Unique weapons

[OnTheBounce]

Why do .357 Mercury Tipped bullets heads are made out of several layers? I opened one up and I started pulling different color layers. One looked like copper, other like bronze, another was red, one was black, and in the center there was a little cylinder with some mercury.

Where are you getting rounds w/mercury in them? Are you referring to rounds w/fulminate of mercury in them which is supposed to act as an explosive?

What i tried to say about the brass was that using it without (as you said) "resizing it" is that it would jam your weapon, or, in the case of a SMG, probably rip your hand to shreds

Yes, you'd be running an extreme risk using ammo like that. However, that's why it's part of the re-loading process. You also have to punch out the old primer (more on that in a bit) and replace it before you get to filling the casing w/powder and seating a new bullet.

A solution for not having to pick up all the brass casings (in a rifle anyways) could be placing a receptacle for them at the place they're being ejected (ie. a bag of some sorts)?

There are "brass catchers" available commercially, and they have been for years. I really don't want to run around the wastes w/a brass catcher flapping in the breeze, though.

Including the kits as an extremely prized item?

Word is that reloading ammo will be possible for character w/high Science skill in FO3.

However, keeping this in mind I really don't want FO3 to go too overboard w/the refurbishing of ammunition. For one thing, I really don't think that most post apocalyptic communities would have the resources to accomplish it, since they would have to manufacture "primers" -- these are what the firing pin strikes and set of the powder charge -- since they cannot be refurbished.

So, basically, I think they should take as many steps as it takes to have a simple, abstracted system that can simulate an aspect of the dirty, grim nature of life after the bomb. Not one bogged down in the minutiae of day-to-day existance.

Cheers,

OTB

 

[Ripper]

although this topic went waaaaay off (but i like it though) lets talk about weapons.

Generally a machete sounds like a great idea to me. Combine this with a "Stop" road sign ripped off from its stand or a rounded piece of wood and u get a Sword and Shield combo.

a crazy addition to melee since u can essentially block & attack at the same time.

 

[EraserMark]

I think currency would be a likely concept after the bomb, even US currency might still float around and have value. If people do survive a full scale nuclear war and there is a wasteland with communities, I'm sure some people would still want to cling to system's that were familiar to them.

I think that Fallout 3 does need currency regardless of the opinions of the above, really both games (1&2) operate on a barter system already. How often do you walk into a gun store and offer a few Hot Pockets, a Leather Jacket, a box of bandaids, and squirrel pelts to a gun broker to buy a nice new shotgun? I feel the currecy in most trading situations, especially early in the game, is just for making deals even. Only Doctors and a few others only take currency for their services. However, it would be a nice touch nice to be able to barter for services.

I think unique weapons are a great idea too. I liked that stop sign idea I read.
I think ammo should be rare and that was one of the best parts of Fallout 2 that you didn't get signifigant weapons and armor very quickly. Fallout 3 should follow the trend because the world is going to have a finite amount of useable guns and ammo. I think hardened military installions are really the only place that ammo and good condition weapons could be found. The bulk of shops & merchants should have used beat up junk that is prone to failure and jamming.

As for unique weapons :

Trusty old 2x4 with a nail in it... works for the mobs
Pumped up Tazers... I'm sure even Vic could have wired a Tazer to a car battery...
Crossbows and bolts with different tips... (depleted uranium for instance..gulf sydrome here I come although who wouldn't have that in Fallout's world...)
Pipe bomb grendades... (Trade for these by reading a hooded gentleman with mirrored sunglasses and very scruffy beard's manifesto about how the Brotherhood of Steel must stop their pursuit of the rebirth of pre-war tech)
High powered Potatoe launchers.... (Comat Taunts: Suck on these Freedom Fries Mutie! & Would you like fries with that! & This spud's for you)


More?

 

[Finster]

several years worth of ideas

I think one place FO2 went wrong was the inclusion of every cool-seeming weapon the designers thought of. A lot of the time it was real-world stuff, like the Pancor Jackhammer (there were three redundant combat shotguns in the game!) and the Tommy Gun. Doing away with real world weapons seems like a good idea. Also, the war is supposed to take place far enough into the future that all the guns that are common today could be extinct -- the government seized all privately owned firearms and the out of date military rifles were melted down for scrap or sold to foreign armies.

I like the idea of crossbows as the standard low-tech ranged weapon, instead of the pipe rifle. I'd like two calibers of rifle ammunition, two assault rifles to use them, a couple of slower-firing rifles (a bolt action hunting rifle for the larger caliber -- more accurate but slower; a semi-automatic "scout rifle" for the smaller one, like the Ruger Mini 14 of today), and light and heavy machine guns. 5mm and .223 (5.56mm) were very similar, so one could be dropped, and the larger round could be either 7.62mm or something invented.

A side note: one thing the Fallout designers got wrong was the high damage of the small-caliber rifle ammo (.223 and 5mm) and the relatively low damage of the 7.62mm. I'd also like the times for loading and firing to be more realistic. I don't even own a gun, and I know that it takes longer to reload than it does to fire a shot, and reloading times vary from gun to gun.

Caseless ammo is kind of a cool idea, but it would be impossible to reload old brass, which is probably where almost all the ammo in the post-apocalyptic future comes from. I like the gauss needlers, tiny metal bullets driven by a magnetic charge, and I wondered why the game designers didn't include the big-bore equivalent: rail guns. I guess there are already too many sci-fi games with a "rail gun" weapon.

Another thought: called shots take longer than uncalled ones. Why not have "snap shots" that are barely aimed, but can be done quickly? And if you make a snap shot on a target that you've just made an aimed shot at, it should repeat the aimed shot -- you're just firing another round, you've already aimed.

Back to weapons: I'd definitely like to see different types of shotgun shells. Buckshot would have the ability to hit multiple enemies or multiple damage locations on the same enemy, like a burst from an automatic weapon. Slugs could have better accuracy since they're single, large bullets. And then there's the super rare stuff that military and SWAT teams use: armor piercing sabot rounds, "dragon breath" rounds that turn the gun into a mini flamethrower, mini fragmentation grenades... shotguns have a lot of potential.

Speaking of that, a grenade launcher would be cool. There are a lot of different historical models, from the single shot one that looks like a cartoon shotgun, to the version that's built into some M16s, to the enormous revolver that holds eight 40mm grenades. Again, lots of potential. Explosive/fragmentation, tear gas, incendiary...

Whew! I'm done.

 

[Kain]

Why do .357 Mercury Tipped bullets heads are made out of several layers? I opened one up and I started pulling different color layers. One looked like copper, other like bronze, another was red, one was black, and in the center there was a little cylinder with some mercury.

Where are you getting rounds w/mercury in them? Are you referring to rounds w/fulminate of mercury in them which is supposed to act as an explosive?

Yes those, I'm getting them from a Weapon Dealer in Mexico.

I shot a magnum .357 a few times and when it hit the target it blew up! I also have Armor Piercing (tip is very sharp and painted red) and regular ones.