Web Posted December 31, 2004
Updated December 31, 2004

The song lyric, "I fought the law and the law won," describes my schedule this year accurately. Because of spending more hours in my laboratory ("the law") than I want to think about, this issue, originally planned for April, is being sent out in this warm month of June. I am not making promises but I am going to try a bi-weekly schedule for the next several issues until I can get the magazine back to a semi-normal release plan.

Francis Greenaway has released OGL Highwayman, a d20 sourcebook for roleplaying in the world of the auto-combat miniatures boardgame Dark Future published by Games Workshop. Be sure to check out this new system.

Hopefully I will be writing to you in two weeks.

Drive offensively,

Michael P. Owen
 

FORD'S NEW BULLETPROOF LUXURY CAR
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/14/eveningnews/main611897.shtml

CBS News
New York
April 14, 2004

Bulletproof Luxury Cars
Ford unveils the Lincoln BPS - Ballistic Protection Series

"They could start firing shots at you. And you're gonna go home and get a new paint job. And everybody's gonna go to bed safe and sound that night."

-- Charles Fredericksen, Security Consultant

(CBS) Ford calls it "an elegant answer to a hostile world." It looks like an ordinary limousine. But it's not, reports CBS Correspondent Anthony Mason.

"This is called the Lincoln BPS -- Ballistic Protection Series," said Rick Bondy who handles security for the Ford Motor Co.

That's right, an armored Lincoln Town Car.

The BPS is bullet resistant. The doors are reinforced with ceramic and steel. The windows are more than an inch and a half thick.

Handguns and hunting rifles can't penetrate the car. Neither can assault rifles.

This car was Bondy's idea.

A former Secret Service agent, Bondy serves as bodyguard to the company president.

"It boils down to do I wanna stop these. Or do I wanna stop these," he said, holding bullets in his hand.

The price for this kind of peace of mind? About $145,000 a car. And Ford figures it can sell 300 this year.
In the post 9/11 climate of fear, the armored car market has been growing twenty percent a year. GM has also designed an armored version of its Cadillac DeVille.

"You have celebrities, CEOs of companies, VIPs," said security consultant Charles Fredericksen. He says he'd recommend them to his clients.

"They could start firing shots at you. And you're gonna go home and get a new paint job. And everybody's gonna go to bed safe and sound that night," he said.

Even if the tires are shot out, the BPS has "run flat inserts" bolted to the wheel.

"You can drive on all four of them with no tires at all," said Bondy. "But it's just great when somebody's trying to kill you."

Ford likes to say its vehicles help you "escape" everyday hassles. But now it has made a real getaway car.
 
 

BRAIN IMPLANT DEVICES APPROVED FOR TRIALS
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/04/14/brain.implants.ap/index.html

The Associated Press and CNN
Thursday, April 15, 2004 Posted: 10:22 AM EDT (1422 GMT)

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- For years, futurists have dreamed of machines that can read minds, then act on instructions as they are thought. Now, human trials are set to begin on a brain-computer interface involving implants.

Cyberkinetics Inc. of Foxboro, Massachusetts, has received Food and Drug Administration approval to begin a clinical trial in which four-square-millimeter chips will be placed beneath the skulls of paralyzed patients.

If successful, the chips could allow patients to command a computer to act -- merely by thinking about the instructions they wish to send.

It's a small, early step in a mission to improve the quality of life for victims of strokes and debilitating diseases like cerebral palsy or Lou Gehrig's. Many victims of such ailments can now survive for long periods thanks to life support, but their quality of life is poor.

"A computer is a gateway to everything else these patients would like to do, including motivating your own muscles through electrical stimulation," said Cyberkinetics chief executive Tim Surgenor. "This is a step in the process."

The company is far from the only research group active in the field. An Atlanta company, Neural Signals, has conducted six similar implants as part of a clinical trial and hopes to conduct more. But for now, its device contains relatively simple electrodes, and experts say Cyberkinetics will be the first to engage in a long-term,
human trial with a more sophisticated device placed inside a patient's brain. It hopes to bring a product to market in three to five years.

A number of research groups have focused on brain-computer links in recent years.

In 1998, Neural Signals researchers said a brain implant let a paralyzed stroke victim move a cursor to point out phrases like "See you later. Nice talking with you" on a computer screen. The next year, other scientists said electrodes on the scalp of two Lou Gehrig's disease patients let them spell messages on a computer screen.

Cyberkinetics founder Dr. John Donoghue, a Brown University neuroscientist, attracted attention with research on monkeys that was published in 2002 in the journal Nature.

Three rhesus monkeys were given implants, which were first used to record signals from their motor cortex -- an area of the brain that controls movement -- as they manipulated a joystick with their hands. Those signals were then used to develop a program that enabled one of the monkeys to continue moving a computer cursor with its brain.

The idea is not to stimulate the mind but rather to map neural activity so as to discern when the brain is signaling a desire to make a particular physical movement.

"We're going to say to a paralyzed patient, 'imagine moving your hand six inches to the right,"' Surgenor said.

Then, he said, researchers will try to identify the brain activity associated with that desire. Someday, that capacity could feed into related devices, such as a robotic arm, that help patients act on that desire.

It's misleading to say such technologies "read minds," said Dr. Jonathan Wolpaw, of the New York State Department of Health, who is conducting similar research. Instead, they train minds to recognize a new pattern of cause and effect, and adapt.

"What happens is you provide the brain with the opportunity to develop a new skill," he said.

Moving the experiment from monkeys to humans is a challenge. Cyberkinetics' "Brain Gate" contains tiny spikes that will extend down about one millimeter into the brain after being implanted beneath the skull, monitoring the activity from a small group of neurons.

The signals will be monitored through wires emerging from the skull, which presents some danger of infection. The company is working on a wireless version.

But Richard Andersen, a Cal Tech expert conducting similar research, said the field is advanced enough to warrant this next step.

