User talk:LRichardson/Essays/Gun, Automatic, Utility, Model 15 (GAU-15)

The GAU-15 and GAU-20, and what should become of them

After speaking with some of my BattleTech friends about your articles, they decided to give some feedback that I could share with you.

The first bit of feedback is that the GAU-15 doesn't use ammunition quite as neatly, and it doesn't scale quite as well either, and according to them, the GAU-20 is even worse. What they suggested is to drop the GAU-15, and make the GAU-20 into the AC/10 replacement, and to make a GAU-40 to use as the AC/20 replacement. A GAU-30 would stand in for the AC/12, and the GAU-15 would now stand in for the ProtoMech AC/8. The Light Rifle would get a GAU-3, which would get 2-round and 3-round Burst Fire in addition to Single Shot.

The second bit of feedback is that they are still essentially a worse version of the Rotary Autocannon, since you can't actually control the rate at which you burn through ammunition, which is why I propose you add multiple modes of fire, such as Single Shot, 5-Round Burst, 10-Round Burst, 15, etc.

Final bit of feedback is to add alternate ammunition types.

Alternate Ammunition Types for Machine Guns and GAU weapons

• Riot Control: Soft plastic munitions which travel at a lower velocity and flatten out on impact to spread the energy evenly, minimizing the injury but maximizing the pain, while also bursting on impact to release a payload of synthetic capsaicin. The projectile would also act sort of like a gyrojet, except releasing tear gas instead of sparks. It would be extremely effective against unarmored Infantry, receiving a -2 To-Hit and a +4 on Cluster Hits, but would only temporarily incapacitate rather than kill. Range would by reduced to only 180 meters, but ammunition per ton would be tripled. The munitions would be completely useless against vehicles and mechs for obvious reasons.

• Lexan: Ultra lightweight bullets made of hardened polycarbonate glass and jacketed in synthetic diamond-like carbon. They would increase range and Ammo Per Ton by 75%, and would act similarly to armor piercing AC munitions, that is to say that for every 10 points of damage dealt to the armor in a specific location, there is a chance to roll for a Critical Hit at a -4 Penalty even if the structure hasn't been damaged; this penalty would reduce by 1 for every 10 points afterwards, until you were only rolling at a -1 penalty at 40 points of damage. However, these munitions would be extremely expensive, and probably only found on Clan aerospace vehicles. It is also likely that this type of munition wouldn't be introduced until late into the FedCom Civil War.
• Smart Flak: These munitions would be similar to standard Flak munitions, except smarter. They would only detonate when fired at aircraft (providing a -2 To-Hit Modifier), at infantry (doubling the damage), or exposed structure in a mech (doubling damage to said structure). The smart detonation would mitigate the downsides normally associated with using Flak munitions.
• Rust/Acid: These special munitions would be 50% heavier (reducing your ammunition capacity, accuracy and range by 33%) but would shatter and release corrosive compounds which eat away at Ferro-Fibrous Armor and its many relatives, doing double the damage.
• Precision Tracer: These munitions would function almost exactly like the Precision and Tracer munition types used in Autocannons, except combined into one. The To-Hit Modifier from the Night condition would be reduced to +1, Dusk/Dawn Modifiers would be eliminated, and the To-Hit Modifiers from firing on moving targets would be reduced by 2.
• Rivet: This munition type would be almost completely useless for combat, reducing the weapon's range to 2 Hexes and doing as much damage as a Light Rifle at best, on top of imposing a +4 To-Hit Modifier and only allowing single-shot. The only reason this munition type would exist is so that IndustrialMechs wouldn't need to carry separate machine guns and rivet guns for self defense and repair/construction respectively. If you were fighting in point blank range, however, and your enemy had missile racks with a folding lid, then you could probably rivet said lid shut.