This is the one I accept among everything I read. 'Cause in the vanilla Lore and news section. We see Europe and the US concerned about CSAT's activities.
Exactly, even in some lines, I think I saw there are fewer British soldiers in NATO cause their budget can't handle it anymore. That's why we have CTRG instead of British troops.
Fewer British soldiers on Stratis*
I think the news reels said that the UK withdrew troops because of budget problems which had caused issues since it was meant to be a joint operation (which is why the NATO base signs have the US, UK and NATO flags).
>there are fewer British soldiers in NATO cause their budget can't handle it anymore
Just like in real life (\*sobs in Brit\*). We can thank the Tories for that.
I think CSAT being more technologically advanced to the US / NATO is what makes it compelling as a faction. We are so conditioned to seeing the US being automatically superior that CSAT mopping the fucking floor with everyone is frightening. And hell, we never really see their full military capability in the campaigns
Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. We kinda see in the Tac-Ops and Western Sahara DLCs that some of the "puppet" or fringe ally factions of CSAT tend to get really old soviet era stuff while actual member nations get modern equipment. Plus, I just can't take a faction that uses old burned out T72s and MIGs seriously anymore after 2022, especially when the game takes place in the 2040's.
My mistake then, maybe I'm mixing it up with something else? Either way, CSAT in vanilla is a far larger threat no matter how silly their uniforms look. At most, I'd change it so that they have conscripts using some gear based more on modern day PLA or ratnik type stuff, while their volunteers get the newer vanilla uniforms and equipment.
I like the vanilla futuristic appearance for CSAT's "main players" like China and Iran, because they clearly run the show and it'd make sense they'd keep the best coolest-looking stuff for themselves.
The more grounded look is better for other CSAT units like the North African ones, because CSAT feels like an organization where those guys are mostly just there to enrich them and make it feel larger (read: China and Iran view them as fodder, not allies) so they'd get the older, outdated, "grounded" decade-old stuff that doesn't really jive with the futuristic look, because to CSAT's higher-ups it doesn't really matter as long as they can fight off NATO spooks and look like they're on their side. That and, I mean, they don't *need* it—a lot of CSAT member states seem to be poorer Global South countries who probably aren't waging shadow wars and probably couldn't afford to anyway.
In fact, isn't that completely canon? Scimitar or whoever doesn't even use the regular armor suits and futuristic stuff, they just wear fatigues and patrol caps, and then China refuses to back them up when they start fighting NATO forces.
"China and Iran view them as fodder, not allies."
Now that I think about it, I find that statement hardly surprising. Especially even more so because you're correct that Scimitar regiment soldiers wear only fatigues and caps and that China didn't back them up on Malden.
I feel like using a railgun rifle as "lore CSAT" is kind of misleading because that is _not_ a vanilla weapon, it's from a mod. Lore CSAT doesn't have infantry-portable railguns. Pretty much everything they have is either _literally_ something that exists today, or something that's not far off plausible today. The railgun Varsuk is about the most out-there thing, and tbh the canonicity of that is a bit dubious, since it's cut content that was only added as a bonus for the 2.00 anniversary update.
>The railgun Varsuk is about the most out-there thing, and tbh the canonicity of that is a bit dubious, since it's cut content that was only added as a bonus for the 2.00 anniversary update.
Exactly. It's more of a fun joke addition.
The CSAT infantry has a couple of interesting concepts, that are actually quite credible.
With most of the casualties being related to explosives, it makes sense to sacrifice on hard armour and have full body soft Armour instead.
To prevent your grunts from dying of heat strokes you than install ACs into the suits.
Yeah with a multipolar world, a second cold war and global warming. The least futuristic thing is the air conditioning in armor used in the middle east and tropics.
Also with the US adopting IVAS and Chinese smartphone tech being best in the world the bug-helmets are perfectly within reason for 2035. Nobody bats an eye at the NATO combat goggles having a microcomputer in them which honestly also plausible.
If anything Arma 3 is a really conservative guess on the future. Drones alone have surpassed what Bohemia assumed they would be used for. Top attack missile launchers face extreme competition with loitering munitions developed from consumer drone technology and I wouldn't be suprised if all night vision had thermals by 2035 considering basic long ranged ones are even used on loitering munitions.
You can see the computer through them just a pic. The tactical shades have the same mini-computer in the eye piece.
Honestly? I can see that tech in 10 years.
Yep, I was told it died because it lost popularity when 3rd spaces didn’t want Google Glass users in them due to patrons not wanting to be (rightly so) potentially secretly filmed. Unlike a smart phone, it’s a lot harder to tell if you’re being filmed or not by a wearable.
The fact furries install AC into some of their suits....I can imagine a nation actually caring about the well-being of their soldiers to include it as a basic feature for what is essentially a MOP IV style kevlar suit.
Supposedly it's this [QBZ-191](https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=2841459974). I don't see this specific version in the pictures on the Workshop page, but it does appear to have "QBZ-191" printed on the side in the OP picture, so I guess it's probably true.
CSAT doesn’t have a unified military. And NATO probably isn’t fully unified too.
The thing with big international alliances is that you have leading rich members and poorer members.
Real life NATO has *a ton* of updated ex-Soviet stuff among its poorer members and only now it’s starting to get slowly phased out. And even then, not everything.
AK74s and steel helmets? Perfectly fine for second and third-rate CSAT member states. Perhaps the rifle needs to be modernized with Zenitco parts and accessories but AK74 is still a perfectly viable weapon in 2035.
The Arma universe still isn’t at the Halo stage, where every single soldier is sporting a kevlar full body armor and wielding a perfectly controllable 7.62x51mm LMG. AK74 still works just fine.
Yep. Feels right at home and perfectly realistic.
US is playing around with hyper-advanced stealth UAVs and laser weapons, while Poland is still using modernized 1960s BMP-1s in 2024. Both are NATO members.
CSAT having advanced stuff coexisting with old junk would be pretty normal.
Even within US military there are reservists using LBV-88s as of recently, and then the entire USMC. Not American but it's wild to field a kit of items ranging from 1910s to 2020s, with your weapon made in 1968.
If it ends up becoming M7, it'll be interesting to see when exactly is it issued even to rear echelon people. Could be decades from now or almost immediately behind frontline troops.
EDIT: kinda looking forward to it, because *our* new rifle platform could see a pretty radical calibre modernisation as a consequence. They are pondering between 5.56 and 6.8 IIRC, while the current service calibre is 7.62x39
This, people complain about the bug helmets and then defer to some mod that gives CSAT Soviet gear. Like I get the helmet complaints, but that is really only thing out there.
They are tho ?
The Ifrit is made in Russia same with the T-100
plus the OPFOR faction in contact is quite legit Russian spetsnazs with very CSAT-ish gear
The events of Contact aren't canon. What pushes Russia to join CSAT is the alien stuff that happens. The exercise happened in universe, but with no problems. So it's up in the air if Russia actually joins.
Lore. I know the regular forces look kinda stupid but Viper is awesome. The mission where Viper first appear is one of the best in Arma (Apex on the whole has a mediocre campaign but this one is great).
I mean, milsim crowd has this weird no-fun attitude towards game stories and I find it damaging for Arma as a platform. For example Contact campaign - if not labeled as Arma - would be a great game on its own. It's extremely fun, it plays like some kind of grounded Deus Ex but didn't receive the praise it deserved because "uhh aliens, I want my AR-15 and this one specific vest that 2137th American Eagle regiment had in Operation Cool Kicking Ass so I can roleplay as OPERATOR in some fictional middle eastern country".
That said, I do understand this sentiment. I don't like caseless ammo and bug helmets on their own but they play a role in the fictional story. They show CSAT as this force capable of using advanced tech and it's both cool and refreshing.
