Attempting to Fulfill the Plan: GDI Edition

[ErraticWizard]

My reading on the Lunar Mines remaining in Treasury hands was that it's dependent on us actually investing in Space/Lunar Mining. And that lighter investment on our end wasn't justifying letting us keep the gross product generated by it.

Space Parties leverage requires space shit. So if we aren't doing enough to forward that leverage, they can't/won't push it through.

 

[Simon_Jester]

My reading on the Lunar Mines remaining in Treasury hands was that it's dependent on us actually investing in Space/Lunar Mining. And that lighter investment on our end wasn't justifying letting us keep the gross product generated by it.

Space Parties leverage requires space shit. So if we aren't doing enough to forward that leverage, they can't/won't push it through.

Click to shrink...

I think there's more complexity to it than just the one thing.

Starbound is the main political leverage behind the moon mine income staying with Treasury. Starbound has a clear goal- get the Treasury working hard on space colonization, as fast as practicable, without cease.

The moon mines serve this goal because, importantly, they allow the effort to be self-funding. By the end of the current Plan, we'll have 100 RpT of moon mine income from three phases of Heavy Metals, two phases of Regolith, and two phases of Rare Metals. This is just about enough to pay for the Orbital category to be fully activated in 2062Q1 without touching our tiberium income... which hopefully, from Starbound's perspective, means we won't stop funding space projects in 2062 for lack of funds. The nature of the Treasury income cycle, without that advantage, might risk a scenario in which very little new work is done in space for roughly 25% of the time, causing a significant delay in space development.

...

Now, as you point out, Starbound sticking their necks out for this requires us to convince them that their vote of confidence will be returned- that is, that we will activate all our Orbital dice more or less every turn throughout the Plan. But it also helps if we've got plenty of money to spread around. We've gained +80 RpT of moon mining income since Plan start, on top of the +20 RpT from 2057. And it's part of the overall +RpT income we promised the government as a whole to provide. It will be easier for Starbound to win that political fight if we've got extra tiberium income to fill the hole left in the "everything else" budget by not reallocating 70% or so of that moon mining income. A good reason to exceed our "income increase" target by 100 RpT or so!

 

[staplesdex2]

So with all these Offworld Habitation concepts being bandied about, anyone watch Isaac Arthur's Moon and Mars Base concepts on youtube? It has plenty of concepts on what goes into being able to live away from Earth when the Green Death Rock finally outstrips the abatement efforts down the decades.

 

[Oledoms]

On an unrelated note, Since we would most likely complete the Steel Talons and Navy requirement for this Plan. I hope that we would have something like Gulati and Qatar Loyalists option for the Military (additional 10 or 15 Bonus per die in exchange for large anount of PS which would really put the damper on Nod and either reduce the amount of dice needed on the Military or get more stuff in exchange for our average spent die 10 or 11 per turn)

Also, on the next recruitment, we should go for the Orbital Guy with the 1 Die and ,3 Dice Bonus to increase chances for the next Orbital requests to be completed.

 

[Simon_Jester]

On an unrelated note, Since we would most likely complete the Steel Talons and Navy requirement for this Plan. I hope that we would have something like Gulati and Qatar Loyalists option for the Military (additional 10 or 15 Bonus per die in exchange for large anount of PS which would really put the damper on Nod and either reduce the amount of dice needed on the Military or get more stuff in exchange for our average spent die 10 or 11 per turn)

Click to shrink...

Remember, those Talons and Navy dice are, like, the minimum we're spending to keep those groups from being actively pissed. Those branches of the military have been getting the short rations for a long time despite difficult working conditions, so I don't think we're gonna get any mega-rewards from them. They'll be all like "What do you want, a cookie?"

 

[BoSPaladin]

Remember, those Talons and Navy dice are, like, the minimum we're spending to keep those groups from being actively pissed. Those branches of the military have been getting the short rations for a long time despite difficult working conditions, so I don't think we're gonna get any mega-rewards from them. They'll be all like "What do you want, a cookie?"

Click to shrink...

Well. Yes?

Like, it's precisely because we went hard into econ that we've been able to consistently pump 'conquer the world money' into the military.

And sure, they got the short end of the stick, but we are acting with a plan in mind and are trying to make good faith efforts to fund them. We had to compromise somewhere, and as a result of our actions (and admittedly some luck) we have by and large won the regency war and come out of it in an even more dominant position over nod, and look to further boost our economic and military spending going forwards.

