30 replies to this topic

[Ascendancy]

Well, making my whole 2nd topic in the writings forum, and this time, it's going to be unit descriptions. In fact, here's the first one.

Unit Profile 001:
USA M10 "Crusader" Main Battle Tank

The Crusader, dubbed the replacement for the now old M1A3 "Abrams" Main Battle Tank, was jointly developed by the US Army and its allies. It sports a 110mm main cannon and relatively heavy armor for protection against other Main Battle Tanks and other explosive ordinances. The advanced technology within the Crusader means it only needs a crew of one to operate efficiently on the field. Tests in the battlefield against the GLA show that the Crusader is fairly resilient and can withstand several RPGs, and can effectively combat the GLA's heavy tank known as the Marauder, along with being far superior to their MBT known as the Scorpion. The advanced damage detection system (ADDS) gives the driver of the tank an overall status on how the tank is holding up and which components are damaged, and if the tank becomes too damaged to operate within the field, the operator's seat will automatically eject, saving the operator to give his experience to other tank crews. However, the operator is very vulnerable during his extraction back to a USA fortification, and it has been known that some have died on their way back, either from too much enemy gunfire or from too harsh terrain to make it back, including toxic areas and radioactive areas. The Crusader overall has been rated as an above average main battle tank in the war, and has performed effectively to keep production. Recent upgrades to the M10 Crusader have allowed it to be fitted with a composite armor, which adds greater resilience to the tank, and some have been produced with an experimental hover engine, allowing it to travel over land and sea alike with a greater overall top speed, while not sacrificing any protection. The hover engines are becoming more common for Crusaders, making them one of the fastest and most advanced tanks on the field. The costs of producing the Crusader remain cheap and they have been widely deployed in the fight against the GLA in all areas of the globe.

[Lord Atlantis]

Looks pretty good. You should mention the support of the drone computer/AI that can support one remote drone and is assigned to a parent vehicle.

[BeefJeRKy]

That as well as how it leads to the development of the Paladin.

[Ascendancy]

Suggestions noted. This next profile should explain everything.

Unit Profile 002:
M21 "Paladin" USA Heavy Main Battle Tank

The M21 "Paladin" is a relatively new project developed internally by the USA's top engineers. Its primary function of a main battle tank stays true; it can still effectively combat other vehicles with relative ease. The Paladin is the answer to heavier vehicles on the field in the light that it sports a 120mm main cannon making it more damaging than the Crusader's 110mm main cannon. The shell used in the Paladin has also better explosives ordinance and can penetrate armor more effectively. Recently, the United States has been experimenting with their Advanced Logistical Drone (ALD) technology, and has given Paladin tank operators a highly advanced computer to control the drones. Currently, three types of drone exist and can be deployed for a nominal building fee right on the battlefield. The X5 "Scout" Drone was the first drone ever created; it is unarmed, but can reveal what's lying ahead for the tank operator, and has highly advanced sensor detection, revealing any pesky Demo Traps left by the GLA or even camouflaged infantry, vehicles and even structures. This drone can effectively give the upper hand in a tank battle. The X7 "Battle" Drone has a higher cost to produce than the X5 Scout, but this drone has a major advantage; albeit having no sensor detection technology, it is armed with a 5.56mm machine gun for dealing with infantry threats that the tank would otherwise have a hard time doing. It is also equipped with a smaller version of the ADDS system fielded in all USA vehicles, and has tools built into the drone that can repair the vehicle when coming under enemy fire. If the vehicle reaches over 60% damage, the drone will automatically return to the parent vehicle and repair it, instead of being on the offensive. The X11 "Hellfire" Drone is the most expensive of all drones being fielded to date, and serves only one function: raw power. The X11 Hellfire is equipped with a weapon that is aptly named for the drone: a Hellfire Missile Launcher. This drone is primarily suited to being anti-tank support for the main vehicle, though if the missile is able to hit infantry threats, they will take severe damage in the process as well. It cannot fire at aircraft because the missile is anti-ground only, and the drone does not have proper altitude. Some tank operators wish that this drone did have anti-air protection and the USA is looking into changing the guidance components in the Hellfire missile itself to be able to track air targets, but this remains unknown. The Paladin is a very unique tank when it comes to fighting infantry armed with anti-tank missiles. It is equipped with a 1st generation Point Defense Laser (PDL), which can sense incoming missiles, and safely render them useless by destroying the missile's engine and tracking components. The laser is still highly experimental, and has a long cool down time before it can render another missile ineffective, so groups of anti-tank infantry can still destroy the Paladin. With the gradual increase of losses of M10 Crusader tanks, the ALD technology is being implemented into newer Crusaders to give them the same advantages that the Paladin has today. Paladins are more expensive to produce than Crusaders because of all the advanced technology and heavier cannon with its deadlier shell, but these are starting to pop up on the battlefield alongside Crusaders for even better ground superiority.

