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So flipping through a few World Books I see a pretty huge selection of variable frequency laser rifles produced all around the world. Even settings without any obvious reason for them to exist. This raises a few questions:

1. Does anything besides the Glitterboy (or other chromium covered robots) actually resist lasers? Does that mean chromium is actually MUCH more common and could coat random things in game?

2. Since the US10 or whatever has a pre-setting on so many guns does that work on all chromium or would every World Book have a separate setting for their own Glitterboys? And if chromium does have one setting then why aren't ALL lasers set to the frequency that overcomes that since it has no other effect on the range, accuracy, damage output, etc.

3. Are blue-green lasers, I.E. underwater capable lasers, a different "setting" than normal lasers by default?

Richardson wrote:So flipping through a few World Books I see a pretty huge selection of variable frequency laser rifles produced all around the world. Even settings without any obvious reason for them to exist. This raises a few questions:

1. Does anything besides the Glitterboy (or other chromium covered robots) actually resist lasers? Does that mean chromium is actually MUCH more common and could coat random things in game?

Glitterboys are pretty much it in Rifts.
HU has some GB precurser stuff.
Robotech has some laser resistant armor.
But for the most part, it's just Glitterboys.

2. Since the US10 or whatever has a pre-setting on so many guns does that work on all chromium or would every World Book have a separate setting for their own Glitterboys? And if chromium does have one setting then why aren't ALL lasers set to the frequency that overcomes that since it has no other effect on the range, accuracy, damage output, etc.

Good questions.

3. Are blue-green lasers, I.E. underwater capable lasers, a different "setting" than normal lasers by default?

I would guess not.
Frequency and Color don't seem to be the same thing.

#1. Off hand no, but that doesn't mean such things might not exist in Rifts. I know they exist in RT on a wider scale than just the Glitterboy (and Chromium NEMA hardware) in 1E, not sure about 2E off-hand. Though specific to Rifts/Chaos Earth I can't really recall any aside from the Glitterboy, though Archie produces Chromium SAMAS units, though IIRC Triax 2 mentions developments in this area.

#2. Actually there are 13 different frequency settings IINM (SB1o in the Q&A section). Each individual glitterboy/chromium-unit is fixed to one of those settings. That is why Variable Frequency Lasers exist, because any given target could be 1 out of 13 options. This prevents mass manufacture of lasers fixed to an individual frequency the Laser Resistant Material is vulnerable to.

#3. I would have to say yes that under water capable lasers are in a different frequency range than standard lasers. Hence the designation of Blue-Green Laser. This also means that the BG-laser frequency is likely not one of the Chromium vulnerable settings. The Color of light is based on frequency.

1> I don't rightly remember off hand any specific armor in rifts other then GB that is lasers resistant.
There are the laser resistant coatings in the AU book (for body armor and PA ) and in the AUGG book (for space ships).

3> No.

Well free quebec has a range of armors of glitterboy/varients and a few other things that use the laser resistant armors so it made sense for CS to develop theirs as a potential counter if they ever came to blows. Triax has some glitterboys as well as other units using the same kind of laser resistant armor as well as some other countries around the world.

The GB was one of the original main battle mecha of the golden age and anybody who fielded them or thought they may at some point have to go against them designed weaponry to try to negate some of its advantages. Given most post rift societies are built on the tech plans scavenged from that time it is unsurprising that most major theaters that had surviving tech nations have variable frequency laser options.

Richardson wrote:So flipping through a few World Books I see a pretty huge selection of variable frequency laser rifles produced all around the world. Even settings without any obvious reason for them to exist. This raises a few questions:

1. Does anything besides the Glitterboy (or other chromium covered robots) actually resist lasers? Does that mean chromium is actually MUCH more common and could coat random things in game?

2. Since the US10 or whatever has a pre-setting on so many guns does that work on all chromium or would every World Book have a separate setting for their own Glitterboys? And if chromium does have one setting then why aren't ALL lasers set to the frequency that overcomes that since it has no other effect on the range, accuracy, damage output, etc.

3. Are blue-green lasers, I.E. underwater capable lasers, a different "setting" than normal lasers by default?

there was a note regarding glitterboy chrome I think it may have been in new west, or japan, that there are a number of settings needed to defeat the glitterboy chrome, in fact I want to say the US had at least 10 different compositions that each reacted to a different frequency. There is no inherent reason other groups couldn't come up with additional variations.

