Web Posted October 13, 2002
Updated October 13, 2002

Hello again, drivers and gunners. I said last issue I would be publishing on June 10th. Even though this issue is extremely short on content, I am sticking to my deadline. This issue is proof of the mantra I have been saying for five years: If you want this newsletter to continue to have a consistent amount of material each month, I need your help by submitting articles and news on a timely basis. If the shortage of submissions continues, I will be forced to write articles from my "Car Wars Notebooks of Chaos." For the sanity of the autodueling community, start writing!
 

WADA Stuff

I continue to receive duel reports for the WADA League and expect to update the standings later this week. If anyone is wondering, the tournament is alive and well. I am giving the same points for Car Wars Classic Edition and Car Wars 2002 Edition events.
 

Around the Bend

Next month, I will review the current status of the Car Wars Web sites available today, focusing on the WADA chapter sites. While writing this article, I will update SWAT HQ and verify most (if not all) of the links.

Do any of you subscribers live in San Francisco? I will likely be in the Bay Area next month for two weeks for business, however I have one weekend free I would like to spend pounding duelists into the pavement. Drop me a line if you want to meet.
 

See you on July 1st. Drive offensively.

Michael P. Owen
 

DRAGONSLAYERS, INC.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/HUDSOND/dslayer.htm

Subject: DragonSlayers Duel #10
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 14:02:08 +0100
From: David Hudson <dhudson@deepdale-systems.demon.co.uk>
To: Michael P. Owen <owenmp@serv.net>

Michael,

Here's the latest duel report from DragonSlayers Inc., for you to include in the CWIN and WADA league standings.
 

The final event of the current season, number 10, took place within the Double Drum Arena. Each team fielded two Div. 20 vehicles, without restrictions on body type. The arena's drums were closed off, making two small, circular arenas, with one vehicle from each team entering each of the drums. The gates between the arenas would only be opened when one drum was reduced to a single combatant.

DRAGON
Bumski -- Mid-size, AC (with weapon concealment and bumper trigger), ramplate.
Dreamer -- Small hovercraft, ATG (with APFSDS ammo and HESH ammo), SD (with incendiary spikes).

Archdiocese
Trinity -- Heavy trike, 2 MGs (1R, 1L), SMD (with spider mines).
Ein Feste Burg -- Mid-size, turreted FOJ and left-mounted HMG).

BLADES
Slug -- Luxury, 24 MnRs (16F, 8B), sloped metal/plastic armour.
Sniper -- Luxury, VMG in turret, 2 FCEs (1R, 1L), AP HR back, MD back, sloped metal/plastic armour.

BUMS
Firestarter -- Sloped mid-size, RL (with incendiary rockets), MD (with napalm mines), 2 FODs.
Fantasia -- Mid-size, 2 VMGs, 2 SDs.

Feralgrin
Vix -- Compact, laser front, sloped armor.
Arsey -- Sloped luxury, FT in turret, HDFT right, 3 FCDs.
 

Drum #1 contained (going clockwise) Vix, Firestarter, Dreamer, Slug, and Trinity. Drum #2 had Ein Feste Burg, Arsey, Fantasia, Bumski, and Sniper. With Archdiocese and DRAGON fighting for the league championship, and Archdiocese needing to score more than their opponent, and finish either first or second place, there was little doubt that DRAGON would be looking to despatch them at the earliest moment.

In Drum #1, the DRAGON hover and BLADES ramcar got off to quick starts, whilst only DRAGON's Bumski managed a quick start in the other arena. All other vehicles crawled out of their respective starting gates.

As the DRAGON hover launched towards Archdiocese's Trinity, it zipped past the front of the ramcar, narrowly avoiding a collision, dropping spikes under its opponents wheels, which the latter completely avoided. However, the maneuvering was too much for the hover -- the pilot lost control, and sent his mount spinning into a wall, dropping spikes automatically in a seemingly random pattern, requiring Trinity to keep its speed low to avoid running over any.

Meanwhile, at the other side of this arena, BUMS's Firestarted and Feralgrin's Vix were getting together for a little action. Following a point-blank miss with his rocket launcher, the BUMS car rammed its smaller, slower opponent head-on, bringing it to a complete stop, before turning and dropping its rear weapons around and under the compact. As if the flaming oil wasn't enough, Vix also detonated a napalm mine. On fire and with most tyres/wheels gone, the driver took the only sensible option and bailed out, becoming the first kill of the duel.

Over in Drum #2, the DRAGON ramcar was flying. Initially, it headed towards the BLADES Sniper, but the dropped weapons carried by the latter caused it to veer off towards its real target, the Archdiocese car, which was busy exchanging shots and maneuvers, at low speed with the flamethrower-equipped Feralgrin motor, which stopped and fired off its three flame cloud dischargers in an attempt to hide.

Closing at over 70 mph, Bumski rammed the Archdiocese car head-on, with the autocannon firing automatically on impact, as its opponent fired flaming oil under it. The point-blank shot and ram were both very damaging, ripping straight through Archdiocese's armour and destroying the power plant. Unfortunately, the maneuver required to make the ram, coupled with the flaming oil, caused the ramcar to lose control quite spectacularly, immediately pitching it into a burning roll along the side of the arena. If that wasn't bad enough, the flaming oil had completely stripped the very thin underbody armour, and the ram had re-oriented the Archdiocese car so that its breached front was now pointing towards a wall, making it difficult for other combatants to take advantage of an easy kill.

As DRAGON rolled, Feralgrin's Arsey saw, and took, the opportunity to fire through the stripped underbody, which destroyed the power plant. Despite ending the roll on its wheels, the DRAGON car found its weapon pointing towards a now closed gate, with no motive power. Despite this, the driver sat quietly in his component armour, waiting and hoping, but no-one rammed him and his weapon was finally reduced to molten slag.

