RE: Helltank and Helltank Destroyer

You gotta love the enormous freak-tank for its own sake though. Even if
it stinks in real-life. Anyhow most Freak-Tank/'Mecha games always have
postulated some kind of hothouse type of environment where the Giant
Robot/Ogre/Heavy Launch Tank/Bolo thrives due to Biphase Carbide
Armor/Lack of Artillery or its ineffectual nature/PSB/It Looks Cool.
Hell, maybe the environment is like (shudder) Epic scale Squats, where
the environment on the planets they live is so harsh they live in giant
armored Winnebagos/Mining Machines/Tanks/Land Trains/Crawlers/Hoo Hahs.
Or combat is so ritualized it takes place only with Battlemechs a'la the
Tournaments of High-Medieval Europe, using outmoded, heavy armors that
would be rattling deathtraps on the 'real' battlefield (winched into the
saddle, indeed). Maybe 'Mecha/Freak-Tanks are 'fashionable' weapons or
prestige weapons (every Banana Republic want's a cybertank...). So there
are tons of SF niches that are apropos for the freak-tank. All
rationalizations aside, IIRC Helltank had a more reasonable side to the
background, too......

Gene
> ----------
> From: 	Glover, Owen[SMTP:oglover@mov.vic.gov.au]
> Sent: 	Wednesday, January 14, 1998 4:58 PM
> To:	'FTGZG-L@bolton.ac.uk'
> Cc:	George,Eugene M
> Subject:	RE: Helltank and Helltank Destroyer
> 
> And this re-enforces why combined arms forces will pretty generally
> come
> out on top of single armed forces. Tanks, Arty and Infantry have
> weaknesses and strengths theat complement each other.
> 
> > ----------
> > From:	Brian Burger[SMTP:burger00@camosun.bc.ca]
> > Reply To:	FTGZG-L@bolton.ac.uk
> > Sent:	Thursday, January 15, 1998 7:50 AM
> > To: 	FTGZG-L@bolton.ac.uk
> > Subject:	Re: Helltank and Helltank Destroyer
> >
> > On Wed, 14 Jan 1998 Doug_Evans/CSN/UNEBR@UNebMail.UNeb.EDU wrote:
> >
> > > I have both games, but haven't looked at them lately. One of the
> > > interesting concepts in HD was an Ogre-sized vehicle that carried
> > other
> > > tank units inside. Do you REALLY want that in DS II? ;->=
> > >
> > Maybe. It would be sort of interesting, although the PSB-rating
> would
> > be
> > fairly high...and although such a vehicle would be dangerous, it
> would
> > also be a VERY BIG target, and very slow. Just get artillery onto
> it,
> > lots
> > of arty, and that's all, folks...
> >
> > Sort of the ultimate APC...
> >
> > Scenario idea: One or two of these uber-tanks vs. a force of
> infantry
> > and
> > on- and off-table artillery. I think the result would be a couple of
> > dead
> > uber-tanks...
> >
> > The DS2 vehicle construction rules are, realistically, not kind to
> > enormous freak-vehicles, nor to mecha. By all means field them, if
> > they
> > interest you, but I think an equal-point value combined arms force
> > would
> > take them out...swarm tactics, if nothing else.
> >
> > Brian (burger00@camosun.bc.ca)
> >
>