This Cabinet Card is a portrait of a Spanish American War era soldier posing in San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio was a city where a number of troops were organized for participating in this war. Note that the soldier is well armed with both a rifle, bayonet, and knife. Check out his ammunition belt.  Ironically, the cabinet card’s photographer, Lewison Brothers, headquarters their studio on South “Alamo” Street. This street is the location of the famous Alamo which was the location of a battle to the death which occurred in the war for Texas independence.

How cool I would be at the shooting range…

I just had to write something about COD4 weapons so here it is:

(If you liked my guide, be sure to check Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Official Strategy Guide)(i got some information from the guide i used in my guide)

Assault rifles

M16A4

|==================================================================|
|Damage  | Range     | Range Silenced | Rate of Fire | Reload Time |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|40 - 30 | 1500-2000 | 500 - 1000     | 925 RPM      | 2 Seconds   |
|        |           |                |              |(3.365 Empty)|
|==================================================================|

A gun with a 3-shot burst, at longer range it deals 30 damage and at
close range 40,with stopping power
it kills everyone (including juggernauts) at every possible range,
double tap can come in handy because it
shortens the delay between bursts and increaces the speed of the
burst itself making it including the delay
as fast as the AK-47. With a Acog it can become a sort of sniper,
it has no sway as some other Assault rifles.
Because it is the most accurate assault rifle, putting steady
aim on makes it as accurate as a submachinegun

AK-47

|==================================================================|
|Damage  | Range     | Range Silenced | Rate of Fire | Reload Time |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|40 - 30 | 1500-2000 | 500 - 1000     | 700 RPM      | 2.5 Seconds |
|        |           |                |              |(3.25 Empty) |
|==================================================================|

Just as with the m16 it deals 40 in close range and 30 damage over
longer distances. The firing rate is quite slow so double tap
can be handy, with an attachment however it deals
20 damage over longer ranges so watch out when using a attachment.
It seems to have high recoil but the sights return to the
original place after each shot, but when you fire more
than 6-7 shot in one burst it also shakes to the right and the left.
Over longer ranges it is wise to fire in single shots.It is the only
gun to feature a different
grenade launcher, it has a slower reload time than the other
grenade launchers and also a slightly
shorter range. Sleight of hand can compansate for the slower reload.
M4

|===================================================================|
|Damage  | Range     | Range Silenced | Rate of Fire | Reload Time  |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|30 - 20 | 1500-2000 | 500 - 1000     | 850 RPM      | 2.03 Seconds |
|        |           |                |              |(3.36 Empty)  |
|===================================================================|

The M4 is a very popular gun why? Because it’s good with almost
everything. It has almost no recoil but it has sway, so
you have to re-adjust your gun every few seconds, because it can
go off-target easily. It is not a strong weapon,
but it has a high rate of fire. Because of it enemies can be
still taken out quickly. Can be used as a mid-range sniper with acog
as stealth gun with silencer or good all-round with Red-dot. Because
of the low recoil, double tap works perfect on the m4.
G3

|=====================================================================|
|Damage  | Range     | Range Silenced | Rate of Fire   | Reload Time  |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|40 - 30 | 1500-2000 | 500 - 1000     | Single shot,   | 2.75 Seconds |
|        |           |                | Up to 1200 RPM | (3.75 Empty) |
|=====================================================================|

Gun intended for medium-long range fights. Not really suited for close
range Deals 30 at long distance and 40 at close-medium range. It seems
to have high recoil but it returns to it’s original place
after every shot, even when fired at the maximum of 1200 RPM.
It has the highest accuracy of all assault rifles,so steady aim
is not really needed. When equipped with a acog, it seems to have
less recoil. The silenced G3 has a long delay when knifing in the PC version.

G36C

|==================================================================|
|Damage  | Range     | Range Silenced | Rate of Fire | Reload Time |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|30 - 20 | 1500-2000 | 500 - 1000     | 750 RPM      | 2.1 Seconds |
|        |           |                |              |(2.967 Empty)|
|==================================================================|

The G36C has the same power as the m4, but has more recoil and
a lower rate of fire, but also slower and less sway, an acog can be
used successfully because of this.