Back in Drum #1, with the hover finally regaining control, and Trinity picking a safe route around the spikes, Slug had rounded the central column and was closing fast on Firestarter, with a rocket-mad ram in mind. However, he lost control on his final turn and began skidding. Firestarter took this opportunity to lay some well-placed mines, which, skidding, Slug was unable to avoid. The mines were not as effective against this opponent, and the BLADES car continued towards the inevitable ram. At the point of contact, eight of the front bumper-triggered mini rockets launched, followed a fraction of a second later by the metal ramplate. The damage to BUMS's car was quite impressive, but so was its ability to soak up the damage! To add to his pain, the hover fired his anti-tank gun into the other side of the BUMS vehicle, dealing a
hefty damage with the APFSDS ammo.

Having shrugged off the T-bone and weapons fire, Firestarter dropped another batch of mines in the path of the ramcar, which, when detonated, damaged both vehicles, but the ram car was set alight by its second encounter with the napalm, and exploded almost immediately. The damage, from the mines caused BUMS to lose control, forcing him to drive over the hover's spikes. The incendiary spikes took out the  wheels/tyres on the left side, rapidly halting the BUMS car, but leaving it pointing in the direction of the DRAGON hover.

The hover, meanwhile, was trying to maneuver to shoot its main opponent, the Archdiocese trike, and chose to ignore the shots from the BUMS vehicle -- which was to prove his undoing. Incendiary rockets eventually resulted in the hover being set alight, but with the flames licking around him, the pilot continued to fire at the trike, without much luck, before the inevitable happened, and the fans melted, dropping the hover to the floor. Once he was no longer able to get a shot at the trike, the pilot bailed out. Shortly thereafter, the hover's gas tank blew, sending bits of hovercraft in all directions. With both vehicles destroyed, DRAGON were now effectively out of the event.

Drum #2 seemed a little quieter in comparison. BUMS and BLADES had engaged each other, with both vehicles heading towards the scene of the previous carnage, where the two immobilised vehicles and the "hiding" Feralgrin car were, with shots exchanged between various parties, without much effect.

With his car totally useless, the DRAGON driver emerged on foot, intending to shoot the AD crew with his pistol. However, the crew were protected by component armour so he tried another tactic -- setting his armour alight, he clambered into the breached armour in an attempt to set the car on fire, whilst his fireproof suit protected him from harm. This internal fire, together with a couple of hits from the Feralgrin flamethrower, quickly set the stricken car alight. Immediately, the crews' fire extinguishers put out the flames. This was enough to discourage the DRAGON driver, who sloped off, dejectedly towards the exit, unable to affect the outcome of the event, and hoping that someone else would finish off what he had started.

As the three mobile vehicles jockeyed for position, trading shots, the flamethrower-equipped Feralgrin car managed to penetrate Fantasia's armour, setting him alight. Before the vehicle became immobile, BUMS managed to maneuver and collide with Feralgrin's Arsey, causing the fire to spread to his vehicle. Within seconds, both cars were effectively destroyed and out of the combat, each killed by the other.

At about this time, the driver of the BUMS car in the other arena decided it was time to abandon ship, ending the duelling in Drum #1, resulting in the opening of the gates between the drums. Being in no hurry, the Archdiocese trike waited in Drum #1 for BLADES's Sniper to come in to attack, laying mines around the area to make things interesting.

As the Sniper closed in, exchanging fire with the trike, it passed close enough to spot that the mines were spider mines, as his tyres all but touched the protruding detonators. After a few seconds of firing, Sniper's shots payed off, and the trike's front armour was breached. Needing only to finish the event in second place to claim the championship, the Archdiocese vehicles both surrendered to the BLADES car.

Following post-event scrutineering, it was discovered that Archdiocese had entered an illegal vehicle, resulting in their disqualification from this event. As a consequence, they score no points from this duel, gifting the league championship to DRAGON, despite their less than convincing performance in this final duel.
 

Final Results

1. BLADES (Paul Spence), 2 kills
2. Feralgrin (Andy Troman), 2 kills
3. BUMS (Geoff Lambourne), 4 kills
4. DRAGON (David Hudson)
5. Archdiocese (Ann Smith/Alasdair Brooks), disqualified
 

BLADES' Winning Design

Sniper -- Luxury, x-hvy. chassis, large PP with SuperCons, hvy. suspension, 4 SB PR tyres, driver, VMG in turret, 2 FCEs AP HR back, 2 links, SWC (VMG), bumper trigger. Sloped metal/plastic armour: F5/35, R2/30, L2/30, B4/30, T0/5, U0/15, four 10-pt. plastic AWHs, 10 points plastic CA around driver. Accel. 5, Top speed 90, HC 3; 6,600 lbs., $19,755.
 

David Hudson
DSI President
 
 
 

MID-SOUTH AUTODUELISTS AND HANDGUNNERS ATTACK TEAM
http://www.ccstech.org/gaming

Subject: RE: Car Wars Internet Newsletter Vol. 5, No. 5
Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 20:37:28 -0500
From: Jimmy Anderson <jimmy@ccetc.org>
To: Michael P. Owen <owenmp@serv.net>

Michael,

Not sure if this is for the CWIN or not . . .

I posted a message tonight on Dueling Debate about our spreadsheet. Curt Lindmark has taken over the duty of maintaining it and he's fixed some bugs and cleaned up some cosmetic things that have been bugging me for a while. Thanks!

Jimmy Anderson
MADHAT President
 
 
 

NEW OMAHA VEHICULAR ASSOCIATION
http://www.novia.net/~desslok/nova.htm

Vehicle Guide: Compacts, Mid-sizes, Campers, Vans, Buses, Tractor-Trailers.