Who here thinks DiamondBacks and Vulture models >>>>> Hellion?

[Aldrius]

Meh. I think the Hellion just needs some more stuff on it's surface area, to make it look a bit more dynamic and a bit less bland.

[Pandonetho]

Except people have been complaining about the fact that it uses wheels. As for the design, it works. The only real difference between this and this is that the latter is enclosed, its front wheels are slightly forward and it has a flamethrower up top.

Not me, I couldn't care less if it used wheels, my problem is with the unit's main body.

Um, losing a vehicle is bad in general, whether you have ten or ten thousand. Taking a damaged vehicle back to base for repairs is infinitely better than leaving it on the battlefield and building a brand new one. The latter is just a waste of time and resources.

That's assuming that repairing the vehicle would be faster and cheaper than just all together assembly line manufacturing a new one.

Depending on the damage you'd have to take it apart and see what's broken or dented, make specific changes or scrap certain parts to be replaced by custom parts.

On the contrary, realism can be very exciting.

I didn't see anything exciting there. Just a helicopter shooting some missles and some jets dropping some flares. And I was talking more along the lines of gameplay and lore. Gameplay wise, using jets and whatever have already been done, there's nothing new and exciting about them. Lore wise if everything used treads and wheels it would be boring to imagine.

Wheels are still easier to make than anti-grav, whether or not the latter can be mass produced. If such a speed advantage exists for the anti-grav vehicle, it trades that for being more complicated and require more energy than the simpler drive system.

Technically shouldn't hover crafts have the ability to go over water as well? Also, the AK47 trades power for accuracy, so there's always going to be a tradeoff. If SC has engines capable of keeping battlecruisers up in the sky in atmospheres, then I'm pretty damn sure you can expect near 100% reliability from something of a much simpler design than a battlecruiser's technology.

As for the flamethrower, it is questionable, but presumably it can be swapped out for other weapons. As well, a flamethrower doesn't really require the same amount of precision to aim as other weapons, since it can cover a wider area than a MG. Aiming it at 200km/h is less of an issue than trying to do the same with a machine gun.

I'm going to assume that with hovercraft technology, traversing terrain will be smooth without all the bumps of rocks and uneven ground. Aiming a machine gun in that case would be much more easy than if you were on a jeep. Also, if weapons COULD be swapped, a flamethrower would be vastly inferior to a machine gun anyway, which has a longer range. Why bring such a weak vehicle into close range with a flamethrower?

An unfounded assumption. There's a very basic principle, KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid. The more complex a system, the more moving parts it has, the greater the chance that it will break down. We had a discussion about this back at Blizzforums, I can go grab it again if you've forgotten.

And clearly it's the future, I'm pretty sure they've reduced the chances of such parts breaking down to molecular chances. Also, for a vehicles like the vulture which is cheap, mass produced and has a simple role, scouting, I don't possibly see how wheels could do a better job.

As for 40k, the IG trades reliability for sheer power for their plasma weapons,

So, the Terrans trade whatever reliability wheels give them for speed. I doubt hover tech is any less reliable in their day and age.

When attrition whittles your forces down to tens of thousands of troops, you'll be wishing you had that Goliath instead of leaving it out to rot on the battlefield. Though if I needed a light armored unit I'd go for a tankette instead, but that's besides the point.

Maybe, but one goliath or two, or a tank or whatever in SC is not going to save you.

[Triceron]

I always hated the cobras look. The concept is awesome though, a fast moving vehicle with a turret that fires independently. Diamondback is a better name, but I think the look could be better.

[mr. peasant]

I'm going to assume that with hovercraft technology, traversing terrain will be smooth without all the bumps of rocks and uneven ground. Aiming a machine gun in that case would be much more easy than if you were on a jeep. Also, if weapons COULD be swapped, a flamethrower would be vastly inferior to a machine gun anyway, which has a longer range. Why bring such a weak vehicle into close range with a flamethrower?

Because fire spreads, fire fire intimidates and most importantly, Zerg are edible.

And clearly it's the future, I'm pretty sure they've reduced the chances of such parts breaking down to molecular chances. Also, for a vehicles like the vulture which is cheap, mass produced and has a simple role, scouting, I don't possibly see how wheels could do a better job.

Strictly speaking, within lore, the ability to cheaply mass produce Vultures may have been (temporarily) lost at the end of Brood War along with most of the Terrans' major industrial sites.

[Pandonetho]

Because fire spreads, fire fire intimidates and most importantly, Zerg are edible.

Actually I got sidetracked a little bit from some long posts. I have no problem with the fire, I have no problems with wheels OR hover technology. However, the problem I have with the unit is the art of the main body, which just plain doesn't look much like a Terran vehicle to me. It might also be the name, I can imagine a ton of these guys roaming across the map as Jackals, but then the name Hellion I feel is distasteful.

Anyway, to me it doesn't look streamlined like the vulture, or rough/tough like the Tank or the Goliath. It's just odd looking. The turret also looks pretty gay.

Strictly speaking, within lore, the ability to cheaply mass produce Vultures may have been (temporarily) lost at the end of Brood War along with most of the Terrans' major industrial sites.

They're making Diamondbacks now... which use the same technology, if not better.

[electricmole]

yeh theres nothing about the buggy hellion that standout (visually it is not that fun to look at and it doesn't have an awesomeness feel factor) except for its gameplay value. Its just well damn plain looking (oh a common looking buggy). The scv/probe/drone looks more interesting than the buggy.

[mr. peasant]

They're making Diamondbacks now... which use the same technology, if not better.

There's no knowing how recently they regained the facilities to mass produce them. Moreover, just because they can now mass produce them, that doesn't mean you throw out your existing arsenal. In other words, there might be a large, standing army Hellions that had been prepared in the event of the (then thought) imminent Zerg onslaught following the end of Brood War.

[electricmole]

i dont think it does have to do with lore. blizzard can come up anything lorewise.

its just that blizzard was satisfied with the buggy design and i don't know why.

[pure.Wasted]

Terran Hellion – The unit itself hasn’t changed very much and the development team told us it was the first Terran unit in line for a visual makeover, but they’ve boosted its speed.

From Joneagle_X's review.

[electricmole]

hoooray!