Vehicle:Ogre

The Ogre Class Main Battle Tank is an extremely advanced and powerful Main Battle Tank deployed by the in the early months of 2795. It was intended as the replacement to the Class Main Battle Tank which previously served as the mainstay of Dominatus armored forces in the periods before and during the Great Tyranny War. It differs from the heavy and super-heavy tanks of the Tyranny in that first of all, it still has the weight designation of Main Battle Tank and that it was intended as a long-term solution to any problem the Dominatus' armored forces might have, while the heavy and super-heavy tanks were intended as stop gap measures. Despite being smaller, due to its level of sophistication, the Ogre is even more expensive than that Class Heavy Tank. Size-wise, each dimension of the Ogre is at the mid-way point between the respective dimensions of the Steelhammer and Warlord. While almost twice as heavy as the Steelhammer, and about half as heavy as the Warlord, the Ogre is still classified as a Main Battle Tank. It gained infamy during the Tyranny's final counteroffensive of the Great Tyranny War due to it's extreme battlefield effectiveness and the difficulty of countering it.

Design
The Ogre Class Main Battle Tank was a design which was born from the same talks and conferences which gave birth to the Dominatus' heavy and super-heavy vehicles. While those vehicles were intended as stop-gap measures for defeating the Tyranny's enemies on the land and restoring armored superiority to the Tyranny, the Dominatus General Staff as well as Installation 1 agreed that it was also necessary to replace the Steelhammer as the Dominatus Main Battle Tank with another more advanced Main Battle Tank as opposed to a tank of a different weight class. With this in mind, the Dominatus went about designing a tank which incorporated some of their most advanced ground technologies for vehicles for that weight and set about deploying it only when it was considered fully reliable. Because of this, it was only deployed during the Tyranny's last counteroffensive, during Operation Medusa, in early 2795, and was the last of the vehicles of this program to be deployed.

Pilot
Like all of the Dominatus' vehicles, the Ogre is an autonomous vehicle which is piloted by a robotic brain at its center. Like the Warlord, the pilots of the Ogre are generally AIs which had previously commanded Steelhammers with skill. The general trend is that due to the massive amount of Steelhammers, the best Steelhammer AIs get transplanted into more powerful combat platforms. The machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms of the Ogre permit it to learn and adapt just like an organic crew could. Oftentimes, Warlord AIs request to be transferred to Ogres due to the superiority of Ogres over Warlords in everything except rarity and direct armored combat with enemy armor. Ogres have the highest percentage of tank aces of any Dominatus vehicle, and it is generally the dream of a Domiantus Armored AI to pilot one.

Production
The Ogre is only produced on Installation 1, as Installation 1 is the only place capable of creating Ogres due to their extreme sophistication. This limits the production of the Ogre by a large amount, making it rarer than any Heavy Vehicle save for the Legacy Class Heavy Walker. The production process is extremely convoluted and complex, leading many to dub it as overengineered even by Dominatus standards. However, the supplies of an Ogre can be manufactured on myriad other worlds, making the logistics chains for them much easier to implement. The Tyranny did not try to increase the amount of worlds that could produce the Ogre due to the large amount of resources and time required to set up these facilities because at during 2795, the Tyranny was running out of both.

