My first experiences of SS13 and Colonial Marines

[Nezara]

First off I would just like to say I'm absolutely having a blast playing SS13 and it's a shame I didn't discover it sooner. I thourghly look forward to play with you all these coming months or more

Cue the first game I had with 2 friends (will refer as A and D) after I introduced it to them...

So the game starts and we all begin as your basic marine (at the time we were far too new to the game to warrant trying a more advance class). I'm in alpha squad while my two friends were in bravo (we hadn't figured out how to set squad preference yet). We get geared up and head down to Big Red to begin a search & rescue (and destroy). I got put on FOB duty by the SL while my friend A followed bravo squad to search for survivors.

Naturally they run into alien contact and shortly afterwards, a crusher. Due to how movement works in this game A unfortunately got pushed into the path of the crusher by her fleeing squad mates resulting in a mangled chest....and a few bullet holes. She was so fucked up they couldn't keep her alive on ground base and she required a lift to the Ship for surgery.

Now D, This was D's first game and spent the first 20-30 minutes fighting the controls, learning how to put on a shirt and load a gun....he was still on the ship while the chaos was all happening. Finally and Alamo comes up for the 3rd time and he gets on, ready to join the fray.
I let him know I'll be waiting at the landing pad and will lead him to the front lines for some tasty tasty murder. I take position on the landing zones walk way and prepare for the ship to land....

I start hearing the landing noises and so take a step around the corner of the landing pad to meet him out back....just as the back corner of the wing of the Alamo comes down and squashes me into a half-dozen pieces. embarrassing....the medics set up nearby turn in my direction.

"What a mess".

So D walks out, looks for me and (over Skype) I mention...that bloody mess...that's me. I think to myself, remembering the odd game of SS13 Iv had, it's bloody hard to permanently die in this game, there is cloning and golem possessing, if the basic field medic can bring me back from death maybe there is something on the Ship that could bring me back from this...

So D does his best to pick up my limbs and body parts, putting them in his backpack. A finally comes down from surgery, see's D and picks up what D couldn't fit of me. They get on the Alamo and head to medical...praying there was something that could fix their poor idiot friend.

Walking into medical they call out for assistance
"help!, our friends hurt and could use medical attention"
Doctor: "you guys seem fine, where is your friend? Back on the Alamo?".
A & opens their bags and pours my remains on the ground
Doctor: "where is he?"

Now D hadn't quite got a handle on the controls yet and proceeds THROW my head at a glass window, cracking it, while my head bounces onto a nearby table.

Doctor: "ah....pretty sure he is dead"
"no no no see, we just need some tape! Duct tape! Or maybe some glue....we can fix him right?"


Apparently if you fuck up spectacularly, you can in fact get yourself so dead even death-cheating, spread-sheet memorising Doctors can't fix you...

I ghosted the rest of the round while my friends played it out, dying once the aliens invaded the Ship...




Hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I did living it. I'll see you out there

Can't wait to learn the complexities of this game


Can't remember the last time we all laughed so hard during the medbay scene.

[Philby0]

Glad to see new players enjoying the game ! What you describe is a pretty normal round, you'll have a blast when you see your first mutiny, ERT RP situation, pred honour fight...

[Cairath]

Always glad to see new faces! It's quite fun how a Squad Marine can actually end up seeing the surface level of everything every other role has to offer, with doctors taking care of you and engineers building your proverbial home on the range.

Also, if you die and can't be resurrected, the round isn't over. Stick around and answer distress signals, or join in as a xeno, that's always fun.

[Skimmy2]

You have great friends, hope you enjoy your continued misadventures!

[mizolo]

BRUH THE FUCKIN' DUCT TAPE AND SHIT MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD OH MY LORD

[manezinho]

Welcome to CM, prepare for blood and salt.

[Nezara]

Thank you for the kind words!

So the Second Story....

At this point A and myself have had a little more experience. I now play engineer, still getting to grips with all the things they can do, how to hack properly. fixing robotic arms... A was just starting her internship as a field medic (while guides have been read and wiki pages open, A still needs other medics to help her out)


After getting power and comms up (I thank the patient SL who led me through some of the steps) I started placing some land mines around comms. because comms always, ALWAYS goes down and aliens love ambushing around there. I then proceed to place one just outside the LZ, that little choke just before the area thats usually developed as the FOB.

A few minutes later I hear the SL scream over bravo channel "WHO PUT THESE MINES HERE?" "WHAT MORON WOULD PLACE MINES ON OUR SIDE OF DEFENSE!"
Me: SL That was me
SL: GET THESE MINES OUTA HERE! Before you blow someone up

I think to myself, those mines are pretty outta the way at comms...I guess I could move the one at the LZ. So I walk back to the placed mine trying to figure out how to remove it. But I start thinking.....I guess it could stay, I mean no one really holds this choke, we have no walls placed here, we would probably funnel them through here in retreat...

