes and are loaded in a regular spikedropper. A loaded magazine costs $650 and weighs 65 lbs. Does 1d damage to tires, no damage to solids, like regular spikes - but injects a chemical that continues to dissolve the rubber, doing 1 point of damage every second turn, even to solid tires, until the tire disintegrates completely. Plasticore tires will take 4 points of damage before being reduced to bare plastic; damage will then stop.

Crystal Spikes -- $30 and 4 lbs each. Do damage just like regular spikes and are loaded in a regular spikedropper. A loaded magazine costs $350 and weighs 45 lbs. Made of transparent plastic, Crystal Spikes can be seen on a roll of 1 at 6" distance, on a 1-2 at 5", on a 1-3 at 4", and so on; Visibility Targeting Modifiers apply. Not available in Catalytic, Explosive or Incendiary versions.

Pyrophoric Oil -- Any standard oil jet or discharger can drop Pyrophoric Oil. CPS 5x normal, WPS normal. Pyrophoric oil won't burst into flame until the pressure-sensitive microbeads inside are crushed, causing a chemical reaction (50 lbs to trigger anti-personnel version, 300 lbs to trigger anti-vehicle version) that ignites the slick. Damage and other effects as a Flaming Oil Jet. Volatile weapon.

Pic from the SJGames site.

New Weapons - From Other People 5 (Fluffy @ SJGames Thread)

From the SJGames Forum Thread on New Weapons: Author - Fluffy

1. Anti Missile System- (AMS) to hit 4, 2d+2 damage, 3DP, 3 sp, 650lbs, $6500, 5 shots, $140, 20 lbs per shot. Loaded cost $7200, loaded weight 750 lbs. Loaded mag $750/115 pounds. Area effect. Must be linked to a ATAD or Computer Gunner and set for a certain speed, firing at anything at that speed or faster. May be fired manually, but to hit is 6. May use no special ammo.
   
   
2. Gauss Needler (GN)- To hit 6, 2d damage, 2DP, 1sp, 250lbs, $4000, 10 shots, $15/5lbs per shot, loaded cost $4150, loaded weight 300lbs. Does half damage to vehicles. Area effect. Drains 1 PU per shot.
   
   
3. Heavy Anti-Power Plant Rocket (HAPPR)- To hit 9, damage 1d-2, $1700, 2DP, 1sp, 100lbs, 1 shot. Functions identically to the APPR, but has 3 anti-power plant warheads that scatter after the explosive is detonated. Roll three times for damage, and roll 3 times for location if hitting a random area.
   
   
4. Heavy Double Barreled Vehicular Shotgun- To hit 6, Damage 3 hits, $2200, 2DP, 1Sp, 185lbs, 10 shots, $3/2lbs per shot, loaded cost $2230, loaded weight 205 lbs. May fire one or two shots at a time, to hit determined separately.
   
   
5. Heavy Vehicular Shotgun-(HVS) To hit 6, Damage 3 hits, $1600, 2DP, 1Sp, 155lbs, 10 shots, $3/2lbs per shot, loaded cost $1630, loaded weight 175lbs. May load any shotgun round.
   
   
6. Laser Point Defense System (LPDS)- To hit 6, damage 1d-2, $6000, 2DP, 1 sp, 225lbs., area effect, drains 2 power units per shot. May fire up to three times aimed, or may be set on rapid fire, firing in a 1” long cone, similar to a beehive tank gun round, hitting on a each target on a 4 or better, doing only 1 point of damage to each target hit. This use drains 3 power units. The LPDS may not be made pulse.
   
   
7. Light Vulcan Machine Gun (LVMG)- To hit 6, damage 1d+2, 2DP, 1½ sp, $1700, 240 lbs, 20 shots, $30/3lbs per shot. Loaded cost $2300, loaded weight 300lbs, loaded mag $650, 75lbs., area effect. May use anti-personel and tracer ammo.
   
   
8. Mini-Grenade launcher (MGL)- To hit 7, damage as per grenade, 1DP, 1sp, $700, 125lbs, 5 shots, Cost as per grenade, 4lbs, 145lbs loaded, max range 25". Loaded Magazines weigh 35lbs.
   
   
9. Micro-Laser (McL)-To hit 6, 2hits damage, 0DP (Destroyed on first hit), $1500, 65lbs, 1/3sp, area effect. Drains ½ power unit per shot. If made pulse, does 3 hits of damage.
   
   
10. Mini-Laser (MiL)- To hit 6, 1d-2 damage (always at least one point), 1DP, $2500, 90lbs, ½ sp, area effect. Drains ½ power unit per shot.
    
    
11. Point Defense System (PDS) To hit NA, Damage as per Discharger type, 1 DP, $800, 120 lbs, 1 sp, 10 shots, 5lbs/ CPS as per discharger type. The PDS essentially is a plate that folds back in the vehicle and may be loaded with packs similar to dischargers. It may be mounted like any other weapon and while loaded is dealt with as far as targeting like a discharger. May use any discharger type except PDG’s.
    
    
12. Railgun (RG)- To hit 7, 7d +3 damage, 5DP, 6sp, $55000, 800lbs, 10shots, 10 lbs/$200 per shot, loaded cost $57, 000. Loaded mag 115lbs/$2050. Drains 4 power units per shot.
    
    
13. Road Bombs (RBmb) To Hit NA, 3d damage (see below), 2DP, 1 sp, $450, 100lbs, 1 shot, Burst effect. Road bombs are very large mines. They use the same counter as mines, and are encountered and detonated in the same fashion, but when they are hit do 3d damage in a 1/2 inch radius, to exposed armor and tires in that area. They have a 1d standard burst radius to everything one inch beyond that. May use proximity fuses. Road Bombs when first dropped can be set with a delay up from 1 phase up to 5 turns. Hitting a road bomb before it is armed is the same as hitting a debris counter.
    
    
14. Ultra Rocket (UR)-To hit 9, 6d damage, 2DP, 1 sp, $7500, 125lbs, 1 shot weapon, burst effect. May use all standard rocket modifications. Burst effect. Military Item.
    
    
15. Vehicular Automatic Weapon (VAW)- To hit 7, 1d+1 damage, 1DP, ½ sp, $850, 65 lbs, 1.5lb/$7.5 per shot, 10 shots, loaded cost $925, loaded weight 80lbs. Loaded mag, $125/30lbs. ½ damage to vehicles, may use anti-personnel ammo. Area effect.
    
    
16. Vehicular Autoshotgun (VASG)- To hit 6, damage special, 2DP, 2sp, $1600, 140lbs, 6lbs/$30 per shot, 10 shots, loaded cost 200lbs, $2300. Loaded mag, $350, 75lbs. The VASG rolls to hit normally, but hits with d6 shots, each doing 2 hits. At ranges of greater than 10”, subtract 1 from the roll (but never less than one). Treat each shot separately for purposes of damage to armor, but as one big group for purposes of hazard. May use slugs, and slug rounds are not lost due to range. Firing the VASG for cycles, as well as side mounted VASG on trikes and Sub-compacts is a D1 hazard. Area effect.
    