"I think there is a consensus among many researchers that the time is right to begin trials in humans," Andersen said, noting that surgeons are already implanting devices into human brains -- sometimes deeply -- to treat deafness and Parkinson's disease.

"There is always some risk but one considers the benefits."

Wolpaw said it isn't clear that it's necessary to implant such devices inside the brain; other technologies that monitor activity from outside the skull may prove as effective.

But, he said, the idea of brain implants seems to attract more attention.

"The idea that you can get control by putting things into the brain appears to have an inherent fascination," he said.

Andersen, however, said that for now devices inside the brain provide the best information.

"It would be nice if in the future some technology comes along that would let you non-invasively record from the brain," he said. "MRIs do that. But unfortunately, it's very expensive and cumbersome, and the signal is very indirect and slow."
 
 

ITALIAN COPS GET A LAMBORGHINI. VAROOOOM!
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/05/14/lamborghini.ap/index.html

The Associated Press and CNN
Friday, May 14, 2004 Posted: 1:26 PM EDT (1726 GMT)

ROME, Italy (AP) -- Italian drivers who like to use highways as their personal speed-tracks are about to lose the race.

Italy's state police presented a sleek new addition Friday: a Lamborghini Gallardo, with a top speed of 309 kph (192 mph).

The car is ready for service, bedecked with a siren, painted blue-and-white, and the word "POLIZIA" -- "police" -- stenciled on the side.

Police showed it off at an anniversary celebration in Rome on Friday.

They said the Lamborghini will be used on the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway in southern Italy, for emergencies and to transport organs for transplant.

Lamborghini, which is owned by Volkswagen and based near Bologna in northern Italy, donated the car.

The six-speed, two-door luxury vehicle promises the ability to go from zero to 100 kph (60 mph) in four seconds, and has a list price of US$165,000 (euro 145,180 in Europe).
 
 

ARMED MAN GOES ON BULLDOZER RAMPAGE
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Central/06/04/bulldozer.rampage.ap/index.html

The Associated Press and CNN
Friday, June 4, 2004 Posted: 7:30 PM EDT (2330 GMT)

GRANBY, Colorado (AP) -- A man barricaded inside a fortified bulldozer went on a rampage Friday, firing shots and knocking down buildings as he plowed through the streets, witnesses said.

It was not immediately known whether anyone had been injured.

"He's got gun turrets," witness Scott Schaffer told KUSA-TV. Another resident, Judy Craig, told the station she heard heavy damage was done to the town library and city hall.

State Patrol Maj. Jim Wolfinbarger said officers told him the driver had aimed his weapon at propane tanks. Gov. Bill Owens alerted the National Guard and was prepared to send troops to the town if requested, but local authorities had not asked for that help, Owens spokesman Dan Hopkins said.

Store owner William Hertel said a man he did not know drove by his business in the bulldozer at mid-afternoon. He said the machine took out a wall of the library and part of a new bank building.

He took out the trees and light pole in front of Hertel's store driving back and forth through the town, Hertel said.

"I was up on the roof when he came by. I got down and got my wife and kids out of the back of the building," Hertel told The Associated Press. He said he had heard numerous gun shots.

Lurlene Curran, the Grand County manager, said to her knowledge no one had been hurt. She said at least five buildings had been damaged.

"The piece of equipment is so big it's hard to stop," she said. "We're doing everything we can to stop this chaos."

Granby, a town of about 2,200 at nearly 8,000 feet, is about 50 miles west of Denver.

The bulldozer knocked out natural gas service to City Hall and a cement plant, Xcel Energy spokesman Mark Stutz. He said one truck and a wall of the utility's service center had been damaged.

The scene was reminiscent of a 1998 rampage in Alma, another town in the Colorado Rockies. Authorities said Tom Leask shot a man to death, then used a town-owned front-end loader to heavily damage the town's post office, fire department, water department and town hall.
 
 

BULLDOZER RAMPAGE IN COLORADO
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Central/06/04/bulldozer.rampage

CNN
Friday, June 4, 2004 Posted: 10:47 PM EDT (0247 GMT)

(CNN) -- A man reportedly angry about a zoning decision drove a large bulldozer fortified with steel plates through Granby, Colorado, Friday afternoon, demolishing parts of the town center and exchanging gunfire with authorities, officials said.

Officials said all of the buildings that were damaged or destroyed appeared to be intentionally targeted as a result of the zoning dispute.

There are no immediate reports of injuries.

About an hour and a half after the rampage began, law enforcement officers surrounded the modified vehicle on the city's main street, Grand County Manager Lurline Curran told CNN in a phone interview.

All was quiet inside the cab, which is enclosed with steel plates, Curran said. Law enforcement is cautiously trying to extricate the individual.

"They don't know if he's still alive or what's going on," Curran said.

At the height of the rampage, the bulldozer virtually demolished a concrete batch plant, the town hall, a bank, a library and the local newspaper's offices.

Curran said the modified bulldozer was so big that it was "hard to stop."

"He fortified it with some armored plates, so it was very difficult for our sheriff's department to do anything to stop him. He also had a weapon so we had to be very cautious," she said. "We moved in one of our scrapers from out of the landfill trying to block his way."

She said authorities believe they know the suspect and think his rampage stems from a zoning dispute dating back more than a year.

Neil Dewet, manager of the Silver Spur Saloon and Steakhouse about a half block from the town hall, said he knows the man in the bulldozer, and said he actually welded himself inside the cab.

"He was not coming out of there," Dewet told CNN in a phone interview, adding that he watched as the vehicle demolished town hall, about 150 feet from where he stood.

Dewet said the man owns the bulldozer and modified it inside a building he owns near the concrete batch plant.

Dewet says the man, whom he says is in his 50s, is angry about a zoning decision that allowed the concrete plant to expand around his building instead of buying his land.

