Chapter Two: Second Generation Badniks
Coconuts, Masher, Buzzer, Grabber, Spiny, Grounder, Whisp, Chop Chop, Crawl, Rexon, Spiker, Sol, Crawlton, Flasher, Aquis, Gator, Redz, Snail, Stego, Octus, Shellcracker, Slicer, Asteron, Turtloid, Balkiry, Nebula, and Clucker.
A classic upgrade from the original, these Badniks were a lot more feral and with wilder characteristics - hunting, burrowing, nesting, and showing signs of territoriality and infighting. Most notably Crawltons and Grabbers seemed to have been designed to infest and haunt the dark areas of Mobius, implying that Robotnik didn't just want an army, but a way to interfere with the ecosystem and disrupt nature by creating artificial savage wildlife. Some of these Badniks display sleep and hibernation patterns, whilst others spun cocoons and make homes in the nooks and crannies of rural areas.
Many of them displayed clear signs of intelligence and cunning - particularly the wildly antagonistic Aquis Badniks of the Oil Ocean Zone - a notable contrast to the first generation. They generated fear amongst citizens, their beast-like nature and unpredictability causing a lot of people to give in to Robotnik's slave empire early on. In other words these monstrous Badniks were a psychological tool used to accelerate the takeover, another stroke of genius by the Doctor and his chief scientist.
A small number of the upgraded versions were actually inferior to their first-gen counterparts, most notably Buzzers - although they were smarter and had a notable firepower increase, they just weren't as fast or manoeuvrable as the classic Buzz Bombers and were later discontinued in favour of the originals.
Form: Similar layout to the first generation, but these Badniks were much more evolved and complex. Many of them had segmented bodies and complex parts, reinforced with more resistant armour (the highly impressive Rexon was designed to live in volcanoes and pockets of lava!). The biggest overhaul though was to the AI, which was made to be not just smarter, but much more aggressive, savage and animal than the first generation. More advanced weaponry made them a force to be reckoned with as Robotnik began drawing up sketches for the legendary Death Egg they were expected to build and guard.
Analysis of CPU reveals that the second generation could last for two weeks with no organic battery, and interestingly, groups of the same type could share their energy reservoir, meaning they could help each other to survive if they wanted. It's almost a quandary as to why Grimer included such an altruistic feature in his creations, but it was obviously a countermeasure to cut down on the amount of Badniks forced to power-down in the field.
Purpose: Patrollers, scouts, constructors and guardians; also infiltrating the ecosystem, making home in nature and causing large parts of zones to be uninhabitable and highly dangerous to travellers. Weakness: Not exactly smart, and a Sonic Spin Attack is enough to crack their shells and free the trapped citizen inside with no injury.
Addendum: In the advent of the second generation, construction became a massive priority of the Robotnik Empire. These Badniks worked with the first generation to build his Wing Fortress and Death Egg, sowing the seeds of death from the sky in tandem with urban modernization on the ground. Grounders were the prime construction Badniks of the time, although they all pitched in. When Sonic was sent six months into the future (#STC 8 and 9 – Megadroid), a lot of grander structures like Chemical Plant and Oil Ocean were finally completed and became habitable.
Ironically, though they inspired much fear and hatred, these early Badniks were a necessary tool in building what we call 'modern Mobius' and facilitating an established economy. Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, they built around 65 per cent of Mobius's cities and roads.
- NJW
~Posted by Norris Wimple on July 17th 2010 at 12:31pm.
Chapter Three: Third Generation Badniks
Rhinobot, Monkey Dude, Bloominator, Caterkiller Jr., Blastoid, Buggernaut, Mega Chopper, Jawz, Turbo Spiker, Pointdexter, Spiker, Mantis, Tunnelbot, Bubbles, Sparkle, Clamer, Batbot, Star Pointer, Peguinator, Ribot, Snail Blaster, Corkey, Flybot747, Butterdroid, Cluckoid, Dragonfly, Madmole, Mushmeanie, Technosqueek, Blaster, Sandworm, Skorp, Rock'n, Toxomister, Fireworm, Iwamodoki, Eggrobo, Chainspike, and Spikebonker.
With the advent of the second Death Egg crisis looming, Robotnik was briefly based on the Floating Island. His brief dominion of this mysterious new land needed a new generation of Badniks to guard it, and this task was left almost entirely to Grimer. As Robotnik dealt with other matters, Grimer oversaw the development of the third generation. The results were amazing, as Grimer's unbound creativity conceived some of the most devious Badniks ever!
If there was a focus this time, it was on trickery and subterfuge. This generation benefited from various ways to surprise their enemies and cloak their intentions, with the ultimate goal of being able to trip up Sonic himself. They struck the perfect balance of attack, defence and smarts, usually using the terrain to their advantage.
