Car Wars Internet Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 5
May 06, 2049


Web Posted May 06, 1999
Updated September 03, 2001



THE GUNNERY CHAIR
 

Happy Belated May First (May Day to you celebrating the military parades in Red Square of the former Soviet Union, Law Day to you celebrating the freedoms of the United States). This issue has a wide variety of resources for you to read and use. As subscribers already know, the main news of the Car Wars community is the announcement of the times and locations of both AADA World Championships. This issue of CWIN discusses that news in-depth.

This newsletter is special because the CWIN staff has found three autodueling resources. The Ohio Dueling Auto Maker's Network (OhDAMN) has one of the largest Car Wars Web sites on the Internet, with more goodies than a clearance sale at an Uncle Albert's outlet. A gaming group that has the audacity and outrageousness to call one of its corporations Motorized Arena Fighting In Action must have a Web site worth investigating. The CWIN staff guarantees you will have a smile on your face for a long time after you visit OhDAMN's home on the Matrix. The anime world of Ranma has a Car Wars short story with autodueling and cyberpunk elements. Wormspeaker has a set of documents that will make fans of Chassis & Crossbow gaming explode with excitement.

Tony Kontes, President of BoneHeadz Central, presents the first set of his articles for campaigns in The Daemon Mechanic column. Tony has operated an gaming group that emphasizes adventures and scenarios. If you need a tutorial on how to establish this type of autodueling environment, Tony has the tools to make that task easier.

Francis Greenaway of Painted Target returns to CWIN with a very interesting article discussing an aspect of Car Wars not covered below: construction and capabilities of robots in 2049. If you liked  the RB-4 mechanic/gunner in the TSR Car Wars Adventure Gamebook Dueltrack, you will enjoy this article.

Pyramid Magazine has two articles of interest for DarkFutureTech. Death Rally is campaign idea based on the road rallies of the 20th century. A Quick Fix presents rules for finding minor items such as ammunition.

The Dueltrack Racing Association Carbon-Aluminum Rally (DRACAR) has released a new edition of the Car Wars Internet Magazine (CWIZ) and has written one of the Heavy Metal articles in this issue of CWIN. If you have wondered how DRACAR created their cool racetracks, Dean Gibson, DRACAR's President and Webmaster, tells you how. The Championship Autodueling Circuit (CADC) also jumps into this discussion and describes how its racetracks are constructed.

Be sure to read the VADR column to discover news about the auto-combat computer game Full Auto. This game combining the action of Interstate 1976 and Redline with the intrigue of Autoduel looks like to become a classic title for all gamers.

For those of you who have access to American television, make sure you stay home on May 16. The NBC television network will be airing a movie that has a subject that is terrifying but is one that would make for an awesome ARF scenario. The NANS Ticker gives some information on this made-for-television movie.

The Cracked Windshield tells how the former Soviet Union lost the Cold War but may have gotten the last laugh on NATO, proving fake weaponry does work. Fifty Years Ago Today focuses on pedestrian technologies.

Philip White, member of SWAT, is writing an editorial about WADA. This article will be added to this newsletter later this month, the same time when Uncle Edgar returns with new ways to annoy and annihilate your opponents. Philip will be taking over the WADA Web pages later this summer. I have already moved all of them to his Web site, therefore your bookmarks to them will no longer work. Visit SWAT Matrix Headquarters and use the hyperlinks in the WADA section (or click on the WADA logo) to find Philip's URL.

I want to give special thanks to Tim Gould and the Championship Autodueling Circuit (CADC). In addition to presenting a very cool dueltrack for this issue's Arena Watch, Tim and his combat drivers are preparing to run an AADA World Racing Championship that will start a new, great era for Car Wars racing. If you have the time and funds, definitely attend Origins 1999 this summer and enter the 2049 AADA WRC. You will have one of the most exciting Car Wars experiences ever because Tim and the CADC are some of the best racemasters on the planet and are some of the nicest gamers on the planet.

Please write articles for this newsletter! I am in critically short supply of submissions. If you do not write and send me articles, I may have to change its frequency to bi-monthly or quarterly. I also need assistance with the NANS Ticker and VADR. As always, I am looking for people to write NewsWatch timelines and Road Atlas entries for their hometowns.

Michael P. Owen
Seattle Washington Autoduel Team (SWAT) President/Webmaster
Car Wars Internet Newsletter (CWIN) Editor
owenmp@hotmail.com
http://www.serv.net/~owenmp/swathome.html
 


AADA NEWS
 

2049 AADA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Robert Deis, the AADA Head Referee, has officially declared the Championship Autoduel Circuit (CADC) of Detroit, Michigan the
racemasters of the 2049 AADA World Racing Championship. This tournament will be held at the Origins 1999 gaming convention. You can discover the details of the event by visiting the Web sites below.

