Bullets
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US Army wants bullets that turn into plants over time
The US military may not seem like the greenest of organizations, but if rising seas and temperatures produce worldwide chaos, they're the ones that have to deal with that shit. Now, the Department of Defense is trying to tackle environmental problems caused by spent bullets and casings on its firing ranges by using composite materials laced with seeds.
Watch these smart bullets home in on targets like tiny missiles
Soldiers have long dreamed of smart bullets that always hit their targets, and it looks like they're now much closer to getting their wish. DARPA has posted the first footage of EXACTO (Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance), a .50-caliber bullet that uses optical guidance and sensors to home in on its prey. As you see in the fuzzy-looking video below, the projectile compensates for movement, weather and wind with all the agility of a missile -- even if you try to miss, it easily swerves back on track. The project is still young, but it could prove a tremendous help to long-distance snipers for whom even the tiniest slip-up could ruin a shot.
The Daily Grind: Do you want to worry about ammunition?
Despite the fact that my thief in Guild Wars 2 carries pistols which appear to be capable of holding one shot at a time, I don't recall her ever reloading. Nor do I recall ever having to buy the oxcarts full of ammunition that she apparently has at all times, because it has to come from somewhere. Like many games, Guild Wars 2 does away with worries about ammunition and focuses instead on just giving you weapons that fire when you want. On the one hand, this makes sense -- ammunition in World of Warcraft was such a hassle that the designers eventually did away with it altogether. It's a break in verisimilitude for ease of play. On the other hand, removing the need for ammunition removes the possibility of special types of ammunition, and the ease of play issues could be addressed in other ways. So do you want ammunition in your game? Or would you prefer to just have an infinite quiver and focus on shooting arrows? 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!
Behind the Mask: Fictional guns are lame
Out of all my issues with modern roleplaying, the inaccurate portrayal of firearms is very near and dear to my heart. Champions Online is a pretty big offender in this regard. One of the most important things that we forget to realize about games in modern settings is that in the real world, guns are tremendously destructive. Although this is more of a general roleplaying issue and not limited to CO, I feel it's worth touching on. Is it so weird to wonder why superpowered groups like VIPER or UNTIL use energy blasters instead of firearms? Hit the jump and we'll talk about why the U-KTF blaster rifles don't hold a candle to things that exist in the real world.
Ghostcrawler on hunter ammo replacement
As you may recall, Blizzard announced their intent to get rid of consumable ammo in Patch 3.1, only to withdraw the change a short time later, with the promise of reimplementing it at a nebulous later date. Now, it's been more or less assumed that said later date is Cataclysm itself, or at least Patch 4.0. In a general forum post created to discuss ammo replacements, Ghostcrawler piped in to remind us that the only change announced for Cataclysm was the removal of ammo, with nothing else yet decided (or, more accurately, announced). While he did acknowledge the possibility of adding in new situational ammo, he did observe that the hassle of collecting and swapping different ammo types might grow old pretty quickly, especially for a class like the hunter that already needs to push a lot of buttons to play at peak potential, in addition to already having a pet to manage.
Ammo controversy in 3.3 already
Patch 3.3 is only barely out on the live realms, and already, there's a controversy with the new epic ammo recipes. Lassirra says that hunters are concerned that the requirements to make the ammo are just too high. Blizzard had promised to make getting epic ammo easier, and this still has the requirement of having a high level engineer, with the extra charge of requiring a Goblin engie for the bullets, and a Gnomish engie for the arrows. And even after you find a 450 Engineer in the right spec, you still have to get a couple of Crystallized Shadow or Earth together. That doesn't sound "easier" to me, either. Let's not forget, however, that this is cutting edge (no pun intended) ammo -- this isn't the kind of vendor junk you just fire while leveling. It's a 30 point DPS gain from the previous high level ammo, and that kind of increase probably does justify a little tougher requirement to make. Of course, it'll probably work out so that other classes get that increase normally through their itemization, but that's just the way it works for hunters. If you want the new ammo, you'll have to find an friendly engie of the right spec with the right skill Honored with the new Ashen Verdict faction, and then keep them supplied with as much Crystallized Earth and Shadow as you can find.
