The Rollermine

[Terminus Prime]

Unit: Rollermine
Type: Robotic/Mechanical
Role: Light Scout/Anti-Vehicle/Harasser
Cost: Extremely Low (per unit)
Speed: Very Fast
Armour: Medium
Armour Class: Light Vehicle
Health: Low
Sight Radius: Low
Accuracy: Perfect (Electrode), Perfect (EMP Pulse)
Weaponry: Electrode, EMP Generator
DPS: Low
Effective Against: Vehicles, Infantry (Detonation Pack Upgrade), Structures (Detonation Pack Upgrade)
Abilities:

Robotic (Passive): This unit is a robot. It does not regenerate, but can be repaired.
Swarm (Passive): This unit is built in swarms of X.
Burrow (Active): This unit can hide itself by burrowing into the ground. They can only be spotted by detectors, will take dramatically reduced damage while buried, and have increased regeneration.
EM Field (Passive): This unit attaches itself to non-organic units. Units this unit is attached to are slowed by 50% (this stacks). If 3 or more Rollermines are attached to the same non-organic target, it is temporarily disabled.
EMP Pulse (Upgrade, Active): When the EMP Field is activated, all non-organic units in a small area of effect around this unit are temporarily disabled. This ability has a cooldown.
Detonate (Upgrade, Active): This unit can be remotely detonated, dealing significant damage to everyone in an area of effect around it.

Upgrades:

Detonation Pack (Tier 2): Allows you to remotely detonate this unit.
EMP Generator (Tier 3): Allows this unit to temporarily disable non-organic enemies in a small area of effect.

Notes: The Combine anti-vehicle equivalent of the Manhack, the robotic Rollermine is able to damage and disable vehicles by magnetically attaching itself to non-organic units, and emitting powerful electric shocks and electromagnetic pulses. Fast, durable, cheap to construct and capable of ambushes, Rollermines constitute an effective response to mechanized threats.

[St3althPyr0_37]

I imagined rollermines as an antivehicle type of hoppermine. Something deployed by another unit that attacks hostiles in a radius, then returns to a central point and burrows, until destroyed.

[Terminus Prime]

That behaviour could work as a sort of 'sentry mode' AI for the Hoppermine. Also, I can see it being deployed by other units such as Combine troops and Dropships; the player is simply given the option of creating them at base.

[BiotecVirus]

A good well thought suggestion

[Drunkenvalley]

Notes: The Combine anti-vehicle equivalent of the Manhack, the robotic Rollermine is able to damage and disable vehicles by magnetically attaching itself to non-organic units, and emitting powerful electric shocks and electromagnetic pulses. Fast, durable, cheap to construct and capable of ambushes, Rollermines constitute an effective response to mechanized threats.

To be nitpicky, I'd suggest removing the 2nd word of the note, "Combine," as it at first made me think, "WTF?! Resistance don't have Manhacks." XD It might just be me though. And I just might be worn out & sleepy. Heh.

Back to topic? My personal opinion? I'd say the rollermine would cost a bit. Not a whole lot, but on a grade from 1 to 10, with normal soldiers on 5, the rollermine would be a 4. The upgrades would be more like 7 or even 8, unless they're upgraded individually (in which case I'd go for 4).

I'd also not go for 50% slow, not if it stacks. The first could be, like, max 40%, followed by a second who only adds 20%, a third adding 10%, and a fourth being the max with its final 5%. (Any more not impossible, but not beneficial.)
This would therefore total to 40% + 20% + 10% + 5% (for a max total of 75%).

(Trust me, you notice 25% + well. 50% + is like crawling, and 75% + is just about standing still.)

[Terminus Prime]

I'd also not go for 50% slow, not if it stacks. The first could be, like, max 40%, followed by a second who only adds 20%, a third adding 10%, and a fourth being the max with its final 5%. (Any more not impossible, but not beneficial.)
This would therefore total to 40% + 20% + 10% + 5% (for a max total of 75%).

Because it stacks there's naturally diminishing returns: 50% + 25% (50% of the target's new speed is 25%) + 12.5%. The third is moot because three disable a vehicle outright.

Not sure on whether upgrades should be individual or global. They'd be expensive in either case. The rollermine itself should be fairly cheap and quick to build. While they can do a lot of tricks, and are speedy, they are relatively fragile, largely ineffective against infantry, and next to useless against structures.

[jimjim]

I'm going to see what I can do with this tonight.

[jimjim]

Rollermines wouldn't move when I told them to. They just sat there. So I gave them some enemies to kill. Bullets do no damage to Rollermines, unlike manhacks. All they do is repel them... Explosions however, actually do damage.

I guess the word MINE in it means it isn't supposed to move? But that's no fun...

With all of this awesome Python at hand it's a shame that not much can be done with it. As Sander keeps telling me, he'll have to reimplement the NPCs himself.

On a side note, I added the self destruct feature to the manhack when I created it for the Rollermine.

[Terminus Prime]

Yeah, the Rollermines do need a bit of a redesign given their current implementation and invulnerability to non-explosives.

[Vaun]

Make all guns damage explosive only targets but only do about 25-50% damage.