Mantis burst out of the ground, its head a beacon for motion-sensors; Pointdexter and Bubbles seemed harmless or unfinished, but surprised their attackers with a hidden array of needle-spikes; Tunnelbot drilled through structures using spatial infrared to track enemies; Batbot 'played dormant'; Clamer sniped it's opponents; Sparkle used electricity to teleport it's psycho-electrical matter around. There were also Badniks disguised as plants, innocent-looking gas pipes, spike-traps, reef rocks and sandstone blocks! These Badniks were designed with their environment in mind, and deployed as such, exploiting sandy, icy, rocky, watery, grassy, and even mushroomy environments.
In short, these Badniks were a triumph of design and engineering, immaculately designed and very complex on the inside. So complex in fact, many D.R.A.T engineers were unable to recreate much of the third generation in their own Badnik attacks. They weren't as 'classic' as the originals, but many Badnik aficionados consider the third generation to be the very peak of Badnik tech.
Form: Much more organic in shape, with a refined power cell on the inside. The ones designed to guard the Floating Island were able to function without an organic battery, but the ones deployed on Mobius were required to follow the capturing process as per the norm. Some of the third generation were built using an outer shell made of different materials, such as rock and sandstone, doing much for their disguising abilities.
Purpose: Primarily to patrol the Floating Island and guard the Launch Base. When the Doctor's Death Egg plans were obviously scuppered, the full extent of the third generation was unleashed on Mobius as well.
Weakness: A swift bop to the noggin, sometimes accompanied by a bit more careful timing and a sense of cunning to root out their hiding places.
Addendum: The Eggrobos stood out from the third generation, being uniquely patterned after Robotnik’s original form rather than being designed for covert action. They could also act as proxies for the doctor: spy camera eyes, the ability to broadcast Robotnik’s voice, and remote control from the Death Egg’s control room. These features are no longer unique to Eggrobo, and have been installed in every one of the New Robotnik Empire’s Badniks.
When the electromagnetic pulse from the exploding Black Asteroid happened (# 100 boomers! - Megadroid), nearly every Badnik on the planet was knocked offline, the pulse even penetrating some underground bunkers and shelters. There were exceptions, of course, but Zone leaders issued a post-RBR round up of Badniks and the Scrap Brain Zone became a vast graveyard for decommissioned Badniks, explored only by scavenging D.R.A.T members. This junk led to a global advance in robotics: before Robotnik’s return, the reports of similar savage technology were dime-a-dozen as greedy power-mongers looked to fill the void left by the Doctor.
- NJW
~Posted by Norris Wimple on July 17th 2010 at 1:12pm.
Coconuts, Masher, Buzzer, Grabber, Spiny, Grounder, Whisp, Chop Chop, Crawl, Rexon, Spiker, Sol, Crawlton, Flasher, Aquis, Gator, Redz, Snail, Stego, Octus, Shellcracker, Slicer, Asteron, Turtloid, Balkiry, Nebula, and Clucker.
A classic upgrade from the original, these Badniks were a lot more feral and with wilder characteristics - hunting, burrowing, nesting, and showing signs of territoriality and infighting. Most notably Crawltons and Grabbers seemed to have been designed to infest and haunt the dark areas of Mobius, implying that Robotnik didn't just want an army, but a way to interfere with the ecosystem and disrupt nature by creating artificial savage wildlife. Some of these Badniks display sleep and hibernation patterns, whilst others spun cocoons and make homes in the nooks and crannies of rural areas.
Many of them displayed clear signs of intelligence and cunning - particularly the wildly antagonistic Aquis Badniks of the Oil Ocean Zone - a notable contrast to the first generation. They generated fear amongst citizens, their beast-like nature and unpredictability causing a lot of people to give in to Robotnik's slave empire early on. In other words these monstrous Badniks were a psychological tool used to accelerate the takeover, another stroke of genius by the Doctor and his chief scientist.
A small number of the upgraded versions were actually inferior to their first-gen counterparts, most notably Buzzers - although they were smarter and had a notable firepower increase, they just weren't as fast or manoeuvrable as the classic Buzz Bombers and were later discontinued in favour of the originals.
Form: Similar layout to the first generation, but these Badniks were much more evolved and complex. Many of them had segmented bodies and complex parts, reinforced with more resistant armour (the highly impressive Rexon was designed to live in volcanoes and pockets of lava!). The biggest overhaul though was to the AI, which was made to be not just smarter, but much more aggressive, savage and animal than the first generation. More advanced weaponry made them a force to be reckoned with as Robotnik began drawing up sketches for the legendary Death Egg they were expected to build and guard.
Analysis of CPU reveals that the second generation could last for two weeks with no organic battery, and interestingly, groups of the same type could share their energy reservoir, meaning they could help each other to survive if they wanted. It's almost a quandary as to why Grimer included such an altruistic feature in his creations, but it was obviously a countermeasure to cut down on the amount of Badniks forced to power-down in the field.
