Townes

"Your weaknesses became obvious when I scanned your tactics."

- Townes

General Pinpoint Townes is a 4-Star US Army General around the time of the War against the GLA.

Information
An early champion of laser technology in the USA Armed Forces, "Pinpoint" Townes has developed comprehensive offensive and defensive strategies for the 21st century around laser-based weapons. However, Townes found academic life too slow and returned to a battlefield command in 2010. Relying on inexpensive, powerful laser technology throughout his forces and his unique knowledge of its strengths and weaknesses, General Townes has consistently received superior marks during war games and live-fire actions. This four-star general continues to push the technology envelope in harnessing energy and improving power efficiency, and the Army is counting heavily on him.

Based at Fort Union, Redwood Shores, California, USA, Townes' Class Number is 00010204-01KE0.

Units

 * Laser tank instead of the Crusader tank
 * Avenger is cheaper to produce

Buildings

 * Laser defense turret instead of Patriot
 * Cold fusion reactors generate more power and costs less.

Limitations

 * Cannot produce Paladin tanks or the Tomahawk launcher
 * Laser weapons cease to function when power is low
 * Laser crusader costs 1 point of power per tank.(If your base power is in red, you will be unable to use the tanks)

General's challenge
Townes fort is positioned in what is best described as an conventional American suburb with houses, road, ranges of open field and an active train lines. He is holding tight inside a flat, wide, elevated, and paved area which resemble a giant parking lot. He will use his laser arsenal extensively by using laser tank for the offensive and laser turret for defensive purpose. Any offence (aside from rebel ambush and GLA tunnel) will have to go through a competently constructed defensife measure covering surface and air area, with recovery effort for every structure damaged or destroyed. His Superweapon lies in the center of his base.

Quotes
-I can't lose to you. Your a bowling bafoon.

-I calculated every variable and yet you are winning. How is this possible.

-Lasers make superior weapons.(General Townes at the beginning of the challenge)

-You're not my class,General.Try an easier opponent.(General Townes at the beginning of the challenge)

-General,Colonel Burton is a bowling bafoon.(If The Player recruits Coloner Burton)

-Would you like me to beam you up,General?

-Interesting choice of tactics.It didn't helped my last opponent either.

-Easy come,easy go.

-Maybe you're not cut out for this.Try painting.

-Don't look directly at the laser.It can burn out.....the back of your head.

-Looks like a big space battle doesn't it?

-Checkmate.

-Your planes are not safe from my lasers.Especially without your Airfield.(If Player's Air Field is destroyed)

-There you go,General.I've drown a line in the sand.Now i dare you to cross it.Come and get me,General.(At the beginning of the challenge)

-How do you like my new toys,General?

-Beautiful aren't they,General?

-It's a whole new age of war fair,General and it's coming to your doorstep.

-Charging lasers.Please wait general.

-Get away from my barracks!(If Townes' barracks destroyed)

-I see you approaching my base,General.I wouldn't advise coming any closer.

Behind the scenes

 * Ironically, despite being dubbed the Laser General, Townes has access to only one real laser unit at his disposal; the Laser Crusader. Many unused audio files and cameo textures however, suggest that there were many more laser-based units planned to have been implemented.
 * Such units include the Laser Ranger, Laser Missile Defender, standard Humvee with an upgradable Laser Gun instead of a TOW launcher, the Laser Paladin, the Laser Stealth Fighter, the Laser Comanche, and even the hero unit Colonel Burton was supposed to have been armed with a laser rifle. Time constraints in Zero Hour's development cycle meant that much of this content could not have been implemented into the final game.


 * The Laser Cannon was Townes' custom variant of the Particle Cannon. While significantly weaker than the standard Particle Cannon, it had longer firing duration and be available much earlier in the game (after the Airfield instead of the Strategy Center). The actual building and its superpower ability is actually complete and can be placed in-game with the World Builder; it's not known why it was never implemented into the final game.


 * The name Townes probably comes from, or at least has a remarkable coincedence with, the real-life Charles Hard Townes, Nobel prize winner and inventor of the MASER, which was the predecessor of the laser.


 * When he wins or loses his challenge against an opponent, Townes doesn't wear his glasses in both of them and only in the mugshot at the start of his challenge if the player chooses another General to play.
 * If playing as Generals Granger or Alexander, and the player builds multiple particle cannons, upon completion of the second cannon Townes says, "I wonder what would happen if we crossed the beams," quite possibly a reference to the Ghostbusters movies.