Dragon Skin body armor gains piezoelectric sensors, keeps bullet-stopping abilities
This Dragon Skin armor has been knocking about since 2007, but now that piezoelectrics and intelligence have been thrown into the mix we couldn't stop ourselves from taking a peek at it. The armor's strength is derived from a reptilian arrangement of overlapping ceramic and titanium composite discs, which simultaneously block incoming rounds and dissipate the impact to a wider area. What's interesting about the new design is the two piezoelectric sensors attached to each end -- one of them transfers a low voltage of power through the armor in the form of vibration, which the other picks up, and the reported energy loss is interpreted as armor degradation. Gnarlier still is the ability of these sensors to generate electricity from bullet impacts, which can then themselves give you an indication of what sort of bullet hit you. Capable of being applied to soldiers and vehicles alike, this could make the real act of soldiering a whole lot more like a video game (minus the whole "infinite respawn" thing), with HUDs showing you how much "shield" you have left. You can see an old(ish) video of the original armor after the break.
Ammo stacks in 1000, sells in 200
Whoo, boy. When the news came out that ammo was changing big time in the game, Hunters everywhere pretty much praised it -- no longer would we have to worry about carrying around tons of ammo, with one bag slot spent on just one consumable. But since then, things haven't been so peachy. First, we heard that consumable ammunition wasn't going anywhere, and then we noticed that none of the other changes were happening either. Then, ammo stacks were fixed to 1000 in a recent hotfix on the PTR, but now there's a whole other issue: while it stacks in 1000, it still only sells in stacks of 200. Which means you have to buy, and buy, and buy, and buy, and buy just to fill one slot. And what's more, Dresorull says it's not a bug -- we'll likely see this on the live realms.And as BRK points out, the "1000" stacks aren't even labeled on the PTR yet. He says you can fill your quiver with 28,000 rounds of ammo (of course, you'd have to hit buy 140 times just to do that), but what happened to the quiver changes? Aren't Hunters supposed to get that bag slot back in 3.1 anyway?It's all very confusing, and this smacks of a missed followthrough: the original Hunter changes as suggested were popular, but we're guessing something came up in their way (either the team was needed on another task, or some flaw in the system as designed kept them from turning consumable ammunition into a permanent item). Either way, we hope this gets fixed -- we know this is the PTR and everything is subject to change, but as it stands, it looks like we're getting a half-finished ammo system when patch 3.1 goes live.
IBM patents bullet dodging bionic armor
Your science fiction fantasy may be coming a reality, if IBM has anything to say about it. The company was recently granted a patent for bionic body armor, originally filed last March, that's intended to bestow the wearer the power to dodge bullets. The device works by constantly emitting electromagnetic waves that bounce off any fast-moving projectiles, and it uses the data to calculate risky trajectories. If the object in question is determined to be a threat, muscle stimulators activate and cause the wearer's body to contort in such way to avoid being hit. It works under the idea that a sniper typically fires from a distance, given the armor time to detect the oncoming bullet and react accordingly. Check out an image of from IBM's filing after the break. Here's hoping it can detect lasers, too.[Via The Firearm Blog; thanks, Chris!]
Breaking: Consumable ammunition will not be removed in patch 3.1
Ancilorn, a new blue community team member over on the EU forums, just posted that despite the recent announcement, patch 3.1 will not remove consumable ammunition.According to Ancilorn, they "still fully intend to move forward with this change when the additional functionality becomes available." To me that means Blizzard needs to do some serious recoding to make the change work, and it's cool that they're letting us know they're still going to do it.Ancilorn also lets us know the following points: Patch 3.1 will remove the need for pouches/quivers Arrows and Bullets will have their stack size greatly increased. Haste bonuses from pouches/quivers will be preserved in another fashion. We have no additional information other than what's been said above, but we're anxiously on the lookout now for the patch 3.1 PTR.Angry baby called. He wants his change back! Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
Scattered Shots: Wrath of the Hunter
Welcome to Scattered Shots, where Daniel Whitcomb is totally making plans to walk with rhythm so that he can attract the worm.So with Wrath less than a week away, we got our work cut out for us, so to speak. Luckily, 3.0's early release has given us time to learn to handle our pets and respec to take advantage of new talents, but now the big push is upon, as 10 levels and a whole slew of new zones opens up for us. When you step off the boat or zeppelin in Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord, where will you go? What will you do? Here's a few quick Hunter specific tips to getting started in the Wrath of the Lich King.
