Rise of the Reds – or ROTR for short – improves upon the C&C Generals formula while also adding its own distinct elements to it. Most notably, the mod adds two completely new factions, the tank-heavy Russian Federation and the defence-oriented European Continental Alliance. In addition, the three original factions China, USA and GLA have been greatly expanded and redesigned in a variety of ways, with several new units, buildings, powers and abilities to explore and combine in your in-game tactics.
The crash withdrawal of the US at the end of the War on Terror also marked the end of NATO. The European Continental Alliance, formed a few years later, inherited many of the organisation's procedures and standards, but with the resurgence of nationalism throughout Europe, an excessive favouritism in military procurement became a distinct feature of the 2030s. One area in which this became a major issue during the formative years of the ECA was ammunition calibres, where several national arms manufacturers and governments tried to push their own replacements for the ubiquitous calibres once standardised by NATO.
A prominent Belgian manufacturer designed a new weapon specifically to take advantage of this fracturing. The Martel is a heavy machine gun designed for high heat resistance and with a variety of quick-change barrels accepting a wide range of former NATO, Russian, Chinese and other heavy cartridges. This versatility made it a staple of many European militaries, solving some of the divides and redundancies brought by the petty "calibre war" and also becoming a notable success on the global market thanks to reduced arms export controls.
In its service with the ECA, the Martel is operated by heavy machine gun specialists as a static defence asset and force multiplier, available early on. It is devastatingly effective against infantry and light vehicles, particularly when used from inside an open-top Fortification that offers additional protection to the gunner. Once outfitted with advanced optics, the gunner can opt to fire single precision shots, delivering greater damage at a reduced rate. Commanders who choose to initiate the Venom Protocol will see their Heavy Gunners replace the Martel with its more advanced successor, an infantry-operated autocannon capable of firing a similar variety of 20 to 30mm munitions.
Similar Minigun Team from China?
The reason Gunners and Grenadiers are alone is for one, because they go into open-top fortifications which are only just big enough to accommodate the guy and his weapon and second, because artistic choice. Just because some factions have crew-operated heavy weapons doesn't mean others must as well, or vice versa.
(this was a response to a guest comment that seemingly disappeared)
Kind of. But this one fires in bursts, whereas the Minigunner fires full auto
Looks ideal for stopping infantry and light vehicle assaults!