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Approved Submission Aether Sidearm

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I take no pleasure in shutting you down but
  • No one asked me or a Yamataian FM (as far as I know) before making this to see if it was needed
  • We already have power armor sidearms and this seems redundant
  • The effective range is ridiculous - how would any person aim correctly at something 150,000 km away with a handheld weapon?
  • It possibly violates DR guidelines
  • It seems to advance Yamatai's overall tech level with the graviton thing, micro aether tech, and huge battery capacity.
I want to make some suggestions to make it work for me but I'm not sure what to tell you man. Maybe I could be talked into it but right now I'm feeling pretty skeptical that this is something we need in the setting.
 
I definitely get where you’re coming from on this and both agree and disagree on a couple points.
To start, you at totally right, this came out of nowhere and was completely my own thing because, obviously, I respectfully disagree with our current sidearms being sufficient as one is heavily out-dated and the other is extremely overkill with the massive weakness of being completely unable to fire for 2 seconds, a massive vulnerability when such a weapon is your last resort. There’s no real in-between option and that’s what the Aether Sidearm is meant to accomplish!

I’m aware that it is bad hat to compare WIP articles to approved articles, however the effective range of this pistol is about 2/3 to 1/2 the effective range of the HAP(I was guessing), a significant reduction as it stands. Even then, I actually WANT a range reduction, and this might just be a little issue with our current weapon template not specifying the max AND effective ranges for both ground and space as each environment is going to alter performance drastically.
I’d like to informally propose we add that and I’ll happily chose whatever range we agree is most appropriate for a weapon like this because honestly, I am the furthest thing you will get to a ballistics expert. I just like to watch the slo-mo videos of gel bouncing off the table when a .44 hits it!

As for the DR guidelines I’d say kinda, but no. This isn’t a normal gun. With aether weapons I’ve confirmed that the only real danger is the recoil. Since aether can be fired in the vicinity of civilians with only its flash being a threat to public health it stands to reason that if you reduce the recoil to survivable(I’m not saying safe) levels, it’ll be possible(I’m not saying safe!) to use with Neko/Minkan strength. Again, this would be out of necessity and not something just anybody does.

In regards to tech, IDK about the aether micro-tap. It just seemed like a cool way to power it. I don’t know how aether gets from the suit to the gun so logically I just told the gun to provide its own aether.
Suggestions needed!

The 500 shot capacity is for coolant, and with how SARP minimizes cooling to an unmentioned-because-it’s-so-obviously-there level I actually thought it was low.

And finally, the graviton thing!
Graviton manipulation is everywhere in SARP and even considered basic to the point that even a knife can float around. That’s hekkin’ tiny! And springs are timeless. Candon happens to do everything with gravitons from making a nightmare PA to his wife’s bra so... because Candon?

If I have to I’ll run this as a Candon or FSC something or other with some changes but primarily I’d like to fill the gap in Yamataian gunnery with a.. PA Glock.
I have no idea how to do that.
 
I usually do my own weapons specifying both ground and space ranges, so it's not too out there to do the same for this, if you feel like knocking the range issue out of the way.
 
I went ahead and changed up the ranges. They’re probably not perfect but should be closer.

Micro-tap and cooling references eliminated, replaced with an inbuilt BU-M20 battery with 100 shot capacity.

Recharging now requires time in the matching charging holster.

Added detail to the effects of unarmored shooting.

EDIT:
I decided to remove the effective range line altogether. Maximum range will simply reflect how far the either bolt will travel before dissipating.
 
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I would like to know if this isn't FM approved, if it needs further changes, or if it is @Wes
 
I’ll make it so!
I asked @Wes for some details. He said the DoGA is fine and I’ll get some art for it with a character art commission. If anybody Has recommended artist I am in the business to buy.
 
Since this technically isn't claimed yet. I will say, this gun probably needs to be dropped to tier 4 damage instead of 5. It's supposed to be a 'side arm' in the first place, but when you think about scale, T5 is a 'primary weapon' for a medium power armor, and the mindy is a light armor. That's a pretty hefty side arm, and would imply T6 or higher main weapons.

Along with that the recoil needs to be redone, as I mentioned to someone in another thread, there needs to be 'sacrifice' when firing above class. So without a PA (so Personnel class) this should not be simply 'manageable' it needs to be heavier than that.
 
I ran through the article and changed a few things.
  • Reduced DR to T4.
  • Enabled fully automatic fire rate.
  • Battery can now be swapped.
  • Added charging time.
  • Rewrote recoil to ‘Extremely heavy’
  • ‘Bone breaking recoil’ now says ‘bone bruising...’ as it is more accurate and arguably more painful.
  • Minor grammar tweaks.
 
I remember Wes didn't let me use Iroma glass for a helmet, is he going to allow osmani metal for this gun?

@Wes
 
You might have misread, friend. There is no glass on this submission, but similar in spelling to Osmani is Osmiridium used in starship repair and construction. I think it is a few other applications in general construction as well.
 
I confused it with whatever Usonium goes by these days, apologies - the Iroma glass thing (ARTCs) was just an example.

Edit: I also posted that like as I woke up lol, so sorry if it is a bit of a brainfart.
 
Okay read this over, guess I'll officially take this up as a review. Right now the things i"m seeing is that the downsides of using it out of armor, need to be made more clear and easy to find while skimming over the article. Also I like the idea of the damaging recoil, but it needs to be more clear that it's not 'cosmetic'. I know, and it seems you do too that bruising means some serious damage is being done, but a lot of people will just 'shrug it off'. So when making the change to make it easier to see, maybe change the wording to highlight that muscle and bone is undergoing some serious stress and continuous use can actually injure.
 
That is a very good concern. I expanded the Recoil section in Dischard Information to read “Repeat usage while braced with proper firing stance will result in light injuries to muscle and bone while ‘off-the-hip’ firing will assuredly break wrist and/or launch pistol in users direction.”

My inspiration:
 
(I'll get a look at this either later tonight or tomorrow)

Firebrand, honestly the recoil on the HAP is actually too low. It's firing at the top of power armor tier and is only 'highly unmanagable' that still means the weapon can be fired while running around and doesn't need to be braced. And since it's a slow firing weapon it doesn't really make a difference that it's 'unmanageable recoil' because you have more than 2 seconds between shots.
 
(I'll get a look at this either later tonight or tomorrow)

Firebrand, honestly the recoil on the HAP is actually too low. It's firing at the top of power armor tier and is only 'highly unmanagable' that still means the weapon can be fired while running around and doesn't need to be braced. And since it's a slow firing weapon it doesn't really make a difference that it's 'unmanageable recoil' because you have more than 2 seconds between shots.

Well who approved it, then? If you don't think it fits, ask Wes to unapprove it and put it back into review.
 
It was approved a while ago, and that's not how things work. We don't just unapprove articles because they are not in line with current standards. That is a hassle for the submitter and it's more work for the NTSE. As long as there isn't some massive problems we try to just let it be until it's time for a restating or it becomes an issue.
 
RPG-D RPGfix
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