лог апрельских бэттлчатов

[DeJaVu]

<Habeas2>: So, back to qestions! Thus far, I've answered a whopping.... one
<Weirdo>: Any news for Aero nuts?
<martian>: I would like to ask if there is an intention to replace current rulebooks (such as Total Warfare and Tac Ops) with something newer or will they suffice for next two or three years?
<Bronzite>: I believe there was an open question on the BV replacement search.
<Habeas2>: Weirdo - Aerospace rules still suck?
<Dukeroyal>: What books do you hope to have out by the end of the year?
<Habeas2>: Martian - There is no plan to replace the core rulebook line any time soon, aside from the normal later printings and such that will fold in errata as available.
<Weirdo>: Any news for Quick-Strike nuts?
<martian>: Thanks
<BJones>: Herb, what are your thoughts on the possibility of some sort of a Battletech Kickstarter? There was some musings about one in the forums a couple weeks back with the Shadowrun kickstarter going on.
<garydee>: What percentage of the St.Ives April fool's supplement was factual?
<Trbo>: Is this thing on?
<Savage_Coyote>: ci
<Klep>: yeah, i had asked how the search for a BV replacement was going
<Habeas2>: Bronzite - Ah, yes! The BV replacement system. Well, I could continue my joke about a color-based Battle Value system (these days only half a joke, really), but at this time I have not yet proceeded very far as other products need to move along in the meantime. I have, however, received over 10 different approaches to changing the BV system, all aimed at my stated goals of simplifying the math and leaning toward a more approxi
<Dukeroyal>: Is there a possibility of future Handbooks as PDF only?
<Bronzite>: ...and that was the last transmission from ECV Beas...
<martian>: Dang toasters!
<Drufause>: I think the big question for Kickstarter and Battletech would be to what purpose. The shadowrun Kickstarter I believe was for getting development of a Video Game funded. Battletech has 3 such games coming now.
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - At this time, the books I hope to have out by year's end include: Era Report: 2750, Field Manual: SLDF, A Time of War Companion, Total Chaos, Interstellar Operations, Interstellar Expeditions (IP3), and Handbook: House Kurita.
<Drufause>: That is an awe inspiring list of books
<Habeas2>: Weirdo - For the Quick-Strike nuts, at this time, I have no immediate news, beyond the fact hat we firmly believe in continuing our support for that game system
<Weirdo>: So no hard plans for a seperate or expanded Q-S book, then. S'okay, I'm patient.
<Dukeroyal>: That's a great list. What is Total Chaos?
<Trbo>: Herb, Are all the books you listed DTF, or just PDF?
<Bronzite>: Total Chaos is running a regimental-scale engagement at a convention where each player controls a lance. I have no idea what the book is about, though.
<Habeas2>: BJones - I'd prefer not to entertain the concept of Kickstarter projects for BattleTech unless I can guarantee our ability to produce such products in a timely manner and that they will ultimately help the line. Kickstarter, IMO, should not be used too much like a "make a wish" fund, lest we actually have a crippling NEED for something.
<Habeas2>: Garydee - A surprisingly high percentage of the underlying material behind the Free St. Ives! PDF was based on future plans.
<Habeas2>: Trbo - Yes, this thing is on.
<martian>: Do you plan to produce posters, T-shirts, patches or similar stuff?
<Hersh67>: Greetings, sibkin.
<Klep>: i would love so much poster-sized maps i could frame for my wall
<Habeas2>: Klep - My apologies for the delay on the BV answer
<Klep>: no problem
<Dukeroyal>: Randall mentioned patches in a recent tweet.
<garydee>: Thanks Herb. I like that answer.
<Trbo>: Not going the Kickstarter route makes sense....
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - Not really, faction-specific faction Handbooks sell poorly and are expensive to produce. EVen a PDF route (which only saves us in the printing/distribution areas) will not save us enough money to justify the costs of production vs. sales. Once Handbook: House Kurita comes out, the series is done.
<Klep>: yeah, kickstarter makes sense when you have more people than funding or projects to work on. battletech does not seem to have quite that problem
<Habeas2>: Weirdo - No; no hard plans for a searate QS book. We are trying not to separate out too many of the game's elements, lest it wind up the way AeroTech and BattleSpace did, as the "unwanted stepchildren" of BattleTech
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - Total Chaos is a campaign product based on the Jihad.
