Naming Idea

Build a homemade water gun or water balloon launcher and tell us about it.
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martianshark
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Naming Idea

Post by martianshark » Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:01 pm

You know how Nerf names their nerf guns? The Longshot CS 6 and pretty much every other modern nerf blaster is names like this:

Name|System|Ammo

Longshot|Clip System|Six


I was thinking we could name homemades like this. I made a PRH a while back that could be named something like "Killer-PR-25." The 25 stands for its shot time since water guns don't have solid pieces of ammo.

Do you think this is a good idea?

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Silence
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Re: Naming Idea

Post by Silence » Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:23 pm

Are you sure shot time is the most important metric? I'd lean towards range (flat and angled). Or what about output (in X's). Maybe the name could include all three?

I think you see where I'm going with this. Pick a metric to put in the name if you want (I think Killer-PR-25 sounds fine), but the simplest way to convey more information is by linking to the info page for said homemade, e.g. Killer.

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zeda.beta
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Re: Naming Idea

Post by zeda.beta » Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:15 pm

Yeah, naming might be helpful, but links are better. That way you can give exact details instead of one fact about said homemade.
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martianshark
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Re: Naming Idea

Post by martianshark » Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:09 pm

I think shot time would be the best thing to put in it because it's the most ammo-like stat, like in the Nerf naming system. I think adding all three will make the name too long. because than it would be the Killer-PR-25-50-5.

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cantab
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Re: Naming Idea

Post by cantab » Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:52 pm

I would distinguish two types of numbers. 'Design values' are things you know when the blaster is still a blueprint. PC capacity, reservoir capacity, nozzle size, etc. Also non-numeric aspects like pressurisation technology and trigger type.

'Performance values' are stuff like range, output, shot time. You can't know these until building the blaster

I'm not going to say you should use one rather than the other.

Another thing to bear in mind is that some aspects change with the nozzle.

I might try the following:

Brand/maker Txy r/o 'Nickname'

T is the type - A for an APH, C for a CPH, others maybe
x is the pressure chamber capacity. I'm thinking pints as good units, keep it single figures usually while giving a not-too-coarse figure. Round to the nearest, meaning PCs smaller than half a pint get rated '0'
y is the reservoir capacity of an ONBOARD reservoir only (so 0 if there is no reservoir or a tiny one).
In the case of pressurised reservoir blasters, only one number is given of course.
There are some situations, if either x or y or both are 10 or more, where there is ambiguity. In such cases, consider separating them with a hyphen.

r is the range in feet, o is the output in fluid ounces per second. 'Nickname' is a commonly used name. r/o and the nickname are considered 'secondary' and can be dropped.

Existing blasters can be renamed according to this scheme, eg

Ben's P100 75/135 'SuperCannon II'
Super Soaker A02 30/1 'XP 70'

In colloquial terms, you could refer to "Ben's P100" and it will be fine as long as he doesn't make another piston gun with a ten pint pressure chamber and no onboard reservoir. If, however, he did - and perhaps it was say an over-under design - then you get ambiguity, but that's where the nickname comes in.

I'll be honest, I'm unlikely to use anything like this if I make homemades. I'll just give them names, chosen with a theme.
I work on Windows. My toolbox is Linux.
Arsenal:
Super Soaker: XP215, 2xXP220, Liquidator, Aquashock Secret Strike M(odded), Arctic Blast M, CPS1200, CPS2100, SC Power Pak, 3l aquapack, 1.5l aquapack
Water Warriors: Jet, Sting Ray M, Shark, Argon M, Tiger Shark, PulseMaster
Others: Waterbolt, The Blaster, Storm 500, Shield Blaster 2000, generic PR gun, generic backpack piston pumper (broken), 3l garden sprayer M, 10l water carrier:

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C-A_99
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Re: Naming Idea

Post by C-A_99 » Wed Jun 30, 2010 11:16 pm

I usually do names by series and "model", or number though I don't really have a set system for naming. For WBL's, I go by series followed by a number-letter which is determined by barrel length, PC length, bore, and valve. For water blasters, I just go with a similar method Larami used, making random numbers though it's a bit more ordered; size has an influence on the numbers used otherwise it's mostly random. I currently classify my only CPH as the CPH1800 for example.

