General > Discussion

UFO:AI, my comments and criticisms

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Mattn:
10) the hospital system is currently going to be rewritten
11) yes - a known fact - but as the campaign and mission definitions are only script files we just have to tweak some values like alien equipment and alien amount - feel free to contribute (see wiki section about scripting)

Sectoid:
I don't think plasma weapons are too outlandish. Inductively coupled plasma torches exist today, and are used to literally atomize things at around 10,000 degrees C. All you need is a way to launch the plamsa across a distance with mangetic fields (like a railgun?), and you've got a sweet weapon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductively_coupled_plasma  
http://www.spectroscopymag.com/spectroscopy/data/articlestandard/spectroscopy/452001/1096/article.pdf

Adrian Magnus:

--- Quote from: "Sectoid" ---I don't think plasma weapons are too outlandish. Inductively coupled plasma torches exist today, and are used to literally atomize things at around 10,000 degrees C. All you need is a way to launch the plamsa across a distance with mangetic fields (like a railgun?), and you've got a sweet weapon.
--- End quote ---


You fail to understand what plasma is: very hot ionized gas. In a gas, all the particles are almost independent of each other, and they move at great velocity in all directions. The hotter the gas, the faster these particles move. In plasma the particles are moving at incredibly high velocities. What this means is that as soon as you shoot the plasma out your gun it will dissipate. The fact that, by virtue of its high temperature, plasma is extremely diffuse, doesn't help. The very air, which we solid beings don't find a hindrance at all, is almost like a brick wall to plasma. Trying to compress it only compounds the dispersal problem as compressed gases expand faster.

Basically the weapon you propose will not be a "sweet weapon", as your shots will billow out and dissipate before reaching the second metre. You might as well just get a flamethrower, cheaper, more efficient, longer ranged, and overall deadlier. You could shoot the plasma so fast that it doesn't have time to dissipate. However, we're talking c-fractional velocities here. At that point you might as well just make a particle gun.

That is why AI's approach of enclosing the plasma in a container is somewhat more plausible than many other plasma weapons. It allows it to stay together long enough to reach the target. The only problem is that the uber plastic it describes would make a perfect armour against plasma bolts. If it can withstand the heat for the fraction of a second it takes for the bolt to reach the target, it can withstand the heat from the fraction of a second the plasma is in contact with the target before dissipating. If instead of using a thin uber plastic film you use a thick uber plastic plate as armour, then the wearer would be nigh invulnerable.

As you point out, plasma torches do exit. However, you many notice that the plasma stays very close to its generating source. The reason for this are the problems I listed below. Hell, I've seen people standing but a metre or two from an open plasma torch with naught but eye protection. It dissipates that quickly. Incidentally, that is the reason why the plasma knife is the only truly realistic plasma weapon in the game. The plasma knife is basically a glorified blow-torch, and it is a good weapon for breaching armour and frying the person inside.


For more information see this essay by Mike Wong.

Winter:

--- Quote from: "Adrian Magnus" ---That is why AI's approach of enclosing the plasma in a container is somewhat more plausible than many other plasma weapons. It allows it to stay together long enough to reach the target. The only problem is that the uber plastic it describes would make a perfect armour against plasma bolts. If it can withstand the heat for the fraction of a second it takes for the bolt to reach the target, it can withstand the heat from the fraction of a second the plasma is in contact with the target before dissipating. If instead of using a thin uber plastic film you use a thick uber plastic plate as armour, then the wearer would be nigh invulnerable.
--- End quote ---


What I'm thinking is, could there not be a reason why the plastic only holds together for (say) a tenth of a second after it's spun, making it useless as armour? Except reactive armour, of course, which would be awesome to incorporate.

Regards,
Winter

Adrian Magnus:

--- Quote from: "Winter" ---What I'm thinking is, could there not be a reason why the plastic only holds together for (say) a tenth of a second after it's spun, making it useless as armour?
--- End quote ---


I can't think why there would be one. But we are already dealing with fantasy materials here so I suppose we can make-up some fantasy properties, at least in the interest of internal consistency. I would suggest that in the description instead of saying "plastic" you use "plastic-like compound". Then mention the property you suggested. The compound solidifies very quickly, but is only stable for a short while. It's not what I would call scientifically sound, but it is internally consistent. You'd also need to say that the rifle and blaster can spin a somewhat stronger compound on account of being larger.

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