Well, i did research too, on multiple sights. and this were some facts that i found
1. without batteries, it's basically a big-ass rifle, with one-shot bolt-action. if you look for pictures of it
here, there's what looks like a longshot-esque bolt on the side.
2. it would need the batteries to advance the belt, it won't be able to use mechanics to do that. do you know how long it would take for nerf to make a full-auto belt-advancing system without batteries? it's probably a motor that is spinning constantly (unless you turn it off) and connects with the belt only when you pull the trigger, thus advancing the belt and firing. once you release the trigger, the motor-belt connection won't work.
3. captain slug: when you said "sounds heavy and awkward to me" my response is as follows: grow some cojones and go rambo-style with it!\
4. it has a tripod, and it's probably a bit heavy, but that never stopped the spec ops b4, did it?
5. yes, when thinking about it, it seems a wee bit like the MT20.
6. the MT20 is an off-brand.
7. nerf guns not from 'nerf' or 'larami' suck.
8. have you ever known nerf to fail us? "have faith in thy guns. unless they're off-brands"
9. as with 'captain,' i nerf indoors. thus, i do small mods, not more than ar removal, plugging holes, cosmetics, etc. nothing drastic. in my house, the farthest distance a nerf dart will have to fly accurately is about 30 ft, which slightly modded nerf guns can easily manage. so i wont be doing much mods to this beast. it scares me.
10. does anyone know if the tripod is removable?? because it would suck to go to pick it up and have the tripod in your way all the time.
i have complete faith in the nerfhaven community to post write-ups of any mods (easy and hard) to this gun when it comes out in fall '08.
have a nice day