A question on finding the roleplay in CM

General Discussion
1

I’ve had some issues ever since I returned to CM around a month ago. Namely, how do you find some good roleplay in this roleplay game?

As things stand, I currently tend to either play Squad Leader, or xeno. I keep trying to find new things, but I’ve just not been able to. SL’s a great role. You get noticed, you get to have fun expressing yourself, and you have a positive impact on the round by just communicating. But it’s also a role that I find pretty exhausting and taxing. It’s not something I can play too often, or too long.

So, where else do I go for my roleplay fix? Let’s look at the dedicated roleplay roles. We have two of them, Corporate Liaison and Combat Correspondant. Both of these I find to be severely lacking.

The main thing that makess Corporate Liaison stand out is the gimmick of paperwork. They’re the fax role. They’re the contract role. And while I think that it’s a fun thing to build RP around, having that be your flagship RP role’s main thing to do for years and years on end isn’t something that can be kept up without it becoming stale for a lot of people. Practically every interesting gimmick you could do with paperwork already has some template for it sitting around somewhere. And if you don’t want to bother too much with contracts and the like, the only thing that CL really offers is a suitcase with a handful of tools you could incorporate into a roleplaying gimmick together with the idea that you’re a corporate prick. And to be frank, that’s just too little for me.

On the other hand, Combat Correspondant offers even less. While CL at least has the potential to end in xenomorph smuggling action, Combat Correspondant is literally just a set of clothes, a practically cosmetic camera and an ID card that says you’re a journo.

I just find it disappointing that we have so little to actually do as roleplay roles. CL and Combat Correspondant don’t have any gameplay to them. They don’t have anything that really pushes them towards roleplaying, rewards them for it, all they have are some doohickeys without much use they’re expected to endlessly improvise with.

We have predator. We have the means of creating a roleplay centric role that doesn’t forego the concept of gameplay to enhance, reward and push towards that roleplay. So am I blind, or does it simply not exist outside of whitelist roles?

I don’t mean to trash on the people who enjoy these roles. Some CL players have created unforgettable experiences. But for the vast majority of them, they might as well be invisible.

Please, help me find the roleplay in CM.

3 Likes
2

Honestly, CM is meant to be a MRP server but its really LRP with no metagaming.

There really isnt much time for marine RP, predrop you gotta prep and post victory/defeat is short.

If you get greenos researcher can RP a bit, especially if you get a queen willing to RP. Downside is its really hit or miss.

I also know some survs RP after theyve escaped but once again, you need MPs who want to RP.

5 Likes
3

MT is effectively an RP role if you choose to play it that way since there’s very little direction for them. I’ve also had a fun interacting with the CL as a rifleman that stays on the ship. MP has a lot of OOC rules that you have to follow so it can be a bit harder but certainly has some opportunities to interact with people. The chef is an rp role on paper, but like you described with CC, there’s not a lot to actually do, and it’s rare that people will have/take the time to come see what chef shit you have going on.

1 Like
4

If I don’t go to REQ I can get all the gear I need for the next 40 minutes at 00:10, that’s 10 minutes of free time every drop assuming I don’t go to brief and we leave as soon as we can, the issue is finding someone willing to interact with that also has free time.

Other RP opportunities appear if you are defending positions and waiting for something to happen to you instead of just pushing, you just have to make the most of them.

1 Like
5

I think roleplay is just the label that’s been tacked on top of what is essentially a TDM game. Its LARPing in the same way you RP in some ARMA servers.

For xenos there is no RP other then replacing gameplay terms with xeno versions, its just pushing the bar of what is considered LRP before you get noted for doing something stupid.

3 Likes
6

For what it’s worth, I find the funniest CCs tend to be the ones who force you to take interviews while you try to do your job, I’ve seen a squad wipe before because their SL was too busy being interviewed on how bad the situation was instead of ordering a fallback which was peak

A lot of these roles are basically clowns in that you just make your own fun, I’d say the lack of guidelines on what to do for fun is kind of the draw- Not saying that there isn’t room for improvement, just that I think the lack of guardrails is by design, not really neglect.

(After all, too much RP detracts from the TDM since you’re not doing your job if you’re typing unless you picksay every possible RP answer)

7 Likes
7

Picksaying conversation starters and generic answers is honestly peak TDM RP

I only have a massive list of things that I can say when surgery is finished so far. (NPC RP in an NPC role, amirite)

1 Like
8

I once picksayed a bunch of generic “affirmative” replies to CIC only for it to fall apart when I got beaten because my picksays all said ‘sir’ instead of ‘ma’am’, kinda bleak

Honestly might just not be humanly possible haha

9

I know, and that’s something that I tried and I guess failed to emphasize with the post. It’s just that I need more. I need a direction that I’ve only seen with things like Yautja. And it sucks that I tend to get more fun RP in the downtime as SL than playing our dedicated roleplay roles.

1 Like
10

Literally just talk to people.
Blah Blah 2025 Positive Feedback Loops.

You control your own destiny and your own ability to RP.
If you complain about there being “zero rp” make a personal effort to talk to 10 people xeno or marine the next round you play.
See if they respond, because my experince has been that if you put the effort in, other people will.

We’re not here to LARP. Embrace CM culture, use some slang and realise that Its not a zero-sum roleplay situation.
Xeno RP doesn’t have to be brr lizard or robo hivemind the culture we have is just as valid as arma 3 larp lore, it’s about playing a character and a role.

3 Likes
11

Shipside is where you can RP. Go up and talk to people, it’s not hard. Ask about shit in universe, how it’s going, stuff like that.

Ground side is harder, keep it to short conversations and quick back and forth stuff.

1 Like
12

bottom text

1 Like
13

Play req, you don’t even need to be known to have rp. On top of that, people will scream for your name every 5 mins. “Deny” is the only correct answer anyhow.

3 Likes
14

  1. There’s not a lot of room for RP especially closer to combat because Prime Warriors & Prime Ravagers & Prime Praetorians only survive through the dopamine of ripping off limbs and fracturing ribs and you typing helps them do that. You need to keep this in mind in your hunt for RP because not a lot of people will risk RPing if that means their game is over (unless it’s already over).

  2. Xenomins and Marinemins alike don’t want you to but the answer is to make metaRPfriends who you know will RP with you if prompted especially when outside combat situations.

  3. If you have no friends, to make RPfriends you need to go out of your way to just LARP with anyone and everyone you see as long as it’s not near combat. Dropping random emotes (that aren’t bound to a macro), yapping IC about random things like the weather or funny hypothetical events that happened before this specific operation - like how you’d make real friends but as a Colonial Marine in an operation. Play enough at specific times and you’ll meet statics and a lot of them enjoy RP. A lot of occasional and newer players (if not overwhelmed) will play along and RP with you, don’t disregard them either but your goal is meeting statics to metarpfriend with.

2 Likes
15

It doesn’t exist, this is a l(a)rp tdm server fr fr

Pretty much what Salazar said, the only way to really guarantee RP moments is to glom onto someone you know is good at it. Making friends and being social, is, of course, the bane of the Average CM Player so good luck

1 Like