Wreno
Posts: 385
Score: 100
Joined: 3/7/2005
Last Login: 1/15/2013
From: Kaufman,
TX, USA
Status: offline
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You seem to think nothing has changed since the Swampworks days, but that is wrong. Along with all the stuff Kotori mentioned, there have been numerious refinements, things tried and failed, tried and found to be good, etc. in the Big Gun area as well as small/fast gun. There is even a new format, Treaty.
Remember, many of our members are more historian than roboticists. We are more akin to sailors in the days of buccaneers, with close in broadsides determining the day. A good captain can already make a shot at 10ft or more with practice (I have made one from a shore battery that hit at probably over 60, or close to that amount - three skips before it hit). Laser pointers are kind of out of character for the period, and, secondly, hard to see in the bright sunlight on bobbing ships. And then you have reflections, etc. And, yes, we have tried pointing laser pointers at the ships (from a few feet away on the shore), and found them pretty useless. Green lasers, perhaps, but they are more costly and more likely to dazzoe. Remember, safety is important to us.
Then you mention cameras. Time looking at the gun camera is time not assessing your situation. Situational awareness is a key component of the sport, trust me. Also, reliability is a key component, the more complicated you make the plumbing, the easier it is to get a fatal stoppage.
One thing you will find, though, is that we adopt technologies rapidly as they become available (if they are useful). We love the antweight robotics guys for some of the electorics they fostered (though some of our guys are fostering their own as well).
But, one of the points you seem to miss is that it is all about doing real (though easily reparable) damage and really sinking. Or taking real damage and surviving. Sinking is digital - you sink or you survive. And working with electronics, pneumatics, etc. in a very harsh environment provides plenty of intellectual challenges.
It only takes a few battles under your belt to "get it." Most of the complaints of lack of innovation come from people who have never even been to or seen, much less participated in, the sport.
By the way, 6mm paintballs below the waterline (were the "good' shots hit" should tend to be washed away, right?
We already have guns that fire plenty fast and hard enough, and, in many clubs, the speed is limited (due to legal requirements) - so ho does it help us to fire a 6mm paintball 450fFPS when we cannot legally fire our ammunition faster than, say, 165FPS? Again, knowing the constraints helps define the issues.
Of course, you will find the innovation on the more specific, dedicated forums more than you will on a general purpose forum like RCGroups or RCU. These more open groups are more likely to get the newb who has the "ultimate idea" of a torpedo or mnie that totally destroys any ship it hits (which, of course, is not the purpose of the sport in the first place).
An example. One common conception is subs. Everyone seems to want to build a sub. However, remember, if your opponent cannot see your sub, neither can you. Some have been built. Some even have battled. The consensus is that the effort and cost to build a 1/144 scale sub is better spent on a good battleship, which is cheaper and easier to build and is more likely to do damage and survive. Subs, while cool, are a novelty.
Cheers,
Wreno
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Texas group still around? - 
