Tyrant

9.7k Tris. Low Poly Render of a playable alien creature I created for the 'Unvanquished' dev team. The Tyrant is the ultimate alien creature within the game and by far the most deadly.

This Tyrant is very much an evolution of the original version seen in 'Tremulous.' Overall I'm happy with the balance of new and familiar features I've managed to achieve.

"The alien that was to become the tyrant originally inhabited the grassy plains and savannas of its homeworld, where it subsisted on a mostly herbivorous diet. Its powerful legs allowed it to accelerate its enormous body into short bursts of terrifying speed, not only easily sending potential predators flying for a great distance, but also providing a means to challenge rivals prior to courtship displays. Packs of tyrants roamed the grasslands freely, the very earth trembling beneath them at every step. Endless conflicts between family groups kept the species strong, and the number of tyrants at a sustainable level, much to the relief of other inhabitants of their world.

Unlike many of the other alien forms, the tyrant was not encountered until several decades after the invasions began. Many other civilizations had fallen to the overwhelming swarms the hivemind was capable of mustering, but humanity, with its highly developed technology and usage of artificial intelligence in combat roles, proved too strong of an opponent. Something larger was needed, a creature capable of taking blows the lesser aliens would find lethal and returning them with even greater force.

The first encounter between humanity and the tyrant occurred during a boarding action, a battle from which only a single distress call survives. It is from the terrified words of the human captain that we learn shotguns and painsaws, standard fare among crewmen, were nothing against its toughened hide. A few loud stomps drowned out the captain’s screams, followed by a bloodcurdling roar and the sound of the ship’s computer being torn into shreds.

Typically encountered towards the end of an assault, the tyrant towers above all other aliens, its weaponized arms longer than the bodies of most of its fellow creatures. There is no subtlety behind the tyrant, no thought behind the sheer force it is capable of utilizing. Armor is torn apart as if it was paper, and entire skeletons are fractured within moments when the tyrant slams its opponent against a wall. As if mocking the thought of its enormous body being easy to aim at, the very same bulk crushes anything unfortunate enough to be underneath it. To go alone against a tyrant is suicide, at best." 

- Chief science officer 'Kharnov.'