weapon
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Guy creates handheld railgun with a 3D-printer
An ambitious maker has built a partly 3D-printed railgun that can fire aluminum or graphite projectiles at over 250 meters per second (560 mph). No, this isn't Quake, but it's no janky, all-plastic gun, either. The "handheld" weapon houses six capacitors that weigh 20 pounds and deliver over 1,800 joules of energy per shot. And it indeed works just like a full-sized railgun, using parallel electrodes to fire an "armature" bullet. The creator, David Wirth, added an Arduino Uno R3 to monitor charging levels, temperature and other factors, and tweaked the rails after he noticed "plasma damage."
US Army will test a smart grenade launcher that hits hidden targets
After years of work, Orbital ATK (born from Orbital Sciences) is close to delivering a clever weapon that could help American soldiers in very tricky situations. As of early 2016, the US Army will start acceptance testing for the XM25, a smart grenade launcher that can defeat enemies behind cover. In normal use, all you have to do is point at an enemy (up to 1,640 feet away) and let the XM25's laser rangefinder decide when your grenade explodes. If a target is hiding, however, you can dial in extra distance (up to 2,300 feet away) and explode the grenade in mid-air. Troops theoretically don't have to expose themselves to line up a shot -- they just pick a close-enough point and pull the trigger.
Homebuilt laser shotgun is every bit as dangerous as it sounds
If you thought building your own laser weapon at home was hot stuff, you haven't seen anything yet. Do-it-yourself fan Styropyro has built a laser "shotgun" whose eight 5W beams are adjustable with lenses, much like you'd adjust the choke on a conventional shotgun to narrow or widen its buckshot spread. As you might gather, 40W of combined laser power is pretty powerful -- and unbelievably dangerous. The gun can destroy everything from balloons to ping pong balls, and there are reflected beams that could easily smack someone's eye. Don't try this at home, folks. It's still an impressive feat of homebrew engineering, though, and Styropyro is hoping to make something "even crazier" before long.
Red's latest 'Weapon' is an 8K full-frame camera
Red launched the first mainstream 4K camera when 1080p seemed like overkill, and now that this whole 4K thing might work out, it's got an 8K RAW model. The Weapon 'Vista Vision' features a mind-boggling 8,192 x 4,320, 35-megapixel sensor that can do up to 75 fps, widescreen 8K. The chip is also 40.96 x 21.6mm or Vista Vision-sized, considerably larger than the full-frame sensor on a camera like the Nikon D810. Video can be recorded in RAW and scaled-down ProRes formats simultaneously, just as with the company's 6K Weapon models.
Lockheed Martin's laser can stop a truck from over a mile away
Lasers have staggering range, can attack land or air-based targets and are dirt-cheap to fire, making them ideal for a military with one eye on the budget. Now, Lockheed Martin has worked out that the technology could also be used for stopping a car without resorting to lethal force. The company has been testing out a new fiber-optic laser, called ATHENA, which was able to burn through the engine manifold of a truck that was over a mile away.
Why hunt rare Destiny weapons, when you can build them in Lego?
Are you one of the millions of people who bought Destiny? Do you like Lego? If you fit that fairly specific demographic, then the latest creation from master builder ZaziNombies might get you more excited than a Thrall on a day out from the Hellmouth. Okay, we might have gone a bit overboard there, but this full-scale replica of the Ice Breaker is seriously impressive. Inside the game, you'd normally obtain this auto-regenerating exotic special weapon as part of a reward, engram, chest haul or even buy it from old squid face (Xur) on one of his good days, but if one of your talents is putting together little plastic bricks (without a manual), then it takes more than 2,100 individual Lego pieces and a whole lot of time. As it turns out, this Lego Ice Breaker isn't the first Destiny weapon that YouTuber ZaziNombies has created, but at an impressive 42.5 inches in length, it's definitely his best.
Bungie gives Destiny players the gift of Legendary weapons
The holidays have come and gone, but Destiny players get a little more to celebrate this week. Bungie promised players a "small but Legendary" gift, and true to form, players have been receiving a single free Legendary weapon by the mail. It's not the same as what you'd get from a vendor, and it's not an engram; it's a random weapon that could be almost anything. For some players, it's going to be a nice new weapon with just the right perks. That's the gift that keeps on giving. (Specifically, it keeps giving ammunition to enemies at high velocity whether they wanted it or not.) For others, it's going to be another copy of the same weapon you already have or an even worse one. That's how random works. Regardless, if you play the game, go in and check your mail. It's not a fresh pair of socks, at least.
Complete Bronze Proving Grounds, get your weapon
Of course the first thing we want to do upon hitting level 100 is to start gearing up. And we want to run heroics, which means getting a silver in proving grounds. Well, while you're at it, don't miss this quest, given in your Garrison by Lieutenant Thorn if you're Alliance, and Warmaster Zog if you're Horde. It's a good way to get your hands on a solid 610 weapon (almost as good as an heirloom at level 100) and, if you get lucky and get an epic instead of a blue, it's actually ilevel 630 and better than the heirloom weapons from Garrosh. I did Bronze as DPS first, and found it to be pretty easy. It's basically a free weapon as good as a dungeon drop, with a chance to be as good as a heroic dungeon drop. Since you're going to want to be able to queue for heroics anyway, there's no reason not to get it done.