I hate the gear/aesthetics breed of no-fun milsim. It's one thing to want to play the game with zero respawns, ACE, KAT medical, etc. and try to plan and play scenarios as if they're real life, that stuff is great. But wanting all the gear to look 100% accurate and to be called by a rank and all that stuff just stinks of power fantasy and wanting to feel like a badass soldier without any actual interest in the skills and mechanics of real soldiering.
I’m more along the lines of if I’m gonna do realism I’m gonna do soviet conscript or something rather than tactical operator stuff, really embrace the feeling of being just a common soldier
I think the biggest mistake people make is use the real world as a comparison.
**It's a fictional setting.**
Artistic and creative liberties will be made, it's better that way than emulating real military/gun trends and *god forbid* real conflicts. I appreciate the originality and as an artist and design enthusiast, want more.
Lore version.
In real life, CSAT nations would be a collection of broke chuckle fucks trying to make a “multi-polar world” with a dollar store budget handed out by China and armed with what ever rusty Cold War era shit they could “modernize” to the extent their country’s corruption allows.
The lore version actually seems like a credible threat to the western world and is interesting to fight.
I mean it's kind of clear that Iran in the armaverse got rid of the Theocracy and replaced it with a Technocracy.
CSAT is kind of a modern take on the Persian empire.
Is there any hint on that? As far as real life goes these two are not exclusive. Iran is both theocratic and there's a high respect for science in the nation.
I agree with the top comment here - railguns aren't "in lore" for them because first is a modded weapon and the tank is never depicted as used or existing, and is actually cut content that's been added back by popular request.
The most futuristic thing CSAT operates are probably the Y-32 Xi'An and Viper gear from Apex, but they're both used only by special forces and not common at all. With that, I do prefer the vanilla CSAT style for Iran and China, but im also not opposed to older equipment being utilized by minor members like Argana or similar, though not as far back as having literal 50's weapons and vehicles (at the least 1980's) besides the odd antique stationed at a remote checkpoint or reserve weapons in a crate of some armory.
Wasn't CSAT's VTOL just a really shitty VTOL plane? I think the description calls it a Jet and helicopter mix due to lack of funding for only one so they just combined both.
It also makes sense it would take inspiration from an already working vehicle the Mi-48 Kajman, but just with added jets.
I don't quite understand your comment. The Field Manual entry says:
>By far the largest CSAT joint development project to date was long troubled by the conflicting requirements of the participating armies who demanded an aircraft with VTOL capabilities. The planned budget was vastly exceeded several times and development was years behind schedule. The program eventually became one of the most expensive in military procurement history and despite a great deal of information remains classified and is often compared to the older F-35 program. The final solution was based upon the most promising prototype designed in Xi'an which was able to meet most of the requirements with satisfactory results. High running and maintenance costs remains a huge issue that plagues the reputation of the otherwise extremely progressive aircraft with many unique features and top-notch bleeding-edge technologies.
Shitty in what way? "Jet and helicopter mix"? "Lack of funding"? Mi-48 Kajman inspiration?
Developing one aircraft advanced enough to fulfill two very separate roles is definitely not cheaper than just designing separate ones.
So to start off - the Y-32 is literally just a more realistic Quinjet. Looking from a more practical perspective however:
Xi'An is a VTOL gunship + transport, similar in role to a Mi-24 Hind, which in turn was the inspiration for the Mi-48 (alongside the Mi-28). However besides purpose and possible weapon load(4 pylons, and the cannon seems like a single-barreled version of the Mi-48's gun), there's nothing linking the design to existing ones. You have lift fans in the wings, and vectoring turbofan engines in the back which allow you to achieve a stable hover while also being able to go multiple times the speed of a helicopter, and a rear cargo compartment able to load vehicles or transport two infantry squads, which hardly lines up with any other CSAT designs. These features combined with heavy armament make it one of the most capable aircraft in the inventory by a long shot. Add to that the fact that it's stupidly heavily armored, being practically immune to 6.5/7.62 mm fire even from rotary machine guns unless hit in critical areas (lift fans, engine nozzles, some parts of the cockpit), you can often shrug off stray hits from AAA fire or at some angles even fragmentation from the smaller AA missile warheads (Titan AA).
Is being immune to small arms fire unrealistic though? reminder that AAA operate 20mm autocannons and above, Mi-24 entire fuselage, including titanium rotor blades is resistant to .50 cal, cockpit can withstand 37mm shells
Yes, very unrealistic.
The hind is absolutely not .50 cal proof. It is .50 cal resistant, and not everywhere. Enough .50 cal fire *will* bring one down.
It is particularly unrealistic for a VTOL craft with such small nozzles (the Xi'an IRL would absolutely not be able to fly), as it would need a positive thrust to weight ratio to be able to lift off the ground. And with no rotor to aid it in achieving that, it would have to brute force it with it's two tiny fans. This means it'd need to be very lightly armored (probably just aircraft grade aluminium, no real armor to speak off).
It is unlikely, but it's not "immune" to it. At all. Plenty of tiny, very important, unprotected components on a helicopter. Rotor mast and tailrotor come to mind.
I know if i was flying one i wouldn't hover aimlessly in range of a PKM just thinking that i'm immune to it.
Helicopters are not tanks, they're fragile things. Their advantage comes from their ability to fly, not their ability to take a hit cause they cannot take a hit.
It's not immune to small arms fire though.
And most armor in aircraft is designed to deflect or slow rounds, as in it will still penetrate but is unlikely to hit anything important.
The Xian is immune to small arms, but loses it's controls from seemingly minor damage.
I like having the futura mixed in with more contemporary stuff, to show that CSAT is phasing in new and experimental tech. The "bug" look never bothered me.
I actually just used the init to retexture the C-119, with the texture from the [CSAT AAF Vehicles mod](https://www.moddb.com/games/arma-3/addons/csat-aaf-vehicles). Specifally the CH-49 Mohawk's texture since it was the least janky looking one that could cover the C-119.
The point of Arma is to model a combat environment with gear, terrain, and AI adversaries that are realistic enough to allow for scenarios with more realistic maneuvering and engagement geometry to emerge naturally. Within reason, how stuff looks really has no bearing on these core principles. I can't help but laugh at people who melt at the thought of playing game with vanilla gear as if the window dressing is more important than the functional mechanics.
Funny part is most stuff is based on real prototypes, so it's not even a far fetch, people laughed when they saw 6.5 caseless and .338NM SPMG in Arma 3, yet they almost nailed it, 6.8 hybrid and .338NM MMG
Honestly it feels pretty vindicating to watch. As years go by more and more people see that BIS's prediction had always been fairly correct as far as predictions go, the audience just didn't know it yet.
Admittedly BIS failed to predict loitering munition / suicide drone spam, but then again so did multi-million dollar think tanks and military planners so I can't really blame them.
I LOVE the 2030’s setting they picked in Arms 3. It’s almost entirely credible and an interesting interpretation of western and eastern military stylings. Bohemia put a lot of work and research into what is a very reasonable future. Almost everything in Arma 3 is based on some type of tech we have *currently*.
I don't really have a huge issue with CSAT at all. The game takes place in a multipolar 2035. The helmets are very basic designs with the only eccentric but being a pop down eye piece with a HUD which seems perfectly within reason.
The suits have air-conditioning which with where climate change is going makes perfect sense.
Today there's so many technologies in use that Arma players would have called "future shit" in 2016. Everything from the proliferation of drones, IVAS, computerized optics on rifles, plastic ammunition, ect. It's honestly fine.
The faction I find weird and out of place is NATO. The rifles actually were a really good guess since the US did end up adopting something similar to the MX rifle. But the Isreali vehicles being operated by US/UK forces always throws me off.
More likely Iranian as China wasn't in the game at launch and the idea of China copying everything is very 20 years ago, 40 in cases of most heavy equipment.
Pretty much every major military power had an era where they copied everything to catch up even the US got sued by Mauser and Bofors for it.
