Pulse rifle?

[dakocan]

Hi,

Has anyone consider about adding pulse rifle in the weaponry? Or maybe electrical guns (shoots out massive current like lightning towards the alien)?

Just a wild suggestion though..

Thanks

[mattheus]

Whats "Bolter rifle" then? Its a lightning gun. And what you think about "pulse rifle"? Whats that?

[BTAxis]

The bolter isn't a lightning gun. It fires slugs of metal.

[Winter]

The bolter isn't a lightning gun. It fires slugs of metal.

Indeed!

For the record, people, it's the Electrolaser that's our lightning gun. And there's not going to be any ripping off of Aliens, thank you very much.

Regards,
Winter

[Captain Bipto]

keep those Aliens weapons where they belong, as second hand props used in cruddy sci-fi c-movies.

[DuKe2112]

hmm, as far as I know lighning guns would be impossible even in scifi as electricity always needs to close a circuit.

[GopherLemming]

hmm, as far as I know lighning guns would be impossible even in scifi as electricity always needs to close a circuit.

That's just asking for me to correct .
Current doesn't need a circuit to flow. What is needed is an object with an opposite charge. Even in ordinary circuits such as a torch, the electricity isn't being forced round. It is attracted to the positively charged end of the battery and the shortest path is through the wires and bulb.

Example: lightning, Static builds in a cloud until it reaches the critical voltage needed to travel to the positively charged earth.

[Captain Bipto]

Correct me if I am wrong but the Electrolaser uses a laser to create an ionized channel between the emitter and the target which the electricity travels along.

[Valis]

Correct me if I am wrong but the Electrolaser uses a laser to create an ionized channel between the emitter and the target which the electricity travels along.

I think that is the idea, yes. The electrons of the lightning travel always on the least resistant path[does not have to be a straight line, hence the shape of the lightning in nature]. The laser creates a path of ionized air so the electrons can 'hop over' to the target and not to other objects that are closer to the emitter.


The object also doesn't have to have an oposite charge. It only has to have a different potential, as electrical potentials always seek an equilibrium.

[Captain Bipto]

I think this sort of weapon is the way to go for stunning. The proposal states it is a heavy weapon and I like the fact it can be a potentially lethal weapon.

Tranquilizer darts I do not think would be plausible (unless they are rocket assisted or something!) just because of armor, range and rate of fire. If they were that awesome we'd be using them in Iraq instead of those microwave emitters.

Gas is cool, especially because it is story justified due to examination of alien breathing implants and live alien "guests". 

[BigFan]

not sure if im straying from the points you guys are making here.. but the thought of it following ionized air channel's/currents seems a little random and would leave the potential of missing your intended target quite high..

im not well versed in electricity and polarities but in my laymen thinking would it be more fesiable for the weapon to fire some sort of projectile with this reverse polarity followed by the burst of current

[BigFan]

Tranquilizer darts I do not think would be plausible (unless they are rocket assisted or something!) just because of armor, range and rate of fire. If they were that awesome we'd be using them in Iraq instead of those microwave emitters.

Good point.. just off the top of my head tho.. i believe one of the 1st researched items i found was a kerrblade or some other knife not sure which one it was but one of them was said to be able to cut through armour and steel alike.. makeing the tip of the "tanq" with this type of material would make armour penatration alot more likely

[Captain Bipto]

The laser makes it easier to the electricity to travel. As stated by Valis before one reason lightning looks the way it does is because it does not travel in a straight line. I agree that there would be a lot of variables that would be detrimental to the performance of this weapon.  

In game terms probably the electrolaser would not be the most accurate weapon but it sure would look cool! Spread would probably accurately portray this weapon?

As far as the kerrblade goes, there has been a lot of discussion about this tech influencing the research of improved weaponry...the kerrblade is good at slicing through human materials for sure. Also there are aliens, I think the Ortnoks that do not really have circulatory systems. Darts could have been cool to use on Taman but lost the race to stun batons and gas grenades.

[BigFan]

In game terms probably the electrolaser would not be the most accurate weapon but it sure would look cool! Spread would probably accurately portray this weapon?

not sure if this is doable, but along your lines of thinking about spread.. could this weapon's spread maybe effect an alien standing directly next to the target hit.. possibly halveing the damage done between the 2..
a lucky side-effect would be due to the reduced damage done by splitting this could be how the stun effenct comes into play

or would the "laser thingy" it follow prevent the split?

[DuKe2112]

Gopher it is still a circuit, or more exactly two half circuits.
To create those objects of opposide charge you need to excercise some force to move the electrons from one to the other, the first half of the circuit. then the electrons try to travel back, the second half of the circuit.
Ground is not per se positively charged and static doesn't produce electrons, it moves them from the ground to the clouds.

I believe it extremely difficult to charge an alien or the area around him without direct contact. The electrolaser would probably work, but that is more of a taser gun with plasma cables then a real lightning gun.

and yeah the laser would focus the current.