Glitterboy chrome is only one specific example of laser resistant armor. I believe all the southern cross body armor, (and the hovertanks arm shields) are laser resistant.

some of the newer books also include laser or energy resistance in various types of armor. most of which would require their own specific frequencies to defeat.

the "blue-green" lasers are their own thing because that light wavelength penetrates water better than "red" lasers do. most lasers do NOT have the capability to change their frequencies to the blue-green range they have to be manufactured that way, or to include that as an option.

By the books there is GB and some stuff made by FQ.

I allow players to build stuff with reflective laser resistant quality. Chrome is not the only mirror like substance out there. (But then I allow them to build things that are thermal, kinetic, laser restraint, or stealth they can only have one of those qualities. ie cant be laser and resistant and stealth.) I tend to allow operator and TW style charters to work on and make prototype gear to use, and some times they can make a profit selling proven desighns to big manufacutrs.

2. Not sure what the US10 is. Could be this is a special snow flake weapon that can not be copied. As I understand it variable frequency has several preprogramed frequency or can sycle through multiple frequencies so it may not be one frequency for all Chrome or reflective armor.

3. I think the idea is that the blue green light does not dispate as fast as red. In real world physics it could be a different light spectrum or frequency but is not that detailed in rifts. But then by real world physics you could probably stop lasers with a large fog machine.

Variable lasers cameo out early in the game, before any real expansion of it. GB's were the only thing with that kind of damage reduction at the time. i suspect the idea was that the game would eventually include a bunch of stuff that would give similar effect. and as the game developed.. it just didn't.

as far as the settings question goes, i'd assume that the settings would change by regional production, and to an extent within a production line. so Triax chromium would be different setting than NEMA chromium. that the NEMA USA-G10 GB's would have different settings than the free quebec G10's, due to different types of impurities and such in the raw materials used to make the suit, or the condition of the machines used to make the armor material, etc.
if you wanted to go farther, you could put in manufacturers quirks that way.. so a NEMA suit made in mexico is different from one made in Canada, for example.


as far as the B-G laser question.. currently it seems they are totally different. while frequency and color was the same thing for lasers, i suspect the frequencies that stuff like chromium armor is vulnerable to is a narrow band, nowhere near the blue section of the spectrum. (given that we have no BlueGreen variable lasers)

Also republican armor now that I think of it is laser resistant as well. They have glitter boys but their normal body armor is also laser resistant and made of the same materials. Not a common thing you bump into but it is out there. If you look though glitterboys show up in a LOT of areas of rifts earth north america/south america/europe/japan the new navy has access to them as well at least in limited numbers. So while its kind of special use its not like its unheard of to bump into things where having variable frequency lasers may come in handy. And that is all home grown stuff god knows what creeps and crawls out of the rifts.

guardiandashi wrote:
Glitterboy chrome is only one specific example of laser resistant armor. I believe all the southern cross body armor, (and the hovertanks arm shields) are laser resistant.

some of the newer books also include laser or energy resistance in various types of armor. most of which would require their own specific frequencies to defeat.

I do not have these books. Who are the southern cross? And specifically which books are you referring to?

Richardson wrote:1. Does anything besides the Glitterboy (or other chromium covered robots) actually resist lasers? Does that mean chromium is actually MUCH more common and could coat random things in game?

The Dragonwing (?) robot from WB5 has a variant with the chromium plating, and I think the Chaos Earth version of the SAMAS is made with it too, though I don't have those books so I don't know for sure.

As for coating random stuff with chromium, while it may be physically possible, it might not be available in some areas of the world, due to either knowledge/means to make chromium, or manufacturers not wanting to make it available for stuff other than their own mecha units.

Richardson wrote:

guardiandashi wrote:
Glitterboy chrome is only one specific example of laser resistant armor. I believe all the southern cross body armor, (and the hovertanks arm shields) are laser resistant.

some of the newer books also include laser or energy resistance in various types of armor. most of which would require their own specific frequencies to defeat.

I do not have these books. Who are the southern cross? And specifically which books are you referring to?

Southern Cross equipment is from the Robotech RPG line, not Rifts, but it could be theoretically brought over as a crossover.

I think there's some three galaxies stuff that's laser resistant, but it probably won't show up on earth too often.

Bill wrote:I think there's some three galaxies stuff that's laser resistant, but it probably won't show up on earth too often.

I would think the nunri thermal/ballistic resistant armor in wave two would be resistant to laser burns.