Best Contraption For Mass Destruction (July 5, 2016)

ChrisReid

Super Soaker Collector / Administrator
Today we have a new poll that asks what everyone's preferred super weapon is. The choices are split 50/50 between some devastating fighter ordnance and some of the meanest dreadnought-carried weapons in the galaxy. What would you choose?















The old poll asked what item you'd rather have on a desert island. We should have known that putting the laptop option in there would be a clear winner. After the obvious choice, the Pilgrim Cross with blade and WC Novels took a good share of the votes - both practical choices!

--
Original update published on July 5, 2016
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The laptop one didn't make sense to me. Oh sure, it'd be awesome to be able to play the games for a while, but unless you happen to have a solar-powered recharge station on you (unlikely) or the island is wired for electricity (in which case, are you sure it's really deserted?), how long you'd be able to use it would be a function of how long the laptop's battery last. I myself haven't seen a laptop battery last more than two or three hours, tops.

Myself, I went with the CIC pens and paper. Makes it easier to play WCRPG that way...plus when you burn a Cat, you can really burn a Cat (as kindling). Making dice out of paper is also not that difficult (though admittedly making functional d10s probably would be...). I can see the Pilgrim Cross as a practical item, though.

Just my opinion, of course. Looking forward to what everybody votes for next time around...it would be an interesting psychological experiment to see if everybody's taste swings towards small, potent anti-ship weapons, larger, capship-based anti-ship weapons, or planet-busting weapons..
 
I went with the tablet, I could use it to reflect sunlight and hail passing ships like a signalling mirror...I think this misses the point of the question though, because in reality if I had to be stranded for a lifetime with no other Wing Commander media (a life sentence in prison maybe) then I'd certainly go with the original two games.

Anyway as for the new poll l, I fully expected the Behemoth to dominate as it's probably the most handy tool of all.

I however wanted to be different, and every time I read the words "Phase Transit Cannon" I'm plunged back in time to the breathtaking (well, for 1991) beautiful and dramatic Concordia vs Fralthra standoff.

Fire the main gun.

Concordia.gif
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I was a little torn on this one. It came down to the Behemoth and Temblor.

My preference was with the Behemonth (at least a finished version of it), however I could see it being very vunerable and a high priority target, so it would need alot of guarding. Using the weapon would also take quite alot of organisation, a small fleet would have to be amassed (primarily for Behemoth defensive purposes), then the fleet would jump into a system, move into position, get the weapon ready, fire the weapon, then get out.

That is why eventually I went for the Temblor as it can be deployed far more stealthfully. It could be deployed by literally anything, from the latest all bells and whilstles fighter, to an old rusty pirate ship held together with tape.
 
I was a little torn on this one. It came down to the Behemoth and Temblor.

My preference was with the Behemonth (at least a finished version of it), however I could see it being very vunerable and a high priority target, so it would need alot of guarding. Using the weapon would also take quite alot of organisation, a small fleet would have to be amassed (primarily for Behemoth defensive purposes), then the fleet would jump into a system, move into position, get the weapon ready, fire the weapon, then get out.

That is why eventually I went for the Temblor as it can be deployed far more stealthfully. It could be deployed by literally anything, from the latest all bells and whilstles fighter, to an old rusty pirate ship held together with tape.

Indeed, the completed version of the Behemoth would have surpassed anything either side had produced during the war; even the Sivar Dreadnought. Shame about those 'soft spots' Tolwyn warned us about!
 
The drawback on the Temblor Bomb though, is that its destructive capacity is directly related to the target planet/moon's geological instability. Only a handful of planets are as unstable as Kilrah, whereas a planet like Earth would not actually be fractured, though it would probably produce enough quakes to topple every tree and artificial structure on the planet, not to mention tsunamis and volcanic eruptions aplenty.
 
Yep. The Behemoth is definitely superior tactically and strategically, if the design can be optimized in terms of self-protection and fuel consumption. Plus, depending on the main gun's range and accuracy, it could be used as a shipkiller weapon too. Think the difference between the first Death Star and the second, the latter being capable of targeting enemy ships in combat with a higher rate of fire than in the planet-killer settings.

In a way, it could have been nice if rather than rushing it out, Tolwyn had waited, because imagine the following situation. You mess up the drop on Kilrah, bam, go to Proxima and when Mister Kat brings his big toys, AKA the Hvar'Kann dreadnaughts, Tolwyn brings his. Losing all Hvar'Kann in a second campaign of Earth would be an absolutely crippling blow to the Kilrathi war machine if Tolwyn managed to pull a hammer and anvil trick. A total defeat with this kind of personnel and equipment loss...

Tolwyn: "And now, Prince Trakhath, witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational Doom-Ship." *breaks out in insane laughter*
 
Back
Top