    
17. Vehicular Double Barreled Shotgun (VDBSG)- To hit 6, 2 hits damage, 2DP, 1sp, $$1450, 140lbs, 1lb/5 per shot, 10 shots, loaded cost $1460, loaded weight 150lbs. Loaded mag, $100, 20lbs. May use Slug ammo. May fire one or two shots at a time, to hit determined separately.
    
    
18. Vehicular GyroSlugger (VeGS)- to hit 9, 2d damage, 2DP, 1sp, $3000, 125lbs, 1lb/$100 per shot, 5 shots, loaded cost $3500, loaded weight 130lbs. Loaded mag $550/30lbs. Max range 15”, 20” if using a long barrel, in addition to other benefits. May use any other standard gyroslugger round, CPS as per round, WPS 1.
    
    
19. Vehicular Sub Machine Gun (VSMG)- To hit 6, 1d damage, 1DP, 1/3 sp, $950, 45lbs, 1 lb/$5 per shot, 5 shots, loaded cost $975, loaded weight 50lbs. Loaded mag $100/25lbs, (special: Extra magazines hold 10shots, not 5.) Area effect, may use anti-personnel ammo. Suffers double normal range penalties, ½ damage to vehicular components.
    
    
20. Velocity Gun (VG)- To hit 8, damage 1d+3, 2DP, 1sp, 290lbs, $2900, 10 shots, CPS 10, WPS 1, loaded cost $3000, loaded cost 300, Loaded mag, $150, 25lbs. ½ damage to DP items and pedestrians. May use DPU ammo.
    
    
21. Single Shot Grenade Launcher (SSGL)- To hit7, Damage as per grenade, 1DP, $250, 45lbs, ½ sp, 1 shot, Cost as per grenade, 4lbs, loaded weight 49lbs, max range 25", may not use extra magazines.
    
    
22. Single Shot Gyroslugger (SSGS)- To hit 8, Damage as per gyroslugger round, 1DP, $1750, 30lbs, ½ sp, 1 shot, CPS as per gyroslugger round, WPS 1, Loaded weight 31lbs, max range 15”, may not use extra magazines.

Ammunition

1. Armor Piercing Explosive - CPSx3, WPSx2. Maybe used in any weapon that may use HD ammo. APEX ammo does one extra point of damage per 2d (round up) to plastic armor. While it does not do extra damage to metal armor, it does remove one point of metal on any 5 or 6 on the damage die. It doesn’t have an appreciable burst radius, but doesn’t cancel any area effect.
   
   
2. Antipersonnel Grenade Shells- For pedestrian GL’s, GL’s only (no AGLs). Both are giant shotgun shells, and each only has a maximum range of 10”.
   
   
3. Dual Purpose- Lowers to hit roll by 1, does 1d damage, ½ to vehicles and tires.
   
   
4. Flechette- Lowers to hit roll by 1, 1d+1 damage to pedestrians and tires only.
   
   
5. Hardball (tm) ammo- CPS x2For Shotguns, Dbbl Shotguns, and Vehicular shotguns. Fires three hard plastic balls. No damage to vehicular components or tires, and only does 1 point to pedestrians. Any pedestrian hit is affected as if by a concussion grenade.
   
   
6. Laserproof missiles- Adds 10% to cost and weight of any missile. Missiles so modified are not harmed by laser fire.
   
   
7. Lizard Spit (tm) ammo- For Shotguns, Dbbl Shotguns and Vehicular shotguns. Turns your shotgun into a mini-flamethrower. +1point damage, burn modifier 2/1, Cost x10. On a to hit roll of 2, roll 1 die: 1 no extra effect, 2-5 weapon is taken to 0DP or otherwise rendered unfunctional [sic], 6- ammo explosion. When used in hand weapons, does 1 point to vehicular components and tires. Volatile. Max range 7"
   
   
8. Military Grade Explosive Rockets - Weight x1.5, cost x125. Single shot rockets only. Military Grade Explosive Rockets do 3x the listed damage, and may be made laser guided or armor piercing as per normal. MGE Mini-Rockets do 2d+2 dice of damage. May not be used to modify SR’s or UR’s as they both already use MGE.
   
   
9. Slug Ammo - For shotguns, Dbbl Shotguns, and Vehicular Shotguns. Adds one to the ‘to hit’ number, +1 damage. Cost x5.

New Weapons - From Other People 4 (Uncle Edgar)

Uncle Edgar (note, link now seems to be down)

Heavy Gauss Gun (HGG) – To-hit 6, $15,000, 500 lbs., 3 spaces, 3 DP, 5d6 damage, 10 shots, CPS 75, WPS 15. Loaded cost $15,750, Loaded weight 650 lbs., Magazine cost $800, Magazine weight 165 lbs. Area effect. Drains 3 power units per shot.

Gauss Cannon (GCn) – To-hit 7, $30,000, 800 lbs., 4 spaces, 4 DP, 6d6+12 damage, 10 shots, CPS 25, WPS 5. Loaded cost $30,250, Loaded weight 850 lbs., Magazine cost $300, Magazine weight 65 lbs. Drains 5 power units per shot. The GCn can only be mounted on oversized vehicles.

Light X-Ray Laser (LtXL) – To-hit 7, $10,000, 500 lbs., 2 spaces, 3 DP, 3d6 damage. Area effect. Drains 3 power units per shot. The LtXL can be pulse-modified but cannot use IR or BG optics. Like its larger cousins, LtXL is not compatible with the LGL.

Automatic-Fire Grenade Launcher -- To-hit 7, $5,000, 250 lbs., 2 spaces, 3 DP, damage by grenade type, 30 AF grenades, CPS 20 plus grenade cost, WPS 5.

The AFGL may have different grenade types may be mixed in the magazine but the order of the rounds must be recorded. Rotary magazines can be installed for half cost ($250) and normal weight (10 lbs.) to the AFGL and its magazines. This revision of the AFGL description is meant to correct the errata and implicit rules regarding magazines in the AFGL descriptions given in ADQ 9/2, p.5 and UACFH, p.18.

New Weapons - From Other People 3b (MIB 1473)

From MIB 1473 (SJGames Forum)

LMG: 1d-1, to-hit 7, 20 shots, $?, 150lbs, 1 space
LVMG (proposed): 1d+1, to-hit 6, 20 shots, $X, 325lbs, 1 space
MG: 1d, to-hit 7, 20 shots, $1500, 200lbs, 1 space
VMG: 2d, to-hit 6, 20 shots, $2700, 450lbs, 2 spaces
HMG: 2d-2, to-hit 7, 20 shots, $?, 350lbs, 1 space
HVMG (proposed): 3d, to-hit 6, $X, 750lbs, 3 spaces
AC (proposed): 3d, to-hit 7, $X, 600lbs, 2 spaces
GC (proposed): 6d, to-hit 6, $X, 1100 lbs, 4 spaces
HAC (proposed): 4d, to-hit 7, $X, 800lbs, 3 spaces
HGC (proposed): 8d, to-hit 6, $X, 1400lbs, 5 spaces

New Weapons - From Other People 3a (DSumner)

From DSumner (SJGames Forum) - The [brackets] has the link to the original forum post:

Improved Vehicular Shotgun [DSumner]: Area Effect, To Hit 6, 2 hits damage, 2 DP, $750, 100lbs., 1 space, 25 shots, CPS 10, WPS 2, Loaded Cost $1,000, Loaded Weight 150 lbs, loaded extra magazine costs $300 and weighs 65.

