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The Workhorse

140 statements
23 feature instances
13 referencing feature instances

The Workhorse	type	FeatureClass
The Workhorse	label	The Workhorse
The Workhorse	page	TheWorkhorse
The Workhorse	comment	A Workhorse is a type of vehicle, weapon or other type of equipment, that is so reliable, resilient or cost-effective that it's kept in service for decades, outlasting other more flashy and advanced types. While the Workhorse might receive some modifications and upgrades during its lifetime, it is never as advanced as its newer cousins. Likely an example of Boring, but Practical. The Workhorse might be slower, have fewer functions, and other drawbacks, but it develops a loyal following amongst on-the-ground users, who value its strengths. Compare Damage-Proof Vehicle, Older Is Better, Break Out the Museum Piece, and Simple, yet Awesome. For character types, see The Reliable One. Examples
The Workhorse	fetched	2024-02-18T09:00:22Z
The Workhorse	parsed	2024-02-18T09:00:22Z
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to AdvanceWars: Not an Item - UNKNOWN
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to AffectionateNickname: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to AwesomeButImpractical: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to AwesomePersonnelCarrier: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to EnhancedArchaicWeapon: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to FragileSpeedster: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to HumongousMecha: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to InUniverse: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to JackOfAllStats: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to LongRunner: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to RealLife: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to RealRobot: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to SpacePlane: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to StarWars: Not an Item - CAT
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to TheNineties: Not an Item - IGNORE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to TheRemnant: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingComment	Dropped link to TheSixties: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Workhorse	processingUnknown	AdvanceWars
The Workhorse	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Workhorse / int_169f043b	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_169f043b	comment	StarCraft: The humble Terran Marine, and by extension their standard-issue Impaler gauss rifle and Powered Armor, were already pretty old during the Guild Wars and certainly haven't gotten any younger over the span of the franchise — in contrast to the huge leaps in development of pretty much every other sector of military technology. Nonetheless, they're the first line of defense for any human settlement. Indeed, this carries over to gameplay; as one of the few Terran units that doesn't Require More Vespene Gas, the Marine is a part of virtually every Terran strategy.
The Workhorse / int_169f043b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_169f043b	featureConfidence	1.0
StarCraft (Video Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_169f043b
The Workhorse / int_427dde0f	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_427dde0f	comment	Knight's & Magic: The kingdom's mainstay Silhouette Knight, the Kaldatoah, has been in service for over a century, and some even earlier designs still see limited use. Ernesti's groundbreaking new Telestale boasts heavier armour, more than double the power, and a pair of Backpack Cannons... but due to its high cost, low fuel efficiency and swingy controls, it's rejected as Awesome, but Impractical. Instead, the king orders Ernesti to share the Telestale plans with his most experienced engineers, who refine them into the kingdom's new workhorse, the Kaldatoah Darsch - a unit with a still-impressive 30% performance increase over the base Kaldatoah (plus Telestale-style cannons) but zero drawbacks. Interestingly, The Empire soon starts using an Evil Knockoff of the original Telestale to fill out the bulk of its army, as their different power technology allows them to better compensate for the design's flaws.
The Workhorse / int_427dde0f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_427dde0f	featureConfidence	1.0
Knight's & Magic	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_427dde0f
The Workhorse / int_5e1f3e40	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_5e1f3e40	comment	In Elite, most Faulcon DeLacy ships have been in near continuous production for centuries, with minimal aesthetic changes. Elite Dangerous takes place in 3300 AD and beyond, yet pilots are flying ships first designed in the 2800s. However, functionally the ships of yore worked completely differently, using overpowered thrusters for direct flight between planets, while by 3300 thrusters have been toned down in favor of the Frameshift Drive Faster-Than-Light Travel for interplanetary travel.
