Showing posts with label venting. Show all posts
Part of my inherent nerd-dom is that I enjoy tabletop wargaming, thanks to some bad choices as a young teenager, a little disposable income as a young adult and a brain that soaks up 'fantasy' like an axolotl eating a fish-food pellet (look it up if you need the visual reference...)
And so, within my now ageing brain rattle details that nobody cares about, and that have exactly zero effect in any real-life circumstance. Thanks brain! ... Within this mess, I include my contemplation of how machine-guns are portrayed in the game Battletech. It is with some annoyance I find myself at the wrong end of how these are perceived at large. But, it's annoying enough that I shall now go into a lengthy internet-bound diatribe detailing my upset on the matter.
Set in a fantasy future in which technological progression is halted by the spread and politic of humanity among a (widely spread) universe. Huge, stompy, gun-toting robots aka "mechs" (battlemechs) are a de facto way of ending future-space arguments.
But then comes "The Machine-Gun"... and here's where I differ greatly from nearly all flavours of Battletech machine-gun I'd seen put into video games, and from that, posted into the mind of players everywhere.
Too often, the machine gun is depicted, or enacted as though it were a trusty modern heavy machine gun probably around 12.7mm / 50 cal. in format and with that familiar thuuba-thuuba-thuuba noise associated to such weapons...
Well, in my head, this is just wrong... plain and simple, just, well... not right. It's the FUTURE... and also, the image of a 'machine-gun' in the reference materials looks like this:-
And to me it meshes well with the fact that in the canon (pun intended) of the fantasy universe that is Battletech, machine guns are supposed to be very fast firing, primarily anti-infantry defence weapons but (and it is a big but...) they are also supposed to be able to just about cause damage to some of the most highly armoured fighting machines ever made... And to me... a minigun has far more potential to find a weaker spot, an exposed gap or even just through impact tear away armour more so than a less lead-spewey weapon.
More so, I would hesitate on a side of caution to state that the weapons of the Mechwarrior sci-fi are more developed than any modern equivalent. I could guess that such a multi-barrelled weapon would likely be akin to the weapons we see on out attack helicoptors or even the ship-bound air-defence weapons...
All while firing some sci-fi armour-piercing tipped bullets of doom. It also follows that in the lore of battletech, one ton of ammo (including the cases and load-feed mechanisms) can fire a machine gun 200 times... Warning BORING MATHS AHEAD...
I would postulate the following;
And so, one ton of bullets, being 200 "shots" would allow each "shot" to be around 100 bullets of fire-effect. This means one ton is actually loading around 20,000 rounds. This would also make more logistic sense of scale in the 'fitting' of the ammo into the mech.
200 bullets can easily be carried by one guy in a small plastic bag, but 20,000 rounds, well that would require specialised ammo bins with enough ammo in them to be 'impressive' in a mecha sci-fi scale.
And so, this rant closes as I frown at the many computer games which portray an underwhelming concept of a firearm. When I shoot a machine-gun from my 10 meter tall death-robot, I want whatever is in-front of me to understand that fact and not just laugh at an impotent pea-shooter.
Credits: Sounds from-
And so, within my now ageing brain rattle details that nobody cares about, and that have exactly zero effect in any real-life circumstance. Thanks brain! ... Within this mess, I include my contemplation of how machine-guns are portrayed in the game Battletech. It is with some annoyance I find myself at the wrong end of how these are perceived at large. But, it's annoying enough that I shall now go into a lengthy internet-bound diatribe detailing my upset on the matter.
ELI5: Battletech-
Machine Guns
Along with lasers, and other 'future' weaponry, mech's have an array of more conventional ballistic weapons. Most are akin to what our modern battle-tanks might have, be it a 30mm automated cannon or a 280mm howitzer style weapon. These are easy for my minds-eye to envision as I get heated and excited mid game as we players discuss the battlefield carnage attempting to bring a cinematic edge to what otherwise boils down to grown men rolling dice and filling out a spread sheet.But then comes "The Machine-Gun"... and here's where I differ greatly from nearly all flavours of Battletech machine-gun I'd seen put into video games, and from that, posted into the mind of players everywhere.
Too often, the machine gun is depicted, or enacted as though it were a trusty modern heavy machine gun probably around 12.7mm / 50 cal. in format and with that familiar thuuba-thuuba-thuuba noise associated to such weapons...
Listen to some dakka:
Well, in my head, this is just wrong... plain and simple, just, well... not right. It's the FUTURE... and also, the image of a 'machine-gun' in the reference materials looks like this:-
I'm gonna need more Cowbell...
Now, as impressive as it might be hearing a 'machine-gun' slowly shouting pop-pop-pop. In my mind, and in my opinion, far more impressive/fear inducing is the BRRRAAAAAAAP of seevral hundred rounds all being spat out in near simultaneous succession.
