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Military Units – Upgrades:
The following upgrades become available at cost on a separate side tab once the prerequisite building has been deployed. Each one applies to both current and future units, and once researched is permanent for the rest of the game.
Bigmouth’s Armoury:
Duraplate Armour
Exoboosters
Specialists – Medicator/Coordinator
Arc Shields
Leadstorm
Time Field
Escape Pods
Nano-enhancers
Stegodon Punisher Cannons
Section IV:
Hellfire Ammunition
Reality Warp
Ion Recirculators
Vortex Shells
Bigmouth's Armory:
One of three development companies owned by the VDA council, Bigmouth's Armoury or BA gets its name from the family line that has run it for almost four generations, each successor taking the title 'Mr. Bigmouth'. Technologies that come from Bigmouth's Armoury are highly dependable and specialized, each designed to the exact specifications demanded by the Valley Defence Forces.
Duraplate Armour - $1500
Requires: Tactical Command
- Extensive modifications to the field suits worn by VDF forces greatly increases durability at little to no expense of movement. As a result, the health of Runner Rangers, Exo-Spiketails, Longneck Techmasters, and Railsniper Teams increases by 20%.
Thumper Cannons - $1000
Requires: Tactical Command
- A special mode designed for Devestator teams, this upgrade allows them to convert at will between their standard Punisher Cannon armament and the Thumper Light Artillery piece. The Thumper Cannon fires Light Seismic Shells and has the added advantages of long range, damaging troops inside of structures, and moderate damage against all vehicle/structure types.
Specialists - $1000
Swimmer Medicator Specialist Requires: Nano-Hospital
Longneck Coordinator Specialist Requires: Battle Centre
- The VDF values all its frontline infantry, and as part of its training regime occasionally incorporates specialists within these units to enhance their survival and firepower.
- Swimmer Medicators are vital combat medics that provide immediate medical care to injured group members, increasing overall health by 10% and giving 30% regeneration at all times.
- Longneck Coordinators are ballistics experts that can use their advanced computer equipment and calculatory skills to extend the range of any squad upgraded with them by 20%, as well as increasing firing rate by 20%.
Each Specialist must be added individually to each group at $200 apiece... this upgrade just unlocks the ability to buy them. You may only take 1 specialist per group.
Exo-boosters - $2000
Requires: Battle Centre
- Long in use amongst the VDF since the Twilight War, Exo-lasers have become a stapled-in standard issue armament highly ideal for use against enemy armour and structures. First used on the first generation Brontodons and the backs of Longneck Exo-suits, now they enjoy common use in Exo-Spiketails and Instigator Choppers.
- Exo-boosters are limited clearance adjustments and equipment changes to produce an even more potent blue Selenium beam, extending the range of these weapons by 30%.
Arc Shields - $1500
Requires: Battle Centre
- The great crests that dominate the appearance of the threehorn driven Challenger Tanks, Crusader Tanks, and rarer Vortex Tanks were designed not just for visual effect, but were made to incorporate Bigmouth’s new Arc Shield Generators.
- When activated, the Arc Shield reduces all damage taken towards the front armour by half. This barrier appears like a half-dome constructed out of holographic yellow hexagons. Unfortunately only so much damage can be absorbed before the generator powers down, so at best it will give a temporary edge in an armour on armour battle.
Leadstorm - $1500
Requires: Tactical Command
- Special modifications made by Bigmouth’s elite Longneck engineers greatly increase the efficiency of the reloading mechanisms of the VDF Metal Storm Tanks, reducing reload speed by a grand total of half the time.
- This upgrade greatly increases the usefulness of Metal Storms in large battles, where previously the long reload time had proven to be a liability.
Nano-Enhancers - $1000
Requires: Nano-Hospital
- This upgrade increases the rate of healing and repair of the VDF Cardiocopter, as well as slightly upgrading the effects of Medicator Specialists within Infantry groups.
Time Field - $2000
Requires: Chronometron
- This powerful upgrade unlocks the Chrono-Lab’s Time Field ability, allowing it to keep large armies safe from death in crucial moments.