The Workhorse / int_5e1f3e40	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_5e1f3e40	featureConfidence	1.0
Elite (Video Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_5e1f3e40
The Workhorse / int_616626a5	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_616626a5	comment	In the X-Universe, various ship designs have been in service for decades, but the Argon Elite Space Fighter takes the cake. It was in service with the Argon Federation navy when the Earth State test pilot Kyle Brennan is marooned in the X-universe in 2912, though it was retired sometime before 2932 and replace with the Nova. In 2935 it was brought back into service, with reworked internals and reclassified as a heavy interceptor, and was used til at least 2947 with the jump gate network shutting down.
The Workhorse / int_616626a5	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_616626a5	featureConfidence	1.0
X (Video Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_616626a5
The Workhorse / int_68c8e9ad	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_68c8e9ad	comment	Super Robot Wars: In many games, the venerable "Gespenst Mk-II, Mass Production Type" fills out the bulk of Earth's Real Robot forces. This is especially true in the long-running Original Generation continuity, where the majority of characters start their careers in Gespensts or their derivatives, and Super Prototype Gespents (with extra weapons like Plasma Stakes and the Gespenst Kick) are initially a serious threat. Various attempts are made over the years to replace them, but all were scrapped for various reasons (the Gespenst Mk-III prototype was too hard to control, while the Huckebein series suffered from resource shortages even after its MP units were redesigned to reuse Gespenst frames); in the end, the military settles for simply producing upgrade kits that can be used to turn old Gespensts into Ace Customs. The Lion fits this role for the Divine Crusaders and their remnants; being essentially a modified plane, it's less effective than the Gespenst (which descends from Powered Armor), but also cheaper and able to be piloted by airforce veterans. One of its derived units, the Guarlion, also provides excellent performance, with many characters still using Ace Custom variations years after the DC's fall.
The Workhorse / int_68c8e9ad	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_68c8e9ad	featureConfidence	1.0
Super Robot Wars (Video Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_68c8e9ad
The Workhorse / int_6f2d1072	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_6f2d1072	comment	In MechWarrior Living Legends - a BattleTech adaptation - the Catapult Prime, Warhammer Prime, and Atlas D are centuries old Humongous Mecha variants still in service. While they get outgunned and outran by more modern designs, their archaic standard fusion reactor and simple weapons make them exceptionally cheap - they can be had for about the same price as mechs 20 tons lighter - and durable, tanking damage beyond their weight class.
The Workhorse / int_6f2d1072	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_6f2d1072	featureConfidence	1.0
MechWarrior (Video Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_6f2d1072
The Workhorse / int_7c1e7982	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_7c1e7982	comment	Halt and Catch Fire: Deconstructed. At the last second before its exhibition, Joe decides that the Cardiff Giant will work best marketed as a computer with this type of performance (a "station wagon", in his words) and orders his team to remove all of the fancy parts of the operating system to achieve this. The unfortunate result is that it just cannot compete with the fancy stuff that IBM is showcasing and the following season begins with the CEO of Cardiff Electric deciding the computer division (to make a long and dreary story short) was a busted gamble and shuts it down.
The Workhorse / int_7c1e7982	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_7c1e7982	featureConfidence	1.0
Halt and Catch Fire	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_7c1e7982
The Workhorse / int_7de8951a	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_7de8951a	comment	There are numerous examples of this in Traveller. Probably the most iconic is the Beowulf class Free Trader.
The Workhorse / int_7de8951a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_7de8951a	featureConfidence	1.0
Traveller (Tabletop Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_7de8951a
The Workhorse / int_81692f99	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_81692f99	comment	Star Trek: The Miranda-class frigate is another one, entering service at least as early as Khan Noonien Singh's reappearance and serving at least as late as the Dominion War, 90 years later. The Excelsior-class starship was introduced during the 2280s. Its design was so versatile that it was still in service during the 2370s, nearly a century later. Many Excelsior-class ships filled the Federation ranks during the Dominion War. And for the trifecta of Starfleet ships appearing in the 2280s and continuing to serve into the last third of the 24th century, there's the Oberth-class scout/science ship. And before all of these was the Constitution-class, which included the original U.S.S. Enterprise. First introduced in the mid-23rd century, they received enough upgrades and refits to keep them going into the 24th century. The Klingon Bird of Prey was introduced during the same decade as the Excelsior-class and it too served during the Dominion War of the 2370s. The K't'inga-class Klingon Battlecruiser had roughly the same operational length as the Bird of Prey, even being used alongside newer ships in the Dominion War, over 100 years since they entered service.