PTR Notes: New reputation ammo
MMO Champion has reported that new "Specialty Ammunition Vendors" have been discovered on the PTR in patch 2.3. These vendors, Archer Delvinar and Marksman Bova, can be found in once empty structures in the Scryer and Aldor areas, respectively, in Shattrath City. Not only do they sell the best types of normal vendor ammunition outside of Halaa, but they also stock ammunition that has reputation requirements. Instead of running over to the Cenarion Refuge in Zangarmarsh every time you need to stock up on Warden's Arrows, you can now buy the same ammo in Shattrath. The same vendors also carry ammunition that is currently only available from vendors in Honor Hold/Thrallmar and the Caverns of Time. Currently the cost of all the ammunition sold by these vendors appears to be tied to Aldor/Scryer reputation level, but still requires the specified faction requirement to actually purchase and use.Of course, the best news is that these vendors also carry a new type of ammunition. The Mysterious Arrows and Mysterious Shells require revered reputation with the Violet Eye and provide 46.5 additional damage per second. A stack of 200 costs 1 gold without any price reductions from reputation. Clearly these new items are meant to fill the gap between Adamantite and Timeless ammunition and help hunters that are tackling Magtheridon, Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep increase their damage output. With the new Adamantite Stingers also being added 2.3, hunters will have more options than ever before when choosing a type of ammunition.
"Laughing bullets" considered by Pentagon
Taking a slightly different tact than DARPA's very lethal laser-guided bullets, the Pentagon reportedly once considered the Get Smart-esque idea non-lethal "laughing bullets," which would apparently collapse and release laughing gas (or other chemical agents) when they hit their target. According to NewScientist, the bullets would have the advantage of being compatible with regular rifles, and supposedly be safe over their entire range. Judging from the description, they'd also apparently have the ability to send folks into a Three Stooges routine, allowing the military to effectively "punch, slap and hit an individual repetitively from a distance." Despite pouring close to $100,000 into the idea, however, the bullets don't seem to have met with the DoD's satisfaction and were ultimately shelved -- at least, that's what they're saying "officially."[Via Slashdot]
DARPA funds laser-guided bullets
In case you didn't know, part of DARPA's job is just to think up some totally outrageous stuff and then begin to throw money at it. Well, its brain-trust must be working overtime this month, because as a follow up to the invisible, shoot-through shield, we're getting laser-guided bullets. On the very same "budget item justification sheet" in which the aforementioned sci-fi shield is proposed, DARPA honchos "justify" the laser guided bullet project, which will fund research into a low cost, high performance solution for designing "new guidance technologies" that will enable steering of bullets in flight. The hope with this technology is that compact targeting systems (to be embedded in said projectiles) will enable "overmatching fire power" and increased "first shot effectiveness", in addition to potentially cutting down on friendly fire and collateral damage -- and retroactively making JFK's "one-gunman" assassination plausible. [Via Wired]
BulletGBA shoots us in the face
With the World's Greatest Shmup Player Tournament coming up, now is the perfect time to try out Takayama Fumihiko's recently updated BulletGBA. The homebrew shoot 'em up simulator has over 300 bullet patterns picked out from genre favorites that you can test your dodging skills against. BulletGBA's 5.0 release adds some new "stages," a remodeled shooting mode, and music tracks from the chiptune champions, Nullsleep. We've got a video of us attempting to last longer than a few seconds with one of the bullet hell patterns, so jump past the post break for a good laugh.
Flickr Find: Things beside Steve that go "Boom"
Who would have thunk it? OSX clay pigeon bullet shells. Just put on your Mackintosh, stick an apple in your pocket, throw your gun over your shoulder and head out to the moors for a spot of OS trouble-shooting. I certainly hope that even in this pre-Leopard world Time Machine is already delivered, installed and working in this OS X implementation, just in case of any unfortunate accident in the wide-open Spaces.Thanks Julian Berry
AirSoft Project 2.0 touts four times the firepower
As if having your own USB-controlled turret wasn't lethal enough, the creator of the original has now completed AirSoft Project 2.0, gracing us with a bigger, meaner, and more potent weapon to mow down office mates and erratic offspring alike. By utilizing similar parts as before, but adding a radio-controlled option, laser, and quadrupling the firepower, this mechanical sentry most certainly brings the pain, and can reportedly pump out 1,500 rounds per minute for when things get really rough in the trenches. While its inventor claims that everything can be assembled in just 10 hours, and rates the project difficultly at a mere "amateur" level, we'd still recommend only the veterans in the house even give this one a go, but considering the "$150 to $250" it'll cost you just in parts, let alone the C++ / Javascript coding that you'll be doing behind the scenes, we doubt too many privates will get involved anyway. Mr. Bouck did note that upon completion, he realized that hooking it up with both USB and RC controls might have been overkill, and recommends that any copycats utilize just one method or the other. So if you're all amped from the recent Jack Bauer power hours, and you're eager to get started on this ruthless mission, be sure to hit the read link for the full breakdown -- but only after you click on through for a quick briefing video first.[Thanks, Tom]