Tim Neal, another Granby resident, told CNN he watched the bulldozer target specific buildings and homes -- homes of city board members that made the zoning decision.

"Everybody knew he would go after everybody on the town board," Neal said in a phone interview.

Mark Stutz of Xcel Energy said his company's building in Granby was also heavily damaged when the vehicle was briefly pinned against it by the scraper. To escape, the driver reversed the bulldozer and crashed through the building.

Damage to the town hall and the concrete batch plant included broken gas lines, Stutz told KUSA.

Police and other law enforcement officers are evacuating residents and shutting down roads in the town of about 1,500 residents, the county manager said.

Resident Julie Cautrell told KUSA that she could see smoke coming from downtown and that cars were lining the roads out of town. She said the armor-plated bulldozer was "as big as a tank, if not bigger."

"We did hear that several of our buildings in Granby have been demolished and that everything is shot up," she said.

Granby is about 70 miles northwest of Denver, near Rocky Mountain National Park.
 
 

BULLDOZER RAMPAGE GUNMAN DEAD
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Central/06/05/bulldozer.rampage/index.html

CNN
Saturday, June 5, 2004 Posted: 7:27 AM EDT (1127 GMT)

(CNN) -- A gunman who went on a rampage with a homemade armored bulldozer, demolishing buildings in the small town of Granby, Colorado, has died, apparently after shooting himself, according to a local county official.

Duane Dailey, chairman of the Grand County commissioners, said the coroner's report has not been issued to confirm the cause of death.

No one was killed after the man exchanged gunfire and drove the massive vehicle into town buildings Friday, believed to be intentionally targeted as a result of a zoning dispute that affected his business.

Granby is about 70 miles northwest of Denver, near Rocky Mountain National Park.

The assault ended after an hour and a half when the vehicle became stuck in one of the buildings that it plowed through.

Fearing the bulldozer was booby-trapped with explosives, local officials called in bomb squads and SWAT teams to penetrate the vehicle and detain or recover the driver. They had no contact with him.

SWAT teams were able to recover the body early Saturday after using an explosive to blow off the hinge of a door into the fortified bulldozer's cab around 2 a.m., Dailey said.

The first two explosive devices were "completely ineffective" at penetrating the armored bulldozer, Dailey said.

"The machine had a half-inch steel plate with a layer of concrete, and another steel plate," he said. "On the front of the machine, there were two rifles mounted where he could shoot straight ahead."

At the height of the rampage, the bulldozer demolished or heavily damaged a concrete batch plant, the town hall, a bank, a library and the local newspaper offices. The property of the former mayor, who held office at the time of the zoning dispute, was also damaged.

"Every indication is that these were all targeted hits," said Granby Town Manager Tom Hale. "They were all properties that people who worked there were involved in the zoning decision."

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens went to Granby and saw some of the damage from the air.

"It looked as if a tornado touched down and hopscotched across Granby," he told reporters.

Grand County Manager Lurline Curran said authorities believe they know the identity of the man carrying out the attack and that it stems from a zoning dispute dating back over a year ago.

Neil Dewet, manager of the Silver Spur Saloon and Steakhouse about a half block from town hall, said the man owned the bulldozer, and had modified it inside a building he owned near the concrete batch plant.

The man, who Dewet said was in his 50s, was angry at a zoning decision that allowed the concrete plant to expand around his building instead of buying his land.

Tim Neal, another Granby resident, told CNN he watched the bulldozer target specific buildings and homes -- homes of town board members who were involved in the zoning decision.

"Everybody knew he would go after everybody on the town board," Neal said in a phone interview.

Damage to town hall and the concrete batch plant broke gas lines to those buildings.

Police and other law enforcement officers evacuated many residents and shut down roads in the town of about 1,500 residents, Curran said.

Authorities used a reverse 911 system to warn residents in the bulldozer's path to get out, Grand County Commissioner Dwayne Dailey told reporters.
 
 

CHASSIS AND CROSSBOWS COMES TO COLORADO

Forum: Dueling Debate <http://forums.delphiforums.com/carwars>
Subject: General / Chassis & Crossbows comes to Colorado
From: Ed Davis (DigitalDung)
Date: Jun 05 2004 2:43 pm

Check this news story out. Strangely, there are many different stories about the same event, all with different information. My local paper, the Greeley Tribune, says he had a gun while the Denver Post doesn't mention it.

http://www.greeleytrib.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040605/NEWS/40605002&rs=2

And another source mentions the tractor had steel and concrete protection.

Ed Davis
RMADA
Greeley, CO
 
 

SURREAL SCENE STUNS PEOPLE OF GRANBY
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2193843,00.html

By Will Shanley, Howard Pankratz and John Ingold
The Denver Post

Article Published: Saturday, June 05, 2004

It was like a bad summer action movie, but all too real.

People ran down the street screaming. An armored behemoth rumbled through the streets, destroying buildings, cars and trees while gunfire wailed. And police officers -- one even jumping onto the contraption -- tried desperately to stop the unstoppable.

"It looked like 'Mad Max,"' said resident Randy James, a witness to the rampage.

As the armored bulldozer that authorities say was driven by Marvin Heemeyer began terrorizing Granby's streets, Shaun Huse was sitting on his porch. He watched in disbelief as the drama unfolded under the bright midday sun.

"It's not even real," he said. "It still isn't even real, even though I just saw it."

Sara McGinley, 18, was picking up her dad's police uniform from the dry cleaners. She heard gunfire outside and saw cars speeding down the street.

"I was scared, and I was not sure what I was going to do," she said. "... I was worried. How was I going to tell my family I was OK?"

She got into her car and, as fast as she could, got out of the way.

Joy Hetzler saw the bulldozer crash into town hall from her front window. The bulldozer looked so unusual, a piece of construction equipment on the bottom and something much more militaristic on top, that she couldn't figure out what it was.

