Fall seems to be early this year, with its cooler weather (unless this happens to be an Indian Summer). Car Wars 5^th Edition is here finally, although in actual fact it has been here for months. More on this later.   
    We're still trying to find out who won the CW5 Worlds; there are quite a few rumors flying around but nothing solid as yet.
    ASP and Texas are at war with each other, making things quite messy for all those involved. Death Knight has even offered his personal assistance. BLUR has run its Cannonball Run and Deathrace again with predictable and deadly results. Interestingly enough, the AADA is now looking into the possibility of legal Cannonball Runs. Not surprisingly, BLUR is dead-set against the idea.
    NOVA has made its annual pilgrimage to Gen Con and back again. The write-up is later on in this issue.

I was planning to put the Submarines in this issue, but the idea took on a life of its own. It is still growing, and i didn't want to double the size of the newsletter for just one section (although we have done it before on rare occasions). So, it will be posted on the website when it is complete. The article started out as just a few pages and quickly grew from there, unlike the subs presented in Operation: No Shoulders (Stormy Weather) which were a drop in the bucket compared to what we are working on. Who knew that submarines were so complex.

Powered Armor: 4x cost, 1.5x weight of personal armor system, maximum of 60 points
    This item is identical to a personal armor system, except that it has a power-assist system to carry the weight. Power armor is effectively weightless for the purpose
of encumbrance. The wearer can also carry up to 100 lbs extra with no encumbrance also The armor's rechargeable battery will power it for up to 72 hours .

We still don't know who the new World Dueling Champion yet. No word from SJG, just lots of rumors floating around on the Dueling debate board. The various chapters of the AADA should be renewing their charters soon. The vehicle design book for CW 5^th Edition is not out yet, neither was it at Origins or Gen Con. It looks as if SJG is running late again.
    ASP is at war with Texas and the AADA, with the Mongoose, King Cobra and DEATH all being involved in the conflict. From all reports, ASP is losing the conflict rather badly. The Black ASP isn't taking his losses very well. Some have commented that "He's the idiot who started it".
    SJG is coming out with Autoduel Times, a web-based Car Wars newsletter. The AADA will also make its official return with this publication. Presently, the only official is Eric Freeman (a situation that cries out for "adjustment"); who is the head referee. Autoduel Times is set to launch this fall. We will keep you apprised

June ^3rd, 2052: BLUR's annual Cannonball Run started in New York City today, tearing its way through pre-rush hour traffic onto the open highways. A nationwide alert was sent out to all State Patrol agencies. The first 24 hours saw over 200 accidents and at least 20 fatalities attributed to the Cannonballers.

June 4^th, 2052: The Cannonballers screamed through the Midwest at speeds exceeding 120 mph. In order to foil pursuit, they split up and went through Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota. The group that attempted to go through Nebraska was apprehended just west of New Omaha by the Death Knight (riding his new vehicle; the "Death Tank") and a squad of NOPD officers in battlesuits). The other states were not so fortunate; several hundred accidents and over 100 fatalities were the result. To combat this reckless campaign of high-speed destruction, the AADA announced plans to begin a legal Cannonball Run of its own next year. Predictably, BLUR denounced this.

June 5^th, 2052: The Cannonballers made it to Los Angeles with less than one-half of their original number. The cost to the public-at-large was hundreds of accidents and over 100 fatalities. In response to this, Police Commissioner Death Knight announced a reward of $100,000 for the arrest and conviction of each and every Cannonballer. The rewards will be paid out from his own pocket. BLUR thumbed its nose at this announcement, calling the latest Cannonball Run a great success.

June 20^th, 2052: The Texas National Guard stopped an ASP assault on Waco, Texas. Most people think that ASP was out to disrupt oil production in the area.

June 25^th, 2052: An ASP attack on Houston, Texas was thrown back by the Texas National Guard. The battle inflicted significant damage on the Memorial Park area.