M14

|=====================================================================|
|Damage  | Range     | Range Silenced | Rate of Fire   | Reload Time  |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|50 - 40 | 1500-2000 | 500 - 1000     | Single shot,   | 2.5 Seconds  |
|        |           |                | Up to 1200 RPM | (3.06 Empty) |
|=====================================================================|

The M14 is basically a high-power high-recoil version of the G3.
It deals 40 over longer ranges and 50 at close range.
It has more recoil and thus when you fire when the sights are not yet
reset, it will fire in the middle of the resetting process causing
it to rise and probably hitting no-one. The Iron sights sometimes
obstruct your field of vision so Red-dot can be handy.

Mp44

|===================================================================|
|Damage  | Range     | Range Silenced | Rate of Fire | Reload Time  |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|40 - 30 | 1500-2000 | No Silencer    | 600 RPM      | 2.75 Seconds |
|        |           |                |              | (3.5 Empty)  |
|===================================================================|

The good old gun which was often the favorite of COD 1-2 players.
In COD 4 however it’s still a good weapon to use, but the AK
got the same damage, higher rate of fire, and shorter reload time,
so only use it when you are up for a challenge, it also has no
attachments.

Submachineguns(SMG’s)

MP5

|===================================================================|
|Damage  | Range      | Range Silenced | Rate of Fire | Reload Time |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|40 - 20 | 750 - 1000 | 350 - 700      | 800 RPM      | 2.3 Seconds |
|        |            |                |              | (3.3 Empty) |
|===================================================================|

The MP5 deals 40 damage at close range and 20 at longer ranges,
it is the slowest firing SMG, but has the quickest reload and
is one of the more powerful SMG’s, works well silenced. It seems
to have low recoil,but after a few shots it will move the sights
to all directions, so burst fire at medium and single shot at long
range.

Skorpion
|===================================================================|
|Damage  | Range      | Range Silenced | Rate of Fire | Reload Time |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|50 - 20 | 200 - 400  | 100 - 300      | 850 RPM      | 2.4 Seconds |
|        |            |                |              | (2.67 Empty)|
|===================================================================|
The scorpion can kill in 2 shots at close range, and 20 damage
everywhere else. The scorpion has the lowest ammo of all primary weapons, so
bandolier and sleight of hand can come in handy. It has even shorter
range than the pistols. The scorpion has no recoil, with Red-Dot
however, it gains some recoil but it still fires in the original position
----|---- <--------- The Red-Dot seems to be here but...
----|---- <--------- It still fires here
----|----

This gun hunts only RFID tags.[mnt], who brought us laser gesture control, built this RFID Zapper but included so much more. Any good weapon has to sound mean, a feat he’s accomplished by incorporating an MP3 player into the rifle. The coil that zaps the RFID tag is powered by a photo-flash unit, but for visual feedback he’s got a second unit that flashes light to signal the demise of your German passport (see the video after the break).

It’s hard to believe we haven’t covered RFID Zappers yet. The concept came out of the Chaos Communication Congress a few years back. This method works by sending a very strong electromagnetic field through the RFID tag that causes it to burn out. There’s a wiki post on RFID Zappers but Firefox threw a certificate warning when we loaded it up; read at your own risk.

The video pretty much speaks for itself. And no, that’s not me in the video. I would shoot one if given the chance.

The Jessie War Journal
Weapons Review Department

————————————————————————————————

EDITOR’S NOTE: This review has been reposted from the old blog to serve as a part of a buyer’s guide. It has also been updated to reflect the latest version of this weapon.

The updates follow this note, and after that section comes the original post, which has been modified as little as possible.

Grammar and photos have been changed.

————————————————————————————————

===========
Overview
===========
Weapon: Mistral Munitions HK416
Price: $400L
Prim Count: 116/147

Mistral Munitions HK416

Mistral Munitions HK416

=======================================

UPDATES

=======================================

It is good to know my reviews can inspire changes and updates in products, as the new Version HK416 from Mistral Munitions did change the model based on my critique of the read drum sight. The new update however seems to have been a bit hastily put together to compete with other companies in the price range, and unfortunately, seems to have created more errors than it fixed.