Improved Tracer Ammo [DSumner]: CPS 2x normal cost, WPS normal. +2 to hit for second consecutive shot, +3 for third consecutive shot. Fire modifier 1; Burn modifier 1. (real life tracer ammo starts fires as it burns, I also don't see why it would do less damage than regular ammo).

Improved Light Machine Gun [DSumner]: $850, 100 lbs., 1 space, 2 DP. To Hit 7, 1d3 damage, 20 shots ($20 and 2.5 lbs. each). Loaded cost $1,250, loaded weight 150 lbs.; loaded magazine cost $450 and weighs 65 lbs. Area effect. Can use HD, tracer, anti-personnel and explosive ammo.

Improved Autocannon [DSumner]: $3,500, 500 lbs., 3 spaces, 4 DP. To Hit 6, 3d damage, 10 shots ($75 and 10 lbs. each). Loaded cost $4,250, loaded weight 600 lbs.; loaded magazine cost $800 and weighs 115 lbs. Area effect. Can use HD, Proximity, Incendiary, Tracer, Explosive (modern day AC use Tracer and Explosive rounds, so why not the CW version?), and Depleted Uranium ammo.

Improved Grenade Launcher [DSumner]: $1,000, 175 lbs., 2 spaces, 2 DP. To Hit 7, damage by grenade type, 20 shots CPS by grenade type, WPS 2.5; loaded weight 225 lbs.; loaded magazine weighs 65 lbs. Area effect. May use any type of grenade ammo. Ammo from vehicle mounted GL detonate on impact and do full damage to vehicles.

Light Grenade Launcher [DSumner]: $750, 150 lbs., 1 spaces, 2 DP. To Hit 7, damage by grenade type, 10 shots CPS by grenade type, WPS 2.5; loaded weight 175 lbs.; loaded magazine weighs 40 lbs. Area effect. May use any type of grenade ammo. Ammo from vehicle mounted GL detonate on impact and do full damage to vehicles.

Improved Autocannon 2.2 [DSumner]: $6,000, 550 lbs., 3 spaces, 4 DP. To Hit 6, 3d damage, 20 shots ($50 and 7.5 lbs. each). Loaded cost $7,000, loaded weight 700 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $1,050 and weighs 165 lbs. Burst effect. Can use HD, Proximity, Incendiary, Anti-Personnel, and Depleted Uranium ammo.

Update:

Caseless Ammo: 3x cost, ½ weight of normal ammo. Available for MG, VMG, and AC.

Magnetic Pulse Mines: Only available for Spear 1000 Mine Droppers. 1d-1 damage, CPS 150, WPS 10. If an electric power plant is damaged by this weapon (even a single point), the vehicle’s electrical system short-circuits and the power plant immediately looses all power and shuts down. It does not affect internal combustion (IC) engines or independently-powered devices, such as lasers with laser batteries. A short-circuited power plant can be recharged normally.

Smart Mines: 1.5 x the normal CPS, normal weight. Smart Mines are equipped with an IFF system that prevents them from being detonated by the vehicle that dropped them. They are also equipped with safety feature that prevents them from detonating, while the vehicle that dropped them is within the weapon's blast radius. For 2 x the normal cost they can be set to ignore multiple vehicles (i.e. ignore all "Team Foxfire" vehicles, ignore all motorcyles), or set to only detonate for certain types of vehicles.

Update:

GRENADES

Mini-Grenades: $20, ½ grenade equivalent, 2 hits damage, ¼ blast radius. No damage to vehicles.

Monofilament Grenade - $35. Does 1d+2 damage to all pedestrians and exposed cyclists in a 2” burst radius. No damage to tires or vehicle components.

Flame Cloud Grenade - $75. Creates a 1” X 1/2” counter that acts like a standard Flame Cloud.

Sleep Gas Grenade - $100, Creates a colorless, odorless 1” X 1/2” cloud that lasts for 30 seconds. Unprotected pedestrians and cyclists must roll once per turn every turn they are in the cloud. Multiple rolls don’t produce cumulative results – Just apply the worst results rolled so far.

1-2 Character is unconscious for 10 minutes.
3-5 Character is unconscious for 5 minutes, and can do nothing for the next 3 minutes.
6 Character is -6 to hit with any weapon and can only crawl 3 spaces per turn.

PERSONAL WEAPONS

Pepper Spray - $35, 1/2 Grenade Equivalent, 5 to hit, $35, shots 5. Pepper Spray is only usable at point blank range.

1-3 Character is -2 to hit with any weapon for 1 minute.
4-5 Character is -6 to hit with any weapon and can make no HTH attacks for 1 minute.
6 Character -6 to hit with any weapon and can only crawl 3 spaces per turn for 30 seconds.

Auto Shotgun - 2 Grenade Equivalent, 3 hits damage, 6 to hit, $175, shots 10, CPS 5, Loaded Cost $225.

Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) - 4 GE (15 lbs.), 1d3 damage, 7 to hit, $500, shots 20, CPS 15, Loaded Cost $800. Extra magazines are 1 GE (3 lbs.) each. Full damage to vehicles.

Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG): 3 GE, 1d damage, 8 to hit, $750, shots 1, CPS 35, Loaded Cost $785. Extra RPG rounds are 1 GE each, and take 2 seconds to reload. A character reloading can take no other action.

MINES

Anti-Personnel Mines (APM): $35. 2d damage to all pedestrians and exposed cyclists in a 2” radius and 1d damage in a 1" radius. 1/2 damage to tires, 1 grenade equivalent.

Bounding Anti-Personnel Mines: $60. 1D6+3 to all pedestrians and exposed cyclists in a 2” burst radius. No damage to vehicles. 1 grenade equivalent. When triggered, Bounding AP Mines fire a small canister of steel ball-bearings into the air. The canister detonates spraying the surrounding area with its contents.

“Toe Popper” Anti-Personnel Mines: $20. 2 hits damage to pedestrians. 1/4" blast radius. ½ grenade equivalent. “Toe Popper” AP mines are small explosive charges designed to wound or maim their targets.

ACCESSORIES

Weapon Light: $50. Adds one grenade equivalent to any weapon it's attached to. Weapons Lights may be used at night, or in any un-lit area, to illuminate targets up to 4” away. When used, they eliminate all nighttime targeting modifiers. Weapon Lights may also be used to blind a target, following the same guidelines as vehicle searchlights. Weapon Lights may be attached to any pistol, rifle, shotgun, sub-machinegun, gyroslugger, or SAW.