July 1^st, 2052: Austin, Texas was rocked by a bomb blast that damaged the Texas Capitol Building and AADA headquarters. As a result, the governor of Texas has declared war on ASP. The AADA soon followed with its own declaration.

July 3^rd, 2052: The Texas National Guard destroyed an ASP base outside of San Antonio. ASP casualties are said to be very heavy.

July 5^th, 2052: BLUR's Deathrace began in Los Angeles just as rush hour was ending. Hundreds of accidents were caused, along with large numbers of casualties. The California Highway Patrol destroyed over a dozen of the racers before they managed to escape.

July 6^th, 2052: ASP and the Texas National Guard battled in the ruins of Dallas, with both sides taking substantial casualties. At the same time, the Deathracers cut a bloody swath through parts of Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. Forty of them were destroyed or otherwise apprehended by various police departments.

July 7^th, 2052: The Deathrace ended in Norfolk, Virginia today, with less than one-quarter of the original racers crossing the finish line. Those that did escaped before the State Police arrived to arrest them.

July 10^th, 2052: ASP and the Texas National Guard clashed again, this time near Amarillo, Texas. The ASP force was almost completely destroyed. Texas National Guard officials called this action a turning point in the war against ASP.

July 16^th, 2052: The Texas National Guard wiped out an ASP task force outside of Beaumont, Texas. The Black Asp openly blamed the Mongoose and the King Cobra for ASP's recent losses. General Espinosa was reported to have said "What kind of terrorist uses laser-reflective armor anyway? They even put it on their tanks. No wonder they are losing the war".

July 21^st, 2052: ASP got badly mangled in an attack on Reid, Texas. The Texas National Guard was waiting for them. Early reports are that ASP suffered 100% losses in the attack, while the Guard troops only took 3%.

August, 3^rd, 2052: An ASP task force got mangled again, this time near Midland/Odessa, Texas by city defenses and National Guard troops. The Black Asp again blamed the King Cobra for his losses.

August 14^th, 2052: Kingsville, Texas successfully repulsed an ASP attack today. The Texas National Guard arrived too late to be of any assistance

August 26^th, 2052: ASP mounted a major assault in Corpus Christi, Texas today. They managed to take over most of the city, with the Black Asp claiming victory in the war with Texas.

August, 27^th, 2052: The citizens of Corpus Christi rose up against ASP and took back the city from ASP control today. Shore bombardment form the Texas Naval Guard destroyed several blocks of the city during the fighting. The Black Asp managed to escape during the fighting.

August 31^st, 2052: The ports of Galveston/Texas City were badly damaged when an oil tanker exploded at its moorings. The Black Asp claimed responsibility for the explosion. Over 100 dockworkers were killed in the blast, with a further 500 injured.

November 22^nd: Die Another Day (40^th anniversary Bond film; 20^th film in the series)

December 13th: Star Trek : Nemesis (10^th film in the series and 4^th Next-Gen film)

December 18^th: The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers (2 ^nd film in the series)

Summer 2003: Matrix 2, The Incredible Hulk

Christmas 2003: The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King

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

Sequels: Spider Man 2, Terminator 3, Matrix 3, Batman 5, Aliens 5

On Cubes: Super Troopers, Showtime, The Time Machine, The Accidental Spy (Jackie Chan), Resident Evil, Clockstoppers, The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Collateral Damage, Blade 2.

Origins 2003: Columbus, OH, June 26-29, 2003; possible site of the Dueling Worlds

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

Here are some projects that we have in the works. They are in various stages of completion.

Submarine article: Fall 2002

NOVA Works 2053 Catalog: Summer 2003

Godzilla Article: Fall 2003

Modular Speedway System: Spring 2003

Who's Afraid of an Ogre: 2004

New Vehicles Article: 2004

Since NOVA has been on the web, our return fire have been getting more and more interesting. People have asked us about building Go-Karts or even real race tracks. However, this one just takes the cake.

