Soaker Balls!

Threads related to water balloon launchers.
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martianshark
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Soaker Balls!

Post by martianshark » Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:33 pm

Why hasn't anyone thought of using soaker balls instead of water balloons in launchers? You don't have to fill them, they're soft and safe, they're light, and because they can't pop, you could probably launch it a mile! You could even use a mauler valve to make it go even further and make the launcher smaller! Plus, they're cheap and reusable. The only drawback I can think of is that they probably wouldn't soak you quite as much.

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soakernerd
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by soakernerd » Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:45 pm

The main benefit to a WBL is that it doesn't have to be a direct hit to soak you. Soaker balls will only soak you if it impacts you. My friends and I sometimes have wars with just sponges, throwing them at each other. In that kind of situation, a soaker ball might work. But it is easier and cheaper to use water balloons.

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zeda.beta
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by zeda.beta » Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:04 pm

And if you shot the soaker ball out of a launcher, it would lose much of its water going out of the barrel and traveling through the air, so it would do the same thing as a SS 10
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martianshark
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by martianshark » Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:49 pm

Okay, that's three more cons, although because it's light and can't pop, it would probably be easier to get a direct hit. I think I'll make a "soaker ball launcher" and see if it's any good.

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cantab
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by cantab » Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:57 pm

That they won't pop is a good point. It might well make such things a good candidate for the absolute maximum range water weapon. Such a weapon would have no battle value, inevitably being inaccurate, slow to reload, and not capable of soaking much - but it's about the technical achievement.
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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martianshark
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by martianshark » Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:00 am

Hmm... would some sort of sight help with aim? I know nothing's really going to help after a couple hundred feet... unless the target is big.
Last edited by martianshark on Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

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cantab
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by cantab » Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:10 am

Well it would be more like artillery aiming. I don't know too much about it, but typically it's doing calculations or looking up in tables based on things like target range and wind conditions.
For a cannon, you vary elevation, but for an air powered launcher, you can also vary air pressure. That might make a fixed mount practical, which would be simpler.

Of course, if you start using centrifugal, trebuchet, catapult, etc designs, where there's no barrel, accuracy becomes a much bigger issue.
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: Soaker Balls!

Post by C-A_99 » Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:49 am

I can't see a "soaker" ball doing any more soaking than one or two shots of a squirt gun.

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martianshark
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by martianshark » Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:43 am

I think it would soak a little more than a squirt gun, but still, it has very high range and could possibly be the most high-range water weapon.

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JuchTurtles
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by JuchTurtles » Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:49 pm

Dude, those things could hurt if you hit someone with it when it's going like 60 m/p/h (just an estimate). And when it hit, it would be heavy (hit like a rock) and have hardly any soakage.

Not worth it. Build a WBL instead.
The name's Juch, just Juch.
Also known as Commander JuchJawsTurtles, commander of the C0BALT TiDE team in The Ocean Volcano Union.
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cantab
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by cantab » Tue Feb 09, 2010 7:07 pm

My thinking was it would be very much a strictly indirect fire weapon. In that case, the speed at impact will pretty much be its terminal velocity in air, which depends mainly on size and weight.
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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martianshark
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by martianshark » Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:55 am

JuchTurtles wrote:Dude, those things could hurt if you hit someone with it when it's going like 60 m/p/h (just an estimate). And when it hit, it would be heavy (hit like a rock) and have hardly any soakage.

Not worth it. Build a water balloon launcher instead.
I don't think it could hurt that much. It's basically just a peice of sponge. And wouldn't a water balloon hurt way more than a soaker ball anyway?

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JuchTurtles
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by JuchTurtles » Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:32 pm

Ya, that's kind-of true. If the ball was soaked in water completely, then it might have some weight. I guess a water balloon could hurt if it would hit in the face, but otherwise it would be about the same.

I don't know. Here's the other thing, and it's more tactical wise. The soaker balls can be reused by enemies after you hit them with it. It's an interesting thought, because WBs can't be reused.
The name's Juch, just Juch.
Also known as Commander JuchJawsTurtles, commander of the C0BALT TiDE team in The Ocean Volcano Union.
SPLASH! You're dead!

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martianshark
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by martianshark » Wed Feb 10, 2010 11:15 pm

Enemies could reuse them, but they could only throw them unless they also have an soaker ball launcher.

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zeda.beta
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Re: Soaker Balls!

Post by zeda.beta » Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:53 am

You may have a good idea, but I tried to throw a "water football" and it really hurt the person that it hit. Yes, it was made of the sponge material, and yes, it was waterlogged, but it still is a potential danger. Martinshark, I would hold off on building a cannon just for water balls and make them interchangeable with water balloons as well. That way, if the soaker ball idea works, you can use it, but if it doesn't, or is too dangerous, then you have a use for all of the parts that you bought. Maybe you could use a universal canister for both the water ball and the water balloon.
-Zeda
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
Quack damn you.

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