Update:

MUNITIONS

Micro Rockets: To hit 9, ¼ space, 2 hits damage, CPS 35, WPS 10.

High Velocity Grenade Launcher Ammo: 1d+2 damage, CPS 35, WPS 5, 1" Burst Radius. Available for GL and AGL.

“Mag Shot” Hi-Density Gauss Ammo: CPS 2x normal, WPS1.5 x normal, +1 point damage per die damage.

SPECIALTY MUNITIONS

Laser Guided Bombs: $500 for electronics and laser tuning, plus $250 per guided bomb; no weight or space. LGL may be used with regular Bombs, Cluster Bombs, and Napalm. Laser Guided Bombs follow the same basic targeting rules as laser guided missiles.

DROPPED SOLIDS

Acid Mines (AM): CPS 75, WPS 5. Any vehicle detonating an Acid Mine will have its tires and underbody coated with a caustic brew of highly corrosive chemicals, which inflicts 2 hits damage to both the tires and underbody for 1d6 turns.

DROPPED GASES

Acid Cloud Ejector (ACE): 1 hit damage, $750, 50lbs, 1 DP, 2 spaces, 10 Shots, CPS 50, WPS 5, Loaded Cost $1,250 weight 100lbs. Magazine costs $550, weighs 65lbs. When fired an Acid Cloud Ejector creates what appears to be a normal 1" x ½" cloud of paint, that lasts for 3 turns. Any vehicle, or pedestrian, passing through the cloud is coated with a highly corrosive solvent, that will inflict 1 hit to every exposed vehicle component, and armor location, every turn they're in the cloud, and then for an additional 1d6 turns after passing through the cloud.

Special thanks to kjamma4, for letting me use the "ACE" name

DROPPED LIQUIDS

Corrosive Oil: CPS 5x normal, WPS normal. Any standard Oil Jet, Fluid Gun, or Oil Discharger can drop Corrosive Oil. Corrosive Oil can not be mixed with other oil ammunition in the same magazine. A loaded magazine costs $675, weighs 65lbs. Creates what appears to be a standard ½”x1” oil counter. Any vehicle tire coming in contact with any part of the counter suffers 1d-1 damage each turn it’s in contact with the counter.

DEFENSIVE

Laser Inhibiting Aerosol - CPS 2.5x normal, WPS 2x normal weight. Looks and works like a normal smoke screen, but blocks all laser fire. Available for SS, HDSS, and GS.

Laser Safe Windshield - $250. Protects the vehicle's occupants from the effects of Blinding Lasers.

Misc...

Thunderkit Power Plant: $4,000, Weight 275lbs, 3 Spaces, 7 DP, 1,500 Power Factors.

More:

Exothermic Foam: Fire modifier 2, burn duration 2. CPS 3 x normal. WPS normal. ExoFoam looks and acts just like regular Sticky Foam and can be loaded into any standard Sticky Foam Sprayer or Discharger. Any vehicle coming into contact with the counter will have its tires coated with a chemical gel that causes its tires to heat up, and spontaneously combust. Each full turn a vehicle spends in contact with a Exothermic Foam counter, or each additional 1” of Exothermic Foam crossed, adds an additional burn modifier of 1 to the vehicle’s tires. The chemical's effects begin to dissipate after 10 seconds, with the gel’s burn modifier dropping by “1” for every 3 seconds of time elapsed, after the initial 10 second "burn" until it becomes inert. Pedestrians coming into contact with the foam suffer 1 hit per turn they are in contact with a counter.

More:
Crystal Explosive Spikes: x5 normal cost, normal weight. Sighting rules as per Crystal Spikes. All other stats as per Explosive Spikes.

New Weapons - From Other People 2 (Oliver Bollmann)

From Oliver Bollmann. I marked entries with "@" if they are original game concepts. Oliver performed the logical progression for these existing weapons. As I've said before, some of these I'd like, others are gratuitous, but the best thing about Oliver's work is its consistency and thoroughness.

Machine Gun Family

@Light Machine Gun, LMG (7.62mm), Hit 7, Dam 1d-1, DP 2, U.Cost $850, U.Wt. 100, Sp. 1, Shots 25, CPS 20, WPS 2.5, Area

@Machine Gun, MG (12.7mm), Hit 7, Dam 1d, DP 3, UCost $1000, UWt. 150, Sp. 1, Shots 20, CPS 25, WPS 2.5, Area

@Heavy Machine Gun, HMG (15mm), Hit 7, Dam 1.5d, DP 3, UCost $1500, UWt. 225, Sp. 1, Shots 20, CPS 30, WPS 5, Area

@Vulcan Machine Gun, VMG (20mm), Hit 6, Dam 2d, DP 4, UCost $2000, UWt. 350, Sp. 2, Shots 20, CPS 35, WPS 5, Area

Bushmaster MG, BMG (25mm), Hit 6, Dam 2.5d, DP 4, UCost $2750, UWt. 425, Sp. 2, Shots 15, CPS 45, WPS 7.5, Area

Gatling Machine Gun, GMG, Hit 6, Dam 3d, DP 5, UCost $3750, UWt 500, Sp. 3, Shots 15, CPS 55, WPS 10, Area, No Turret Mount on non OS

Heavy Gatling MG, HGMG, Hit 6, Dam 3.5d, DP 5, UCost $5000, UWt 575, Sp. 3, Shots 15, CPS 65, WPS 12.5, Area, No Turret Mount on non OS

Heavy Vulcan Machine Gun, HVMG, Hit 6, Dam 4d, DP 5, UCost $7000, UWt 650, Sp. 3, Shots 10, CPS 75, WPS 15, Area, F/B Only on Non Oversized, w/ D1

Avenger Machine Gun, AMG (30mm), Hit 6, Dam 5d, DP 5, UCost $10000, UWt 750, Sp 5, Shots 10, CPS 100, WPS 20, Area, F/B Oversized Only w/ D2

@Autocannon, AC (30mm), Hit 6, Dam 3d, DP 4, UCost $6500, UWt 500, Sp 3, Shots 10, CPS 75, WPS 10, 2" Burst Effect

Heavy Autocannon, HAC (35mm), Hit 6, Dam 4d, DP 5, UCost $6750, UWt. 625, Sp. 4, Shots 10, CPS 125 WPS 12.5, Burst, F/B only on Non OS w/ D2, D1 Side OS

Very Heavy Autocannon, VHAC (40mm), Hit 6, Dam 5d, DP 5, UCost $7000, UWt. 750, Sp. 5, Shots 10 CPS 175, WPS 15, Burst, F/B Oversized only w/ D2

*½ D is a D3 – Roll 1d6 and divide by 2, rounding up.