Subject: Death Knight Industries
From: "Louise Ferguson"<llcat@earthlink.net>
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 10:44:39 -0700
To: drjake@novia.net

I was told that Death Knight Industries was opening a site in Titusville, Florida in the old Boeing building. I am trying to send them a resume', but I haven't had a lot of luck finding a web address. I wonder if you could assist me.

Sincerely:

Louise Ferguson

I wonder if this person will be disappointed to find out that DKI is a fictional construct. It is to laugh......

In a stunning display of non-Einsteinian physics, the entire contents of this section have disappeared into the unknown reaches of time and space. It is expected to re-materialize for next issue.

QUOTES

"When luck enters, give him a seat"
--Old Jewish proverb

"A man forced against his will is of the same mind still"
--Unknown

""Success is the reward for failures not forgotten"
--Harold Wapp

"Yeah, big badda boom"
--Korben Dallas: The Fifth Element

"I'm free, I'm free and I am waiting for you to follow me"
--Tommy: The Who

"Life is like a movie; write your own ending and keep believing"
--The Muppet Movie

"We have met the enemy and he is us"
--Pogo

Adrian Shipley, Marty Koehler, John Smythe, Norman McMullen and Andy Koehler attended this duel at Milford Arena. This event was notable because Adrian bring in a couple of cycles instead of a single car.
    Everyone started at 30 mph. John and Norman went towards each other. John fired a pair of laser-guided heavy rockets at Norman's front armor. One hit and did only minor damage. Norman dropped spikes and returned fire with his blast cannon, doing major damage to John's front. John then turned to the northern end of the arena to engage Marty and Adrian, while Norman circled the southwest obstacle to attack Andy.
    Adrian's cycles attacked John; his blast cannon missed, as did two of John's laser-guided rockets. Adrian's second cycle hit with its machine gun, only doing minor damage to John's front armor. John moved to ram Adrian's first cycle, but it jumped over John's car using the car's sloped armor as a ramp. Marty closed in on Adrian's cycles and fired his sonic cannon, thus destroying both cycle power plants. This was the first kill of the event. Adrian surrendered and went out the nearest gate.
    Andy and Norman exchanged blast cannon fire behind the southwest obstacle, doing moderate damage to each other. Norman also dropped spikes to block the passageway. This caused Andy to take some tire damage from the spikes (which were explosive). John and Marty circled the obstacles only to find Norman and Andy emerging from the southwest corner.
    Marty and Norman traded shots with each other near the TV tower, doing moderate damage to each other. At the same time, John and Andy did the same. John's last two heavy rockets hit Andy but did no damage, while Andy's blast cannon did moderate damage to John's front armor.
    Everyone turned to re-engage each other. Norman and Andy went at each other head-on, trading blast cannon shots as the went. Norman's armor was breached and his blast cannon was destroyed. He then surrendered to Andy. Next, Andy met up with John and fired his blast cannon into John's front armor. This shot breached the armor and caused John to surrender to Andy. Time expired and Andy was named the victor of this nearly-bloodless duel.

Elapsed time: 15 turns

Finishing Positions:

1^st place: Andy Koehler: accepted surrenders from Norman and John, used FightBlaster C-2

2^nd place: Marty Koehler: accepted surrender from Adrian, used Loud Paint

3^rd place: John Smythe, surrendered to Andy, used Bullseye L-2

4^th place: Norman McMullen: surrendered to Andy, used FightBlaster F

5^th place: Adrian Shipley, surrendered to Andy, used Hyena and Master-Blaster

It seems as if NOVA duels have become more civilized ever since Mike Garrity moved to Arizona; more of us seem to be living through them.....:-)