US Navy puts its first laser weapon into service
It's official: the US Navy has entered the future. Vice Admiral John Miller tells Bloomberg that the USS Ponce, an amphibious transport, has been using the Navy's Laser Weapon System (LaWS) in the Persian Gulf since late August. The high-tech arsenal is no threat to larger vessels, but it's potentially ideal for defending against Iran's fleet of smaller ships. The Ponce can use non-lethal laser flashes to spook enemies or thwart their sensors, and it can destroy small craft (including airborne drones) if they don't heed warnings. It'll take some time before laser weapons are a common sight on the high seas, since the Navy wants to know how it fares in real-world conditions; dust, heat and other Gulf conditions could lead to failures. If it pans out, however, there's a real chance that the days of conventional small deck guns are numbered. [Image credit: John F. Williams/US Navy, Flickr]
How 'feel' trumps realism in H1Z1's weapon design
H1Z1 Senior Game Designer Jimmy Whisenhunt has penned another dev blog about SOE's inbound survival sandbox, this one aimed at weapon design, starting with the modeling and rigging process. Animation design in particular, he says, is critical. "A huge part of the tuning process that is commonly overlooked in FPS game development is how a weapon reacts to in-game actions," Whisenhunt explains. "Design and Animation have to be in lock-step for a successful feel in combat; we need to have the same vision to ensure a solid experience for the player." He also discusses recoil and shooting mechanics and how "feel" can trump realism. "We've mentioned in the past that we want to avoid tuning and creating things simply because they 'that's the way it is in real life,' which means I get to take to take a realistic ballistic and weapon recoil feel and make it feel satisfying and fun. Typically the gravity of projectiles in real life doesn't fit the intended play experience we seek out. After all, the weapon feel and functionality has to fit our world design as well as Zombie and Player combat." The full dev blog is on the official site. We took a look at H1Z1's art and lighting effects last week.
Destiny launches a day one patch
If you've played MMOs for any length of time, you've probably acquired a fear of the phrase "day one patch," as it's rarely an indication that everything will be smooth sailing. Destiny has just launched (as the most pre-ordered new IP ever, according to Activision), and it's already gotten its first patch out now, with sweeping changes to several key areas of the game's systems. Subclass locking is gone from builds and the unlocking order for subclasses has been adjusted; in addition, several classes and subclasses have seen their abilities and mechanics adjusted. The patch also ushers in balance changes for most styles of weapon: assault rifles, pulse rifles, shotguns, scout rifles, hand cannons, HMGs, the list goes on. Some PvP mechanics and several maps have also been adjusted, which might lead to some rude awakenings for players jumping into the game expecting to know everything from beta. Check out the full patch notes for a breakdown of all the changes.
Roberts discusses Star Citizen's inventory system, balancing, and factions
Star Citizen fans can get some answers from Chris Roberts, assuming that the questions they have match up with the five questions featured in the latest video. There's nothing fancy about this one, just Roberts sitting down and answering top fan questions about the game as collected from the game's Reddit directory. Roberts starts off by discussing inventory and how it will be influenced by player outfits, along with the different inventories for ships, player characters, and the like. He also talks about balancing with weapons and items in the present and in the future, the interplay of organization membership with enemy NPC factions, ship durability, and the details on the Caterpillar. If you want to hear about all of that, jump on past the break to watch the full video; it's only eight minutes long, but it contains plenty of information for fans to consider and discuss in depth.
Inteliscope app version one shows off its iPhone-enabled sniping skills (video)
In the old days, when you wanted to double-tap a bad guy with an AR-15, you had to rely on plain-jane scopes or sights... booooring. Good thing we live in a more tactically technological time, the age of the Inteliscope -- a mount and app combo that lets you slap an iPhone or iPod touch atop an assault rifle to give the killing fields a little Cupertino flair. Until now, we'd only seen a screenshot of the app, but the company has just released a video of it in action. So, head on down to see for yourself what it's like swapping reticles, getting range info and recording video of target practice from a sniper's POV.
Inteliscope: because your tactical rifle totally needed an iPhone strapped to it
It's surely not the first contraption to bring an iDevice to a weapon, but the Inteliscope does appear to be one of the first to take itself seriously. It's designed to secure an iPhone 4 / 4S / 5 or iPod touch to any firearm with a Picatinny (Mil-STD-1913) or Weaver tactical rail, enabling shooters to peek around corners with no head exposure. Naturally, the mount itself wouldn't be all that attractive without an accompanying app. The software portion of the equation offers up custom crosshairs, a 5x digital zoom, video recording capabilities, ballistics / firearm data, a built-in compass and a shot timer. There's also a flashlight and strobe feature, information about local prevailing winds and a constant check on your location. Folks interested in pre-ordering can do so at the source link for $69.99, with initial shipments expected to head out in June.
