Ship's Locker: Out of the Closet

[Saladman]

Serbu Super Shorty: Is It Awesome or Just Dumb?

I'm leaning towards just dumb. "Holdout shotgun" sounds like it has a niche use case, but the combination of high recoil and low ammo capacity make it pretty weak. You'd be better off with a heavier caliber handgun for the holdout use, or better off with a short carbine or even a pistol with a shoulder stock for the stance they're using.

In short, a perfect PC weapon. I'd be perfectly fine statting one up for a player who wanted to buy or make one, but I wouldn't add them to the equipment list as a general thing.

 

[Condottiere]

Going by Traveller combat mechanics, recoil is a big issue.

You could cheat with gyrostabilization.

I think it tends to be circumstantial, based at what's closest to hand, law level, concealment, availability, and exactly what you're facing.

It could be more for intimidation, in which case, if successful, you don't need to pull the trigger.

 

[Saladman]

You could cheat with gyrostabilization.

Change of topic: how was gyrostabilization ever supposed to work on a gun? And what does it look like? I understand how it works on boats, but the boat is floating free, not being held. I understand how it works on cameras, but the whole point there is you don't get to hold the camera directly, there's a gyro and a gimbal so the camera is also "floating free." Just bolting a gyro to a rifle or shotgun doesn't seem like it would do anything.

 

[Condottiere]

I have no idea.

But I suspect half the big guns in the game have it.

Also, I'd add the laser pointer to the shotgun.

In case there was any doubt by the other party, as to exactly where it's pointed at.

 

[Condottiere]

1. We use percentages.

2. As long as the Vargr in the logistics branch also use the decimal system.

 

[Condottiere]

Sometimes, the universe is out to get you.

 

[Valkyrie]

Are all these things in your ships locker? And if so may i come aboard?

 

[Condottiere]

That's marketing.

I tend towards a rather lean one.


The robe was adorned with numerous small patches representing the items held by it, but only the wearer could see or use them. When needed, the wearer could detach a patch, upon which it would become a real and hopefully useful item.[1][2][3]

A wide array of items could be produced from a robe of useful items. Every such robe was made with some of the following basic useful patches.

A dagger.[1][2][3]
A lit bullseye lantern filled with oil.[1][2][3]
A 2-by-4-foot steel mirror.[1][2][3]
A 10‑foot (3‑meter) pole.[1][2][3]
50 feet (15 meters) of hempen rope.[1][2][3]
A large sack.[1][2][3]
They were also made with a few more unusual patches.

A pouch of 100 gp.[1][2][3]
A 1-foot long, 6-inch deep and wide silver coffer worth 500 gp.[1][2][3]
A self-fitting barred iron door up to 10‑foot (3‑meter) wide and tall that installed itself into a doorframe-shaped space.[1][2][3]
Ten gems worth 100 gp each.[1][2][3]
A 24‑foot (7.3‑meter) long wooden ladder.[1][2][3]
A living mule or horse with saddlebags.[1][2][3]
A 10‑foot (3‑meter) wide pit that affixed to the floor and opened up a void.[1][2][3]
Potions of healing,[3] extra-healing,[1] or cure serious wounds.[2]
A 12‑foot (3.7‑meter) long rowboat.[1][2][3]
A random lesser spell scroll.[1][2][3]
A pair of living war dogs.[1][2][3]
A 2-by-4-foot glass window that attached to a wall and opened a window frame through it.[1][2][3]
A portable ram.[2][3]

 

[Condottiere]

Russia's Battlefield Bikes

Today we're looking into the relatively new Russian tactic of motorcycle focused assaults and operations in Ukraine. This is based around the work done by Tatarigami on Frontelligence Insight who's article will be linked below. Overall, there's a place for this in the current fight but so far it appears to come at a heavy cost.

Since I am trying to figure out how this would, or should, work in the future, I'd say there would be a limit on the effective speed on difficult terrain, or even on a dirt track.

Default artillery would be effective against a massed attack, but spread far enough apart, or even individually, it seems drones appear to have more utility.

Cynically, if the same drone is used against an armoured fighting vehicle, and against a motorcyclist, the drone would appear to be wasted.

At engagement range, general purpose machine gun.

 

[rinku]

This is hardly a new thing. Motorcycle (and bicycle) troops were used a fair bit in WW2; essentially an upgraded mounted infantry (which were also in play, especially on the Eastern Front).

Since then, infantry in APCs have done that role, but as you (cynically) point out, those may be too vulnerable now as battle taxis. So it's back to personal transport for some roles.

 

[Condottiere]

Depending on the design rules and associated costs, I'd prefer a light weight four wheel jeep or buggy.

And up a couple of technological levels, it could just be an electric bicycle.

 

[Condottiere]

 

[Condottiere]

1. Suggested expiry date.

2. Pizza take off.

3. Food makes people happy.

 

[Condottiere]

How Singapore Airlines Makes 50,000 In-Flight Meals A Day | Big Business | Insider Business

With a whopping $500 million food budget, catering chefs for Singapore Airlines pump out 19 million in-flight meals a year. But cooking food for 30,000 feet is anything but easy. Airplane meals, like us, can't miss their flights. So chefs move with military clockwork to stay within flight schedules and food safety requirements. Then there's the added issue that food can taste differently in the sky because of pressure, engine noise, and dryness on the plane. It's a phenomenon airlines and manufacturers have been working for decades to fix. Food and beverage director Antony McNeil develops meals that can regenerate well in small aircraft ovens while still tasting good.

