It's Fall already, and we're wondering where Summer went. We'd also like to know why vacation was so short. Thankfully, the Worlds are done for this year. However, there is always next year (Ack!!). There were two main points of contention in this year's championships, these being wheelguards and fire protection. With regards to these, the situation will remain the same until the rules are updated or changed entirely.
    On with the rest of the issue. Better late than never, we say.
 

Because of what happened this Summer, we were inspired to create some new equipment. Here follows the results of our labors.

Super High-Torque Motors (SHTMs): $400 per wheel, no weight or space.
    SHTMs double all acceleration and bonuses (including those generated by supercharger capacitors. Top speed also drops by 1/3, as with ordinary HTMs.

Upgraded Supercharger Capacitors: $1,000, 100 lbs, 1 space.
    USCs work as ISCs, except that their effect last for five turns. At the end of that time, one-third of the power plant's DP is lost due to overwork.

Improved Active Suspension: Costs $1,000 per wheel, weighs 5 lbs per wheel.
    This system can be mounted on all types of wheeled vehicles (including racing bodies, oversized vehicles and wheeled AFVs. It gives a +1 bonus to HC.

New Vehicle Type

Type	Cost	Weight	Max Load	Spaces	Armor Cost/Weight
Light Camper	$1,200	2,000 lbs.	5,500 lbs.	12 (+5)	20/10 lbs. per point

    This vehicle is a smaller, lighter version of the standard camper. It only needs four tires, and can use most power plants and engines. The light camper can use turrets of up to two spaces. It has the HC of a car, not a pick-up.
 

Speed, speed and more speed seems to be the trend this year, especially since the World Racing Championships were not held. On Mike Owen's Dueling Debate, a thread titled "The 5-second Challenge" was started. The object was to design a vehicle that could go as fast as possible in five seconds. The first entrants were from Norman McMullen. His vehicles were the Topper III and the Warp One J-2 (both of which were published last issue). Norman's designs are capable of reaching 335 mph in 5 seconds. Mike Garrity weighed in with the Space Shot and the Electric Rocket. These two can reach 375 mph in 5 seconds. With such designs available, we are forced to wonder what's next; 400 mph? 500 mph?
    New Omaha has been rather quiet of late. We still have the odd robbery or street duel to contend with. The Neo-ASPs haven't been seen in a long time, and BLUR's death races and cannonball runs have come and gone with little damage (at least in this area). Mayor Bill The Cat is still trying to figure out how to deal with a shortfall in the City's revenues. Could it be that the new dueling arenas in Iowa are draining away some much-needed cash? Who knows?
    Blaster Motors, Radius Motors and Death Knight Industries are geared up to produce cars for the World Dueling Championships. No big surprise here. The latest rumors in the dueling world are that they are working on new examples of vehicular death, to be released later this year.
    The report on the World Dueling Championships, as well as NOVA's road trip to Gen Con will be detailed in a special section of this issue. Also to be included will be our long-running Road-Kill Count.
    One of our long-time, on-again/off-again members, Adrian Shipley recently announced that he is going into the Army. Which is somewhat strange, considering that he spent a tour in the U.S Navy. One thing about Adrian's service in the Navy that we particularly like is that he served aboard USS Iowa.
 

NOVA's HQ
We have some good news on getting a new headquarters. Andy Koehler has offered to host our games at his new apartment. Now, the trick is to get everyone there.
    Hobby Town in La Vista, Nebraska is looking towards hosting gaming events on Saturday nights. Proposed games include Car Wars, Battletech, Ogre, and Star Fleet Battles. Things are definitely looking up for us on the gaming front.

NOVA Projects
Lately, we haven't made much progress on projects like we have in years past. Other commitments have come first. Mike has wanted to update the NOVA Works Catalog again, but why update it when there is enough material for a whole new version. We still want to do a NOVA flag, but getting a new HQ comes first. Our web site continues to grow, with more NightMessengers and Arenas/Racetracks being added each month. We'd like to mention that we're nearly caught up with adding past issues of the NightMessenger (wonder of wonders).