The Scenic Route

This running of Gen Con marked the end of an era, as it was the last one to be held in Milwaukee. We took the scenic route and saw more of the convention than we had in previous years. We found things like the Hong Kong Theater (with its assortment of Kung Fu films like "Shaolin Soccer"), the RPG rooms and of course the Klingon Jail.
    This year, the crew consisted of Norman McMullen, Don Jacques and James Davis. Adrian Shipley originally said he wanted to travel with us, but went by himself for his own reasons. He did let us borrow one of his GPS Street Pilots to help us get there and back.
    The trip there and back was very long, as Mike Garrity no longer lived in Iowa and therefore we couldn't stop over at his place as we had done in years past; otherwise it was routine. We got mixed up around the Quad Cities on the way there, however. The total road kill count was ten (mainly squirrels and possums), including two deer. One of these was on I-80 in eastern Iowa.
    Our accommodations were at the Four Points Sheraton near the airport, meaning that we had to commute to MECCA every day. Repairs on the streets and highways in Milwaukee are about ten years behind. One night at 11:30 PM we hit a traffic jam caused by road re-paving. It closed down all four lanes of traffic for several miles and required us to make several detours in order to get back to the hotel.

Events

There was a total of four Car wars events at Gen Con this year, which is average considering what went on the last few years. We didn't have to fight the overly-complex running of the Worlds, but did have to content with the various card games for table space. While we were there, the old arena across the street from MECCA was being demolished. This arena was where the card games would have been held in years past. This year, the card games were moved into the Miniatures Hall. We also later found out about internal disputes with the Gen Con organizers.

Car Wars: Who needs physics Part 2?

This was a Matchbox-scale event set in a city-like arena built using Con-necs blocks, and using Compendium 2.5 rules. The event was well-attended, with all rounds full to capacity. All vehicles were pre-generated; all a player had to do was to pick one and start duelling. Some of the more memorable moments were the duels which took place under the overpass that took up nearly a third of the entire map. These resulted in a number of fatalities. The event was run by Rogue Judges.

Wildstar's Weekend Warriors

This Matchbox-scale event was the only one at Gen Con which was run using 5^th-edition Car Wars rules. It was set in a box arena, with Battlebots at the corners and at the center. It was moderately attended and was run by Tanya Ellenburg-Kimmet

Capture the Flag

A classic scenario, set in a city and run by Game base 7. As i did not attend this one, I don't know much about it, other than it was run with Compendium-II rules.

Tri-Racing Challenge

This was yet another running of NOVA's racing event. This year, it was Division-10; the vehicles used were cycles, cars and aquabikes. Regular Car Wars scale was used throughout, along with Compendium 2.5 rules. For one reason or another, there were only two players throughout the entire event (Don Jacques and Chris; last name unknown).

    1^st Round: Cycles

Run at the Car Wars Classic racetrack Eureka Racearena in Eureka, California. The layout was like a half-oval with an interior turn. Don got pole position, with Chris on the outside and the track driver behind in the second row. Chris took the lead from Don on the back straightaway, then lost it to the track driver on the interior turns. Chris and Don spun out coming out of the apex of the interior V-turn, which meant that the track driver technically won this round. Officially speaking though, Chris took first place, Don was in second and the track driver came in third place with one and one-third laps completed. Chris and Don traded MML fire in the interior turns; this is what caused them to spin out.

    2^nd Round: Aquabikes

Don Jacques was the only one to show for this round, held at the Provo Aquaduel Stadium. He raced against the track driver. Don took the lead and never gave it up. After the first lap, he managed to blast through the track driver's front armor on the back straightaway. The track driver quickly sank while moving at 105 mph. Don won the race, having completed 1 3/4 laps.

    3^rd Round: Snowmobiles

This round was held at the Car Wars Classic Racetrack, with the same configuration as the first round. As in the second round, Don was the only player to show up. Don had the pole position, but lost it to the track driver on the back straightaway. The track driver's luck didn't last, as he lost control and spun out into the wall at 160 mph while coming out of the interior turns. Don made it through the turns only to spin out on the back straightaway, slamming into the wall at 120 mph. Don won this event, with 1 3/4 laps.

