I wanted to touch on some ideas that I thought could be interesting to those on the server with the ability to possibly implement them, I know some of these ideas will never be implemented as they sadly do not fit the lets say neutered lore of the USCM we currently have after Tychon Tackle, but I still think some of these things could work and make the game better and more enriching for the classes that would get to interact with them. So, to start us off I wanted to get my CT / Robot ideas out of the way. And first to start those off is the canon Robot/Drone or real life ideas i’ve dug up that I think are interesting, lets dig in.
- The Hillstar Drone - "The RQF-97 Surveillance Drone , known colloquially as the Hillstar and also known as a Vulnerability Assessment Drone , is a type of small man-portable unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle used by the United Americas Colonial Marine Corps. The RQF-97 uses high resolution LIDAR and ultrasonics to determine the relative thickness of hostile armor and then feeds that data into allied ballistics computers in order to improve weapon efficiency. This drone is unarmed, but could help the marines nearby in aiming their shots, or just provide active surveillance.
1a. The PUP Scanners (Includes suppressed/silenced PUPs for recon/scouts and the normal versions which could be used by anyone.) - The Parameter Uplink Spectagraph (or Spectograph , commonly abbreviated to simply Spectagraph or PUPS , was an automated, orb-shaped three-dimensional mapping device originally developed by what was then Weyland Corp as next-generation equipment for geologists and engineers. Its initial purpose was surveying unknown planetary terrain during the pre-terraforming process. This was achieved through an omni-directional laser that created a live three-dimensional topographical map along with detailed scanned images being sent to a viewing platform.
https://youtu.be/yO-eduvo904?si=RrYL-nERAM2lJ0ag (Video showing their use) As well as a picture here.
(Suppressed pups presumably lack the massive scanning lasers, since they are used by recon/snipers)
1b. USCM UAV (Unnamed)
A basic USCM drone, similar to a Reaper MQ-9, has 4 pylons, can hold up to 4 weapons such as GPS guided bombs (JDAM), miniguns, missiles, etc. Could be controlled from the ship or via a terminal that could be setup at the FOB, would be controlled by CT’s or IO’s, etc. Much like Thwomps dropship/gunship idea where it can crash if it runs out of fuel, that could also be a thing for this, having it run out of power and crashing somewhere on the map below.
1c. And to round out the canon drone / robot category, I wanted to include the Valravn 470 Tactical Drone from Dark Descent, which could be a possible drone upgrade or version that is available, using a pistol or M10 sidearm that needs to be reloaded like in the game. Can be targeted and destroyed by Xenos, but can also be repaired by comtechs using wire and a welder. Mainly for survellence, but can defend itself (very little with its pistol) somewhat to scare off would be attackers.
2. Onto the non canon robot designs, I wanted to think of a way that engineers could aid medics in the retreat back from the front, and looking at Ukraine often gave me a few ideas on how to do that, one such idea was a medical evacuation robot, totally unarmed, controlled via an RC remote basically, its only goal is to evacuate wounded or KIA back to safety to be processed. It could also theoretically be used for prisoner transport. Holds up to 4 men and can move at a decent rate of speed (a bit faster than a marine running).
2a. And I also wanted to include a gun robot, something to just harass lighter xenos, this could also be an offensive weapon, to be used on the push, but I also think it could be useful for bravo comtechs for example to sweep the backlines with. Lightly armored, somewhat fast, carries a machine gun, thats about it. Meant to take the place of a soldier you dont want to sacrifice. It could carry a Heavy Pulse Rifle, a smartgun, a normal pulse rifle, an M39 smg, hell, whatever works.
With those out of the way, I wanted to touch on some of the canon defenses we see the USCM use, and things they also naturally would use in their defenses that I think we are missing. Some of these are greed asks, like the extra GEM mines, but they could be given a better purpose than the M20 claymore that is somewhat outdated by now, being yknow, 200+ years old.