More audio dakka:
And to me it meshes well with the fact that in the canon (pun intended) of the fantasy universe that is Battletech, machine guns are supposed to be very fast firing, primarily anti-infantry defence weapons but (and it is a big but...) they are also supposed to be able to just about cause damage to some of the most highly armoured fighting machines ever made... And to me... a minigun has far more potential to find a weaker spot, an exposed gap or even just through impact tear away armour more so than a less lead-spewey weapon.
More so, I would hesitate on a side of caution to state that the weapons of the Mechwarrior sci-fi are more developed than any modern equivalent. I could guess that such a multi-barrelled weapon would likely be akin to the weapons we see on out attack helicoptors or even the ship-bound air-defence weapons...
All while firing some sci-fi armour-piercing tipped bullets of doom. It also follows that in the lore of battletech, one ton of ammo (including the cases and load-feed mechanisms) can fire a machine gun 200 times... Warning BORING MATHS AHEAD...
I would postulate the following;
- A machine gun can be fired once in a game turn.
- One game turn lasts for 10 seconds of time.
- A rotary barrelled machine gun could expel up to around 100 bullets (not including downtime for cooling...).
And so, one ton of bullets, being 200 "shots" would allow each "shot" to be around 100 bullets of fire-effect. This means one ton is actually loading around 20,000 rounds. This would also make more logistic sense of scale in the 'fitting' of the ammo into the mech.
200 bullets can easily be carried by one guy in a small plastic bag, but 20,000 rounds, well that would require specialised ammo bins with enough ammo in them to be 'impressive' in a mecha sci-fi scale.
And so, this rant closes as I frown at the many computer games which portray an underwhelming concept of a firearm. When I shoot a machine-gun from my 10 meter tall death-robot, I want whatever is in-front of me to understand that fact and not just laugh at an impotent pea-shooter.
Some Reference Noise Dakka:
- Mechwarrior 2:
- Mechwarrior 3: I have to say... this is the closest to my liking.
- Mechwarrior 4:
- Mechwarrior 5:
Credits: Sounds from-
- https://freesound.org/
- http://soundbible.com/
- And a bunch of people on YouTube that have done sound sampling from the games...
- Oh, and then by fact of original production; the respective game dev companies that commissioned those sounds...
Wargaming Woes - Battletech
Just like anyone with an email account I get spam email. It just so happens that I have seven email accounts, each of which operates for different uses. Sadly this means I have seven spam folders, and fittingly, seven times as much spam.
For the most part, this is irrelevant, and I usually just eject the miscreant messages into the digital aether, no harm, no foul. Just occasionally, I sometimes find a nugget of interest among the pebbles and detritus of pill offers and bitcoin scams.
Not too long ago, I found an email which I ended up reading out at a live open mic poetry session, such was I taken with it. I'm not usually one to do stand up poetry, but a strange coincidence of events brought it about. And It was actually a little fun.
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Today I found a very spammy email. One which in its awfulness just made me smile. My spontaneous smile also then made me sad because I realise that no matter just how terrible the grammar, and regardless of the apparently amusing child-like written nature of the words, this email is written specifically to entice a portion of the population into clicking its included link... and I must assume, that it achieves this goal with enough success that it was worth writing and sending.
Here's the email:
If there are people that are curious enough or compelled enough by this that the click a link, one which I'm certain will not work out well. I'm baffled how we as a species even managed to successfully propagate when clearly there is a gene for utter blind, self-harming stupidity.
But, I'm a curious fellow, and I'm hopefully tech-savvy enough to bypass any potential threat so, I fire up the necessary digital precations and take a look behind the curtain. Sadly, I find nothing amazing, or even unexpected just a few popped windows for "dating" sites all of which are clearly aimed at men. Maybe If I'd followed the links there'd be an email sign up of some kind and that might be the real trap, but I'm really just not that bothered in finding out and so my interest of the email fades away.
I do however take a little joy, just from the line; "perhaps I can delight u with my stretchy butt". I mean, I know what they were intending, but that particular phrasing just makes me chuckle.
If I leave any sentiment from this waffling rant, it's this:
For the most part, this is irrelevant, and I usually just eject the miscreant messages into the digital aether, no harm, no foul. Just occasionally, I sometimes find a nugget of interest among the pebbles and detritus of pill offers and bitcoin scams.
Not too long ago, I found an email which I ended up reading out at a live open mic poetry session, such was I taken with it. I'm not usually one to do stand up poetry, but a strange coincidence of events brought it about. And It was actually a little fun.
Today I found a very spammy email. One which in its awfulness just made me smile. My spontaneous smile also then made me sad because I realise that no matter just how terrible the grammar, and regardless of the apparently amusing child-like written nature of the words, this email is written specifically to entice a portion of the population into clicking its included link... and I must assume, that it achieves this goal with enough success that it was worth writing and sending.