Armament
The Ogre's primary weapon system and main weapon is its fearsome turret-mounted antimatter shell firing Heavy Accelerator Cannon, a weapon which only reached high levels of reliability and miniaturization in the early months of 2795. This weapon can fire rather rapidly and deals both obscene damage to its target with both the kinetic damage from the speed and mass of the projectile as well as the damage meted out by the antimatter cannon. It is similar in some ways to the main weapon of the Oppressor Class Heavy Tank Destroyer, though the Accelerator Cannon's projectile is slightly slower in that it does not travel at relativistic speeds. The weapon can fire both AP and HE shells, both of which the Ogre carries enough for either multiple firefights or one massive slugfest. When using AP shells, This weapon can destroy the heavy vehicles of peer powers and completely obliterate lighter enemy armor. However, when using AP shells it is much less effective against enemy infantry and structures. However, when using AP shells, its anti-tank capabilities are almost as strong as those of the magnetohydrodynamic cannons of the Dominatus' Shadowblade Class Tank Destroyers and Warlord Class Main Battle Tanks, and are sufficient for the domination of virtually any armored engagement that does not involve an enemy's super-heavy units. When using HE shells, while the tank is capable of easily destroying the medium enemy vehicles (Main Battle Tanks included) of peer powers and providing area of effect damage which is effective against both infantry and structures, it is incapable of effectively combating the heavy vehicles of peer powers. A thermal ray is mounted co-axially to the Heavy Accelerator Cannon and is used for engaging with a wide variety of targets such as enemy infantry and light vehicles, which it is able to turn into burning ash rather efficiently.

In addition to this, the Ogre mounts two secondary weapon systems. The first of these is a pair of sponson mounted mini-magnetohydrodynamic cannons which are down-sized variants of the weapons carried by the Dominatus's Shadowblade Class Tank Destroyers and Warlord Class Main Battle Tanks. While these weapons are not as effective at defeating enemy armor as their bigger brothers, they are fully capable of slaughtering lighter enemy armor and individually disabling enemy armor of the main battle tank class. When locked on to the same target, they are fully capable of destroying enemy main battle tanks. Like the Steelhammer, the Ogre carries an anti-infantry weapon mounted vertically on top of its sponson weapons. However, unlike the Steelhammer, instead of mounting a laser autocannon on top of the sponson, it mounts a miniaturized subatomic disruptor, which while nowhere near as powerful as the heavier versions used on larger Dominatus vehicles, is still sufficient to utterly obliterate heavy enemy infantry and light enemy vehicles.

The second of these secondary weapon systems is a casemate mounted Assault Cannon mounted on the front right of the Ogre, which is used for defeating heavily entrenched enemy positions, structures, and any target within a close range of the Ogre. This is the only true projectile weapon mounted on the tank, and is an 800mm mortar which fires a massive rocket-propelled siege shell at enemy positions. However, this weapon has restricted axes of freedom, and is only capable of modifying it's elevation, not its rotation. Mounted on the front left is a large plasma "flamethrower" is used for clearing the path in front of the Ogre by immolating enemy infantry and possibly vegetation.

The Ogre mounts two tertiary weapon systems. The first are two-twinlinked laser plasma gatling guns identical in functionality to the Twilight Class Antiair Tetrapod's secondary weapon. These plasma gatling guns are capable of engaging low-flying or slow enemy craft and give the Ogre decent anti-air capacity. However, high-flying enemy craft are still safe from the Ogre, and must be dealt with by dedicated anti-air vehicles or Dominatus craft. They can also be fired at ground targets and are also effective at decimating enemy infantry. The other tertiary weapon system are the two unguided plasma rocket arrays designed for saturation fire on enemy positions which are mounted on either side of the turret. This weapon is effective at giving the Ogre some form of artillery capacity and forcing enemy troops into cover and suppressing them. These rockets are cluster munitions and break into smaller submunitions right before impact, increasing their coverage.

The final set of armaments are a set of dispensers which dispense an obfuscating cloud of nerve agents into the area around the Ogre. This weapon was put in for the case of hiding the Ogre as well as paralyzing enemy non-combatants (enemy troops generally are protected against nerve agents because of their armor) so as to expedite the process of turning them into biodrones. as well as an arc weapon mounted between the twin-linked gatling guns which is used for utterly massacring light enemy infantry at close range as well as defeating incoming ATGMS and other such projectiles. As such it doubles as both an offensive and defensive piece of equipment.

Combined, these armaments allow the Ogre to effectively engage and destroy virtually anything that is not a fast moving aircraft or a super-heavy vehicle. This means that as long as it has ammunition, the Ogre is fully capable of engaging and dominating anything from enemy armor, enemy infantry, structures, field fortifications, low flying or slow moving aircraft, and virtually anything else on the ground.