Overall, Don won the Tri-Racing Challenge. Due to poor attendance, the Challenge will be retired for the time being.

Exhibit Hall

This was as crazy as it had been in recent years. SJG shared a booth with Atlas Games again. They ahd the Car Wars division packs available, but now vehicle design books. The arena book #1 and the Division-5 book was available, along with Aeroduel and the Road Atlas for the Mountain West. New Ogre stuff now includes: Battlefields, Scenario Book 1 and the Ogrethulhu miniatures. Shockwave and Reinforcement packs are available for Classic Ogre players.

Next year, Gen Con will be in Indianapolis. There has been much talk on the Debate Board about having the Racing Worlds there. This is especially attractive, as the Con will be in the shadow of the Brickyard. NOVA has not decided to attend yet.

Super Troopers
    Not to be confused with Storm Troopers. A bunch of Vermont State Troopers (Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Hefferman, Steve Lemme and Paul Soter) pull over more laughs than speeders. Their rivalry with local police turns ugly sometimes. This film is good for laughs, so rent it for that purpose alone. Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) makes a cameo appearance as the governor of Vermont.**

Showtime
    Mitch (Robert DeNiro) and Trey (Eddie Murphy) are real cops forced to do a reality cop show while trying to solve a case. Rene Russo and William Shatner are the producers doing the show. One notable feature is that the villains are using automatic shotguns which fire armor-piercing ammo (can you say 'anti-vehicular shotgun'?). Surprisingly, this film is very good; funny, witty and with lots of action****

The Accidental Spy
    Is Jackie Chan the son of a Korean double-agent? No one knows for sure. All that is ceratin is that everybody is after him; the CIA, Colombian drug lords and some other unsavory types. The movie goes from Hong Kong to Turkey with a few premature endings thrown in. It stars Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang and Vivian Hsu. It is an average Chan film.**

Resident Evil
    Alice (Milla Jovanovich) wakes up in a mansion that conceals a secret entrance to an underground R & D lab. A virus has been unleashed in the lab; Alice and a team of comandos must penetrate the lab and shut down the main computer (which turns out to be a rather huge mistake on their part). Along the way, the team battles zombies and genetically-altered monsters. This film is based on the popular computer game of the same name. It is an OK film, filled with action and suspense. Definitely not one to be watched alone at night.**

Collateral Damage
    Arnie is Gordy Brewer, a firefighter who loses his wife and son to a terrorist attack, said attack being carried out by a terrorist known as El Lobo (The Wolf). In typical fashion, Arnie wipes out the terrorists in a predictably-explosive manner. This movie was notable for the fact that its release was delayed for some months because of the events of September 11 ^th, 2001. It has a rather slow pace, even though it tries hard to make up for it**

The Imposter
    It is 2079, and the Earth is at war with aliens (again). Spence Olham (Gary Sinise) is a scientist working on the R & D effort in support of the war..One day, he is arrested and accused of being an alien cyborg. Is he or is he not human? That is the question of the day. The film is based on the novel by Phillip K. Dick. It also stars
Madeline Stowe, Vincent D'Onofrio and Mekhi Phifer. The overall feel of this movie is like an episode of The Twilight Zone.*

Jetstream III-C: Streamlined hvy cycle, hvy suspension, super trike power plant w/ upgrades, 2 PR racing slick cycle tires, cyclist, MML (located F or B), Armor: F27, B27, Acceleration: 15, HC: 4, Top Speed: 202.5 mph, 1,299 lbs, $9,698.

Jetstream III-D: Streamlined hvy cycle, hvy suspension, 150-ci gas engine w/ tubular headers & 5-gallon economy tank, 2 PR racing slick cycle tires, cyclist, MML (F or B), SWC, Armor: F14, B13, Acceleration: 15, HC: 4, Top Speed: 160 mph, Base MPG: 45, 1,297 lbs, $9,784.

