Re: NBC

On Thu, 24 Feb 2000, Los wrote:
> sportyspam@harm.dhs.org wrote:
> 
> >
> >   Seriously though, this is supposed to be SF, but everyone on this
list
> > seems to be doing their best to make it exactly like WWII.	People
aren't
> > talking about combat in low gravity, but how encumbering cold
weather gear
> > is.  They aren't talking about terminator robots slaughtering their
way
> > through squads [okay, the Daleks come close LMAO], but if mines
should do
> > blah because they do in WWII, etc. etc.
> 
> There have been very extensive discussions on subject such as Robots
and AI
> combat, nanotech combat and other wazoo movie-based ports and TCs 
here in the
> past and they come up time and again. (The recent discussion last
month over
> remapping experienced combat troops brains to clones when they die and
other
> advanced medtech issues comes to mind)  Sorry if you either just
joined the list
> or missed those discussions for whatever reason.

  Just joined.	Think I'm glad I missed that one.  :)

> Maybe instead of realistic, people here will tend to try and make
stuff
> "plausible". Else we'd all be playing Warhammer all the time. In the
vast

  /me shudders

  If I wanted to play a game that was determined literally by the roll
of
the dice and no other factor, I'd go to Vegas.	:)  I'd rather give my
money to the casinos than GW.  :)  You have to admit that SG has nicer
rules than WH40K, and they don't spell thingsz with a z on the endz of
everything.  Oi!  :)

> majority of movies the science behind the fantasy is cooked up while
the writer
> is waiting for his three-minute egg to boil. That's OK, still makes
for an
> entertaining movie and even entertaining gaming even with SG2 rules.
But the
> bent of many on this list is to try and apply some sort of reasoning
too how the
> little things would work or might work, based on stuff like physical
laws, what
> biological constraints we operate under (and might reasonably be
expected to
> operate under in the near future), as well as other factors.

  Well I think most stuff gets thrown at physics PHDs and such, it's
just
when something gets to the director and they look at it and go... Hmmm,
$100,000,000 for a movie with cyborgs and robots, or $20,000,000 if we
just cut this corner... and that one...
  Which is why a lot of the cartoons and such, particularly one-shots
can
be a bit more 'realistic'.  They don't have to pay the hefty fx budget,
and they don't have to deal with the actors guild, or the soap-operaie
requirements of the same attractive, likeable characters in each in
every
episode.
  Think Vasquez, Bishop and Frost would have died if they were expecting
to make an Alien 3?  Maybe not.  Too bad they never did make an Alien
3...
:)

> Certainly the core interest of this group for me, is when someone
cooks up
> something and everyone hashes it around. I mean , for example, if I
come up with
> something wazoo, regarding ..whatever... the evolution of some alien
race, then
> I find it real interesting to hear what Beth says about, who works on
this stuff
> for real ever day down under. Sure at any time during the conversation
one could
> say, yeah well it's just my universe and things evolved like this,
period, but
> it's also fun to take maybe some actual principles of evolution and
apply them
> to the race. It may not be your cup of tea, but it seems that this
process is
> the cup of tea for the majority on this list.

  Yeah, but I can't help think they'd be happier playing a WWII or
Vietnam game. :)

> Likewise there's a few of us on this list with extensive naval, or
ground combat
> arms experience and even combat experience.	Sometimes it's nice to
get that
> perspective on a subject since we are talking about infantry action in
a rules
> system that covers anything from now all the way forward. Not that I
have
> participated in the NBC discussion or the "what to do if your buddy
dies while
> carrying the SAW" discussion (Too busy getting ready for GZG-ECC), but
its
> completely plausible to wonder how the heck you would extract a SAW
from a dead
> body especially if it's on a gyromount and get it on you instead, as
well as how
> long would that take and what's the best way to simulate that in a SG2
game
> since it is something that happens plenty of times. For many THAT IS
the fun of
> this board and the game.

  Well, since I've never had to extract a heavy weapon from a gyromount
after my buddy sucked down a bit too much plasma, I guess I can't really
contribute much to the discussion.  :)