The Attack on America
We proudly stand behind our government after the vicious terrorist attacks which destroyed the Twin Towers in New York City and severely damaged the Pentagon. We also take note of the heroic actions of the passengers on the aircraft which crashed in Pennsylvania. Had they not gone after the hijackers, it is likely that either the White House itself or even the Capitol Building would have been destroyed. As Robert E. Lee might have put it, "God Rest their Brave Souls". Similar accolades are due to the police officers, firemen and rescue workers (especially those who gave their lives in the line of duty) who have done noble service in this time of crisis. Also, our most sincere condolences are offered to those who lost loved ones. The terrorists responsible for this barbarism have directly challenged the sovereign power of the United States of America, and will be dealt with accordingly.
    --Norman McMullen, NOVA President.
 

December 2001: Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Time Machine (re-make)

May 2002: Star Wars: Episode II

As a result of the attacks in New York City and elsewhere, the release of the newest Schwarzenegger pic has been shelved. The long-awaited big-screen version of Spider-Man is being delayed because images of the now-destroyed Twin Towers figure prominently in some scenes.

Prequels: Star Wars: Chapter III (Vader Rising??)--2005

Sequels: Batman Beyond, Batman 5, Alien 5, Star Trek 10, Terminator 3, Indiana Jones 4
 

Nuke-Con 11: October 5-7, 2001, at the Omaha Airport Ramada Inn. NOVA will run an Ob-Racing event here.

Origins 2002: July 4-7, 2002 in Columbus, Ohio. Possible site of the World Racing Championships.

Gen-Con 2002: August 8-11, 2002 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Possible site of the World Dueling Championships. This running of Gen Con will mark the end of an era, as the 'Con will be moving to Indianapolis in 2003.

Origins 2003: July, 2003 in Columbus, Ohio. Possible site of the World Racing Championships (assuming they don't get canceled again).

Gen Con 2003: August 21-24, 2003 in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is the first year in Gen Con's new location. Likely site of the World Dueling Championships.

Origins 2004: July, 2004 in Columbus, Ohio. Possible site of the World Racing Championships.

Gen Con 2004: August 19-22, 2004 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Possible site of the World Dueling Championships.
 

June 9, 2051: Marc Elliott of Radius Motors set a new electric-powered speed record in the quarter-mile today. At the KC-1 International Drag Strip today He used the newly-released Warp One J-2 to reach 335 mph.

July 13, 2051: Two death races started today. The first one began in New York City; the second one in Los Angeles. Law enforcement authorities were caught off-guard by the late start of the races, as they had believed the races would have been held in June. The combined death count from the two races already exceeds 200.

July 14, 2051: Death Knight Industries set a new gas-powered speed record at the KC-1 International Drag Strip with their new design, the Space Shot. It reached the astounding mark of 375 mph in 5 seconds, thus exceeding the record which had been held by Radius Motors for the past five years.

July 15, 2051: The death-count continued to climb today as the two death races reached their conclusion. Over the past three days, more than 600 people have been killed or injured by the racers. BLUR has announced that the winner will be crowned World Racing Champion. In a press release, the AADA commented that it would recognize neither the champion or the race.

July 21, 2051: More speed records were set today at the Aerodrome Racing Complex. Three cars reached the mark of 375 mph in 5 seconds. These vehicles were the Space Shot II from DKI and the Topper III-A & Warp One J-2 from Radius Motors. Afterwards, Radius Motors officials thanked DKI for their help in solving a five-year old problem. Afterwards, both companies threw a huge party to celebrate the achievement. The next question faced by both companies is whether or not they can crack 400 mph in 5 seconds.