Bronzite loved BattleSpace.
<Habeas2>: Trbo - All of the books I listed are print products, yes.
<Habeas2>: Martian - Posterm T-shirts, and such are commonly produced on short run demands for convention sales. There is, at the moment, no hard plan to release them year-round, due to production costs.
<Habeas2>: Hersh67 - Hello
<Habeas2>: Klep - I believe poster-sized maps are something we've only produced periodically
<martian>: Thanks
<Bronzite>: Out of curiosity, does CGL have an estimate you can share for the total number of active BattleTech players globally?
<Klep>: well next time you do it my money will be waiting
<PaWeasley>: Sorry if this one's been asked. Regarding the new BA equipment in the TacOps errata, is it safe to assume any with a mech scale equivalent will get the same TROrototypes rules level change?
<Dukeroyal>: What PDF only products do you plan to have out by the end of the year?
<Habeas2>: Bronzite - I would call any estimate wildly approximate. Once upon a time, I would have estimated it around 7,000 players. A few years ago, however, it looked more like 3,000. BUT that was taking into account mainly the size of product runs and how much of them are sold over time and/or the analysis of web-based activity (such as membership in forums or slaes via BattleCorps)
<PaWeasley>: Also, will BA tube artillery become Advanced like other artillery and BA LB-X ACs become tournament level?
<Hersh67>: On the poster thing, would it be possible to produce user printable PDF maps of the BTU?
<Habeas2>: PAWeasley - I'm sorry, can you be more specific?
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - I plan to finish off the Objectives series and get quite a few XTRs out by year's end. With any luck, we may even introduce an RPG Adventures series this year. Also on tap for PDFs are 2765-era Field Reports for other other factions, to coincide with FM: SLDF.
<Klep>: i have to say that i really love everything that's been coming out since i got back into the game, and my only concern is how i'm going to keep up with it all
<PaWeasley>: Sorry about that. Example, BA Angel ECMs. Currently Experimental level. .0
<PaWeasley>: Gah, cat just stepped on the keyboard while I was typing.
<Bronzite>: We've heard that certain products don't sell well (Faction handbooks, and in the past Randall has mentioned plotbooks in general don't move terribly quickly.) What kinds of products really do sell well, and how is that impacting what we can expect to see going forward?
<Habeas2>: PaWeasley - The changing of tech levels is era specific, and most of the core rules are written from the 3070-3080 perspective. However, IO will incorporate other era play rules that will draw from the example of the Tech Advancement Table in TRO: Prototypes, so there will be some rules shifting, but what speifically will change and what won't is open for discussion.
<BJones>: Herb, a question from the forums: Are there any plans for for future unit dossiers like Lamenkov's Liability or Salazar whatshisname? In the same vein of what is being done for the Bounty Hunter.
<Habeas2>: Hersh67 - It's lways possible, but the issue is, will it be profitable.
<Habeas2>: Klep - By buying as fast as it comes out
<Klep>: well i DO that, reading it all in time is hard though
<Dukeroyal>: I am ready to buy when they become available.
<Klep>: which reminds me, i'm behind *heads to battleshop*
<PaWeasley>: Thanks Herb. Just one more reason to pick up IO.
<Habeas2>: bronzite - Until recently, TROs and core books were among BattleTech's strongest sellers (but TROs, being 50% art and 50% writing, actually run among the most expensive to make). After hat, we're looking at Field Manuals, I think--but ONLY if multi-factional.
<Bronzite>: Fascinating. Thanks, Herb!
<Habeas2>: BJones - Yes. Bountry Hunter is, in fact, one of the next ones to come. We also have a Davion and a Clan Dossier pack in the works
<Habeas2>: 39 minutes
<Dukeroyal>: Are there any plans to cover the Absortion War?
<Bronzite>: This might be a question more appropriately addressed to BattleShop, but every year I audit my collection to make sure I have everything, and invariably something has slipped my attention. Might there be a future capability to "subscribe" to BattleTech releases, for those of us who are persistent launch-day customers?
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - Nothing yet
<martian>: Any progress on Clan Box Set?