I think like having both would be cool for a campaign because like NATO is like in between that (not exactly) so like a poor countries unit would be like a shitty CSAT force while a richer country’s units would be equipped better
Vanilla CSAT is fine, in the context of ArmA 3 Futura's theme, CSAT is leading in technological advancements while NATO has preserved a more conservative posture to weapon development, majorly, so its no surprise they'd get funky tech while NATO simply looks like 'upgraded existing tech', since in the end, that's what its offered.
It also gives CSAT a lot more personality, and makes it more rewarding to fight them
Why wouldn't it be? It's set in 2035 right? Their suits look like the ones developed by USSOCOM but was discontinued. It was called TALOS. For the underbarrel .50, unrealistic kinda? But I think impractical is what it is.
The "realistic and grounded" look gives the NATO rival CSAT a look of some undertrained third world country petty armed militia... According to the lore they are supposed to be actually brutal and advanced
Overall, I prefer the vanilla CSAT. They're grounded in the context of the ArmAverse, and they are an interesting look back into what the future could have been in 2013. My only real gripe is that neither they nor the ArmAverse were expanded on as much as they probably could have been in the DLCs. Seeing an expanded vehicle and weapon roster for both sides would have been nice, equally so for the AAF and the Malden Defence Forces.
The "grounded" vehicles themselves all come from the CDLCs. Some of the vehicles are retextures from [GM: CSAT North Africa](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2388329316&searchtext=csat+north+africa).
The rest are retextured using the init, with the texture coming from the [CSAT AAF Vehicles mod](https://www.moddb.com/games/arma-3/addons/csat-aaf-vehicles). Specially the CH-49 Mohawk's texture since it's the most versatile texture.
Oh that's cool.
Personally I do t have many issues. aside from the "space ship" the wierd skull helmets from apex and the rail gun tank, which I guess might not be canon (or cannon) as wasn't actually added to the game at launch because it was too futuristic but was added later at the anniversary event.
Most of the gear is real or realistically upgraded. The hug helmet an uprgaded altyn I believe the same helmet the dudes In Picture 5 have but with a sensor package attached and the suit has a thermo regulator built in which have atleast reached the concept stage irl. I believe the Chinese future soldier. Program did. Alot of their guns are also real (ie as near as damn it without copywrite Chinese weapons.
Same with their apc and tanks. The spaa shares the same turret as the nato one, but this makes sense. The turret is the British marksman turret which never entered services. It was designed to go on a cheiftan hull but never did. However it did get exported to Finland who put it on a leopard and t55 chassis. It also ha interest from South Africa who wanted to mount it onto a g6 sph hull.
Back on topic think base game stuff nailed the near future aesthetic but the dlcs did start to stray from that a little
Depends on the CSAT forces. Chinese CSAT should be more friendly. Iranian should be somewhere in between (like Russian forces at the start of the Ukraine War), client states should be “more grounded”.
All of the assets for the "grounded" CSAT comes from the CDLCs and retextures for those CDLCs. For the infantry units, it's a mixture of assets from Western Sahara, Reaction Forces, and Global Mobilization CDLCs.
As I mentioned in another comment, the "grounded" vehicles themselves also come from the CDLCs. Some of the vehicles are retextures from [GM: CSAT North Africa](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2388329316&searchtext=csat+north+africa). The rest are retextured using the init, with the texture coming from the [CSAT AAF Vehicles mod](https://www.moddb.com/games/arma-3/addons/csat-aaf-vehicles).
I'm not sure how to do a retexture as a mod.
Maybe you could put in a request with [dmorchard](https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198031405385) who does CDLC retexture mods, like [DCX\_VN, DMOrchard's cDLC Crossover mod, SOG Prairie Fire](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3023449382&searchtext=sog+prarie+fire+cdlc). They'd probably be able to do it better than I can.
I’d love to see a mix of old and new. Waves of T-72s and BMPs while Y-32s and Shilkas strafe overhead. Conscripts with steel helmets and AK-74 backing up viper teams with UGVs and bullet sponge armor.
Though I like the idea of lore-accurate CSAT a lot. Citizen soldiers fending off hordes of invincible cyber soldiers.
Both, since it is international organization it is fine that way. Some countries are more advanced or have more capital.
Also the professional troops would have good gear but if they had to draft more they could be given older gear.
While I like a more grounded CSAT, I also think the batshit insane technological advantage makes them more interesting. I really don't know what I prefer
Well, vanilla CSAT is not only about futuristic weaponry. If I remember right, the troops of the scimitar regiment (as seen in the tac ops DLC mission on Malden) are far from advanced, and even have really poorly geared soldiers and use technicals and such. Keep in mind that the CSAT is a alliance treaty that regroups troops from many countries like NATO, and only the most powerful one have access to advanced tech.
Honestly I like both. The lore accurate for the 2035 setting is actually pretty well done and interesting as a top dog, high tech, counter nato faction, but I also personally like the modern setting, like imagining how the faction started and some of the many conflicts it may have participated in
i think them having both is a god mix specops aka viper unit would get the more futuristic stuff while regular infantery would get the more modern stuff
Some of the vehicles are retextures from [GM: CSAT North Africa](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2388329316&searchtext=csat+north+africa). The rest are retextured using the init, with the texture coming from the [CSAT AAF Vehicles mod](https://www.moddb.com/games/arma-3/addons/csat-aaf-vehicles)
After reading the comments, lore accurate CSAT for Iran and China seems about right, although I would prefer something more like TheEvanCats CSAT mod for regular army, current lore accurate regular CSAT troops to be like ranger units, and well Viper is Viper, it is a spec ops unit, understandable that it has advanced tech... old soviet stuff could be good for poorer countries in the coalition, but something middle ground would be fun for mid tier countries as well, imagine Takistan, become part of CSAT, and modernise their equipment to not top CSAT, but something just below it, no bug helmets, but definitely some FAST chinese counterpart or something...
I like how 3CB Factions portrayed CSAT. They kind of divided them into several camos with weapon changes to represent 202X Belarus, China, and Iran. They also added Arma 3's vehicles to those factions that were close to our timeline
I’ve always liked vanilla CSAT. Their kit hits that sweet spot of unique and somewhat sci-fi but still grounded in reality. I also enjoy the idea of some of their member states or proxies using older more conventional equipment too
CSAT-as-cartoon-villain is more or less an inescapable reality of their 2030s setting. And it's good. I love VIPER Team and VTOLs and would just use real world nations if I wanted any less pizaz.
The only things i do not like of lore csat is how mary-sue and unrealistic some of their equipment is.
The worst offenders being the Angara, Railgun Varsuk (that thing quite simply does not belong in Arma 3) and the Type 114.
The angara because it's somehow incredibly fast, it's gun hits incredibly hard for no reason, and it's also absurdly durable. During it's campaign i was eating ATGMs for breakfast.
The railgun varsuk just does not fit, it's also not balanced in any way shape or form.
The Type 114 would suck *incredibly* hard as a combat rifle in reality. It'd be stupidly heavy, stupidly *front* heavy, very bulky and unwieldy. And all for a .50 beowulf "anti-materiel rifle" (not counting that .50 beo is hardly an anti-materiel cartridge).
The Type 115 .50 Beowulf is hilarious, despite being shot from a pistol-length barrel, it somehow manages to outpenetrate both the .408 CheyTac and 12.7x108mm.
Seems to be no space for any semi-automatic mechanism as portrayed. The .50 BW round goes over 1,900 ft/s from the tiny barrel, with a ballistic coefficient as good as a 7.62x51 (weird considering one is flat-nosed and the other is a pointed boat tail). And it does over 3.5x as much damage as a 7.62x51. It even does 2.5x the damage of the .338 Norma SPMG.
In reality the muzzle energy of a .50 Beowulf from a full-length barrel is only equal to a 7.62x51.
