Hellhammer and boredom

Lately I had a thought- Project Sunburn is boring.

-Crash
-Desert
-EMPIRE
-Desert
-Drahn
-Desert
-EMPIRE bunker
-Desert
-Burning Wheel
-Desert
-Hellhammer
-Desert
-End

I was thinking that Mr. X had such a nuance about it, and a certain immediacy. Normally I shun the real world in RPs, but I see what makes it so compelling- it could be happening right now.

The timeline of anything modern inserts it closer to the players' real lives, and is much easier to immerse in. Everyone could be your next-door neighbor. Every location is real. All factions present can be found on the globe. So why is Sunburn so boring now?

I guess the idea of being stuck in a desert just isn't that appealing. Just walking around, getting dehydrated, sounds mundane. We want action. Waah. The random encounters help, but there's not much avoiding it.

I plan on having random encounters, and-

Oh fsck it. I'm still hung up about the A[name removed] thing. Also pissed at being punched in the arm instead of told, "hey asshole, you screwed up!" Actions speak louder than words, but my hearing is fine. Now I know to not fsck around with trains, or to immolate people, or to make mention that no body was found. Cool. Awesome. A didn't seem pissed at me, but I'd believe that she's good at smiling and staying quiet. I'd expect her to go on a self-righteous rant, but maybe this goes deeper. Hell if I know. Fuel-air bomb has been replaced by a sniper attack.

Anyhow, I'm thinking about that action curve from Star Wars. Lemme drag it up.

This is what I'm trying to get. I figure the desert wandering takes up the low spots, with the higher ones being any EMPIRE bunker, Burning Wheel, ending with Hellhammer. I'm just feeling all out of sorts at the moment.

Still hung up about A. I feel super bad for just ripping a hole to a really bad emotional spot. And I justified it like a dolt.

"Yes, J, bad things happen in RPs. People die. Some are horribly maimed. I imagine people dying, and you gladly participate."

What a douche thing to say.

Hellhammer is a giant robot. It's been built from the head down, and the players find it built to the pelvis. It's surrounded by gantries, and is loaded with weapons (like automatic grenade launchers). They flip it over by adjusting the jacks (to raise it up for construction), then bury it under something. Either fuel or toxic stuff. I'll give them a choice. Fire damage or poison.

It can turn to face north, south, east, or west. There's a computer terminal at each corner (NW, SE, etc), required to authorize the lifts. The piece of the Burning Wheel is used to power it, or something. Probably a processor, makes sense for advanced alien tech.

Alright, done with that brain dump. Going to go whip myself a couple of times.