===========
Changes
===========

-Script changes (Not sure if it is anything beyond error correction and new feature addition)

-Change in effects (Muzzle smoke texture changed)

-Optional M203

Ok. I like seeing script improvements and tweaks, but I am not sure what exactly was done fron the version change. Unlike other manuals I have read, the Mistral manuals don’t list anything about changes. I have come to the realization that this is because there seems to be only one manual (which explains why they aren’t named as the gun, and why they say “if equipped on your weapon). It’s not frustrating from a user stand point, but the more technical among us would like to know what makes this version better than the others.

The new muzzle smoke texture is not as good as the old one. Its edges are hard and it doesn’t seem natural.

The M203 grenade launcher is now included with the HK416. What I noticed right away is how it was packaged: one gun/sling set without the M203, one gun/sling set with the M203. The only other company I have seen do this is Ironsight Armaments, who have been doing so since their M203 equipped rifles came out several months ago. This leads me to believe that Mistral is feeling pressue in its market, not only from Ironjsight Armaments (which seems to me to be their biggest completion), but also from Titan Industries, who recently entered the price range with their older/less featured (but by no means lower quality) weapons. Now, this isn’t the first time I noticed Mistral seeming to follow behind Ironsight Armaments and copy their styles, and I normally don’t care (unless the copying of styles is done in an illegal fashion), but what makes the M203 on the Mistral stick out to me is that it seems to have been a hastily done upgrade. Upgrades with new features are great (and will help sales as any business person can tell you) but if it’s not done right, it’s not worth it.

The grenade launcher lacks performance and range, is unpolished, and is buggy. My first test was distance, which was perhaps the biggest disappointment. The purpose of a grenade launcher such as the M203 is to extend your range for grenades (and possible replace a grenade HUD all together), but the M203 on this gun can barely cross a New Jessie city street, and has a hell of a time going upwards. It also fires with the “C” or “PageDown” button, which is bad news for people who use many of the commercial grenade HUDS’s.  Animations for the reload also do not exist. After firing the M203, you precede to play the basic AR-15 style reload animation (Which I have found in some Mistral non-Stoner type rifles and SMG as well). This is a bit of a disappointment, but not a major issue, as the Mistral weapons aren’t the best for looking that spectacular anyways. Sounds again drove me crazy with the “I know I have heard that before but not where”. Then another combatant heard and pointed out where they were from: Call of Duty. I promptly logged off SL and started up COD4 and put on my headphones. I went around firing several AR’s and SMG and the M203 in the game. Just for extra reference, I grabbed the sounds with a Audacity to play back later. Back in SL I played the sound over and over, and sure enough with my Grado 80i’s I could hear all the quirks. I even fired the rifle, and found the same thing. Call of Duty Report sounds. This really makes me uneasy, as not only do I find the sounds to be wimpy, but it makes me wonder about effort put into some of the Mistral weapons. Bug wise, there are some of the usual errors found in the general gun, but namely it is very easy to kill yourself with the M203, as the combination of “c” and “PageDown” firing, plus the fact that it is able to fire out of mouselook, will have you killing you and your team at least a few times.

Further things I noticed while seeing what may have been changed in the new scripts were a variety of input and feature malfunctions. The input is extremely unforgiving, as it is both case sensitive, requires colons in specific places, and in the case of velocity, will accept negative commands. Negetive bullet velocity sends bullets flying back at your face, and while trying to recreate “The Matrix” with your own rifle is fun, you will get screwed over if you mis-type in battle or forget to change it. It also seems that the reset command does not fully reset all parts of the rifle. The animation disabling option also seems to forget to actually stop the animations, just prevents future ones from playing, which leaves you to run around stuck in a pose. Bullets also seem to be visibly smaller, but are still the same large alpha tube/cylinder with a small visible hole for texturing. Unfortunately, it may be because of this they seemed to phys-lock a bit more than the past version.

===========
Unchanged
===========

Build

Aside from the changes to the read sight, I did not notice any changes to the model. My small nit-picks are still there, as texturing and detail still need improvement, and the sculpted rails still like to flicker in and out. However, as I stated before, Mistral Munitions weapons are more for function over form. They are simple and work, but are far from the best looking weapons (though far from the worst as well).

Animations

No changes found.

Sounds/Effects

I found out where they are from and a new sound has been added for the M203. Otherwise, no changes. Muzzle smoke has been changed to a less appealing texture.

