Post by Water Dumple on Oct 21, 2009 23:46:23 GMT -5
Machines
Leman Russ Conqueror (20 Days, 100 resources. Vehicle.)
A great, all-around light tank for getting it done. The Conqueror variant of the Leman Russ contains modified treads with extra traction and a faster engine. It's really fast and can cross tough terrain with breeze, easily clearing over rubble, boulders, or maybe your face. The Leman Russ Conqueror contains two AT Shell firing cannons. One is bigger than the other, mounted straight on the center-front. This cannon unfortunately only can aim 45 degrees, unable to turn. However, it does more damage than the smaller rotating cannon loaded on the turret. It takes about five seconds to reload each one, so Conquerors can quickly punch through light armor, and are great at knocking over defenses, evading enemy fire with the enhanced speed. The last capability is a simple Heavy MG Chain-equipped gun on the top. As the crew is completely protected, it is all controlled from inside. This adds a handy anti-infantry capability if the cannons are busy blowing up base defenses.
Leman Russ Battle Tank (40 Days, 200 resources. Vehicle.)
The assault vanguard and all-out brawler--The standard Leman Russ tank. It moves at medium vehicle speed, which means fast considering the amount of armor loaded on it. Getting to that, it has an extremely heavy level of armor and is often plated with Stainless Steel, making this one hell of a thing to destroy. It's capable of taking multiple bombs and anti-tank hits to the face and continuing on, although it is a little more vulnerable in the back and certainly not invincible.
The Leman Russ Battle Tank usually carries four weapons to the front. The rotating turret at the top has an AT Shell cannon, generally handy at popping off other vehicles. It reloads quickly at five seconds between shots. On each side is a Heavy MG Chain gun capable of rotating end to end, ideal for killing troops trying to flank as the tank pushes in. Then on the front is the heavy hitter--A modified Artillery Shell-utilizing cannon. It's been changed to work well in the front lines, so the barrel can be leveled and used in short range, good at dealing heavy damage to vehicles or clusters of troops. It is unfortunately unable to turn past the front of the tank, since it's not on the turret, but that's okay because it's the chief offensive weapon. It takes twelve seconds to reload this gun. The tank has a stationary firing mode that it can switch to, which limits its movement but allows much greater firing range and accuracy with the artillery, making it into a useful anti-ship measure (though vulnerable to aircraft). Overall, the Leman Russ Battle Tank is great at both offense and defense; it can cover its own flanks with the normal cannon and MG for advances, and pound enemies and ships from a distance with the artillery cannon.
Hydra (20 Days, 100 resources. Vehicle.)
Almost pure anti-air. The Hydra is something you don't want to send your aircraft anywhere even remotely close. It's got the base of a tank, with treads and medium armor, but different weapons. The top is more turret-shaped, with four dangerous AA Shell cannons pointing ahead, akin to the classic Flakpanzer. With two on each side of the mount, these can be aimed in any direction to make life miserable for the aluminum foil up top. Each cannon fires independently, so when they're all firing at differing times at the same area, that makes for a whole lot of shrapnel in the air. Lightly armored planes and copters can really get wasted by this, but it won't take too much longer to wear down tougher aircraft.
The flak guns can also be turned down to send shrapnel into infantry, which is extremely dangerous. This is possibly the best thing the Guard has to offer against flying troops, too. Unfortunately, the simple 20mm shells are really very nearly useless on armor. Tanks are this thing's natural enemy, especially with only average speed to hold it up. But when it's pointed at anything in the air, you don't want to get bitten by a Hydra, as it can take only a few seconds to destroy aircraft in range, and with four independent guns, all your fancy shmancy speed doesn't mean jack.
Hellhound (30 Days, 100 Resources. Vehicle.)
The most anti-troop focused vehicle in the Guard. The Hellhound is a tough frontline tank that gets the job done. It has medium speed but a good level of armor, taking multiple direct anti-tank hits before facing trouble in the slightest. It's got a longer shape than a taller one, painted black with some dark green on the armor. Two lethal Napalm flamethrowers are mounted next to each other on the front-top, capable of turning in any direction and delivering a long, thick spray of flame wherever needed. This makes for excellent building and defense destruction, as they can begin to melt iron after around five seconds of continued flame. Naturally, it's a beast against troops, especially elites. It's one of the best vehicles the Guard has against land-bound elites, in fact--The intense, unceasing heat cooks 'em up good.
