Commanders!
We have sorted out all the 400 submissions of the Design a Legendary Vehicle event and are currently preparing the voting phase, in which you will get to decide the next Legendary Vehicle. With that being said, we decided to publish one more high quality entry before the voting phase itself – a vehicle called 20-XX Ilmatar.
As you can probably tell from the name, the vehicle is once again fictional but, unlike many other fictional submissions, it so well designed and interesting that it was almost instantly approved for the voting phase by our team. Here’s what the author has to say about its fictional history and gameplay.
History:
This fictional background is intended to be the real-world explanation of the unit irrespective of suggested game elements. The 20-XX vehicle platform is a modular armored vehicle system developed by the fictional Scandinavian multinational defense company Magnusson Virtanen, AB in the late 2020s and early 2030s. Intended to increase the indigenous and independent availability of a heavy AFV platform for Scandinavian regional nations, the 20-XX platform primarily targeted an MBT and heavy IFV shared system, with additional variants expanding into engineering and air-defense roles.
The platform’s core component is a base hull and mobility system incorporating a series hybrid electric drive system and advanced running gear that allows for flexible packaging of vehicle variants.
Deployed by Sweden and Finland in the mid-2030s, 20-XX vehicles suffered from minor teething issues surrounding turbine engine reliability and electronic system stability during early usage, though reached a high median standard of reliability following early adjustments to production units. Ultimately popular among crews due to the ergonomic outfitting of their fighting compartments and well-integrated control systems, the vehicles were considered successful among their home markets, though high initial unit costs ultimately prevented export sales despite attempted global marketing.
The configuration described herein is the 20-XX heavy IFV configuration offered for the global export market, reporting name Ilmatar. Named for the goddess of the air and mother to the hero Väinämöinen in Finnish folklore, the Ilmatar provides MBT-class protection and advanced firepower to deploy and support troops in diverse combat environments.
Author’s Gameplay Vision:
As a general pitch for, I would envision the Ilmatar as offering a new top-tier heavy IFV/TD class vehicle that provides a bit more variety and interest than a normal autocannon platform.
Its main armament would be the 90mm CTAS gun, which I would envision as either having a straight reload or autocannon-style overheat mechanic, putting its starting DPM at ~20-22K before retrofits, making it comparable to average T10 autocannon damage with the benefit of higher penetration accounting for its top-dog status.
Being a more gun-focused unit its missiles could be made comparable to T10 standards while lacking multi-launch or other gimmicks, possibly giving them self-guidance capability to account for the unit’s near-future technology.
The 30mm autocannon could be omitted entirely for balance or relegated to the role of an anti-infantry coax with a lower fire rate. The obvious crown jewel/gimmick/show piece of the vehicle would be the elevating turret mechanic. For gameplay purposes I would imagine this as an active ability, replacing the ability to deploy infantry or use an engine boost. In its base state the vehicle could have gun traverse values in the -8 to +20 range, while activating the gun elevation system would increase those to its full -15 to +55 range.
As a balance tradeoff, activating the elevation system could change the vehicle’s top speed, going from ~75 km/h normally to ~55 km/h with the gun elevated. This could possibly also change the vehicle’s acceleration, with standard mode being MBT-esque, possibly between that of the Namer and T-15, while the elevated mode provides more of quick hybrid drive acceleration but capped speed, with the ability to change gun mode only available under 55 km/h and taking 2-3 seconds to require an active choice from the player to make use of it effectively.
Protection would hypothetically be similar to other heavy IFVs/TDs, with a moderate bump in HP due again to its top tier nature putting it more in T10 MBT territory, giving an armor layout with majority protection of the front hull against all threats, with a moderately sized lower front plate weak spot that is smaller for missiles than tank guns, and entirely immune to autocannons. APS would be present against missiles and likely have a moderate to high reload speed between deployments.
These are all general suggestions and do not go into too much detail for the sake of being a broad hypothetical.
And that’s it for today’s entry, commanders. Stay tuned for more information because the voting phase will start in the near future. As always, we invite you to discuss the topic and express your wishes on Discord or anywhere else. But for now:
See you on the battlefield!