Armor
The Armor of the Ogre is heavier than that of the Steelhammer though slightly lighter than that of the Warlord. Generally speaking, it is impervious to fire from most enemy vehicles if its frontal armor is hit. Its side armor is also extremely difficult to penetrate. This is due to the combination of highly advanced armor plating and shielding that the Ogre uses. For the purposes of direct armored engagement with enemy main battle tanks, the armor of the Ogre is generally impenetrable if engaged head on with no regard for flanking. However, The rear armor is not very well armored and can be easily penetrated by a shot from an enemy Main Battle Tank. Like other Dominatus vehicles of the Mirus Campaign, the Ogre mounts a dozer-blade like construction at its front for the purpose of clearing mines and clearing rubble so as not to impede its advance.

The Ogre differs from every other Dominatus vehicle in that it enjoys an ECM System as well as a reactive armor suite. This ECM System was inspired by the 's use of ECM, which the Dominatus adopted due to the losses they suffered due to Orion League ATGM weaponry. Because of the Dominatus advanced technology in sensors, electrical engineering, computer science and other disciplines, it is excellent at disrupting the kill chain of enemy ATGMS. Furthermore, the reactive armor suite of the Ogre almost completely disrupts the kill chain, and takes the form of an anti-missile arc-weapon mounted between the twin-linked plasma gatling guns on top of the Ogre's turret. This laser is only capable of dealing with enemy rockets and missiles, and light infantry, but is incapable of defeating enemy slugs, shells or energy blasts. Furthermore, it is incapable of dealing with anti-tank weaponry launched from planes, and is only capable of effectively combating enemy ATGMs and light enemy infantry.

Inspired by the 's Stabilizer Heavy Battle Platform's cloud of nanites, which served as ablative armor, the Dominatus incorporated their own new nanite dispensers onto the Ogre. These nanites are capable of forming up to stop enemy projectiles as well as repairing the Ogre given that they still have stores of repair material. This material however, cannot be harvested on the go and must be instead taken from the Dominatus logistics train. Ogre's generally have enough of this material for several firefights, or one intense slugfest, and thus, at peak capacity, possess both self-repair capability as well as extreme durability.

Powerplant
The Ogre uses a powerful and advanced antimatter powerplant that produces enough energy to keep the vehicle moving at 50kmph, with shielding on, and firing all weapons for extended periods of time. This powerplant is located at the center of the vehicle and if it is breached and the antimatter is allowed to interact with matter in an uncontrolled environment, it visits ruination on the tank and everything around it.

Maneuverability
The Ogre is as maneuverable as the Steelhammer and thus continues the Dominatus tradition of creating the slowest tanks in the Gigaquadrant.

Doctrine
The Ogre is generally deployed to spearhead Dominatus armored assaults, especially when tanks such as the Warlord are not present, or are judged as too slow in order to lead an assault. The Ogre is never deployed alone, and is always deployed in lances of 3, and more generally speaking, are deployed in squadrons composed of 3 lances as well as a lead Ogre. While this prohibits the Ogre's deployment in a few situations due to the relative rarity of the Ogre, it vastly increases the effectiveness of the Ogre when it is deployed in this manner. This is because when deployed in groups like this, they can destroy potential enemy threats many times faster than if only a single Ogre was operating. Furthermore, when deployed this way, their combined firepower is oftentimes sufficient to keep enemies from outflanking them due to the sheer firepower that they output. A final reason for this is that when deployed this way, their combined anti-air weapons can deny enemy airspace for low flying craft because of the massive amount of projectiles that they can send flying towards enemy craft when the Ogres are deployed in concentrated groups. When deployed this way, the only effective way to deal with Ogres is through overwhelming air support coming from high flying and fast moving aircraft.

