Special Scenario - Galvanizing Hope (click to view)
Welcome to the Intermission menu, presented before the beginning of each new scenario and home to many, many submenus. The home screen itself does contain some important information:
On the right side of the screen is the portrait of the pilot with the highest score (defeated enemies). You might remember that Chitose downed four enemy spacecraft in the last scenario; Commander Okita has her beat with ten career kills, or nine plus that giant bullet-missile from the first update. He is clearly not a man to be messed with…
At the bottom of the screen lists the current number of SR Points, Money and TacP you currently have. Money is used to upgrade our robots; TacP stands for Tactical Points and is used to buy new skills for your pilots.
In the bottom-right of the screen is the Next Sortie listings for how many optional units (robots) and bases (battleships) you can bring into the next map. These listings don’t include any mandatory (plot-relevant) units, so don’t freak out that they’re both currently at 0.
We could spend some time this update going over Skill Program, Customization and Power Parts submenus, but I think we’re pretty powerful enough for these early-game scenarios. Our next scenario isn’t Scenario 2 like you may have been expecting, but a special Day-One DLC scenario celebrating the SRW series’ 25th year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWSh_rn6ce0&width=690&height=380&rel=0
The Yamato bridge crew discuss their recent stowaway issue, and the potential tactical advantages that “humanoid weapons” would provide against the fleet-based Gamillan forces. Double-checking the roster, it would seem that the Yamato is expected to pick up two more of these weapons before departing Earth’s atmosphere.
Humanoid weapons have a firepower advantage. If they prove as effective as they seem, that opens the door to incredible tactical possibilities.
As yet another fleet of Gamillans prepare to attack, the Yamato speeds towards the pickup point…
(At the previously-mentioned pickup point.)
I believe you’re correct, seeing as I was at the rendezvous point.
I’m Charlotte Hastings. Just call me Lottie. My Grungust-
I’m aware.
Excuse you?
The Grungust. A weapon concept built solely in pursuit of power and versatility. Designed and developed by Nicola Wilhelm Labs’ American branch, it’s equipped with the ability to transform from a humanoid form to aircraft and tank forms. Its power exceeds all extant weaponry, which necessitated a large, atypical design. Said custom design hinders mass production. It has been deemed “Super” both for the size of its chassis and to call attention to its own peculiarity-
Pardon me. I’ve fallen prey to my bad habits again. I am Veltav Text. It’s kind of long, so just call me Velt. I developed this Huckebein when I was on the research staff at Nikola Wilhelm Labs HQ in Germany.
A researcher and a pilot, huh? No wonder you know so much about Grungust.
Now that we have dispensed with formalities, allow me to tell you about the Huckebein. Huckebein is also powered by the very Black Hole Engine that drives your-
Shhh! Something’s coming!
(It’s a large number of Melanca spacecraft!)
Gamillans!
They’re combat units equipped with machine guns and missiles. Best suited for ground combat. (pic) Now, returning to my description of the Huckebein, which you so rudely interrupted.
Say what!
The Huckebein has been called a radical reimagining of the Earth Federation Forces’ weapon of choice – the mobile suit. Unlike Grungust, Huckebein is built upon designs already in use by the EFF, making it easy to maintain. This confers a large advantage. That being said, a number of innovations have increased its firepower beyond compare, making it worthy of the “Super” moniker. Huckebein turns conventional wisdom that humanoid weapons prize maneuverability over firepower on its-
Head! Yeah yeah, I get it! Now let’s get out of here before we lose ours!
I wasn’t finished.
Are we experiencing the same situation, here? The Gamillans are right in front of us!
So you’re saying we can launch a pre-emptive strike?
If we’re being optimistic, then yes.
Man, for an egghead, you really know how to handle yourself in a fight!
You’re rather crude, aren’t you? I merely assessed the situation at hand and chose the most appropriate course of action.
Baloney! You acted on intuition in the end, just like me. Which is why you should’ve followed my lead in the first place!
Hindsight is always 20/20. More importantly, we should not squander another golden opportunity.
Now that’s a strategy I can get behind! Let’s go, Velt!
Very well, Lottie.
Special and DLC scenarios don’t have SR Point conditions - less pressure, but also no monetary reward. This scenario is basically a scaled-up version of the last one - they have double the spacecraft to smash, and we have double the units to smash them with. Our smashers for today include:
Grungust (Charlotte Hastings)
No Special Abilities
Special Skills:
- Support Defend (can defend and Guard when an adjacent ally is attacked)
- Strong Luck (+20% extra money when defeating enemies)
- Spirit Endurance (immune to the status effects of enemy weapons)
- Guard (At 130 Focus, damage taken is reduced)
Ace Bonus: +20% SP when sortied; +1 Move
The Grungust is our first Super Robot; beefy and bulky, armed with such exotic weapons as Rocket Punches Boost Knuckles and laser lazer beams. Charlotte has the Support Defend ability, allowing the Grungust to take hits for its friends - as a super robot, it’s well-armored enough to tank quite a few hits.
Huckebein (Veltav Text)
Special Abilities:
- Shadow (At 130 Will, gain a 40% chance - separate from Final Evasion - to dodge any attack)
Special Skills:
- Support Attack (can attack after an adjacent ally – damage is capped at 50% strength)
- Hit & Run (If stationary unit attacks, it can move after attacking)
- Instinct (At 130 Focus, raises Final Accuracy/Final Evasion/Critical)
- Protection (increases effectiveness of Defend and Evade commands)
Ace Bonus: +20% SP when sortied; +1 Move
Despite what Velt was saying earlier, the Huckebein definitely leans closer to the Real side of the spectrum than the Super side. Velt has the Support Attack ability (like Chitose before him), but his main gimmick is the Hit & Run ability - it allows you to use your powerful stationary weapons and then move afterwards.