Hellhounds have one other weapon to counter their disadvantage of short range: A Flame Shatter Mortar launcher. It's loaded on the top-back, and launches a dangerous mortar every six seconds. These make a bomb rock-sized explosion on the ground, shattering into flames and leaving a burning spot on the ground. This has about the range of a tank's cannon, although it's just more anti-troop business. The Hellhound's natural enemies are armor-to-armor and air-to-ground, but without those things around, it'll completely wreck troops and defenses, using its tough frontline-class armor to allow continued damage.
Piranha (30 Days, 150 resources. Submarine.)
This tall submarine specializes in sinking anything made of metal in the water, as well as submerging or surfacing quickly. The Piranha is painted a somewhat bright blue, without many other markings. It's a much taller submarine than most folks are used to seeing, not nearly as long for compensation. It moves at a fair speed, faster or on par with a standard ship. The Piranha has an extra long periscope, making fine recon or espionage. It's capable of surfacing or submerging far faster than standard subs in this weird world, taking only about three minutes. It has very effective sonar, stretching a mile around and allowing targeting from that distance. On each side is a Torpedo tube, capable of firing independently and taking ordinary time to reload. The Piranha is a complete beast at sinking ships and other submarines; its torpedoes are powerful and often don't need more than a couple hits to deal critical damage to the target. It also has the unique ability of targeting incoming torpedoes with its own, so with the long sonar detection, it can intercept the attack. The Piranha has good armor for a sub and can definitely take a hit or two, although it is still quite vulnerable to dedicated anti-submarine weapons such as depth charges. Overall, it's simply very effective at its job and one can't go wrong with it.
Silencer (20 Days, 100 resources. Submarine.)
A radar/sonar/sensor jammer submarine. The Silencer fits its name; its deep black paint accompanies the role well. It is entirely unarmed and has very little armor, to the point where a single very strong anti-sub direct hit could render it unusable. It's rather small, even for a submarine. The Silencer moves at a good pace, faster than most subs but is not exactly a speed demon. It has a whole bunch of jammer equipment that it actively uses to screw up enemy radar, sonar, and sensors. The range is approximately 2 miles in radius. This won't make the radar, sonar, or sensors malfunction and give away noticeable problems; they will simply not detect anything around the Silencer. This makes it ideal for espionage with a Piranha or other unit, as well as sneaking up on a base undetected. Furthermore, it can be used well to make torpedoes and missiles fail to lock on in its range.
It can also be used as a way to make ships miss their mark; getting the enemy ships or subs entirely in its jamming range will of course screw up their radar and sonar, which ships are often very reliant on for scoring hits. And if one hasn't espionaged the base, one isn't likely to know about the Silencer and it will thus be a pain to even figure out why none of the systems are working. It also screws up tracking systems on missiles, guided projectiles, and the like which can be a very helpful defense for other naval units, saving battleships from cruise missiles and whatnot. Unfortunately, all this makes it a very poorly-armored sub and without any weapons, it must be protected. More for special purposes than combat.
Arowana (24 Days, 150 resources. Ship.)
The main transport unit for overseas travel or naval invasions, the Arowana is an extremely well-armored transport ship that can receive a variety of machine attachments. It has a largely rectangular shape, with the engine area located at the back. The front three-fourths hold cargo or units for transport. A single Arowana can transport 500 ordinary troops, 50 specials, or 5 vehicles. There are some exceptions, such as if vehicles or troops are particularly small or large, but that's usually the limit. The holding area is completely protected; the ship is entirely armored on the top, bottom, sides, front, and back. This ensures great protection for troops and vehicles inside; the ship has no weapon, so all that metal goes to the armor. It can take multiple hits and keep on going, although it is of course most vulnerable to torpedoes and naval guns.
The Arowana's multiple doors can let troops out from the sides, front, or even onto the ship's flat top. The ship can receive a variety of attachments, as its simple outer shape allows easy installation of things. For instance, it could receive weapons from separate projects. An Arowana can be used as a supply ship if loaded with ammo and stuff--or a cargo transport if it doesn't have to take units, but it's best use is getting troops and vehicles around. It moves at medium speed for a ship. Each one has emergency exit hatches with two inflatable boats to let troops out if one is sinking. Overall, it's a well-armored, reliable transport ship that can handle the heat of a naval invasion.