"I was hearing gunfire and demolition sounds," she said. "I mean, he was tearing holes into the building. So it was the crashing sounds you would hear when somebody was tearing down a building.

"I was wondering what they were going to have to do to stop him, because it was pretty apparent it wasn't going to be easy to stop him."

Officers tried, to no avail. At one point, resident Mike Austin said he saw the bulldozer lift its blade and push three police cars into town hall.

"He just kept hammering and running over (trees) and mangling the vehicles," Austin said.

Residents received a reverse 911 call telling them to evacuate. Authorities set up an evacuation shelter at Mount Hollywood Cinema, said Jim Houlihan, Grand County's emergency manager. But most residents preferred to go to the comfort of a friend's or a family member's home.

Those outside of town soon began to hear about what was happening. When Steve Bromberg, manager of the Grand Elk Golf Course, heard about the rampage, his thoughts immediately turned toward his children.

"I have five children in town," Bromberg said. "So we are very fortunate no one was killed.

"If he had wanted to, he could have killed people."

The couple of hours during and immediately after the incident were agonizing for Bromberg. He heard only snippets of news. He couldn't tell what was going on.

"We are a very small and close- knit community," he said. "It was very emotional."

Other residents learned about the damage as they came back to town. Kathleen Dunn was returning with a friend from Grand Lake when a firefighter stopped them and told them they couldn't go in.

She made it to a hill overlooking downtown. She heard gunfire and saw mangled police cruisers.

It was a scene she never thought she'd see.

"It's kind of unbelievable," she said. "To see this happen to this little town.

"Everyone is in kind of shock."

And now already, residents are beginning to think how their picturesque little town can repair the damage.

"We don't have that much money," Dunn said.

Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 303-655-7735 or jingold@denverpost.com .
 
 

MAN FOUND DEAD IN GRANBY BULLDOZER
http://www.greeleytrib.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040605/NEWS/40605002&rs=2

The Associated Press and The Greenley Tribune
June 5, 2004

Photographs

Marvin Heemeyer drives his fortified bulldozer down Jasper Street in Granby. Heemeyer reportedly angry at local government went on a rampage Friday in an armored bulldozer, smashing buildings and firing shots as police tried helplessly to stop him.

Heemeyer plowed the armor-plated bulldozer into the town hall, a former mayor's home and at least five other buildings Friday before the machine ground to a halt in the wreckage of a warehouse.

An Xcel Energy truck lies smashed partly inside the Xcel Energy building after Marvin Heemeyer a muffler shop owner reportedly angry at local government over a zoning dispute tore Friday through Granby in an armored bulldozer, smashing buildings and firing shots as police tried to stop the slow-motion rampage.
 

GRANBY, Colo. -- A muffler shop owner who plowed a makeshift armored bulldozer into several buildings after a dispute with city officials was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after a SWAT team cut their way into the machine with a blowtorch early Saturday, authorities said.

Grand County Emergency Management Director Jim Holahan confirmed that the driver, identified by the town manager as Marvin Heemeyer, appeared to have shot himself.

City officials said he was angry over a zoning dispute and fines from city code violations at his business.

Authorities detonated three explosions and fired at least 200 rounds against the heavy steel plates welded to the bulldozer, which looked like an upside down Dumpster. After the third explosion failed, officials cut their way in with a blowtorch, Holahan said.

A statement from Grand County Undersheriff Glen Trainor said the driver was found around 2 a.m.

Holahan said Heemeyer was armed with a .50-caliber weapon but appeared to be deliberately avoiding injuring anyone during the rampage, which began Friday at about 3 p.m. No other injuries were reported.

Trainor said the dozer's armor plates consisted of two sheets of half-inch steel with a layer of concrete between them.

Investigators searched the garage where they believe Heemeyer built the vehicle and found cement, armor, steel and a homemade crane.

Residents of this mountain tourist town of 2,200 described a bizarre scene as the bulldozer slowly crashed through buildings, trees and lampposts, with dozens of officers walking ahead or behind it, firing into the machine and shouting at townspeople to flee.

"It looked like a futuristic tank," said Rod Moore, who watched the dozer rumble past within 15 feet of his auto garage and towing company.

One officer, later identified as Trainor, was perched on top, firing shot after shot into the top and once dropping an explosive down the exhaust pipe.

"He just kept shooting," Moore said. "The dozer was still going. He threw what looked like a flash-bang down the exhaust. It didn't do a thing."

A flash-bang produces a blinding flash and earsplitting boom designed to stun a suspect.

"Gunfire was just ringing out everywhere," said Sandra Tucker, who saw the bulldozer begin the rampage from her office on Main Street. "It sounded to me like an automatic rifle, firing about every second."

At least 40 deputies, Colorado State Patrol officers, federal park and forest rangers and a SWAT team from nearby Jefferson County were at the scene.

Town manager Tom Hale said Heemeyer was angry after losing a zoning dispute that allowed a cement plant to be built near his muffler shop. Heemeyer also was fined $2,500 in a separate case for not having a septic tank and for other city code violations at his business, Hale said.

When he paid the fine, he enclosed a note with his check saying "Cowards," Hale said.

"We felt he was venting his frustration that he didn't get his way," Hale said of the note. "We didn't think he was going to do something like this."

Trainor said he believes Heemeyer spent months armoring the bulldozer, and investigators were looking into whether he had help.

Hale said owners of all the buildings that were damaged had some connection to Heemeyer's disputes.

The buildings included the cement plant, a utility company, a bank, a newspaper office, a hardware store and warehouse, the home of former Mayor L.R. "Dick" Thompson and the municipal building, which also housed a library.

Crumpled patrol cars and service trucks lay in the dozer's path. A pickup was folded nearly in half and had been rammed through the wall of a building.

Gov. Bill Owens traveled Friday night to Granby, about 50 miles west of Denver and 10 miles south of Rocky Mountain National Park.