==

Overall, a few new features that are nice and work well, but not flawlessly and the “big” new features are buggy. This seems a bit rushed, and I almost prefer the performance of the old version better. It still remains a solid weapon.

==

===========
New Flag Rating
===========
This is what a perfect 5 Flags looks like [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   [~JWJ~]

Performance: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  (4.0)

Build:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  (3.0)

Texture:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ (2.5)

Animations:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] (3.0)

Sounds:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JW (2.5)

Ease of Use:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   (4.0)

Value:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   (4.0)

=======================================

ORIGINAL POST

=======================================

–Manual Credits–
None

Inspection Credits
Build: Sera Otoro
Scripts: Sera Otoro
Animations: Sera Otoro (Aim/Hold), Tenaki Kupferberg(Reload), Timmahy Widget(Crouch)

===========
Flags
===========
This is what a perfect 5 Flags looks like [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   [~JWJ~]

Performance: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   [~JW(4.5)

Build:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  (3.0)

Texture:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ (2.5)

Animations:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] (3.0)

Sounds:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JW (2.5)

Ease of Use:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   (4.0)

Value:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   (4.0)

===========
First Impressions
===========

Even before I unpack the weapon, I can infer from the vendor images and the box itself that this is going to be a basic, all business weapon made for combat. The manual that pops over my screen on unpack continues this, telling me little more than commands, what they are, and what they do.

Clean, simple, and to the point.

===========
Aesthetics
===========

The HK416 is a weapon of modest appearances. It doesn’t scream for attention, it doesn’t grab the eye so much as suggest a look, and doesn’t ooze of photo-realistic textures or micro prim details.

The build fits together well. Prims fit with one another with only few seams. Prim details are well done, subtle, but noticeable. A few points of the rifle’s build look odd and out of place however.  The back sights have sides that are too thick, and the drum, typical of Heckler and Koch weapons, is not hollow. The ejection port’s cover flap is to long and to thin and looks fixed in place, rather than hinged so it could pop open with the first shot. The rails on the foregrip look far too rectangular, and don’t seem the right size. The charge handle seems oddly shaped, and halfway between a pull.

Textures are adequate, but a bit too plain and generic in my opinion. There is a base texture that seems to cover the entire gun, tinted differently to add depth in certain parts, and a texture for the barrel. What stands out the most though is the much higher detailed textures that are in odd spots around the gun. The front barrel guard has a higher detail texture for the holes, the left side of the receiver has a etched texture for the fire selector, and the  magazine has a its own texture. The magazine texture is also oriented wrong, as  it suggests I have tried to shove the magazine into the lower receiver upside down ( the black indent that is on the bottom of the this magazine is where it should hook onto the magazine catch inside the gun).

Sounds are average. Firing sounds are clear, but are quite quiet and the unsilenced sound could use more of a sharp bang at the beginning. The reload sound is very odd, as it is so quiet and full of what sounds like background noise (as though recorded from a game), I wonder if I am reloading or if there is a guy 15m behind me reloading.  There are no sounds for attaching or detaching the silencer.

Animations are basic and to the point. They fit the gun, though the aim isn’t at eye level, and work well together. The biggest issue is there is no walk for the crouch. I simply slide around on the ground in a crouched position. That’s going to wear out my shoes very quickly!

Effects included on this rifle are good in looks, but lacking a bit in execution. The both muzzle smoke and shell ejection dont seem to sync with the firing, and seem to start and stop randomly of their own accord.

===========
Performance
===========
I felt quite confident with this weapon in my hands. Bullets always rezzed, the gun never lost controls, and never faltered. Even in the most severe lag I encountered, the gun kept firing. However, the bullets did like to physlock in moderate-heavy lag, but I was able to predict this, and know when to cease fire. The physlocking is not unique to this weapon however, and the bullets are very large.

A large plus to this gun, something I love seeing on SL weapons, is that spread decreases as you switch to burst and semi auto fire modes, meaning you get something in return for slowing down your fire rate.

The animation and effect toggles work as described, and the velocity adjustment comes in handy.
However, on default settings this rifle was more than capable of taking out targets at all ranges, including when I was calling for combatants in New Jessie, and two people ran up the stairs behind me. I was able to shoot them both without worying about velocity. One was quite close to me (within 10m), while his partner was in the doors about 23m away. I was able to fire a burst at the first target, round the corner while reloading and take out the other one.  I was quite pleased.