Now A starts coming back from the front lines, dragging an downed survivor. She didnt have the gear on her to revive the survivor so she starts dragging him to the LZ..

In that moment, BOOM

The mine goes off....the screen is white, my ears are ringing...A's vision is gone and her ears are ringing....My vision starts to return and SL is infront of me...shoving me, screaming something at me (although I cant here it)...



And thats the day we learned that downed survivors can set of landmines....and I really should listen to the SL, even if the order sounds strange.

[Skimmy2]

You're gonna go far in the Corp!

Protip, always listen to your SL/Officers.
They either know what they are doing, or will (begrudgingly) accept all of the responsibility for failure!

[SolarMacharius]

CM is very fun, its pretty easy to learn the basics. Just don't play too many command roles at first because those tend to be a little overwhelming at first. Hope you continue to enjoy the game.

[TheMusician321]

It's great to see new people on the server, always a blast having your first mis-adventures, may there be more in the future!

[emeraldmoonx]

Happy you're enjoying the game. It definitely has a steep learning curve. You're going to die a lot, generate much salt, and no doubt rage a few times.

[Skubblers]

Just get your rookie boots on the line and continue to have a great time pal.

[Sabactus]

Need an admin item that will de-gib a player. Call it, "Duct tape! Or maybe some glue!"

[MeetraSurik]

Oh i know that feel, when I started playing SS13 I was quite overwhelmed by all that and CM is no difference, it's like the mechanics are all the same but it feels like another game and not SS13 anymore. For me it's like i have to learn everything new, at least that's what its like for me! Welcome though and keep it up, I think you'll like it

[Nezara]

Wow, I genuinely didn't expect to see such an incredibly positive and welcoming response by so many people. What an awesome community.

and I just want to correct the land mine incident by saying under most circumstances I have usually followed orders without question (it is a good way of staying alive), I think at that time I was a little taken back by the hostility of the SL's (well justified) reaction. All apart of the learning process.

Definintly enjoying the learning curve, so much to learn, so much not on the wiki. Still haven't quite figured out how exactly hacking vending machines work, or if there is any draw back to having all prosthetic limbs, or what things effect movement speed, what hunger effects, or how to be in the front lines and be useful without getting shot. Then there is the fact that every time I think Iv learned the level the map is voted changed....

Me an A once dragged the piano in the bar on the Ice map all the way to the FOB at the LZ...for shits and gig. The SL was very impressed with our playing "10/10, morale raised".

Then there was the time I think I shot and killed the last engineer in the CIC while trying to save him from a zombie...I think he might of been fixing the self destruct....

Been trying to get as many friends as I can to jump in, It's all been too much fun.


Currently trying to sort out a sticky ban caused by wine skin wrapper but hopefully in the next few days that will be sorted.

And then the chaos resumes...

[contactdenied]

Definintly enjoying the learning curve, so much to learn, so much not on the wiki. Still haven't quite figured out how exactly hacking vending machines work, or if there is any draw back to having all prosthetic limbs, or what things effect movement speed, what hunger effects, or how to be in the front lines and be useful without getting shot. Then there is the fact that every time I think Iv learned the level the map is voted changed....

So, you wanna be a hackerman, eh? Hacking is pretty easy, but it's a bit dangerous for you or anyone else if you pulse the wrong wire. Unscrew a vendor's maint panel then get out the multi tool, this'll bring up a screen telling you the differently colored wires. Pick one wire and pulse it, if you're lucky, the extra gear or item will pop up in the other screen, if you're not, you could possibly electrocute a vendor for a short amount of time, meaning that it'll zap anyone that tries to use it, causes some burn damage and hurts a lot. Once you find out the extra gear wire, make note of it for the round as that wire is the extra gear wire for everything else. The wires do change every few rounds though, so be wary.

Prosthetic limbs are mechanical, when a prosthetic limb receives a certain amount of damage it starts to short out and that means from time to time it'll drop the item you have in the mechanical limb, or for legs you wouldn't be able to move much. Bring a welder to fix brute prosthetic damage (watch out for eye damage) and cable coil to fix prosthetic burn damage, basically like treating a wound with gauze or a burn with ointment.

All armors (barring the CLF armor) slow you down some amount, including the standard marine armor, and I believe that with the pouch update whenever you fill something to the point where the storage screen goes red it slows you down some also. Don't ditch your marine armor though.