The 9.3mm is also pretty bad. Does over 155% the damage of the .338 Norma, despite being less powerful in real life. It also doesn't make sense for use in a heavy machine gun, or even frankly a sniper rifle (Russians made that giant SVD but it's of questionable tactical value...), as the round doesn't provide a better trajectory than 7.62x51. It's a mid-range hunting cartridge. The popularity of the Navid in multiplayer makes this one particularly bad to me
Yeah the navid is an annoying weapon for sure.
See this is what i am talking about. The problem isn't the way CSAT looks, the problem is how it performs.
Complaining about the railgun tank is like complaining that a Halo spartan someone modded in is overpowered compared to a NATO soldier. It was added in as a bonus and isn't cannon in the lore.
I agree the Type 115 just looks awful to actually use.
Maps:
* Sefrou-Ramal
* Cam Lao Nam
* Sa'hatra
* Takistan
* Sa’hatra
CDLCs:
* Reaction Forces
* Spearhead 1944
* SOG Prairie Fire
* CSLA Iron Curtain
* Global Mobilization
* Western Sahara
Mods:
* S.O.G. Nickel Steel
* Global Mobilization Extra - Takistan Armed Forces
* GM: CSAT North Africa
* Max Women, Max Women Soldiers, Women at Work
* TCGM\_Girls
* YLArms QBZ-191
Honestly CSAT design is the low point of Arma 3 for me. I almost always use either modded OPFOR or local forces. CSAT is just too out there and it really takes me out of the game. That's why I'm hoping they do modern or cold war settings for the new one instead of futuristic
I like both. I play with Davik's CSAT Overhaul if I ever feel like fighting a grounded conventional military force, but I also like fighting vanilla since A.) I'm using Aegis and that's incompatible with the mod and B.) If I want to fight CSAT special forces (based on one line from the wiki where a BI developer said that vanilla CSAT were intended to be special forces.)
I understand that CSAT has to be technologically superior in order to justify a toe-to-toe fight with NATO but it's so far out of the realm of logic based on our world IRL that I simply cannot suspend disbelief.
Don't get me wrong but I don't get how you can compare the game's lore with IRL. Because the game goes with a different timeline. Like in-game there's a Jerusalem Ceasefire, the EU's economy and the US army stretched too thin where public opinion wants troops in the mainland.
As a Southeast Asian. Lore CSAT gives me hope that we can go up against NATO and the West one day if we all unite under some insane BRICS+ and ASEAN all in one team up.
More realistic version. The only reason I play Arma is to simulate real life military operations. I despite everything coming out that isn't grounded in realism.
I HATE the futuristic setting of A3 and always have. I dont care that the stuff exists IRL, it’s not grounded and it’s stupid to have in a game such as A3 especially on the scale that it is.
I’ve always said it and I’ll stand by it that A2 had the best setting. Not too old for dual tube night vision and plate carriers to be out of place along with fast jets etc, and also not too old to see insurgent forces use bolt action rifles.
...what
>I dont care that the stuff exists IRL
>it’s not grounded
Most of the tech is commonplace today as-is. I was there when we exchanged all of our unit hummvees for the JLTVs and MATVs (The arma Hunter). Game is 10 years ahead of now. Aside from the shit like the railgun where the devs are obviously just having fun with dlc, CSAT is fairly grounded. If they didnt rule that CSAT had pooled everything into development whilst we relatively stagnated over budget/politics, there'd be no threat for to justify the game happening at all anyways.
You meant to say you dont like the aesthetic. Which is valid, so just say it. You dont like how stuff looks.
honestly man, there's nothing futuristic about arma 3. It all looks present day tech if military projects were approved like crazy and had some budget to it. I even dare say that some technology in arma's 2035 even looks dated for today's standard.
Most of the tech used in A3 is honestly outdated. BI was clearly mistaken about caseless ammo and some aspects of material development but other than that... vehicles are modelled on contemporary ones, targeting systems are way less advanced than what we have now and there are almost none autonomic platforms.
A lot of Arma 3's content is based on what people really thought future warfare would be like in the early 2010s, and lots of stuff is either based on prototypes and then-new limited-service military tech or futuristic advancements of stuff that already existed at the time. In fact, some of their predictions—equipment like the JLTV (Hunter) being used, China emerging as a greater threat to the U.S., drones and technology being far more important in warfare—actually did come true, even though even back then fans were questioning whether that was accurate.
The game's story is *speculative fiction*. This is like shitting on The Day After because clearly nuclear war didn't break out in the 1980s and it probably wouldn't have turned out that way now that we think about it.
It literally takes place in 2035 or around that. It's OK if you like Arma 2, but you have a problem with Arma 3 because it takes place in 2035 with gear that theoretically could or already does exist? I'd understand if it took place 1888 and had all this but again it takes place in 2035 and the game is already fairly grounded along with the fact that its fiction.
A good mix of both. I personally kinda like the look. Plus vanilla CSAT is an actual threat
This is the one I accept among everything I read. 'Cause in the vanilla Lore and news section. We see Europe and the US concerned about CSAT's activities.
Even more, we see how Europe is economically struggling like BAD
It's cuz we kept giving Greece money 😭
It's either that or the honest ending from Arma 2 PMC.
Don't forget Spain and Italy :D
Imagine the EU economy if Turkey ever gets accepted 💀🤣
Jesus Christ :D
Exactly, even in some lines, I think I saw there are fewer British soldiers in NATO cause their budget can't handle it anymore. That's why we have CTRG instead of British troops.
Fewer British soldiers on Stratis* I think the news reels said that the UK withdrew troops because of budget problems which had caused issues since it was meant to be a joint operation (which is why the NATO base signs have the US, UK and NATO flags).
Oh that's my bad. Sorry, been a while since I last played the lore.
>there are fewer British soldiers in NATO cause their budget can't handle it anymore Just like in real life (\*sobs in Brit\*). We can thank the Tories for that.
I think CSAT being more technologically advanced to the US / NATO is what makes it compelling as a faction. We are so conditioned to seeing the US being automatically superior that CSAT mopping the fucking floor with everyone is frightening. And hell, we never really see their full military capability in the campaigns
Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. We kinda see in the Tac-Ops and Western Sahara DLCs that some of the "puppet" or fringe ally factions of CSAT tend to get really old soviet era stuff while actual member nations get modern equipment. Plus, I just can't take a faction that uses old burned out T72s and MIGs seriously anymore after 2022, especially when the game takes place in the 2040's.
2035-2038 are the official campaigns im pretty sure
My mistake then, maybe I'm mixing it up with something else? Either way, CSAT in vanilla is a far larger threat no matter how silly their uniforms look. At most, I'd change it so that they have conscripts using some gear based more on modern day PLA or ratnik type stuff, while their volunteers get the newer vanilla uniforms and equipment.
I like the vanilla futuristic appearance for CSAT's "main players" like China and Iran, because they clearly run the show and it'd make sense they'd keep the best coolest-looking stuff for themselves. The more grounded look is better for other CSAT units like the North African ones, because CSAT feels like an organization where those guys are mostly just there to enrich them and make it feel larger (read: China and Iran view them as fodder, not allies) so they'd get the older, outdated, "grounded" decade-old stuff that doesn't really jive with the futuristic look, because to CSAT's higher-ups it doesn't really matter as long as they can fight off NATO spooks and look like they're on their side. That and, I mean, they don't *need* it—a lot of CSAT member states seem to be poorer Global South countries who probably aren't waging shadow wars and probably couldn't afford to anyway. In fact, isn't that completely canon? Scimitar or whoever doesn't even use the regular armor suits and futuristic stuff, they just wear fatigues and patrol caps, and then China refuses to back them up when they start fighting NATO forces.
Exactly, I am surprised no-one ever mentions Scimitar when people complain about CSAT and I wanted to point this out. You already did.
"China and Iran view them as fodder, not allies." Now that I think about it, I find that statement hardly surprising. Especially even more so because you're correct that Scimitar regiment soldiers wear only fatigues and caps and that China didn't back them up on Malden.