State aid will be available to help rebuild local government buildings, and state officials will help businesses seek federal help, said Mike Beasley, director of the state Department of Local Affairs.

William Hertel, owner of High Altitude Audio, said the bulldozer drove by his business at mid-afternoon, crushing aspen trees and light poles after the rampage began around 3 p.m.

"I was up on the roof when he came by. I got down and got my wife and kids out of the back of the building," Hertel said. He said he had heard numerous shots.

The scene was reminiscent of a 1998 rampage in Alma, another town in the Colorado Rockies. Authorities said Tom Leask shot a man to death, then used a town-owned front-end loader to heavily damage the town's post office, fire department, water department and town hall.
 

AUTO ASSAULT

Autoduel / Car Wars Returns?
http://blog.ziffdavis.com/extremetech/archive/2004/05/13/983.aspx

Jason Cross
ExtremeTech / Ziff-Davis Media
Posted on Thursday, May 13, 2004 10:55 PM

My post below isn't meant to indicate that there are no great PC games coming . . . far from it. If you're older, you may remember an old computer game called Autoduel; a post-apocalyptic car combat RPG where you battled for survival while running missions, earning money to upgrade your car and buy new weapons for it. It was a great hybrid action / RPG game that really never has been quite duplicated. Interstate '76 came close, but wasn't quite the same. Some of you may even remember the board game Autoduel was based off of, called Car Wars.

Well, NCSoft has a game coming out maybe later this year, maybe next year, called Auto Assault, which may just be the answer to the prayers of all us old Autoduel lovers. It's got an easy keyboard-and-mouse scheme for driving and aiming, though it supports joysticks and wheels as well, and plenty of destructible, smashable, burnable stuff all powered by the licensed Havok physics engine. Best of all, it's a massively multiplayer online game, so you and your "convoy" of friends can battle other clans together, take on story-based missions together, etc.

Though it's combat action, it's still an RPG. You have a "firing arc" for your weapons, if you shoot when target is within it, an invisible dice roll is made to see if you hit, and how well. You earn both experience points and money to improve your own skills and outfit your car. The graphics look great, the interface is clean and pretty intuitive . . . it just looks like a real hit. It's hard to tell how well these massively multiplayer games really play until you try it yourself in a pretty much feature-complete state, but this one's just loaded with promise. 1up doesn't have screenshots up yet, but hopefully soon.

1up
http://www.1up.com
 
 

OVERDRIVE ARENA

From: Jim Hintz <hintzjim@hotmail.com>
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 7:12 AM
To: owenmp@hotmail.com
Subject: CWIN submission

Hi again. One question and one submission for the e-zine.

With the release of GURPS WWII Motor Pool, I was wondering if anyone had tried to do a WWII version of Car Wars? I'm sure it would appeal to someone out there who wouldn't want to spend a lot of money on a wargame when Car Wars will do (well).

Testors has a new product coming out called Overdrive Arena: Customize one of the 1/43rd-scale vehicles with armor, missiles or machine guns. Race and battle as a member of one the Motor Mayhem League teams or create your own and battle to the top of the Motor mayhem League.

The Overdrive Arena box (#4102, $59.99) will contain

68-page, full-color rulebook

(2) 1/43rd scale die-cast vehicles

set of metal weapons and armor
(2) machine guns
(2) Gatling guns
(2) missile launchers
(1) rocket launcher

complete set of dice
(1) spinout
(2) 10-sided
(2) 6-sided

tape measure

(18) acrylic paints
 

The Arena Rulebook ($19.95) is a 68-page, full color text that includes all the rules for playing Testor's Overdrive Arena automobile gladiatorial game. It features both Rookie starter rules and Professional rules. It also includes sections on customizing vehicles, building non-MML teams, racing as MML franchise, one-off scenarios, racing seasons (campaigns) and more.

Overdrive Arena Official Web Site
http://www.overdrivearena.com

I am not sure if I will be able to order these for the store or not. I have no clue if my sources will start carrying the products or not. It looks like Testors planned for a June 01, 2004 release.

Hope this puts some meat into the next issue.

Thanks for looking at my store. Let me know if I can help you find anything else. Feel free to join my MSN Group

Jim "Napthyme"
http://groups.msn.com/NapthymesroleplayingDenStorecommunity/home.htm
 

MAYSHAN AUTODUELING ASSOCIATION (MADA)
http://www.geocities.com/theartofwargames/campsfcw01.html
 

OGL HIGHWAYMAN: DARK FUTURE D20 ROLEPLAYING
http://staff.bus.bton.ac.uk/fesg/df/index.html
http://staff.bus.bton.ac.uk/fesg/df/redline/index.html
 

KUBLACON CAR WARS

Forum: Dueling Debate <http://forums.delphiforums.com/carwars>
Subject: AADA Events and Tournaments / Car Wars at KublaCon
From: adambwells
Date: Jun 03 2004 1:49 pm

I just ran two Car Wars 5th Edition games at KublaCon last weekend. They both went really well.

KublaCon
http://www.kublacon.com

I constructed a big 8-foot by 4-foot arena that was sort of a like an octagonal version of the Double Drum arena (octagons being easier to build out of wood than circles). I bought a ton of Matchbox-scale and Micro Machines-scale cars and used those on rectangular cardstock bases. Luxury and mid-sized cars used a Matchbox car, and compacts/subcompacts used a Micro Machine car (in order to fit on the appropriate size of base). I also made a ton of various dropped-weapon counters.

The first battle on Saturday was a Division 10 battle. I had planned for 8 people, but 9 people showed up, of which 3 of 4 hadn't ever played. They all picked up CW5 really fast, though, and the game started moving along. After a few early rams and some lucky shots, there were just 3 people left after about 5 seconds. By this time, the 3 hours I had allocated for my game was up, so we checked the remaining players' record sheets and declared a winner. Total game time: 6 turns.

