Subject: Unreasonable Vehicle electromag guns
From: "Onno Meyer" <[email-masked]>

Can anyone spot an error? If not, I fear the game mechanics are
breaking down for small gauss weapons ...

TL8 1mm Gauss Gatling
    This 16-barrel minigun fires tiny steel slivers at extreme speeds.
    It was build to kill missiles through pure volume of fire.

    Game mechanics: Full-power electromag with 16 very long barrels.

    1mm Gauss Gatling   $13,600     12     lbs.    0.24   cf
      10,000 needles         $8      0.5   lbs.    0.0033 cf

    Malf Type Damage SS Acc 1/2D Max   RoF Shots Power
    Ver  Imp  4d     14 13  600  3,000 240 var   60 KW
    
TL8 2mm Gauss Machine Gun
    Trading money for size, this electromag MG combines MMG punch with
    SAW weight, if a moderate amount of electricity can be provided.

    Game mechanics: Full-power, heavy automatic electromag with
    extremely long barrel.

    2mm Gauss MG       $18,400      18   lbs.      0.36   cf
      1,000 AP darts        $9.6     0.4 lbs.      0.0027 cf

    Malf Type Damage SS Acc 1/2D  Max   RoF Shots Power
    Ver  Cr   10d(2) 17 15  1,700 6,600 20  var   48 KW

As you can see, especially the low power requirements and ammo
weights are going to upset game balance. You don't need many C
cells to fire thousands of rounds. Or take an advanced battery,
a small Nuclear Power Unit and a few hundred pounds of ammo,
and you're in business for a long time.

A lot more reasonable, but terribly expensive, is this gun: not a
hypervelocity railgun, even if the saboted darts are probably a bit
faster than those out of a TL7 hyvec cannon.

TL8 40mm Gauss Cannon
    This electromagnetic weapon fires at conventional bullet speeds.
    Advantages over chemically-propelled weapons are mainly the low
    ammo weight and somewhat better range, at considerable expense.

    Game mechanics: Low-power, heavy automatic electromag with medium
    barrel.

    40mm Gauss Cannon    $320,000   600 lbs.   12     cf
      10 rounds APFSDS       $768     8 lbs.    0.08  cf
      10 rounds HEDP         $288     8 lbs.    0.08  cf
      Adv. Battery/10 rds    $270     9 lbs.    0.045 cf

    Round  Malf Type Damage      SS Acc 1/2D  Max    RoF Shots Power
    APFSDS Ver  Cr   6d*20(2)    25 17  3,600 12,000 8   var   7.2 MW
    HEDP   Ver  Sxp  4d*2(5)[4d] 25 16  2,400  8,200 8   var   7.2 MW