 

[Oledoms]

Remember, those Talons and Navy dice are, like, the minimum we're spending to keep those groups from being actively pissed. Those branches of the military have been getting the short rations for a long time despite difficult working conditions, so I don't think we're gonna get any mega-rewards from them. They'll be all like "What do you want, a cookie?"

Click to shrink...

To be fair, I understand their viewpoint. We needed to focus on rebuilding from the previous years and defending the Blue Zones and some part of the armed forces got the shaft. What I meant is that an additional Plus 10 per die would really go a long way. Just look at Tiberium now, we are slowly but surely beating surface Tib and turning more areas Blue than pre Tib War 3.

With the amount of bonuses we will get from the hypothetical bonus in the future, we will have the following options.

1. Spend Less on Military without sacrificing our strength. We no longer need to concentrate our free dice on the military as more projects will be completed on base dice alone.

2. Continue the same spending pattern as the previous turns and maximize the strength of the military. With less dice needed on a single project, more can be diverted on other branches and ensure equal distribution on the military.

Although I do not know if something like them will appear on the next recruitment drive. A possible idea of mine is that ever since Tali Jackson joined the treasury, the Steel Talons might get the idea that helping the Treasury will mean that they can dictate the funds in the future. Like say, either provide a 20-30 R grant for Talons research or divert one dice to Talons per quarter.

 

[aceraptor]

Once the war winds down fully we are going to want to go hard into next generation stuff like the Paladin tank and the Mammoth Mk. IV.

And we are also going to want to toss a significant amount of dice at Talons projects so we can bring out the paradigm shifting techs like the Modular Rapid Assembly System and in general move down their tech tree.

Nod is putting out new stuff, we need to get to work on our own new stuffs after the current flare up is over.

Like, while the current showing of the new Nod tank is somewhat underwhelming, being a new clean sheet design means that it'll have a lot of room for improvement and upgrades meanwhile our Predator tanks are more or less maxed out in terms of upgrades.

 

[BoSPaladin]

Although I do not know if something like them will appear on the next recruitment drive. A possible idea of mine is that ever since Tali Jackson joined the treasury, the Steel Talons might get the idea that helping the Treasury will mean that they can dictate the funds in the future. Like say, either provide a 20-30 R grant for Talons research or divert one dice to Talons per quarter.

Click to shrink...

That would require the talons actually be useful. :mew: Something that has not happened yet.

Zocom boys and girls for life. :zomew:

 

[Hazard]

That would require the talons actually be useful. :mew: Something that has not happened yet.

Zocom boys and girls for life. :zomew:

Click to shrink...

The Steel Talons have been plenty useful. Mostly as a technological test bed, which is exactly their role. We got tank PDS because of the Steel Talons, IIRC, and it basically turned the missile swarms Nod was using to compensate for the development and rollout of useful ablative into a non-factor for GDI, on top of greatly degrading Nod's ability to use missiles in general for anti armour work.

 

[Oledoms]

Once the war winds down fully we are going to want to go hard into next generation stuff like the Paladin tank and the Mammoth Mk. IV.

And we are also going to want to toss a significant amount of dice at Talons projects so we can bring out the paradigm shifting techs like the Modular Rapid Assembly System and in general move down their tech tree.

Nod is putting out new stuff, we need to get to work on our own new stuffs after the current flare up is over.

Like, while the current showing of the new Nod tank is somewhat underwhelming, being a new clean sheet design means that it'll have a lot of room for improvement and upgrades meanwhile our Predator tanks are more or less maxed out in terms of upgrades.

Click to shrink...

I think Zone Armor would be the preferred option of the Ground Forces. They would not say no but would likely ask us prioritize ZA by at least two phases before they lower the requests.

That would require the talons actually be useful. :mew: Something that has not happened yet.

Zocom boys and girls for life. :zomew:

Click to shrink...

I do not think that we need more Tib Bonus at the moment. ZOCOM specializes in Tiberium Abatement while Steel Talons Specializes on Miltech.

We are currently balancing if we are to equip our forces with more materiel or more advanced weaponry. While resources are easy to get now that we have direct access to the Red Zones, Dice and other resources like power will still be a major concern

 

[KnightDisciple]

That would require the talons actually be useful. :mew: Something that has not happened yet.