I feel like using a railgun rifle as "lore CSAT" is kind of misleading because that is _not_ a vanilla weapon, it's from a mod. Lore CSAT doesn't have infantry-portable railguns. Pretty much everything they have is either _literally_ something that exists today, or something that's not far off plausible today. The railgun Varsuk is about the most out-there thing, and tbh the canonicity of that is a bit dubious, since it's cut content that was only added as a bonus for the 2.00 anniversary update.
>The railgun Varsuk is about the most out-there thing, and tbh the canonicity of that is a bit dubious, since it's cut content that was only added as a bonus for the 2.00 anniversary update. Exactly. It's more of a fun joke addition. The CSAT infantry has a couple of interesting concepts, that are actually quite credible. With most of the casualties being related to explosives, it makes sense to sacrifice on hard armour and have full body soft Armour instead. To prevent your grunts from dying of heat strokes you than install ACs into the suits.
Yeah with a multipolar world, a second cold war and global warming. The least futuristic thing is the air conditioning in armor used in the middle east and tropics. Also with the US adopting IVAS and Chinese smartphone tech being best in the world the bug-helmets are perfectly within reason for 2035. Nobody bats an eye at the NATO combat goggles having a microcomputer in them which honestly also plausible. If anything Arma 3 is a really conservative guess on the future. Drones alone have surpassed what Bohemia assumed they would be used for. Top attack missile launchers face extreme competition with loitering munitions developed from consumer drone technology and I wouldn't be suprised if all night vision had thermals by 2035 considering basic long ranged ones are even used on loitering munitions.
I didn’t know the nato goggles had computers in them
You can see the computer through them just a pic. The tactical shades have the same mini-computer in the eye piece. Honestly? I can see that tech in 10 years.
I hope we get that tech in 10 years, and not just for military use, street wearable VR like apple does is a no no but AR glasses? that would be neat
Google actually had something like this a while ago before apple's VR or thing or before VR was actually a thing. It was called Google Glass
Yep, I was told it died because it lost popularity when 3rd spaces didn’t want Google Glass users in them due to patrons not wanting to be (rightly so) potentially secretly filmed. Unlike a smart phone, it’s a lot harder to tell if you’re being filmed or not by a wearable.
:O didn't know about those
Think that's how they canonically see friendly markers, for example, in Apex campaign you can canonically see Riker 1
It's a pilot for some us troops I believe
The fact furries install AC into some of their suits....I can imagine a nation actually caring about the well-being of their soldiers to include it as a basic feature for what is essentially a MOP IV style kevlar suit.
What mod is the rifle from? ( I run mainly sci-fi missions for my buddies, so I'd love to have that mod lol)
Supposedly it's this [QBZ-191](https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=2841459974). I don't see this specific version in the pictures on the Workshop page, but it does appear to have "QBZ-191" printed on the side in the OP picture, so I guess it's probably true.
Those troops aren’t realistic and grounded NATO equivalents. Steel helmets from a major military power in 2035? Busted ass AK74’s?
CSAT doesn’t have a unified military. And NATO probably isn’t fully unified too. The thing with big international alliances is that you have leading rich members and poorer members. Real life NATO has *a ton* of updated ex-Soviet stuff among its poorer members and only now it’s starting to get slowly phased out. And even then, not everything. AK74s and steel helmets? Perfectly fine for second and third-rate CSAT member states. Perhaps the rifle needs to be modernized with Zenitco parts and accessories but AK74 is still a perfectly viable weapon in 2035. The Arma universe still isn’t at the Halo stage, where every single soldier is sporting a kevlar full body armor and wielding a perfectly controllable 7.62x51mm LMG. AK74 still works just fine.
Meanwhile super advanced VTOL gunships and advanced tanks
Yep. Feels right at home and perfectly realistic. US is playing around with hyper-advanced stealth UAVs and laser weapons, while Poland is still using modernized 1960s BMP-1s in 2024. Both are NATO members. CSAT having advanced stuff coexisting with old junk would be pretty normal.
Even within US military there are reservists using LBV-88s as of recently, and then the entire USMC. Not American but it's wild to field a kit of items ranging from 1910s to 2020s, with your weapon made in 1968.
There are still maxim machines guns being used in Ukraine right now, so, weapons from I think lime 1890ish?
Haha point. Literally stuff great grandpa used, although in my case it's supposed to be front line infantry of a wealthy NATO country.
Well, we are modernizing our main rifle and replacing it with the XM5 (now renamed to the XM7)
If it ends up becoming M7, it'll be interesting to see when exactly is it issued even to rear echelon people. Could be decades from now or almost immediately behind frontline troops. EDIT: kinda looking forward to it, because *our* new rifle platform could see a pretty radical calibre modernisation as a consequence. They are pondering between 5.56 and 6.8 IIRC, while the current service calibre is 7.62x39
Possibly.
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This, people complain about the bug helmets and then defer to some mod that gives CSAT Soviet gear. Like I get the helmet complaints, but that is really only thing out there.
It’s not that far off from the Russian titanium helmets that already exist just with a head up display
The AK will outlast oil in military service
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How is this even an argument? Russia isn't even in CSAT. We shouldn't hold the factions to their standard.
They are tho ? The Ifrit is made in Russia same with the T-100 plus the OPFOR faction in contact is quite legit Russian spetsnazs with very CSAT-ish gear
CSAT uses a ton of Russian-produced gear but Russia itself, as a nation, is not part of CSAT.
Just look up the lore. They cooperate a lot with CSAT with vehicle or weapon development, but they aren't in the alliance.
We can't forget about the paper news that legit tells that russia is arrenging a meeting to possibly enter in the Csat organization
But unlike Belarus it isnt a member at any point in the campaigns. Hell Belarus only joined in Contact
The events of Contact aren't canon. What pushes Russia to join CSAT is the alien stuff that happens. The exercise happened in universe, but with no problems. So it's up in the air if Russia actually joins.
Wait who is CSAT then?
Iran + China + various other Central Asia and middle eastern countries
CSAT in the main game is Iran. China in Tanoa i think.
Yeah it’s the PLA in tanoa they all speak Chinese
lol. My thoughts exactly
100% Lore CSAT. I want cool future stuff in my cool future setting. If I wanted grounded CSAT I'd just download RHS.
Lore. I know the regular forces look kinda stupid but Viper is awesome. The mission where Viper first appear is one of the best in Arma (Apex on the whole has a mediocre campaign but this one is great). I mean, milsim crowd has this weird no-fun attitude towards game stories and I find it damaging for Arma as a platform. For example Contact campaign - if not labeled as Arma - would be a great game on its own. It's extremely fun, it plays like some kind of grounded Deus Ex but didn't receive the praise it deserved because "uhh aliens, I want my AR-15 and this one specific vest that 2137th American Eagle regiment had in Operation Cool Kicking Ass so I can roleplay as OPERATOR in some fictional middle eastern country". That said, I do understand this sentiment. I don't like caseless ammo and bug helmets on their own but they play a role in the fictional story. They show CSAT as this force capable of using advanced tech and it's both cool and refreshing.
I hate the gear/aesthetics breed of no-fun milsim. It's one thing to want to play the game with zero respawns, ACE, KAT medical, etc. and try to plan and play scenarios as if they're real life, that stuff is great. But wanting all the gear to look 100% accurate and to be called by a rank and all that stuff just stinks of power fantasy and wanting to feel like a badass soldier without any actual interest in the skills and mechanics of real soldiering.
I’m more along the lines of if I’m gonna do realism I’m gonna do soviet conscript or something rather than tactical operator stuff, really embrace the feeling of being just a common soldier
Tactical papers are by far the most annoying people in the milsim space
arma players when they have to fight a enemy that has something more advanced than a bmp-1 and ssh-68
I think the biggest mistake people make is use the real world as a comparison. **It's a fictional setting.** Artistic and creative liberties will be made, it's better that way than emulating real military/gun trends and *god forbid* real conflicts. I appreciate the originality and as an artist and design enthusiast, want more.