Escape Pods - $1500
Requires: Battle Centre
- In previous wars, the loss of massive battle walkers and large warships was expensive not only in equipment cost but also in the valuable expertise of the pilots and crew members which were even more difficult to replace. Thanks to Bigmouth’s ingenuity, the crews of VDF Brontodon II, VDF Behemoth II, and VDF Dreadnaught Warships will now eject up into space from their ruined vehicles when they are killed. A tally of available crews is kept above the Battle Centre (Blue for Brontodons, Green for Behemoths and Gray for Dreadnaughts) and when one of these units is once again made, the pod will drop from space and take over the body, granting that new unit the previous one’s Veterancy.
- This upgrade is very valuable in long games, as over time your best weapons will become better and better until one player crushes the other with all Savoir ranked units.
Stegodon Punisher Cannons - $1000
Requires: Battle Centre
- Stegodon transports are vital to the VDF air force and ground force for resupplying and unit carrying purposes. Clever use of Stegodons can allow a VDF player to fly in and drop a bunch of Groups of Infantry, a few tanks, or even a whole Brontodon into the back of the enemy’s base by air!
- Keeping the above in mind, the Stegodon is weapon-less and in some cases has been driven off lightly defended landing zones by enemy fire without being able to respond. Bigmouth has developed Punisher Cannon mounts that can be fitted directly to the nose of these mighty aircraft, providing a degree of anti-infantry ground support.
Section IV:
Section Four is the VDF’s most secret weapons division and functions for the most part outside the laws of conventional warfare approved by VDA Universal Warfare Regulations. Since it’s founding over forty-five years ago it has been owned and personally managed by Topsy, who makes it his absolute goal to ensure that when the time comes and all the stops are pulled out, the VDF will be equipped with the most advanced but horrifying weapons imaginable. It’s only fair after all, since the Sharpteeth have no rules either.
Recently Section IV has become a bit of a private army of it’s own, taking it’s share of funding from the VDA council to construct secret bases and carry out sensitive research and development that in Topsy’s eyes shouldn’t be known about by Littlefoot and his councillors, or even the leaf-eaters as a whole, until the time is right.
Until then, VDF commanders in the field can – for a price – purchase the fruits of Section IVs labour to equip their forces with the best technology the leaf-eaters have to offer.
Hellfire Rounds - $1500
Requires: Tactical Command
- Upgrades all Runner Rangers groups and Devestator Teams with acidic rounds using a mixture of Penthium and Turbahol to melt both flesh and armour with ease, greatly increasing their killing power against heavily armoured or tough infantry like Claw Reborn, Dirge Genitors, or in the event of betrayal, VDF Vortex Suits.
Reality Warp - $2000
Requires: Hyper Locator
- This extremely complicated, one of a kind device was designed by Section IV to keep the VDF’s most important soldier – Old Chomper – alive and destroying for as long as possible in the face of fearsome modern weapons.
- Once complete, this upgrade causes a shimmering field of Time to rotate around Chomper at all times, allowing devastating enemy attacks (such as Volcano Rifles, Fusion Carpets, Poison Needles, Chrono-Cannons and Vortex Rifts) to only cause modest damage per hit rather then inflicting instant death.
- This upgrade is vital to keeping Old Chomper alive in the late game, when there are Nukes and Black Holes flying everywhere.
Vortex Shells - $2000
Requires: Vortex Reactor
- Section IV is has always been a faction for big, devastating weapons so developing the means to create localized black holes has been a long time coming for Topsy and his corps of soldiers and scientists.
- Vortex Shells upgrades the already deadly VDF Pulverizer Gunships to create Vortex Rifts with every hit, instantly annialating infantry and most light vehicles, while continuing to suck in buildings over time after the attacker has passed over.
Ion Recirculators - $2000
Requires: Battle Centre
- Topsy’s private army has been experimenting with turning the Ion technology used to power VDA cities into a weapon to be used against the aliens and sharpteeth. The program has been a success, and to date the Brontodon II, Crusader and Dreadnaughts all rain down Ion Meteors like white comets of doom.
- Ion Recirculators upgrade gives all Ion Meteor attacks from the units above a larger area of splash damage, greatly increasing the use of the weapons against large packs of infantry and vehicles.