Best scifi tank?

[Srelex]

What vehicle that could reasonably qualify as a 'tank' be considered as the most overall effective in firepower, armor, speed, etc? Baneblades, Tau Hammerheads? SW hovertanks? Mammoth tanks? Just curious, as I was considering just how prolific fancy tanks can be in science fiction.

[Chaotic Neutral]

I'm gonna vote Basilisk, just because nothing says hello like an artillery barrage.

[Ritterin Sophia]

I'm gonna vote Basilisk, just because nothing says hello like an artillery barrage.

Do you even know what defines a tank?

[Sela]

(Not a serious answer)

http://www.gurren-lagann.net/mecha/images/daigurren.gif

The DaiGurren. . . .beware the phallic imagery (SFW).

[Chaotic Neutral]

I'm gonna vote Basilisk, just because nothing says hello like an artillery barrage.

Do you even know what defines a tank?

Fine, I'm changing my answer to Manta.

[Commander 598]

[Ritterin Sophia]

Fine, I'm changing my answer to Manta.

Again, do you even know what defines a tank? Most artilleryman will take umbrage to you calling an SPH a tank, a tanker would do so probably as well.

[CaptHawkeye]

I'd actually contend maybe the Scorpion from Halo. Outwardly its design requires only one crewman, it has an automated, autoloading turret and the tank itself has a very low profile. With the turret designed in a perfect manner for hull-down fire. The quad-tread design would seem to make immobilizing it difficult since it can presumably still move and steer on one tread per side.

It's just too bad that Bungie designs everything in Halo like its the 1970s. We've never seen any advanced optics on the Scorpion like thermal scopes, or laser range finders. We also haven't seen any advanced protection systems like reactive armour.

[adam_grif]

I was expecting the first reply to this thread to be "Bolo".

I'd actually contend maybe the Scorpion from Halo. Outwardly its design requires only one crewman, it has an automated, autoloading turret and the tank itself has a very low profile. With the turret designed in a perfect manner for hull-down fire. The quad-tread design would seem to make immobilizing it difficult since it can presumably still move and steer on one tread per side.

It's just too bad that Bungie designs everything in Halo like its the 1970s. We've never seen any advanced optics on the Scorpion like thermal scopes, or laser range finders. We also haven't seen any advanced protection systems like reactive armour.

I'm not sure whether we can find a better one or not, but the Scorpion is mega-crap. Top speed on a road isn't much faster than a brisk walk, has a single 7.62mm machinegun and a 90mm main gun. It's a tank you'd expect to see in the late second world war, automation aside. Can also apparently get cleaned up by a couple of 100mm HEAT warheads (i.e. the rocket launcher, I forget what they are exactly), to the front armor.

[Chaotic Neutral]

Fine, I'm changing my answer to Manta.

Again, do you even know what defines a tank? Most artilleryman will take umbrage to you calling an SPH a tank, a tanker would do so probably as well.

Now your just making things difficult. XV-88 it is then.

[Stark]

The Tsar from Battlezone. It hovers, it has a range of guns, a single crewman, etc. It's also sexy.

[Starglider]

I'm not sure whether we can find a better one or not, but the Scorpion is mega-crap. Top speed on a road isn't much faster than a brisk walk, has a single 7.62mm machinegun and a 90mm main gun. It's a tank you'd expect to see in the late second world war, automation aside. Can also apparently get cleaned up by a couple of 100mm HEAT warheads (i.e. the rocket launcher, I forget what they are exactly), to the front armor.

The Scorpion would be tolerable as a light tank, if it weighed say 20 tonnes instead of the quoted 66 tonnes. Considering that it gets airlifted (from orbit!) by the Pelican, which is a hydrocarbon-powered VTOL smaller than a Hercules, I choose to believe that this is in fact the case and the weight in the tech manual is bullshit. As for the ludicrously slow speed, doesn't it go much faster in Halo Wars? Certainly I'd put that down to game mechanics. Although I guess the crew compartment design is still hopelessly awful. Ok maybe it isn't tolerable even then.

How about the 'patrol tanks' from the Tank Police anime? They looked fairly practical.

[SapphireFox]

Surprised no one has mentioned the Bolo series yet. Nothing quite like an AI controlled mountian of metal with one or more giant plasma cannons on it to ruin your day.

