FermiEstimate

joined 7 months ago
[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 days ago (2 children)

See also Brigador: apart from the various lasers, exotic ballistics, and nightmarish chemical weapons it includes, there's also the prosaic "Mãe Dois." The tech entry leaves no doubt about what it is:

My understanding is that this weapon not only predates the colonies, but space travel entirely. If that is the case then it's a truly venerable design, and one I'm told will continue to serve for the foreseeable future.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I laughed at first, but then I realized I'd have found Starfield vastly more interesting if weird stuff like this happened all the time on purpose and they leaned into it with small quests. This one bug delighted me more than any of the actual quests I can remember at this point.

It almost feels like Starfield was ambitious in the wrong ways. Bethesda trying to aim for Disco Elysium-ish oddness might not have turned out great, but I think it would have made more of a lasting impression.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 month ago

Biblically-accurate Ace Combat aircraft.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

A turret toss does seem like it would be effective as reactive armor. Is this how tanks evolve to survive drone predation? Main turret autotomy to give the smaller turret buds a chance to flee?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (2 children)

The microwave thing? I couldn't even guess, though I personally wouldn't want to stand next to it even if it works. A big microwave emitter on the battlefield is just asking to catch a HARM.

It really doesn't seem like anyone knows for sure what to do about drones right now.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Large, non-nuclear EMPs mostly use explosives. Covering a large battlefield means you're essentially bringing a massive, single-use explosive charge to the battlefield, staying uncomfortably close enough to benefit from it, and trying to set it off at exactly the right time, because they're not reloadable. And your enemy is probably thrilled you're doing this, because it saves them from hauling their own explosives there. (On that note, why are you sitting on this thing instead of dropping it on the enemy?)

This is in addition to whatever shielding you brought, which is likely bulky and conspicuous. And you're probably not doing combined arms, because shielding infantry and light vehicles from massive explosions is, it is fair to say, something of an unsolved problem.

But wait, you might be thinking. I know there are non-explosive ways to generate EMPs. Yes, there are, but you need a power source for those, and if you have a really good, portable one of those and a consistent supply of fuel to run it, you probably have better uses for it, like powering a modest laser. Oh, also, you're 100% sure your shielding works perfectly, right? You'll find out quick if you don't.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

Nobody:

Absolutely nobody:

The ghost of Sam Hughes: Okay but have you considered

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

I'm just going to pretend that's one of the researchers from Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

I'm always pumped when an article titled "Beast/Monster of <location>" is an actual cryptid and not just the nickname for a serial killer. This is way more interesting!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

While the adulteration surely didn't help, I don't think I'd trust pure milk from these cows, either:

Swill milk dairies were noted for their filthy conditions and overpowering stench both caused by the close confinement of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of cows in narrow stalls where, once they were tied, they would stay for the rest of their lives, often standing in their own manure, covered with flies and sores, and suffering from a range of virulent diseases. These cows were fed boiling distillery waste, often leaving the cows with rotting teeth and other maladies.