History VideoGame / Robocraft

* ArbitraryMaximumRange: Barely noticeable, as all the guns (bar Ion shotguns, which play [[ShortRangeShotgun the usual shotgun trope straight]], Lock-On Missile Launchers, whose firing range is based on missile's pretty limited flight time, and Proto-Seekers) have the same range limit, which is pretty freaking far. Though at the same time you can't shoot people from, say, halfway across the map.

* {{Teleportation}}: The Blink Module allows the user to teleport to where his or her crosshair is pointing at. Also, that's how the robots get into battle in the first place.

* KillSat: Used to be a FanNickname for a robot design that uses helium cubes to levitate itself to a great height (they thus work more like zeppelins than satellites, though they tend to resemble the latter more), then uses Rail Cannons to snipe at enemies. While now less effective (due to improved anti-air weaponry such as Aeroflak and LOMLs), heavy copters and propeller bots still exist and can throughly ruin your day.

NeedsWikiMagicLove.

* FunWithAcronyms: The post introducing the Mech Legs gave them the full name "'''B'''alance-'''A'''ssisted-'''D'''urable-'''A'''uto-'''S'''tabilizing-'''S'''trider". Also doubles as GettingCrapPastTheRadar.

* FrickinLaserBeams:
** [=SMG=]s are this. They fire in succession, peppering the enemy with laser pellets. Cheap and simple to use, and properly aimed they can eat through armor and even electroplates like candy, though they otherwise lack the raw power of Plasma or Rails.
** Nano Disruptors used to be this. They fired a continuous beam that heals allies but does no damage to the enemies or crystals. It was later changed to fire green pluses to heal instead. They're also very short-ranged.

The game was finally released at 24.08.2017 and is greenlit on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} where it can be downloaded and played from. You can find the main website [[http://robocraftgame.com/ here]].

* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: While basic chassis cubes cost only 10 Robits, functional parts' cost increase exponentially as you level up. For instance, the low ranking "Wasp" variant of the game's SMG cost only 400 Robits, but the high-ranking "Leviathan" variant costs ''more than a hundred thousand'' of them.

* CompetitiveBalance: The bots are sorted by their CPU level. The more and/or "heavier" parts your robot has, the higher its CPU level will be. Also, the more CPU robot has, the less it's energy reserve is.

** WhatAPieceOfJunk: Some of the unassuming ones can be pretty strong too.

* EnemyDetectingRadar: The Windowmaker Module appears as a large radar that shows the locations of all enemies that aren't using a Ghost Module for several seconds after activation.

* EnergyWeapon: All weapons use energy from your energy meter. The meter must be recharged when it runs out before you can use your weapons again.

* FrickinLaserBeams: [=SMG=]s are this. They fire in succession, peppering the enemy with laser pellets. Cheap and simple to use, and properly aimed they can eat through armor and even electroplates like candy, though they otherwise lack the raw power of Plasma or Rails.

* FutureCopter: Hoverblades provide control by tilting in order to vector thrust, though the vast majority of robots use more hoverblades than the two used in traditional futurecopters (at least four is the usual amount if you want a stable robot).

* MightyGlacier: Tank Treads are the heaviest and second most well-armored method of locomotion, but also the second slowest.

* MissileLockOn: The missile launcher must lock-on to an enemy before you can hit them.

''Robocraft'' is a {{Freeware}} multiplayer vehicular combat {{indie game}} developed by ''[=FreeJam=]''. The basic premise is simple: you construct a mobile robot out of blocks called "Cubes", which can be anything from bricks to shields, wheels to thrusters, radars to weaponry, etc. Once you're done building, you can then take it into the battlefield. There are currently six game modes you can bring your bot in :

* JunkRare: The Legendary-grade Wheel Monsters. Wheels are received individually from crates and you require at least four to properly run a wheelbot (Two of which need to be steering-type); with the rate that Legendary parts drop at, chances are you're hoping for a more significant part such as an Ion Distorter or module rather than the disappointing sight of something that will require dropping an extra 150K Robits to be at all useful, an issue compounded by the fact that wheels are and have historically been very bad in the meta.

** Proto-Seekers also lock on, but don't alert the target that this is happening; chances are, they'll [[CriticalAnnoyance already]] [[MostAnnoyingSound know]].