[Vympel]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b329/ ... 190957.jpg

It's a recon vehicle though.

[adam_grif]

Surprised no one has mentioned the Bolo series yet.

Scroll up to my last post.

The Scorpion would be tolerable as a light tank, if it weighed say 20 tonnes instead of the quoted 66 tonnes. Considering that it gets airlifted (from orbit!) by the Pelican, which is a hydrocarbon-powered VTOL smaller than a Hercules, I choose to believe that this is in fact the case and the weight in the tech manual is bullshit.

Eh, I'm not so sure we can disregard canon on those grounds. I agree it's an immensely silly mass for it's performance capabilities of course.

As for the ludicrously slow speed, doesn't it go much faster in Halo Wars? Certainly I'd put that down to game mechanics.

I have never played it, but is Halo Wars more, less or on par with the canon of the other series? Because the Halo shooters on legendary difficulty are supposed to be "canonical", but it's not clear which parts are and which are not.

Although I guess the crew compartment design is still hopelessly awful. Ok maybe it isn't tolerable even then.

I can't quite remember properly on this part because I haven't played any of the games multi for a long time, but can't you get hit by gunfire while you're inside the tank?

According to halopedia, the tanks get taken out by 1 rocket, not the two I thought it took. So they're hopeless at resisting antitank fire.

[Hawkwings]

As I understood it from the interview, the Legendary difficulty is supposed to represent how difficult the fighting is supposed to be. it's not the end-all be-all of fluff and technical accuracy. For example, I'm pretty sure that Master Chief knew how to dual-wield pistols during the events of Halo 1, Warthogs aren't actually indestructible, and Marines riding on a tank do not actually have invincible knees.

[Ritterin Sophia]

Fine, I'm changing my answer to Manta.

Again, do you even know what defines a tank? Most artilleryman will take umbrage to you calling an SPH a tank, a tanker would do so probably as well.

Now your just making things difficult. XV-88 it is then.

So the answer is no, you're just an idiot.

[Ford Prefect]

As I understood it from the interview, the Legendary difficulty is supposed to represent how difficult the fighting is supposed to be.

Heroic is the way 'Halo is meant to be played' and I'm absolutely certain that if you went looking you'd find comments by the developers to the effect that Heroic is most representative of the Halo universe. Legendary is deliberate sadism.

[Kuja]

What vehicle that could reasonably qualify as a 'tank' be considered as the most overall effective in firepower, armor, speed, etc? Baneblades, Tau Hammerheads? SW hovertanks? Mammoth tanks? Just curious, as I was considering just how prolific fancy tanks can be in science fiction.

[Marko Dash]

wasn't the scorpion a bit faster i the first halo as well? in reach if you drive one in the race game-type is has a speedometer readout in kph, which IIRC worked out to around 35ish mph across forge world's terrain.

[dworkin]

I'll always have a warm spot in my heart for the Shrek PPC carrier, a battletech tank with three particle cannon, each one capable of decapitating a battlemech. As with most canon designs it is skimpy on armour to preserve dominance of actual battlemechs but it is a beautiful thing all the same.

But yeah, I think the boys from the dinochrome brigade take it.

[Stark]

The weight of the crew compartment hatch must have slowed it down. As Starglider says, it sort-of makes sense as an air-dropped light tank to fit with the Warthog in low-intensity warfare, but as a full-size MBT it sucks dogshit.

And why is it so hard to find a picture of the goddamn Czar? I'll have to make my own.

[Simon_Jester]

I have a soft spot for the panzers from David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series, myself. Quite respectable energy weapons, well protected, faster than just about any modern armored vehicle, and they come with their own very capable air defense, artillery defense, and active close quarters defense systems.

[CSJM]

How about the tank from this work? It's the Soviet cartoon Firing Range, or Polygon as some call it.

[Marcus Aurelius]

I have a soft spot for the panzers from David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series, myself. Quite respectable energy weapons, well protected, faster than just about any modern armored vehicle, and they come with their own very capable air defense, artillery defense, and active close quarters defense systems.

WTF? They put no less than four vulnerable grills on the side? At least the French had only one on their heavy tank (yes, it's a model but fairly accurate):