| Hover Truck | |
|---|---|
 Rimtech Hover Truck | |
|
Cost |
140 |
|
Prerequisite |
|
|
Type |
Ground |
|
Health |
80 |
|
ManPower |
2 |
|
Special |
Can harvest MetaJoules from Lava, build structures, and repair units |
|
Defense | |
|
Kinetic |
15% |
|
Energy |
15% |
The Hover Truck, also known as a Hover Vehicle, is the most basic of vehicles in Metal Fatigue. They are the building and economic unit of the game, and the player starts out with at least two at the beginning of almost every mission, though more may be built at the Vehicle Factory. Its light armor and quick pace may be attributed to it's ability to merely glide across the ground, even giving it the unique ability to move across the Orbital Layer. The unit has four main priorities and capabilities in-game:
Resource collection[]
Rimtech Hover Trucks harvesting MetaJoules from Lava
Of the two resources in Metal Fatigue, the one that most resembles currency is known as Metajoules. They represent the upfront cost of everything, from the most basic of buildings to the most costly of Combot parts. The primary source for such a resource are open pools of lava, found both on the Surface and Underground Layers. To acquire this raw material, the player must select a hover truck and assign in to the preffered pool, where it will slowly gather Metajoules and deposit them instantly and automatically into the players account. Note that multiple hover trucks may be assigned to a single pool to increase income, however the pool will eventually become temporarily depleted. A hover truck drains 3 Metajoules from a lava pool each second. A lava pool that is being drained regenerates at a rate of 2 Metajoules each second.
Building[]
After selecting a single hover truck, the player may make a selection from an open list of possible buildings. After selecting a building and correctly placing it, the hover truck will get to work creating it using a red and orange colored beam. Note that some buildings on the list may be greyed out, likely due to them needing subsequent buildings in order to be created - for example, a Combot Part Factory is needed before a Combot Assembly Bay can be built. Other buildings may even be missing from the list during the campaign, likely due to limited storyline progression. Unlike most other games similar to Metal Fatigue, you do not have to pay the upfront cost of the building when the hover truck starts the process, though it would be unwise to not have the income necessary to pay for the structure, else the hover truck will be 'stuck' building until the necessary funds are available.
Similarly, the player may use a hover truck to dismantle (or "raze") a building, effectively erasing it from the terrain. This will take time, approximately the same amount of time it took to build the structure in the first place, and the player will only recieve 50% of what it cost to create the building (unless the 'pre-build phase' is still active, in which case there will be a full refund). The player may also dismantle the buildings of the enemy for profit, as apposed to destroying them. Be wary, dismantling a friendly building without re-building it elsewhere may have adverse effects, such as restricted production or building capability, or possibly even failing an objective during the campaign missions.
Repair[]
A Neuropa Hover Truck repairing a tank
Just about everything in-game is at risk of becoming damaged, including most buildings, vehicles, and Combots. If something is low on health, the player may select any number of hover trucks to repair the injured unit. Note that this process takes time and Metajoules.
Part collection[]
Finally, the player may find Combot parts laying around in-game, either placed specifically or merely scattered about after a battle between Combots. These may be quickly picked up by a hover truck and carried to the nearest Combot Assembly Bay where it will be slowly repaired at a small cost. From here, the player has many choices on what to do with it - selling it is a possiblility for an amount of Metajoules dependant on the part, or outfitting a Combot with the recovered part is also a possibility. Lastly, the player can research the part at a Research Facility in order to add it to the list of parts at a Combot Part Factory for mass production.