The second game on Sunday only had 3 players show up. This was a Division 15 battle. So, instead of a free-for-all, I had everyone start at one end of the arena and race to the other end before their weapons were activated. Once they crossed a certain line, they could fire, but before that, only ramming or other collisions would be allowed. About 3 turns into the game, one more guy showed up and wanted to play, so I had him start back at the starting line where the others had started. After crossing the weapon-activation line, two of the players rammed each other head-on at a combined speed of 110 MPH, which confettied the player without a heavy ramplate. Then that player's driver and gunner were killed by a side ram from another player with a ramplate. This same player then rammed the last remaining player, killing his crew and barely surviving the collision himself to become the winner. Total game time: 12 turns.

All in all, I had a lot of fun, as did the players, and I'm definitely going to run Car Wars at KublaCon again next year.
 
 

NEW OMAHA VEHICULAR ASSOCIATION (NOVA)
http://novacw.com

Arena Watch: Tamiya Racetrack, Sullivan Arena
Nightmessenger Archive: Vol. 15, No. 4; Vol. 16, No. 1; Vol. 16, No. 2
 

From: NOVA <nova-cw@cox.net>
To: Michael Owen <owenmp@hotmail.com>
Subject: 2054 NOVA CDC write up
Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 00:07:20 -0500

Hi Michael;

Here's the NOVA Club Dueling Championship write-up to keep you updated.

Take care,

Norman McMullen
NOVA President
 

2054 NOVA Club Dueling Championship
by Norman McMullen

This year's club dueling championship was held on April 10th at the Milford Arena, located in Battle, Nebraska. In attendance were Andy Koehler, Joe Petito, Don Jacques, Marty Koehler, and NOVA President Norman McMullen. The duel used Division 30 cars.

Joe started at the north gate, Andy the south, Don at the central west gate, Norman the central east gate, and Marty at the northeast gate. Starting speed was 30 mph. Marty, upon exiting his gate, turned south along the outer obstacle. He sighted Norman doing a slow turn south from his gate. A shot from Marty's heavy x-ray laser took a point of metal and did heavy damage to the underlying plastic armor on Norman's right side. First blood to Marty.

Andy went northwest around his first obstacle then went in-between the central obstacles. Joe went southeast and made his way around the obstacles to go in-between the jumps. Don went northwest to engage Joe, then traded shots near the jumps. Both had blast cannons and did moderate damage to each other. In passing Joe dropped spikes from behind and his right side.

Don accelerated and avoided Joe's spikes while Norman drove towards the outer obstacles. Marty pursued and fired, but did only minor damage to Norman's back armor. Joe went between the TV tower and the west obstacle only to find Andy coming up at him. Both fired, Andy dropped some oil and fired his 2 ATGs with APFSDS ammo, but did no damage thanks to Joe's thick armor. Andy's front armor was moderately damaged by Joe's blast cannon round.

Marty turned west to engage Andy coming from the east. Norman worked north around the southeast obstacle and dropped a few sticky foams coming around the obstacle, then fired at Marty, but missed. Andy fired his ATGs at Marty, doing heavy damage to the front armor and dropped some oil near the obstacle tunnel exit. Marty's HXL did moderate damage in return. Andy turned north and dropped more oil between the obstacles and TV tower.

Marty went over Andy's oil to find that it was pyrophoric, causing damage to his tires and underbody. His left rear tire caught on fire as a result. Don circled around the northwest obstacle and continued to accelerate. Marty turned southwest to chase Joe through the obstacles, hitting Joe's back armor for more damage. Andy left his oil jet on automatic, leaving a considerable trail. Norman speed up and went north to avoid oil slicks. Don worked his way around the obstacles on the west side before turning east to catch Marty, now heading south. Don's blast cannon did moderate damage to Marty's right side.

Joe turned northwest near the south gate and started dropping spikes. Marty was quickly closing on Joe when his left rear tire finally burned away. Control was lost and Marty's car rolled, setting off one of Joe's spike patterns. The rolling stopped when the car hit the outer obstacle next to the south gate, coming to a halt halfway in the gate itself. Since it was Andy's pyrophoric oil that started Marty's tire on fire and directly contributed to his crash, Andy earned the first kill in the duel.

Joe ran out of spikes between the obstacles and the southeast end of the arena. Norman went around the northeast obstacle, through the obstacle tunnel, and then skirted the obstacle and the jump to avoid Andy's oil slicks. With time and distance, Joe was able to fire his blast cannon twice at Norman for moderate front armor damage, leaving a pair of short-induced obstacles near the middle of the east side of the arena. Norman return fire missed Joe.

Andy had turned around the north central obstacle and shut off his oil jet, then went through the tunnel in the northwest obstacle to join the battle again. Closing on Joe, Norman fired again, doing minor blast cannon damage to Joe and dropped some sticky foam. Don charged through the smoke cloud from one of Andy's burned out oil slicks, doing 100 mph and fired at Norman. Only minor damage was scored on Norman's right side. Cutting front of Norman, Don went after Joe.

Andy went into the south central obstacle tunnel to re-enter the action. Norman kept dropping sticky foam between the southeast obstacles and turned west to confront Andy. The ATGs did some damage to Norman and Andy took a hit from Norman's blast cannon. Norman was t-boned by Andy in an attempt to open the distance between them. After the ram, Andy followed Norman but was slowed by sticky foam.

Meanwhile Don hit Joe's back armor for some minor damage. Joe took a jump at 37.5 mph while Don chose instead to go through one of Andy's oil slicks. Only minor damage was done to the tires and underbody. No fire resulted due to Don's fireproof tires and good rolls of the dice for the underbody armor. Joe landed and received minor tire damage, but found Don in front of him due to his high speed. Joe did moderate damage to Don's back armor. Maneuvering to go around an obstacle, Don skirted the edge of one of Joe's spike patterns, but it went off (explosive spikes). Control was lost, and Don rolled into the west central obstacle on his right side, becoming a maneuverability kill for Joe.