<Habeas2>: Bronzite - We are actually in an ongoing process of updating our websites and their features. While I don't know if a subscription to new products is in the immediate plans, I'm sure something like that may matrialize in the future
<Habeas2>: Martian - Sadly, nothing much I can report at this time
<martian>:
<martian>: Thanks
<Habeas2>: 32 minutes
Bronzite is trying to meter himself to one question every five minutes.
<Trbo>: Anything due to be released in the next three months?
<Drufause>: Herb can you please start to nuke random people at Piranha Games until they get the open beta for Mechwarrior Online out
<Suralin>: Guh. I completely forgot this was going on today.
<Bronzite>: Speaking of MWO, I've been reading the ISN news on the MWO site for an entry in the Bone-Norman Times on the triumphant return of Outbound Light having found nothing in the coreward periphery, or a small note indicating it is now overdue. That made me wonder how much input the BattleTech Line Developers will have in the "offset" timeline of MWO?
<Lance>: Randall Bills generates all the ISN blurbs on the MWO site.
<Habeas2>: Trbo - Yes, including Era Report: 2750
<Habeas2>: Drufause - Sorry; I have been forbidden to nuke other folks working in the BattleTech IP....for now
<martian>: What about Unseens? Will you retcon their looks from Project Phoenix into the past? I ask because Harmony Gold and Palladium Books are contemplating to grant licence to someone to produce Unseen miniatures such as Warhammer/Tomahawk or Archer/Spartan ...
<Bronzite>: I read that on Facebook, but I wasn't sure if those blurbs were just pre-launch marketing, or if there was A Plan for the MWO plotline going forward, and who had the helm on that.
<Habeas2>: Bronzite - WHile we may have some input, we do not have a particularly heavy influence in how closely MWO will follow canon. This is typical of our working relationships with the electronic versions of our properties
<Bronzite>: That makes a lot of sense.
<Habeas2>: Martian - The option to retcon the Unseen remains on the table, but it would not be to make the Project Phoenix models into the new art. Instead, we are considering something closer to a more "primitive" look
<Habeas2>: 22 minutes
<martian>: Like Wasp or Banshee from XTRO: Primitives?
<Suralin>: Speaking of XTROs -- and i realize, having shown up late, that someone may have asked this already -- but when is the next XTRO planned for release?
<Habeas2>: Martian - Yes
<martian>: The chosen artist will have great responsibility. If he fouls it up, he will have to go through sewers for the rest of his life.
<Habeas2>: Suralin - I cannot guarantee a date; the XTRs--and indeed all PDF-exclusives--were sidelined while working on other overdue projects in our schedule.
Suralin nods
<Habeas2>: 14 minutes
<martian>: What about XTRO: Phantoms? Is it about the past or from current era?
<ERRatty>: In regards to the Dark Age. Will we be getting products that cover the various plots left at the end of "Bonfire of Worlds" and more specifically, the deadly situation the Lyran Commonwealth and her Allies are forced to face at the end of that novel?
<Habeas2>: Martian - XTR: Phantoms is set in the present times
<Habeas2>: ERRatty - Yes
<BJones>: On the XTRO series, once we get through the planned releases, are there any plans to continue the series for designs that either don't fit in normal TRO's, or wouldn't normally be big sellers, such as Vehicle Annex type designs?
<martian>: I saw one mention about WoB "Phantom Divisions", but I thought it was a paraphrase of previously unknown Militia and Shadow divisions.
<Habeas2>: BJones - Yes
<garydee>: Are we going to see the first Dark Age products pop up at the end of this year or will it be 2013?
<martian>: When can we expect TRO: 3067 reprint?
<Habeas2>: Martian - Most likely in 2013
<Habeas2>: Martian - 2012
<Habeas2>: 5 minutes
<Bronzite>: Riffing off garydee's question, looking past 2012, can we expect a wave of plotbooks carrying us through the Republic Era for a few years, or will the product cycle simply skip ahead to the 3130's?
<Habeas2>: Garydee - Sorry; first Dark Age products will likely be in 2013. Erroneously attributed the answer to Martian's question there
<Habeas2>: Martian - TR 3067 reprint is slated for this year
<garydee>: No problem, herb.
