Look at me! Call me Frankenstein, because I'm bringing this post back from the dead! Again!
Been writing a lot more, my story is now almost finished. (Over thirty chapters and two thousand reads, now part of the #writteninaction campaign!) Anyway, here are a few of my own theories about certain robots, though do take them with a grain of salt because I ignore a few previous theories here. This is all based around my current draft for the story, so it may be refined.
The basics: the TMC (who are the villain, a greedy corporation in my story) manufacture cheap, mass-produced robots to aid the America robots in their war against Russia. Of course, this means that Destrier, Griffin, Fury, Jesse, Doc, and Butch are allied.
Russia, Germany and parts of Britain are allied, but the Brit bots fight on both sides. (In my book the Iron War began between USA and Russia, with neither being the true villain.) This lumps all of the New Order robots in the same alliance with the Russian ones, and Lancelot's knights play the middle fiddle.
Japan built it's robots (Fujin, Raijin) to defend it's borders but has entered the war on the side of Russia, as it has already harboured a grudge against the US for years (the US attack on Russia is a misunderstanding, incited by the TMC).
Korea wants nothing to do with anyone and has instead taken the same route as Japan, building robots to defend it's borders. However, instead of mass-production of slow, lumbering turrets, Korea maintains a small but powerful platoon of specialized robots (Kumiho, Haechi, Bulgasari) to aggressively protect it's borders from anyone and everyone.
Canada and China are the "heroes" of the story and originally refused to build any robots, deciding to stay neutral. However the two begin manufacturing robots in secret in an effort to destroy the corrupt TMC (who continue to manufacture weapons and robots for the Americans, furthering the war for profit). The Canadians develop the Rhino and Stalker, and the Chinese create the Carnage and a few other, mass produced robots such as Golem. This Chinese-Canadian Alliance will eventually become known as the Freedom Fighter's Alliance.
A little bit of lore is ignored here in the creation of Golem, but sue me I have artistic license and this is a draft that will be edited.
Canada and China enter the war with their robots and continue developing a more specialized robot. The Inquisitor. I do not have the creation of the Inquisitor quite nailed down yet and will try to make it accurate to its belonging to a Theocratic City-State. Eventually. You can only fit so much into one book, which is why I will make a second.
A few quick ones:
Hellburner belongs to the TMC, but was intended to be a remote-controlled demolition robot before being retrofitted into a piloted suicide bomber, hence the bright colors. My reasoning is that what suicide bomber would intensionally dress in bright, visible colors? The TMC just didn't bother changing the paint job.
Mercury is an an attempt by the TMC (yes, I give them a lot of credit in this book but hey villains need weapons) to refine the abilities of the Hellburner while capitalizing on the success of Canada's Inquisitor. It is revealed very late in the war and my story.
Pursuer is another TMC prototype, an attempt to replicate the success of the Stalker using stolen plans. Revealed late in the war. 'nuff said.
Raven is an experimental Griffin MK II prototype. I haven't even considered using it in the book yet. This is the first time I have even thought about giving it a backstory.
Hover is yet another TMC testing project, intended to be a robot for combat above at extreme altitudes, above the height that Command Capsules can safely launch (for reference, in my story a pilot controls the robot via an interchangeable pod. It's the thing that ejects from your robot when you die and flies into the air).
Bulwark is the final TMC prototype robot, to by piloted by the villain himself in a final battle (slight spoilers) against our hero. It combines the attributes of many robots and is as tough as nails.
The Spectre... Well, I'm not gonna talk about my theories on that one. Too much of a spoiler for my story. You'll have to read and see. :-)
From here it gets a little hazy. I know for certain I plan to include more robots in the second book. My idea is that just as in the game, as the story progresses into it's second book the line between factions and robots grows thinner. Everyone starts using every type of robot, painting them, customizing them, etc. And the technology gets more refined.
For example, think of our real wars. We started with rickety guns that could backfire in our faces. We had single-shot miskets, but we improved to high-calibre SMGs and now are testing energy weapons. It's just like how the game progresses, each new bot grows more futuristic as the in-game world adapts to a time where War Robots aren't just a way to fight a war - they're the ONLY way to fight a war. They develop newer, more efficient technology, robots that can heal themselves, weapons that can stop a robot from moving or doing damage.
If I ever decide to include robots like Weyland or Mender or lock-down weapons you can be sure it'll be late in the second book. Even Rome holds hints at a world growing used to War Robots being as common as guns. The signs on the museum award Bulwark a design award, and the billboards advertise trading in found War Robots for money like they're old rifles you just find in an attic.
Anyway, I might do a separate thread on theories about Rome and all that and I'm sure I missed a robot or two in my rant, but hope you enjoyed!
Also go check out my book! Seriously. Link is posted:
my.w.tt/f4DOjEr0WP