Zocom boys and girls for life. :zomew:

Click to shrink...

Can we not start this bullshit train of crap again please. It wasn't funny or truthful the first five billion times the backseat generals of this thread tried to assert it and it's not funny now.

 

[MagnificentMind]

Just to make sure I'm understanding things right, the victory condition and presumably end point of this quest is not the elimination of NOD as an existential threat to the GDI, but rather it is both the elimination of NOD and the secured continued existence of Humanity whether it be in space or a Tib infested earth?

 

[Ithillid]

Just to make sure I'm understanding things right, the victory condition and presumably end point of this quest is not the elimination of NOD as an existential threat to the GDI, but rather it is both the elimination of NOD and the secured continued existence of Humanity whether it be in space or a Tib infested earth?

Click to shrink...

It is specifically the secured continued existence of Humanity. Defeating the Brotherhood of Nod is not actually a victory condition. There are good reasons to fight the Brotherhood, but it is not a requirement for winning the quest.

 

[doruma1920]

but rather it is both the elimination of NOD and the secured continued existence of Humanity whether it be in space or a Tib infested earth?

Click to shrink...

As Simon cribbed from Lincoln: If we can save Humanity by ending NOD, we would do it, if we can save Humanity by leaving NOD alone, we would do it, and if we can save Humanity by ending some of NOD and leaving others alone, we would also do that.

 

[Simon_Jester]

Well. Yes?

Like, it's precisely because we went hard into econ that we've been able to consistently pump 'conquer the world money' into the military.

And sure, they got the short end of the stick, but we are acting with a plan in mind and are trying to make good faith efforts to fund them. We had to compromise somewhere, and as a result of our actions (and admittedly some luck) we have by and large won the regency war and come out of it in an even more dominant position over nod, and look to further boost our economic and military spending going forwards.

Click to shrink...

That doesn't sound like a good argument for why they should auto-gift us with extra capacities if they even can. That presumably wouldn't be a zero effort institutional cost for them.

In addition to which, the Talons already did that. Remember that we get two dice from General Jackson.

Once the war winds down fully we are going to want to go hard into next generation stuff like the Paladin tank and the Mammoth Mk. IV.

Click to shrink...

Personally, I'm willing to push the Mammoth Mk. IV forwards a bit, but would want to put the Paladin off until after roughly late 2063 (the likely 'GO' time for Karachi).

I think we have a bit of time left there.

Also, to a considerable extent, we're still trying to digest technological advances we already have, which requires considerable dice investment.

The Steel Talons have been plenty useful. Mostly as a technological test bed, which is exactly their role. We got tank PDS because of the Steel Talons, IIRC, and it basically turned the missile swarms Nod was using to compensate for the development and rollout of useful ablative into a non-factor for GDI, on top of greatly degrading Nod's ability to use missiles in general for anti armour work.

Click to shrink...

We also got at least +6 Health at low cost from a project that was a spinoff of Talons tech: neuro-helmets.

Talons tech has value outside the military.

 

[MightbeaMimic]

Personally, I'm willing to push the Mammoth Mk. IV forwards a bit, but would want to put the Paladin off until after roughly late 2063 (the likely 'GO' time for Karachi).

I think we have a bit of time left there.

Click to shrink...

I disagree with you here but I can see where you're coming from. Sure the Mammoth has been longer without an update but as the most common and widely used by far MBT of the GDI I'm of the opinion that replacing the predator will have a far larger impact militarily than a new Mammoth would.

 

[Simon_Jester]

I disagree with you here but I can see where you're coming from. Sure the Mammoth has been longer without an update but as the most common and widely used by far MBT of the GDI I'm of the opinion that replacing the predator will have a far larger impact militarily than a new Mammoth would.

Click to shrink...

The problem is that the current upgraded Predator is adequate, while the current Mammoth is not. The Mammoth hasn't even received the kind of refits the Predator has.

The reason this is an issue is that doctrinally, the Mammoth and Predator do not do the same thing.

The Predator is a main battle tank- its task is to provide highly mobile direct fire from a platform protected against most enemy weaponry.

The Mammoth is a superheavy breakthrough tank- its task is to provide somewhat mobile direct fire from a platform protected against all enemy weaponry, short of strategic weapons such as nuclear warheads.

...

