FrontiersMen

These are probably the easiest and most familiar to play. Sporting a normal FPS style system with light machine gun and a single objective to wipe out the kharaa infestation. As a marine you can either be a commander or a marine, being a commander is a tricky and daunting prospect for the new player. Therefore we will concentrate on the marine himself first.
Spawning as a marine will present you with a screen like below

As a marine you are initially equipped with a light machine gun, a pistol and a knife. In-order to get new weapons and upgrades you must follow your commander’s orders and build, defend and move when he says. Don’t go wining and asking for better weapons or armour, for nothing is more frustrating to a commander, especially when he may not have the ability to give you new weapons or when an important location is under attack.

Weapons And Utilities

Once a commander has placed and marines have built a prototype lab and the commander has upgraded the armoury a host of new weapons and upgrades are available for dropping by the commander. Remember all advanced weapons and new kit is only available if the commander drops them into the game

Light Machine Gun (LMG):

This is the main default weapon given to all new frontiersmen recruits. The LMG is an effective starting weapon until you come across upgraded and stronger aliens. When this happens your commander should have newer and more powerful weaponry technology.

Pistol

Your other main default starting weapon. As a marine this is a great secondary weapon sporting more damage per bullet than your trusty LMG and with a far greater accuracy. Yet only ten bullets per round and a slow rate of fire means its best suited as a support role for when you run out of ammo for your LMG.

Knife

Your last default weapon, for use when no other weapon is available or for attacking defenceless kharaa structures like resource towers or defence chambers. However, the more advanced player can attempt to go 1 on 1 with a skulk and sometimes come out successful sporting only his trustee knife..

Advanced Weapons

Shotgun

The first advanced weapon available for you. Sporting a great deal more damage than the standard LMG and spelling death in 1-2 hits on any skulks you may encounter. Its short range though makes it unsuitable for use against the bigger kharaa.

Grenade Launcher

Available once the commander has upgraded to an advanced armoury and placed an arms lab. The grenade launcher is the portable siege turret allowing for fast and easy structure killing. Unsuitable for attacks against all but the biggest aliens the grenade launcher should only be used in support of HMG’s at the end of the game.

Heavy Machine Gun (HMG)

The last weapon available to you. Sporting 150 ammo per clip a high rate of fire and impressive damage. Able to shred small aliens to pieces in seconds and the weapon of choice for taking on the Onos and Fade 1 on 1. Yet its bulky nature slows the marine down meaning you don’t want to go off on your own down those long dark corridors by yourself…

New Kit

Trip Mine

The Trip mine is a small device sporting high damage. Best used by placing on the floor or on door ways to ward of your base during the first few minutes of the game. Also, a nice defensive weapon for placing on vulnerable structures to stop those skulks from eating your structures.

Jet Pack

This high mobility device is available after the construction of a prototype lab. Sporting a renewal energy source that allows a marine to quickly navigate a map, access an inaccessible area or avoid incoming alien attacks.

Heavy Armour

Raises the armor of a marine to 200 ap. The armor's extra bulk slows the marine slightly, causing him to move at 95% of normal speed. Armor upgrades from the arms lab are cumulative with the effect of the Heavy Armor suit.

Welder

A weapon/utility that is the only device capable of repairing any of your marine structures after an attack by the kharaa. It also allows marines to weld or unweld vents to make areas accessible or inaccessible to the kharaa and destroys the webbing ability of the gorge. Although it replaces the pistol it is advisable to equip at least one marine especially since he can repair the heavy armour on the fly.

Structures

Sentry Turrets

Available to be placed in any area within the range of a turret factory. Sporting a fast rate of fire and 360 degree’s field of fire this device is great for defending key locations without the need of tying up any marines.

Siege Turret

Can only be placed within the power radius of an advanced armoury and without the ability to target any aliens this would seem at first a useless turret. Yet the siege turret is able to destroy any alien structure with a few shots and with the ability to shoot through walls this is an unstoppable weapon. Yet it can only fire when an enemy structure is within sight of a player or scanned by the commander.