Equipment
Bayonet Helmet - for Breadbugs (1 per day, 5 resources)
These extra-thick, sturdy helmets significantly aid Breadbugs in both offense and defense. Painted black, they cover almost all of the Breadbug's head except for its eyes and mouth. This provides excellent protection for its most vulnerable area, and makes digging much easier. The Breadbug can plow its shovelly head into tough rocks and grind 'em up without flinching--The helmet doesn't cost 5 resources for nothing. The other, perhaps better, part of the Bayonet Helmet is the weapon. The forehead part of the helmet contains an extendable bayonet that works extremely well in short-ranged combat. As the Breadbug already has a whole bunch of defense, you just try fighting one of those suckers when he's waving a blade around. The bayonet can extend/retract from a button reachable by the Breadbug's foot, so it can stab too. The bayonet is as long as half a Breadbug itself, so you'd better go to plan B if you want to Pikmin-swarm these to death.
Armorshredder - for Purple Pikmin (1 per 2 days, 5 resources)
Long anti-tank weapons painted black with small white stripes along the width. They're essentially bazookas. Armorshredders are heavy and difficult to steal, although when given to Purple Pikmin, they don't prove too much of a burden due to the purples' strength. They can have a single, tough AT Shell loaded at a time. It's extremely effective against tanks and such due to the shells' extremely fast travel time, and two direct hits on a lightly-armored thing like a jeep will reduce it to slag. Armorshredders are generally accurate, often hitting the target (although perhaps not in the perfect spot). They're effective up to around 100 bulborb lengths away, but after that hits become rare. The large, heavy AT shells do take a while to reload, so if the Pikmin using the weapon is completely protected, it'll be about ten seconds. Much longer if there are bullets and things flying around. There is one more notable flaw--The huge recoil means that Armorshredders are damn near unusable on the run, and are still pretty inaccurate if the Pikmin is moving. This means that they must usually be fired from a stable position, such as from a Chimera's firing platform or crouching with support.
Scoped Rifle - for Pikmin (2 per day, 1 resource)
Very standard, effective guns, making troops extremely effective at range. They're naturally built for Pikmin to handle, and Imperial Guard officers often carry one for self-defense. Each rifle has a long shape and sleek build, with a blue-tinted scope mounted on the top to complement the obsidian black gun. They use Firearm Bullets in clips of 10, with their Pikmin owners carrying three clips around at a time. The scope has a 6x zoom, with some rangefinder numbers and the standard black + for target acquisition. The rifles only have a semi-automatic firing mode, so unfortunately they're of less help in short range, lacking the full-auto mode. Obviously, they're still effective in close quarters, but the 6x scope is useless at that range, forcing hip-fire. Scoped Rifles are accurate and can pierce light troop armor, a natural solution to armored foes. When a Pikmin is prone with one of these, the accuracy is tough to beat, making an advance very difficult. They can also bottle enemies up in their base, as one doesn't really want to come out when a bunch of rifles are pointed at the gates.
Combat Knife - for Pikmin (10 per day, 1/5 of a resource)
A very "standard issue" weapon, they're simply an effective increase in melee ability for Pikmin. Combat knives are naturally razor sharp and can kill with a single stab in the right spot. As they are not as long as an actual sword, they can be difficult to use right against certain enemies. However, they do make Pikmin quite effective and their simpleness makes them easy to mass-produce.
Defenses
Heavy MG Bolter (20 days, 100 resources)
This is one tough shell to crack. It's all about ripping through infantry approaching from any direction. The standard design for the Heavy Bolter turrets, the MG Turret is a white octagonal emplacement armored on all sides. It's much thicker in diameter than it is tall. Loaded on the top is a black double machine gun capable of firing Heavy MG ammo. It's connected very deeply with the turret's armor, so one can't simply pop the gun off the top. The machine gun can point in any direction, but both barrels must face the same direction (On one general target/mass of enemies). There's not much of a real limit to its bullet chain because of how deep the turret is, although it can't technically fire indefinitely. They can turn upwards to mess up hovering helicopters, too. MG Turrets should not be attacked with troops and have a lot of armor, but can't handle armored vehicles.