Here's the email:
Good day, I'm Alyssa, I'm 24 years old. It's very monotonous near to me, I wish a man to make me a pretty words:( Can U check out my romantic pics, perhaps I can delight u with my stretchy butt, considering that on all of this images I'm clothed only in very small panties. I eagerly desire to lay in the secure men's palms, I just would like U to hit my tits, lick my young kitty, take me on the table... Take a good look at my pics and write in my dating profile, don't make me wait! We can easily spend it lots more interesting ;)
[link removed]It starts quite well as far as introductions go, a little bit forward maybe, but it is an introduction without notable fault. But from the second sentence on, it's a highway crash of words and nonsense. And the fact that I have drawn the conclusion that there are people that fall for this just makes me sad for humanity
If there are people that are curious enough or compelled enough by this that the click a link, one which I'm certain will not work out well. I'm baffled how we as a species even managed to successfully propagate when clearly there is a gene for utter blind, self-harming stupidity.
But, I'm a curious fellow, and I'm hopefully tech-savvy enough to bypass any potential threat so, I fire up the necessary digital precations and take a look behind the curtain. Sadly, I find nothing amazing, or even unexpected just a few popped windows for "dating" sites all of which are clearly aimed at men. Maybe If I'd followed the links there'd be an email sign up of some kind and that might be the real trap, but I'm really just not that bothered in finding out and so my interest of the email fades away.
I do however take a little joy, just from the line; "perhaps I can delight u with my stretchy butt". I mean, I know what they were intending, but that particular phrasing just makes me chuckle.
If I leave any sentiment from this waffling rant, it's this:
STOP CLICKING ON RANDOM OR UNKNOWN LINKS!
Spam? More like Spasm...
Okay, it's been a forever since I've posted anything pretty much anywhere, the infinite void of the internet holds no interest for me to have my words heard or read any more, but I felt I needed to post this because it's subject is pissing me off...
Or at the very least, I think it's pissing me off, I may yet find it's actually not, and I'm just venting over nothing.
So, here's the schtick, I like hanging about on Quora, for a while I even thought I 'liked' answering questions there, I felt as though I was helping spread a little learning, some positive (I hope...) opinions and making things better.
This feeling has died now and I'm left feeling confused and slightly angry at the Quora site.
As I see it, at the very heart of Quora is the concept of a question & an answer, perhaps not always a good or correct answer, but an answer, inquiry met with feedback, an honest two-way interaction of inquisitive minds and those with the information to feed forward.
But now, I'm jaded, I see a website filled with questions which with even a tiny amount of research are easily answered elsewhere, questions phrased and clearly intoned to be aggravating or 'trolling' and questions which seem to fill no other role than an abuse of the fact that asking questions is rewarded with a share of the site profits (no doubt because of the increase in ad revenue those same questions draw into the site)
Someone asking "is the outcome of 2+2 different on Tuesdays" would likely get a few hundred views, maybe even some earnest answers, and probably a few 'triggered' answers too...
But that question, regardless of how inane it may be, will earn the asker some cash. The asker can then go on to ask the exact same question but rephrased replacing "Tuesdays" with Monday, or June, or 2006... each time they do, being rewarded for their effort and clogging up the site with ever more redundant and objectively poor content.
But, hypothetically; if a theoretical physicist, one whom also has a deep and well-educated grasp of quantum theory and chaos theory (or whatever) were to drop by and give a lengthy and detailed 'actual' answer explaining how even basic mathematics is affected by some hitherto unknown esoteric scientific theorem.
That answer, the sum of their extensive learning, experience, and the time they'd given to put together the answer. Is somehow less valuable?
Fucking what?
And so, I come to realise that once again, idiocy, banality and feigned ignorance are being rewarded while talent, ability and a willingness to help are simply ignored, or even worse - are abused.
Happy Christmas folks.
Or at the very least, I think it's pissing me off, I may yet find it's actually not, and I'm just venting over nothing.
So, here's the schtick, I like hanging about on Quora, for a while I even thought I 'liked' answering questions there, I felt as though I was helping spread a little learning, some positive (I hope...) opinions and making things better.
This feeling has died now and I'm left feeling confused and slightly angry at the Quora site.
As I see it, at the very heart of Quora is the concept of a question & an answer, perhaps not always a good or correct answer, but an answer, inquiry met with feedback, an honest two-way interaction of inquisitive minds and those with the information to feed forward.
But now, I'm jaded, I see a website filled with questions which with even a tiny amount of research are easily answered elsewhere, questions phrased and clearly intoned to be aggravating or 'trolling' and questions which seem to fill no other role than an abuse of the fact that asking questions is rewarded with a share of the site profits (no doubt because of the increase in ad revenue those same questions draw into the site)
Cash for Shit, bring out your shit!
