| From: | David Hinkley <dhinkley@***.ORG> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: A few house rules I was thinking of |
| Date: | Fri, 14 Apr 1995 01:58:01 -0700 |
> On Thu, 13 Apr 1995, Marc A Renouf wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 13 Apr 1995, Bob Ooton wrote: [house rules on burst/autofire]
> >
> > > Whatcha think of that rule? What it does is ensure that you take damage
per
> > > the type of round that was fired. (i.e. a light pistol round from a
> > > SuperMach suddenly becomes able to pierce tank armor when fired in a group
> > > of 15.)
> >
> > They never could. If you look carefully, you will note that when
> > comparing the power level of the wepon to the barrier rating of the
> > armor, you use the BASE power level unmodified by any burst or autofire
> > mods. Thus, 6L light pistol rounds, even when fired at phenomenal rates
> > will only cause "minor cosmetic damage" to a Banshee. And a Banshee
has
> > relatively light armor (18) as far as military vehicles goes.
> >
> > > It also allows for hits due to the not-so-tight pattern created by
> > > automatic weapons with the TN mod. (i.e. it's a lot easier to hit someone
> > > once when your firing 10 rounds than it is when you're firing one.) I feel
> > > that this adds realism to a rule that never quite worked right.
> >
> > I agree that the autofire system needs work, but I don't think
> > that your system reflects any "realism" other than that portrayed in
> > Hollywood. Actually, the more shots you fire, the more difficult it gets
> > to hit the target due to recoil. Remember that recoil doesn't have to
> > jerk your arm totally out of line. All it takes is mere fractions of
> > degrees and you will miss by meters, especially at any significant range.
>
> Very true, if you are trying to aim your weapon in all but the
> most general sense. In other words, yes, if you try to rip off a fifty
> round burst into some slag who is a good distance away and you try to
> keep all fifty rounds on target, in all likelyhood only the first three
> or four shots (maybe more depending on strength) will hit him. However,
> keep in mind that fifty rounds in a burst have a greater chance of
> tagging the target with at least one round than one shot, unless you take
> great care to aim that one shot. For example, let's say that the chance
> for a round in the above burst has a .1 chance to hit (1 in 10):50*.1=5
> rounds or so hitting the target. A reasonably well-aimed shot(not a
> sniper, just a quick peek at the sights in a firefight) probably has a
> chance to hit at least three times better, say .3 or so (3 in 10). That's a
> gross oversimplification, but when you get right down to it, this IS just
> a game, and realism should take second seat to fun and playability.
> As a second note, I very much like the combat rules in GDW's
> Twilight:2000 Version 2.2, especially the rules governing autofire.
> Check it out some time if you get the chance. They combine a large
> degree of realism with excellrnt playability.
A couple of quick comments about full-automatic firing.
1. A major consideration is the weapon mount, currenty there are 6 basic
groupings (in order of effectiveness). Fixed vehicle mounts (i.e.
co-ax MGs on a tank);Tripod with traversing and elevation mechanism (T&E);
Bipod; Flex mounted (Pintle mount at the TC's hatch on a APC);braced on the shoulder
or hip;and free standing (unbraced i.e. SMG without a stock held in one
ore two hands). Automatic fire in the first two groups (assuming the T&E
is properly locked down) is extreemly consistant, in the case of the
Browning 50 caliber MG (M2HB) the U.S. Army considered it too consistant
(all the bullets going through the same small group of holes) that they
changed the ammuition specs such that the cartiridges were not loaded
consistantly making the rounds in a burst disperse more.(GMs please note:
50 cal MG ammo is not consistant enough to be used in a 50cal Snipers
Rifle and when using Match Grade Ammo (i.e. Sniper Rifle Ammo) the M2HB
can and has been used as a long range sniping weapon). Further the skill
and strength of the operator has little effect on the consistency of
bullet impact. In the middle two cases the skill of the operator is most
important while in the last two it is strength and skill.
Please note I am not conserned with accuracy in the above
evaluation. Accuracy is completely skill based and controls where the
first round goes. Consistency is an evaluation of where the subsiquent
rounds go in relation to the first round. All the rounds impacting in a
small tight group is consistant shooting and for the most part is
desired. Accuracy is insuring that they hit the desired target.
The less consistant the cobination of operator, mount type and
weapon is the wider the dispersion of the bullet impacts. Too wide and
the burst has little effect.
2. I am not sure that gamers really want a truly accurate model of small
arms firing in thier games. The designer of the first edtion TW2000
provided a converstion of that game to a more realistic model. You were
to double the accuracy ratings and double the wound effects. The result
was a short and bloody game as most PCs were taken completly out of the
game by the first hit and any moderately compedent ambush required new
charactors.
3. I am also not sure that accuracy, consistancy, and wound effects can
be accuratly modeled by a system that only uses a single die roll and I
am not sure I want to play a game that requires a lot of rolls for one
shot. A comprimise is clearly in order, the question is how.
David Hinkley
dhinkley@***.org