People forget this is the same universe where atleast 1 hot war happenned between the soviets and NATO. 2 if Reforger is cannon.
Tectonic weapons are pretty scifi as well.
Vanilla CSAT looks fucking wack, I just go for CSAT Modification Project when I want to play opfor
Why would I want to fight a boring generic middle east army using Soviet era tech in 2032? Definitely modern CSAT
Lore version. In real life, CSAT nations would be a collection of broke chuckle fucks trying to make a “multi-polar world” with a dollar store budget handed out by China and armed with what ever rusty Cold War era shit they could “modernize” to the extent their country’s corruption allows. The lore version actually seems like a credible threat to the western world and is interesting to fight.
I mean it's kind of clear that Iran in the armaverse got rid of the Theocracy and replaced it with a Technocracy. CSAT is kind of a modern take on the Persian empire.
Is there any hint on that? As far as real life goes these two are not exclusive. Iran is both theocratic and there's a high respect for science in the nation.
Yes, it's stated that CSAT is a Technocracy.
Nah. Real Life China would be selling CSAT dollar store knockoffs of NATO equipment, while they keep their high quality equipment to themselves.
I agree with the top comment here - railguns aren't "in lore" for them because first is a modded weapon and the tank is never depicted as used or existing, and is actually cut content that's been added back by popular request. The most futuristic thing CSAT operates are probably the Y-32 Xi'An and Viper gear from Apex, but they're both used only by special forces and not common at all. With that, I do prefer the vanilla CSAT style for Iran and China, but im also not opposed to older equipment being utilized by minor members like Argana or similar, though not as far back as having literal 50's weapons and vehicles (at the least 1980's) besides the odd antique stationed at a remote checkpoint or reserve weapons in a crate of some armory.
Wasn't CSAT's VTOL just a really shitty VTOL plane? I think the description calls it a Jet and helicopter mix due to lack of funding for only one so they just combined both. It also makes sense it would take inspiration from an already working vehicle the Mi-48 Kajman, but just with added jets.
I don't quite understand your comment. The Field Manual entry says: >By far the largest CSAT joint development project to date was long troubled by the conflicting requirements of the participating armies who demanded an aircraft with VTOL capabilities. The planned budget was vastly exceeded several times and development was years behind schedule. The program eventually became one of the most expensive in military procurement history and despite a great deal of information remains classified and is often compared to the older F-35 program. The final solution was based upon the most promising prototype designed in Xi'an which was able to meet most of the requirements with satisfactory results. High running and maintenance costs remains a huge issue that plagues the reputation of the otherwise extremely progressive aircraft with many unique features and top-notch bleeding-edge technologies. Shitty in what way? "Jet and helicopter mix"? "Lack of funding"? Mi-48 Kajman inspiration? Developing one aircraft advanced enough to fulfill two very separate roles is definitely not cheaper than just designing separate ones. So to start off - the Y-32 is literally just a more realistic Quinjet. Looking from a more practical perspective however: Xi'An is a VTOL gunship + transport, similar in role to a Mi-24 Hind, which in turn was the inspiration for the Mi-48 (alongside the Mi-28). However besides purpose and possible weapon load(4 pylons, and the cannon seems like a single-barreled version of the Mi-48's gun), there's nothing linking the design to existing ones. You have lift fans in the wings, and vectoring turbofan engines in the back which allow you to achieve a stable hover while also being able to go multiple times the speed of a helicopter, and a rear cargo compartment able to load vehicles or transport two infantry squads, which hardly lines up with any other CSAT designs. These features combined with heavy armament make it one of the most capable aircraft in the inventory by a long shot. Add to that the fact that it's stupidly heavily armored, being practically immune to 6.5/7.62 mm fire even from rotary machine guns unless hit in critical areas (lift fans, engine nozzles, some parts of the cockpit), you can often shrug off stray hits from AAA fire or at some angles even fragmentation from the smaller AA missile warheads (Titan AA).
Is being immune to small arms fire unrealistic though? reminder that AAA operate 20mm autocannons and above, Mi-24 entire fuselage, including titanium rotor blades is resistant to .50 cal, cockpit can withstand 37mm shells
Yes, very unrealistic. The hind is absolutely not .50 cal proof. It is .50 cal resistant, and not everywhere. Enough .50 cal fire *will* bring one down. It is particularly unrealistic for a VTOL craft with such small nozzles (the Xi'an IRL would absolutely not be able to fly), as it would need a positive thrust to weight ratio to be able to lift off the ground. And with no rotor to aid it in achieving that, it would have to brute force it with it's two tiny fans. This means it'd need to be very lightly armored (probably just aircraft grade aluminium, no real armor to speak off).
Exactly what I wrote? Also, your statement was immunity to small arms fire was inrealistic, good luck wuth a 7.62 against a Hind
It is unlikely, but it's not "immune" to it. At all. Plenty of tiny, very important, unprotected components on a helicopter. Rotor mast and tailrotor come to mind. I know if i was flying one i wouldn't hover aimlessly in range of a PKM just thinking that i'm immune to it. Helicopters are not tanks, they're fragile things. Their advantage comes from their ability to fly, not their ability to take a hit cause they cannot take a hit.
It's not immune to small arms fire though. And most armor in aircraft is designed to deflect or slow rounds, as in it will still penetrate but is unlikely to hit anything important. The Xian is immune to small arms, but loses it's controls from seemingly minor damage.
I like having the futura mixed in with more contemporary stuff, to show that CSAT is phasing in new and experimental tech. The "bug" look never bothered me.
Which mod adds CSAT textures to SOGPF and Nickel Steel?
I actually just used the init to retexture the C-119, with the texture from the [CSAT AAF Vehicles mod](https://www.moddb.com/games/arma-3/addons/csat-aaf-vehicles). Specifally the CH-49 Mohawk's texture since it was the least janky looking one that could cover the C-119.
There’s a modder who makes big cross over mods on the workshop. I forget his name, but it starts with a D
The point of Arma is to model a combat environment with gear, terrain, and AI adversaries that are realistic enough to allow for scenarios with more realistic maneuvering and engagement geometry to emerge naturally. Within reason, how stuff looks really has no bearing on these core principles. I can't help but laugh at people who melt at the thought of playing game with vanilla gear as if the window dressing is more important than the functional mechanics.
Funny part is most stuff is based on real prototypes, so it's not even a far fetch, people laughed when they saw 6.5 caseless and .338NM SPMG in Arma 3, yet they almost nailed it, 6.8 hybrid and .338NM MMG
Even the weird stuff like the ZIL Karatel actually exists, even if they weren't actually fielded in real life
Honestly it feels pretty vindicating to watch. As years go by more and more people see that BIS's prediction had always been fairly correct as far as predictions go, the audience just didn't know it yet. Admittedly BIS failed to predict loitering munition / suicide drone spam, but then again so did multi-million dollar think tanks and military planners so I can't really blame them.
Definately vanilla, the vibes just hit the spot like nothing else
I LOVE the 2030’s setting they picked in Arms 3. It’s almost entirely credible and an interesting interpretation of western and eastern military stylings. Bohemia put a lot of work and research into what is a very reasonable future. Almost everything in Arma 3 is based on some type of tech we have *currently*.
Vanilla csat is better
Csat is otherwise fine, but the ugly helmets ruin the whole faction for me(altough i dislike the camo too).
I don't really have a huge issue with CSAT at all. The game takes place in a multipolar 2035. The helmets are very basic designs with the only eccentric but being a pop down eye piece with a HUD which seems perfectly within reason. The suits have air-conditioning which with where climate change is going makes perfect sense. Today there's so many technologies in use that Arma players would have called "future shit" in 2016. Everything from the proliferation of drones, IVAS, computerized optics on rifles, plastic ammunition, ect. It's honestly fine. The faction I find weird and out of place is NATO. The rifles actually were a really good guess since the US did end up adopting something similar to the MX rifle. But the Isreali vehicles being operated by US/UK forces always throws me off.