Gauss Guns

Very Light Gauss Gun, VLGG, Hit 6, Dam 1d, DP 3, UCost $3000, UWt 75, Sp. 1, Shots 20, CPS 10 WPS 2.5, 1/8 PU per shot

Light Gauss Gun, LGG, Hit 6, Dam 2d, DP 3, UCost $6000, UWt 175, Sp. 1, Shots 15, CPS 15 WPS 5, ¼ PU per shot

@Gauss Gun, GG, Hit 6, Dam 3d, DP 3, UCost $10000, UWt 300, Sp. 2, Shots 10, CPS 25 WPS 10, ½ PU per shot

Heavy Gauss Gun, HGG, Hit 6, Dam 4d, DP 4, UCost $15000, UWt 450, Sp. 3, Shots 10, CPS 35 WPS 12.5, 1 PU per shot

Very Heavy Gauss Gun, VHGG, Hit 6, Dam 5d, DP 4, UCost $20000, UWt 625, Sp. 4, Shots 10, CPS 45 WPS 15, 2 PU per shot

Ultra Heavy Gauss Gun, UHGG, Hit 6, Dam 6d, DP 4, UCost $30000, UWt 825, Sp. 5, Shots 10, CPS 55 WPS 17.5, 3 PU per shot

Recoilless Rifles

Light Recoilless Rifle, LRR, Hit 7, Dam 1d, DP 3, Ucost $750, UWt 200, Sp. 1, Shots 10, CPS 35, WPS 5, Burst

@Recoilless Rifle, RR, Hit 7, Dam 2d, DP 4, Ucost $1500, UWt 300, Sp. 2, Shots 10, CPS 35, WPS 5, Burst

Light Blast Cannon, LBC, Hit 7, Dam 3d, DP 4, Ucost $3000, UWt 400, Sp. 3, Shots 10, CPS 65, WPS 10, Burst

@Blast Cannon, BC, Hit 7, Dam 4d, DP 5, Ucost $4500, UWt 500, Sp. 4, Shots 10, CPS $100, WPS 10, Burst

Heavy Blast Cannon, HBC, Hit 7, Dam 5d, DP 6, Ucost $6000, UWt 650, Sp. 5, Shots 10, CPS $125, WPS 12.5, Burst

Very Heavy Blast Cannon, VHBC, Hit 7, Dam 6d, DP 8, Ucost $7500, UWt 825, Sp. 7, Shots 10, CPS $125, WPS 12.5, Burst

Heavy Recoilless Rifle, HRR, Hit 7, Dam 7d, DP 9, Ucost $9000, UWt 1000, Sp. 8, Shots 10, CPS $150, WPS 15, Burst

Very Heavy Recoilless Rifle, VHRR, Hit 7, Dam 8d, DP 10, Ucost $11000, UWt 1200, Sp. 9, Shots 10, CPS $250, WPS 15, Burst

New Weapon: Mini-MFRP

Of all the new weapons I've proposed see the whole series (1-2-3-4-5) the only one that I'm sure is good, necessary, and won't upset game balance, is the Mini Multiple Fire Rocket Pod (MMFRP). I'll use this as the first design challenge to work out game dynamics.

The real life model for this weapon is rather common system used on helicopters and attack planes. One example is here (where the first image is from). Many people assumed that the Micro-Missile Launcher is supposed to be this weapon, based on the picture (see to the right, taken from Uncle Al's 2035 guide) and it's misname.

The model for the new weapon is the "Six Shooter" - the Multiple Fire Rocket Pod. The original rules set for a Heavy Rocket and the MFRP was like 2 HR's, but different. And, when the MFRP was introduced, so too were mini-rockets, and the MFRP was kinda like 6 of those.

• HR = dam 3d, 2 DP, $200, 100 lbs, Sp. 1, 2" burst
  
• 2 HR = dam 3dx2, 4 DP, $450, 200, Sp. 2, 2" burst
  
• MFR = dam 1dx6, 3 DP (1/2 DP each), $450, 150 lbs, 2 Sp., 2" burst
  
• 1 MnR = dam 1d-1, 1 DP, $50, 20 lbs, Sp. 1/3, 1/2" burst
  
• 6 MnR = dam 6d-6, 6 DP, $350, 120 lbs, Sp. 2, 1/2" burst (price includes link)

For some reason, the MFR allows a greater blast radius, but it can't accept special munitions. The MnR is lighter than the MFR, but less damage. 2 (linked) HR is the same price as the MFR, but heavier, yet can be fitted with special munitions/warhead.

It's possible that just halving the MFR will get what we need: MMFR = to hit 9, dam 1dx3, 2 DP*, $225, 75 lbs, 1 space, 1" burst. (DP = 1st shot destroys 2 rockets, second shot the final rocket and the weapon housing). Compare to 3 Mini-Rockets: 3 MnR = dam 3d-3, 3 DP, $200, 60 lbs, Sp. 1, 1/2" burst (price includes link)

It's possible, and more in line with the real world munition, that the MMFR should be 6 mini-mini-rockets, 0.5 dam per rocket.

Also, I guess for game balance the special warheads were forbidden for the MFR, but there may be a way of re-introducing them. For now, this is the prototype:

Mini Multiple Fire Rocket Pod, MMFR, to hit 9, dam 1dx3, 2 DP*, $225, 75 lbs, 1 space, 1" burst. (DP = 1st shot destroys 2 rockets, second shot the final rocket and the weapon housing)

Weapon Analysis - Part 5 (The New Weapons)

Part 3 of this series (see 1 & 2), came up with these new weapon possibilities:

1. Railgun (3 space Gauss Gun)
   
2. Light & Heavy Mortars (in new category that combines Grenade Launchers & Shotguns)
   
3. Light & Medium Howitzers (new category to re-house the ol' ATG)
   
4. AC moved to MG family, modify the HVMG
   
5. or AC in own family, move VMG into that, add new weapon: minigun, then change HMG into a 2 space weapon
   
6. Light and Heavy Recoilless Rifles
   
7. Heavy Rocket Launcher (3 space in guided-rocket category)
   
8. Mini Multiple Fire Rocket Pod (1 space unguided rocket)

Part 4 of this analysis described the different needs of game balance in general, without specific categories. Based on the earlier posts, and irrespective of the system analysis in part 3, here are the gaps in the offensive weapons:

1. No 6-accuracy burst weapons outside of Autocannon
   
2. related to that: only rockets are one space burst weapons
   
3. no 3 space, 7-accuracy weapon
   
4. no 3 space, 6-accuracy area effect weapon
   
5. very few options with 8-accuracy weapons

Based on comparing the two lists, do the new weapons help or hurt game balance?

1. Railgun - I admit that I've wanted this weapon in Car Wars ever since I played Quake3, and it would be the 3-space 6-accuracy area-effect weapon (if we keep the Autocannon as burst effect)
   
2. Mortars - Part of me wants mortars because doggonit, they exist! And they're useful as small "artillery" weapons. At least they should be available for pedestrians, no? But for cars, they would be a way of adding the small space, low accuracy weapons (with a number of special modifiers given the high-lobbing trajectory of mortar rounds balanced with the purposeful shrapnel damage, which I guess is in every 'burst effect' weapon. This is less than necessary, except as a non-rocket based 9-accuracy weapon.
   