===========
Overall
===========

The Mistral Munitions HK416 may be lacking in aesthetics, but it more than makes up for it with performance.
The weapons earns 4.0 flags for its above average performance. Build is average at 3 flags, and is solid prim work, though it won’t win any beauty pageants. Textures are there, but rather generic and earn a flag rating of 2.5. Animations and sounds rank at 3 and 2.5 flags respectively. They are good and simple, though each has its own downsides (animations lack a crouch walk and the aim is a bit too low, sounds are quiet and not as violent/gun like). Ease of use is very good and scores four flags, though I just wish there were some key combos for things like reload and crouch. Value is above average if looks aren’t your number one concern, as you get decent  performing rifle for such a modest price

The MM HK416 is a solid companion on the battlefield, but if you are looking for something to stun on lookers and perform beyond your expectations, you may want to look elsewhere.

And as Caine would like me to remind you, if you’re interested in the Mistral Munitions HK416 Assault Rifle, it is available in the New Jessie Armory.

Start of inletting and leveling stock in milling machine

Nice figuring in this wood

Setting up the stock for inletting

Oh sweet jewellery of my dreams!

So…if you still haven’t figured out what to get (me) for Christmas, here’s a nudge in the right direction; the Digby and Iona direction.  Considering I am a little amatcha (think Christian Bale and his viral rant) I’m not gonna go into full-on PR mode but with these beauties, it’s ok -  they are bloody wonderful and totally speak for themselves.

Get prepared to do a little drool…

And now for my personal favourites (hint hint):

Truly what dreams are made of.

Now onto the highly important discount!  Go and hunt here, peruse the intense catalogue of beauties and try (if you can) to decide on some purchases, then when your all ready to trade some moolah for gold just remember this: type ‘holiday’ in at checkout and be in awe as you save 20% of your moolah for all that wonderment.

I am too excited.

x

The Firearm Blog has some pictures on the first Bushmaster ACR in individual hands. I would love to have one of these.

The New Jessie War Journal
Weapons Review Department

————————————————————————————————

EDITOR’S NOTE: This review has been reposted from the old blog to serve as a part of a buyer’s guide. No changes have since been made to this weapon since its original posting. Only the technical portions of this article (spelling, grammar, ect) have been altered. The content remains the same, although better images have been included.

————————————————————————————————

===========
Overview
===========
Weapon: Nortec Labs NAR74 “Vindicator”
Price: $500L
Prim Count: 158

Nortec NAR-74 "Vindicator"

Nortec NAR-74 "Vindicator"

–Manual Credits–
Crafter: Wolvensokolov Setzerman
Textures, Animations, Scripts and Sounds: Matti Deigan

===========
Flags
===========
This is what a perfect 5 Flags looks like [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   [~JWJ~]

Performance: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] (4.0)

Build: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] [~JW (3.5)

Texture: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JW (2.5)

Animations: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JW (4.5)

Sounds: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] (3)

Ease of Use: [ ~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  (4.0)

Value: [ ~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~](4.0)

===========
First Impressions
===========
The box is an opens weapon crate when it rezzes in front of you, showing a texture version of the gun. Included in the box is a standard set of the active and slung weapon, manual, and a landmark.

The manual is a bit more fanciful than some others. It mentions the “designed” purpose, chassis ID, call sign, ect, and then goes on to invite people to IM Matti Deigan with critiques, complaints, comments, or suggestions. Then the features of the gun are listed, followed by commands, and then bug fixes/update log, and a list of received suggestions.

===========
Aesthetics
===========
Rezzing the Vindicator brings back a few images of the Aeko Labs BTRL-Z9. It’s an original gun with a very industrial look that uses more prims for details than it does textures.

The build is definitely unique, and as such I’m not quite sure how to describe it. There are certainly some parts I’d like to see tweaked a bit, but the build is very solid and fits together with no seams that I can see. The parts that could use some work mainly stand out because they look like extruding parts where you would expect to be vents cut out, screws that seem like they should be a bit more flush with the body of the rifle, and some joints that look like that could be smoothed out. Odd, interesting, and in need of a little bit of refinement.