We visit the carrier's largest catering facility inside Changi Airport to see how all this food makes it onto planes before takeoff.

0:00 Intro
1:18 Where Singapore Airlines makes in-flight meals
2:34 How in-flight meals are cooked
6:46 Why food tastes different on planes
8:58: How airline food gets to the plane

1. Food will taste different on each spacecraft.

2. Seventy two hours is about enough for the first two days in jumpspace.

3. Though, considering canonical interstellar traffic, you probably won't have mass catering service.

 

[Condottiere]

Russia's Secret Weapon: Hoverboards

This video represents about 18 months of tracking and research and months of collating and writing. It is a comprehensive look at the development of commercially available 'hoverboards' being turned into unmanned ground vehicles. In this video we'll examine the emergence and evolution of the concept and the various ways they are being used in the field.

Cavalry.

 

[Condottiere]

Ukrainian Soldiers Find a Secret Soviet Knife!

Ukrainian Troops Just Found a Knife That Shoots Rounds, And It's Not a Myth

Hey friends, Wes O’Donnell here, Army vet, Air Force vet, and the guy who thought he’d seen every ridiculous relic from the Russian arsenal… until this week.

In this episode, I’m taking you to the muddy battlefields outside Sumy, where Ukrainian troops from the 225th Separate Aslt. Regiment just found what might be the weirdest battlefield trophy of the entire war: the mythical Soviet NRS-2 “Scout Firing Knife.” That’s right, a knife. That shoots. Projectiles.

This isn’t Call of Duty nonsense or Cold War cosplay. This is a real Soviet Spetsnaz weapon designed to silently eliminate a target up close… and then double as a survival knife, saw, wire cutter, and possibly a James Bond prop. It’s chambered in SP-4, the same round used by the PSS silent pistol, and it fires by flipping open a barrel hidden in the grip. Just point the blade at your own face, pull back the hammer, and hope for the best. Soviet ergonomics, baby.

In this video, I’ll walk you through:
• How this rare artifact ended up in a Russian soldier’s gear
• The insane design of the NRS-2 (and why it absolutely would never pass a NATO safety review)
• Why Spetsnaz even used it in the first place
• What this says about Russian special operations and the Cold War’s obsession with “silent kills”
• And why it’s now one of the most talked-about souvenirs in Ukraine’s ongoing fight for survival

This war is full of drones, AI targeting, and long-range precision munitions. But every once in a while, it drops something on your lap that feels like a punchline from 1983.

1. Silent cartridge.

2. Gun and knife fight.

3. Laser cartridge.

4. Solomani Army Knife.

 

[Condottiere]

The Weapon That Defined Sci-Fi: Screen-Used Pulse Rifle with firearms expert Jonathan Ferguson

“They mostly come at night… mostly.”

In this special episode of What Is This Weapon? Jonathan takes a deep dive into one of the most iconic sci-fi firearms ever conceived: the M-41A Pulse Rifle from Aliens (1986) and Alien³ (1992). But this isn’t a replica, this is a screen-used prop from the films themselves, now preserved in the national collection at the Royal Armouries.

Join Jonathan as he uncovers the secrets behind its design, construction, and cinematic legacy from hidden Thompsons and SPAS-12 shotguns to behind-the-scenes stories, production quirks, and James Cameron’s hands-on involvement. It's a love letter to speculative military hardware, movie magic and the weapon that defined the Colonial Marines.


0:00 Cold Open
0:31 Intro
0:45 ARMAT M-41A Pulse Rifle
1:13 Jonathan's History with Alien
3:01 Acquisition
7:00 Prop Details
8:30 Film & Prop Themes & Inspirations
12:20 Pulse Rifle Real Life Components
14:00 Alien³ Rebuild & Paint Job
16:00 How James Cameron Designed the Pulse Rifle
20:46 10mm Caseless Ammo & Movie Myths
24:33 Legacy of the Pulse Rifle
26:09 Final Thoughts & Sign Off

1. Americans - tax break.

2. British - tea break.

3.

4. Electro thermal propellant.

 

[Condottiere]

The Hardest Problem Evolution Ever Solved

It's really hard for me not to title this video "You are just a weird hairy fish" and, who knows...maybe that's the right choice. We shall see...

1. Neofunctionalization.

2. Auto focus.

3. Water balloon.

4. Anal breathing.

5. Hairy fish.

 

[Condottiere]

What Saturn’s Rings Tell Us About Its Soupy Core

The insides of the our gas giant friend, Saturn, might be less of a mystery now that we’ve figured out how to use its rings to indicate its internal makeup. And the light emitted from some very old, very hungry black holes could be giving us a new way to measure some of the heaviest objects in space.

1. Fluffy.

2. Bath tub toy.

3. Fuzzy core.

4. Gravitationally sensitive ruing particles.

 

[Condottiere]

10 Crazy Facts About The Apollo Program | Answers With Joe

The race to the moon was always more about dueling superpowers than the spirit of exploration. And because of that, enormous risks and creative leaps were made to reach their goal. For that and many other reasons, the Apollo program was one of the most insane ventures ever undertaken, and here are 10 reasons why.

1. If you can make brassieres, you can make spacesuits.

2. Lift(ers) and separate/ion.

3. Nude conditional.

4. Small stepladder.

5. Cross sectional sleeping hammocks.

6. Customs and Border Protection.

7. Hydrogenated drinks.

8. Flatulence.

9. Ninety degrees off vertical for lunar gravity simulation - which could happen in double hull under acceleration.