Championship Autoduel Circuit (CADC)
http://surf.to/cadc/
http://home.earthlink.net/~timgould/cadc.htm

Origins 1999 Gaming Convention
July 1-4, 1999
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.gama.org/origins/origins.html
http://www.andonunlimited.com/CONS/ORIG99/index.htm


Robert Deis posted the information below regarding the 2049 AADA World Dueling Championships on the Dueling Debate and Pyramid Car Wars message boards:

"I must apologize for the short notice on the AADA World Championship Events this year. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Lindsay (AADA Manager) and myself received our commissions much too late to get the events in to the pre-registration books (for the Origins and Gen Con gaming conventions, the locations of the two AADA WC Tournaments). Next year, planning for these two events will begin in the fall, like they should have in the past, and we will be announced and printed before the pre-registration books are printed."

"Beyond that, keep an eye on the Steve Jackson Games Car Wars Web site -- and more importantly -- Pyramid Magazine. Elizabeth and I seldom have the time to frequent Dueling Debate, but you can always find me on the Pyramid Car Wars Message Board."

Robert Deis
AADA Head Referee
Steve Jackson Games Car Wars Webmaster
Rocky Mountain Autoduel Association (RMADA)
AADAref@sjgames.com
You can learn about the details of Gen Con 1999 on the Web site of Andon Unlimited, the company running the convention.
Gen Con 1999 Game Fair
August 5-8, 1999
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
http://www.tsr.com/rpga/
http://www.andonunlimited.com/CONS/GEN99/
If you have questions regarding the two AADA WC Events, contact the individuals below.
Robert Deis
AADA Head Referee
Steve Jackson Games Car Wars Webmaster
Rocky Mountain Autoduel Association (RMADA)
AADAref@sjgames.com
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/8431/
http://www.io.com/~rdeis/2048WC.html

Elizabeth Lindsay
AADA Manager
MiB Cell Leader of Chicago
AADAmgr@sjgames.com
http://www.enteract.com/~otter/

Tim Gould
Championship Autoduel Circuit (CADC)
2049 AADA World Racing Championship Racemaster
timgould@bigfoot.com
http://surf.to/cadc/
http://home.earthlink.net/~timgould/cadc.htm

Visit the message boards below to learn of breaking news of Car Wars projects created by the AADA and Steve Jackson Games. CWIN will also bring you this news as soon as it occurs.
Autoduelist's Haven
http://www.yahoo.com/clubs/carwars/

Dueling Debate
http://www.delphi.com/carwars/

Pyramid Car Wars Message Board
http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/

The World Autoduel Association (WADA) is considering giving extra championship points to WADA Car Wars League participants entering the AADA WC Events. The final rules of this subject will be available on the SWAT and WADA Web sites this summer.

It is advantageous for you to run and enter AADA Chapter and AADA Regional Championships because those tournaments provide excellent
opportunities for performing well in the WADA Car Wars League. Frank "The Vulture" Bonnin, member of the Death Racing Association of
Washington State (DRAW), became the current points leader in the WADA Car Wars League primarily by entering the AADA Northwest US Regional Dueling Championship this year. You can do the same if you start hosting these Car Wars events! You will be supporting the AADA, the WADA and Car Wars all at the same time with these games.
 

Tim Gould, the CADC Webmaster, posted a very important message regarding the 2049 AADA WRC on the Dueling Debate discussion forum. This letter has been reprinted below for your convenience.

From: Tim Gould <timgould@bigfoot.com>
Date: May 03, 1999 7:23 pm
Forum: Dueling Debate <http://www.delphi.com/carwars/>
Subject: 2049 AADA WRC Participants

I will be uploading a list of the Expected Drivers to the 2049 AADA WRC pages on the CADC Web site. I would appreciate a quick e-mail from all interested drivers. My plan is to list the expected drivers with some basic information about each driver. I'm looking for the Car Wars group you play with, how long you've been playing Car Wars, where you are coming from, what previous WRC and WDC events have you played in, and have you ever won any WRC or WDC event.

I'm expecting at least five drivers from the CADC right now. I'll be uploading the Expected Drivers list in about a week and a half, so let me know as soon as possible.
 

2049 AADA MIDWEST US REGIONAL DUELING/RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS
http://www.novia.net/~desslok/nova.htm

Concussion, occurring June 4-6, 1999 in Omaha, Nebraska will be the location of the AADA Midwest US Regional Dueling and Regional Championships. Both of these events will be sponsored by the New Omaha Vehicular Association (NOVA).

The AADA Midwest US Regional Dueling Championship will have Division 25 off-road vehicles fighting in the Braga Memorial Arena.

The AADA Midwest US Regional Racing Championship will have Division 25 sedans with one space of direct-fire weapons race on the Aerodrome Racetrack. Dropped weapons are prohibited, including flamethrowers, mine flingers, spike guns, and fluid projector guns.

Characters for both events will be built on 50 skill points. Grenadier Autoduel and Games Workshop BattleCars miniatures, as well as laminated mapsheets, will be available. No seeding of chapter champions will be possible due to the single round nature of both Regional Championships.
 

