Tigron Enterprises (pronounced Tee-gron) were an Anti-Gravity racing team based in Russia, competing in the F9000 League. The team, along with Van-Über, were one of the only two new teams in Wipeout Fusion to make a return in Wipeout Pure and Wipeout Omega Collection.
History[]
The Russian industrial sector experienced a sharp downturn in the late 2140s, destabilizing the country's economy and causing a widespread societal collapse. As a result, the Russian government was subsequently overthrown by a local crime syndicate, bringing the whole country to a social climate reminiscent of the USSR era of the 20th century.
Tigron Enterprises was a conglomerate formed by the same criminals running the country at the time. After buying out the failing Qirex company in 2149, Tigron would enter the competition in the following season using Qirex technologies, but also bringing their own craft designs and aggressive tactics to the fore. No wonder the team brought to mind the equally violent Goteki 45 that had been defunct for the last decade.
Over the next twenty years, Tigron would make very few friends in the league. Their heavy craft lent themselves more strong-arm tactics at the expense of finesse and beauty. More often than not, one or more of the other teams would lodge a complaint after an event. Not that it made any difference – maximum impact, maximum exposure, and results at any cost were the by-lines at every pre-race briefing.
The criminal organization behind Tigron Enterprises got themselves involved in every moneymaking opportunity that Anti-Gravity racing had presented to them, from selling spare parts to restoration enthusiasts from the very plant which had once produced the legendary Qirex craft to playing hardball behind the scenes with the league organizers. One example of the latter was the alleged disappearance of over 2,000 people, from government officials to factory workers, to be employed by Tigron's AG racing project.
By the time they acquired Qirex, Tigron uncovered documentation detailing a range of illegal activities by Overtel Corporation, the director of the F9000 Race Commission, from back when Overtel was still the parent company of Qirex. Tigron would thus use this incriminating information to blackmail Overtel into allowing them to actively flout the rules. This was said to have gone so far as to fix races in the later years.
Ultimately, Tigron's involvement in the corruption scandals would lead to their downfall when the F9000 League was suspended in 2170. Many key members of the crime syndicate behind the scenes had been flushed out during the subsequent investigations, leaving Tigron's properties abandoned. Not long afterwards, the syndicate's rule over Russia was put to an end in a civilian revolt that occurred within the year.
Sometime during the FX300 League, the last remaining Tigron craft was re-commissioned by Qirex. It was used for training purposes, namely getting some of their pilots accustomed to heavier craft. After the craft had served its purpose, Qirex director Feliks Levovich ordered its dismantling, wanting no remnants of Tigron to survive.
However, it was long rumoured that before their collapse, Tigron had been working on a radical successor to their F9000 craft. Features of the design included a tightly packaged tri-hull construction, apparently designed for illegal ramming techniques, and a quad-thruster "cluster thruster" engine to push the craft. The Fall of the F9000 halted any investigations into the craft, and all records were destroyed. This original chassis, built before Tigron's collapse, was said to have been smuggled out of the Tigron factory, and anyone who had the right contracts and enough money could jump into the cockpit and pilot it. This cult favourite, known as the K-VSR, reappeared mysteriously during the FX350 League.
Appearance, Evolution and Stats[]
Although Tigron were one of the most ruthless teams in AG history, their craft was among the most popular ones in Wipeout Fusion. The craft has an impressive top speed, handling, and shielding, along with decent thrust and weapon power. Because of these stats, this craft requires pilots that are strong enough to control them and have an aggressive racing style, as seen in both their pilots.
Returning in Wipeout Pure, the Tigron ship is somewhat similar to that of the basic F9000 model. Due to its stats (especially handling and thrust), it can be considered the "superior version" of the Triakis ship, but that wouldn't be the case. While its speed may be able to match that of the Triakis, the Tigron's shield is just slightly weaker. In addition, it handles slightly worse than the Qirex or the Assegai.
In Omega Collection however, the new Tigron ship is completely different from its predecessors, with it having a triple-hulled chassis, having a priority on speed above everything else. It also has acceleration power on par with the Icaras Fury ship, but its handling is a bit heavy, requiring precise control to get the most out of the ship's potential. One thing that's also unlike the other Tigron ships of the past is that the new Tigron has a weak shielding comparable to the EG-X and the Harimau, which means that minimizing damage should be a priority.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The official team logo features a Cyrillic letter "Я", as well as a "stressing accent" over the letter "O", in the team's name. This would mean that the pronunciation of the name is "Tigjaon"; the letter "Я", however, is simply faux-Cyrillic.
- Tigron, especially in Wipeout Fusion, is heavily similar to Goteki 45 in Wipeout 3, as described below:
- Both were the most violent AG racing teams of their respective eras, though the new Goteki 45 would later try to do away with that.
- Both their craft boasted heavy shielding and were designed primarily for aggression on the track, though the Tigron craft also had far better performance compared to the Goteki craft's average performance.
- Both their liveries were quite similar in a particular way, namely that they used yellow as one of their livery colors – the yellow in the Goteki livery was the primary one, while the yellow in the Tigron livery was a secondary one.
- Their team pilots were just as violent as the teams themselves, preferring an aggressive style of racing focused on destroying the opposition.
- They both became defunct as a result of a violent incident – Goteki 45 had their headquarters at Makana destroyed by carpet bombing, while Tigron was disbanded after the crime syndicate's reign in Russia was overthrown.
- Tigron are one of the few teams to have used triple-hulled ships.
- In Wipeout HD, a Tigron billboard can be seen in Metropia, right after the Gemini's Pin.
- It's possible that Tigron was intended to make into Wipeout HD, but time constraints removed the team from the game. Nevertheless, the billboards remain in their original positions. The same case also applies to Van-Über.
- Both teams eventually make an appearance as returning teams in Wipeout Omega Collection.
- With Tigron returning in Wipeout Omega Collection, their post-F9000 lore may have been considered to be retconned. It is possible that Tigron may have been operating under the radar ever since the civilian revolt that caused the fall of the crime syndicate's rule.
- It's possible that Tigron was intended to make into Wipeout HD, but time constraints removed the team from the game. Nevertheless, the billboards remain in their original positions. The same case also applies to Van-Über.
Notes[]
- ↑ The official Wipeout Fusion website lists Tigron's country of origin as the USSR (also known as the Soviet Union), even though said country has officially ceased to exist since 1991. This suggests that the crime syndicate in control of Tigron may have re-proclaimed the USSR when they came to power following the coup.
| Anti-Gravity Racing Teams in Wipeout |
|---|
| AG Systems • Assegai • Auricom • EG-X • FEISAR • Goteki 45 • Harimau • Icaras • Mirage • Piranha • Qirex • Triakis • Van-Über |
| Defunct/Former Teams: EG-R • G-Tech • Tigron • Xios |