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T.G. Xarbala posted:Hah, PTN's comments are really starting to cause me to second-guess my choices. I can't help but wonder if a Skye independent of the Vipers while armed with a full contingent of SLDF Royal 'Mechs to replace the losses suffered by the Kell Hounds and Highlanders wouldn't be the best choice. But I've already cast my ballot for the Viper Empire and a small thank-you gift to Duncan, so I'm really just putting this idea out to any lurkers who haven't yet voted. And to guess what might have been, which is occasionally worth wondering about. The Cardassian's cryptic words are causing unease?  Don't worry too much. It's just an envoy. I mean, it's not like the product of a hyper-aggressive warrior society is going to react poorly upon seeing the leader of Skye is a dwarf. Right? 
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Feb 11, 2012 02:48
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Bad Moon posted:I mean, it's not like the product of a hyper-aggressive warrior society is going to react poorly upon seeing the leader of Skye is a dwarf. Right? This is how Boatmurdered got started, isn't it? Joining the A train. RC2. RC3 would mean Marik thinking "Melissa" is coming on to him.
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Feb 11, 2012 03:20
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What I've learned from these votes is simply to do what you would like to see the actors do in a given situation - you're not going to be able to predict the consequences (because PTN is awesome)
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Feb 11, 2012 03:38
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^^ Agreed. A, RC1
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Feb 11, 2012 03:48
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Captain Foo posted:What I've learned from these votes is simply to do what you would like to see the actors do in a given situation - you're not going to be able to predict the consequences (because PTN is awesome) Yeah I mean who among us could've said they'd see Frederick Steiner turning on Aldo Lestrade based on our voting decision as to whether or not the Lyran Commonwealth would attack a suddenly independent Skye?
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Feb 11, 2012 03:50
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Angry_Ed posted:Yeah I mean who among us could've said they'd see Frederick Steiner turning on Aldo Lestrade based on our voting decision as to whether or not the Lyran Commonwealth would attack a suddenly independent Skye? I don't know BattleTech lore well enough to know if you're agreeing with me or being snarky 
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Feb 11, 2012 04:08
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Well, Frederick Steiner is known by a much more famous name in canon. Though that only happened after his misguided association with Duke Lestrade nearly got him killed. So we probably won't be seeing it here.
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Feb 11, 2012 04:20
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Captain Foo posted:I don't know BattleTech lore well enough to know if you're agreeing with me or being snarky I wasn't trying to be snarky, and I apologize if it came off that way. To be honest even though I know who Frederick is in the FASA-timeline, I still didn't see him turning on Lestrade coming in the PTN-timeline
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Feb 11, 2012 04:33
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Narsham posted:
And this is a bad thing because...?
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Feb 11, 2012 04:38
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B RC3 Because PTN called me out.
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Feb 11, 2012 05:35
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Narsham posted:RC3 would mean Marik thinking "Melissa" is coming on to him. I'm kinda surprised nobody has tried to estimate the political ramifications (and fallout) of this vote (or, specifically, the combined elements of this vote) to second guess me. A lot of the votes where I give two options have different outcomes depending on the combination of both votes.
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Feb 11, 2012 06:53
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PoptartsNinja posted:A lot of the votes where I give two options have different outcomes depending on the combination of both votes. Well now! I'm going to be keeping this in mind from hereon out.
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Feb 11, 2012 06:59
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PoptartsNinja posted:I'm kinda surprised nobody has tried to estimate the political ramifications (and fallout) of this vote (or, specifically, the combined elements of this vote) to second guess me. Well, I think the crowd has sussed out the importance of bringing more mechs back (outfitting the Highlanders and giving Skye more of a chance of surviving as a political entity) and creating Skye Snakes is going to bring a whole mess of hurt on the entire region (can we do some war WarShip combat between Romstar and the Vipes?). So, basically, by picking RC2, we create an almost-destined-to-fail Skye and possibly force Comstar to mobilize. Which means, I think we're about to move into the End Chapters of this LP, aren't we?