The Workhorse / int_81692f99	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_81692f99	featureConfidence	1.0
Star Trek (Franchise)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_81692f99
The Workhorse / int_8b7b9cd5	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_8b7b9cd5	comment	The Imperial-class Star Destroyer is introduced two decades before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope and serves for decades after. Super Star Destroyers are more powerful, superweapons like the Death Star are flashier, but the Imperial Star Destroyer brings just enough overkill to intimidate in true Imperial fashion while being economical and standardized enough to form the backbone of the fleet.
The Workhorse / int_8b7b9cd5	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_8b7b9cd5	featureConfidence	1.0
A New Hope	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_8b7b9cd5
The Workhorse / int_988629da	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_988629da	comment	The Miranda-class frigate is another one, entering service at least as early as Khan Noonien Singh's reappearance and serving at least as late as the Dominion War, 90 years later.
The Workhorse / int_988629da	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_988629da	featureConfidence	1.0
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_988629da
The Workhorse / int_b3ebd61e	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_b3ebd61e	comment	In the Rebel starfighter corps, the Y-Wing is seen as this, in contrast to the newer, faster, shinier X-Wing. X-Wings are generally held to be superior fighters and fighter-bombers (although they aren't quite the Y-Wings' match in the dedicated bomber role thanks to the latter's heavier maximum payload), but there are never enough of them to go around. In Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II, General Rieekan (who provides the vehicle descriptions) even calls it by the trope name.
The Workhorse / int_b3ebd61e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_b3ebd61e	featureConfidence	1.0
Rogue Squadron (Video Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_b3ebd61e
The Workhorse / int_b834beb1	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_b834beb1	comment	Fury (2014) focuses on the crew of the titular M4 Sherman Tank, which is the standard tank for the United States Armed Forces during World War II. However, while the Sherman is established early-on as reliable and great against enemy infantry, it becomes outmatched by its late war German counterparts, particularly the Tiger.
The Workhorse / int_b834beb1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_b834beb1	featureConfidence	1.0
Fury (2014)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_b834beb1
The Workhorse / int_bcadd7cb	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_bcadd7cb	comment	The Warhammer 40,000 universe is filled with long-service vehicles and tech. Some maintenance is required, but most gear used by the Imperium of Man dates back decades if not thousands of years. These can range anywhere from regular bolter firearms to power fists, imperial star ships and Dreadnought chassis, which in turn house some of the oldest living members of the Space Marine chapters. Probably the crowning example is the Rhino transport, a converted tractor (really) that serves the Space Marines not just as an Awesome Personnel Carrier, but as a tank (as the Predator) and an artillery platform (the Whirlwind), and is also used by the Adepta Sororitas (including in flamethrower and anti-tank heat gun configurations). It's even used by the Adeptus Arbites (Imperial police) as a riot vehicle. Like most of the other Imperial examples, it's a Standard Template Construct, which means automated factories on thousands of worlds produced them during humanity's golden age, and while the factories have fallen out of repair, enough of them retained their blueprint data that STCs are ubiquitous. Crossing over with Real Life is the heavy stubber, a weapon manufactured by the billion which is just an M2 Browning.
The Workhorse / int_bcadd7cb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_bcadd7cb	featureConfidence	1.0
Warhammer 40,000 (Tabletop Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_bcadd7cb
The Workhorse / int_bcb32dc6	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_bcb32dc6	comment	Shadowrun: The Ares Predator, Ares Alpha and the AK-97 are considered this In-Universe, and are present in every edition of the game. The Predator is a heavy pistol with built-in Smart Gun abilities that is considered the trademark sidearm of Shadowrunners (in part because Ares markets the gun as such). The Alpha is the military assault rifle equivalent of the Predator, and most Street Samurai with a taste for automatics will tote one once they get the budget. The AK-97, finally, is a third-generation AK (see the Real Life section) and still omnipresent on the streets in 2080. It's not nearly as flashy or fancy as the Alpha, but costs less than half on the black market, is street legal with a license in the UCAS, and is the go-to automatic for gangers and aspiring Shadowrunners on a budget.
