Weapons/equipment suggestions

[Zorlen]

While looking at proposed weapons and equipmet on Wiki I've got a few ideas of my own. I wonder, if suggestions are accepted yet? If yes, maybe there's a sort of template for proposals to make implementation easier? Or there's already much to do, and I better keep them to myself, unless I have extensive description, stats and textured model for them?

[BTAxis]

Feel free to put down any ideas you have.

[Zorlen]

Okay, so:

Small Rocket-Propelled Munition Weapon (or come with a better name).
Further advance of Gyrojet and similar projects. The weapon fires miniature self contained rocket projectiles of two types: explosive, comprising of solid-propellant rocket engine and tiny amount of high-yield explosive, and kinetic, carrying no explosive charge, but having the core made of tunsten alloy. Micro-rockets are fed from [revolver?] magazine, initiated via electrical ignition and stabilized through a smooth-bore barrel. Angled jets spin the projectiles as they propel toward target. Smaller in comparison to RPG rockets projectiles allow the weapon to be handled in the same manner as support or even assault counterparts, and naturally allow quicker rate of fire than that of RPG, even limited auto-fire ability. Practical lack of recoil allows generally better accuracy than most ballistic projectile firearms, however lightweight dumb munitions with relaively small initial impulse are more prone to deviate from target than heavy RPG rocket or high-velocity sniper rifle bullet. Small warheads of explosive projectiles have little to no splash damage, requiring direct hit in order to inflict any significant damage, but at the same time allows, though not advises, using the weapon at close to medium range. Kinetic bolts velocity may be considered relatively low, especially at the initial part of the trajectory. But taking its larger mass into acount, the hit impulse is high enough to provide a punch even to armored target. Due to miniaturization, ammo production is a complex and expensive process utilizing latest technologies, including nanotech, to maintain high precision requirements.
Resume: support/suppressive weapon for medium to large range. Presumably researched in the same manner as Bolter rifle.


Holographic decoy
This is a throwable device that first stabilizes itself on the ground, then creates a hologram of its owner above itself with a set of miniature laser emitters. The same emitters also create an area of heated air in the same spot, mimicking a soldier's heat signature. Alongside, appropiate pheromons are being released from the built-in container. Due to device's small size, its operation time is restricted to _____ The main purpose is to mislead the enemy about personnel location and to lure enemy fire, revealing their positions.

[sirg]

Two recent proposals of my own (wiki):

Kerrdisk Thrower - a human designed weapon that launches Kerrdisks (you need to research the Kerrblade 1st). The disk will spin and cut through victims (huge damage), but will be ineffective at long range.

IR marking darts - A rifle that shots marking darts that do no damage, but make the target visible on the map after glueing on the alien's armor.

[SpaceWombat]

I like the Kerrdisc idea 
Reminds me of predator games. You need to research kerrblades and bolter rifle and will receive a heavy kinetic weapon of bolter style. Upgrade could be the bloodspider weapon for even more damage and range.

[BTAxis]

I already discussed a similar idea with Winter a long time ago, and we agreed not to have a weapon like that.

[sirg]

oh noes... but why?

it doesn't have to be the SF disk from Predator... just a thing that hurls disks and cuts aliens in half...

[BTAxis]

Because they aren't realistic and would come off as a ripoff of Predator.

[SpaceWombat]

While I can fully understand the concerns about similarities to other game universes I doubt the realism argument. 
Such a weapon would be exactly as realistic as the bolter weapon and come on...
"plasma guns", "particle beam weapons" are realistic enough but a blade accelerated by an electromagnetic field... pfff sci-fi fantasy... ? 

But nevermind, when the other heavy weapons are finally balanced and accurate we won't need it anyway. It was just an idea.

[eleazar]

While I can fully understand the concerns about similarities to other game universes I doubt the realism argument. 
Such a weapon would be exactly as realistic as the bolter weapon and come on...
"plasma guns", "particle beam weapons" are realistic enough but a blade accelerated by an electromagnetic field... pfff sci-fi fantasy... ? 