From: Stormin Norman (DRJAKE2)
Date: May 8, 1999 8:25 pm
Subject: 2049 AADA Midwest Dueling/Racing Regional Championships
Forum: Dueling Debate <http://www.delphi.com/carwars/>

One thing I forgot to mention for the 2049 AADA Midwest Regional Racing Championship. There will be no temporary speed boosters (nitrous oxide, supercharger capacitors, rocket boosters or jump jets). The Aerodrome Racetrack is a little over a mile in lenght and I plan to run a few laps on it. Combat won't begin until one lap is completed.

The speed boosters won't help you in a long haul race I like what I have planned for regional. Remember this when you're designing a car for the race.
 


ARENA MANAGER'S OFFICE
 

CARMAGEDDON 2: CARPOCALYPSE NOW SCENARIOS
http://www.interplay.com/carmageddon2/

The following scenarios were found in the demonstration version of Carmageddon 2. The CWIN staff has not play-tested the full version at this time. Once the CWIN editors have access to the retail version of Carmageddon 2, a review of the game and ideas it has that could be useful for Car Wars will be presented in a future issue of this newsletter.
 

Fight to the Death: The last survivor is the winner. A true derby of destruction

Continuous Metal-Wrecking Mayhem: Waste your opponents to get points. You lose points if you waste yourself.

Massacre Mode: Kill more innocent pedestrians than anyone else.

First one to go through all checkpoints, in any order, is the winner.

Last one through each checkpoint, in any order, is knocked out.

The clock ticks up for the car that is "it." You're knocked out when it reaches the limit.

The fox's clock ticks up towards a target. Hit him to stop his clock and start yours.
 


ARENA WATCH
 

JORMUNGANDR DUELWAY
http://surf.to/cadc
http://home.earthlink.net/~timgould/cadc.htm

The CADC Proving Grounds have discovered a dueltrack that would make the Star Commandos hesitate to drive on its surface. Events held on the Jormungandr Duelway, located in Norway, will test a driver's limits with a track layout that is deadly for competitors but excellent for fans.

Keith Scherer
Championship Autodueling Circuit (CADC)
Detroit, Michigan
 


AUTODUEL FICTION
 

ELECTRONIC VIKING

Tucson Animation Screening Society (TASS)
http://www.tass.org/
http://www.tass.org/fanfic/

Anime.UsaComputers.Net
http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/pub/Anime/FanFictions/Ranma/

The Tucson Animation Screening Society (TASS) has a short story set in the Ranma and Car Wars worlds called "Electronic Viking" written by Enoch Ornstead. This work can also be found on the Anime.UsaComputers.Net Web site.
 


THE CRACKED WINDSHIELD
 

ACCIDENTAL ENGLISH

If you've ever filed an accident report, you will probably sympathize with the anonymous writers quoted below.

The quotes, excerpted from real traffic accident reports, were collected by Richard Lederer in his new book Anguished English.

The book (Doubleday Dell, $5.95 US), is an anthology of misinformation and bloopers assembled from a variety of sources -- student essays, newspapers, official reports of one kind and another -- and is hilarious from end to end.

We offer a few of the choicer accident report morsels herewith.

Popular Mechanics Magazine
March 1990
 

HARMLESS NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Many of the monstrous strategic missiles displayed in Red Square parades during the Soviet era were only dummies, but they scared the West into an expensive response, a Russian magazine reported yesterday.

One such fake -- GR-1, an acronym for Global Missile -- showed during a May 9, 1965 parade prompted the United States to build an anti-missile defense system worth billions of dollars, said the weekly magazine Vlast (Power).

In fact, the Soviets had abandoned the GR-1 project long before the parade.

The Seattle-Times Newspaper
November 18, 1999
 


THE DAEMON MECHANIC
 

CHARACTER GENERATION TABLES
http://www.serv.net/~owenmp/daemon/chargen1.html

The players in your campaign chose a path you did not expect them to take and now you are in trouble because you are 50 NPCs short, a small street gang you neglected to create. You need to generate those NPCs ASAP otherwise the game -- and your term as duelmaster -- are going to end very quickly.

Somehow you managed to get your players to allow you to run an adventure again. Now you have another problem. Because most of the players have emphasized combat skills during character creation , the opportunities for role-playing no longer common.

There is a solution to these problems: a elegant set of tables that can generate characters in minutes yet give characters with a wide variety of backgrounds that provide for many roleplaying directions.

Tony Kontes
BoneHeadz Central
Boise, Idaho
ManyCubes@aol.com
 

ROBOTS IN CAR WARS
http://www.bus.bton.ac.uk/staff/fesg/games/CarWars/cwin/robots01.html

Robots have streamlined the vehicle design process in Autoduel Earth enough to permit special ordering of custom designs and receive the finished product within two months. Robots are can also be used intra-office couriers, security guards and even vehicular mechanics (see TSR Car Wars Adventure Gamebook 3: Dueltrack). Read this in-depth briefing about the construction of robots in 2049 and start building your own T-800 Terminator that can also function as a butler.