The Workhorse / int_bcb32dc6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_bcb32dc6	featureConfidence	1.0
Shadowrun (Tabletop Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_bcb32dc6
The Workhorse / int_c5c11fd2	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_c5c11fd2	comment	The mass-produced Federation Mobile Suit Jegan, first introduced in Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack is still in service in Mobile Suit Gundam F91 three decades later, though this has more to do with the fact that there were few major conflicts in the intervening years.
The Workhorse / int_c5c11fd2	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_c5c11fd2	featureConfidence	1.0
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_c5c11fd2
The Workhorse / int_cc503e93	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_cc503e93	comment	BattleTech: Many BattleMech models have seen service for centuries of warfare (and sometimes, the individual mechs have seen centuries of combat). The Atlas is one of the most recognizable mechs, and has seen continued use and upgrades for almost four hundred years. On the other hands, most of the modernized workhorses are only externally similar to their originals; an original production AS7-D Atlas (2755), for example, shares very few internal components with the more modern AS7-K Atlas (3050), which carries a completely different fusion reactor design and weapons (dropping the short-ranged Autocannon in favor of a long-ranged Gauss Rifle, for example), though it does share the same combat roles - frontline command and intimidation. And that four hundred year service history? That's pretty unimpressive compared to a few other mechs like the Banshee or Wasp, which have both been in continual use (and in the case of the Wasp, continual production) for close to 700 years. The Torrent bomber is of note for being in use for close to a thousand years; designed by the United States in 2093, operated on the front lines of the various Great Houses until the 22nd century, and used by militias until Aerospace Fighters began to show up in the 24th century, where it then became a warbird used by civilians in firefighting operations. After the Word of Blake Jihad in 3067, the Capellan Confederation began to bring the planes back into active service. The STK-3F Stalker is noted to be one In-Universe, with even its marketing campaign based on the fact. With an almost 600-year old production history in the Inner Sphere and consisting entirely of low-tech, easy-to-replicate technologies that made it extremely easy to maintain and repair damaged Stalkers. By the numbers, Stalkers were most likely the single most common assault-class 'mech in the Inner Sphere at the end of the Third Succession War, with some numbers suggesting Stalker models made up over a third of the total number of Inner Sphere assaults on its own.
The Workhorse / int_cc503e93	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_cc503e93	featureConfidence	1.0
BattleTech (Tabletop Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_cc503e93
The Workhorse / int_d1548747	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_d1548747	comment	Command & Conquer: Tiberian Series: The Obelisk of Light, the Brotherhood of Nod's iconic defensive laser emplacement, first created in the 1990s, the same curved spire-like design served Nod as an effective defense against GDI's main battle tanks, and a slight annoyance to it's various Mammoth Tanks all the way to 2077. Unlike typical Workhorses, the Obelisk tends to be on the bleeding edge of Nod laser weaponry, with most every other laser weapon being based on the Obelisk itself, making it pull double duty as a testbed for any innovations the Brotherhood comes up with. Through the wars Nod always have four vehicles that are present in every conflict. The attack buggy, the bike, the flame tank, and stealth tank. Each one has a different form in every era, but preform similar functions to them.
The Workhorse / int_d1548747	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_d1548747	featureConfidence	1.0
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Series (Video Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_d1548747
The Workhorse / int_e030b382	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_e030b382	comment	The TX1 Repeater in PlanetSide 2 has been the standard issue pistol in the Terran Republic military for over 300 years - despite its small size, it has surprising stopping power due to its 3-shot burst (which is effectively fully automatic with a quick finger) and large magazine. Newer derivatives like the TX2 Emperor (200 years old, semi-automatic) and TS2 Inquisitor (New, semi-automatic, huge magazine) have failed to eclipse the Repeater's popularity.