The Predator, guarded by ablatives and point defense lasers, is protected against all tactical Nod weaponry except their heaviest plasma cannon. This is protection sufficient to carry out its mission. Its mobility remains unchanged and therefore adequate for the foreseeable future. And its armament is solid, in that it can disable anything short of Nod superheavy vehicles, and threaten even those. With the addition of the railgun munitions upgrades, the Predator's armament will become even more effective.

The Predator (with upgrades) is still a valid first-line main battle tank, and its obsolescence is unlikely to become a major problem until the very late 2060s, even if high-end Nod MBTs can match or outperform it in the mid-2060s.

...

The Mammoth's mobility remains adequate for its limited requirements. Its armament, like that of the Predator's, seems to be mostly adequate and will soon be receiving an effective upgrade.

But protection?

The Mammoth, lacking defensive lasers, is critically vulnerable to well prepared Nod defenders. It has received no defensive upgrades except its ablative tiles, and yet it is the unit that as per doctrine requires defensive upgrades most, more so than the Predator. The Mammoth cannot be considered properly suited for its doctrinal role until and unless it is equipped with point defense lasers and adequate shielding.

...

The reason the Mammoth needs an upgrade more than the Predator needs to be replaced with the Paladin is not because "it's been longer."

It's because on the one hand, the Predator shows every sign of remaining capable of performing within its doctrinal role- that is, of being able to do the job without being truly prevented from doing so by Nod weapons. MBTs have always not been invulnerable, and have always been susceptible to kills from the enemy's heaviest weapons. That's not the point; the point is that the combination of mobility, firepower, defenses, and numbers enables them to engage effectively under any circumstances and inflict harm on the enemy, while remaining mobile enough to act as a mobile reserve or exploitation force.

And on the other hand, the Mammoth shows signs of NOT remaining capable of performing within its doctrinal role, as Nod missiles likely continue to improve (their bipropellants have obvious application to missile warheads), and their direct fire weapons advance by leaps and bounds (Mammoths are prime targets for any plasma cannon that happen to be on the field on a given day).

A weapon system, or even an entire branch of the military, that is in danger of being unable to perform its core mission needs to be replaced or upgraded. If the danger is largely hypothetical, this reduces the priority. If the danger has already materialized, the replacement/upgrade must take place immediately.

...

Furthermore, it is likely that replacing or upgrading the niche Mammoth breakthrough tanks will be a considerably simpler project than doing the same with the far more numerous Predator MBTs. This is important given that we have many other immediate demands, both to secure GDI territory against Nod strategic weapons (an imminent threat) and to prepare for Karachi (our military's likely next major planned objective)

 

[WestOrEast]

The problem is that the current upgraded Predator is adequate, while the current Mammoth is not. The Mammoth hasn't even received the kind of refits the Predator has.

The reason this is an issue is that doctrinally, the Mammoth and Predator do not do the same thing.

The Predator is a main battle tank- its task is to provide highly mobile direct fire from a platform protected against most enemy weaponry.

The Mammoth is a superheavy breakthrough tank- its task is to provide somewhat mobile direct fire from a platform protected against all enemy weaponry, short of strategic weapons such as nuclear warheads.

...

The Predator, guarded by ablatives and point defense lasers, is protected against all tactical Nod weaponry except their heaviest plasma cannon. This is protection sufficient to carry out its mission. Its mobility remains unchanged and therefore adequate for the foreseeable future. And its armament is solid, in that it can disable anything short of Nod superheavy vehicles, and threaten even those. With the addition of the railgun munitions upgrades, the Predator's armament will become even more effective.

The Predator (with upgrades) is still a valid first-line main battle tank, and its obsolescence is unlikely to become a major problem until the very late 2060s, even if high-end Nod MBTs can match or outperform it in the mid-2060s.

...

The Mammoth's mobility remains adequate for its limited requirements. Its armament, like that of the Predator's, seems to be mostly adequate and will soon be receiving an effective upgrade.

But protection?

The Mammoth, lacking defensive lasers, is critically vulnerable to well prepared Nod defenders. It has received no defensive upgrades except its ablative tiles, and yet it is the unit that as per doctrine requires defensive upgrades most, more so than the Predator. The Mammoth cannot be considered properly suited for its doctrinal role until and unless it is equipped with point defense lasers and adequate shielding.

