This article will follow in the footsteps of the Unit Spotlight: NKG Tech Level 1 Mechs article and explain the Tech Level 1 Tanks for the NKG in Conflict Terra. The Tanks are meant to be overall slower, hardier, longer ranged, but weaker in power, than Mechs, in addition to being cheaper and faster to make.
The Oukami Type Tank is the most basic Tank in the NKG. Armed with a single light cannon, the Oukami Type Tank can take more hits than the Hojo Combat Mech, but won't do much damage. Slow and hardy, it will hold the line early in the game.
Designed very early in the project, the Oukami Type Tank has earned the title of the "Godfather Unit" for me, because it was the first NKG unit that was in-game and acting as it was intended to act. Its animation script and unit definition script formed the starting point for several of the units that would come after it. Design-wise, I've always been happy with this guy. I'll admit, the design is very similar to and inspired by the Magella Tank from Mobile Suit Gundam.
Oukami is a slightly misspelled version of the Japanese word for wolf, ookami. The "u" was switched out for the second "o" because to English speaking eyes, ookami would probably be mispronounced and sound silly. There was no real reason I decided to name this Tank the Japanese word for wolf, other than I'm rather partial to the word.
The Kuma Type Tank is a specialized Tank, armed with two Anti-Mech Missile pods. Similar in most stats to the Oukami Type Tank, the real punch the Kuma Type Tank has lies in its advantage against Mechs, which carry the real power in the NKG. The missiles it fires don't track, but are of modest range.
Designed after the Oukami Type Tank, this model turned out rather generic. I'm altogether okay with how it turned out, but it could be better. The unit overall is rather cube-ish, and shows its early nature.
Kuma is Japanese for bear, as those who are Tekken fans will probably know. Although the model itself isn't terribly intimidating, the role for this Tank is a rather fearsome one, so naming it after the bear seemed appropriate.
The Uma Type Tank fulfills the role of mobile artillery for the NKG. Armed with a long ranged, slow firing cannon, and the ability to fire at normal or high trajectory, along with having hover technology to allow for land or sea travel, the Uma Type Tank is extraordinarily versatile. Boasting an advantage for damaging buildings, the Uma Type Tank can deal serious damage to a base. If it has a weakness, it is it's lack of armor.
I'm not entirely sure how to explain how this unit came about. Its very truck-like design was more of a fluke than an intended result. Its hover capabilities were also an intended design feature. This unit really exemplifies me opening Wings3D and seeing what fiddling will give me. All that being said, I'm rather fond of this unit. Not very fearsome looking, it's real power comes from its performance, not its appearance.
Uma is Japanese for horse, and I guess all I can really say is that I decided to follow my animal/mammal motif I started with kuma and ookami. There was no real reason I went with Uma for this unit, other than it was towards the end of my knowledge of Japanese words for animals/mammals.
The Tatakau Type Tank is also considered artillery, but of almost an entirely different nature from the Uma Type Tank. While the Uma Type Tank fires a single, long ranged and accurate shell, the Tatakau Type Tank fires a spray of very inaccurate, close ranged missiles. Capable of firing up to nine missiles at once, its safe to say not much will come out unscathed from where the Tatakau Type Tank fires.
Not much to say on this design. A little goofy, a little intimidating, it was thrown together early in the project, right after the Uma Type Tank. The three missile pods on the top resemble a radar installation more than a launcher, but it works for me.
Tatakau is the Japanese verb for battle, or combat. I gave this unit that name because I intended from the start for this unit to be a fearsome weapon, and so far it has fulfilled that role in playtests.
The Ureme Type Radar Tank fulfills exactly the role its name implies; it is a radar capable tank. Unarmed, but utilizing hover technology so that it is both land and sea worthy, the Ureme Type Radar Tank has radar, sonar, and radar jamming capabilities. Meant to be the most versatile of the support units, the Ureme Type Radar Tank's downfall is a slow speed and overall shorter range. Despite this, its ability to fill three roles makes it valuable.
Can't deny the similarities between this unit and the communications Hover Truck from the Gundam universe. What can I say, I like the idea. The dish you see rotates back and forth. Not much more to say.
Gonna be honest, don't remember where Ureme came from. Me means eye in Japanese, so I imagine that had some play in it. My Japanese Dictionary gave me no tips, and this is just proof that for the last units I named, I had run out of good ideas and was throwing together whatever I could think of.
The Resurrection Team is also very self-explanatory. A resurrection capable hoverTank armed with (currently) an EMP ray, the Resurrection Team is meant to clean up the battlefield in-between skirmishes or battles. Also able to repair and reclaim objects on the battlefield, the Resurrection Team is a versatile and powerful tool for the NKG.
Conceived somewhat later than the rest of the Tanks, the Resurrection Team was intended to fulfill an important role that was missing in the NKG. I was going for a basic design, and I think I achieved that. The turret on top is very simple, only able to pivot on the y-axis, because it was built specifically for the EMP ray weapon. I like how this one turned out, even if it isn't very fancy or impressive.
This unit will probably never get a spiffy Japanese word for a name, mostly because its intended to be more of an "avatar" than an actual unit. This may be sort of hard to explain, so bear with me, I'll do my best. Because Conflict Terra doesn't make use of the standard "nano spray" found in Spring, its implied that any construction or related functions going on is simply too complex or small scale to animate. The same goes for this unit. The idea, in a "real world setting", is that it is a team of men who travel in this Tank, get out, and begin repairing or deconstructing the unit or object of choice. When the job is done, they return to the safety of the Tank and move on. To animate and represent this would be very complex and probably not even worth it due to scale, so instead it just comes across as a normal unit.
The Resurrection Team unit has revealed it is terribly unbalanced and has some design flaws, so it will more than likely change somehow soon. Whether this change is purely in behavior or design, we don't know yet.
That covers all of the Tech Level 1 Tanks for the NKG. I hope this was entertaining for the reader.
Sanada_Ujio