In the end I may disfavor any elaborate, descriptive system. During the WWII era, at least three important weapons had the same "M1" designation; the Garand, M1/M1A1 Carbine, and the Thompson. It seems that later weapons had some differences in naming; the successor to the Garand was the M14, and after the AR15 was adopted, the military designated it as the M16.

Nerf's letter/number names are pretty bad, bad enough that no one uses them. CS6 refers to any line of 6-dart magazine fed blasters (which Nerf keeps on insisting on calling them clips) and uses bolt action/spring. Because of the misnomer in "CS6" ("Clip System 6" when it quite obviously doesn't even use clips) and the fact that they're making more and more blasters use the same name (or same convention, like CS35 for blasters that come with the large 35-dart drum magazine), I take no regard to any of their naming conventions.

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martianshark
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Re: Naming Idea

Post by martianshark » Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:12 am

I think cantab's way is too complex and long. I like the Nerf way better. Also, I think the nickname should come first and the maker part doesn't need to be there at all. I also think I'll change it to ouput so that it says how powerful it actually is.

I also think I'll change it to ouput so that it says how powerful it actually is. By the way you could name an existing gun with the Nerf way too (I'm mostly doing this for fun):

Super Soaker-EB-20 (CPS 2000)
Ben-AP-23 (Ben's APH)
Vanquisher-EB-3 (Vanquisher)
Master-S-2.5 (Pulse Master)
Rattler-P-0.7

Note: I guessed the output on most of these.

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DX
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Re: Naming Idea

Post by DX » Thu Jul 01, 2010 4:37 am

Output isn't even a good metric. Compare the 20x on a CPS 2500 and then on a CPS 3000 and tell me if they look equal...the 2500 should never have been outfitted with a 20x, it can't handle it.

In theory, I use an abbreviation for the type of pressure system, followed by a number signifying the size of the pipe. AP 3000 would be air pressure with 3" pcs and reservoir. I say in theory because the AP line was never completed. I only finished the AP3K and it needed improvements, particularly in the pump shaft and handle. Perhaps something to revisit?

I think people should use whatever naming convention works for them. It shouldn't be standardized unless people make the same homemades. There is almost always some kind of variation form person to person, though.
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C-A_99
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Re: Naming Idea

Post by C-A_99 » Thu Jul 01, 2010 5:32 am

@shark: What I meant is that no one calls the Longshot the CS-6 because "CS-6" could refer to any of the several CS-6's they made. (I also don't call it CS-6 because it doesn't use a clip system, though we already had that discussion.) The way they went with those names is just no good as I showed earlier.

I may eventually throw out my naming conventions for my WBL's. The PWN (Pneumatic Waterballoon lauNcher) acronym is the only part worth keeping. Hey, it's no more silly than the... "Douchenator" =p (Which, I gotta say, I've shown that around with some friends and they love it. Only thing is, my original 3" bore WBL is no longer a Douchenator anymore since I reconfigured it to over/under after being sick of carrying it around full length. This saddens some of my friends but it's a lot nicer for me.)

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zeda.beta
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Re: Naming Idea

Post by zeda.beta » Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:44 pm

Yeah, everybody has their own system, and I feel that we can all bear with a post even if it takes an extra line or two to make a very clear point.
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
Quack damn you.

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cantab
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Re: Naming Idea

Post by cantab » Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:55 pm

DX wrote:Output isn't even a good metric. Compare the 20x on a CPS 2500 and then on a CPS 3000 and tell me if they look equal
Well according to isoaker's measurements, they're NOT equal. The 2500 is a measured 23X, while the 3000 is a measured 17X.
I work on Windows. My toolbox is Linux.
Arsenal:
Super Soaker: XP215, 2xXP220, Liquidator, Aquashock Secret Strike M(odded), Arctic Blast M, CPS1200, CPS2100, SC Power Pak, 3l aquapack, 1.5l aquapack
Water Warriors: Jet, Sting Ray M, Shark, Argon M, Tiger Shark, PulseMaster
Others: Waterbolt, The Blaster, Storm 500, Shield Blaster 2000, generic PR gun, generic backpack piston pumper (broken), 3l garden sprayer M, 10l water carrier:

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