If I might stick with the last point, it seems ass-backwards that a really shit question is rewarded, but a superb, well written and meticulously explained answer yields it's progenitor no benefit.Someone asking "is the outcome of 2+2 different on Tuesdays" would likely get a few hundred views, maybe even some earnest answers, and probably a few 'triggered' answers too...
But that question, regardless of how inane it may be, will earn the asker some cash. The asker can then go on to ask the exact same question but rephrased replacing "Tuesdays" with Monday, or June, or 2006... each time they do, being rewarded for their effort and clogging up the site with ever more redundant and objectively poor content.
But, hypothetically; if a theoretical physicist, one whom also has a deep and well-educated grasp of quantum theory and chaos theory (or whatever) were to drop by and give a lengthy and detailed 'actual' answer explaining how even basic mathematics is affected by some hitherto unknown esoteric scientific theorem.
That answer, the sum of their extensive learning, experience, and the time they'd given to put together the answer. Is somehow less valuable?
Fucking what?
And so, I come to realise that once again, idiocy, banality and feigned ignorance are being rewarded while talent, ability and a willingness to help are simply ignored, or even worse - are abused.
Sigh.
I've no doubt I'll continue to read, and even post on Quora, but I do so feeling somewhat ashamed that I cannot find a better use of my time and a little depressed that I continue to sink in an intellectual mire of self-depreciation.Happy Christmas folks.
Quora Qualms
So, let me introduce this a little...
I've been passing some of my time exposing what little knowledge I have via the medium of the website Quora. On this site, people ask questions, and others answer.
Simple! - but, in order that the site maintains an air of decorum, they moderate (quite heavily) based on a rule referred to as BNBR.
Be Nice, Be Respectful
Again, that's quite simple, some would say sensible.
However...
I find it utterly futile pandering and simpering to idiocy the site is littered with infantile and often deliberately 'troll' questions, such as "if the Earth is flat why is the sky blue?" There are many 'flat Earth' questions. And many other questions which are puerile in nature.
I find it to be utterly redundant being nice, and certainly being respectful to people that I see as either being willfully ignorant (a trait which I personally find to be quite heinous) or blatantly malicious - attempting to bait others (to cause distress) or waste their time.
In what world should I 'be nice; to someone who seeks to deliberately (or casually) make life harder for others.
Fuck them...
For every question I see with a ridiculous or offensive notion I say; FUCK THEM.
The people that genuinely invest their time, their knowledge and experience, those people deserve more respect than is given... those people deserve to not be plagued by trolls and nonsense.
I have absolutely no problem with a genuine question, one born of genuine enquiry, I'd likely go to excess in order that I might help such a person with such a question.
But I have to toe the line when I see questions like "how can you prove X god isn't real when the moon landings never actually happened!"
To those people... I want to say a big, FUCK YOU
Let me make clear that I will not be nice if I consider that your intention is malicious
Let me make clear I shall not be respectful if you lack the decency to respect others
Some ideas, some questions, deserve being disrespected, deserve that they should be called out as stupid, as idiotic and not given the same weight of importance as others.
</rant /vent>
I've been passing some of my time exposing what little knowledge I have via the medium of the website Quora. On this site, people ask questions, and others answer.
Simple! - but, in order that the site maintains an air of decorum, they moderate (quite heavily) based on a rule referred to as BNBR.
Be Nice, Be Respectful
Again, that's quite simple, some would say sensible.
However...
I find it utterly futile pandering and simpering to idiocy the site is littered with infantile and often deliberately 'troll' questions, such as "if the Earth is flat why is the sky blue?" There are many 'flat Earth' questions. And many other questions which are puerile in nature.
I find it to be utterly redundant being nice, and certainly being respectful to people that I see as either being willfully ignorant (a trait which I personally find to be quite heinous) or blatantly malicious - attempting to bait others (to cause distress) or waste their time.
In what world should I 'be nice; to someone who seeks to deliberately (or casually) make life harder for others.
Fuck them...
For every question I see with a ridiculous or offensive notion I say; FUCK THEM.
The people that genuinely invest their time, their knowledge and experience, those people deserve more respect than is given... those people deserve to not be plagued by trolls and nonsense.
I have absolutely no problem with a genuine question, one born of genuine enquiry, I'd likely go to excess in order that I might help such a person with such a question.
But I have to toe the line when I see questions like "how can you prove X god isn't real when the moon landings never actually happened!"
To those people... I want to say a big, FUCK YOU
Let me make clear that I will not be nice if I consider that your intention is malicious
Let me make clear I shall not be respectful if you lack the decency to respect others
Some ideas, some questions, deserve being disrespected, deserve that they should be called out as stupid, as idiotic and not given the same weight of importance as others.
</rant /vent>