Textures are simple and very metallic. They definitely seem to match the look of the gun, but they shine on some of them is out of place in some areas (like the flat part of the carry handle having the rounded shine). The other thing that looks a bit off is that the texture can get busy and almost distracting in some areas. Like the build, they fit well and look good, but need a bit of refinement here and there.

Animations are good looking and fit the gun extremely well. Hands are in the right place, not floating around, and the movement is smooth. The aim and hold are basic rifle style animations, but the most curious animation is the reload. It’s a very interesting set of movements, and it syncs up to the sound well.

Effects are particle based and use an interesting method to vary their appearance. The muzzle flash particles are actually located in three rotating prims in the barrel, which allows the particles to change their orientation. Muzzle smoke effects are not affected by this rotation. Clip drop is also included, and drops a detailed 6 prim magazine type object upon reload.

Sounds are clear and sound good, but the fire sound seems too subdued for a gun. It sounds very quiet and too smooth to be an weapon firing in your arms. The reload sound is unlike any I have ever heard, with an odd cranking at the end of the action, almost like the winding of the film advance on a 35mm film camera. Definitely interesting.

===========
Performance
===========

The Vindicator is good performer overall and functioned quite well with good reliability.

All through combat I rarely noticed any errors or hiccups.  However in heavy lag it would sometimes slow down and/or skip a beat or two. This includes bullets not rezzing, and sounds not playing or losing sync, but it would get back on track quite quickly. I had only one or two bullets lock up on me, but other than that, once they rezzed they didn’t stop until they hit something.

The built in animation over-ride worked flawlessly during my testing and was a welcome change to the Linden Duck Waddle I normally do when I test (I take off all other scripted attachments for testing). All animations triggered correctly, though I am still puzzled on what is going on during the reload with the cranking clicks, haha.

The only areas I had a problem with was accuracy. Even in the standard mode, the accuracy would deteriorate in a manner far more suited to an SMG than a rifle. The manual states that the longer you fire the wider the spread, which is excellent for realism, but I think this spread may be a bit much. Anything above very short bursts will have your accuracy going down the tubes, and I would personally like to see a tighter spread for a rifle.
The addition of “Suppressive Mode” reminded me of the Aeko LabsBTLR-79’s 5 slave variant, a real bullet hose. I tried this setting for a while, but the increased fire rate (and changed animation) aren’t worth the further decreased accuracy in my opinion.

The script time for the Vindicator  is about average from the tested guns by the Review Department of the New Jessie War Journal.

===========
Overall
===========

The Nortec Labs NAR74 “Vindicator” is a very unique looking and performing rifle.

Its performance in the field was good, even with its various effects on. Its reliable and has limited issues, earning it a 4 flag rating. For aesthetics, the build gets originality points for sure, but while its built well there are some very odd details that would look a lot nicer if done in some different ways, which gets it the 3.5 flag rating. Textures are very basic and do fit the gun’s mood well but only merit 2.5 flags because of oddities like the clashing in certain parts looks that makes it look very awkward, and the rounded sheen effect where there is nothing but flat surfaces.

Animations are excellent and fit the gun and its sounds nearly flawlessly. The built in AO is another great touch, and keeps everything looking good while eliminating the need for extra HUD attachments. They definitely earn their 4.5 flags.

Sounds are interesting. The reload sound is very clear and clean, but the fire sounds are a bit muffled and not as sharp as I would expect a rifle to have. Overall the sounds merit a solid 3 flags. There are only a few things that really lowered the ease of use.  I thought the adjustable listener channel is a great idea, but the continuously varying spread has an very steep learning curve, and the gun automatically being slung and safe’d on every attachment got a bit annoying, and eliminates the quick attach-fight when I change guns in the field. Still, those two points aside, the weapon is simple to operate and gets 4 flags.

Lastly comes value. I was very unsure of how to do this for this gun, as the looks aren’t that impressive, and sounds were average. I was contemplating a 3.5 flag rating instead of a 4 flag rating, but it was the animations, AO and the just above average performance that makes me certain that, looks aside, this definitely more than an average value for $L500.

All in all, a fine weapon.

For a unique gun with interesting looks and features, the Nortec Labs NAR74 “Vindicator” delivers with good performance and a well animated AO for an affordable price. You can find the weapons at any of Nortec’s vendors, including the one in the New Jessie Armory at New Jessie.