<Dukeroyal>: Will the Unabrigded Recored Sheets also come out this year?
<Habeas2>: Bronzite - The period between 3085 through 3130 is not condusive to a steady stream of sourcebooks; what conflicts occur are spread out and localized, and everything else is about how the IS readjusts in the wake of the Jihad, the creation of the RotS, and the Clans deal with being cut off from their Homeworlds. Content-wise, it's a bit of a dull area, so we would be jumping a bit, but with a bit more respect for filling in th
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - They should
<Habeas2>: 1 minute! Last questions, all!
<ERRatty>: Will any factions die or fade away in the future?
<Bronzite>: That is rather what I expected; just curious if there were any major surprises in that 50-year gap. Thanks for taking the time to field our questions, Herb!
<Habeas2>: ERRatty - Oh, most definitely!
<ERRatty>: Excellent!
<Dukeroyal>: Will any dead factions return to life?
<Bronzite>: You could argue the Republic of the Sphere is the second coming of the Terran Hegemony.
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - That's far too open a question for me to answer
<Dukeroyal>: Will Clan Blood Spirit be heard from again?
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - Who?
<Bronzite>: ...*grumble*...beat me to it.
<martian>:
<Ghost0402>: indeed
<Habeas2>: Alright folks! Thank you for participating in this Catalyst Game Labs BattleTech Line Developer-aided Enrichment Activity! There will be another chat in 6 hours!
<Habeas2>: Don't forget to tip your waiter, and enjoy a nice piece of cake....

<Habeas2>: Alrighty, before I start with the questions, let's get the usual bits out of the way:
<Hersh67>: (This is where he hauls out the pictures of the places he nuked that held misbehaving chatroom members...)
<Habeas2>: Welcome to this Catalyst Game Labs BattleTech Line Developer-aided Public Relations Activity. As usual, I'm sole host and guest here, and as usual I will remove anyone who is being disruptive....
<Habeas2>: So, let's be nice, keep questions nice and brief, and give others a chance to speak up as well.
<Habeas2>: Also, if anyone wants a log, it's on you; I will not be logging these proceedings.
<Terminax>: Y'sir!
<Habeas2>: These chats are scheduled to run a minimum of 1 hour, but as I waited to make sure people were coming in okay (and will be pausing to make myself a coffee), I will extend this chat session to at least 9:15 PM (EST)
Suralin needs to think of some good questions
<Terminax>: With the Reaving Supplemental out, are we now in the black out of the homeworlds until some undeterminate time in the future or will there be anything more coming out?
<Habeas2>: Okay, so.... Coffee has been processed, and we are now ready to begin the chat proper.
<Habeas2>: Terminax - Yes, we can anticipate a dearth of information regarding the Clan homeworlds, now that they have essentially dropped off the radar.
<Suralin>: Are we to assume that the Hansa and Imperio fall under that same heading, too?
<Habeas2>: Suralin - Yes
<Terminax>: Well it means I'll be able to make up stuff until the next great march foward
<Hersh67>: You gave a list of the print products coming out in the first chat, what pdf only products are also in the lineup for the rest of the year?
<Habeas2>: Terminax - Yup
<Habeas2>: Hersh67 - Well, we will be continuing the Turning Points, with Historical: Antallos and Dark Age: Irian currently in progress. Also in progress are XTRs (we have, in no particular order, Primitives 3, Succession Wars 1, Gunslingers, Phantoms, and Deep Periphery all waiting in the wings), and the last three Objectives PDFs as well. The next Dossiers pack, Bounty Hunter, is also in final production, and we even have some AToW Ad
<Hersh67>: Thank you sir.
<Terminax>: Historical: Antallos - YAY YAY YA Thank ye thank ye!
<Suralin>: I keep mentally going back to the idea of neo-cavalry.
<Suralin>: That is, BA riding on quad Protos.
<Habeas2>: Erm. Thanks?
<Suralin>: Not sure how relevant that is, but it's a fun mental image, to go along with the bevy of neo-medieval elements already in BT.
<Suralin>: Neo-feudal, rather.
<Habeas2>: Not sure how well that works on a pirate den like Antallos, but, you know, whatever
Habeas2 watches a virtual tumbleweed bounce by
<Terminax>: Antallos is a favourite location in our games here. A world map is most welcome.