Heavy AT Bolter (20 Days, 100 resources)
This one follows the natural heavy bolter style; thick, rooted structure, and top-mounted ranged weapons. This one has twin AT Shell cannons. These must face the same direction, but fire at fast speeds; every three seconds, two AT shells go speeding into the enemy armor. They require a near-direct hit to be effective, but can be handy for disorienting troops or blowing away slow special troops. Basically, it's fast and long-ranged single-target destruction. It can quickly switch targets if there's a lot in range, but it simply can't deal with getting swarmed by anti-tank troops. You definitely don't want to approach this with vehicles, though.
Listening Post (50 Days, 400 resources)
A shiny, house-sized, cube-shaped building. Isn't that nice? The Listening Post makes it real hard to be sneaky. A semi-protected radar array is mounted on the top, and it's powerful--You can't approach the base without getting seen. It will locate ships, aircraft, troops, the whole bit, although it can only tell the vague number of each group ahead of time. Also, the inside of the Listening Post contains a sensor system. This is not as accurate as the radar, but can detect underwater entities such as submarines, and areas of movement. It can locate, say, the direction artillery is coming from, or a bunch of troops trying to sneak into the base. However, unless it's big or loud, the sensors will only give weak readings--So it might take a few minutes to catch infiltrated troops. Overall, an active Listening Post makes the Imperial Guard really tough to trump, simply because you've almost no chance of ambush. The building is well-armored, but possesses no weapons.
Research, Upgrades
Firearm Bullets (20 Days)
Just your standard infantry weapon bullets here. Sniper rifles, assault rifles, handguns, it all goes in here. Heavier guns such as LMGs or defenses do not fall into this category.
Heavy MG Chains (20 Days)
This research allows use of much heavier machine gun ammunition. Things like Heavy Bolters, miniguns, LMGs, HMGs, and so on are covered by this. As it's a separate upgrade, you can expect your stuff to operate very effectively.
Flame Shatter Mortars (30 Days)
These tough, if smaller mortars are built to do a whole bunch of fire damage. With a deep orange glow emanating from these shells, folks should know to stay away. When one of these explodes, the heat in the medium-sized explosion is tremendous, and usually leaves a fire on the ground in the area for minutes. It can wall of areas if enough are used, in addition to lighting structures on fire and incapacitating light vehicles. They are often fired quicker than standard mortars, but do not have as wide of a direct explosion radius.
Torpedoes (35 Days)
Heavy anti-ship/anti-submarine weapons. After launch, torpedoes are self-propelled tracking heavy explosives that can breach massive amounts of armor, sometimes even sinking a ship in one hit. Torpedoes do not travel quickly, but are hard to avoid. They arm themselves shortly before hitting the target to avoid detonating prematurely. This research took a while, and so torpedoes are very effective from these documents.
Napalm (20 Days)
It burns stuff up. A lot. Napalm is sort of a gelatinous substance normally, but it's usually used in flamethrowers and such, so it's more easily visualized as just flames. It lays waste to unprotected troops and can even deal decent damage to light armor. Napalm is not generally used at long range, though, with the flamethrower being its main use. It burns stuff up real good, ayup.
Artillery Shells (25 Days)
Good, straight-up damage-dealing shells conventionally fired from cannons. Artillery shells are traditionally built to be fired from extremely long distance; they have a very wide area of effect, heavily damaging anything in the explosion radius. Ships and naval guns, as well as standard artillery vehicles, make use of different sizes of these.
AA Shells (20 Days)
Pretty much flak right here. AA shells are fired significantly faster than nearly any other type, and do a magnificent job shooting down planes and helicopters. They explode into black clouds of shrapnel, which can rupture aircraft from the inside or just severely damage them based on how close they are. Additionally, they make stellar anti-infantry shells due to the range and usual fire rate. They do not make very good anti-tank weapons.
AT Shells (30 Days)
These shells are used by a variety of things. AT Shells are large ballistics-launched weapons capable of punching through heavy vehicle armor or wiping out clusters of troops. They generally travel extremely fast to the point where dodging is not an option. They're perfect for blowing up tanks and vehicles, and if a little hard to use effectively on troops, useful against clustered enemies.
Naval Shells (50 Days)
Some of the heaviest ammunition used here, Naval Shells are generally 450mm and were originally researched by the Kampgruffe Lehr. They're sort of like artillery shells on steroids; capable of penetrating feet of armor on a direct hit, and with an explosion radius large enough to pound loads of infantry at a time or obliterate a base defense. They naturally take a long time to reload, but are extremely powerful and only used by the best machines, such as battleships. The Leman Russ Battle Tank is notable for taking this ammunition to the front line, but it is normally used in longer-range combat.