- That being said, the GEM-80 mine - " "The Ground-Emplaced Mine System Type 80 is an anti-personnel mine and one of the many explosives commonly used by the USCM. It emits a laser beam that, if tripped, causes the device to explode. When the GEM-80 is detonated, the explosion drives the fragmentation matrix forward, causing irreversible damage to the enemy." Could theoretically just be a different mine than the M20, acting similar to the OT mines in that they blow up in a circular pattern rather than direct the explosion to one area like a Claymore. Would be good for area denial in that way, as their explosion covers more ground.
3a. Concertina Wire Bundles (its literally just the TGMC barbed wire, great for defenses, honestly would stop you from having to build outcroppings out of sandbags, you could instead use concertina wire. Can of course be linked to create large barricades.)
3b. Watchtower - Now, with Multi-Z not around yet, I was thinking of how a possible watchtower could be implemented in the meantime, and I came up with the idea that the watchtower would provide the marine(s) inside it with IFF, simulating them shooting over their brothers below. While basic idea wise, I think it works, and would provide a bit of variety to the defenses now. (all 3 of them)
3c. Hesco Barriers - Essentially the sandbags older brother on steroids who went to the marines, they would be much stronger than sandbags but would require a bit more time to setup, there could be something like a “hesco bag” that you would fill with sand then use 1-2 metal to give it frames and set it up. From there, it would be deployed, allowing you to shoot over it like a barricade. You can also put wire on it of course.
3d. the USCM heavy particle turret, salvaged from an APC, I think this could possibly be a good middle ground between the missing APC (God rest his soul, the xenos took you from us) and the turrets we have now. - Foldable Particle Beam Turret requires a lot of power and a powerloader to move around, essentially limiting its usage to the FOB or somewhere else of extreme importance, like comms. It shoots blue-ish plasma looking rounds that explode into blue globs and do a large amount of damage when they hit, but it fires much slower compared to the normal turrets, and is not for crowd control, as compared to the normal sentry. I know Thwomp was/is working on something like the heavy turret above, but I also wanted to include the canon version of it as well.
3e. Deployable motion scanner, from Dark Descent, literally just a larger version of the usually handheld motion tracker, mounted on a small mount and used as a stationary detection tool to warn against flanks or attacks.
Moving on to something I was just thinking of, this is one of the more lets say pipedream asks. A few logistics vehicles, and by that I mean they arent meant for combat, but are for serving or supplying the marine force. Here are a few ideas I think could work well.
- The M939 series 5-ton 6Ă—6 truck, space for plenty of marines, logistics supplies like ammo or meds or even bodies and wounded. Can be destroyed and repaired by Comtechs. A reminder, these are not meant for combat, and those taking them into combat should be punished for wasting supplies, gear and lives.
](M939 series 5-ton 6Ă—6 truck - Wikipedia)
4a. The M934 Expansible van, carries comms equipment, in this case, it would carry the equipment for using drones. Theoretically, the UAV would have a limited drone similar to the mortar that would require the drone truck to move a bit closer if it wanted to survey the entire map, can be destroyed and repaired by Comtechs. A reminder, these are not meant for combat, and those taking them into combat should be punished for wasting supplies, gear and lives.
4b. (The Soul Update) - The MP Jeep (this can also double as a sort of staff car), decently fast, room for up to four marines, can transport stretchers if needed much like the cargo truck, but in a much lesser quantity (2 stretchers.), just there to transport MPs around generally, and for them to roll up on trouble if they need a car. (Like chasing down wanted folks on deploy) Could be armed with a MG or unarmed, could come with a siren, etc.
I hope some of these ideas were are least somewhat plausible to you, and if not I told you some of these ideas wouldn’t work as they don’t fit within the scale of the server, especially in regards to the lore we have(for better or worse) but I do think it is valuable at least to present the ideas. If I have any further ideas, i’ll come back and add them here.
I hope you enjoyed the read and hopefully were inspired to some ideas of your own, thanks for reading or stopping by to provide feedback!