<Terminax>: (of course we play before the Ravens came by)
<Terminax>: *pokes all the other peeps*
<Bronzite>: Now that the Clan Homeworlds are going silent for a good half-century or more, can we safely give up on ever finding out the final destiny of the Outbound Light and her crew?
<Hersh67>: Speaking of world maps, I don't suppose it would be possible to make them (commercially) downloadable for printing (and playing planetary assault with) at a copy shop (to get those *really* big maps)?
<Habeas2>: Bronzite - Did we actually leave that mystery open?
<Dukeroyal>: Can you give us some hints about ISP3?
<Bronzite>: Battlespace said the crew was returned, then later (I forget which book) said they never were, then Warriors of Kerensky said the survey team was return but the 43 other crew remained bondsmen, and when Serpent finally hit Huntress, the ship was nowhere to be found.
<Habeas2>: Hersh67 - I'm not sure I follow on the *really* big maps part?
<Bronzite>: Explorer Corps, that was the book I was forgetting.
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - Like IP2, which worked under the title of Jihad Conspiracies, IP3 has the secondary title of Interstellar Expeditions. It will be set after TRO: Prototypes and the Wars of Reaving
<Hersh67>: Oh, say take it down to the local Staples and have them print it out on a comercial printer that can do a 4' x 3' map no problem...
<PaWeasley>: Will ISP3 finally show us the truth? Is the universe run by time travelers from the 20th century?
<Sarcasmo>: So how did the reaction to the April Fools joke compare to what you thought it would be?
<Habeas2>: Hersh67 - You mean the maps in the Turning Points, then? The planetary maps?
<Habeas2>: PaWeasley - Yes. Sure. That's the ticket.
<Habeas2>: Sarcasmo - It was kind of tame, but all positive nevertheless.
<Hersh67>: Yes, but made as seperate files hexed off and ready for planetary assault style play. Downloadable seperately...
<Sarcasmo>: Are y'all ready for Origins?
<Terminax>: I look forward to the AToW adventures because I'd really like to get into the RPG more but my group begs off because of AToW's perceived complexity.
<Habeas2>: Hersh67 - Hmmmm. Not really sure how likely that would be for the near term, only because the people involved will be busy on other matters
<Hersh67>: Sigh. Not as simple as isolating them, throwing a grid on them and boom, done...
<Habeas2>: Sarcasmo - Not yet. Still working on it
<Habeas2>: Terminax - Huh. It's funny, because I hear some folks telling me it isn't complex enough; I mean, even after we put out the Companion this year, we'll still be 2 whole core books behind the main BattleTech line....
<Sarcasmo>: Is the "Year of the Star League" meeting with expectations?
<Kelric>: well. I know that I'm not hitting Origins or Gencon this year.
<Kelric>: unless a miracle happens.
<Kelric>: because of this, I hope and pray that those faction dice that were teased on the forums become available via battleshop and not be convention exclusives.
<Habeas2>: Sarcasmo - Yes; it's every bit as much of the nightmare I anticipated it to be....
<omaharenegade>: Hi!
<trboturtle>: miss much?
<Sarcasmo>: Continuity issues? or just general PiTA
<Dukeroyal>: Will there be a TRO to go along with the Star League products?
<Terminax>: Really? Make AToW more complex?
<PaWeasley>: Speaking of faction dice - when they're released and prove to be successful, will addition sets with new factions be in the works?
<Terminax>: I'd like more RPG details but I can't imagine making the rules part of it more complex would be good for anyone.
<omaharenegade>: Is BattleCorps still taking submissions from amateur authors? Or just the big shots?
<trboturtle>: omahar -- Send them yo Jason -- still open submission....
<trboturtle>: to*
<Dukeroyal>: Is the Battle Universe Core Book still planned?
<Habeas2>: Trboturtle - You didn't miss much, excpet for the part where I mentioned Catalyst was closing its doors forever
<trboturtle>: okay....
<Sarcasmo>: Argh. That's going to be everywhere within the hour
<Suralin>: Ah, going to go in via the window, then?