Leman Russ Conqueror (20 Days, 100 resources. Vehicle.)
A great, all-around light tank for getting it done. The Conqueror variant of the Leman Russ contains modified treads with extra traction and a faster engine. It's really fast and can cross tough terrain with breeze, easily clearing over rubble, boulders, or maybe your face. The Leman Russ Conqueror contains two AT Shell firing cannons. One is bigger than the other, mounted straight on the center-front. This cannon unfortunately only can aim 45 degrees, unable to turn. However, it does more damage than the smaller rotating cannon loaded on the turret. It takes about five seconds to reload each one, so Conquerors can quickly punch through light armor, and are great at knocking over defenses, evading enemy fire with the enhanced speed. The last capability is a simple Heavy MG Chain-equipped gun on the top. As the crew is completely protected, it is all controlled from inside. This adds a handy anti-infantry capability if the cannons are busy blowing up base defenses.
Leman Russ Battle Tank (40 Days, 200 resources. Vehicle.)
The assault vanguard and all-out brawler--The standard Leman Russ tank. It moves at medium vehicle speed, which means fast considering the amount of armor loaded on it. Getting to that, it has an extremely heavy level of armor and is often plated with Stainless Steel, making this one hell of a thing to destroy. It's capable of taking multiple bombs and anti-tank hits to the face and continuing on, although it is a little more vulnerable in the back and certainly not invincible.
The Leman Russ Battle Tank usually carries four weapons to the front. The rotating turret at the top has an AT Shell cannon, generally handy at popping off other vehicles. It reloads quickly at five seconds between shots. On each side is a Heavy MG Chain gun capable of rotating end to end, ideal for killing troops trying to flank as the tank pushes in. Then on the front is the heavy hitter--A modified Artillery Shell-utilizing cannon. It's been changed to work well in the front lines, so the barrel can be leveled and used in short range, good at dealing heavy damage to vehicles or clusters of troops. It is unfortunately unable to turn past the front of the tank, since it's not on the turret, but that's okay because it's the chief offensive weapon. It takes twelve seconds to reload this gun. The tank has a stationary firing mode that it can switch to, which limits its movement but allows much greater firing range and accuracy with the artillery, making it into a useful anti-ship measure (though vulnerable to aircraft). Overall, the Leman Russ Battle Tank is great at both offense and defense; it can cover its own flanks with the normal cannon and MG for advances, and pound enemies and ships from a distance with the artillery cannon.
Hydra (20 Days, 100 resources. Vehicle.)
Almost pure anti-air. The Hydra is something you don't want to send your aircraft anywhere even remotely close. It's got the base of a tank, with treads and medium armor, but different weapons. The top is more turret-shaped, with four dangerous AA Shell cannons pointing ahead, akin to the classic Flakpanzer. With two on each side of the mount, these can be aimed in any direction to make life miserable for the aluminum foil up top. Each cannon fires independently, so when they're all firing at differing times at the same area, that makes for a whole lot of shrapnel in the air. Lightly armored planes and copters can really get wasted by this, but it won't take too much longer to wear down tougher aircraft.
The flak guns can also be turned down to send shrapnel into infantry, which is extremely dangerous. This is possibly the best thing the Guard has to offer against flying troops, too. Unfortunately, the simple 20mm shells are really very nearly useless on armor. Tanks are this thing's natural enemy, especially with only average speed to hold it up. But when it's pointed at anything in the air, you don't want to get bitten by a Hydra, as it can take only a few seconds to destroy aircraft in range, and with four independent guns, all your fancy shmancy speed doesn't mean jack.
Hellhound (30 Days, 100 Resources. Vehicle.)
The most anti-troop focused vehicle in the Guard. The Hellhound is a tough frontline tank that gets the job done. It has medium speed but a good level of armor, taking multiple direct anti-tank hits before facing trouble in the slightest. It's got a longer shape than a taller one, painted black with some dark green on the armor. Two lethal Napalm flamethrowers are mounted next to each other on the front-top, capable of turning in any direction and delivering a long, thick spray of flame wherever needed. This makes for excellent building and defense destruction, as they can begin to melt iron after around five seconds of continued flame. Naturally, it's a beast against troops, especially elites. It's one of the best vehicles the Guard has against land-bound elites, in fact--The intense, unceasing heat cooks 'em up good.