Reputation
By the end of the Mirus Campaign, the Ogre had acquired an incredibly fearsome reputation amongst the Anti-Dominatus Coalition. To many, it was the most feared and effective Dominatus tank of the entire war. It was much more powerful than the Steelhammer and thus something that was nigh-impossible for enemy tanks to deal with directly. Unlike the Warlord, it was capable of engaging low-flying enemy vehicles, rendering most gunships vulnerable to it, and was nigh-invulnerable to defeat with ATGMs, which were able to disable the Warlord. The only real way to deal with it was with dedicated anti-tank aircraft, as unlike the Class Super-Heavy Tank, it was not large enough to accurately target with orbital bombardment. Furthermore, the Ogre dished out an incredible amount of firepower and damage, enabling it to utterly destroy almost anything it came across. This was further exacerbated by the fact that Ogres always entered combat in groups of at least 3, which exaggerated their advantages in combat even more.

Capabilities
The Ogre's reputation to many as the most effective Dominatus tank of the entire war is not unfounded. The Ogre exemplifies the best traits of Dominatus engineering in that it carries with it extreme firepower and armor as well as the ability to deal with virtually any situation a tank may encounter. It is spectacularly well armored in that its ECM, Reactive Armor (in the form of the tesla coil), Shielding, Armor Plating and Nanites constitute an incredibly hard shell to crack for anything except the super-heavy weapons and vehicles of other hyperpowers. Because of this integrated system of armor, the Ogre is essentially invulnerable to the armaments of most things that engage it head on, with guaranteed damage only occurring if the Ogre is hit in the rear or in some cases, on its flanks. Furthermore, unlike other Domiantus tanks, the Overlord is able to counter ATGMs with this defensive system, essentially making infantry helpless to it in most cases. In addition to its armor being spectacular, the Ogre's armament is equally impressive. Because it carries both HE and AP rounds, the main weapon can savage any ground target lesser in power than a peer power's super-heavy vehicles. Furthermore, its myriad weapon systems enable it to utterly dominate enemy infantry both in open terrain, in cover, in fortifications, among other things at both long and short distances. Light vehicles can also be slaughtered en-masse due to this array of weaponry, and its anti-air weapons can massacre both low-flying enemy craft as well as light ground targets. Enemy fortifications are also prey for the Ogre, as its assault cannon is easily capable of breaching most enemy fortifications and buildings. Finally, its unguided plasma rockets are capable of providing saturation fire and forcing enemies into cover, while its plasma "flamethrower" is equally adept at flushing them out. The Ogre also has formidable urban warfare capability due to these weapons as well as its nerve gas dispensers, which are very capable of flushing out unarmored enemy partisans and civilians. Its bulldozer also gives it some modicum of mobility in urban environments, and combined with the plasma "flamethrower" enables it to function rather well in forested environments as well. Therefore, the Ogre is capable of fighting effectively in essentially any ground conflict where there is even ground, as Dominatus engineering is still unable to prevent their tanks from getting stuck in the mud.

Other Characteristics
In spite of its extreme effectiveness of the battlefield, the Ogre is not a perfect machine. The first of these drawbacks is cost - the Ogre costs even more to produce and maintain as the fearsome Warlord Class Heavy Tank due to its technological sophistication, and is even rarer than the Warlord. In fact, it is so rare that the only Dominatus vehicles that are rarer are the Heavy Bipedal Walkers, Super-Heavy Vehicles, Ultra-Heavy Vehicles, and Behemoths. Furthermore, due to the wide array of weapon systems that it mounts, the Ogre needs a vast logistical chain in order to supply it and keep it effective on the battlefield. Finally, due to its carrying of many weapon systems, the Ogre generally only has enpough ammunition for either a few firefights a single giant pitched battle before needing a resupply. For the most part, the Ogre is less powerful but more versatile than the Warlord, which while somewhat less advanced, is also much more massive, as it is a heavy vehicle. However, in contrast to other Dominatus vehicles fielded late in the Mirus Campaign, the Ogre is considered by the Dominatus to be very reliable.