For the record, we would like to state that propellers and the sound barrier don't mix. Propellers can't make an aircraft exceed the sound barrier because the propellers themselves are already traveling faster than the speed of sound.
    In Car Wars, the reverse is true. There are a number of prop-driven aircraft designs that are indeed capable of going mach-1 or better. To correct this, we suggest that prop-driven aircraft be required to make a propeller check once a turn when they go 650 mph or faster. The predictable results (i.e: horrible crashes) will ground all those propeller-based speed demons out there.
    In regards to ducted cowlings, these items are mounted on the rear of a fuselage or wing. This presents a good target for anyone firing into the rear arc. Anyone targeting the rear of an aircraft which mounts a ducted cowling has a 2 in 6 chance of actually hitting the propeller.
    For extra wings and other wing types, it is important to note that extra wings can't be combined with most other wing types. The only thing they are good for is extra HC. Extra wings can be combined with heavy-lift wings and STOL wings, however.
 

"Once you have tasted flight, you will walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return"
    --Leonardo Da Vinci

"Nothing happens unless first a dream"
    --Carl Sandburg

"Every dog has his day; I'm the dog and today's the day"
    --Unknown

"A vote is like a rifle. Its usefulness depends on the character of the user.
    --Theodore Roosevelt
 

Dungeons & Dragons
After 20 years, Gary Gygax finally got his movie. The plot (such of it as there was) has two thieves (Ridley & Snails) breaking into the School of Magic. They get caught up in a power struggle between the Young Queen and her Council of Mages. Dungeons are common in this waste of film, Dragons are even more so.
    It stars Jeremy Irons, Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans (Snails), Zoe McClellan, Thora Birch, Kristen Wilson, Bruce Payne, Tom Baker and Richard O'Brien. The storyline looks like it was strung together from quite a few disjointed adventure modules. If MST3K was still around, they'd skewer this flick without so much as a second thought. Rent it if you have a couple of hours to waste. The movie doesn't last that long, but you'll need the extra time to regain your sanity. *

Car Wars DVDs available
Deathrace 2000
Cannonball Run
Demolition Man
Every James Bond film ever made
The Road Warrior
Rollerball
Stripes
Gone in 60 Seconds (old & new versions)
Blue Thunder
 

This year's Gen Con went better than last year, but still had some of the same old issues. We did manage to get our favorite hotel (the Holiday Inn City Central), and our games were scheduled correctly. That is, scheduled correctly until the World Dueling Championships got into the act. This caused us to move our games around and even cancel one or two. One of the ones done away with was the scheduled battle with Space Godzilla. If these last-minute changes sound familiar, you are correct.
    The totals for our annual Road-Kill Count are as follows: 4 deer, 1 red lump, 2 smears, 1 dog, 4 raccoons, 3 unidentified, 1 squirrel, 1 cow udder (yes, you read correctly) and one wrecked camping trailer. Mike Garrity won the count this year. We had a Twilight Zone moment while traveling east on I-80 in Iowa. At mile marker 214, we had a rain shower which came out of a clear blue sky. We didn't know if this was an omen or not.

Just like last year, the attendance was low due to the previously-mentioned re-scheduling. The races themselves were exciting to say the least.

Round 1: Division-60 buses

Only Mike Garrity was there again, this time to defend his Tri-Racing title from last year. He raced a track driver who he let get ahead of him before the first lap was complete. Then, Mike opened up with his incendiary-loaded LMGs. These hits set the track driver's vehicle on fire one-third of the way through the second lap. Mike won the round when the track driver surrendered.

Round 2: Division-30 hovercraft

Mike Garrity and John Blaylock were the only entrants in this round. As in the first round, a track driver provided extra competition. To the amazement of all, the track driver lead the race into turn 2, then stopped to let Mike and John catch up. They passed the track driver going into the dog-leg turn; Mike had the lead. The track driver accelerated again and closed the distance. Everyone completed the first lap and combat commenced between Mike and John. Mike fired his LMGs into John's front armor, doing minor damage. This had the effect of causing John to lose control of his hovercraft. The vehicle vaulted and crashed, said crash doing enough damage to confetti it. The finishing positions were 1^st place: Mike Garrity, 2^nd place: track driver, 3^rd place: John Blaylock. Mike and John both pushed their power plants to reach 260 mph.