-JessieWarJournal Frequency

Separating the wood to  make adjustable cheek piece

Cutting the rifle butt for an adjustable butt plate

Starting to trim up the cheekpiece

The Jessie War Journal
Weapons Review Department

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This review has been reposted from the old blog to serve as a part of a buyer’s guide. No changes have since been made to this weapon since its original posting. Only the technical portions of this article (spelling, grammar, ect) have been altered. The content remains the same, although better images have been included.

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Overview
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Weapon: Aeko Labs BTRL-Z9
Price: 600L
Prim Count: 96

The AekoLabs BTRL-Z9 Assault Rifle

–Manual Credits–
Special thanks to:
Rickard Roentgen – For his very very nice reload animation.
Garma Denja – For the very good model.
Creators of Misc Sounds – These sounds come from generic sound libraries all over and from unknown ‘lost’ sources in Second Life. Thank you for not suing all of us!
Me – Aeron Kohime – For the other animations, tracking down all the sounds, and burning my life away making a highly optimized and hand tuned script.

AekoLabs BRTL-Z9 Assault Rifle

AekoLabs BRTL-Z9 Assault Rifle

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Flags
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This is what a perfect 5 Flags looks like [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   [~JWJ~]

Performance: [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   [~J (4.5)

Build:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~](3)

Texture:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  (2)

Animations:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] (3)

Sounds:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~] (3)

Ease of Use:[ ~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]   [~J (4.5)

Value:[~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JWJ~]  [~JW (3.5)

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First Impressions
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Opening the box gets you a folder with the sales image, a nice simple notecard, and curiously enough, three guns. Now two gun objects is not uncommon, you have the drawn and slung version right? Well, not in this case. You have two drawn versions, one with four rez slaves and one with five rez slaves, and a sling. Because I plan to review the most typical load-out, and out of curiosity, I IM’ed the creator to ask how they differ.

Aeron Kohime:
“The Main difference is ther maximum Rate of Fire… the 5 slave it can probably do about 2400, but I limited it to around 2000, and          the 4 can probably safely do around 1300, but its top is 1500.”

With this knowledge, I plan to focus combat portions of the review on the four slave variant, as I will be using the default fire rate. However, I will test both versions out of combat to see just how fast I can burn through my ammo.

The manual is short, simple, and to the point. It lists a brief relation of the BTLR-79 to the AEK-919, but then concentrates solely on commands and command description. While I do like descriptions, this is clearly a no frills gun, so I was not expecting them here. Most interesting in the manual is the warning about the rate of fire. The manual warns users of sustained high ROF fire as it may cause grey goo and sound errors, the latter of such could be prevented by a llLoopSound, but with the adjustable rate of fire, that probably wasn’t a plausible option (as the sounds would be out of sync at many fire rates). It strongly suggests short bursts, which is how you would fire an assault rifle in real life anyways (and in SL if you like not having to reload constantly).

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Asthetics
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Rezzing the model revels a very interesting shape. Its futuristic and relatively sleek, and definitely original.

The model fairly low prim and the only details are a few rivets and ridges. Its a very basics, and almost uninteresting due to its lack of details and textures. However, it is very well put together, with only one small seam able to be found by my eye, although the textures may assist in hiding any others.

Textures are also basic and almost bland. It seems a single metal gradient texture was used throughout and varied in darkness to show off the prim details. I can’t say I’m fond of the texture job, and even for a no frills weapon, it could be a bit better looking.

Surprisingly for a no frills, the BTLR does have a muzzle flash.  Its basic in its own right, as it animates a textures that spins to give a flashing effect. Very simple, very basic, very efficiently done.

Animations are basic, and fit the gun well. The hold is a bit odd with the rear hand as the index finger makes it hard to position the gun so it looks right. Aim is from the hip, and has a similar, though much less apparent, issue with the rear hand. Reload is the freebie Rickard Roentgen reload found in the infamous G36, although this is not the first commercial application I have seen it used in, as a few Operations guns use it as well. However, the original creator is cited in the manual as a credit, so Aeko Labs is clearly not trying to hide it.