3. Howitzers - This would expand the 8-accuracy field away from exclusively rockets. I think it's necessary.
   
4. Heavy Vulcan (Modified) - not really necessary, but I like to be thorough.
   
5. Minigun - Only necessary if we keep Autocannon in it's own category (i.e. gatling guns). I like it also as a 6-accuracy 1 -space weapon, but that will probably skew the game.
   
6. Heavy Machine Gun - I think that the Heavy MG is a rule flaw; 1 space 2 dice weapon?! And a Light Laser is only 1d? Anyway, I think it should be moved up to 2 spaces and rules modified accordingly.
   
7. Light & Heavy Recoilless Rifles - I think this is a more necessary fill, for 7-accuracy burst effects (the Blast Cannon should have made this inevitable)
   
8. Heavy Rocket Launcher - seems natural but may be unnecessary
   
9. Mini Multiple Fire Rocket Pod - I'm really surprised this hasn't been done yet.

Other Ideas I've toyed with some other ideas that just seem to be natural (as I see from others): heavier shotguns, grenade droppers, etc. but I will try to post the above ideas first.

Weapon Analysis - Part 4 (Game Balance Issues)

Part 3 of this series (see 1 & 2), came up with new weapon possibilities. But as I described in part 1, and part 4, all these nifty ideas are secondary to the necessities of game balance.

We should elaborate the game balance issue for things beyond straightforward cost/weight/space/damage (because it's not set out clearly in the rulebooks and lists). Here are the special issues:

1. Area vs. Burst effect
   
2. Volatility
   
3. Shot Number
   
4. Hazards
   
5. Benefits
   
6. DP (Damage Points)

Area vs. Burst

In the original game, area vs. burst was a nonsense/RPG issue. Unless you were aiming at pedestrians, who cares if the gun is area or burst? In the age of metal armor, it's a big difference (especially with HESH ammo): area weapons strip off metal armor on a 6 on a damage die, burst effect on a 5 or 6. So the fact that there's no 1 space, 7 accuracy, burst effect weapon has ramifications.

• Area
  • all Machine guns & ammo except explosive
    
  • FG, VS, GG, all Lasers, all Flamethrowers
• Burst
  • all the following (excepting the special ammo in "neither" below): RR, AC, bombs, BC, GL*, ATG, TG, all rockets, all missiles, all torpedos, depth charges, and mines (MD etc).
    
  • Possibly the Cloud Bomb (CBSS) - who knows
• Neither
  • Armor Piercing ammo for all rockets,
    
  • HEAT, HESH, APFSDS ammo

Incendiary and/or Volatile Weaponry

Which weapons are "volatile"? There's no list in UACFH, no index entry in the CWC2. The CWC2 (p31) states that your car will catch fire if hit by incendiary weapons - natch - but also if a some weapons are hit by enemy fire (2 in 6 chance), and 4 in 6 chance if those weapons are hit by other volatile weapon. And if a car is on fire, then certain weapons can explode the car. A keyword in making sense of this mess is that some weapons are "incendiary" and some are "volatile" and it's bad to mix the two. All incendiary seem to be also volatile, but not vice-versa.

Incendiary is easy to figure out (either the ammo is called 'incendiary' or there's the word "flame/fire" in the title), but which are the volatiles? Here's the list according to what I can piece together from the CWC2 & UACFH:

1. Incendiary (and thus Volatile)
   1. Any weapon with incendiary ammo
      
   2. any flamethrower
      
   3. Flaming Oil Jets (FOJ, HDFOJ
      
   4. Flame Cloud Ejectors (FCE, HDFCE, FCGS)
2. Volatile Without Being Incendiary
   1. Depth Charges (UACFH p.15)
      
   2. All missiles (SAM, AAM, RGM, WGM etc)
      
   3. All rockets (MML, RL, HR, MFR, VFRP etc)
      
   4. All torpedos (whatever)
      
   5. Anti-Tank Guns & Tank Guns
      
   6. Rocket boosters & jump jets
3. Not Volatile But Should Be - Prob. Because of a mistake
   1. Bombs (UACFH doesn't say anything, see p.10-11)
      
   2. Minedropper ammo (UACFH doesn't say anything, see p.15)
      
   3. Dischargers of incendiary material (Flaming Oil, Flaming Cloud)
4. Not Volatile But Should Be - For Game Balance
   1. Any burst effect weapon (e.g. AC, GL, RR, BC) - the reason why not could be the quantity of explosive in a RR round is less than in the ATG. But then the Blast Cannon should definitely be volatile!
      
   2. Hot Smoke (this is my pet-peeve, see my rant here)

Volatility is an issue for three things 1. Setting on fire, 2. getting on fire, and explosion.

Incendiary weapons can set a vehicle ablaze according to certain modifiers (see a chart somewhere), but non-incen. volatile weapons (e.g. ATG) won't do this. Volatile & incendiary weapons (and your power plant), if hit by enemy fire, can set your own car on fire on a 1 or 2 on a d6. If the volatile weapon is hit by an incendiary weapon OR a laser (which is itself not volatile) then your car will catch fire on a 1,2,3,or 4 on a d6.

If a car on fire has a volatile weapon then the car will explode on a 1 on a d6.

Shot Number

This mainly comes into contrast between the Machine Gun family and the rest. Also the Mine Flinger and other defensive weapons, e.g. the Oil Jet vs. Smokescreen (25 or 10). No real need for a chart here (even for my OCD).

Hazards

In this category are detriments from firing the weapon (this could include the danger of housing a volatile weapon, but that's in its own list):

1. the handling class hazard when firing the ATG,
   
2. the power-draining from Lasers and GGs,
   
3. Radar guided missiles need a certain distance to be active (and other mishugass)
   
4. Wire guided missiles can't be fired while moving
   
5. It used to be that Flamethrowers couldn't be fired forward, no longer.

Benefits

This category includes all the extra effects of the weapon beyond causing damage:

1. Flamethrowers and Lasers are automatically incendiary (no need for special ammunition).
   
2. Gauss Guns are silent (whoop-de-doo)
   
3. Flamethrowers & FOJ create a smokescreen
   
4. FCE & FOJ create a hot-smoke SS

DP

Sometimes it matters that your weapon is sturdy (RR, HMG) or not (RL, Laser). The drop spike plate is a classic example of as close to a possible DP-sink there is.

Conclusion

When seeking to add new weapons, game balance must be preserved in all categories - not only in spaces/weight/cost/damage but in the other factors like DP, volatility, area vs. burst effect, and miscellaneous benefits and hazards.

Weapon Analysis - Part 3 (Weapon Ideas)

In part 1 we looked at the basic game setup, part 2 analyzed the game's basic weapon systems, this post will see what can possibly be added and/or changed.

Two websites that have done a similar analysis, and given game proposals, are the friendly killers of NOVA and this article (PDF) by PDF Oliver Bollmann (main site here).