Elsewhere saw Andy firing at Norman, his ATGs destroying Norman's rear plastic armor and sticky foam sprayer. Norman turned northwest to clear an obstacle but lost control. He skidded into the southwest obstacle and hit a patch of Andy's oil. Norman's front right tire and underbody was damaged by the pyrophoric oil. Andy found the range again and fired. The remaining back metal armor wasn't enough, and Norman's driver and power plant were destroyed. Norman's car crashed into the west central obstacle and came to a stop. This was Andy's second kill.

Seeking a harmonic convergence, Andy and Joe rammed head-on and traded shots. Andy's front armor was gone as well as his ATGs, becoming a firepower kill for Joe. On his side but not out, Don fired his blast cannon as Andy turned toward him but missed. He then fired at Joe side. The armor was gone and Joe's driver was killed, giving Don a full kill.

Andy drove around the obstacle and out of Don's blast cannon arc. The duel was called with Andy winning the championship for the second time.

As mentioned in a previous duel report, ATGs with APFSDS ammo are illegal in NOVA duels, but designs were not checked as they came from NOVA vehicle design supplements.

Elapsed Time: 21 turns

Finishing Positions

1. Andy Koehler (2 kills - Marty and Norman and became a firepower kill to Joe)
2. Don Jacques (killed Joe, became a maneuverability kill to Joe)
3. Joe Petito (killed Don, firepower kill to Andy, maneuverability kill to Don)
4. Norman McMullen (killed by Andy)
5. Marty Koehler (killed by Andy)
 

Vehicles

2051 Warhammer (used by Andy, designed by Mike Garrity) - Luxury with CA frame, x-hvy. chassis, large power plant with SuperCons and HTMs, hvy. suspension, 5 radial PR tires, driver, 2 linked ATGs (each with APFSDS ammo) front, OJ (with pyrophoric fuel) back. Plastic armor: F70, R50, L50, B60, T8, U9, four 10-point plastic wheelguards, 10 points plastic CA around PP, 10 points plastic CA around driver. Acceleration 5/10, Top Speed 90/67.5, HC 3; 6,535 lbs., $29,840.

NOVA Legal Version -- As above but change ATG ammo to HEAT or HESH ammo. Add 20 points of plastic armor. $29,740.

Modified 2052 Excalibur Scythe (designed and used by Don Jacques): Pickup, heavy chassis, heavy suspension, sport power plant w/PC & SC, 4 FP SB PR tires, driver, BC w/magazine front (all ammo HESH), Pd left and right, FoD left and right, HD Brakes, spoiler, airdam, SWC. Armor: F56, L45, R45, B45, T6, U12 with 2 6-point wheelguards and 2 6-point wheelhubs. Accel. 10, top speed 120, HC 2/3 @ 60+; 6,900 lbs., $29,968. Driver's personal equipment: one explosive grenade $25.

Blastfighter 31 (used by Joe, designed by Norman McMullen): Sedan w/CA frame, extra heavy chassis, heavy suspension, large power plant w/PCs, 4 solid tires, driver, BC w/magazine front (all ammo HESH), SD w/explosive ammo rear and right linked to BC, HRSWC. Sloped metal/plastic armor: F18/25, L10/20, R10/20, B10/20, T0/4, U0/10. Accel. 5, top speed 92.5, HC 3; 6,116 lbs., $29,910.

Blastfighter 46 (used and design by Norman McMullen): Sedan w/CA frame, extra heavy chassis, heavy suspension, large power plant w/PCs, 4 solid tires, driver, BC w/magazine front (all ammo HESH), sticky foam sprayer rear linked to BC, HD brakes, high torque motors, SWC. Sloped metal/plastic armor: F18/30, L7/30, R7/30, B7/30, T0/5, U0/10 with 4 10-point wheelguards. Accel. 5/10 w/HTMs, top speed 92.5/67.5 w/HTMs, HC 2; 6,120 lbs., $29,600.

Sting-X (used by Marty, designed by Don Jacques): Luxury, extra heavy chassis, heavy suspension, large power plant w/SCs, 4 PR tires, driver, HXL front. Armor: F50, L33, R33, B33, T10, U10. Accel. 5, top speed 92.5/90 full load, HC 3; 6,240 lbs., $29,980. Cargo capacity: 7 spaces, 360 lbs.
 
 

ST. PAUL AREA ROAD KNIGHTS (SPARK)
http://www.autoduel.org

Forum: Dueling Debate <http://forums.delphiforums.com/carwars>
Subject: General / SPARK Update
From: ParodyMan
Date: Apr 23 2004 1:37 am

Hey, everyone! Mike Miller here from the St. Paul Area Road Knights.

Just wanted to say "we're still here", since we've been out of touch for a while (less so here on Dueling Debate, but true in general). We ran a full schedule last year (I was Circuit Champion!) and have a similar schedule set for this year. Unfortunately, real-life issues have kept everyone pretty busy this last year, so the Web site hasn't been updated and reports haven't been getting out. That's going to change!

Our new Web site can be found at the Web address below.

St. Paul Area Road Knights
http://www.autoduel.org

Hopefully it will grow into a useful site for the Car Wars community as well as a great site for SPARK.

We ran our Club Dueling Championship on April 3rd. Fighting back from having a side heavily damaged in Turn 1, Brian Strassman got 1 1/2 kills to become SPARK Dueling Champion for the third time! The full duel report can be found at the Web address below.

SPARK Club Dueling Championship 2054
http://www.autoduel.org/duels/040403

Did you notice the BLUD Bowl ad?

Drive offensively!

