Hello all! I would like to preface this by saying that, for the most part, I am thoroughly liking what I'm seeing from the new rules. That said and out of the way, I feel the weapons are out of touch. Autoguns have a range of 120 meters. Sniper rifles have a range of 400 meters. With the Marksman talent and a telescopic sight Sniper Rifles could have either 800 or 900 meter ranges (depending on how the 50%'s are applied). Compared to modern day weapons this is abysmal and despite the Imperium of Man's technological regression their weapons are supposed to be beyond ours.
To this end I suggest a firearm generation system. Though complex, the ability to generate individualistic weapons would lend variety, character, and authenticity to the guns characters carry. Which are you more attached to: the autogun you picked up off the hiver, or the Tronvasse 505 you managed to talk an Arbite out of? Differences in range, accuracy, damage and the like would be preferable to the smattering of named guns that appear in the inevitable expansion books.
Additionally, damage #'s do not seem in favor of precision applications of damage. A sniper round to the head is incapable of killing with Righteous Fury instant-kill mechanics. This is silly. The idea behind the new wound system is great, but the implications for characters who prefer to "two to the chest, one to the head" over spraying and praying is disappointing.
Finally, the Storm rules need clarification. If it ignores normal hit generation, can it overcome the RoFxAP hit limit? If not how does it accurately represent Storm Bolters? If not why does a sniper rifle loaded with a frangible round do no more damage than a standard round (loading fragmentation rounds)?
Thoughts?