Thursday, July 30, 2009

SR Systems - Tiger-Dragon Katana

For my second post of the day, I present you something slightly different from SR Systems. My main inspiration behind the weapons I design is my real life studies and training in Kung Fu. Hence, most of my weapons are from traditional Chinese Martial Arts.

However, once in a while, I enjoy exploring other eastern martial arts and learning about them. Previously, I gave you the nunchaku, my first foray into a different, non-chinese weapon. Also sold at my store is the Shuriken - my first "ranged weapon" creation.

Sticking with the Japanese theme, I present you this time the legendary blade of the samurai - THE KATANA. While i like to think of the Katana as the japanese analog of the Jian, it is a very different type of sword. It can be argued that the Katana is the sharpest sword ever created, and it's multiple folding manufacture process makes it arguably one of the strongest. Ofcourse, it is a one sided blade, while the jian is double sides. And while the Jian is meant to be a primarily piercing weapon along with slicing from all directions, the katana is almost strictly designed to be hand held guilotine with single strike. Hence, if one were to compare the two weapons, they are different completely different sets of techniques, and both have their advantages and disadvantages like all weapons do.

In the end, your personal preference, and competance at using the weapon, is what matters most :) A samurai will train in striking fast and with surprise, letting the weight of the katana give his strike massive momentum, which then gets focussed along its fine edge. A kung fu master will use many motions and move around, making multiple deadly slices at sensitive regions of the body (like the wrist to disarm your opponent) with both sides of the sword, before piercing into the crucial organs. I give the Katana a chinese influence with dragon and tiger tsuba (cross guard) - two opposite forces that bring balance, like the yin and yang.

As all my creations, it works with the usual meters, and I refer you to the July 2009 post on Shaolin Hook swords for technical details. Visit us inworld, or follow the link below to buy it on xstreetsl. Also, i leave you with videos demonstrating the beautiful weapon that was the "soul of the samurai"








SR Systems - Guan Dao

Hello again dear readers,

Today, I present to you the weapon of one of china's greatest warriors. To many this man is a god that epitomizes loyalty and righteousness. He is General Guan Yu, and SR systems is proud to present his weapon, the Guan Dao.

The Guan Dao is made of a large blade at the end of a staff, similar to a Glaive or Japanese Naginata. However, the blade of the Guan Dao is significantly heavier than that of a European Glaive or Naginata. The opposite end of the weapon is composed of a spear tip for stabbing. The weapon is wielded like a combination of the spear and sword.

This particular design pays tribute to the great general with a symbolic lion and dragon facing the moon design.

On a technical note, it works with DCS, CCS and WARPs (soon to be XRPS i believe) combat systems. Like the Shaolin Hook Swords and Tiger-Dragon Katana, it has 4 modes of operation and a power attack. I refer you to the Hook Swords post in July 2009 for more details on the operation modes.

To purchase the weapon, visit the inworld store, or follow the link to xstreetsl

SR Systems Guan Dao



Monday, July 27, 2009

SR Systems - Shaolin Hook Swords

Hi friends, and thank you as always for reading. My humblest apologies for the delays in updating this blog. But sometimes, we run into life and get too busy :P Today i present to you the shaolin hook swords - one of my proudest and favorite creations.

Hook swords serve many purposes. For starters, the edges serve as basic blades, just like swords. But the ends of the handles are sharp and protruding as well, acting like daggers in close range. The crescents on the handle may be used to block any sharp weapons. Finally, the hooks on the end can be used to disarm an opponent by stealing their weapon, or to hook the two swords together and swing it as one long range, lethal combination.

The double hook swords, also known as tiger hook swords, are found in almost any traditional kung fu - but i personally chose to dedicate this one to the shaolin monks as it is them, afterall, that began kung fu :)

On a technical note, the weapons work with DCS, CCS and Warps meters. But they also come with many new features that were never present in any of my previous items. The weapon operates in 4 modes:

1) Standard RP mode - no push, no bullets. This does the standard melee damage as defined by the sims
2) Bullet On, Push Off - This is usually referred to as combat mode. In this mode, every move you make fires close range, invisible bullets. As a result, you get to do extra damage in addition to the standard melee on each hit.
3) Bullet Off, Push On - Like my previous push weapons, this one does the standard melee damage, and pushes your opponent away in sims that allow push.
4) Bullet On, Push On - A combination of 2 and 3...deadliest of the 4, but may not be allowed in all sims!

In addition, the weapon has a "power attack" - an explosion that lets you cause damage from a distance. This gives the weapon ranged attack capability, or "magic" as some may describe it.

The weapon is available inworld (link is on the right), or on xstreetsl via the following link.


Finally, as always I leave you with videos illustrating the weapons :)