Phadeout wrote:Don't post much on these forums, mostly I skulk around
Now I do have to say, FQ was a disappointment to me.
First, my thoughts on the Glittergirl: Ever seen the one from South America? That is a much much better representation of a Female Type GB. Use it?
IIRC, the GB in South America was a GB that had each one "form fitted" for each pilot that got one. The art was simply of one form fitted to a female pilot.
No rules on how GB combat really works. I.E. any dodge modifications due to pilons? Naw, you can fire and move as you wish without even a negative to dodge. And no one can fire the same time as you, right before or after, so you can still dodge... Love that lack of rules... Hell, we'll even give you a dodge bonus!
I think dodging would be effectively impossible when the GB is anchored to the ground. By the time the recoil system was done, the pylons would be able to retract quickly, meaning the GB might only be 'immobile' for 2-3 seconds when it fires. The GB is humanoid, is fairly agile for its size/weight, and having a dodge bonus for "elite" training makes sense to me.
Now, onto the Tarantula. I love this GB. I just think it's cool. It's neat!
I did laugh myself silly on the piddly piddly damage that this thing could do. 2400ft range, causes heat soak, maximun number of shots per round 3!?! Ok, so based on this I make the damage:
4d6x10 M.D.
Why so much? 3 shots per round, 2400ft range, enough kinetic force to knock over a cyborg that tries to use it... 4d6x10 is the same damage that the Particle beem rifle used by the Glitterboys in Rifts: Space.
So, you only have a problem with the plasma gun?
No complaint about the laser or rail gun of the QST-333 "Shaker" Tri-Cannon?
Okay, so the plasma gun portion of the "Shaker" Cannon has a few bugs, but it is still slightly more powerful and better ranged than many other plasma weapons. That is quite an achievement in and off itself, especially considering there is also a laser and rail gun crammed in there.
The recoil problem is likely related to improved range and damage, by accelerating the plasma to higher speeds.
But overall, the description does say the "Shaker" cannon has its share of problems.
It is good compared to plasma weapons on other PA and vehicles, many of which can barely compare to infantry scale plasma weapons. Then again, many PA and vehicle energy weapons sometimes seems to have trouble comparing to infantry scale weapons.
That 4D6x10 is insanely overkill. If it was meant to be that powerful, they wouldn't have bothered to also mount a laser and a rail gun in the "Shaker" cannon.
I could see the damage increased up to 2D6x10 MD since it is the heart of the "Shaker" cannon, but not any more than that.
The orbitals from Mutants in Orbit are apparently far more advanced in some areas, and even that powerful PBC can only fire a limited number of times and has a slow recharge rate for those limited shots. That and the PBC is built into the GB Mk IV, and isn't a rifle. It also happens to be a particle beam, not a plasma weapon like in the "Shaker" cannon, which means there is a major difference in how damage is inflicted.
I might also note that the orbitals had over 2 centuries to develop that GB, while FQ hasn't had as long and doesn't have access to as much intact pre-rifts tech. On a scary side note, the GB Mk IV had been in use for 75 years as of 101 PA.
A hand held c-29 hellfire can do 1d6x10MD for cripes sakes.
E-clip based weapons can put out a lot of power in a short period of time, something nuclear powered things can't exactly do without one really large nuclear power source. As I mentioned before, many PA and vehicle mounted energy weapons seem to have trouble comparing to infantry scale weapons powered by e-clips.
Heck, look at the one 'anti-armor' laser rifle that drains an entire e-clip in a single shot and packs more punch than many weapons out there, infantry or vehicle based.
*snip*
Ok, a little more insight:
I also find it funny that the Silver Wolf GB's little Particle Beam does 1d6x10+6 (hhhhmmmm, the EXACT same little weird number used for the damage on the Tarantula) and can be fired 200 times in a row before you have any problems. Copy paste happy on that damage?
Copy paste damage?
That's an interesting way of putting it.
I don't see any problem with the damage.
The description says the weapon has trouble overheating after 10 minutes of heavy use, or roughly 200 shots.
That basically comes out to firing 5 times or more per melee round for 40 melee rounds. Even then, it only has a chance of shutting down for a few minutes due to overheating.
After that, it's bck up and running and ready to go shooting stuff up again.
I can understand why the weapon has such problems.
Hand held particle beams don't have problems since you have a lot less armor holding heat in and you have to stop to reload them, giving them a little extra time to cool off. Vehicle based ones will have better cooling systems, preventing such problems.
I'd almost be tempted to turn the Tarantula's weapon into a giant version of the Plasma Thrower from Mercenaries, or at least make the plasma or M.D.napalm thrower a secondary weapon that is carried by the GB.
It's a three in one weapon, the weapon would have to be totally overhauled and redesigned to do something like that.
On a side note, while I heard of it before, I didn't have much like finding anything about a Plasma Thrower in Rifts Mercenaries. Where is it listed at?
And, I'd make the Tarantula take 50% less damage from Plasma/Heat based attacks. Which would be a nice treat for all those Plasma missile happy CS Teams that thing their missiles will roast GB's at will.
The Tarantula is a Glitter Boy, it's armor is laser reflective, not heat resistant. The thing has heat resistant plates and cooling systems to deal with the heat of the weapon.
There is no mention of MDC type damage from the heat, only that it can cause all sorts of heat related problems to anything else like if it was mounted on a vehicle.
To take half from heat based damage, the thing would have to be using actual armor designed to resist heat, and not just some extra insulation and cooling systems.
Being able to resist heat that can soften welds and mess up electronics is one thing, being able to resist temps that can likely vaporize steel in the fraction of a second is another matter all together.