Round 3: Division-40 microplanes

Mike Garrity, John Blaylock and David Nelson were all ready to race. All accelerated around the pylons, and speeds exceeded 200 mph by the end of the first lap. Mike was in the lead, with John second and David in third place. Combat began going into the second lap. By the end of the third lap, only minor damage had been done. David then hit John's back armor, which caused enough damage to force a control roll. John failed the roll and went into a diving veer. He next attempted to do a minor turn. The additional stress snapped off his right wing and he crashed. Thus, David took second place and John fell to third. Mike won the round and the race, making it his second win of the Tri-Racing championship.

1^st round
1^st place: Mike Garrity (no points awarded), 1.33 laps completed
2^nd place: track driver

2^nd round
1^st place: Mike Garrity, 1.25 laps, 11 points
2^nd place: track driver, 1.2 laps
3^rd place: John Blaylock, 1.2 laps, 9 points

3^rd round
1^st place: Mike Garrity, 2 laps, 12 points
2^nd place: David Nelson, 1.8 laps, 10 points
3^rd place: John Blaylock, 1.8 laps, 9 points
 

Overall standings
1^st place: Mike Garrity--23 points, 3 rounds
2^nd place: John Blaylock--18 points, 2 rounds
3^rd place: David Nelson--10 points, 1 round
 

The WDC went as predicted, being just like a meat grinder. It was very nearly a full repeat of last year. John Blaylock successfully defended his title, and Eric Freeman ran the whole thing with hardly any changes. The only additions of note were the checkpoints used for breaking ties. The only player to score all of them was Norman McMullen. In the semi-finals, he did it with a car that had three rims and one tire remaining (at 60 mph).

The Preliminaries
The meat-grinder was working perfectly. In Norman's first prelim (Division-10), most of the kills were by ramming. Interestingly enough, only one car had a ram plate. The other rounds were just as bloody, with twenty-some players competing. Eric Freeman reported 51 players, but didn't count the players who went through two or more of them.

The Semi-Final
The pain continued to be dished out in vast amounts, with long and bloody duels in two separate Octagon Arenas. Some duellists died quickly, while others limped around for most of the action. Not a pretty sight either way.

The Final Round
The end is near (where have we heard this plot-line before?), and the pain is almost over. As was the case last year, the final round started almost an hour late (due to numerous delays). When we left around noontime, the were just starting the fourth turn of combat in what turned out to be a 28-turn event. We send our congratulations to John Blaylock on winning his second WDC title.
    I'm sure Eric Freeman will eventually get a write-up posted on the SJG site, detailing the whole affair. This would be after he returns from his honeymoon. No members of NOVA made it into the finals, as we didn't make the cut.
    The only problems with the Worlds were those that Eric brought with him. There was also a lack of trophies and prizes from SJG (no big surprise here).
 

In this issue, we feature the vehicles used in the events at Gen Con.

Red Bull: Streamlined mini-bus, x-hvy chassis, super truck power plant, 10 std racing slick truck tires, driver, VMG w/ explosive ammo B, HrSwc, 2 pairs OVAs, spoiler & airdam, roll cage, safety seat, HTMs, 10 pts FPCA on driver, 10 pts FPCA on power plant, Sloped Armor: F10, B10, R10, L10 (metal), T10, U10 (plastic), Acceleration: 2.5/5, HC: 3 (4 at 60 mph+), Top Speed: 180 mph, 13,025 lbs, $58,272.
    Option: Remove VMG. Add 2 LMGs w/ incendiary ammo, -250 lbs, -$450,
    Note: acceleration & top speed figures do not include the bonus from the HTMs

GEV-2: Streamlined standard hovercraft, super boat power plant w/ upgrades, 4 turbofans, 4 std skirts, pilot, 2 LMGs w/ incendiary ammo linked B, SWC, blow-through concealment for LMGs, improved vertical stabilizer, 10 pts CA on power plant, 10 pts CA on LMGs, 10 pts FPCA on thrust fans, 4 10-pt skirtguards, Sloped Armor: F10, B30, R10, L10, T0, U0. Acceleration: 15, HC: 4 (5 at 60 mph+), Top Speed: 237.5 mph, 7.600 lbs, $28,834.