Addendum: The USA has also released another important factor in why the Paladin is more expensive to produce than the Crusader: the shell used in the Paladin also is jet-assisted and also has advanced guidance components to effectively target the weak point in an enemy tank's armor and hit there.

Edited by Ascendancy, 17 December 2008 - 21:12.

[BeefJeRKy]

Great stuff. I like it. You should note that the shells of the paladin are jet assisted according to the manual.

[Ascendancy]

Noted and edited, thanks Scope.

[Sgt. Rho]

Didn't the Paladin use a 210 or 250mm heavy cannon?

Otherwise, nice work.

[BeefJeRKy]

250??? Dude not even the overlord uses that bore size AFAIK. The OL is 150mm to my knowledge.

[TWPC920]

iirc, paladin uses a 125mm cannon firing jet-assisted shells, while overlords have dual 120mm cannons firing depleted uranium shells.

[Ascendancy]

Does it really matter what size of a cannon they have? It's my take on the writings and I'll make their bores up myself. It's not like I'm trying to be 110% accurate, you know.

[BeefJeRKy]

Dude I totally agree I was just saying that Rho's suggestion of 250mm would be WAY off. 250mm is the equivalent of a 10-inch shell fired from a Cruiser... (Maybe for the Tank destroyer for Ironside )

[Pav:3d]

Good stuff, mustave taken alotta research

[Sgt. Rho]

Scope, on 17 Dec 2008, 23:23, said:

250??? Dude not even the overlord uses that bore size AFAIK. The OL is 150mm to my knowledge.

Oh, wait, I confused the CnC3 Mammoth with the Pal xD

[Ascendancy]

I've got another one. But I'm covering MBTs first, so now we're gonna have a look at China's. (I oughta be doing these once a day )

Unit Profile 003:
Type 95 "Battlemaster" China Main Battle Tank

The Type 95 "Battlemaster" is China's only true main battle tank. It sports a 105mm cannon and is a very reliable front line tank. They are also very cheap to produce and mass produced in enormous quantities to satisfy China's need for a massive tank division. They are also equipped with the Type 56 machine gun, which is of 7.62mm caliber, but was not used until recently when the Chinese discovered the right ammunition needed to make it fire properly and continuously without overheating. All Battlemasters to date were fitted with the machine gun on the turret, but they never had the proper ammo to make it fire, nor did they feel it was a necessity to use it with the mass amounts of Type 103 Gattling Tanks in service. However now, all Battlemasters have a crew of 3, one to drive and fire the 105mm cannon, one to reload the main gun, and one to take control of the machine gun, though one is never exposed to the elements as they have an advanced sight on the gun to allow them to be safely contained in the turret and be able to see and open fire when threats to China are detected. The Battlemaster's armor protection is not on par with the M10 Crusader, but it is still relatively safe and can withstand several RPGs or other anti-tank ballistic weaponry. In groups, Battlemaster tank crews feel very confident in what they do and feel that the PLA can get the job done right, so for some reason this extra patriotic feel allows them to fire a substantial amount faster and those in that group become "Hordesmen" as the PLA describes them. Under the influence of a Propaganda Tower, this gives any Battlemaster, in a Horde or not, the necessary kick to make them feel very confident and make them fight on under any circumstances, along with increasing their efficiency rate and thus rate of fire. It is still unclear how this happens, but the Chinese say it gives them the will to see China's destiny in the world to be the lone superpower with the ability to crush all of China's foes that would come in their way. Recent technological upgrades to the Battlemaster has allowed the 105mm cannon to be fired in bursts of 2 shells before reloading with their new Next Generation Main Battle Tank (NGMBT) technology, in the form of an auto loader. In recent years, China's nuclear aresnal has given the Battlemaster and all of China's tanks nuclear technological upgrades. Some Battlemasters have had their diesel powered engines refitted with nuclear ones, powered by uranium fuel rods to provide an extra boost of speed. When the uranium is spent in China's nuclear reactors and become "depleted", the uranium can be put into the tank shells of the Battlemaster, increasing their lethality greatly. There is one drawback to having the nuclear engine, however: when a Battlemaster has become too damaged to fight on, the nuclear engine becomes unstable and explodes violently, severely damaging other tanks in the radius or possibly setting off a reaction. Generally, the tank crews in nuclear powered tanks that have been lost generally do not survive either, but the China doctrine has always been "a loss of one is for the greater overall good of the advancement of China". All in all, the Battlemaster is continuing to see production in mass amounts and some Chinese War Factories have been equipped with the necessary tools to produce them in even more mass quantities and for cheaper due to the great influx of raw materials.