Hellhounds have one other weapon to counter their disadvantage of short range: A Flame Shatter Mortar launcher. It's loaded on the top-back, and launches a dangerous mortar every six seconds. These make a bomb rock-sized explosion on the ground, shattering into flames and leaving a burning spot on the ground. This has about the range of a tank's cannon, although it's just more anti-troop business. The Hellhound's natural enemies are armor-to-armor and air-to-ground, but without those things around, it'll completely wreck troops and defenses, using its tough frontline-class armor to allow continued damage.
Piranha (30 Days, 150 resources. Submarine.)
This tall submarine specializes in sinking anything made of metal in the water, as well as submerging or surfacing quickly. The Piranha is painted a somewhat bright blue, without many other markings. It's a much taller submarine than most folks are used to seeing, not nearly as long for compensation. It moves at a fair speed, faster or on par with a standard ship. The Piranha has an extra long periscope, making fine recon or espionage. It's capable of surfacing or submerging far faster than standard subs in this weird world, taking only about three minutes. It has very effective sonar, stretching a mile around and allowing targeting from that distance. On each side is a Torpedo tube, capable of firing independently and taking ordinary time to reload. The Piranha is a complete beast at sinking ships and other submarines; its torpedoes are powerful and often don't need more than a couple hits to deal critical damage to the target. It also has the unique ability of targeting incoming torpedoes with its own, so with the long sonar detection, it can intercept the attack. The Piranha has good armor for a sub and can definitely take a hit or two, although it is still quite vulnerable to dedicated anti-submarine weapons such as depth charges. Overall, it's simply very effective at its job and one can't go wrong with it.
Silencer (20 Days, 100 resources. Submarine.)
A radar/sonar/sensor jammer submarine. The Silencer fits its name; its deep black paint accompanies the role well. It is entirely unarmed and has very little armor, to the point where a single very strong anti-sub direct hit could render it unusable. It's rather small, even for a submarine. The Silencer moves at a good pace, faster than most subs but is not exactly a speed demon. It has a whole bunch of jammer equipment that it actively uses to screw up enemy radar, sonar, and sensors. The range is approximately 2 miles in radius. This won't make the radar, sonar, or sensors malfunction and give away noticeable problems; they will simply not detect anything around the Silencer. This makes it ideal for espionage with a Piranha or other unit, as well as sneaking up on a base undetected. Furthermore, it can be used well to make torpedoes and missiles fail to lock on in its range.
It can also be used as a way to make ships miss their mark; getting the enemy ships or subs entirely in its jamming range will of course screw up their radar and sonar, which ships are often very reliant on for scoring hits. And if one hasn't espionaged the base, one isn't likely to know about the Silencer and it will thus be a pain to even figure out why none of the systems are working. It also screws up tracking systems on missiles, guided projectiles, and the like which can be a very helpful defense for other naval units, saving battleships from cruise missiles and whatnot. Unfortunately, all this makes it a very poorly-armored sub and without any weapons, it must be protected. More for special purposes than combat.
Arowana (24 Days, 150 resources. Ship.)
The main transport unit for overseas travel or naval invasions, the Arowana is an extremely well-armored transport ship that can receive a variety of machine attachments. It has a largely rectangular shape, with the engine area located at the back. The front three-fourths hold cargo or units for transport. A single Arowana can transport 500 ordinary troops, 50 specials, or 5 vehicles. There are some exceptions, such as if vehicles or troops are particularly small or large, but that's usually the limit. The holding area is completely protected; the ship is entirely armored on the top, bottom, sides, front, and back. This ensures great protection for troops and vehicles inside; the ship has no weapon, so all that metal goes to the armor. It can take multiple hits and keep on going, although it is of course most vulnerable to torpedoes and naval guns.
The Arowana's multiple doors can let troops out from the sides, front, or even onto the ship's flat top. The ship can receive a variety of attachments, as its simple outer shape allows easy installation of things. For instance, it could receive weapons from separate projects. An Arowana can be used as a supply ship if loaded with ammo and stuff--or a cargo transport if it doesn't have to take units, but it's best use is getting troops and vehicles around. It moves at medium speed for a ship. Each one has emergency exit hatches with two inflatable boats to let troops out if one is sinking. Overall, it's a well-armored, reliable transport ship that can handle the heat of a naval invasion.