Gold Metal: Small hovercraft, large boat power plant w/ upgrades, turbofans, 4 std skirts, pilot, 2 MGs w/ HD/tracer ammo (1 F, 1 B), hi-res computer, improved vertical stabilizer, Sloped FP Armor: F17, B17, R17, L17, T1, U1. Acceleration: 15, HC: 4 (5 at 60 mph+), Top Speed: 207.5 mph, 5.300 lbs, $24,434.

Bullet: Streamlined large mircoplane, small aircraft power plant w/ Scs, 2 microplane propellers w/ ducted cowlings (wing-mounted B), retractable landing gear w/ 3 std cycle tires, pilot, ejection seat, 1 pair of maneuver foils w/ ejectors, 10 points armor on ducted cowlings, 10 points armor on each foil, Armor: F25, B25, R20, L20, T10, U10. Acceleration: 20, HC: 4 (5 at 60 mph+), Top Speed: 700 mph, 5,997 lbs, $39,630.

I.D.K.: Medium microplane w/ improved tail assembly & swept wings, sport power plant w/ upgrades, 1 microplane propeller w/ ducted cowling, retractable landing gear w/ 2 std cycle tires, tail wheel, pilot, 2 linked MGs (1 in each wing; mounted F) w/ rotary magazines (10 shots HD-tracer ammo & 10 shots prox-fuzed explosive ammo), HrSwc, 1 pair maneuver foils w/ ejectors, dive brakes, Sloped FP Armor: F22, B21, R10, L10, T15, U16. Acceleration: 20, HC: 3 (4 at 60 mph+), Top Speed: 600 mph, 3,168 lbs, $33,067.

Boomer III-A: Large microplane w/ improved tail assembly & swept wings, 1 microplane propeller w/ ducted cowling (fuselage-mounted B), mini aircraft gas engine w/ 5-gallon gas tank, retractable landing gear w/ 3 HD cycle tires, pilot, VMG (F), SWC, 1 pair maneuver foils w/ ejectors, Armor: F52, B50, R50, L50, T50, U50. Acceleration: 15, HC: 3 (4 at 60 mph+), Top Speed: 407.5 mph, Base MPG: XX, 5,996 lbs, $39,011.
 

World Dueling Championship vehicles

Blitz III E-1: Compact, x-hvy chassis, hvy suspension, medium power plant w/ SCs, 4 PR snow tires, driver, RR w/ HESH ammo F, SD w/ explosive spikes B, SWC, bumper trigger (F), HTMs, Composite Armor: F12/15, B10/15, R10/15, L10/15, T0/3, U0/4. Acceleration: 5, HC: 3, Top Speed: 92.5 mph, 4,437 lbs, $9,961

Stranger III: Sedan, x-hvy chassis, hvy suspension, large power plant w/ PCs, 4 solid tires, driver, HSC (F), 2 SDs w/ explosive spikes (1 R, 1 L; both linked to HSC), SWC, 3 bumper triggers (1 F, 1 R, 1 B), HTMs, HD brakes, overdrive, Armor: F50, B50, R48, L48, T2, U4. Acceleration: 5, HC: 3, Top Speed: 92.5 mph, 6,118 lbs, $23,286.

