Ship's Locker: Out of the Closet

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.
 
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.
 
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.

now do guns.jpg
 
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.
 
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]
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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