The three problems we came up with from the previous analysis were:

1. Consolidation of weapon categories (e.g. AC into MG)
   
2. Categories without full distribution (e.g. RR, ATG)
   
3. Possible missing weapon systems (e.g. mortars).

Problem #1 & 2 can be combined. The simple recommendations are these:

1. Autocannons be part of the Machine Gun family with the same stats. The 6-accuracy is like the vulcan and the fewer shots (10 from 20) is indicative of the higher rate of fire for the same caliber ammunition. The only change is that the AC should be area effect (like all weapons which depend on making holes in the target as opposed to applying concussive/blast force). This means modifying the HVMG into a legal item, like the "blast cannon".
   
2. "Anti-Tank Gun" is a misnomer; everything that can pierce tank armor is anti-tank (grenades, rockets, recoilless rifles). This is just a small artillery piece (as the classic "State of the Art" articles by Sheely & Olnes established). As such, I'd like name this category "howitzers" to distinguish it from the mortars (see below), recoilless rifles, and the bona-fide artillery pieces which aren't allowed in the AADA arena (and are called tank-guns). This category is ripe for scaling-expansion.
   
3. "Blast Cannon," like "anti-tank gun," a misnomer for a large-caliber recoilless rifle; this category also needs to be expanded
   
4. "Rocket launcher" - as I analyzed here, the Car Wars RL is in fact a rocket-propelled grenade. And, like the ATG & RR, should be scaled to allow greater "caliber"s (in this case, sizes of explosive). Thus "micro-missile launcher" is another misnomer. The basic difference between a missile and a rocket is guidance. As such, the current Car Wars systems of (guided) rocket (MML, RL), (unguided) rocket (HR, MFR), and missile (WGM, RGM, SAM etc), needs to be clarified. My best guess is that an 8-accuracy is a guided small explosive (real world RPG): the warhead is small and the weapon's space in the car is used for aiming and for velocity, 9-accuracy is for a generally unaimed large warhead rocket, and 6 or 7 (the Car Wars "missiles") are for a large warhead with a sophisticated aiming system.
   
5. Grenade Launcher - As I griped about here, this has a bad fit within the Car Wars system. I believe it should be collapsed into a large-bore, low velocity, category that includes the shotgun, flachette gun, and mortars.

With all that A new weapons chart could thus like this:

1. Flamethrowers (Unchanged)
   
2. Gauss Guns
   1. 1 Space = [not possible; the energy delivery system takes 2 spaces]
      
   2. 2 Space = Gauss Gun (6acc, 3d)
      
   3. 3 Space = Rail Gun (new)
3. Grenade Launchers
   1. 1 Space
      1. Vehicular Shotgun (6acc, 2 hits) - moved,
      2. Flachette Gun (6acc, 1d+1 to tires) - moved,
         
      3. Light Mortar (new)
   2. 2 Space
      1. Grenade Launcher (7acc, 1d*),
         
      2. Heavy Mortar (new)
   3. 3 Space = none [unnecessary because the next tech up is artillery/howitzers]
4. Howitzers (formerly 'Tank Guns')
   1. 1 Space = Light Howitzer (new)
   2. 2 Space = Howitzer (new)
   3. 3 Space = "Anti-Tank Gun" (Heavy Howitzer) (8acc, 3d)
5. Lasers (Unchanged)
6. Machine Guns
   1. 1 Space
      1. Light MG (7acc, 1d-1),
      2. MG (7acc, 1d),
      3. Heavy MG (7acc, 2d-2)
   2. 2 Space = Vulcan MG (6acc, 2d)
      
   3. 3 Space = Autocannon (6acc, 3d)
      
   4. 4 space = Heavy Vulcan (modified)
7. Missiles (Unchanged)
8. Recoilless Rifles
   1. 1 Space = Light RR (new)
      
   2. 2 Space = Recoilless Rifle (7acc, 2d)
      
   3. 3 Space = Heavy RR (new)
      
   4. 4 Space = Blast Cannon(7acc, 4d)
9. Rockets, Guided
   1. 1 Space = Micro Missile Launcher (8acc, 1d)
      
   2. 2 Space = Rocket Launcher (8acc, 2d)
      
   3. 3 Space = Heavy Rocket Launcher (new)
10. Rockets, Unguided [all 9acc]
    1. 1 Space
       1. Mini (1d-1),
       2. Light (1d),
       3. Medium (2d),
       4. Heavy (3d)
          
       5. Mini Rocket Pod (new)
    2. 2 Space = MFR (9acc, 6x1d)
       
    3. 3 Space = VFRP (9acc, 1-6d)

Another option is keep the Autocannon in it's own category, split off the Vulcan from the MG, and make a new 3 space scale: 1 space = Minigun, 2 space = Vulcan, 3 space = Autocannon. The machine gun scale would be Light & regular in one space, Heavy in 2, and larger than that impossible for regular cars (recoil etc).

Summary - Possible New Weapons:

1. Railgun (3 space Gauss Gun)
   
2. Light & Heavy Mortars (in new category that combines Grenade Launchers & Shotguns)
   
3. Light & Medium Howitzers (new category to re-house the ol' ATG)
   
4. AC moved to MG family, modify the HVMG
   
5. or AC in own family, move VMG into that, add new weapon: minigun, then change HMG into a 2 space weapon
   
6. Light and Heavy Recoilless Rifles
   
7. Heavy Rocket Launcher (3 space in guided-rocket category)
   
8. Mini Multiple Fire Rocket Pod (1 space unguided rocket)

Weapon Analysis - Part 2 (System Specifics)

As described in part 1, there are gaps in game-balance for weaponry, specifically in the lower accuracy weapons. As a way of correcting this, we can use the weapon systems as described in UACFH to flesh out the chart. What follows is a weapon system chart to see which components are missing. The chart will list illegal weapons only when necessary, and will be limited to 1-3 spaces as much as possible:

1. Autocannons
   1. 1 Space = none
      
   2. 2 Space = none
      
   3. 3 Space = Autocannon (6acc, 3d)
2. Flamethrowers
   1. 1 Space = Light Flamethrower (6acc, 1d-2)
      
   2. 2 Space = Flamethrower (6acc, 1d)
      
   3. 3 Space = Heavy Duty FT (6acc, 2d)
3. Gauss Guns
   1. 1 Space = none
      
   2. 2 Space = Gauss Gun (6acc, 3d)
      
   3. 3 Space = none
4. Grenade Launchers
   1. 1 Space = none
      
   2. 2 Space = Grenade Launcher (7acc, 1d*)
      
   3. 3 Space = none
5. Lasers
   1. 1 Space = Light Laser (6acc, 1d)
      
   2. 2 Space = Medium Laser (6acc, 2d), Laser (6acc, 3d)
      
   3. 3 Space = Heavy Laser (6acc, 4d) XRay Laser (7acc, 4d)
      