Projectile guns are known as a practical weapon.  Spinning razor disks are not.
Off the cuff: The energy required to make the disk spin very rapidly would be more profitably (i.e. fatally) spent launching a less awkward projectile faster.

But of course the "it looks like a rip off from Predator, or Xena" is the more important and sufficient argument.

[Sophisanmus]

Now, if you want to create some sort of ranged weapon from the Kerrblade, it would probably be some sort of Kerr-fragmentation-grenade.  Since the monomolecular blade does not easily translate into  straight projectile (no monomolecular bullets) it may be better put to use developing tiny, monomolecular shrapnel to fill a regular or canister-style frag grenade. 

And anyways, there are already discblade guns in stuff like UT, and exploding disc guns in the Tribes series, movies aside (and from my Tribes experience, disc launchers are very unwieldy without jetpacks).


Personally, I'd rather see something like a coil handgun (along the same research line as the Bolter), especially since, if I recall correctly, there are already some working models in real life. 

[sirg]

Because they aren't realistic and would come off as a ripoff of Predator.

Just because Xena and the Predator use a similar disk, it doesn't mean it can't be implemented as a different concept in an other game. Well... have it your way anyhow... but the realism speech is quite a weak argument when declining a weapon proposal such this one, because:
- it does fit the setting (disks based on the kerrblades)
- it's a merger between the bolter rifle and kerrblades
- you can make MM knives later on
- the weapon doesn't shoot any exotic particles nor does it shrink aliens
- it isn't more unrealistic than the bolter rifle

Besides.. there is an other issue - the arsenal is quite limited to several types of weapons, all upgrades of the same basic things:

you have knives, pistols, rifles and launchers, and all the weapons are an upgrade of the same thing.. so the arsenal is quite plain until now.

[SpaceWombat]

But of course the "it looks like a rip off from Predator, or Xena" is the more important and sufficient argument.

That is not what I said. No weapon besides the standard gear is today known as a practical weapon (neither a bolter rifle nor a laser gun not to speak of any other weapon out there).

I already said that I can agree to the concerns that this weapon could become too much of a clone from other universes.

Even though the idea reminds me of the predator weapon I did not think of it being the same concept at all. And I do not understand why you imply I wanted it to look like a Xena weapon. You can't have the slightest idea what I had in mind.

Furthermore we cannot know what energy we would need to make the disc rotate or what damage gain it would give us (higher velocity is not always the best method, because energy for acceleration needs to be over proportional with higher speed since the frictional resistance raises over proportional with speed, tank armour and anti-tank weapon engineers had to learn that lession) as we do not even have a concept.
Since it will not be implemented I don't want to make this too deep of an concept analysis. It might have less armour penetration (as kerrblades have in comparision to other weapons) but it might have been a specialised weapon (as the kerrblade is). Low range, huge damage, but can be easily countered by heavy armour later on (that's where particle beam cannons become more important). Normal projectiles are also rotating -much energy is wasted inside the barrel- to keep them on track instead of rotating chaotic. A disc has a self-stabilizing effect. It's far more complicated than "energy is wasted".

Anyway I agree to your basic argument. I just don't like the way words are put into my mouth to let ideas look ridiculous.  

If you don't like it you can point that out with or without arguments. It's appreciated. But I do not try to interpret your thoughts as if they were at best stupid, either.

[Zorlen]

What about a crossbow with kerrblade bolts? Crossbows are sometimes used by SpecOps, so there would be no excessive weirdness in its use. Though the crossbow main advantage over conventional firearms - stealth - doesn't play any role in UFO, since stealth stuff is not implemened afaik.

[sirg]

The crossbow is almost identical to the Bolter Rifle, but ofc, many many times more weaker in terms of power. Crossbows/harpoons are best used underwater, but otherwise they are projectile weapons like guns.

The whole idea was to have a ranged weapon that would make use of the kerrblade cutting power, hurling a spining disk to the target, creating a new things to research after researching the bolter rifle and the kerrblade+bloodspider.