Mike Miller
St. Paul Area Road Knights
http://www.autoduel.org
 
 

Subject: General / SPARK Update
From: ParodyMan
Date: Jun 07 200411:57 am

Hey, everyone! April and May have been pretty good for SPARK, though not for me.

We've had two events since the last update. Jim Beecher won the 55K race at Elko Dueltrack while Eric "Odie" O'Denius won in Division 20 action at New Boston. Jim leads the circuit with Odie in second, 1.5 points back.

Check out the duel reports at the Web address below.

SPARK Elko Dueltrack and New Boston 2054 Events
http://www.autoduel.org/duels/040424
http://www.autoduel.org/duels/040522

Sadly, I tanked both of them. I'll fix that at this week's duel!
 

New and updated downloads from the SPARK Download Area

SPARK Downloads
http://www.autoduel.org/downloads

* The Car Wars Vehicle Designer (CWVD) spreadsheet is up to version 10.3, with a public beta of 10.4 also available. (Hopefully 10.3 has squashed most or all of the bugs.)

* Killebrew Memorial Dueling Arena and Elko Dueltrack are up on the Web site at 1X and 1.5X. 3X will come eventually, I promise!

* Some of the forms I've been using to keep track of duels are available. Counter graphics and sheets will be up before too long. (Hope you like the rainbow colored genericars!)

* The most important addition of all: an assortment of SPARK logo wallpapers!
 

Racing out at the real-life Elko Speedway has been spotty for the past month, with almost every Saturday filled with rain, rain, rain. Tim Graff, driver of the #3 SPARK Power Stock (a.k.a. Bomber) has only been on the track a couple times. This week was the first week that most of the SPARK team were able to see a Power Stock Feature. Tim won his heat and was doing well when a spinout in front of him wrecked 6 other cars and the #3. The rain began not too long afterward. A report will go up on the website once we know how extensive the damage is. (Anyone know a Mechanic +4 or better?)

We've got two duels coming up this month and we could always use more cannon fodder . . . err . . . players! If you're near St. Paul, Minnesota, drop by the Web site and get in touch with us or just show up at the Source. We always have extra vehicles available.

Drive offensively!

Mike Miller
St. Paul Area Road Knights
http://www.autoduel.org
 
 

TRI-STATE AUTO RALLY (TSAR)
http://www.cwhnj.com/tsarnj

From: <lindmark@optonline.net>
To: owenmp@serv.net
Subject: RE: Car Wars Internet Newsletter Vol. 7, No. 3
Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 09:31:54 -0400

Mike,

Please feel free to include the following in your next newsletter:

News from the Tri-State Auto Rally

Things have been very busy here at TSAR. We've obtained our own domain name, so the house of TSAR will always stand true.

We can be found at the Web address above.

We've also opened our doors to other gaming groups, specifically our brothers in arms, MADHAT. They can be found at the Web address below.

Mid-South Autoduelist and Handgunner Team (MADHAT)
http://www.cwhnj.com/madhat

We've had a string of very successful and hard hitting duels.

* Here's HUD in Your Eye, an 8-man jumping duel in TSAR's flagship home, The HUD.
http://www.cwhnj.com/tsarnj/pbem/duel4/main.htm

Jeff Dodge pulled a win with a mid-air sniper shot on a tire during his second jump.
 

* Rocky Mountain High, an 8 man Aspen Octogan fight had some tempers flaring
and cars burning.
http://www.cwhnj.com/tsarnj/pbem/duel5/main.htm

Jeff Dodge finished off Rob Hagmaier with a point blank twin flamethrower shot followed by a T-bone.
 

* Shotgun Wedding, an 8 man Double Drum fight, showed all the usual suspects
and a few new faces.
http://www.cwhnj.com/tsarnj/pbem/duel6/main.htm

Eric Freeman pinned John Blaylock's front end after a low speed ram and cored him with back to back triple RL salvos. The highlight of the match was an across the arena shot by Rob Hagmaier on John's car, missing by 1 pip on the die roll.
 

* QuadZilla, an 8 man fight in a customized four-drum arena based on the Double Drum.
http://www.cwhnj.com/tsarnj/pbem/duel8/main.htm

This was a titanic struggle of ludicrous speeds and firepower. Eric Freeman took an early lead capitalizing on a lapse in judgment. As cars crashed and gunfire exchanged, Eric was on the verge of winning, when Rob Hagmaier came out of no where at a blinding 240 mph to bring Eric's time in the game to a close. At the 11th hour, John Blaylock snaps off to quick pulsed laser shots to two different targets, coring the driver on one and the tire on the other securing the win.
 

* Kampf um den Ruhm und Ehre, translated as "Battle for Glory and Honor," is an eight-man match in the Warrior Arena, Mark II.
http://www.cwhnj.com/tsarnj/pbem/duel7/main.htm

Currently in progress, four men lie dead, Eric Freeman has started the 5-second clock and the rest of the field is preparing to stop him at all costs, or die trying.
 

* Sudden Death, a racing match with a twist, has just started.
http://www.cwhnj.com/tsarnj/pbem/duel9/main.htm

An unknown number of contestants are racing for two laps around a track. The cars are injected in ascending order of their top speeds, but no one knows whom is coming next, or where they will be headed. Cars are being injected such that half the field will be traveling in the opposite direction. I expect lots of sudden deaths.
 

* Coming soon to a PBEM near you: Wolves and Sheep.
http://www.cwhnj.com/tsarnj/pbem/duel10/main.htm

Four drivers, Jeff Dodge, Eric Freeman, Rob Hagmaier and now John Blaylock have been classified as wolves. They've won a TSAR PBEM in the past (some have won several). Four other entries are the sheep. The wolves fight the wolves. The sheep fight the sheep. When there's enough dead, the walls come down and everyone fights everyone.

And on the horizon? There's more.

TSAR has also recently included design advice articles to assist new drivers.

Until next time,

Drive offensivly!

Curt R. Lindmark
Tri-State Auto Rally