Zone troopers (Tiberium Wars)

Zone troopers were advanced heavy infantry used by the Global Defense Initiative in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and its expansion, Kane's Wrath.

Background
After extended operations in Tiberium infested areas, the GDI infantry command commissioned the development of the advanced protective environmental suit. The result was the Zone Troopers, elite infantry units deployed to distant areas in the harshest of conditions.

Their suits were made with a composite armor originally developed for the Mammoth tank, making them impervious against small arms fire. Miniaturized power generators enabled the suit to operate while carrying heavy loads such as anti-tank weapons and oxygen supplies. These suits were fully sealed, protecting them from Tiberium exposure.

Zone Troopers were armed with armor piercing rail-guns that allowed them to engage vehicles and structures while retaining a high level of mobility. This is further enhanced by back-mounted jetpacks which helped them move through rough terrain and obstacles.

Game unit
Zone troopers are armed with railguns effective against vehicles, but not as effective against infantry especially the black hand. They do not take damage inside Tiberium fields, and their jetpack ability allow them to jump over cliffs and other obstacles.

The sensor pack upgrade allows them to detect stealth units within a limited radius, while the power packs upgrade enhances their durability and allow them to heal automatically.

The Zone trooper drop pods support power can be used to summon three veteran Zone trooper squads to the battlefield.

Development
The initial zone trooper design did not have sealed armor. The fanbase complained this did not make sense given the Tiberium-contaminated environment they were supposed to operate in. The final design was sealed, though the original design can still be seen in several cutscenes, most notably the GDI intro.

Changelog

 * Tiberium Wars patch 1.05: resistance to cannon-type damage increased by 45%
 * Kane's Wrath patch 1.02: jumpjets no longer have a small pre-jump delay, flying speed increased

When created

 * Troopers, ready for action!

When selected

 * Troopers in the field!
 * Whaddaya need?
 * Alive and ready!
 * We're here!
 * Trooper squad!
 * What's the call?
 * That's right!

When moving

 * We hear ya!
 * Got it!
 * Let's go, troopers!
 * Moving!
 * Time to go!
 * I'll check it out!
 * Let's move!
 * Let's get over there!

When using jump jets

 * Over easy!
 * Hit it!
 * Let's go!
 * Punch it!

When garrisoning a structure

 * You know where to find us!
 * Take it!
 * Going in!

When ordered to attack

 * Sit tight!
 * We got 'em!
 * Let's do it!

When attacking

 * Shut this party down!
 * Pin 'em down!
 * Oh yeah!
 * Have at it!
 * We got this one!
 * Take 'em!
 * Get a load of this!

In combat

 * Keep 'em comin'!
 * We got this handled!
 * It's under control!
 * Here, want some more?
 * Have some of this!
 * Take that!

When retreating

 * It's no use, let's go!
 * We're outta here!

Trivia

 * Zone troopers were originally to have their heads exposed in the zone armour. Eventually, a design decision was made to make the zone armour fully enclosed.
 * Zone troopers would have being randomly assigned customized suit paint jobs. This feature was cut from the final game, though the code to implement this is fully functional, and the customized zone trooper textures are included in the sample art pack of the official mod SDK.
 * Zone troopers bear a striking resemblance to the original Mobile Infantry from Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers. They both wear large and bulky powered armour, both use jetpacks to perform long jumps and make sudden entrances onto the battlefield as opposed to flying, they use extremely powerful handheld weapons, and both are deployed from orbit via a disposable transport pod.
 * Single zone troopers can be added to a map instead of squads with the Worldbuilder, and these single units can garrison civilian structures.

Idle animations

 * A zone trooper does a one-armed push-up, similar to the commando.
 * A zone trooper will beat his chest with one arm.
 * A zone trooper will kneel.