Equipment
Bayonet Helmet - for Breadbugs (1 per day, 5 resources)
These extra-thick, sturdy helmets significantly aid Breadbugs in both offense and defense. Painted black, they cover almost all of the Breadbug's head except for its eyes and mouth. This provides excellent protection for its most vulnerable area, and makes digging much easier. The Breadbug can plow its shovelly head into tough rocks and grind 'em up without flinching--The helmet doesn't cost 5 resources for nothing. The other, perhaps better, part of the Bayonet Helmet is the weapon. The forehead part of the helmet contains an extendable bayonet that works extremely well in short-ranged combat. As the Breadbug already has a whole bunch of defense, you just try fighting one of those suckers when he's waving a blade around. The bayonet can extend/retract from a button reachable by the Breadbug's foot, so it can stab too. The bayonet is as long as half a Breadbug itself, so you'd better go to plan B if you want to Pikmin-swarm these to death.
Armorshredder - for Purple Pikmin (1 per 2 days, 5 resources)
Long anti-tank weapons painted black with small white stripes along the width. They're essentially bazookas. Armorshredders are heavy and difficult to steal, although when given to Purple Pikmin, they don't prove too much of a burden due to the purples' strength. They can have a single, tough AT Shell loaded at a time. It's extremely effective against tanks and such due to the shells' extremely fast travel time, and two direct hits on a lightly-armored thing like a jeep will reduce it to slag. Armorshredders are generally accurate, often hitting the target (although perhaps not in the perfect spot). They're effective up to around 100 bulborb lengths away, but after that hits become rare. The large, heavy AT shells do take a while to reload, so if the Pikmin using the weapon is completely protected, it'll be about ten seconds. Much longer if there are bullets and things flying around. There is one more notable flaw--The huge recoil means that Armorshredders are damn near unusable on the run, and are still pretty inaccurate if the Pikmin is moving. This means that they must usually be fired from a stable position, such as from a Chimera's firing platform or crouching with support.
Scoped Rifle - for Pikmin (2 per day, 1 resource)
Very standard, effective guns, making troops extremely effective at range. They're naturally built for Pikmin to handle, and Imperial Guard officers often carry one for self-defense. Each rifle has a long shape and sleek build, with a blue-tinted scope mounted on the top to complement the obsidian black gun. They use Firearm Bullets in clips of 10, with their Pikmin owners carrying three clips around at a time. The scope has a 6x zoom, with some rangefinder numbers and the standard black + for target acquisition. The rifles only have a semi-automatic firing mode, so unfortunately they're of less help in short range, lacking the full-auto mode. Obviously, they're still effective in close quarters, but the 6x scope is useless at that range, forcing hip-fire. Scoped Rifles are accurate and can pierce light troop armor, a natural solution to armored foes. When a Pikmin is prone with one of these, the accuracy is tough to beat, making an advance very difficult. They can also bottle enemies up in their base, as one doesn't really want to come out when a bunch of rifles are pointed at the gates.
Combat Knife - for Pikmin (10 per day, 1/5 of a resource)
A very "standard issue" weapon, they're simply an effective increase in melee ability for Pikmin. Combat knives are naturally razor sharp and can kill with a single stab in the right spot. As they are not as long as an actual sword, they can be difficult to use right against certain enemies. However, they do make Pikmin quite effective and their simpleness makes them easy to mass-produce.
Defenses
Heavy MG Bolter (20 days, 100 resources)
This is one tough shell to crack. It's all about ripping through infantry approaching from any direction. The standard design for the Heavy Bolter turrets, the MG Turret is a white octagonal emplacement armored on all sides. It's much thicker in diameter than it is tall. Loaded on the top is a black double machine gun capable of firing Heavy MG ammo. It's connected very deeply with the turret's armor, so one can't simply pop the gun off the top. The machine gun can point in any direction, but both barrels must face the same direction (On one general target/mass of enemies). There's not much of a real limit to its bullet chain because of how deep the turret is, although it can't technically fire indefinitely. They can turn upwards to mess up hovering helicopters, too. MG Turrets should not be attacked with troops and have a lot of armor, but can't handle armored vehicles.
Heavy AT Bolter (20 Days, 100 resources)
This one follows the natural heavy bolter style; thick, rooted structure, and top-mounted ranged weapons. This one has twin AT Shell cannons. These must face the same direction, but fire at fast speeds; every three seconds, two AT shells go speeding into the enemy armor. They require a near-direct hit to be effective, but can be handy for disorienting troops or blowing away slow special troops. Basically, it's fast and long-ranged single-target destruction. It can quickly switch targets if there's a lot in range, but it simply can't deal with getting swarmed by anti-tank troops. You definitely don't want to approach this with vehicles, though.