Francis Greenaway
Painted Target
Brighton, Great Britain
fesg@bton.ac.uk
http://www.bus.bton.ac.uk/staff/fesg/games/
 

TECH LEVELS IN CAR WARS
http://www.serv.net/~owenmp/daemon/techlev.html

Uncle Albert's Auto Stop and Gunnery Shops have incredible ordnance, ranging from simple but effective 7.62mm general-purpose machine-guns and 30mm recoilless rifles to ultra-tech electromagnetic accelerators and lasers. There is no guarantee you will be able to find ammunition for many weapons -- or even the projectors of destruction themselves -- depending on where you are located. These rules for applying GURPS-style technological levels to Car Wars will be very useful when a group of characters, in the opinion of the duelmaster, have too much wealth, or assume too often they can get reloads for all of their weapons in any area. Extra magazines should be popular items after these rules are placed into effect.

Tony Kontes
BoneHeadz Central
Boise, Idaho
ManyCubes@aol.com
 


FIFTY YEARS AGO TODAY
 

AIR-CONDITIONED BATTLEGEAR

Natick, Masschusetts -- Amid growing concerns about the effectiveness of infantry wearing today's protective gear on a nuclear, biological or chemical battlefield, the Army has undertaken the design of a combat suit known as SIPE (Soldier Integrated Protective Ensemble).

SIPE reduces soldier heat stress with forced air cooling from a backpack power unit, and tiny air conditioners will cool future versions. Both systems produce an overpressure within the suit to keep out chemical agents.

The soldier will sight his rifle via a thermal imager linked to a head-up helmet display. The helmet's visor will protect against lasers, while the bodysuit will resist chemical, flame and directed-energy assaults. SIPE will also incorporate improved ballistic protection, a communications headset and a microcomputer.

Army researchers hope to begin full-scale development in 1993 and start fielding SIPEs in the late 1990s.

Color Drawing: SIPE-clad soldier can shoot from the hip, thanks to a head-up display linked to the gun's thermal sight.

Popular Mechanics Magazine
April 1991
 

FEDERAL WAY GARAGE IS "ORDNANCE DEPOT": ARSENAL FOUND WHERE BLAST INJURED MAN

Federal Way, Washington State -- One police officer called Stratton Maxey's garage an "ordnance depot." Another one likened it to an armory.

Neighbors of a rented waterfront home looked on in surprise yesterday as King County sheriff's deputies carried away dozens of guns from a home where Maxey lost his hand in an explosion last week.

Maxey, 46, remained in Seattle's Harborview Medical Center in satisfactory condition.

The arsenal included about 50,000 rounds of ammunition, about 40 pistols, three cases of smoke grenades, several shotguns and assault rifles, a rocket launcher, night-vision equipment and an armored personnel carrier.

"We just saw what everyone else saw -- military vehicles parked and . . . then leave the next day," said neighbor Patti Dillard.

Maxey told police he was making fireworks.

King County sheriff's deputies and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms obtained a warrant to search the rented home, and yesterday carted out load after load of weapons and gear.

"I've never seen so much ammunition in one place. It was like an armory," said sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart.

"It's like going into an ordnance depot of a military base," said King County sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Fagerstrom.

Yesterday, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms spokesman Jim Provencher said only that his agency is investigating Maxey's involvement with explosives.

The explosives damaged the house, prompting the landlord to seek to recover damages from Maxey and seize the injured man's belongings.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Newspaper
April 21, 1999
 

FIGHTING EXO-SKELETON

Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey -- The Army is studying exo-skeletons armored with cast ceramic to keep the footsoldier viable into the 21st century. The armor would withstand hits from antipersonnel weaponry, while preserving soldier mobility through a system of powered joints. Protection from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons (NBC) would come from a closed life-support system with a rebreather and an outer of self-sealing fabric.

Color Drawing: Built-in weapons equip ceramic armor. Electromagnetic anti-personnel weapon on left shoulder, flechette firing system on left wrist, microwave directed energy weapon on right wrist. Cast ceramic exterior, with actuators on knees, covers NBC-resistant interior containing cooling tubes.

Popular Mechanics Magazine
January 1990
 

FIRE CONTROL FOR RIFLES

Adelphi, Maryland -- An electronic sight developed for tanks has been miniaturized for use on small arms. The Inertial Reticle System combines miniature inertial sensors with a microprocessor and a video display to stabilize a crosshair. When the shooter turns on the sight, he sees a video image of the target with two video overlays. One is the actual aim point, the other is the desired aim point.

Inertial sensors measure the motion of the weapon. When the rifleman presses the trigger, the weapon waits until the actual and desired aim points cross, then fires.

The Army Research Laboratory says the sight will improve the accuracy of rounds fired from helicopters and fast-attack vehicles. In tests, the system has proved accurate with standard-issue rifles at distance of nearly 900 yards.

Color Photograph: The Army has assembled the Inertial Reticle System using off-the-shelf technology.