* AllegedlyFreeGame: After the Epic Loot update, Robocraft is this. Robot parts drop in crates (ranging from Rusty to Protonium) which have anywhere from 4 to 8 items in them; however, if you're not a Premium player, only the front row of those items is available to you; if a Legendary drops in the back, too bad. Your robit recycle rate, the only way to ''choose'' what items you want, is also crippled; a premium player receives 2/3rds of the robits required to forge an item fresh from the shop when recycling it; a FtP player receives ''1/6''th, on top of the fact that they're only getting half as many items in the first place. You also level up more slowly, which denies access to the 8-item Protonium crates given to you on level up, and to cap it all off your access to the only other means of gaining robits, the shop, is limited. Essentially, if you don't want your progress to be utterly crippled, you ''need'' Premium.

Remember when you built things out of {{LEGO}} as a child, imagining what it would be like to ride and fight with them? [[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs This is pretty much that.]]

* BeamSword: Tesla Blades, at least in name. They take the form of a line of electricity kept active by two tesla coils that shocks the ever-loving hell out of the enemy that touches it.

* ArbitraryMaximumRange: Barely noticeable, as all the guns (bar Ion shotguns, which play [[ShortRangeShotgun usual shotgun trope straight]], Lock-On Missile Launchers, whose firing range is based on missile's pretty limited flight time, and Proto-Seekers) have the same range limit, which is pretty freaking far. Though at the same time you can't shoot people from, say, halfway across the map.

* ArbitraryMaximumRange: Barely noticeable, as all the guns (bar Ion shotguns, which play [[ShortRangeShotgun usual shotgun trope straight]], and Lock-On Missile Launchers, whose firing range is based on missile's pretty limited flight time) have the same range limit, which is pretty freaking far. Though at the same time you can't shoot people from, say, halfway across the map.

* ArbitraryMaximumRange: Barely noticeable, as all the guns have the same range limit, which is pretty freaking far. Though at the same time you can't shoot people from, say, halfway across the map.

The game is currently in the Beta stage and is constantly being worked on, and it was recently greenlit on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} where it can be downloaded and played from. You can find the main website [[http://robocraftgame.com/ here]].

* {{BFG}}: Aeroflak Sentinel, Chain Shredder and Ion Distorter are all really big. None of them are quite a patch on the Plasma Goliathon, Aeroflak Guardian or Laser Leviathan guns, which are so enormously huge that they require multiple contact points to keep attached.

* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: Premium users gain many more customization colors that non-Premium users do not have access to.

* The Weapon Energy Module also refills this when activated; a useful property for weapons such as Ion Distorters, that blow through the entire energy guage in four shots.

* GameBreakingBug: As the game is still in beta, there have been a few. These include: falling through the floor under certain circumstances, server overloads that have prevented players from being able to play, the anti-cheat software locking players out, and so on.

* ImprovisedArmor: Failing stacking cubes or electroplates, the various hardware you can put on your robot can also serve as armor. Even the purely cosmetic stuff can block shots for you if properly placed.

* WaveMotionGun: Rail Cannons start out as small-scale versions, but gradually get big enough to fit the trope wholesale, and they hit every bit as hard as one. Rails will easily punch through a robot lacking on armor, possibly even scoring a OneHitKill if you can nail a critical connection point. These take quite a while to recharge after their energy is expended however, so be ready to run and hide after you're delivered your payload.

*** Aerofoils allow for agile and fast flying, but if they are shot off you'll come crashing down. They require thrusters too.

* VS AI : spawns you on one of the maps against AI-controlled robots to fight in a Team Deathmatch copy. You can get random item Crates in this mode.

* TankGoodness: Tank track allows you to build... well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin tanks]].

* Team Deathmatch : two 5-player teams put against each other on a small map. Victory is achieved by either team scoring enough kills (number depends on the players CPU levels). Unlike some of the the Brawls, this mode does feature respawn.
* Battle Arena : game mode with respawn where two teams are put against each other. Victory is achieved by charging your Annihilator orbital weapon before the enemy does the same with their one. Each player's score at the end of the game decides whether their MMR (Matchmaking Rating) will increase, stay the same, or decrease.
* League Arena : Almost identical to the Battle Arena, except better rewards, double experience earning and presence of the League rating, which, much like the MMR, can increase, stay the same, or decrease, depending on the result of battle.
* Brawl: Replacing The Pit and Elimination, players are paired up in two teams and set out to eradicate the other team, with various rules set upon the players to make things interesting.

