Rocket buggy (Generals 1)

The rocket buggy was the basic GLA long-range attack vehicle during the War against the GLA. It was the fastest but least powerful of all long-range units.

Background

Unlike other long-range units, the rocket buggy was fast and agile, but had the weakest armour of all siege/support vehicles. They were armed with pods of small missiles, which were weaker than the RPG trooper's rockets individually. Buggies compensated their relative lack of firepower by firing a swarm of projectiles in rapid succession, especially when upgraded with extra ammo.

Upgrades

	Armour-Piercing Rockets	Increase the damage dealt by each rocket by 25%.	Purchasable from any Black Market for a cost of $2000.
	Buggy ammo	Doubles the launcher capacity on all rocket buggies, allowing them to fire more rockets in a single attack.	Purchasable from any Black Market for a cost of $1200.
	Junk Repair	Allows all rocket buggies to slowly auto-repair to full health while in the field.	Purchasable from any Black Market for a cost of $500.

In-Game

The rocket buggy is used in the spirit of GLA's hit-and-run tactics. Fast, agile, and vulnerable at close range against other units, rocket buggies are required to get in, attack, and get out again. In groups, it can destroy almost any armoured ground unit in matter of seconds. It is useful for destroying enemy defensive structures from outside their range and acts as support for armoured assaults. A small number of rocket buggies can quickly destroy the oft-feared Chinese Overlord tank.

The rocket buggy is poorly armoured and remains vulnerable during its long reload time. The rockets can be shot down by units with point defense lasers, but it would require several such units to completely neutralize a full attack of one buggy.

Unlike other artillery, they have to get their targets in their line of sight. Any target placed behind an obstacle forced the rocket buggy to close in to even be able to fire, often getting withing firing range of the target. For this reason, the rocket buggy is ineffective in an urban setting.

Assessment

Pros

• Fast
• Long range
• Price equivalent to that of an Inferno cannon
• Buggy ammo upgrade doubles the number of rockets and therefore its firepower.
• Effective against buildings (especially base defenses) and vehicles
• Volume of rockets makes point defense lasers almost completely unable to defend them.
• Capable of crushing infantry

Cons

• Weakly armored
• Low maneuverability
• Long reload time
• Rockets can be intercepted by point defense lasers and jammed by ECM tanks
• Ineffective against infantry
• Vulnerable to aircraft

Quotes

Gallery

Concept art

Alpha texture

Alpha texture

Damaged alpha texture

Damaged alpha texture

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Trivia

• There is a special toxin shells upgrade made for the rocket buggy which makes its missiles leave toxin residue. The upgrade exists in the code but is not enabled.
• The game erroneously mentions that the Rocket Buggy is strong against infantry and weak against tanks. It could mean that it's strong against infantry because of its long range and weak against tanks because of its weak armor or delay between volleys.

v·d·e Global Liberation Army GLA War Arsenal

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