...

The reason the Mammoth needs an upgrade more than the Predator needs to be replaced with the Paladin is not because "it's been longer."

It's because on the one hand, the Predator shows every sign of remaining capable of performing within its doctrinal role- that is, of being able to do the job without being truly prevented from doing so by Nod weapons. MBTs have always not been invulnerable, and have always been susceptible to kills from the enemy's heaviest weapons. That's not the point; the point is that the combination of mobility, firepower, defenses, and numbers enables them to engage effectively under any circumstances and inflict harm on the enemy, while remaining mobile enough to act as a mobile reserve or exploitation force.

And on the other hand, the Mammoth shows signs of NOT remaining capable of performing within its doctrinal role, as Nod missiles likely continue to improve (their bipropellants have obvious application to missile warheads), and their direct fire weapons advance by leaps and bounds (Mammoths are prime targets for any plasma cannon that happen to be on the field on a given day).

A weapon system, or even an entire branch of the military, that is in danger of being unable to perform its core mission needs to be replaced or upgraded. If the danger is largely hypothetical, this reduces the priority. If the danger has already materialized, the replacement/upgrade must take place immediately.

...

Furthermore, it is likely that replacing or upgrading the niche Mammoth breakthrough tanks will be a considerably simpler project than doing the same with the far more numerous Predator MBTs. This is important given that we have many other immediate demands, both to secure GDI territory against Nod strategic weapons (an imminent threat) and to prepare for Karachi (our military's likely next major planned objective)

Click to shrink...

Man, I've been playing too much of @NickAragua's quest. I completely forgot that Mammoth tanks even existed, let alone what they were there for or what sort of help they needed.

 

[MightbeaMimic]

The problem is that the current upgraded Predator is adequate, while the current Mammoth is not. The Mammoth hasn't even received the kind of refits the Predator has.

The reason this is an issue is that doctrinally, the Mammoth and Predator do not do the same thing.

The Predator is a main battle tank- its task is to provide highly mobile direct fire from a platform protected against most enemy weaponry.

The Mammoth is a superheavy breakthrough tank- its task is to provide somewhat mobile direct fire from a platform protected against all enemy weaponry, short of strategic weapons such as nuclear warheads.

...

The Predator, guarded by ablatives and point defense lasers, is protected against all tactical Nod weaponry except their heaviest plasma cannon. This is protection sufficient to carry out its mission. Its mobility remains unchanged and therefore adequate for the foreseeable future. And its armament is solid, in that it can disable anything short of Nod superheavy vehicles, and threaten even those. With the addition of the railgun munitions upgrades, the Predator's armament will become even more effective.

The Predator (with upgrades) is still a valid first-line main battle tank, and its obsolescence is unlikely to become a major problem until the very late 2060s, even if high-end Nod MBTs can match or outperform it in the mid-2060s.

...

The Mammoth's mobility remains adequate for its limited requirements. Its armament, like that of the Predator's, seems to be mostly adequate and will soon be receiving an effective upgrade.

But protection?

The Mammoth, lacking defensive lasers, is critically vulnerable to well prepared Nod defenders. It has received no defensive upgrades except its ablative tiles, and yet it is the unit that as per doctrine requires defensive upgrades most, more so than the Predator. The Mammoth cannot be considered properly suited for its doctrinal role until and unless it is equipped with point defense lasers and adequate shielding.

...

The reason the Mammoth needs an upgrade more than the Predator needs to be replaced with the Paladin is not because "it's been longer."

It's because on the one hand, the Predator shows every sign of remaining capable of performing within its doctrinal role- that is, of being able to do the job without being truly prevented from doing so by Nod weapons. MBTs have always not been invulnerable, and have always been susceptible to kills from the enemy's heaviest weapons. That's not the point; the point is that the combination of mobility, firepower, defenses, and numbers enables them to engage effectively under any circumstances and inflict harm on the enemy, while remaining mobile enough to act as a mobile reserve or exploitation force.

And on the other hand, the Mammoth shows signs of NOT remaining capable of performing within its doctrinal role, as Nod missiles likely continue to improve (their bipropellants have obvious application to missile warheads), and their direct fire weapons advance by leaps and bounds (Mammoths are prime targets for any plasma cannon that happen to be on the field on a given day).