[Sgt. Rho]

I wonder if you would also do unit profiles for modded units?

[Ascendancy]

Profiles for modded units? Sure, if I can have some sort of description of what the mods are, I can probably find a way to make something up for them.

[Sgt. Rho]

It was just a generic question

[Ascendancy]

Next profile.

Unit Profile 004:
"Scorpion" GLA Light Tank

The Scorpion Light Tank is the Global Liberation Army's mainline force of armored vehicles. It is rather outdated and very inferior compared to the Chinese and USA main battle tanks. It sports a 75mm cannon that can only deal minor amounts of damage to other armored vehicles. However unlike the other MBTs it has a very high rate of fire for a tank, being able to fire a single shot nearly every second if the tank crew is good. Scorpions are also very cheap to produce en masse because of their lightweight. Most GLA commanders have installed what they term a "Scorpion Rocket", which is a small guided missile that makes their ability to damage enemy armor much better, but this rocket has to be manually reloaded and has such a long time to reload, usually not before the tank suffers severe damage and becomes destroyed. Scorpions have been used primarily for distraction forces as the GLA would much rather sneak in RPG Troopers and Rebels to deal the damage from the inside out rather than go have a tank battle. The GLA has also been using chemical weapons for quite some time, and some Scorpions have been equipped with special tank shells that deal their normal explosive ordinance damage, but release a small amount of anthrax upon detonation. This has made Scorpions highly effective against infantry, which is something the USA and Chinese MBTs have a hard time dealing with. Also, with the Global Liberation Army's skilled use of taking destroyed tank parts and refitting them to their armored divisions, Scorpions can become, with the right amount of parts, a deadly force to be reckoned with. The first level of salvage operations gives the Scorpion a 85mm main cannon, effectively making them more useful against enemy armor. The second level of salvage operations grants a Scorpion an additional missile rack, allowing them to fire a pair of Scorpion Rockets which in turn again, makes them have a lot more firepower. And in extreme cases where all the salvage parts are needed to combat the most significant threats, the Scorpion will be produced right out of the Arms Dealer with the 85mm cannon, and go through the second salvaging operation first. The final salvage operation grants the Scorpion dual 85mm cannons, making them, if left unchecked, extremely deadly, especially when equipped with anthrax releasing tank shells. Most tank crews laugh at the sight of a Scorpion, but some have been known to say they are "extremely fearful of this dreaded light tank".

Edited by Ascendancy, 23 December 2008 - 06:53.

[Destiny]

Ascendancy, on 23 Dec 2008, 6:13, said:

Most tank crews laugh at the site of a Scorpion, but some have been known to say they are "extremely fearful of this dreaded light tank".

Hmm...I have SIGHTed a Scorpion Tank! lmao, get a MD.

[Ascendancy]

Fixed.

[Ascendancy]

Next one.

