Hello again, we're back with part 2 of "
Why Did It Take Me So God Damn Long To Finish GIN Vehicles."
First, on the list, we have an edgy anarchist on an overpriced motorcycle with a gun stolen from their dad's nightstand. While the motorbike itself is a bit tricky to mold, it's nothing too serious.
The biker, on the other hand, due to holding an actual gun this time, now has to be reanimated in its entirety. While not exactly sharing the same type of animation set as foot infantry, the biker isn't too bad to animate because there's only one stance and one entity to do (also, I ignored all the other variants uwu)
Now, the real deal of the update: the new windowless rocket buggy. The first question you might have in mind is, "Why do a windowless buggy and torture yourself with animating the crews?" The answer would be either because it looks cooler! Or probably because I'm a closeted masochist (if you couldn't tell by the mod gameplay and how I planned out the contents.) Despite that, still, it's better to be your own boss and torture yourself rather than a slave tortured by a corporate overlord.
Anyway, although not on the same tier of difficulty as the artillery crew in terms of animation, animating the rocket buggy crew is still pretty painful to animate overall.
Well, I guess that's the end of that.
Now for the lore-filled word salad of the day:
Before the formation of the GIN as an internationalist organization and right after the decolonization of North Africa. Despite the fact that 'decolonization' took place, the North African nations were still under the sphere of influence of the Western powers and relied on what little aid they were given in national rejuvenation and rebuilding.
But with the discovery of a new large oil reversal, one of the monarchs, rather than focusing on rebuilding the nation from decolonization and war, spent all the wealth gained from the oil on strengthening their institution and rule in anticipation of anti-NATO sentiment.
And by "strengthening", I mean purchasing copious amounts of anti-riot vehicles and gear to deal with the protesters because that's easier than listening to the voices of the people. Can't afford a meal, medicine, or rent? Rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannon will do. After all, why spend any capital and resources on resolving poverty, hunger, and education of the masses when the masses are just going to demand more?
But even with that, that didn't deter some groups of revolutionary vigilantes from trying. Yes, I'm talking about riders that make loud noises at 3 in the morning. But with guns and disdain for any kind of state. Their bravery was commendable, but due to the lack of proper organization and framework to deal with various factors of the revolution in its current state, their effort had mostly gone to waste.
And just like that, with the nation in complete chaos, the monarch was deposed by a coup by a famous colonel named "Muammar." And then, the GIN was born.
With mass stockpiles of anti-riot vehicles available and no purpose to serve than sitting in a warehouse, they were repurposed into the Rhinos. Although not as durable as conventional APCs, the Rhino can withstand most smaller caliber weapons carried by most infantry, making it a great option for mass transportation and mobile bunker. One can certainly fire a mortar or missile from within, but please keep the upholstery cleaned...
The resolve of the vigilantes did not go unrecognized. However, the colonel saw a great utilization of such a tactic in modern warfare. And thus, the conceptualization of the Combat Cycle was realized.
The idea was not to fight head-on, but hit them where it hurts and know where to hit. While not armed to the teeth, the Combat Cycle only needs three things: the vehicle in a functioning state, the rider, and a fully loaded gun. No training is really needed except for gun safety, a driving license, and a quick lesson from the vigilantes. The Combat Cycle is great at gathering fast intel, can traverse many difficult terrains, and fight lightly protected enemy infantry.
Now onto another topic.
Ever since the founding of the GIN, both organizations lacked substantial air force to combat their invaders and maintain some sort of airspace control. Once fully operational, Soviet MiGs and gunships, with the lack of repair parts and maintenance or production proficiency, were salvaged of their components, especially the rocket pods, into an improvisation program of fast attack multiple rocket launchers.
Despite the fact that producing a whole aircraft was not feasible due to the lack of required raw materials such as rubbers and aluminum alongside heavy NATO sanctions, the rocket pods themselves were not so hard to replicate and produce locally. As for the buggy vehicle part, it was rather easy for local mechanics to produce using homemade designs with the sole purpose of carrying rocket pods. And with that, the Wild Dog was born.
Due to its inherent high speed and long weapon range, the vehicle itself doesn't need much protection since it's mostly used to engage enemies from far away and retreat before the enemies can spot and retaliate against the operators.
GIN 'Combat Cycle' Improvised Light Attack Vehicle is GIN's combat reconnaissance vehicle.
First popularised during the turmoil of anti-monarchy protest, the Combat Cycle found its new place in the GIN forces.
Being excellent in reconnaissance operations, the Combat Cycle can traverse through many terrains with ease.
Lightly armed with a submachine gun, the Combat Cycle can defend itself but can't hold its own against a combat infantry squad.
Armaments: Uzi submachine gun
GIN T-2 'Wild Dog' Improvised Self-propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher is GIN's light anti-tank rocket artillery support.
Homemade buggy armed with salvaged/replicated Soviet rocket pods, the Wild Dog can be easily assembled and deployed.
Being able to engage enemy armor from afar and disengage with utmost speed, the Wild Dog can eliminate its targets without needing directly engage them.
Although the Wild Dog might be effective against tanks and vehicles, the rocket pods are highly inaccurate and must directly hit its more durable targets to destroy them due to their rather poor armor penetration properties.
Unlike many conventional SPMRLs, the Wild Dog can fire while moving with zero problems and doesn't produce lots of smoke when firing, so it's not as vulnerable to counter batteries.
Armaments: 3x 55mm ORO-57K anti-tank rocket launchers (upgradable) 2x 55mm UB-16-57 UMP anti-tank rocket launchers
GIN T-3 'Rhino' Improvised Armoured Personal Carrier is GIN's 1st generation of combat ready mechanised infantry solution.
Repurposed from anti-riot operations, the Rhino can protect its passengers against most small arms carried by infantry.
Unarmed, but its expansive compartment allows the passengers to fire their weapons even when mobile.