A weapon system, or even an entire branch of the military, that is in danger of being unable to perform its core mission needs to be replaced or upgraded. If the danger is largely hypothetical, this reduces the priority. If the danger has already materialized, the replacement/upgrade must take place immediately.

...

Furthermore, it is likely that replacing or upgrading the niche Mammoth breakthrough tanks will be a considerably simpler project than doing the same with the far more numerous Predator MBTs. This is important given that we have many other immediate demands, both to secure GDI territory against Nod strategic weapons (an imminent threat) and to prepare for Karachi (our military's likely next major planned objective)

Click to shrink...

I disagree with how vulnerable you believe the Mammoth is. It's worth noting that in the recent engagement that heavily used them they took very heavy losses but they still were able to fulfill it's doctrinal role of breaching Nod's heavy defences, across a river no less.

On the first day of the battle following a short but sharp preparatory barrage, GDI forces attempted to force the front line – with multiple breakthroughs as superheavy battalions became breaching crews – driving across the river into the teeth of the Brotherhood as missiles and railgun shots lept forth to devastating effect. Every few seconds, another of Gideon's tanks, another bunker, or another fighting position was blasted from existence under the guns of the Mammoth tanks. But even these behemoths were far from invincible. Plasma guns raked the advancing armor mercilessly; and pelted by every munition that the Brotherhood could throw at them not a single one of the committed superheavy battalions remained combat-viable by nightfall. They had however done their job, and the Initiative had broken through; pushing south of the river, and to the east of Jacksonville, they had reached the St. John River.

Click to shrink...

It's also worth noting that the Steel Talons see the Mastodon as a possible replacement for the Mammoth

[ ] Mastodon Heavy Assault Walker Development (High Priority) (Platform)
The Mastodon Heavy Assault Walker is intended to be a smaller, and substantially cheaper, replacement for the Mammoth Mk 2. Armed as a breakthrough asset, with anti aircraft missile launchers and rapid fire chin mounted artillery, the Mastodon is as much a weapon of terror as a weapon of war.
(Progress 0/30: 10 resources per die)

Click to shrink...

And we're doing the Mastodon this plan, this might significantly lessen the actual need for a new Mammoth.

That being said, looking back on the new mammoth design,

[ ] Mammoth Block Four Development
The existing mammoth is a powerful but aging asset. While it had its own struggles during the Third Tiberium War, the primary need at this point is to remodel it for expanded capacities, including remote weapons mounts, laser point defense systems, purpose designed railguns, and expanded missile racks, along with updating various pieces of technology that are, by now, painfully old. However, the technology upgrades are primarily iterative, and will be broadly built as a wholescale polishing of the existing platform, rather than fully replacing it.
(Progress 0/40: 10 resources per die)

Click to shrink...

This looks more like an upgrade to the existing mammoth rather than a replacement which could mean it's less progress intensive... Hmmmm...
I'll have to think about this for a bit

 

[NickAragua]

Man, I've been playing too much of @NickAragua's quest. I completely forgot that Mammoth tanks even existed, let alone what they were there for or what sort of help they needed.

Click to shrink...

I bet they'd be great on the (slow, grinding) attack or (slow, grinding) defense if supported by a good ratio of PD-equipped Predators.

 

[Lightwhispers]

The Steel Talons have been plenty useful. Mostly as a technological test bed, which is exactly their role. We got tank PDS because of the Steel Talons, IIRC, and it basically turned the missile swarms Nod was using to compensate for the development and rollout of useful ablative into a non-factor for GDI, on top of greatly degrading Nod's ability to use missiles in general for anti armour work.

Click to shrink...

Also, we've seen them in direct action several times - in North America and in Krukov's assault on Murmansk, recently.

 

[RCNAnon]

Personally I'm for Mammoths first as well, partially because they've not been upgraded but also because they're iterative instead of completely new.

We also know that GDI went back to tanks for a reason, which was mechs were too expensive for mass deployment.

 

[MightbeaMimic]

We also know that GDI went back to tanks for a reason, which was mechs were too expensive for mass deployment.

Click to shrink...

Myomers make mechs significantly cheaper

 

[Karugus]

Man, I've been playing too much of @NickAragua's quest. I completely forgot that Mammoth tanks even existed, let alone what they were there for or what sort of help they needed.

Click to shrink...

Truly this is the worst timeline. A GDI without Mammoths is no GDI at all.