The Workhorse / int_e030b382	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_e030b382	featureConfidence	1.0
PlanetSide (Video Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_e030b382
The Workhorse / int_e6267766	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_e6267766	comment	Star Wars Legends (formerly the Star Wars Expanded Universe): While not much seen in the films, in the books, the Victory-class Star Destroyer fits the trope better than the Imperial class. Smaller and not as powerful, but cheap and reliable and just as useful in mass quantities. On the New Republic side, the X-Wing becomes the workhorse of the fleet. Many hotshot pilots prefer the Difficult, but Awesome A-Wing, the B-Wing is a much better dedicated bomber, and later on, anyone who has the option would likely rather hop aboard the powerful but expensive and finicky E-Wing, but the X-Wing's versatility, ubiquity, and perfect balance between cost and utility mean that they continue to see service long after just about any contemporary craft you can name has been phased out. For anyone without the resources of a major government backing them, the Z-95 Headhunter is a solid budget choice, especially in works set relatively early in the timeline. A favorite of smugglers, gangsters, and criminals, they're commonplace enough that it's easy to find parts to keep in good repair, and you won't get better bang for your buck if your wallet is light. The Corellian YT-1300 light freighter— the most famous being the Millennium Falcon— was designed to be easily customizable, making it useful for any number of roles with the right modifications. Those who don't push things quite as far as the souped-up but notoriously finicky Falcon tend to find them incredibly reliable, too.
The Workhorse / int_e6267766	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_e6267766	featureConfidence	1.0
Star Wars Legends (Franchise)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_e6267766
The Workhorse / int_e7e37776	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_e7e37776	comment	Firefly: It's noted by a starship-jacker that a Firefly-class freighter is a collection of parts that are all, by themselves, commonplace and worth very little... except that if you put them all together, you've got yourself a Firefly. Not the largest cargo-hauler, and nobody's idea of a warship, but with the right mechanic to keep her flying, she'll take you anywhere you need to go. Mal's Serenity is already outdated by the time he buys her, but it's love at first sight, and she proves a remarkably resilient little ship with enough TLC.
The Workhorse / int_e7e37776	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_e7e37776	featureConfidence	1.0
Firefly	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_e7e37776
The Workhorse / int_e89f120b	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_e89f120b	comment	The Salamis class cruiser debuted in the original Mobile Suit Gundam and turns up in nearly every sequel and spinoff since, right up to Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, taking place 74 years later.
The Workhorse / int_e89f120b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_e89f120b	featureConfidence	1.0
Mobile Suit Gundam	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_e89f120b
The Workhorse / int_efaa66e4	type	The Workhorse
The Workhorse / int_efaa66e4	comment	E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy has the Rotten Mound and KA93 assault rifles, both of which are centuries old (dating back to the Dark Ages) and extremely simple, but are used heavily by all factions due to their heavy stopping power, low cost, and high accuracy. In-game, they're some of the most common weapons used by enemies, and the preferred weapons for many players due to their versatility.
The Workhorse / int_efaa66e4	featureApplicability	1.0
The Workhorse / int_efaa66e4	featureConfidence	1.0
E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy (Video Game)	hasFeature	The Workhorse / int_efaa66e4

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Workhorse	processingCategory2	Military and Warfare Tropes
The Workhorse	processingCategory2	Motor Vehicle Tropes
The Workhorse	processingCategory2	Vehicle Index
The Workhorse	processingCategory2	Weapons and Wielding Tropes
Fury (2014) / int_871b2860	type	The Workhorse
To Boldly Go... A Starfleet Quest (Roleplay) / int_871b2860	type	The Workhorse
ΔV: Rings of Saturn (Video Game) / int_871b2860	type	The Workhorse
E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy (Video Game) / int_871b2860	type	The Workhorse
Hardwar (Video Game) / int_871b2860	type	The Workhorse
MechWarrior (Video Game) / int_871b2860	type	The Workhorse
PlanetSide (Video Game) / int_871b2860	type	The Workhorse
SnowRunner (Video Game) / int_871b2860	type	The Workhorse
Titanfall (Video Game) / int_871b2860	type	The Workhorse

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