** With the new meta, the Legendary gear become this, save for a handful. The weapons in particular are hit with this - they hit like a tank and are usually paired up with an extra one or two launchers. However, they're energy hogs that peter out after a few seconds. On the other hand, players will latch themselves onto the Ghost and Blink devices, mostly because they pair up wonderfully with the Tesla Blades.

* BeamSpam: Multiple [[HealingShiv Nano Disruptors]] (up to ten) can look like this.

* {{BFG}}: Aeroflak Sentinel, Chain Shredder and Ion Distorter are all really big. None of them are quite a patch on the Plasma Goliathon, Aeroflak Guardian or Laser Leviathan guns, which are so enourmously huge that they require multiple contact points to keep attached.
* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: Selective destruction of the enemy's weaponry is a viable tactic; if he loses all his guns, then he can't fire back.
* BottomlessMagazines: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since all the weapons use energy and not ammunition. However, only the Laser Wasps, Tesla Slicers and Nano Menders lack energy consumprion, while rest of the weapons and modules (except for Weapon Energy Module, which instantly restore 50% of your energy reserve) will eventually drain out general energy bar.
* BoringYetPractical: A problem with the recent meta is that you can make an amazing robot, but they can be obliterated by someone using the green-level lasers.

* ComebackMechanic: In Batlle and League Arenas, if the losing team destroys the Protonite Core, their superweapon's charging percentage will become equal to the winning team's.

*** Rail Cannons excel at sniping and punching through select pieces of cubes, though they take a long time to recharge and have ''horrible'' accuracy issues if you're [[DoNotRunWithAGun moving whilst shooting]].

*** Aeroflak cannons are excellent against air units, due to their shells exploding when near to an airborne bot (whether due to simply flying, hovering too high, jumping, or falling) and temporarily increasing in damage if you manage to score hits against flying targets in quick succession. However, they have to hit ground targets directly, and the shell does half of basic damage to them.

*** Chain Shredder is a giant [[GatlingGood rotary cannon]]. It takes a while to spin up, but when it's running at optimal speed, not many things can survive stream of bullets from it. However, it's really big, CPU-heavy and drains energy all the time trigger is held, even when just starting to spin.

*** Tracks are tough and give you decent speed and manoeuvrability, but they are big and therefore easy to hit.

*** Mech legs have good mobility and, thanks to built-in electroshields immense durability, but don't increase in speed like Tank Tracks do.
*** Sprinter legs allow you to move at high speeds and have a unique forward-leap ability, but it comes at price of stopping for a short time after the leap and lacking electroshields like those of the Mech Legs.

* DoNotRunWithAGun: Your accuracy takes a hit if you fire while moving in any way, though the only weapon it affects significantly is the Rail Cannon - a NecessaryDrawback, as being able to move at full speed while sniping would get overpowered very fast.

* TheEmpire: "Robonews" portray CF-Alliance (which is, in fact, ruled by the Emperor) like the classic version of this trope. [[UnreliableExpositor Considering, that the "Robonews" are associated with E14...]]
* EnemyDetectingRadar: Comes as a cube literally named "Enemy Radar". There's also the Radar Jammer that screws with the radars of enemies, and the Radar Receiver that shows you what's on your ''teammate's'' radars.
** As of May 2017, these have all been scrapped, and your robot now comes with this as standard, along with a "Windowmaker" module that can briefly show you the positions of everyone bar cloaked ones on the map.

** Nano Disruptors are also this. They fire a continuous beam that heals allies but does no damage to the enemies or crystals. It's also very short-ranged.

* FutureCopter: Hoverblades provide control by tilting in order to vector thrust, though the vast majority of robots use more hoverblades than the two used in traditional futurecopters (four is the usual amount if you want a stable robot).

* GrenadeLauncher[=/=]PlasmaCannon: The Plasma Launcher is [[MeaningfulName quite obviously]] a fusion of the two, lobbing plasma globs that explode violently on impact. Very good at taking out whole chunks of robot, though Electroplates can tank them easily enough. They take a few seconds to recharge after each salvo.

* JunkRare: The Legendary-grade Wheel Monsters. Wheels are received individually from crates and you require at least four to properly run a wheelbot (Two of which need to be steering-type); with the rate that Legendary parts drop at, chances are you're hoping for a more significant part such as an Ion Distorter or module rather than the dissappointing sight of something that will require dropping an extra 150K Robits to be at all useful, an issue compounded by the fact that wheels are and have historically been very bad in the meta.