Popular Mechanics Magazine
May 1996
 

INFRARED RIFLE SIGHT

El Segundo, California -- Soldiers have long relied on image-intesifying optics for night-vision rifle sights, but now they may switch to infrared. Hughes has developed a thermal weapon sight that's light enough to clip to the barrel of an M-16. Unlike currently fielded night-vision sights, the unit isn't blinded by bright lights and can see through smoke and rain.

The AN/PAS-13 uses a mercury-cadmium-telluride detector chip, which must stay refrigerated to be effective (see "Night Hawks," page 78, November 1994). But a thermoelectric cooler the size of a quarter reduces the sight's weight to 4.2 lbs. It can run for 12 hours on a single battery charge. To save power, the unit activates automatically only when the soldier peers into the eyepiece.

Now undergoing tests at Fort Greeley, Kentucky, and in Panama, the sight awaits a production decision.

Popular Mechanics Magazine
March 1995
 

QUICK-SWITCH RIFLE ORDNANCE

Hopkins, Minnesota -- Muzzle Launched Ordnance fills the gap between hand grenades, light mortars and small-caliber shoulder-launched munitions.

The rounds weigh about 1 pound, depending upon whether they carry an anti-tank, anti-personnel, illumination, smoke, infrared, incendiary or training grenade.

Each fits over a NATO-standard M-16 flash suppressor and contains a bullet-trap launching mechanism that allows use of any type of 5.56mm bullet already in the magazine, from tracer ammunition to armor-piercing rounds. The combined energies of the bullet's impact, the cartridge's gas pressure, and a built-in propellant launch the ordnance.

Single-motion loading and a positive locking mechanism allow continuous use of the weapon as an assault rifle immediately after launching the ordnance.

The Army is currently studying the bullet-trap technology used to launch the ordnance.

Color Photograph: Infantrymen can launch visible-light or infrared rounds, as well as various types of explosive ordnance.

Popular Mechanics Magazine
May 1996
 



FORMULA DE NEWS
 

FORMULA DE INTERNET HEADQUARTERS
http://www.formula-de.com

New Formula De Leagues

Revised Formula De Web Sites The Upcoming Events section lists several Formula De events occurring from May to October. Visit this Web page regularly to see if there is a Formula De tournament planned for your area. If there is not such a game being held, run your own!
 

APRIL 11, 1999: SAN FRANCISCO GRAND PRIX

Subject: San Francisco Grand Prix
Date:  Sun, 11 Apr 1999 19:28:00 -0700
From: Chris Saguisag <chris@saguisag.com>
To: FDML <fd-mailing-list@netscape.com>

The San Francisco Grand Prix Web site <http://www.saguisag.com/> has been updated. Go to main page and follow the link to SFGP. The site now includes results the April 11, 1999 inaugural race. Please give me feedback. Thanks.

Chris Saguisag
LAN Administrator, The Segal Company
E-Mail (Work): csaguisag@segalco.com
E-Mail (Home): chris@saguisag.com
http://www.saguisag.com/
 

APRIL 15, 1999: FANGORN'S LAIR

Subject: Fangorn's Lair Update
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 22:20:00 +0200
From: "Vincent Madesclaire" <cferu@club-internet.fr>
To: FDML <fd-mailing-list@netscape.com>

Fangorn's Lair (a Web Site dedicated to Formula De) has been updated. Here's the news you can found there:

Enjoy your visit in Fangorn's Lair at <http://www.multimania.com/vmadescl>.

Vincent MADESCLAIRE
Le Havre, France

E-mail: vmadescl@multimania.com
Web: http://www.multimania.com/vmadescl (Formula Dé & Blood Bowl)
 

APRIL 16, 1999: FORMULA DE EVENTS AT GEN CON GAME FAIRE AND ORIGINS

Subject: Formula De Events at Gen Con and Origins
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 09:32:32 EDT
From: Ron Magin <EGDUSA1@aol.com>
To: FDML <fd-mailing-list@netscape.com>

There will be a Formula De tournament at this year's Gen Con. It will consist of three qualifying rounds held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of the convention with the finals held Sunday morning. For some reason the folks handling the the program didn't include my schedule of events and submission. But fear not the Third Annual Gen Con Formula De Tournament will be held.

For those of you that are attending the Origins Convention in Columbus, Ohio on July 4th weekend, we will be holding a tournament there as well.

I hope to see you there.

Ron Magin
Managing Director
Eurogames / Descartes - USA, Inc.
 

MAY 03, 1999: ST. LOUIS FORMULA DE LEAGUE

Subject: League Play in St. Louis
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 23:08:30 -0600
From: Tom Barnes <twb3@primary.net>
To: FDML <fd-mailing-list@netscape.com>

A Formula De league has been formed in St. Louis, MO. Our next event is the Grand Prix of Canada on Saturday, June 5, 1999 at 12:00 pm. The location is Games Crafts Hobbies & Stuff in Overland.

We're planning on monthly events through October, hosted by local gamestores. We run a one-lap rookie orientation followed by a three-lap race for points. We use advanced rules; with the following two house rules in play:

(Thanks to the author of both of these rules, I'm not sure which Web site I saw them on).