Although I've never gotten hungry enough for anything bad to happen to me, hunger is what keeps you running at a brisk pace. Pack two or so protein bars in your helmet and chow down for some extra time, food items also restore a bit of blood.

Well, you usually want to try to avoid a fellow marine's line of fire so your head doesn't pop off. Requires a bit of paying attention to your surroundings so you can avoid PFC Baldie's AP burst fire, but it usually pays off when PFC Baldie takes the shot and knocks the head of the marine in front of you off. You should usually stick with a group of buddies, at least 4 or 5, so you have a chance of living if a runner pounces you. Try to stay in the middle of your group or off to the side when in combat, as you can take shots from there and have some cover (your buddies.) If the big guys start to come out, things like the Queen or Ravager means you should just make a run for it in order to avoid your ears being screeched out or getting a limb chopped off.

It's awesome to see new players enjoying this game, especially ones that post on the forum. I hope you keep enjoying this game and maybe I'll see you some time!


tutorial courtesy of cool dude

[Nezara]

Hacking: Yeah Iv talked to some people regarding that, I managed to hack a medic dispenser to gain access to a first aid kit for a friend but iv never been able to replicate it. Iv pulsed all wires, cute and fixed wires the wires that zap but I havnt seem to be able to hack access to some machines...nor have I seen any extra gear pop up...so some machines cant be hacked or only some machines have extra goodies...needs more experimenting.

prosthetic limb: ah thats good to know, because it seems much easier to weld a prosthetic arm than it does to fix a real one with first aid...or how much it damaged your health. so its just a engi equivalent of medic stuffs, no advantage or disadvantage, just different.

weight: I figured armour slowed me down, hence seeing doctors and researchers zip around the place. I also noticed when I filled my engineers backpack and gear he slowed down alot, so what you say makes sense. I think also holding a gun slows you down, there even being command to drop everything in your hands for bolting.

marine fire line: yeah, it is difficult to position oneself to deal damage and not be in the line of friendly fire. its more doing that but also being in a position to deal significant damage to the aliens, usually requiring close proximity (unless your a specialist). but of course being in close proximity puts you a risk of the roars of the aliens (its a fair trade off). Difference between people comfortable in combat and not. Iv certainly see a few veterans chase down a queen or hold off a charger single handed. anytime iv tried that its always been an ambush....its a matter of experience.

need to make some macros.....and a named character...all that refining stuff.

just waiting for the ban to lift

[mazazon]

prosthetic limb: ah thats good to know, because it seems much easier to weld a prosthetic arm than it does to fix a real one with first aid...or how much it damaged your health. so its just a engi equivalent of medic stuffs, no advantage or disadvantage, just different.

The disadvantage is a lot of medics don't carry a welder, welding mask and wire. So if damage to a prosthetic is keeping you down medics might not be able to help you and engineers often ignore me when I ask them to help with a prosthetics case.

Has to do with how pain works, a relatively mild none-life threatening injury like say burn damage on a prosthetic can make a lot of pain and keep you on the floor even though you aren't actually that badly hurt.

[XenocidalEnragement]

prosthetic limb: ah thats good to know, because it seems much easier to weld a prosthetic arm than it does to fix a real one with first aid...or how much it damaged your health. so its just a engi equivalent of medic stuffs, no advantage or disadvantage, just different.

Contrary to popular belief, robotic limbs are much more useful and robust than the flesh-and-blood meatsticks people seem to love. To preface this: if you are getting robotic limbs, you will want to always ask your Squad Engineer to toss you a spare set of welding goggles at roundstart. Trying to repair/blowtorch damaged robo-limbs without the proper protection (welding goggles/masks) will screw your eyes over badly, although you can weld up to three times without protection in an emergency. After getting the welding goggles, you can get a blowtorch and cable coil to stuff in your armor's slot/backpack/pockets from either the Autolathe, the Engineer vendors west to the Autolathe, Requisitions or from the planet below.

With that out of the way, let me shill to you how the Omnissiah's blessings are much better than the weak and feeble fleshy prodders that the default human starts with.

* Robotic limbs cannot be fractured/broken or feel pain; a man with robotic limbs can still fight and run as effectively as a fully-healthy male with fleshy limbs, even if their limbs have suffered heavy damage. The man with robotic limbs cannot feel pain, which is very useful if you're prone to getting beat up by xenos and/or commies. Like a regular human's hand, the robotic variant can 'malfunction' and drop whatever was in that hand if heavy damage has been sustained to that certain hand. Robotic limbs can still be torn off and dismembered from the body, but it requires more brute force than it would for a fleshy limb.