<omaharenegade>: trboturtle: okay
<Habeas2>: Sarcasmo - Continuity, and (honestly) a lack of enthusiasm among many of our writers, many of whom feel it's a snore-fest
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: Wait what?
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - One was planned, but ultimately, we feel the SL-era units have now been covered in so many other sources and TROs that...we have nothing more to add.
<trboturtle>: what's product's a snore-fest?
<Ghost0402>: ah crap, did i miss it?
<sarcasmo>: ...Good writers are hard to find...?
<Habeas2>: Terminax - The AToW Companion will add a bunch more optional rules and some cool expansions to the existing rules, but basically it's more like the TacOps of the RPG.
<Habeas2>: PaWeasley - More than likely, yes.
<Hersh67>: The Star League era as a *snore-fest* Herb, you might want to institute drug testing on the writers... That's one of those things that we've (those of us who go back to the late 80s) have been dying for!
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: so if Catalyst is closing its doors…then what's to happen with BattleCorps and such?
<trboturtle>: The star league is more like a serious case of Insomina....
<Habeas2>: Omaharenegade - Yes, BattleCorps is still taking submissions from new writers as well as old, but the work still needs to be of high quality and universe-compliant, so furry intelligent aliens and alternative timelines are still no-fly zones.
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - Yes, the Universe core book is still being planned, but its contents have not yet been finalized.
<Terminax>: Cool. Between Battletech and Ogre, my year is full.
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: gotcha and will do no aliens…even the green bird furry kind with spears that worship 'Mechs...
<Habeas2>: Suralin - By the window?
<trboturtle>: So the ban on furry intelligent aliens means no Victor S-D stories?
<Habeas2>: Omaharenegade - If CGL was really shutting down, do you think I'd be having this chat? Really? I'd be in my bed, crying myself to sleep and wondering how I'm gonna find a job like this ever again
<Habeas2>: Trboturtle - Honestly? The entire Star League period is dready-dull and a continuity hassle to boot. Snore fest.
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: ah gotcha…so do you need me to bring you dry pillow cases? (kidding)
<Suralin>: Habeas2 - you said the doors were closed, so that leaves the windows, and any skylights the building may have, as entry points
<Habeas2>: Ghost0402 - You missed the chat. Sorry.
<Habeas2>: Sarcasmo - Consistently good writers can be hard to find, yes. Very much so.
<trboturtle>: Can I take the "Star League as Snorefest" as a challenge?
<Habeas2>: Hersh67 - My writers are international, and CGL doesn't drug test, or I'd imagine we'd all ... Actually, who am I kidding? We'd all pass these days; we're a bunch of stiffs....
<sarcasmo>: Have you thought about paying in bacon? I'll turn out some damn Shakespeare for bacon.
<Bronzite>: I know in a post-Naval Apocalypse universe, a lot of my WarShips buddies are very excited to see SL-era fleet combats.
<Ghost0402>: Now that I think about it, I haven't paid enough attention for so long i have no idea where this is all going, so icant come up with questions, crap
<Habeas2>: Omaharenegade -
<Dukeroyal>: Any hope of getting the stats for the Riga class WarShip?
<Habeas2>: Trboturtle - I wouldn't write a VSD story at all these days!
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: Just curious, is there a bias against Hanseatic League stories? Background is kinda vague, is all.
<Habeas2>: Suralin - We use a secret tunnel, through which which shuffle refugees from Taiw-- I mean, St. Ives!
<trboturtle>: I went looking for Riga class WarShip stats and Dante-class WarSHip stats -- couldn't find either....
<Bronzite>: DukeRoyal - TRO3057R p216
<Habeas2>: Trboturtle - By all means!
<Ghost0402>: Dante is in 57R right?
<Bronzite>: No, Dante is in FM:ComStar and 3067.
<Habeas2>: Sarcasmo - According to our accounting department, we have to pay in American currency; something Topps insisted on because of the fluctating price of bacon....
<Ghost0402>: close enough for government work
Bronzite is mildly worried that he knew that off the top of his head.
<trboturtle>: that's why i couldn't find them!!
<Ghost0402>: well if your only mildly worried, i wotn tell you what knowing that off the top of your head means
<Habeas2>: Bronzite - The fact is, the naval batles of the Star League era through the Liberation of Terra were largely, horribly, one-sided. WIth only a few exceptions, you're not going to see fights quite as spectacular as a remastered Star Wars movie.
