Trident-za Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I've been playing CMSF as much as humanly possible since I bought it 5 or so weeks ago, and I'm now giving some thought to buying the Marine module. I do have some questions about it though. Apart from the obvious (new unit, new equipment, new campaign), how does the Marine module differ from the stock game? Does it introduce anything new, tactically? Different mission types, or enemy types? Or is it essentially "more of the same"? I will almost definately be buying the Marine module no matter what the replies, because I've seriously enjoyed CMSF so far and like to "reward" developers who develop games I enjoy.... but I'm curious about how it differs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dietrich Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Does it introduce anything new, tactically? Would you agree that one's tactics are shaped by the forces under one's command? If yes, then I think it's reasonable to reckon that you will find that your tactics will be shaped by the composition of the USMC forces available to you. An Army rifle squad has 9 men, two of which have M249 SAWs. A Marine rifle squad has much more firepower than it's Army counterpart -- it has 13 men, three of which have M249s, and the fireteam leaders each have one M32 six-shot grenade launcher; and the squad carries three times the AT weaponry of an Army squad. It's likely you'll find that a Marine rifle squad can handle the full range of challenges. Different mission types[?] Between the "Semper Fi, Syria!" campaign and the bundled stand-alone missions, you will encounter the gamut of mission types, from cautious recon probes to hold-the-line defending scenarios to all-out combined-arms urban assaults with tanks and helos. In my experience, the USMC campaign is better designed and more varied than the stock CMSF campaign. or enemy types? Opposite the module's USMC forces are the Syrian Airborne forces. The Syrian Airborne troops themselves are perhaps the toughest conventional opponents you will face (as Blue), and their BMP-3 is the most heavily armed and dangerous APC/IFV in the Syrian arsenal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sure, I'm fond of Strykers and Bradleys and regular ol' Army grunts, but those leathernecks and their weaponry have definitely earned my respect. And they have M1s too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stikkypixie Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I've been playing CMSF as much as humanly possible since I bought it 5 or so weeks ago, and I'm now giving some thought to buying the Marine module. I do have some questions about it though. Apart from the obvious (new unit, new equipment, new campaign), how does the Marine module differ from the stock game? Does it introduce anything new, tactically? Different mission types, or enemy types? Or is it essentially "more of the same"? I will almost definately be buying the Marine module no matter what the replies, because I've seriously enjoyed CMSF so far and like to "reward" developers who develop games I enjoy.... but I'm curious about how it differs. The demo includes a marine mission. That might answer some of your questions. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trident-za Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 Although this might be hard for some of you to believe, I live in a country that has a "fixed cap" per month on internet usage - once you reach that cap (3 GB of data transfer), internet access is shutdown until either the next month begins, or you buy more bandwidth. In short, I'm going to have to download the Marine module.... I don't really want to download the demo as well. Deitrich, your comments have got my interest... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stikkypixie Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Although this might be hard for some of you to believe, I live in a country that has a "fixed cap" per month on internet usage - once you reach that cap (3 GB of data transfer), internet access is shutdown until either the next month begins, or you buy more bandwidth. In short, I'm going to have to download the Marine module.... I don't really want to download the demo as well. Deitrich, your comments have got my interest... Ah, that changes a lot then. In my opinion Marines plays differently to keep things interesting, even though I did not expected it. Hope you find that as well, should you decide to buy it! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarsS Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I just bought the Marines module some weeks ago and I'm having a blast. And in my opinion there is a distinct difference between playing Marines vs playing the Army boys. With the M32 grenade launcher even a 4-man fireteam can suppress an enemy squad almost instantly and also inflict lots of casualties fast. The scarcity of Javelins make playing marines a bit different (harder!) when facing enemy armor. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkEzra Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Get yer T-90s and BMP-3 wid de Marine Module. It's explosive fun! Just Ask The USMC LAV drivers...what's left of them.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdstrike Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 My general impression is that the Marines play out more infantry-centric, for one because of the firepower the rifle squads can bring to bear, then again there are no Strykers for fire support organic with each platoon (and no abundant amount of allmighty Javelins) - the best you can hope for are trucks or those those AAV hulks which look like something right out of Star Wars. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan8325 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 One of the tactical changes required when using Marines, that I learned the hard way, is that you generally want to dismount sooner when going into urban, or other complex, environments. The marine squad is larger and so are the transports, such as AAV and MTVR. Also the transports are generally less well armored than Strykers and Bradleys. This means that it is helpful to dismount and split the squads into teams early when the terrain ahead is complex. It was only the second mission in the Marines campaign, after version 1.11, where I discovered the vulnerability of fully-loaded AAVs rolling too close to the enemy before dismounting. You know the old saying "can't hit the broad side of a barn"? Well if you CAN hit the broad side of a barn, remember that the AAV is really no different than a barn on tracks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkEzra Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Since you have a Government bandwidth issue perhaps you should wait until the British Module comes out and get that bundled with the Marines. Obviously you are as addicted to the game as the rest of us there's no real reason to DL Demos....you all ready know you've got YEARS of great wargaming ahead of you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 What the Marine module MOSTLY contains (in my opinion) is that extra year of experience from the basegame to the module. The Marine scenarios were constructed by people who had substantial experience at scenario construction. Plus the Marine scenarios were built to the lastest patch capabilities. That seems to have made a big difference. Plus, if you own the Marine module you can then download my own 3rd party Army-vs-Marine scenario "Lone Star Shopping Plaza". The enclosed food court runs with blood! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixxkiller Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Oh you will notice big differences in what the Marines bring to the table. I cant believe I am going to say this, but in the game I would rather have Marine or British infantry than the Army counterparts to be honest. As a fighting force in game the pile on fire-power that a few Marine squads can bring to a fight can be withering to your troops when facing them. Also as stated above, USMC carriers can bring a lot of men to a key point in a hurry. As far as AFV's go, i will take a Bradley over a LAV any day of the week, but the M1A1SEP holds its own. Brits as you will find out have lots of challenges overcoming the AFV advantage of the USA and USMC and that's part of the fun. The Jav's carried by the UK forces do have a distinct even-ing effect on this advantage though. They also get that accent. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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