Upgrades

Weapons

Once researched the below upgrades become automatically available to all marines:
Level 1: Damage Increased by 10%
Level 2: Damage Increased by 20%
Level 3: Damage Increased by 30%

Armour

Frontiersmen standard issue nano-armour provides 50 points of protection, and absorbs 30% of incoming damage. By researching armour upgrades at the arms lab, the commander can armour boost this protection. The following chart shows how each level of upgrade improves the hit points and damage absorption for regular armour, or heavy armour once researched, these modifications are made automatically for all marines.

	Light Marine Armour Points	Research Time (seconds)	HA Armour Points
No upgrades	25	N/A	200
Level 1	45	60	230
Level 2	65	90	260
Level 3	85	120	290

Motion tracking

This upgrade can be researched at the observatory station. This is perhaps the most useful upgrade available for all marines gain the ability to see any moving alien, removing their prime asset of surprise. Marines can now easily track and hunt down the infestation and sport mass incoming assaults in enough time to prepare defences.

Commander

The commander operates just like a tradition strategy game with the over head command view


The commander has a mini map of the whole screen allowing him to track any visible kharaa and to organise the marines. The right hand side of the screen allows the commander to build new structures or to drop health and weapons. The centre of the screen allows the command to group marines together to set way points and is where the commander actually places the structures and drops new kit.

Marine Structures

As a commander and a marine a host of structures are available for placing or for use.

Command Console (CC)

This device allows one marine to interface with the command network and become the commander. As a commander you control the marines and the placing of all structures and upgrades. The commander is the heart of any marine force and must be protected at all costs.

Infantry Portal

Phases in reinforcements from the dropship. Without an infantry portal, the aliens' advantage will grow with every marine lost. Infantry portals are the most crucial structure to defend, second only to the command console. Without it no marine can spawn and the aliens can attack at will. More portals = faster reinforcements.

Armoury

The armoury allows marines to ‘use’ it to gain free ammunition for any weapon. It also gives the commander the ability to drop new weapons and build new structures.
The Armoury can be upgraded to theadvanced armoury by the commander allowing for the ability to drop new weapons. This is not a new structure but merely an upgrade for an existing armoury.

Turret factory

Gives the command the ability to purchase sentry turrets for base defence.
Just like with the advanced armoury an advanced turret factory can be upgraded to give the ability to place new and formidable siege turrets.
TSA engineers have been experimenting with electricity allowing the TF to be upgraded with an electric field provides a formidable defensive measure against multiple, smaller kharaa lifeforms.

Observatory

Is another crucial building to any successful marine base. The observatory allows motion tracking to be enabled and for the use of scanner sweeps to reveal areas to the commander or to the siege turrets. It also allows for the use of the distress beacon this is not often remembered in the heat of the battle but it allows for the cost of a few resources to instantly spawn all your marines back at base – very useful if your base is under heavy attack.

Resource Tower

These can only be built on resources nozzles (steams of white gas ). More resource towers means the faster supply of res to your system. Every building and weapon costs x amount of res so without it you will have a poor base with poor marines.
TSA engineers have been experimenting with electricity allowing resource towers to be upgraded with an electric field provides a formidable defensive meaxure against multiple, smaller kharaa lifeforms.

Phase gate

Similar in nature to the infantry portable, the phase gate allows for the instantaneous transportation of marines to another phase gate. A good commander will place phase gates at all key points to allow the marines to use them to transport instantly.

Arms Lab

Allows for the upgrading of weapons and armour and for the construction of new buildings and weapons

Prototype Lab

Equipment that is cleared for fieldtesting is programmed into the prototype lab. As of this manual, prototype equipment consists of heavy armour and jet pack technology. This equipment is powerful, and cutting edge. Whether its cost is justified is a matter of debate, and left to command strategy.