Purpose: Patrollers, scouts, constructors and guardians; also infiltrating the ecosystem, making home in nature and causing large parts of zones to be uninhabitable and highly dangerous to travellers. Weakness: Not exactly smart, and a Sonic Spin Attack is enough to crack their shells and free the trapped citizen inside with no injury.
Addendum: In the advent of the second generation, construction became a massive priority of the Robotnik Empire. These Badniks worked with the first generation to build his Wing Fortress and Death Egg, sowing the seeds of death from the sky in tandem with urban modernization on the ground. Grounders were the prime construction Badniks of the time, although they all pitched in. When Sonic was sent six months into the future (#STC 8 and 9 – Megadroid), a lot of grander structures like Chemical Plant and Oil Ocean were finally completed and became habitable.
Ironically, though they inspired much fear and hatred, these early Badniks were a necessary tool in building what we call 'modern Mobius' and facilitating an established economy. Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, they built around 65 per cent of Mobius's cities and roads.
- NJW
~Posted by Norris Wimple on July 17th 2010 at 12:31pm.
Chapter Three: Third Generation Badniks
Rhinobot, Monkey Dude, Bloominator, Caterkiller Jr., Blastoid, Buggernaut, Mega Chopper, Jawz, Turbo Spiker, Pointdexter, Spiker, Mantis, Tunnelbot, Bubbles, Sparkle, Clamer, Batbot, Star Pointer, Peguinator, Ribot, Snail Blaster, Corkey, Flybot747, Butterdroid, Cluckoid, Dragonfly, Madmole, Mushmeanie, Technosqueek, Blaster, Sandworm, Skorp, Rock'n, Toxomister, Fireworm, Iwamodoki, Eggrobo, Chainspike, and Spikebonker.
With the advent of the second Death Egg crisis looming, Robotnik was briefly based on the Floating Island. His brief dominion of this mysterious new land needed a new generation of Badniks to guard it, and this task was left almost entirely to Grimer. As Robotnik dealt with other matters, Grimer oversaw the development of the third generation. The results were amazing, as Grimer's unbound creativity conceived some of the most devious Badniks ever!
If there was a focus this time, it was on trickery and subterfuge. This generation benefited from various ways to surprise their enemies and cloak their intentions, with the ultimate goal of being able to trip up Sonic himself. They struck the perfect balance of attack, defence and smarts, usually using the terrain to their advantage.
Mantis burst out of the ground, its head a beacon for motion-sensors; Pointdexter and Bubbles seemed harmless or unfinished, but surprised their attackers with a hidden array of needle-spikes; Tunnelbot drilled through structures using spatial infrared to track enemies; Batbot 'played dormant'; Clamer sniped it's opponents; Sparkle used electricity to teleport it's psycho-electrical matter around. There were also Badniks disguised as plants, innocent-looking gas pipes, spike-traps, reef rocks and sandstone blocks! These Badniks were designed with their environment in mind, and deployed as such, exploiting sandy, icy, rocky, watery, grassy, and even mushroomy environments.
In short, these Badniks were a triumph of design and engineering, immaculately designed and very complex on the inside. So complex in fact, many D.R.A.T engineers were unable to recreate much of the third generation in their own Badnik attacks. They weren't as 'classic' as the originals, but many Badnik aficionados consider the third generation to be the very peak of Badnik tech.
Form: Much more organic in shape, with a refined power cell on the inside. The ones designed to guard the Floating Island were able to function without an organic battery, but the ones deployed on Mobius were required to follow the capturing process as per the norm. Some of the third generation were built using an outer shell made of different materials, such as rock and sandstone, doing much for their disguising abilities.
Purpose: Primarily to patrol the Floating Island and guard the Launch Base. When the Doctor's Death Egg plans were obviously scuppered, the full extent of the third generation was unleashed on Mobius as well.
Weakness: A swift bop to the noggin, sometimes accompanied by a bit more careful timing and a sense of cunning to root out their hiding places.
Addendum: The Eggrobos stood out from the third generation, being uniquely patterned after Robotnik’s original form rather than being designed for covert action. They could also act as proxies for the doctor: spy camera eyes, the ability to broadcast Robotnik’s voice, and remote control from the Death Egg’s control room. These features are no longer unique to Eggrobo, and have been installed in every one of the New Robotnik Empire’s Badniks.
When the electromagnetic pulse from the exploding Black Asteroid happened (# 100 boomers! - Megadroid), nearly every Badnik on the planet was knocked offline, the pulse even penetrating some underground bunkers and shelters. There were exceptions, of course, but Zone leaders issued a post-RBR round up of Badniks and the Scrap Brain Zone became a vast graveyard for decommissioned Badniks, explored only by scavenging D.R.A.T members. This junk led to a global advance in robotics: before Robotnik’s return, the reports of similar savage technology were dime-a-dozen as greedy power-mongers looked to fill the void left by the Doctor.
- NJW
~Posted by Norris Wimple on July 17th 2010 at 1:12pm.