The VangRay, Grungust and Huckebein (also their pilots) are what are referred to as Original Generation units designed specifically for the SRW series. The latter two have had previous appearances in SRW games (such as the F and Alpha series), but their acknowledgement in the series had been decreasing over the years. Especially the Huckebein, which looks particularly like a UC-era Gundam unit (not surprising, since they shared the same mecha designer). More people were surprised to see the Huckebein than they were the Yamato, and the Yamato isn’t even a traditional robot!
Back to the task at hand! In a reverse of the first scenario, we begin north of the enemy units. We move our units southward - the Huckebein is not flight-capable and thus stays on the ground. Despite the damage inflicted by the Gamillas Planet Bombs, it seems like there’s still at least a little bit of greenery left on Earth.
For future reference, Velt starts the Zero-in Spirit Command, same as Chitose. Expect to see this Spirit Command on a lot of our Real Robot pilots. Lottie knows the Fortune Spirit Command (+100% money from the next enemy she defeats), but it’s too expensive to cast right at the beginning of the scenario.
Sortie dialogue:
Alright Grungust, let’s go! Our battle starts right now! We’re fighting to revive the Earth! We’re pulling out all the stops now! It’s Iscandar or bust!
Huckebein carries the hopes and dreams of everyone at Nikola Labs, and all the other survivors! We shall make safe passage to Iscandar for the sake of the victims! For the sake of all who endeavored to get Huckebein and myself this far!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzRd5ezcPxk&width=690&height=380&rel=0
Since this scenario is the same as the first BUT MORE, let’s talk about some of the new unit mechanics instead:
First, MAP attacks. Huckebein’s Micro Missiles can hit multiple targets in a single attack, making seperate hit rolls for each, and the opponents can’t counterattack. Some MAP attacks have fixed ranges, and some turn off the friendly fire, so watch out for those.
Next let’s talk about Support Attack/Defend. Our pilots have Level 1 in those abilities, meaning they get one use per turn to Support Attack or Defend (with a maximum level of 4). Here are the rules:
- Units have to be next to each other to Support Attack/Defend.
- Support Attacking units can use any of their regular weapons (range/Focus requirements apply as normal) to attack after another unit, dealing 50% of what their attack’s regular damage would be.
- If a unit moves/attacks, it can’t Support Attack any more for that phase, even if it has Support Attack uses available.
- Support Defending units will, if the supported unit would be hit, instead Guard (halves attack damage) and take the hit instead.
- You can’t Support Defend during your phase, and you can’t Support Attack during the opponent’s phase.
One more rule - right now the Huckebein is grounded and the Grungust is on the air. If the Huckebein is attacked, the Grungust could Support Defend. But if the Grungust attacks, the Huckebein wouldn’t be able to Support Attack - it can’t fly, after all! We can solve this by landing the Grungust.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCht9b7_6YY&width=690&height=380&rel=0
You have no idea how hard it was to trigger that Support Defend on this map - half the enemies are fixed on targeting Lottie, and Velt’s dodgy enough to not trigger the Support Defend almost all the time. But trigger it we did!
You saved me. You have my gratitude, Lottie.
Grungust is tough, man! That was nothing. Leave any attacks that Huckebein can’t handle to me. Got it?
Understood. However, I will not leave you in harm’s way again.
Whoa! Look who’s the big tough guy now!
The Support Attack dialogue, thankfully, was much easier to trigger:
Nice one, Velt! Thanks for having my back there.
The Grungust has a short range, and cannot process tight turns.
Yeah yeah, I heard you the first time! Let’s just focus on cleaning up the remaining enemies, shall we?
Using these new tools, we efficiently wipe out all enemies in three turns - mission complete!
Enemy annihilation confirmed. They appeared to be acting autonomously.
Whew! It looks like Grungust’s first battle was a success! Time to put a notch in the win column!
Huckebein was similarly fortunate.
Hey, don’t you think we’d make a great team?
Your heavily-armored Grungust is uniquely suited to the front lines, where it can charge into enemies. Meanwhile, Huckebein can provide long-range cover, and take care of any enemy craft that dares to escape your assault. Though the development of our machines took different paths, their balance is ideal. Of course, they also require our unique piloting techniques. As far as I can tell, however, the final piece of the puzzle is cultivating a high degree of cooperation.
Apologies. Old habits die hard, as it is said.
Eh, don’t worry about it. It’s not like we’re under attack right now. And you’ve got quite the way of talking.
I shall take that as a compliment.
I still want a shorter answer though. Let’s try this again. Don’t you think we’d make a great team?
The tactical characteristics of our machines complement each other. They account for our weak points, and draw out our strengths-
In other words?
OK then! I think we’re going to make an awesome team, Velt!
As do I, Lottie.
(The Yamato finally arrives. So much for backup!)
That’s the Yamato!
Interstellar Cruiser, Super-dreadnought class Space Battleship, ID number DDY-01. Length: 333.00 meters. It is notable for its main thruster.
OK, Mr. Encyclopedia, that’s enough. We’re getting docking instructions. The Yamato’s going to be our home from now on, so we’d better not keep them waiting.
Indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p62KNQYt3XQ&width=690&height=380&rel=0
Pilots Veltab “Velt” Text and Charlotte “Lotte” Hastings have successfully rendezvoused with the Yamato. They greet the crew, and are quick to notice the VangRay that is also sitting in the hangar. It seems like Velt and Lotte will quickly become good friends…
Next Update:
- We begin to navigate the scary world of Intermission submenus.
- Meanwhile, the Yamato navigates itself to Mars.
- We meet our first (of many) Gundam units.