* Robotic limbs can be repaired with a blowtorch and cable coil for brute and burn damage respectively. A single blowtorch can repair damaged robotic limbs about 16-18 times before needing refueling and a cable coil can repair damaged robotic limbs 30 times before running dry, very efficient in terms of healing/repairing for their small size. It is very easy to find additional cables and blowtorches in case you loose or run out of your current pair's supply; you can get additional blowtorches and cable coil from all around the planet(s), toolboxes and Engineering.

* Robotic limbs instantly recover from damage once repaired. If you have a robotic arm that's been heavily damaged and your health is in the deep orange, repairing the damage by hitting it with an active blowtorch/cable coil will automatically heal the damage right there and shoot you back up to green health within a few seconds; fixing up a bruised arm with gauze/kits takes much longer in turn, since they heal slowly over a period of time. You can get back up from what would've been a mortal wound within a few seconds and continue fighting with robotic limbs.

* Robotic limbs can only suffer two types of damage, brute and burn; it is impossible for robotic limbs to suffer from toxic/radiation/oxygen damage, suffer from infections, necrosis or rot, etcetera.

Take the road of the Techpriest and turn all of your limbs into robotic prosthetics. Do it. Make the Omnissiah proud.

[mazazon]

* Robotic limbs cannot be fractured/broken or feel pain;

What? you sure they don't feel pain? Rolling medic I've often seen people conscious but on the floor because of a damaged prosthetic and no other injuries. Pain killers will get them up for a bit but as soon as they wear off they'll be back on the floor again.

[davidofmk771]

What? you sure they don't feel pain? Rolling medic I've often seen people conscious but on the floor because of a damaged prosthetic and no other injuries. Pain killers will get them up for a bit but as soon as they wear off they'll be back on the floor again.

I've seen this too, on myself even. Makes sense, a damaged robotic arm would probably leak nasty mechanical fluids/scratch and tear into your stump and leave you in pain. He's right about the fractures though, if the wiki had a comprehensive section in the Guide to Medicine about prosthesis repair the mechanical limbs would be robust as hell, but it would probably require that the weld/cable actions be regulated under the skill system.

[BobaFett07]

I remember that I was a baldie randomly got the name Ezekiel Bell(still use that name) and I could only use a submachine gun, because I didn't know how to use 2 hands to fire a pulse rifle

[XenocidalEnragement]

I've seen this too, on myself even. Makes sense, a damaged robotic arm would probably leak nasty mechanical fluids/scratch and tear into your stump and leave you in pain. He's right about the fractures though, if the wiki had a comprehensive section in the Guide to Medicine about prosthesis repair the mechanical limbs would be robust as hell, but it would probably require that the weld/cable actions be regulated under the skill system.

Aye, worded it wrong I think.

[Nezara]

Contrary to popular belief, robotic limbs are much more useful and robust than the flesh-and-blood meatsticks people seem to love. To preface this: if you are getting robotic limbs, you will want to always ask your Squad Engineer to toss you a spare set of welding goggles at roundstart. Trying to repair/blowtorch damaged robo-limbs without the proper protection (welding goggles/masks) will screw your eyes over badly, although you can weld up to three times without protection in an emergency. After getting the welding goggles, you can get a blowtorch and cable coil to stuff in your armor's slot/backpack/pockets from either the Autolathe, the Engineer vendors west to the Autolathe, Requisitions or from the planet below.

With that out of the way, let me shill to you how the Omnissiah's blessings are much better than the weak and feeble fleshy prodders that the default human starts with.

I played my first round with this in mind (full prosthetic s).

The engineer was more than happy to throw me a spare set of goggles but when I asked for a coil and welder I received a very brilliant role play rejection of

"you should stop playing with explosives and find those yourself."

The MP's directed me away from the autolathe when everyone started boarding DS1 before I could grab the tools from there however I managed to track down the equipment on the planet. unfortunately the round was such a steam roll that I never got injured enough to explore the advantages.

Is there a particular trick to adding a nickname to yourself? my friend came up with a adequately cheesy name of Will "Of Steel" Balvadore (or something like that) but I could not update my name with the nickname included.

As my character would be a walking talking pile of metal and wires would could I assume some of the engineers roles in role play or would that be considered meta-gaming? ei, crack open doors or build basic walls? (provided I only do so with gear I find, not ask for or strip from corpses).

[TheDonkified]

Is there a particular trick to adding a nickname to yourself? my friend came up with a adequately cheesy name of Will "Of Steel" Balvadore (or something like that) but I could not update my name with the nickname included.

When you are writing your name in setup character, just put the nickname with single quotations around it in between your first and last name, like Joe 'Bald' Smith.