Swordfish III-B: Streamlined hvy aquabike, super trike power plant w/ SCs, pilot, MML (F or B), HrSwc, Armor: F7, B6, U7. Acceleration: 15, HC: 2, Top Speed: 157.5 mph, 895 lbs, $9,240.

Swordfish III-E: Streamlined hvy aquabike, 150-ci gas engine w/ tubular headers & 5-gallon economy tank, pilot, MML (F or B), HrSwc, Armor: F7, B6, U6. Acceleration: 15, HC: 2, Top Speed: 120 mph, Base MPG: 45, 899 lbs, $9,438.

Chinook III: Streamlined hvy snowmobile, super trike power plant w/ PCs, super skids, HD tracks, driver, MML (F or B), HrSwc, Armor: F19, B19, Acceleration: 15, HC: 3, Top Speed: 202.5 mph, 1,198 lbs, $9,481.

Chinook III-B: Streamlined hvy snowmobile, 150-ci gas engine w/ 5-gallon economy tank, super skids, HD tracks, driver, MML (F or B), HrSwc, Armor: F5, B6. Acceleration: 15, HC: 3, Top Speed: 162.5 mph, Base MPG: 45, 1,196 lbs, $9,767.

Rolling Thunder: Streamlined mini-bus, x-hvy chassis, bluprinted small gas truck engine w/ tubular headers, truck turbocharger & 25-gallon racing tank, 10 solid truck tires, driver & gunner, HSC w/ tight-beam modifications F, HDOJ w/ 2 extra magazines B (all ammo is pyrophoric), SWC, 3 laser batteries, roll cage, 2 safety seats, HD shocks, 6 10-pt wheel hubs, 6 10-pt wheelguards, Sloped Armor: F100 (ram plate), B60, R55, L55, T20, U22. Acceleration: 2.5/5/10, HC: 1, Top Speed: 130 mph, Base MPG: 12, 14,398 lbs, $99,832

Thunder Tank
    Turret: 50-space AFV turret, long-barreled MC w/ weapon-auto stabilization, MSC w/ weapon-auto stabilization, gunner, hi-res computer, IR-laser rangefinder, safety seat, 4 corner-mounted hot smoke projectors, 2 HsD (T), 4 laser-reactive webs (F, B, R, L) linked to hot smoke projectors, laser-reactive web (T) linked to HsD, 30 charges reactive armor, 50% turret armor sloping, Composite Armor: F200/200 (20%), B75/120 (10%), R90/120 (10%), L90/120 (10%), T50/75.
    Hull: 150-space AFV hull, giant AFV power plant, driver & 2 crew, 5 extra magazines for MC, 21 laser batteries, NBC/IR shielding, light amplification, military radio, telescopic optics, 50% hull armor sloping, Composite Armor: F300/400 (20%), B75/120 (10%), RF90/120 (10%), RB90/120 (10%), LF90/120 (10%), LB90/120 (10%), TF50/75, TB: Turret,, UF15/20, UB15/20.
Acceleration: 2.5/5, HC: 5, Top Speed: 67.5 mph, 132,740 lbs, $2,120,440.

Make the best of today, because you can't go back and change it. We now close yet another issue of the NightMessenger. I am quite sure there will be more of our craziness in the next issue. With the way things have been developing in the world of Car Wars, it is sure to be interesting.

"DRIVE OFFENSIVELY"

Norman McMullen Michael Garrity

NOVA President NOVA Secretary

NOVA Works: Michael Garrity

The 10 O'clock News: Norman McMullen

Return Fire: Norman McMullen

Quotes: Norman McMullen

Cube Logs: Norman McMullen

The Showroom
    Jetstream III-C, Swordfish III-B, Swordfish III-E, Chinook III, Chinook III-B: Norman McMullen, Rolling Thunder & Thunder Tank: Michael Garrity

Typesetting & Page Layout: Michael Garrity

Editor: Michael Garrity

All other sections: Norman McMullen