[OT] Re: DMD 1.005 release

[Sean Kelly]

Walter Bright wrote:
> Sean Kelly wrote:
>> Walter Bright wrote:
>>> Kirk McDonald wrote:
>>>> Ohh, lookit all the huge, pretty red sections.
>>>
>>> My goal is to make the Boost implementation code look as obsolete as 
>>> a muzzle-loading smoothbore.
>>
>> It has nothing to do with the conversation, but your statement 
>> reminded me...  I saw a show not too long ago (may have been 
>> MythBusters) where the penetration depth of various types of 
>> ammunition were tested in water.  Modern bullets had poor penetration 
>> because they tended to tumble upon entering the water, thus creating 
>> drag (max injury depth was less than 5 feet).  And high-velocity 
>> rounds tended to fragment upon entry and had even shallower 
>> penetration (around 3 feet).  Finally, a muzzle-loading smoothbore was 
>> tested and it had by far the deepest penetration of any weapon 
>> tested.  So if you're being shot at in a lake, I suppose you don't 
>> want the shooter using Boost ;-)
> 
> Sounds like that is about the ammunition, not the gun.
> 
> The worst thing about a muzzle-loader in combat was you had to *stand 
> up* to reload it. Can you imagine the guts it takes to do that, when 
> your every nerve screams at you to push your face in the dirt?

It wasn't an issue until people got sick of standing in two lines facing 
one another :-)  I wonder how quickly the shift to guerilla tactics 
changed the development of firearm technology.  After discovering they 
had a chance to actually survive a battle, I can't imagine soldiers were 
terribly keen on giving up their cover every ten seconds or so.


Sean