Instead of time trials, grid positions are determined by experience. Raw rookies (never played the game before) are placed on the grid first,
followed by drivers who have not run a league event before, and lastly league veterans in inverse order of point standings. Thanks to Tim
Kelly in Dallas for this rule.
 

MAY 05, 1999: VALREAS OPEN

Subject: Valréas Open
Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 22:29:05 +0200
From: "p-gherla" <p-gherla@infonie.fr>
To: FDML <fd-mailing-list@netscape.com>

We are happy to announce you that the best French open will be on 22 and 23/05/1999 in Valréas (100 km North of Marseille). The price is 120,00 F (putting up, meal on Saturday evening, sandwiches and drink for lunch each day of game, breakfast Sunday morning). If you want to come, please join us before 20/05, if possible. We need time to organize the putting up. We hope to meet some European friends during this open. Sorry for our North American friends, but it may be a bit to far for you.

GHERLA Patrick "la coconnière", entrée D, Appt 19, 84820 VISAN, FRANCE
 


GURPS DARKFUTURETECH
 

THE QUICK FIX
http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/
http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/login/article.cgi?751

Sending the fixer out in a Cyberpunk game to score the necessary supplies for a run can be pretty boring for the rest of the group. Here's a way to speed up the process. You need to be a subscriber to Pyramid Magazine to access this article.
 


HEAVY METAL
 

CONSTRUCTING CADC RACETRACKS
http://surf.to/cadc/
http://home.earthlink.net/~timgould/cadc.htm

From: Dirk Ringersma (Championship Autodueling Circuit)
Forum: Autoduelist's Haven <http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/carwars/>
Subject: Constructing Racetracks: The CADC Version
Date: May 05, 1999 8:48AM EDT

Well here's how we just started making the racetracks in the CADC at 1.5X scale.  I have recently begun to design the tracks we use in a program called Macromedia Freehand 8. I design them at original scale and then I print them to our oversized black-and-white printer we have here at work and when I do I print them at 150%. This results in some really awesome-looking tracks that have about zero setup time since the whole track fits onto one or two (three at most) 3' x 8-15' sheets of paper. It's a lot of work but everybody loves them. you all can check them out at Origins 1999 this summer if you want . . . maybe even race on one.
 

CONSTRUCTING DRACAR RACETRACKS
http://www.dracos.net/dracos/carwars.htm

You have a nice collection of Matchbox and Hot Wheels miniatures for 3X Car Wars games but what do you use for arenas and racetracks? Dean Gibson, the president of the Dueltrack Racing Association Carbon-Aluminum Rally (DRACAR), has written an article on how DRACAR builds its realistic-looking speedways invaluable to all autoduelists, whether or not they use 3X scale gaming components.
 

MAXTRAX 1:64 SCALE SLOTCAR RACETRACK
http://home.eznet.net/~maxtrax/

This Web site for slotcar racing drivers has sample track layouts that could be easily converted to Car Wars, using Car Wars road sections or Car Wars map sheets. The actual MaxTrax road sections could be used to construct dueltracks for Car Wars games. Micro Machines or Hot Wheels/Matchbox miniatures would fit very well on the tracks. The gridless nature of MaxTrax is not an obstacle to autodueling because all movement can be performed with turning keys.
 


NANS TICKER
 

APOCALYPSE ON WHEELS
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/8321/apoczone.htm

Apocalypse on Wheels is described by the author "where cars meet guns, lay lines, kung fu and demons from another dimension." This game is an amalgam of Car Wars, Feng Shui and an original system called Destinies.
 

ATOMIC TRAIN
http://www.nbc.com

What would happen if a train derailed in a metropolitan area? What would happen if the train developed a fire? What would happen if that train had nuclear materials? What would happen if those nuclear materials were functional nuclear weapons? Watch "Atomic Train" on May 16 on the NBC television network to have these questions answered. This movie would be a great scenario for a campaign involving the Anarchist Relief Front, promoting good roleplaying by the players to decide how to defuse this stressful situation to avoid the need for sunblock with an SPF rating of 1,000,000.
 

DEATH RALLY: A TOURNAMENT/CAMPAIGN SETTING FOR CAR WARS
http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/
http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/login/article.cgi?730

Death Rally is a Car Wars variant for those who want to see their tournament characters live a little bit longer than one combat. It is basically a series of linked road battles under various different conditions, inspired by the fact that European highways have no speed limits -- well, some do, but nobody worries very much about it. You will need to be a subscriber to Pyramid Magazine to read the article.
 

DEMIAN'S GAMEBOOK WEB PAGE
http://www.netaxs.com/~katz/game/book.htm

Before you start searching for interactive novels, visit this Web site. Demian's Gamebook Web page has one of the most comprehensive listings of gamebooks, including Choose Your Own Adventure, Which Way Books and TSR Adventure Gamebooks. The six Car Wars Adventure Gamebooks published by TSR and the four books in the Freeway Warrior series are listed on this Web site along with many others.
 

