The Robot Tank is a hovering Allied unmanned combat vehicle in Yuri's Revenge.
Background[]
The result of Allied research into propulsion technology, the Robot Tank is capable of hovering, allowing it to move over water. Being robotic in nature, it is immune to psychic powers, but also cannot gain veterancy. Also, it requires a Robot Control Center to function. If the Robot Control Center is destroyed or low on power, all Robot Tanks under its control will become disabled.
Game unit[]
Robot Tanks are interesting units, a highly mobile and cheaper version of the main battle tank fielded by the Allies. Among its notable distinctions were its ability to hover over water, which allowed them a great deal of flexibility, their powerful anti-tank gun not unlike that of the Grizzly Battle Tank, and an immunity to mind control afforded by their remote control, which made them invaluable in the fight against Yuri.
These peculiar units were often fielded as tank hunters; the combination of their armor-piercing gun and their ability to arrive nearly anywhere with little delay meant they excelled at this. These also made them capable of performing hit-and-run operations or ambushes. Their lower cost also allowed them to be fielded in larger numbers, and rather ironically attack heavier Soviet armor with Soviet-like mob tactics. Defensively speaking, they could provide much-needed anti-vehicle firepower to both ground and naval battlegroups, the latter of which could otherwise only rely on the thinly armored Dolphins and slow-firing Destroyers to ward off enemies.
This was not to say that they were perfect, however. Such mobility came at a price: the drone was stripped down to all but the essentials, and they were equipped with rather thin and light armor to keep its speed up, not to mention its inability to gain veterancy. Their armor-piercing gun is only effective against vehicles, causing it to struggle against infantry units, especially those that cannot be crushed. They are also completely helpless against enemy air power.
The Robot Tank's largest, and most curious, vulnerability was its reliance on a central control hub, as taking it out of play disables all robot tanks belonging to the same player, opening them up to attacks and destroying those hovering above water.
AI behavior[]
In skirmish, Robot Tanks controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:
- Easy: 4x, targeting vehicles
- Medium/Hard: 6x, targeting vehicles
Changelog[]
- Yuri's Revenge patch 1.001: robot tanks emerging from war factories just as a robot control center is being destroyed will no longer be stuck on the edge of the war factory.
Gallery[]
Concept art by TJ Frame
Concept art by TJ Frame
Installer slide
Voxel
Cameos[]
Veteran cameos are unused.
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Trivia[]
- Robot Tanks sink instead of exploding normally if destroyed by Giant Squids.
- Much like the Mantis of Tiberium Wars, this entirely mechanical unit only responds to commands with beeps.
- The Robot Tank's weapon was listed as "Short Range Rocket Pods" on the official Red Alert 2 website. Since it was named "Rocket Tank" on the concept art, it can be assumed that it was originally intended to fire rockets.
Glitches[]
- A graphical glitch appeared in earlier versions when the Robot Tank is attacked by the Giant Squid when hovering over water. An obsolete beta animation of the squid's tentacles appears, which was made with the palette from Tiberian Sun, and as a result, plays in wrong colors in Red Alert 2. Also, it looks like it's damaging itself (sparking) when the control center has been sold, destroyed or captured.
- Rarely, a power-less Robot Tank will fail to sink when above water.
- If a Robot Tank is being lifted up by Magnetron before the control center goes offline, it will not sink if it is dropped onto water.
See also[]
- Terror drone, Soviet counterpart
- Chaos drone, Yuri counterpart
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