<Bronzite>: Fair to say. Somebody has a signature on the forum that says "The Terran Hegemony had one solution to every naval problem: I kills it with my battleships!" That always makes me chuckle.
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - Do you mean, apart from what was in TRO3057 Revised?
<Habeas2>: Hmmm
<Habeas2>: 26 minutes
<Dukeroyal>: No different from that one. I was thinking of one that was asked about on the forums and Riga came to mind but I can't find the one they were asking about now.
<Ghost0402>: The earlier chat mentioned IP3, can you shed any light on the time period that will cover?
<Dukeroyal>: The Dante reminds me of the Tantive IV from Star Wars.
<omaharenegade>: Oh hey, stupid question, was Project Erinyes of WoB notoriety get explained? Was that the world killer?
<omaharenegade>: ooo, sorry, that was bad English. I'm drinking as I chat.
<omaharenegade>: *was Project Erinyes of WoB Notoriety ever explained?
<Habeas2>: Ghost0402 - IP3 will focus on Interstellar Expeditions in the post-Jihad period, and will actually post-date TRO: Prototypes and Wars of Reaving
<Bronzite>: Speaking of WoB superweapons, what did Lopez do to deserve getting pasted by rocks from on high? One of my players had a branth-attached plotline and flipped out when he read that.
<Ghost0402>: Since it is focusing on IE, will it explain some of the things IE was involved in during the Jihad like the Green Ghosts and a couple of oddball merc units they employed?
<Habeas2>: Omaharenegade - In the post-Jihad period, the presumption by the various powers is that the Erinyes was the world killer, and was an extensively modified YardShip
<Habeas2>: Bronzite - We may never know why Lopez had to die
<Ghost0402>: giant spaceship gaussrifle comes to mind, heh
<Habeas2>: Ghost0402 - It may
Bronzite snerks.
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: ah, so no specific facts
<Ghost0402>: excellent, so a few things might get wrapped up
<PaWeasley>: So Herb, in past chats you've dropped such bombs as the announcement of BV2's pending demise and fulled speculation by tossing out the world "ilClan".
<PaWeasley>: Are you will to humor us with any other universe shatter utterances tonight?
<Ghost0402>: *ducks and covers*
<Habeas2>: Omaharenegade - RIght, because the ship was never captured, and the WoB destroyed the records that would have confirmed it. The IS eaders simply know that she exists, and that she's a modified Newgrange
<Hersh67>: Carefull about using the term 'universe shattering' around Herb. He might just try to live up to it.
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: got it…so in the Dark Age Era?...
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: Or is that a discovery to be made?
<sarcasmo>: Have you/can you discuss the next XTRO release?
<Habeas2>: PaWeasley - I dunno; after the death of BV, the ilClan, and my consideration of retconning the Unseen once and for all, what would you really want to hear?
<sarcasmo>: IlClan?!
<Habeas2>: Omaharenegade - She is not seen again, as far as any of our Dark Age lore knows
<sarcasmo>: Have I been to busy to see that?
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: gotcha
<Dukeroyal>: The WarShip I meant was the Riga that the Clans turned into the York. Any plans to produce the stats for that one?
<PaWeasley>: I dunno, Hanse wakes up next to Mellisa on the day after the start of the Fourth Succession War and we find the last 70 years in universe were an Arby's fueled dream?
<Bronzite>: Ahh, you're talking about the 2747 Riga Destroyer/Carrier?
<Habeas2>: Sarcasmo - Honestly, it's hard to say. As of this moment, we have maybe four XTRs all at the same level of readiness, waiting for me to polish the text and approve final layout. They are: Deep periphery, Primitives 3, Phantoms, and Succession Wars 1
<omaharenegade>: I'd love to write a story about the Kingdom the Goliath Scorpions start :3
<Bronzite>: As opposed to the 2426 Riga frigate.
<Habeas2>: Sarcasmo - Yes, and yes you have been too busy to see it, apparently.
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - Meh; not sure. I think we're already scraping the bottom of the barrel on SL tech
<Habeas2>: PaWeasley - Here's a shocker, then: What you described? Not happening.