Listening Post (50 Days, 400 resources)
A shiny, house-sized, cube-shaped building. Isn't that nice? The Listening Post makes it real hard to be sneaky. A semi-protected radar array is mounted on the top, and it's powerful--You can't approach the base without getting seen. It will locate ships, aircraft, troops, the whole bit, although it can only tell the vague number of each group ahead of time. Also, the inside of the Listening Post contains a sensor system. This is not as accurate as the radar, but can detect underwater entities such as submarines, and areas of movement. It can locate, say, the direction artillery is coming from, or a bunch of troops trying to sneak into the base. However, unless it's big or loud, the sensors will only give weak readings--So it might take a few minutes to catch infiltrated troops. Overall, an active Listening Post makes the Imperial Guard really tough to trump, simply because you've almost no chance of ambush. The building is well-armored, but possesses no weapons.
Research, Upgrades
Firearm Bullets (20 Days)
Just your standard infantry weapon bullets here. Sniper rifles, assault rifles, handguns, it all goes in here. Heavier guns such as LMGs or defenses do not fall into this category.
Heavy MG Chains (20 Days)
This research allows use of much heavier machine gun ammunition. Things like Heavy Bolters, miniguns, LMGs, HMGs, and so on are covered by this. As it's a separate upgrade, you can expect your stuff to operate very effectively.
Flame Shatter Mortars (30 Days)
These tough, if smaller mortars are built to do a whole bunch of fire damage. With a deep orange glow emanating from these shells, folks should know to stay away. When one of these explodes, the heat in the medium-sized explosion is tremendous, and usually leaves a fire on the ground in the area for minutes. It can wall of areas if enough are used, in addition to lighting structures on fire and incapacitating light vehicles. They are often fired quicker than standard mortars, but do not have as wide of a direct explosion radius.
Torpedoes (35 Days)
Heavy anti-ship/anti-submarine weapons. After launch, torpedoes are self-propelled tracking heavy explosives that can breach massive amounts of armor, sometimes even sinking a ship in one hit. Torpedoes do not travel quickly, but are hard to avoid. They arm themselves shortly before hitting the target to avoid detonating prematurely. This research took a while, and so torpedoes are very effective from these documents.
Napalm (20 Days)
It burns stuff up. A lot. Napalm is sort of a gelatinous substance normally, but it's usually used in flamethrowers and such, so it's more easily visualized as just flames. It lays waste to unprotected troops and can even deal decent damage to light armor. Napalm is not generally used at long range, though, with the flamethrower being its main use. It burns stuff up real good, ayup.
Artillery Shells (25 Days)
Good, straight-up damage-dealing shells conventionally fired from cannons. Artillery shells are traditionally built to be fired from extremely long distance; they have a very wide area of effect, heavily damaging anything in the explosion radius. Ships and naval guns, as well as standard artillery vehicles, make use of different sizes of these.
AA Shells (20 Days)
Pretty much flak right here. AA shells are fired significantly faster than nearly any other type, and do a magnificent job shooting down planes and helicopters. They explode into black clouds of shrapnel, which can rupture aircraft from the inside or just severely damage them based on how close they are. Additionally, they make stellar anti-infantry shells due to the range and usual fire rate. They do not make very good anti-tank weapons.
AT Shells (30 Days)
These shells are used by a variety of things. AT Shells are large ballistics-launched weapons capable of punching through heavy vehicle armor or wiping out clusters of troops. They generally travel extremely fast to the point where dodging is not an option. They're perfect for blowing up tanks and vehicles, and if a little hard to use effectively on troops, useful against clustered enemies.
Naval Shells (50 Days)
Some of the heaviest ammunition used here, Naval Shells are generally 450mm and were originally researched by the Kampgruffe Lehr. They're sort of like artillery shells on steroids; capable of penetrating feet of armor on a direct hit, and with an explosion radius large enough to pound loads of infantry at a time or obliterate a base defense. They naturally take a long time to reload, but are extremely powerful and only used by the best machines, such as battleships. The Leman Russ Battle Tank is notable for taking this ammunition to the front line, but it is normally used in longer-range combat.