BlastFighter 40A: Sedan w/ CA frame, x-hvy chassis, hvy suspension, large power plant w/ PCs, 4 PR radial tires, driver, BC w/ extra magazine F (all ammo is HESH), 200 lbs rocket booster B (gives 30 mph acceleration), bumper trigger (F), HD shocks, HTMs, spoiler & airdam, Composite Armor: F18/30, B7/20, R7/30, L7/30, T0/4, U0/5. Acceleration: 5, HC; 4 (5 at 60 mph +), Top Speed: 92.5 mph, 6,116 lbs, $29,597.

Rock Crusher: Compact. X-hvy chassis, hvy suspension, medium power plant w/ PCs, 4 HD tires, driver, ATG w/ APFSDS ammo F, SWC, HTMs, 4 10-pt wheelguards, Sloped Armor: F60, B40, R35, L35, T5, U6. Acceleration: 5, HC: 2, Top Speed: 92.5 mph, 4,306 lbs, $9,988.

Thunderbolt: Luxury, x-hvy chassis, hvy suspension, large power plant w/ SCs, 4 PR tires, driver, HSC (F), OJ w/ pyrophoric oil (B), SWC, 2 SfDs w/ bumper triggers (1 R, 1 L), 2 PDs (1 R, 1 L) linked to SfD, 10 pts CA on driver, 10 pts CA on power plant, 4 10-pt wheelguards, Sloped Armor: F65, B50, R40, L40, T5, U5. Acceleration: 5, HC: 2, Top Speed: 90 mph, 6,595 lbs, $24,590.

War Hammer 2051: Luxury w/ CA frame, x-hvy chassis, hvy suspension, large power plant w/ SCs, 4 PR radial tires, driver, 2 ATGs w/ APFSDS ammo linked F, OJ w/ pyrophoric oil B, SWC, 10 pts CA on driver, 10 pts CA on power plant, 4 10-pt wheelguards, Armor: F70, B60, R50, L50, T8, U9. Acceleration: 5, HC: 3, Top Speed: 90 mph, 6,535 lbs, $29,840.
 

This issue got completed late, however we still aim to improve. In our next issue, we will have more additions to Nuts & Bolts, more vehicle designs and still more ways to harm one's fellow man. Hopefully, there will be the odd duel report.

"DRIVE OFFENSIVELY"
 
 

Norman McMullen	Michael Garrity
NOVA President	NOVA Secretary

NOVA Works
    Super High-Torque Motors, Upgraded Supercharger Capacitors & Light Camper: Norman McMullen
    Improved Active Suspension: Mike Garrity & Norman McMullen

The 10 O'clock News: Norman McMullen

Nuts & Bolts: Norman McMullen

Quotes: Norman McMullen & Mike Garrity

Cube Logs: Norman McMullen & Michael Garrity

Gen Con Road Trip: Norman McMullen & Mike Garrity

The Showroom
    Red Bull, GEV-2, Bullet, Thunderbolt, Rock Crusher & War Hammer 2051 by Michael Garrity, Blitz III E-1, Stranger III, BlastFighter 40A & Boomer III-A: Norman McMullen, Gold Metal & I.D.K.: John Blaylock

Typesetting & Page Layout: Michael Garrity

Editor: Michael Garrity

The Nightmessenger is published quarterly by the New Omaha Vehicular Association, 2524 Madison St., Bellevue, NE
68005. All material is copyright 2001 by the New Omaha Vehicular Association. All rights reserved. Car Wars, Dueltrack,
Boat Wars, Car Warriors, Crash City, Truck Stop, Convoy, Uncle Albert's Catalog From Hell, Autoduel and AADA are
registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or are used under license. The above trademarks, and the
characters and situations of the Car Wars background are the exclusive property of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated and
are used in Nightmessenger under permission. Reproduction of any material published in the Nightmessenger without the
express written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Any reproduction of Car Wars articles published in the
Nightmessenger, or any unauthorized publication of fiction using the Car Wars background without the express written
permission of Steve Jackson Games is strictly prohibited. Subscription rates (for 4 issues) are: Regularly attending club
members: $4.00, U.S. subscribers: $6.00, International subscribers: $12.00.

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