Sounds are also cited as not being custom originals, however they fit the gun well. The fire sound shares the same jumpy issues that the Titan AK5 has, and is common among guns that use llTriggerSound.

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Performance
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Overall the BTLR-79 performed very well. There were a few quirks but  nothing major.

The BTLR would have times where it would slow down with lag, and then belch out its bullets. However, in comparison to other weapons, these were much less frequent with the BTLR, and lasted for much briefer time periods when they did happen. Bullets locked up maybe once or twice, by which I mean one or two instances, and maybe five total bullets. Very reliable and will get your bullets down range.

I did however have what appeared to be hit detection issues with the bullets, though this may have been client side. However, this was solved by lowering the velocity from its default 200m/s to 175m/s. Otherwise, no problems here.

Spread doesn’t change with fire mode, almost making the semi fire setting useless unless you change the spread manually. This isn’t too much of a hindrance, but it makes those quick shifts to semi for that one shot before that guy in that window sees me impossible, as the one key quickness is lost.

I also felt that a bit of adjusting was needed to get the BTLR to the comfortable use area. Again, these are personal preferences, but the default spread of two degrees seemed more suited to a light machine gun than a assault rifle. While this can be easily changed, I think that it may hinder people who expect out of the box performance of an assault rifle. I felt much more comfortable with the rifle after changing the spread to one degree.

Rate of fire adjustment does exactly what it says and the difference is VERY noticeable. I set the four-slave version to 1350rpm and it spewed out bullets with a near buzz. I think that the magazine would have been gone sooner than it was, but I’m not complaining.
The five slave variant when set to its highest ROF setting is plain scary. The bullets rez at a blistering speed that makes me feel sorry for anyone on the receiving end. However, the 60-round magazine was not gone as fast as I expected, but it was still quickly devoured. The usefulness of the high rate of fire may seem limited,  but expanding the spread and  raising the magazine size turns the BTLR into a formidable suppressive fire weapon, although the gun seems to lag a bit more in spikes during this high rate of fire.

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Overall
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The Aeko Labs BTLR-79 may not be the prettiest gun your money can buy, but it packs many of the features that weapons twice its price and more tote as key features. Beyond the standard adjustable velocity and magazine size, you get adjustable rate of fire and adjustable conical spread. The BTLR gets almost full marks for performance with 4.5 flags. Only its slight ups and downs during lag cause the drop in rating, although its script time definitely deserves recognition as it is a quite remarkable, being the lowest of any tested gun during full auto fire at the default settings. The five slave version set to its maximum 2000rpm fire rate generates slightly above-average script time, which, for its speed, is still fairly good. Build fits well together and is an original design, but is otherwise fairly bland and gets 3 flags. The textures, or texture, are too simple and undetailed, and appears to be just one texture repeated and shaded, but it is applied as well as it can be, which earns it the 2 flags.  Animations are built for the gun and fit, but are nothing overly exciting, and have a few errors that surround the reload, which explains the 3 flag rating. Sounds fare the same as animations. They fit the gun, but don’t really seem like they would “wow” anyone. Ease of use is high. While I’m not fond of Chat/Channel 0 listens, there is no doubt for a beginner they are easier to use. Commands are simple and straight forward, and even the “advanced” commands are clear cut, which is where the 4.5 flags come in. Value is brought down to the 3.5 flags by the aesthetics, but price for the features you get is hard to beat.

The Aeko Labs BTLR-79 boils down to function over form. If you want a highly adjustable rifle with some seriously high performance, and you don’t really put much emphasis on looks or realistic models, you get a lot for the $L600 it takes to get the BTLR-79.  You can find the whole selection of Aeko Labs weaponry at their vendor in New Jessie.

Why Switzerland Has The Lowest Crime Rate In The World (video)
Gun control advocates should be required to watch this video. The Swiss keep 600,000 assault rifles in their homes. It is a legal requirement for young men.

Guns are deeply rooted within Swiss culture – but the gun crime rate is so low that statistics are not even kept…

Between the ages of 21 and 32 men serve as frontline troops. They are given an M-57 assault rifle and 24 rounds of ammunition which they are required to keep at home.

Once discharged, men serve in the Swiss equivalent of the US National Guard, but still have to train occasionally and are given bolt rifles. Women do not have to own firearms, but are encouraged to