<trboturtle>: stupid slashnet!
<sarcasmo>: Primitives and Succession Wars! Sweet!
<Bronzite>: I think the only major mysteries still in play are Apollyon's identity, Stone's Identity, and Arthur's Identity. I know where my money is.
<sarcasmo>: Stupid real life getting in the way...
<Ghost0402>: i'm kinda excited for IP3, IE was always the odd entity out
<PaWeasley>: Alas. I'll just have to continue to enjoy the BT universe on its current trajectory.
<Habeas2>: Bronzite - Apollyon's identity was solved in my series on Jardine on BattleCorps (even as incomplete as it is)
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: so who is he?
<Habeas2>: 9 minutes
<Bronzite>: Ah, OK. I'll go back and read that. I'm behind the eight ball on BattleCorps.
<Bronzite>: I can find out if I'm right.
<Habeas2>: Omaharenegade - A Jardine native who was one of the first to swear fealty to the Master. As far as the Inner Sphere is considered, he came from nowhere.
<Terminax>: One of these days I'll have to sign up for Battlecorp.
<Bronzite>: Oh, wait, that was true?
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: got it. So I'm not retarded - is the series called Jardine?
<Bronzite>: OK, I did read that one. I just presumed he was brainwashed post-magic-anti-bomb-damage-bath.
<Bronzite>: Good to know.
<Habeas2>: Bronzite - You didn't trust the words of a Jardinian native?
<Bronzite>: Would you?
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: and Jardine is in the Periphery, yes?
<Ghost0402>: Free Worlds League
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: I apologize…I've been absent from BT for a while...
<Ghost0402>: least it was till it fell off the maps
<Habeas2>: Omaharenegade - The series is actually called "Forgotten Worlds"
<Bronzite>: No, Jardine is deep FWL. Its marked on maps in Handbook: Marik and later Jihad books.
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: got it, on my way to download
<omaharenegade>: ZOOM!
<Dukeroyal>: Do we learn the identity and location of the other hidden in the future?
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: just to be clear, though - Periphery shorts, such as the Hansa, are cool for BattleCorps? Or do they want something closer to IS?
<Dukeroyal>: Hidden WoB Worlds I meant
<Habeas2>: Dukeroyal - Gabriel was the second world discovered. Even as late as the Dark Age, it is known that at least two worlds are never found
<Suralin>: They might not even be "worlds" per se
<Habeas2>: Omaharenegade - There have been Deep Periphery stories on BattleCorps before, so I don't see why not, but the closer you get to "present" and/or "as-yet-unknown", the more likely your story will be bounced.
<Habeas2>: Bronzite - Of course I trust her! She's a good guy!
<Bronzite>: Touche.
<Habeas2>: 1 minute. Final questions!
<Bronzite>: Being a BattleTech fan for coming up on 20 years has made me extremely skeptical of everything. The Jihad plotbooks, while fantastic, have done little to mitigate that tendency.
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: gotcha, so better to go in the past, like 3060? And what about the Goliath Scorpion Kingdom?
<Suralin>: Ok. The official timeline has something called the "Victoria War" happening between CapCon and Davions (mostly Hasek) around 3105. Will we ever get a closer look at that, perhaps in a Brushfire Wars: Republic Era volume?
<Habeas2>: Omaharenegade - Since the Escorpion Imperio is still a developing story, I'd say trying to tell tales in its formation would be almost certain to slam into a continuity wall
<Habeas2>: Suralin - Yup!
<Suralin>: Eeeexcellent. >
<Suralin>: >:] i should say
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: gotcha, thanks
<omaharenegade>: Habeas2: love ya like an online…um…person…
<Habeas2>: ....
<Habeas2>: Thank you for participating in this Catalyst Game Labs BattleTech Line Developer-aided Public Relations Activity!
<trboturtle>: hooooray!
<Suralin>: ^_^
<Bronzite>: Thanks for humoring us, Herb!
<omaharenegade>: thank YOU Habeas2
Next Live BattleChat! - ??day, (?? May 2012) at 12 PM (EDT)
Topic set by Habeas2 on Sat Apr 28 2012 21:33:23 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
<Habeas2>: Take care, folks! I'm out!