Re: [SG] Another pass through heavy weapons

>Let's briefly think about what weapons there
>are, and how effective they would be against
>infantry and point targets.
>
>We have the HEL. Now, how does it gain its
>effect? One big powerful blast? Good for
>armour penetration, not so good for getting
>hits on infantry. Accuracy would go up with
>more shots, but it is a speed of light weapon,
>so you aren't gonna miss often with that one
>shot. (Note that HEL in DS are phenomenally
>more accurate than other weapons at any
>significant range....). Can the weapon be
>switched to a low-power-per-pulse, rapid-pulse
>mode for engagement of infantry? Or is this just
>a distinction between the HEL/1 and HEL/2-5?

I am sure that (but am too lazy to go and check) DSII refers to
switching 
the HEL to a rapid fire low power birst mode for enaging infantry.

>Then we have HVC. You've got everything from
>the 57mm AT gun, the 76mm LPG, to the 130
>mm Smoothbore, etc. covered here. Some of
>these have good HE rounds. Some have (gasp)
>Cannister. Cannister from a HVC/4 ought to be
>a real bad day (or Flechette) for infantry. As
>might various submunition carrying rounds or
>something like a huge ass Dragonsbreath
>round.

Some HE round rules do seem to be in order.

>Then we have the HKP. Don't see much of an
>anti-infantry option for this weapon. Seems to
>be a dedicated armour killer. If you get a
>contact hit on an infantry walker or PA (or god
>forbid, a poor soldier doggie) then they're
>gonna be goo. But it isn't a good anti-infantry
>weapon.

Yes, but the chances of hitting a spread out infantry squad with one of 
those is so slim that it is probably not worth modeling

>Then we have the RFAC. This covers the slower
>firing anti-armour chain guns, the faster firing
>multi barrel gatling cannons, etc. So we have
>some that are anti-armour weapons (slower
>RoF) and some that are anti-air or anti-infantry
>weapons or even PDS weapons (I remember
>seeing a PIVAD firing on infantry and vehicle
>cutouts in training.... and I recall thinking "Note
>to self, never attack an ADA unit"). But even the
>slower firing versions probably have
>fragmenting rounds. And the ROF on the
>gatlings is gonna be enough that they don't
>even need fragmentation. They're gonna kill
>what they get solid hits on, soldierwise.

These in particular I feel are underpowered with impact D8.

>We have the SLAM, but that is best considered
>as artillery.

Probably depending on class, give it a different sized template, and 
consider it as self designating artillery.

>We have the MDC. Small version are like big
>gauss SAWs. (Traveller VRF Gauss Gun). Very
>very very bad for infantry, I'd think. Probably
>the best anti-infantry weapon out there. Larger
>versions can be viewed as firing large
>projectiles slower or more smaller ones faster.
>But I'm betting you could load them with some
>type of explosive or cannister round if they
>were big enough. So they strike me as deadly
>to infantry in any size.

hmm, not sure, to get a round that is magnetically accelerated like that
I 
am not conviced that HE or any other type of round would be a good
idea... 
but I may be wrong.

>Then we have the DFFG. The "sun gun".
>Assuming that when this thing hits, there is a
>fusion reaction, probably that means that it
>vaporizes stuff. Land one in the middle of an
>infantry squad and its crispy critter city. The
>small DFFG/1 would be deployed (as on the
>NAC Phalanx) in a tribarrell rapid-fire version
>and would make up for smaller radius effects by
>rapid fire. Again, a very deadly weapon against
>infantry.

Again I feel these puppies should do more than impact D8 to the PBI on
the 
recieving end.

THe continual problem to consider is that you have to hit the d***
b***** 
who aren't going to be standing still waiting for you to shoot them,
they 
are moving, hiding and generally trying not to be shot at (except the
dead 
ones... but shooting them is a pretty futile exercise).

>GMS? People always want to use these against
>infantry and I don't see why it isn't possible.
>Just give the infantry D4 ECM. And treat the
>weapon as having D12 impact (for GMS/P). Not
>terribly effective, but it might kill someone and it
>will probably place a suppression. Waste of
>missiles if armour shows up later, though.

IMHO no-one in their right mind in a theatre with armour arround is
going to 
waste GMS on anything but infantry, that's what small arms, APSW etc are

for!

Just my thoughts, but yes I feel that they are way underpowered

Richard

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