** Mech Legs, a new movement type, skirt the line. They are more agile than Tank Treads and even more tanky, but are very large.

* OrbitalBombardment: The goal of normal mode is to charge the Annihilator weapon of the team's spaceship, so it can blow the enemy's reactor up with a single shot. Also, your Mothership can fire a powerful Electromagnetic Pulse, if you equip your robot with the EMP Module and use it to designate the target area.

* RidiculousFutureInflation: In-universe, price of a single copy of "Robonews" mostly fluctuatues around several tens or hundred-something thousands of dollars (it may have something to do with it being "printed on authentic recycled Earth tree paper from the 20th century") and the "Daily Robot" can cost up to $541,752.14 per copy of 12/01/2152 issue (though this one may be justified by being printed mere days after the end of the CF-Alliance's civil war).

* TankGoodness: Unlocked from the start, tank tracks allows you to build... well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin tanks]].

** Despite the [[AndIMustScream obvious]] [[ATeamFiring issues]] that would arise in reality, there was no penalty for completely encasing the Pilot's Seat in armour, even when it was an actual seat for a pilot instead of an AI remote terminal. Now that that's been removed, there''s not even an ethical reason to not armour up as much as possible.

** Triforcing[[note]]A method of building by placing blocks in such a manner that damage is redirected away from key components[[/note]] can look like this, especially with curve inners which can [[http://i.imgur.com/8sUtLgc.jpg look like they aren't actually connected to anything at all.]]

* BFG: Aeroflak Cannons, Chain Shredders, and Ion Distorters are all really big. None of them are quite a patch on the Plasma Goliathon or Laser Leviathan guns, which are so enourmously huge that they require multiple contact points to keep attached.

** Mech Legs, a new movement type, skirt the line. They are more agile than Tank Treads and even more tanky, but are very large and do not increase in speed during a battle, unlike Tracks.

* CoolStarship: The now-crashed E14's ESS "Vanguard".

* {{Teleportation}}: The Blink Module allows the user to teleport to where his or her crosshair is pointing at.

* TheEmpire: "Robonews" portray CF-Alliance (which is, in fact, ruled by the Emperor) like the classic version of this trope. [[UnreliableNarrator Considering, that the "Robonews" are associated with E14...]]

** As of May 2017, these have all been scrapped, and your robot now comes with this as standard, along with a "Windowmaker" module that can briefly show you the positions of everyone on the map.

* KillSat: Used to be a FanNickname for a robot design that uses helium cubes to levitate itself to a great height (they thus work more like zeppelins than satellites, though they tend to resemble the latter more), then uses Rail Cannons to snipe at enemies. While now less effective (due to improved anti-air weaponry such as Aeroflak and Proto-Seekers), heavy copters and propeller bots still exist and can throughly ruin your day.
* MacrossMissileMassacre: The missile launcher.

* OrbitalBombardment: The goal of normal mode is to charge the Annihilator weapon of the team's spaceship, so it can blow the enemy's reactor up with a single shot. Also, your mothership can fire a powerful Electromagnetic Pulse, if you equip your robot with the EMP Module and use it to designate the target area.

* ShortRangeShotgun: The Ion Distorter.

* SpiderTank: Can be built using the walker legs.

** Despite the [[AndIMustScream obvious]] [[ATeamFiring issues]] that would arise in reality, there was no penalty for completely incasing the Pilot's Seat in armour, even when it was an actual seat for a pilot instead of an AI remote terminal. Now that that's been removed, there''s not even an ethical reason to not armour up as much as possible.

* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: While basic chassis cubes cost only 10 Robits, functional parts' cost increase exponentially as you level up. For instance, the low ranking "Wasp" variant of the game's SMG cost only 400 Robits, but the high-ranking "Leviathan" variant costs ''more than a hundred thousands''.

** Despite the [[AndIMustScream obvious]] [[ATeamFiring issues]] that would arise in reality, there is no penalty for completely encasing the main armor body in armor cubes without any window, as gameplay is done in third-person from outside of your robot.

* GatlingGood: The Chain Shredder, and later is smaller variant the Chain Splitter.

* KillSat: Used to be a FanNickname for a robot design that uses helium cubes to levitate itself to a great height (they thus work more like zeppelins than satellites, though they tend to resemble the latter more), then uses Rail Cannons to snipe at enemies. Means of propulsion optional. They no longer exists, but rail copters, being able to snipe enemies from the sky still apply for this trope.