Tactical nuclear device...

AutumnTwilight · August 2002

<div class="IPBDescription">Is it still in?...</div>At one point there was discussion of there being a tactical nuke that the commander could drop somewhere (With a suitably large resource point cost, of course...), and then a marine being needed to arm it.

I was just wondering if there has been any more news or information on this, as far as it being in or out, or are we still in the dark. If it *is* still in, what do we know about it?

Oh, and greetings everyone...

Twilight

Fam · August 2002

Welcome. Yes, you are still in the dark. Sorry. <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

Evil_Sonic_Death_Monkey · August 2002

was that a yes or no? i wanna knwo too <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>

SmokeMasta · August 2002

it's a STC and NDA

Hobbes · August 2002

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Yes, you are still in the dark.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

There was no answer. =) We're in the dark.

Jammer · August 2002

I personally am against one, as the smallest nuke I can imagine is the one used in Starship Troopers. Plus- nuking a spaceship/colony isn't too good. Since when did nuclear weapons only harm the living? Neutron bomb would be cool, although too powerful.

AutumnTwilight · August 2002

The nuke needn't be too large, and indeed it would be unbalancing to do otherwise. How about a fractional kilotonner, something in the region of 0.25 kilotons? That would be enough to really mess up a spot, but not vaporize the surrounding square mile or so...

Twilight

MooMoo_the_SnowCow · August 2002

Well the downside to the nuke back when i thought it was in is it cost alot and takes awhile to set up.

AutumnTwilight · August 2002

The other downside to it, and this one could be a major drawback, is that once set, a marine will need to physically get to that location and arm it. Assuming this takes a few seconds leads us to some fun possibilities.

Picture an armed marine squad of 3 or 4 marines whose sole goal is to protect the marine who is going to arm the nuke. Dying doesn't matter, so long as they buy the armer enough time to do his job, and then even he is expendable. Of course, for the aliens, the armer is the primary target, and they would be doing everything they could to take him down.

Just some fun scenarios that could occur, and would probably have to, if the one marine wanted to have any chance of arming the nuke successfully.

Twilight

BedwettingType · August 2002

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> (Jammer @ Aug. 28 2002,16:52)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Plus- nuking a spaceship/colony isn't too good. Since when did nuclear weapons only harm the living?</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
Not to mention the electromagnetic pulse that's emitted, short-circuiting any electronics in the surrounding area. But that's irrelevant. <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>

sharpsword6 · August 2002

you are in the dark sorry but thats the way it is

Snake13 · August 2002

would be kinda cool if the commander had to trigger the nule once it was armed, gives you some tactical possibilities, like selfdestructing minibases as to take out a bunch of lvl5s

[Edit: wihtout something to make it unique i think a nuke's job is better served by a siege cannon]

GobyWan · August 2002

The mini-nuke, as it was explained for us, is a building that has to be built. After the marines build it, they run like hell, and it explodes, killing a lot of stuff. It's more useful against hives and expansions since aliens can see it and run, and they're all pretty fast.

But no, I don't know if it still exists ingame.

Flayra · August 2002

The nuke probably won't make it in for v1.0. Even though we've been playing with it for quite some time, it's been difficult to make work satisfactorily. This will likely be added again in a future version.

Freemantle · August 2002

I would like to scrap the word "nuke" entierly. I don't know if any of you know much about nukes. The "nuke" in starship troopes is not possible. The gamma radiation alone produced is enough to excite any molecules in an 100 foot radius to instability.

I would like to see <b>incendiary</b> bombs. Somthing that fills a room as the explosion is meant to devour air.

Eos · August 2002

Ya that'd be really cool!

Gazaar · August 2002

Ahhh yes, a much better description of what I imagine this thing to be. Nuke is just not a nuke unless the ship is obliterated. How big of a radius is the nuke (INCENDIARY bomb)when it goes off, Flay? or is that one of the stupid parts of it that you can't get quite right?

JediYoshi · August 2002

It would be hard to say what a room to the bomb is. And something that takes away air wouldn't be much. If the aliens breath air, then they could(seriously) hold there breath. It would have to take a while to have it make effect. And the Marine would have to get away from the area too. Mabey a bomb that could make the alies have much muscus therefore making it hard for them to breath <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'>

Kadreal · August 2002

It is possible to sheild things from an elctromagnetic blast, but as of currently it's kinda inpraticle..

AutumnTwilight · August 2002

Who says it's impractical to sheild something from EMP? It's called a Farraday cage, and essentially, you just put a metal cage or framework in a perimeter around something. When the EMP hits it, the electricity goes through it, traveling on the outside, and into the ground, instead of through whatever is inside it. It's the same principle that makes being inside of a car one of the safest places to be in a lightning storm. Electricity from a lightning strike has a very strong tendancy to travel along the outside of the metal shell, in this case the car's body, and not jump to the things inside, ie you.

Twilight

Longtooth · August 2002

I think as far as high explosives go something that a marine can carry would be the best....I think making it destroyable would be balanced....Say the marines places it...then they have to guard it for a minute before it detonates...If an alien can get to it they can destroy it. It would also have to damage the marines....So they have to deciede whether to die with it or run and risk it being destroyed.....

AutumnTwilight · August 2002

Good points, Longtooth. I agree that the marines should have to guard it, and/or arm it, either of which would take some time, giving the aliens a chance to break through and take it out.

As I mentioned above, this could lead to tense scenarios with the marines gladly dying just to buy time for the bomb to go off, etc...

Twilight

Scythe · August 2002

I think the Dev Team is trying to steer away from expendable marines so I doubt the "I'll go down with the bomb for the good of my team!!" scenario will go in.

I like the idea of a large incendiary volumetric explosion for clearing out vent networks and places that a siege turret won't be able to get to.

--Scythe--
the_only_scythe@subdimension.com

BedwettingType · August 2002

Heck, why not just walk up and pound the aliens into radioactive grit?

AutumnTwilight · August 2002

Or how about nerve gas canisters. The aliens are at least mammalian, so it could work on them. Plus, that could be much more effective at covering a whole network of tunnels and vents than a bomb would be.

Perhaps the marines would have gas masks, or perhaps they would have to vacate also for awhile...

Just an idea to play with.

Twilight

sharpsword6 · August 2002

Gas masks sounds cool but the new marine armor looks like he is wearing a gas mask but he is not, and by the way you are still in the dark, sorry too bad. <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

dragonsblade · August 2002

the nuke is a building the last i heard but stc

Freemantle · August 2002

<span style='color:red'>Note about incindiary idea: It is not meant to suck away oxygen, but to fill a room as is reaches out to consume it. Yes, you would suffer asphixiation in the real world, but that wouldn't be realized too well in the half-life engine.

The reason I say this is that nuclear devices can only get so small.

I think having it as a specialty high-explosive will add realism. The incendiary will explain why it is volumetric (if that ever gets included in future versions... please yes).</span>

JediYoshi · August 2002

I agree, I don't think it would be called a nuke, nor even be considered one. Not that I've seen it, but the thought of something like that, just doesn't <i>sound</i> right.

MooMoo_the_SnowCow · August 2002

Last time i checked this really wasn't a realism mod.

JediYoshi · August 2002

It's not that. It's the definition of Nuke, it makes it sound like a huge bomb that blows away everything when ingame(im thinking) it only has the radius of a large room.

Tactical nuclear device...

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