Heavy Weapons Platforms
There are five different HWP units available to you.
Tank/Cannon Tank/Rocket launcher Tank/Laser cannon Hovertank/Plasma Hovertank/Launcher
Of these, two are available from the beginning of the game, and can be bought from the Purchase/Recruit screen. These two are the Tank/Cannon, and the Tank/Rocket launcher.
The other three tanks must be manufactored. These are the Tank/Lasor cannon, the Hovertank/Plasma, and the Hovertank/Launcher.
The units of the type 'Tank' are treaded. The 'Hovertank' units have the ability to fly.
With the exception of the Tank/Laser cannon and the Hovertank/Plasma, you must have sufficient ammo on hand in order to load the tank onto a transport craft. However, if one of your bases is attacked and you do not have ammo, the tanks will still be put into play with a full payload. Any ammo remaining in them will be added to your stock at the end of the (succesful) mission.
Tanks use turrets to fire. These turrets can turn independant of the tanks themselves. For example, if you tell a tank to fire behind itself, the turret will turn, not the tank. The turret will keep its new facing relative to the tank until it is told to fire again. Moving the turret costs 1 TU per increment, and just as any unit, it can face one of eight directions.
Advantages Tanks are very rarely affected by morale loss. In order for a tank to panic, your squad must take a severe amount of losses during a given turn. Tanks are not effected by stun, nor can they receive fatal wounds. They tend to have a greater amount of TUs then normal soldiers, making them great scouts, and they can takes numerous Heavy Plasma blasts, even on Superhuman difficulty. A damaged tank is instantly repaired at the end of a mission. A tank is rather 'short', so other units can fire over the top of them.
Disadvantages Tanks are much more expensive then soilders. They do not gain extra statistics with experiance. Their extra size makes it difficult to get them to certain areas - through most doorways, for example. Tanks do not have high reaction stats.
Tank/Cannon Cost: $(?) Ammo capacity/cost: 50(?)/(?) Damage amount/type: (?)/AP
The most useless and unremarkable of the tanks.
Tank/Rocket launcher Cost: $(?) Ammo capacity/cost: 8(?)/(?) Damage amount/type: (?)/HE(?)
Possibley the most efficient way to blow stuff up. These tanks can fire more rockets per turn then most soldiers, and can carry more as well.
Tank/Laser cannon Manufactoring cost: Cost: $(?) Man hours: (?) Materials used: (?) Ammo capacity/cost: 255(?)/(NA) Damage amount/type: (?)/Laser(?) Research requirements: (?)
Much the same as the Tank/Cannon.
Hovertank/Plasma Manufactoring cost: Cost: $(?) Man hours: (?) Materials used: (?) Ammo capacity/cost: 255/(NA) Damage amount/type: (?)/Plasma Research requirements: (?)
This HWP, due to it's speed, flying ability, hefty payload and high damage capability, is a nice bonus in the field. Most places it can't normally go can be accessed simply by blowing the obstructions away, with barely a dent to it's vast ammo supply.
Hovertank/Launcher Manufactoring cost: Cost: $(?) Man hours: (?) Materials used: (?) Ammo capacity/cost: (?)/(?) Damage amount/type: (?)/HE(?) Research requirements: (?)
This HWP must have ammo manufactored for it. It fires a weaker version of the Blaster Bomb, and is used in much the same way as the Blaster Launcher. Dispite the slight lessoning of damage, and the high costs involved to deploy it, the Hovertank/Launcher can clear any battlefield with ease.
--Bomb Bloke 02:06, 2 Mar 2005 (GMT)