Sunday, January 5, 2014

LTAR-AR Project

Today we've got a "Mod Night" at my home in preparation for our upcoming Laser Tag game at "The Base".  My primary focus will be working on enhancements to my first LTAR-based testbed.  We've been calling the Lazer Tag Augmented Reality blaster by phonetically pronouncing it's abbreviation.  LTAR (El Tar)... which sort of sounds like "The Tar" in spanglish.  Regardless, all my custom LTX blasters had some kind of name to 'em.  The LTX DMR and LTX EF5 worked fine.  The DMR is obvious (Designated Marksman Rifle).  The EF5 was used for the name of the strongest type of Tornado classification on the Enhanced Fujita scale because it was built from a Super Soaker Tornado Strike.  Since the LTAR has a sillier name, I thought I'd get a little silly with it.  The LTAR-AR is the Laser Tag Augmented Reality - Assault Rifle.  When all is said and done, the full name sounds legit while the abbreviation sounds like "El Tar Arr" phonetically.  Yes, it's important to spend time thinking about names for these things.  Don't ask me why.  It just is.



The LTAR-AR will be just that: an Assault Rifle variant of the standard-issue LTAR.  It will utilize a combination of add-on parts, like the lens adapter that Eleri developed, a modified battery door that mounts an N-Strike Stock Adapter, and will have other devices added to it.  When completed, the LTAR-AR will be a solid rifle with great accuracy, change-on-the-fly options, and will be able to be used by any player familiar with the base LTAR's controls.  This will make it not only easier to develop (and potentially make more of) but will also mean that normal players will be able to use it without the need to brief them on it's functions.  It simply enhances the range and usability of the standard blaster.  The LTAR-AR is less of a custom blaster specifically for my use (like other blasters have been before) but ore of a step in the direction of the promotion of players in our group to seek out customizing their own blasters with these easy add-on parts.

The goal is also to promote laser tag abroad by making 3D parts available for other modders to purchase for their blasters.  As a whole, we hope this will be an easy way for folks to modify their blasters and encourage future modifications!

1 comment:

  1. When the 3D models are available online be sure to mention it! The stock adapter looks pretty nice.

    Speaking of stocks... I just picked up a Revonix 360 and in the manual the diagrams all include a stock. By the looks of it, it was meant to be a rather chunky looking adjustable thing. Having used the blaster, I wouldn't put a stock on it anyway, since it feels to good to hold it like a classic gangster would hold a machine gun. It's nice to know that there are stocks being designed, but it'd be great if Hasbro would actually produce some.

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