FORGOTTEN REALMS REVISITED
http://www.upl.cs.wisc.edu/~chaos/frr/

This University of Wisconsin-Madison gaming group does not list an active Car Wars campaign on its schedule, but FRR did play a Division 25 arena duel on October 10, 1997. The results of the event as described by the FRR: "Cars blew up."
 

GURPS SPECIAL OPS SECOND EDITION NOW SHIPPING
http://www.sjgames.com/ill/
http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/SpecialOps/

GURPS Special Ops Second Edition shipped from SJ Games last week, and should be arriving in a store near you soon.

There is a violent world just on the edge of war -- the world of special operations. Elite forces penetrate enemy lines to strike critical targets. Teams of experts turn civilians into organized guerrilla armies. A strike team rushes a hijacked airliner to free hostages.

You'll brief national leaders on the latest crisis; scheme and sweat to ram a workable plan through the entanglements of bureaucracy; face a ruthless foe at point-blank range with no margin for error. Your life, the lives of others, the interests of your homeland . . . all depend on your skills, courage and judgment.

GURPS Special Ops puts you into this world. All the violent action -- and all the planning, organization and coordination necessary to bring off an operation successfully - are in your hands.

GURPS Special Ops has been out of print for several years. This completely revised edition covers the new nations and alignments of the post-Soviet era, and updates the rules for creating special-ops soldiers with the new GURPS template system.

The Daily Illuminator
April 27, 1999
 

OHIO DUELING AUTO MAKERS' NETWORK (OhDAMN)
http://www.angelfire.com/oh/pauljay

OhDAMN has one of the largest and one of the best Web sites containing Car Wars material. A member of the Car Wars Web Ring, OhDAMN runs a corporate campaign where strange characters and outrageous events are the status quo. Use the checklist below to make sure you see everything when you visit the OhDAMN Web site.

The article "Cargo Space in Oversized Vehicles" is especially interesting. OhDAMN Internet Headquarters should be placed in every autoduelist's bookmark collection.
 

NORTH AMERICAN GAMING CLUB LIST
http://maxpages.com/warfare/NAGCL_LIST

The Duelists of Alberta (DOA) is the only Car Wars gaming group listed on the NAGCL. This registry is small but it has the potential to be very useful for gamers. Add your group to the database today.
 

SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTIONS WEB RING INFORMATION PAGE
http://www.io.com/~lsc2/sfcons.html

This site, administered by the famous autoduelist Earl Cooley III, has one of the largest lists of gaming, science-fiction and fantasy conventions on the Internet or anywhere else. This site would be a very useful weapon for autoduelists participating in the 2049 WADA Car Wars League, interested in amassing mega points by entering large Car Wars tournaments.
 

WORMSPEAKER'S HOUSE OF ANIME, MANGA AND RPGs
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/7737/
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/7737/carwars.html

"On the roads, it was a white-line nightmare. Only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal enough to pilage, would survive. The gangs took over the highways, ready to wage war for a tank of juice." These words from the movie The Road Warrior described the world of the Mad Max Trilogy. This Web site has two Microsoft Word files that contain Wormseeker's Mad Max House Rules for Car Wars. If you like low-tech, post-apocalyptic, Chassis & Crossbow autodueling, you will enjoy these vehicle construction rules. SWAT has converted the two files to HTML format. If you cannot read Microsoft Word files for IBM platforms, contact SWAT and the HTML documents will be sent to you.
 

YORK SCI-FI AND FANTASY
http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~socs10/

York Sci-Fi and Fantasy is running a Car Wars campaign on Saturdays. Although the York SFF Web site does not information devoted to Car Wars, you can find a version of Murphy's Laws of Combat on the site. You can also find the invaluable Encyclopedia Gaes on the York SFF Web site, the comprehensive dictionary of tabletop gaming created by the York SFF.
 


VIRTUAL AUTODUEL REVIEW
 

DEEDS NOT WORDS
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/5199/
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/5199/writing/index.htm

The Superior Studio Web site has an essay about the 1982 autodueling film MegaForce called Deeds Not Words. The article mentions there was a formidible combat vehicle in the film Warrior of the Lost World.
 

FULL AUTO
http://www.gamesmania.com/english/sneak/new/fullauto/fullauto.htm

Simply put, Full Auto is a driving action game, though you might say that like Cars Wars, it's also an RPG where your car is the main character. The game is inspired by both the  pen and paper game Car Wars by Steve Jackson games, and the old Origin game Autoduel (which was also based on Car Wars). The Pseudo Interactive crew wanted to take on the difficult task of finding something that would appeal to both action-minded and statistic-minded players, and came up with a pretty good balance.
 



WADA EVENTS
 

Gamex 1999: May 28-30, 1999 in Los Angeles, California.
http://www.ludinn.com


Concussion 1999: June 4-6, 1999 in Omaha, Nebraska.


Westercon 52: July 2-5, 1999 in Spokane, Washington State.
http://www.webwitch.com/westercon52/index1.html


Skirmishes 1999: July 9-11, 1999 in Kansas City, Missouri.