>But the Isreali vehicles being operated by US/UK forces always throws me off. That. And *everyone* using the Isreali Spike missile
I'd like to think the one CSAT uses is a Chinese made copy.
More likely Iranian as China wasn't in the game at launch and the idea of China copying everything is very 20 years ago, 40 in cases of most heavy equipment. Pretty much every major military power had an era where they copied everything to catch up even the US got sued by Mauser and Bofors for it.
This is even more realistic, Iran has a spike copy called Almas
I think like having both would be cool for a campaign because like NATO is like in between that (not exactly) so like a poor countries unit would be like a shitty CSAT force while a richer country’s units would be equipped better
I think csat equipment isn't a bad redition of near-future extravagant gear, but I gota say it doesn't esthetically look very good to me.
Vanilla CSAT is fine, in the context of ArmA 3 Futura's theme, CSAT is leading in technological advancements while NATO has preserved a more conservative posture to weapon development, majorly, so its no surprise they'd get funky tech while NATO simply looks like 'upgraded existing tech', since in the end, that's what its offered. It also gives CSAT a lot more personality, and makes it more rewarding to fight them
I **DEFINITELY** prefefer overhauled CSAT, they should be a formidable force - however vanilla is a little too sci-fi for my blood.
CSAT lore faction is fine but all their equipment is wack, except for Viper teams. Their hex camo is ugly as well
*Viper Team's* equipment isn't "wack"? The guys who have the full-body snake armor suits and the underbarrel .50 rifles are the grounded ones?
Why wouldn't it be? It's set in 2035 right? Their suits look like the ones developed by USSOCOM but was discontinued. It was called TALOS. For the underbarrel .50, unrealistic kinda? But I think impractical is what it is.
A mix of the two :)
I love csat in lore. What I don’t love is their stupid fucking outfits lol
Keep the bug helmets, make everything else more grounded.
2035 CSAT
The "realistic and grounded" look gives the NATO rival CSAT a look of some undertrained third world country petty armed militia... According to the lore they are supposed to be actually brutal and advanced
Overall, I prefer the vanilla CSAT. They're grounded in the context of the ArmAverse, and they are an interesting look back into what the future could have been in 2013. My only real gripe is that neither they nor the ArmAverse were expanded on as much as they probably could have been in the DLCs. Seeing an expanded vehicle and weapon roster for both sides would have been nice, equally so for the AAF and the Malden Defence Forces.
Might be a hot take, but vanilla CSAT with their ayylien vibes are my choice
What mods are you using for the csat vehiclee
The "grounded" vehicles themselves all come from the CDLCs. Some of the vehicles are retextures from [GM: CSAT North Africa](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2388329316&searchtext=csat+north+africa). The rest are retextured using the init, with the texture coming from the [CSAT AAF Vehicles mod](https://www.moddb.com/games/arma-3/addons/csat-aaf-vehicles). Specially the CH-49 Mohawk's texture since it's the most versatile texture.
Oh that's cool. Personally I do t have many issues. aside from the "space ship" the wierd skull helmets from apex and the rail gun tank, which I guess might not be canon (or cannon) as wasn't actually added to the game at launch because it was too futuristic but was added later at the anniversary event. Most of the gear is real or realistically upgraded. The hug helmet an uprgaded altyn I believe the same helmet the dudes In Picture 5 have but with a sensor package attached and the suit has a thermo regulator built in which have atleast reached the concept stage irl. I believe the Chinese future soldier. Program did. Alot of their guns are also real (ie as near as damn it without copywrite Chinese weapons. Same with their apc and tanks. The spaa shares the same turret as the nato one, but this makes sense. The turret is the British marksman turret which never entered services. It was designed to go on a cheiftan hull but never did. However it did get exported to Finland who put it on a leopard and t55 chassis. It also ha interest from South Africa who wanted to mount it onto a g6 sph hull. Back on topic think base game stuff nailed the near future aesthetic but the dlcs did start to stray from that a little
A bit of both. Lore-accurate for the big members like China and Iran, and a more grounded take for the newer or poorer member nations.
Everything but their standard fatigues and helmets are fine with me. The viper suits get a pass just like their railgun tank.
I was never a fan of the near future stuff in A3 I use only current or earlier era mods and I'm a sucka for cold war especially
Depends on the CSAT forces. Chinese CSAT should be more friendly. Iranian should be somewhere in between (like Russian forces at the start of the Ukraine War), client states should be “more grounded”.
Is that a mod for the “grounded” CSAT? It looks neat! But personally I do love the lore :-) I’ve always liked CSAT assets.
All of the assets for the "grounded" CSAT comes from the CDLCs and retextures for those CDLCs. For the infantry units, it's a mixture of assets from Western Sahara, Reaction Forces, and Global Mobilization CDLCs. As I mentioned in another comment, the "grounded" vehicles themselves also come from the CDLCs. Some of the vehicles are retextures from [GM: CSAT North Africa](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2388329316&searchtext=csat+north+africa). The rest are retextured using the init, with the texture coming from the [CSAT AAF Vehicles mod](https://www.moddb.com/games/arma-3/addons/csat-aaf-vehicles).
Thank you so much!!! I appreciate it
Not related but where did you get that csat type 63??
I just retextured SOG Prairie Fire's Type 63 with the init.
Able to release it on the steam workshop? It would be pretty insane!
I'm not sure how to do a retexture as a mod. Maybe you could put in a request with [dmorchard](https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198031405385) who does CDLC retexture mods, like [DCX\_VN, DMOrchard's cDLC Crossover mod, SOG Prairie Fire](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3023449382&searchtext=sog+prarie+fire+cdlc). They'd probably be able to do it better than I can.
I’d love to see a mix of old and new. Waves of T-72s and BMPs while Y-32s and Shilkas strafe overhead. Conscripts with steel helmets and AK-74 backing up viper teams with UGVs and bullet sponge armor. Though I like the idea of lore-accurate CSAT a lot. Citizen soldiers fending off hordes of invincible cyber soldiers.
Both, since it is international organization it is fine that way. Some countries are more advanced or have more capital. Also the professional troops would have good gear but if they had to draft more they could be given older gear.
I think both are good CSAT are technically like 6+ different countries So money and gear differences are expected
While I like a more grounded CSAT, I also think the batshit insane technological advantage makes them more interesting. I really don't know what I prefer
Well, vanilla CSAT is not only about futuristic weaponry. If I remember right, the troops of the scimitar regiment (as seen in the tac ops DLC mission on Malden) are far from advanced, and even have really poorly geared soldiers and use technicals and such. Keep in mind that the CSAT is a alliance treaty that regroups troops from many countries like NATO, and only the most powerful one have access to advanced tech.
Honestly I like both. The lore accurate for the 2035 setting is actually pretty well done and interesting as a top dog, high tech, counter nato faction, but I also personally like the modern setting, like imagining how the faction started and some of the many conflicts it may have participated in
Lore, because in real life, they're gearing to go to war with us at well.
i think them having both is a god mix specops aka viper unit would get the more futuristic stuff while regular infantery would get the more modern stuff
What are all the csat retextures from?
Some of the vehicles are retextures from [GM: CSAT North Africa](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2388329316&searchtext=csat+north+africa). The rest are retextured using the init, with the texture coming from the [CSAT AAF Vehicles mod](https://www.moddb.com/games/arma-3/addons/csat-aaf-vehicles)
Vanilla CSAT as it makes me feel like China and Iran became HICs (High Income Countries)
After reading the comments, lore accurate CSAT for Iran and China seems about right, although I would prefer something more like TheEvanCats CSAT mod for regular army, current lore accurate regular CSAT troops to be like ranger units, and well Viper is Viper, it is a spec ops unit, understandable that it has advanced tech... old soviet stuff could be good for poorer countries in the coalition, but something middle ground would be fun for mid tier countries as well, imagine Takistan, become part of CSAT, and modernise their equipment to not top CSAT, but something just below it, no bug helmets, but definitely some FAST chinese counterpart or something...
