Observation: When I was designing that gun, it occurred to me that a "universal" damage and penetration chart could be constructed for this design system. Such a chart would simplify a couple of steps of the design sequence, and would make optimizing weapon designs easier. Universal Damage and Penetration Chart Energy Damage Penetration by Ammunition Type Ball DS HEAP HE/Tranq 0-56 0 Nil 1-Nil 2-2-2 Nil 57-506 1 Nil 1-Nil 2-2-2 Nil 507-600 2 Nil 1-Nil 2-2-2 Nil 601-1406 2 1-Nil 1-2-Nil 2-2-2 Nil 1407-2000 3 1-Nil 1-2-Nil 2-2-2 Nil 2001-2756 3 2-Nil 1-2-Nil 2-2-2 Nil 2757-3000 4 2-Nil 1-2-Nil 2-2-2 Nil 3001-4556 4 2-3-Nil 1-2-3 (*) 2-2-2 Nil 4557-5000 5 2-3-Nil 1-2-3 (*) 2-2-2 Nil 5001-6805 5 2-4-6 1-3-5 2-2-2 Nil 6807-7000 6 2-4-6 1-3-5 2-2-2 Nil 7001-9506 6 2-3-4 1-2-3 2-2-2 Nil 9507-12656 7 2-3-4 1-2-3 2-2-2 Nil 12657-16256 8 2-3-4 1-2-3 2-2-2 Nil 16257-20000 9 2-3-4 1-2-3 2-2-2 Nil 20001-20306 9 2-2-3 1-1-2 2-2-2 Nil 20307-24806 10 2-2-3 1-1-2 2-2-2 Nil 24807-29756 11 2-2-3 1-1-2 2-2-2 Nil 29757-35156 12 2-2-3 1-1-2 2-2-2 Nil 35157-41006 13 2-2-3 1-1-2 2-2-2 Nil 41007-47306 14 2-2-3 1-1-2 2-2-2 Nil 47307-50000 15 2-2-3 1-1-2 2-2-2 Nil 50001-54056 15 2-2-2 1-1-1 2-2-2 Nil 54057+ E^.5/15 2-2-2 1-1-1 2-2-2 Nil (*) Strictly speaking by FF&S rules, these would be "1-2-3-Nil", but T:TNE weapons would ignore the fourth penetration value (beyond extreme range?). Notes on converting real-world weapons to FF&S: Compute Muzzle Energy: In order to accurately rate a real-world weapon in FF&S, at an absolute minimum you will need to figure out the muzzle energy in Joules. This isn't as hard as it sounds; many reference books will give this information. Books intended for gun enthusiasts will frequently yeild the information needed, although the units of measurement will need conversion. Several different formula can be used, depending on whether you can get the bullet mass in grams, grains, or ounces, or the muzzle velocity in meters/second or feet/second. Some references even give energy in foot-pounds, making the computation simple. Em = 0.5 * (Mb / 1000) * Mv ^ 2 Em = Energy at Muzzle, in Joules Mb = Mass of the Bullet, in Grams Mv = Muzzle Velocity, in Meters/Second Em = 0.5 * (Mb / 1000) * (Mvf * 0.3048) ^ 2 Mvf = Muzzle Velocity in Feet/Second Em = 0.5 * (Mbg / 15432) * (Mvd * 0.3048) ^ 2 Mbg = Mass of the Bullet, in grains Em = 0.5 * (Mbo / 35.27) * (Mvf * 0.3048) ^ 2 Mbo = Mass of the Bullet, in ounces Em = Emfp * 1.3558 Emfp = Energy at Muzzle, in Foot-Pounds Armor Penetration Efficency Table Energy Damage Armor Penetration by Ammunition Type Ball Max Armor DS Max Armor 0-56 0 Nil None 1-Nil None None 57-506 1 Nil None 1-Nil None None 507-600 2 Nil None 1-Nil 1 None 601-1406 2 1-Nil 1 1-2-Nil 1 None 1407-2000 3 1-Nil 2 1-2-Nil 2 1 2001-2756 3 2-Nil 1 1-2-Nil 2 1 2757-3000 4 2-Nil 1 1-2-Nil 3 1 3001-4556 4 2-3-Nil 1 1-2-3 3 1 4557-5000 5 2-3-Nil 2 1-2-3 4 2 5001-6805 5 2-4-6 2 1-3-5 4 1 6807-7000 6 2-4-6 2 1-3-5 5 1 7001-9506 6 2-3-4 2 1-2-3 5 2 9507-12656 7 2-3-4 3 1-2-3 6 3 12657-16256 8 2-3-4 3 1-2-3 7 3 16257-20000 9 2-3-4 4 1-2-3 8 4 20001-20306 9 2-2-3 4 1-1-2 8 8 20307-24806 10 2-2-3 4 1-1-2 9 9 24807-29756 11 2-2-3 5 1-1-2 10 10 29757-35156 12 2-2-3 5 1-1-2 11 11 35157-41006 13 2-2-3 6 1-1-2 12 12 41007-47306 14 2-2-3 6 1-1-2 13 13 47307-50000 15 2-2-3 7 1-1-2 14 14 50001-54056 15 2-2-2 7 1-1-1 14 14 54057+ E^.5/15 2-2-2 (Dam/2)-1 1-1-1 Dam-1 Dam-1 From this table we can figure out how to play min-max games with the system. First off, it's obvious that DS ammo is superior to ball for any energy 507J and up. If we're going to use ordinary ammunition, for cost or historical accuracy reasons (or because we don't think it's sane to fire DS from a revolver), unless we can get the energy over 4557J, it's best to keep the weapon's final energy in the 1407J to 2000J range, as this offeres the most efficient armor penetration. The use of specialized ammunition (DS, HEAP, HE, or Tranq) avoids this "blip" on the damage/penetration curve, with more powerful rounds being uniformly better. When looking at ranges longer than close range, there is another "blip" in the table. The last column (showing long range for DS ammunition) shows this artifact, although it is present at extreme range as well, and at long range for conventional ammunition. In these cases, increasing the energy over 5000J will *reduce* the round's armor penetration ability, unless the energy is raised to 7001J or more. So there is another "sweet spot" in the table, at 4557 to 5000J. Also note the big jump in armor penetration abbility at long range from 20000J to 20001J. The table below summarizes the optimum energies I've derived. Best Energies Energy Type Damage Penetration Max Armor 57J Ball 1 Nil None 507J DS 2 1-Nil 1 None 1407J Ball 3 1-Nil 2 None DS 3 1-2-Nil 2 1 None 2757J DS 4 1-2-Nil 3 1 None 4557J Ball 5 2-3-Nil 2 1 None DS 5 1-2-3 4 2 1 7001J DS 6 1-2-3 5 2 1 20001J DS 9 1-1-2 8 8 4 Guy "Wildstar" Garnett / wildstar@quark.qrc.com