Origins 1999: July 1-4, 1999 in Columbus, Ohio.
http://www.andonunlimited.com/CONS/ORIG99/


Inconjunction XIX: July 2-4, 1999 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
http://www.indy.net/~incon/


Gen Con Game Fair 1999: August 5-8, 1999 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
http://www.tsr.com/rpga/
http://www.andonunlimited.com/CONS/GEN99/


Nukecon 1999: October 1-3, 1999 in Omaha, Nebraska.




WEB SITE WATCH
 

CHAMPIONSHIP AUTODUEL CIRCUIT (CADC)
http://surf.to/cadc/
http://home.earthlink.net/~timgould/cadc.htm

Tire Tracks 8/3 is now on the CADC Web site. The main story is the official announcement by the AADA the CADC would run the 2049 AADA WRC and the rules the CADC will use when it racemasters the competition. This issue also discusses the results of Race 5 (Can-Am event at the King Cobra) and Race 6 (Stock Car event at the Texas Twister). Driver's Spotlight interviews Texas driver Matt Hampton and Australia driver Keith Scherer. CADC Proving Grounds gives a snapshot of the Jormungandr Duelway, a racetrack with three bottlenecks and two intersections, a combination that should prove lethal to racers but hard-hitting excitement for fans. Track Talk contemplates cloning, The Pits highlights one of the civil wars in the CADC Fan Choice Awards list which drivers and teams so far in the 2049 CADC season are winning the hearts and minds of fans, Around the CADC focuses on driver awards and the WADA Official Michael P. Owen makes a guest appearance in Tire Tracks, explaining the background and mechanics of the 2049 WADA Car Wars League.

The results of Race 7 (Formula One event at Ferrari Testgrounds) at Race 8 (Can-Am event at Linked Chain Dueltrack) have been added to the CADC Web site. There is also a new Web page for the 2049 AADA WRC and the Car Wars Jump Station, a small list of Car Wars Web sites and discussion forums.
 

CAR WARS INTERNET HEADQUARTERS
http://www.sjgames.com/carwars/

Thursday April 29, 1999: AADA Central Regional Championship Announced

Norman McMullen and the New Omaha Vehicular Association (NOVA) will host the two AADA Midwest US Regional Championships, Dueling and Racing, at ConCussion, June 4-6, 1999 in Omaha, Nebraska. Details of the events can be found on the NOVA Web site.
 

DUELTRACK RACING ASSOCIATION CARBON-ALUMINUM RALLY (DRACAR)
http://www.dracos.net/dracos/carwars.htm
http://www.dracos.net/dracos/dracar.htm

The California combat racing league has pushed the accelerator to the floor and shows no intention of hitting the brakes on its gaming or Web site activities. The new issue of the Car Wars Internet Magazine (CWIZ) is now on the DRACAR Web site, containing the articles below.

The CWIN staff would like to give special thanks to Dean Gibson for writing an article on how to create DRACAR racetracks, available in this issue's Heavy Metal column.
 

DRAGONSLAYERS OF THE UK
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/HUDSOND/dslayer.htm

For reasons not disclosed, the corporate Car Wars campaign of the Dragonslayers has been indefinitely suspended. CWIN highly recommends you download all of the Car Wars materials from the Dragonslayers Web site as soon as possible in case they are removed in the near future.
 

MAD MAX FAQ
http://www.madmaxmovies.com/

The humongous Mad Max FAQ now has a new Web address. Peter Barton, the site's Webmaster, has significantly revised the database and has added many new features during the past five months. The Mad Max FAQ is one of the best Web sites on the Internet and is an invaluable resource for Mad Max and Car Wars fans alike.
 

NEW OMAHA VEHICULAR ASSOCIATION (NOVA)
http://www.novia.net/~desslok/nova.htm

Nightmessenger 8/4 is now on the Nightmessenger Archive and the Conventions page lists the details of the 2049 AADA Midwest Regional Championships, information that is reprinted in this newsletter's AADA News column.
 

PAINTED TARGET
http://www.bus.bton.ac.uk/staff/fesg/games/

Francis Greenaway, Webmaster for Painted Target, has used several pounds of 1,3,5-trinitrotoluene to update the Painted Target Web site. The Aqua Wars pages have a fantastic new appearance and have been significantly expanded.
 

POST-APOCALYPTIC MEDIA
http://www.pamedia.com

Thomas Morton's tribute to the end of the world now has the Wasteland Armory, a comprehensive listing of the weapons you can obtain in the Wasteland computer RPG. Web pages for the tabletop RPGs Twilight 2000 and Gamma World are now available. The files for movies, books and several RPGs have been updated as well.

PA Media is now running monthly polls about post-apocalyptic mythology. This month PA Media is asking gamers to vote for the best post apocalyptic tabletop roleplaying games. Please take a minute and vote for your favorite end-of-the-world simulation.
 

QUESTING RAT'S ROLEPLAYING PAGE
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/9951/roleplay.html

A summary of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre at the Bradely Public Autoduel Arena can now be read on James "Questing Rat" Gustafson's Web site.