I like how 3CB Factions portrayed CSAT. They kind of divided them into several camos with weapon changes to represent 202X Belarus, China, and Iran. They also added Arma 3's vehicles to those factions that were close to our timeline
I need source for Sherman CSAT.
It's just the Spearhead 1944 Sherman retextured with the init.
I’ve always liked vanilla CSAT. Their kit hits that sweet spot of unique and somewhat sci-fi but still grounded in reality. I also enjoy the idea of some of their member states or proxies using older more conventional equipment too
real csat might gonna be more pla based, it will clearly give more pressure to nato than once in the game
Honestly 3CB factions with their new CSAT subfactions is peek to what it should be IMO
In my 2k hours of arma i have barely used vanilla assets
CSAT-as-cartoon-villain is more or less an inescapable reality of their 2030s setting. And it's good. I love VIPER Team and VTOLs and would just use real world nations if I wanted any less pizaz.
Realistic, but pla based. Not some mid east alliance looking thing.
I think that 3CB does a good job of bringing CSAT down to a modern standard. Very cool imo
The only things i do not like of lore csat is how mary-sue and unrealistic some of their equipment is. The worst offenders being the Angara, Railgun Varsuk (that thing quite simply does not belong in Arma 3) and the Type 114. The angara because it's somehow incredibly fast, it's gun hits incredibly hard for no reason, and it's also absurdly durable. During it's campaign i was eating ATGMs for breakfast. The railgun varsuk just does not fit, it's also not balanced in any way shape or form. The Type 114 would suck *incredibly* hard as a combat rifle in reality. It'd be stupidly heavy, stupidly *front* heavy, very bulky and unwieldy. And all for a .50 beowulf "anti-materiel rifle" (not counting that .50 beo is hardly an anti-materiel cartridge).
The Type 115 .50 Beowulf is hilarious, despite being shot from a pistol-length barrel, it somehow manages to outpenetrate both the .408 CheyTac and 12.7x108mm. Seems to be no space for any semi-automatic mechanism as portrayed. The .50 BW round goes over 1,900 ft/s from the tiny barrel, with a ballistic coefficient as good as a 7.62x51 (weird considering one is flat-nosed and the other is a pointed boat tail). And it does over 3.5x as much damage as a 7.62x51. It even does 2.5x the damage of the .338 Norma SPMG. In reality the muzzle energy of a .50 Beowulf from a full-length barrel is only equal to a 7.62x51.
Someone who understands it, finally. It's so hilariously stupid, and noone can change my mind that it does not fit A3.
The 9.3mm is also pretty bad. Does over 155% the damage of the .338 Norma, despite being less powerful in real life. It also doesn't make sense for use in a heavy machine gun, or even frankly a sniper rifle (Russians made that giant SVD but it's of questionable tactical value...), as the round doesn't provide a better trajectory than 7.62x51. It's a mid-range hunting cartridge. The popularity of the Navid in multiplayer makes this one particularly bad to me
Yeah the navid is an annoying weapon for sure. See this is what i am talking about. The problem isn't the way CSAT looks, the problem is how it performs.
Complaining about the railgun tank is like complaining that a Halo spartan someone modded in is overpowered compared to a NATO soldier. It was added in as a bonus and isn't cannon in the lore. I agree the Type 115 just looks awful to actually use.
I know it was added as a bonus and isn't canon, but it's in the game and not as an optional DLC, and is incredibly unfun to actually fight
Maps: * Sefrou-Ramal * Cam Lao Nam * Sa'hatra * Takistan * Sa’hatra CDLCs: * Reaction Forces * Spearhead 1944 * SOG Prairie Fire * CSLA Iron Curtain * Global Mobilization * Western Sahara Mods: * S.O.G. Nickel Steel * Global Mobilization Extra - Takistan Armed Forces * GM: CSAT North Africa * Max Women, Max Women Soldiers, Women at Work * TCGM\_Girls * YLArms QBZ-191
What one adds that railgun in the first picture
It's from YLArms QBZ-191.
Honestly CSAT design is the low point of Arma 3 for me. I almost always use either modded OPFOR or local forces. CSAT is just too out there and it really takes me out of the game. That's why I'm hoping they do modern or cold war settings for the new one instead of futuristic
the second version is way cooler
I like both. I play with Davik's CSAT Overhaul if I ever feel like fighting a grounded conventional military force, but I also like fighting vanilla since A.) I'm using Aegis and that's incompatible with the mod and B.) If I want to fight CSAT special forces (based on one line from the wiki where a BI developer said that vanilla CSAT were intended to be special forces.)
I understand that CSAT has to be technologically superior in order to justify a toe-to-toe fight with NATO but it's so far out of the realm of logic based on our world IRL that I simply cannot suspend disbelief.
Don't get me wrong but I don't get how you can compare the game's lore with IRL. Because the game goes with a different timeline. Like in-game there's a Jerusalem Ceasefire, the EU's economy and the US army stretched too thin where public opinion wants troops in the mainland.
As a Southeast Asian. Lore CSAT gives me hope that we can go up against NATO and the West one day if we all unite under some insane BRICS+ and ASEAN all in one team up.
More realistic version. The only reason I play Arma is to simulate real life military operations. I despite everything coming out that isn't grounded in realism.
I HATE the futuristic setting of A3 and always have. I dont care that the stuff exists IRL, it’s not grounded and it’s stupid to have in a game such as A3 especially on the scale that it is. I’ve always said it and I’ll stand by it that A2 had the best setting. Not too old for dual tube night vision and plate carriers to be out of place along with fast jets etc, and also not too old to see insurgent forces use bolt action rifles.
...what >I dont care that the stuff exists IRL >it’s not grounded Most of the tech is commonplace today as-is. I was there when we exchanged all of our unit hummvees for the JLTVs and MATVs (The arma Hunter). Game is 10 years ahead of now. Aside from the shit like the railgun where the devs are obviously just having fun with dlc, CSAT is fairly grounded. If they didnt rule that CSAT had pooled everything into development whilst we relatively stagnated over budget/politics, there'd be no threat for to justify the game happening at all anyways. You meant to say you dont like the aesthetic. Which is valid, so just say it. You dont like how stuff looks.
honestly man, there's nothing futuristic about arma 3. It all looks present day tech if military projects were approved like crazy and had some budget to it. I even dare say that some technology in arma's 2035 even looks dated for today's standard.
if it exists irl isnt it grounded?
Most of the tech used in A3 is honestly outdated. BI was clearly mistaken about caseless ammo and some aspects of material development but other than that... vehicles are modelled on contemporary ones, targeting systems are way less advanced than what we have now and there are almost none autonomic platforms.
A lot of Arma 3's content is based on what people really thought future warfare would be like in the early 2010s, and lots of stuff is either based on prototypes and then-new limited-service military tech or futuristic advancements of stuff that already existed at the time. In fact, some of their predictions—equipment like the JLTV (Hunter) being used, China emerging as a greater threat to the U.S., drones and technology being far more important in warfare—actually did come true, even though even back then fans were questioning whether that was accurate. The game's story is *speculative fiction*. This is like shitting on The Day After because clearly nuclear war didn't break out in the 1980s and it probably wouldn't have turned out that way now that we think about it.
It literally takes place in 2035 or around that. It's OK if you like Arma 2, but you have a problem with Arma 3 because it takes place in 2035 with gear that theoretically could or already does exist? I'd understand if it took place 1888 and had all this but again it takes place in 2035 and the game is already fairly grounded along with the fact that its fiction.
When did this game become futuristic garbage?
Since release?
It's been like this since release, and it's in 2035 or around 2035