Unit Profile 005:
"Marauder" GLA Heavy Tank

The "Marauder" is the answer to heavier armor on the field. When Scorpions were showing relative drawbacks when it came to slugging it out with the USA and Chinese forces, GLA commanders had put together a vehicle that was capable of effectively combating Crusaders, Paladins, and Battlemasters alike. Made from scrapped parts from destroyed vehicles from the USA and China, the Marauder can be considered the MBT of the Global Liberation Army, but it is not due to the fact local GLA Command has to authorize construction at every war zone. It is armed with a 100mm cannon capable of dispatching most armor threats, but there is a major drawback in its design: the turret is fixed, so the whole entire vehicle has to rotate in order to engage another threat. It is reasonably armored for a GLA vehicle and can withstand several hits from anti-tank missiles and tank rounds. Like the Scorpion light tank, the Marauder can have its tank shells filled with a small amount of anthrax, making them more effective against infantry threats. However, the Marauder does not have the equipment to put a missile rack on the side of the turret and thus lacks a missile based weapon, though this is significantly made up for by the larger bore of the cannon. Like the Scorpion, too, it can benefit from salvaging operations. The first level of salvaging grants the Marauder a 115mm cannon, thus making it stronger overall, and reloading mechanisms are improved as well, effectively allowing the Marauder to not only have the first strike, but making it have a faster response time when multiple shells are needed. The second level of salvaging operations makes the Marauder unique: it becomes a dual-barreled tank, with the same bore as the first upgrade, but theoretically doubling the firepower with having to be able to fire two rounds before having to reload. Reloading mechanisms are again improved, making the Marauder having near the rate of fire of the Scorpion combined with the firepower of the pair of 115mm cannons. If all salvage operations are needed to combat enemy forces, then, like the Scorpion, it will be produced with the 115mm cannon from their depots, and can become a beast if the most parts are needed. The third level of salvaging operations makes this tank a beast in its own regard: it becomes armed with three 115mm cannons, something unknown to the USA and Chinese intelligence communities on how it is done. It then, of course, fires three very deadly rounds at any target, and the rate of fire is again increased, making a very experienced Marauder crew a one man army if left unchecked. When crews of Crusader, Paladin, and Battlemaster tanks have come across Marauders boasting three barrels, they are "extremely fearful of not only their lives, but of those who stand in the GLA's way". Of course, if these types of tanks are spotted before a main force of tanks and support infantry come about, they are usually destroyed by air support before they can unleash their fearsome firepower on anything. Marauders have been seen in conjunction with Scorpions throughout the entire war. With all the spare parts laying around, some GLA operatives have been using the spare parts to repair any damage done to their vehicles, making them have an overall greater survivability rate. This technique of repairing Marauders has spread to all other GLA vehicles in the field just recently.

[BeefJeRKy]

Ah I like the most recent additions.

Perhaps you can write something about "Anthrax" itself?

[CommanderJB]

The lore is very good, and very well written, but one thing I'd probably like to see is a little more diversity; at the moment, with just a couple of them, it seems like the sentence or two from the manual expanded to half a page. Maybe a few more anecdotes or a little more history of your own? It's entirely up to you but it's just a thought.

Edited by CommanderJB, 30 December 2008 - 01:29.

[casojin]

Quote

However now, all Battlemasters have a crew of 3, one to drive and fire the 105mm cannon, one to reload the main gun, and one to take control of the machine gun, though one is never exposed to the elements as they have an advanced sight on the gun to allow them to be safely contained in the turret and be able to see and open fire when threats to China are detected.

Normally, a crew of 3 in a tank would be assigned as follows:
- Tank Commander: Command the tank, coordinate with other units, spot enemy units, and man machinegun if necessary.
- Gunner: As the name stated, this role control the main gun and reloading as well.
- Driver: Drive the tank as commander ordered (in some case, the driver will be a mechanic to repair the tank too).

[CommanderJB]

A tank with a crew of 3 would almost certainly have an autoloader to start with; almost all Western tanks have four positions, commander, gunner, driver, loader (note that 3/4 of the crew is in the turret and you begin to see why it's so heavily armoured). The autoloader obviously makes the loader crew position redundant, allowing the reduction to 3. Most Western designs forgo the autoloader because they consider a well-trained crew more reliable and able to produce a similar rate of fire while also creating some 'crew redundancy' (if a member is injured in combat there will be a man available to take his place without utterly destroying the efficiency of the tank as a combat unit) and various other benefits. Autoloaders can be nasty things if they're not properly managed, after all.