Limited edition Mass Effect 3 Paladin pistol replica available for pre-order
BioWare has just revealed this snazzy real-life replica version of Mass Effect 3's M-77 Paladin pistol, available for pre-order today. The weapon weighs 7 pounds, is hand-finished and hand-painted, and is one of a set of only 200 made by collectible firm Triforce. Buying one for yourself will run you a total of $400: You'll need to put down $200 now to reserve your own fake space gun, and then another $200 when it's ready to go, which is expected to be later this year. That's not cheap, but then again nobody said fighting off the Reaper Invasion would be.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite weapon?
In each of my MMOs, I know my weapons intimately. In Star Trek Online, it's a plasma railgun that spits glowy death at 5,000 shots a minute. In Lord of the Rings Online, it's a legendary spear that I've named Metroid. In Guild Wars 2, it's a ferocious flamethrower that's laid waste to most of the civilized world. Burn, baby, burn! Sometimes we're constrained by class and available drops to what weapons we equip, but chances are that you've had a favorite or two in there. Maybe it was a weapon that had a cool design or proc'd a neat effect when used. Perhaps it's something that took you a lot of effort to acquire or create. Or it could just be a weapon that completely gels with your personality. Open up the door to your armory -- and heart -- and sound off about your favorite weapon! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Patch 5.1: Upgrading your gear with valor
What do you do with thousands of Valor points when you already have all the gear that you can buy from the Valor vendors? Coming in with patch 5.1, one of the cool things is the ability to upgrade your own gear. In previous expansions, we'd reach a point where we'd have tons of Valor or Justice points and nothing to buy. Head on over to visit the local ethereals in the major capital cities and look for the item upgrade NPC. The process for upgrading items is simple. Drag the item you wish to upgrade over to the item slot, then hit the upgrade button. Only items that are 458 ilvl or higher can be upgraded. Blue quality items can be upgraded once for an 8 item level increase for 1500 Justice or Honor points. Epic quality items can be upgraded twice with a 4 item level increase per upgrade for 750 Valor or Conquest points. Once an item is upgraded, there's no way to get them refunded. Choose them wisely! If you're not sure what to upgrade first, I would suggest focusing on your weapons and trinkets. For most classes, you should notice a slight increase in your character's performance. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Boeing tests microwave missile that knocks out electronics, represents our worst nightmare (video)
Forget bombs or the robopocalypse. In our minds, the most fearsome weapon is the one that disables our gadgets. That's what makes Boeing's newly tested Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) scarier than most projectiles. The missile bombards targets underneath with microwaves that shut down computers, power systems and just about anything electrical in their path. Thankfully, CHAMP's invisible payload arrives in discrete bursts and arguably makes it the world's most advanced (and likely expensive) non-lethal weapon: the prototype can target multiple individual buildings without ever having to detonate and hurt someone. Boeing is still developing CHAMP in a multi-year program and doesn't have guarantees that it will become military ordnance, which gives us enough time to accept that saving lives is far, far more important than the risk we'll have to stop fiddling with our technology.
LIPC weapon combines lasers and lightning, proves soldiers are a bunch of nerds
The problem with laser weapons is this -- they need a lot, a lot of power. Seriously. Some of those big, plane-mounted prototypes choke down enough juice to power a whole city. Not so with the Laser-Induced Plasma Channel weapon being developed by researchers at Picatinny Arsenal. While still using plenty of electricity, this more moderately specced laser is just powerful enough to strip electrons off the air molecules around it generating a thin filament of plasma. Its not the high-intensity laser pulse that does the damage, though. Instead, the channel of plasma is used as a conduit for a high-voltage blast of electricity. That laser-assisted bolt of lightning could disable vehicles, people and even IEDs. There are plenty of obstacles, including making the weapon rugged enough for battlefield use and reliable enough to keep the plasma channel from leading the blast of electricity back into the laser and damaging it. Now, if only we could find the video that still above was taken from.
Breakfast Topic: It shouldn't annoy you, but it does
I've been leveling my warrior recently, as those of you who read a previous Breakfast Topic already know. There's one thing about leveling her as protection that really keeps niggling at me, and that's how bizarrely a one-handed weapon sits on the female tauren model. It might just be me, but something about how the handle of almost every sword, axe, and mace in the game bangs into her chin seems wrong somehow. (I could probably also write something about tabards bugging out on the female tauren when she sits, but I'm pretty used to that now.) Now, in the grand scheme of things, this is small potatoes. I should be getting mad about how druids aren't getting Shark With Lasers form in Mists of Pandaria or the serious game balance issues posed by my inability to get a decent pair of shoulders to drop for my shaman. I have absolutely no excuse for my obsession with how high a one-handed weapon sits on a female tauren -- and yet somehow, it still bugs me. At least with my warrior, I can spec her fury with Titan's Grip and stop thinking about it, but other classes are still kinda stuck. Spill, folks. We've all got tiny things in the game that don't merit attention and yet drive us nuts. What are yours?
