The Scorpion railgun is a prototypical hand-held mass driver appearing in Renegade.
Background[]
The technology for the creation of this mass driver was pioneered by Han Industries Ltd.[1] shortly before the First Tiberium War.
An extremely powerful weapon, a few early models of the railgun came into the possession of General Gideon Raveshaw. It fires 30mm Torque II rounds[1] at extreme velocities, using a magnetic coil induction system to propel them to extreme speeds.
The round had a devastating effect on enemy infantry and armor alike, but had issues with long reload times as well as heat emission and sound, both of which were compensated to a degree by a Type 175 suppressor (made in ROK, Republic of Korea) which reduced the sound by 50 decibels.[1]
Gameplay[]
It is used by Gideon Raveshaw in multiplayer.
Without doubts, it was Nod's most powerful handheld anti-tank/anti personnel weapon, but with long reload times, this weapon was not ideal for close range firefights.
Two soldiers can be overheard discussing the weapon during Grip of the Black Hand:
"It is the electromagnetic system that revolutionizes it."
"No internal propulsion for the warhead?"
"No. The magnetic induction coils launch the solid slug. Amazingly fast, I might add."
"Once we start issuing this weapon model, we will be unstoppable, brother."
"I hear that Raveshaw has a prototype in a secret cache somewhere in the chateau. Probably in the library, knowing this place."
Trivia[]
- It is strange as to why a red laser-like beam is emitted when the Scorpion fires. Railguns depicted in fiction often trail bright plasma wakes after being fired, but the choice to use a simple beam could have been a "slack off" on game design or an engine limitation.
- The name "Scorpion" suggests it's a Nod weapon, or at least a weapon contracted by Nod, so there's a possibility that GDI's achievements in Railgun technologies are Nod-origin. If so, it's unknown why Nod abandoned such a promising direction of future weaponry, although given the sheer secrecy of the project and the extreme rarity of functioning prototypes at the time, it's possible that the entirety of Nod's railgun research was irrecoverably destroyed or confiscated when they were defeated at the end of the First Tiberium War, leading them to primarily focus their continued research on their more prolific laser weaponry instead.
- According to the in-game dialogue, Raveshaw's secret cache somewhere in the chateau was hinted at being the hidden closet accessed from the library, however, only laser rifles are found there.
- The dialogue seems to imply the railgun accelerates the slug directly with induction coils, but the technology only makes sense if the induction coils are its power source, not the direct source of propulsion.
Gallery[]
A Torque II round, manufactured by Han Industries Limited
References[]
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