On lasers

>>>         This is something I always found really silly about classic
>>> traveller, the lack of a built-in "targeting" laser on a beam laser.
>>> On a pulse-laser, on the other hand, you're probably going to need a
>>> separate laser for targeting.
>>
>> Or operate the pulse laser at reduced output and increase the pulse
>> frequency.  After all, enough pulses per second (and it doesn't take many)
>> looks like a beam to the human eye.
>
> This works very easily. You could build it into an existing laser for
> pennies; the UI would be the most expensive part. I've always ruled
> that lasers are self-targeting, in my games. Squeeze the grip, get a
> bead; squeeze the trigger, shoot.

I was speaking of a slow, "single-shot" laser, i.e. pulse, wait
one second, pulse, etc.  A fast-pulsing laser would be functionally
equivalent to a beam laser in terms of beam continuity, targeting, etc.

>>>         A comment on the difficulty of evading a laser, remarked upon
>>> by the previous poster.  Try playing paintball, a combat-style game
>>> using CO2-propelled, paint-filled gelatin capsules.
>>
>> Or try playing Photon.  You shoot at each other with sort-range infra-red
>> in a cluttered, dimly-lit, sometimes smoked-up maze (rather like boarding

Actually, I've played paintball in such surroundings.  Photon
doesn't do much for me.  I just deleted about a paragraph's worth of
ranting about how horrible photon is.  This isn't the place.  I've
played paintball in one of the best indoor fields I've ever seen - it
used to be a state mental hospital.  Three floors, hallways, rooms,
windows, stair wells, roofs, etc.  Tons o' fun.  Several games we
played with LZ-marker smoke flares to provide an interesting
environment.

> *Embarrassed blush* I am and have been for a long time a pretty good pistol
> shot, but I made a complete fool of myself in the Naperville Photon Arena.
> Shooting and being shot at are two very different things, and it takes a
> long time to develop reflexes (and a lot of money, too).

Well, the first right reflex is pretty easy to develop - get
down behind cover as fast as possible.  The problem is unlearning this -
figuring out when you should be up and moving.

> You also learn a few things about encumbrance. They strap a helmet
> and a huge battery pack on you, and suddenly it's not quite as easy
> to do the acrobatics you see in the movies. |->

This is certainly true.  When I play paintball I generally
wear a camo jumpsuit with lots of pockets for 12-gram CO2 and paint,
and carry a Rapide or similar paintball gun, slung SMG-style.  On
occasion I've worn belts with ammo pouches, canteens, etc, but they
always get in the way, they generally bounce around when you have to
run, and most importantly (for me), they tend to get caught on things
when you're slithering through knee-high grass and undergrowth to get
in for a close-up...

> It would also help if the SFX in your internal helmet speaker for "fire,"
> "hit scored on opponent" and "hit scored on you" were easier to differentiate
> amidst all the noise and screaming. |-\

The constant "noise" from the photon helmet speaker was quite
annoying.  You can learn a LOT about what's going on around you if you
listen.  The helmets also limited peripheral vision far too much, for
no good reason.

Steven J. Owens
[email removed]