Can anyone tell me where this info is from and if it's canon or not?

[Shadow Archon]

Not sure, but in one of the old SC novels, they say that a Siege Tank can manipulate it's mass. However, that would make the siege mode completely stupid, so probably the writer just didn't know wtf he was talking about.

IIRC, that was something special(Artificial gravity based?) they used for it, something that Siege Tanks aren't usually outfitted with.

[Kimera757]

The tanks are usually outfitted with the gravity generator, it's just no one uses them, since space platforms have their own gravity generators.

It's a never-used backup, essentially.

[Visions of Khas]

The tanks are usually outfitted with the gravity generator, it's just no one uses them, since space platforms have their own gravity generators.

It's a never-used backup, essentially.

When and where were these first referenced; and what purpose do they have?

[Shadow Archon]

When and where were these first referenced; and what purpose do they have?

Its from the book Uprising.

[sandwich_bird]

Maybe he runs at the same time as a rocket behind his back propel him or something like that.

[Lupino]

Where'd that picture come from? Also, how come there are Protoss ships there as well?

Because it's a picture of the Protoss bombarding the planet. The "Terrans blow up a planet" comes from a different story, where a reporter reports that a terraforming effort gone wrong will "destroy the planet." Of course the hows and whys are never explained, and given how often RL reporters screw up RL science...

And in Uprising, the Siege Tank they used was special, because it had a gravity generator much stronger than normal ones used to keep them in place, in order to move around in a hurricane.

Edit:Here's the quote itself:

Arcturus had to explain the concept to Forest three times, and Forest still didn't really understand it, but it went something like this: the problem was that once the tank reached the hurricane winds of the Pinnacle, it would be swept up into the air and hurled across the wastes like some child's toy if it was not somehow
"rooted" to the ground. The solution lay in the fact that, long ago, even before the landing of the forefathers on the inhabitable planets, mankind's technology had advanced to a point where it could simulate and control gravity. The same technology that was used on battlecruisers to create artificial gravity was used to a smaller degree in combat suits and in siege tanks, to allow for their use on orbiting platforms-although most platforms had their own version of the gravity technology, to have a platform's power supplies fail and subsequently allow a tank to float out into space simply would not do. Therefore, tanks, marine combat suits, Goliath walkers, and Vulture cycles all had accelerator technology in place.

So the siege tank that Forest Keel now piloted across the arid wastes of Vyctor 5 carried modified accelerators that would, with the press of a button, increase the downward G-forces of the tank to six times normal; the inside of the tank, much like a pressurized cabin, would remain unaffected.

[Visions of Khas]

I find it odd, then, that siege tanks require a physical "rooting" into the ground, if these generators do such a good job in the first place.

[Pandonetho]

Didn't Lupino mention those were "special" tanks? Normal tanks just use it when there is gravity issues. It probably consumes power so they leave it off, also, when they do use it it just simulates regular gravity. Not to mention the cannon probably forces the tank backwards which means that even though it's brought down by gravity it could still be pushed.

[Norfindel]

I find it odd, then, that siege tanks require a physical "rooting" into the ground, if these generators do such a good job in the first place.

My thoughts, exactly.

Didn't Lupino mention those were "special" tanks? Normal tanks just use it when there is gravity issues. It probably consumes power so they leave it off, also, when they do use it it just simulates regular gravity. Not to mention the cannon probably forces the tank backwards which means that even though it's brought down by gravity it could still be pushed.

It would allow a Siege Tank to quickly fire it's main weapon without going into Siege mode. Even if for extended shooting, siege mode would be more energy-friendly, if they use it in the case of loss of gravity, that means it could be sustained for a good amount of time at normal levels. If someone can modify the generators, others will, if it's a good enough idea.

Another strange thing, is that if loss of gravity is of enough concern to put gravity generators on Tanks, even if completely unused in all other situations, Banshee's design looks still more like a *bad* idea.

[newcomplex]

My thoughts would be that you couldn't use the grav generator to bypass the seige mode, because increasing gravity enough to withstand the shock would lower the veolcity of the shell if not just crush the seige tank altogether, and kill its pilot.