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Diverting information from shields to weapons in newest STO Ask Cryptic
This edition of Ask Cryptic is especially interesting for Star Trek fans wanting to know how combat is going to play out in Cryptic's Star Trek Online. We now know that it will be possible to divert power from one system in the game to another. So a player will be able to drop engines by 40% and boost weapons with that diverted power, allowing them to make a heavier attack.Related to this is the new knowledge that there won't be a "mana bar" style power system in the game. Players will never have to worry about being able to fire their phasers because their energy is too low, but of course if they divert too much power from said phasers they won't be hitting very hard with them. Another possibility -- although unconfirmed as far as we know -- would be if your phasers were damaged too much from concentrated fire.Finally, we're happy to hear that Cryptic is certain that a grouping of smaller ships will definitely be able to take down a larger battleship. This means that Star Trek Online's leveling system will not be the norm, another plus for anyone hoping that the game won't be "WoW with starships" or anything of the sort.
Pentagon plans ultrasonic curtain to muffle loud tanks
Although Macroswiss' giraffe pole could certainly lend our soldiers a hand in peeking across enemy lines, someone with a good bit of execution authority would rather we take a more direct approach to encroaching on the baddies. A Pentagon-based budget layout has revealed plans for an "ultrasonic curtain" to be constructed in a presumed attempt to "significantly" muffle vehicles and loud machinery in order to get our troops closer to foes without being noticed. While the actual construction plans aren't entirely laid out, the device will purportedly use "directed ultrasound technology to enable the capability to significantly reduce sound emissions from large scale tactical military hardware," and they hope to lower noise by "at least 30-decibels" in order to allows troops to operate in close proximity to the enemy without being detected aurally. Of course, cracking trees and unforeseen sneezes could still remain a problem, but there are already plans in place to "validate the theoretical models in laboratory settings," estimate the power required to sustain such a sound shield, and to design a finished product that can cover "a truck-sized vehicle." Sadly, it doesn't seem that this project will be integrating the invisibility cloak already discovered, so a flurry of bubble boy jokes is bound to arise. Wired]
