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PaperclipPerfector  17hr ago (text post)   682 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 31, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I'd rather not play a game set in a parallel timeline where the Note 7 debacle put an end to the development of battery technology.

Some fun quotes regarding futuristic energy storage:

GURPS Ultra-Tech:

Equipment, robots, and vehicles often use standardized power supplies, known as power cells. All power cells are assumed to be compact and relatively inexpensive. They may be advanced electrical batteries, micro fuel cells, superconductor loops, or even more exotic power supplies.

GURPS High-Tech: Electricity and Electronics:

Supercapacitors (TL8; prototype 1954, working model 1978) are intermediate between capacitors and rechargeable batteries. They can be rated for size like [ordinary alkaline] batteries, but have the power output of batteries 10 times larger for a duration of 1 minute. They cost 20 times a comparably sized battery. The power cells in GURPS Ultra-Tech might be advanced supercapacitors.

A flywheel stores energy in dense material spinning extremely fast. A set of coils acts as a motor when power is fed in, speeding it up, or as a generator when power is taken out, slowing it down. Peak output lasts up to 2 minutes. The power cells in GURPS Ultra-Tech might be advanced flywheels.

Flywheels come in weights comparable to larger batteries, though volume is greater.

  • Medium. Stores 2/3 the energy of an M battery, but peak output is 60 times as high (equal to household power). ×100 cost.

  • Large. Stores as much energy as an L battery, but peak output is 100 times as high (equal to industrial power). ×500 cost.

  • Very Large. Stores as much energy as a VL battery, but peak output is 100 times as high. ×1250 cost.

  • Steel (TL7). Only available in L and VL. ×4.5 weight, ×1/3 cost.

  • Titanium (TL7). Only available in L and VL. ×4/3 energy, ×3 weight, ×2/3 cost.

  • Carbon Fiber Composite (TL8). Available in all sizes with statistics given above.

The second one was written by William H Stoddard, a sure sign of quality.

I regret that I never got to play much GURPS.

You don't need to play it in order to enjoy the books.

Steve Jackson himself has stated in interviews that one-third of GURPS book buyers actually play that system, one-third use GURPS books with other systems, and one-third just buy GURPS books to read them without playing any TTRPGs at all. I am in the third category.

I've been playing TTRPGs regularly for almost 30 years. GURPS is definitely my most extreme ratio of time spent reading to time spent playing. It was just all so elegant. But most of my friends like less crunchy, or more setting-specific stuff.

aaaah, GURPS, my truest roleplaying love. My transition to young adulthood was marked by switching from Battletech mech design to GURPS Vehicles 2nd ed and GURPS Robots, the former of which I wore out the spine on in short order. Truly, a more elegant game for a more civilized time.

Allegedly, GURPS Vehicles Third Edition will be published sometime soon—albeit independently by Pulver and with the serial numbers filed off, since Steve Jackson Games can't spare the money to edit it even though it's already largely complete.

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