   4. 4 Space = none
      
   5. 5 Space = Heavy XRay Laser (7acc, 5d)
6. Machine Guns
   1. 1 Space = Light MG (7acc, 1d-1), MG (7acc, 1d), Heavy MG (7acc, 2d-2)
      
   2. 2 Space = Vulcan MG (6acc, 2d)
      
   3. 3 Space = Heavy VMG(6acc, 4d) (Illegal)
7. Missiles
   1. 1 Space = RGM (7acc, 3d), WGM (6acc, 3d)
      
   2. 2 Space = none
      
   3. 3 Space = none
8. Recoilless Rifles
   1. 1 Space = none
      
   2. 2 Space = Recoilless Rifle (7acc, 2d)
      
   3. 3 Space = none
      
   4. 4 Space = Blast Cannon(7acc, 4d)
9. Rockets, Guided
   1. 1 Space = Micro Missile Launcher (8acc, 1d)
      
   2. 2 Space = Rocket Launcher (8acc, 2d)
      
   3. 3 Space = none
10. Rockets, Unguided [all 9acc]
    1. 1 Space = Mini (1d-1), Light (1d), Medium (2d), Heavy (3d)
       
    2. 2 Space = MFR (9acc, 6x1d)
       
    3. 3 Space = VFRP (9acc, 1-6d)
11. Shotguns
    1. 1 Space = Vehicular Shotgun (6acc, 2 hits), Flachette Gun (6acc, 1d+1 to tires)
       
    2. 2 Space = none
       
    3. 3 Space = none
12. Tank Guns
    1. 1 Space = none
       
    2. 2 Space = none
       
    3. 3 Space = Anti-Tank Gun (8acc, 3d)

Many other game-wizards, like me, have tried filling in the gaps: here from NOVA (light Gauss Gun and light Recoilless Rifle), here's a very comprehensive list from Oliver Bollmann (PDF, main site here).

Combining my two lists together (i.e. here and this post), we can come to some conclusions:

1. Consolidation of weapon categories - for example, and Bollman recognizes this as well, the Autocannon is basically part of the Machine Gun family and should be placed there; the Flachette Gun could really just be a Vehicular Shotgun with Flachette loads, and to be honest both of them could be under Grenade Launchers (the same way that the M203 can fire grenades or shot); and the Missile-Rocket category is a huge mess.
   
2. Certain categories are populated/distributed well (MG, FT, Laser) and others not (RR, ATG) - despite the true availability of variation within present day weaponry. There's major differences between calibers in Recoilless and regular artillery and that makes a simple scaling system. The best example of how logical this is comes from GURPS Autoduel (see here for the Light RR).
   
3. There may be entire possible weapon systems missing (e.g. mortars).

We'll deal with the new possible weapons in the next post.

Weapon Analysis - Part 1 (Preliminaries)

My favorite weapon, and I'm sure almost everyone's, is the Vulcan. And it's not only in Car Wars; I love the real-life electric gatling gun family of weapons. When it was first introduced, it straddled a strange midrange in the weapon chart. The 7 weapons (to hit) were 1 space (MG) and 2 (RR), the 8 weapons were 2 space (RL) and 3 (ATG) and 6 were both 2 space (FT, Laser). Now a machine gun upgrade was introduced and it was 2 spaces but to hit 6. This made sense in terms of gun physics because, hey, many many barrels! But I would have preferred to have filled out the chart first.

Since then the chart has basically been finished, but there are still lacunae. The following is a list of weaponry based on to-hit. Only AADA allowed (and/or non-military) ground-vehicle offensive weaponry is listed. That is, only direct damage dealers (so mine-flingers, while as offensive a defense you can get, are still not part of the analysis)

TO HIT 6
1 space
..........Light Laser (1d area incendiary but not volatile)
..........Light Flamethrower (1d-1 area incen. & volatile)
..........Vehicular Shotgun (2 hits area)
..........Flachette Gun (whatever)
..........Wire Guided Missile (3d burst volatile)
2 space
..........Vulcan (2d area)
..........Flamethrower (1d area incen & volatile)
..........Laser (3d area incen not vol.)
..........Medium Laser (2d area incen not vol.)
..........Twin Laser (2d+6 area incen not vol.)
..........Gauss Gun (3d area)
3 space
..........Autocannon (3d burst)
..........Heavy Duty Flamethrower (2d area incen. & vol.)
..........Heavy Laser (4d area incen not vol.)
4 space = n/a

TO HIT 7
1 Space
..........Machine Gun (1d area)
..........Light MG (1d-2 area)
..........Heavy MG (2d-2 area)
..........Radar Guided Missile (3d burst volatile)
2 Space
..........Recoilless Rifle (2d burst)
..........Grenade Launcher (1d at best, blast)
3 Space
..........Xray Laser (4d area)
4 Space
..........Blast Cannon (4d burst)
5 space
..........Heavy X-Ray Laser (5d area)

TO HIT 8
1 Space
..........Micro Missile Launcher (1d burst volatile)
2 Space
..........Rocket Launcher (2d burst volatile)
3 Space
..........Anti-Tank Gun (3d burst volatile)

TO HIT 9
1 Space
..........Medium Rocket (2d burst volatile)
..........Heavy Rocket (3d burst volatile)
2 Space
..........Multiple Fire Rocket Pod (1d x 6 burst volatile)
3 Space
..........Variable Fire Rocket Pod (1d-6d burst volatile)

What's clear from the list is that most new weapons, with variety, comes from the 6-Accuracy list. As a game-balance purist, I am unhappy with the missing slots. 6-Accuracy is overstocked, 7 is missing a 3-space, 8 could use more options, 9 is fine (there are a lot of rocket options). Also there should be a balance given to shots available (10 or 20) and area vs. burst, volatility and other hazards (handling modifiers), and even weapon DP (see Drop Spike Plate). See this post for an elaboration of these issues.

Another possible imbalance is in weapon systems. According to UACFH, there are these systems (within the analysis parameters above):

1. Autocannons
   
2. Flamethrowers
   
3. Gauss Guns
   
4. Grenade Launchers
   
5. Lasers
   
6. Machine Guns
   
7. Miscellaneous (VSG, FG)
   
8. Missiles
   
9. Recoilless Rifles
   
10. Rockets (Guided, Unguided)
    
11. Tank Guns

Weapon systems may be seen as only an afterthought of game-balance, i.e. when putting the necessary space/weight/damage/cost chart together, the game designers decided to give the weapons some recognizable names - which helps gameplay and fires up player imagination. It may not be necessary to give space ranks to each of the weapon systems.

On the other hand, the official rules already have done the full complement for some of the systems (MG, FT, Laser, Rocket), so there's a logic to finishing the chart. If so, and while resistant, I'm not totally against it, but I'd do so at first only to fill out the first chart.

With the weapon-system analysis - which relies more on real-world technological connection than the Accuracy system (see more on that analysis here) - we can arbitrarily say that certain weapons start at more than 1 space: Tank Gun, Autocannons, etc. However, if the gun is designed right, then why not?