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Feb 11, 2012 07:11
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The exact ramifications are almost impossible to fathom, especially since our options are dealing with fairly vague assessments of material resources. For example - it could be that the clan enovy will be dismissed, succeeding only in causing the Steel Vipers to lose face in front of the other clans. As such, an anti-Crusader faction is able to politically outplay the divided Crusaders causing the clan invasion to lose momentum. Or it could be that the envoy will create an alliance between Skye and the Clans that the Corsairs cannot tolerate, causing them to turn on the Skye leaders in hopes of blocking the alliance. The quantity of war material they took from the Brian will determine their success, so that the low-resource answer causes Skye to retain autonomy and the alliance goes through, the high-resource answer causes Skye's leaders to fold and the alliance doesn't happen, and the middle answer to cause Skye to descend into intractable violence and become no longer an attractive ally for the Vipers. Perhaps picking the option which involves taking the most Mechs will cause the surviving Highlanders to fold themselves into the Corsairs in order to get some new Mechs, or perhaps the increased competition makes it hard for them to compete in Skye and they ultimately fold? Maybe going for the Viper alliance causes them to flee into some other State's service (or even the periphery!), or maybe it'll get the Highlanders hired by the clans? Or perhaps choosing the option where the Corsairs leave the most behind in combination with the Viper vote will cause Marik to start making gains against the Capellans, but since the FWL are fairly anti-Comstar, Comstar overextends itself by sending support to Capella, making invasion easier for the Vipers, which in turn only succeeds in antagonizing Hanse into attacking through central space toward the Vipers instead of cutting through DC space to the Horses. I could do this all day, and that's with just a surface understanding of the lore. That the thread isn't overrun with speculation is actually a credit to the restraint of the many Battletech fans herein.
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Feb 11, 2012 07:22
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Dolash posted:I could do this all day, and that's with just a surface understanding of the lore. That the thread isn't overrun with speculation is actually a credit to the restraint of the many Battletech fans herein. Speculation is LosTech.
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Feb 11, 2012 07:29
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The other possibility is that people are voting for what sounds good without really caring about the rammifciations. Or more cynically, they might not care. If you come to a fork in the road and you don't know where any of the branches lead, there's nothing that stops them from all eventually ending up in the same place.
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Feb 11, 2012 07:32
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TildeATH posted:Which means, I think we're about to move into the End Chapters of this LP, aren't we? I hope not. I'm thoroughly enjoying this LP.
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Feb 11, 2012 07:34
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A RC1 Let's do our best to screw with Comstar and leave them with admittedly interesting gear.
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Feb 11, 2012 09:07
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Let's not forget that Skye might appreciate some of this shiny new gear. A RC1
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Feb 11, 2012 09:28
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B RC1 Because I feel like this is the best bet for a big, awesome fight.
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Feb 11, 2012 10:40
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landcollector posted:I hope not. I'm thoroughly enjoying this LP. Battletech keeps going and going. Thats just how it is.
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Feb 11, 2012 11:10
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A RC1 For the Republic Beneath the Steel Skye!
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Feb 11, 2012 11:36
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Zaodai posted:Or more cynically, they might not care. If you come to a fork in the road and you don't know where any of the branches lead, there's nothing that stops them from all eventually ending up in the same place.
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Feb 11, 2012 13:16
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B RC1 Let's see some combat in Skye.
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Feb 11, 2012 16:52
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PoptartsNinja posted:I'm kinda surprised nobody has tried to estimate the political ramifications (and fallout) of this vote (or, specifically, the combined elements of this vote) to second guess me. If I had any background or past history with Battletech beyond this thread and the Crescent Hawk computer games, I'd give it a shot. My general instincts suggest: Strong Skye might reject a Clan overture; weak Skye can't afford to. Conversely, if the Clan attacks, Skye's strength matters to their ability to resist... but Marik might be more willing to provide assistance if "Melissa" treated him well. The biggest issue with the A choice, if Skye does cut a deal with the Vipers, is that Marik might believe that was always part of the plan. Melissa not only played him and screwed him over on the rewards of the plan, but was already planning to betray the IS as well, presumably expecting to get whatever she's forced to leave behind back as Marik's territories are conquered. I simply don't have enough grasp on the larger setting to predict how Comstar would respond. But then, Comstar so far in this story hasn't been accounting too well for itself and I'm not convinced their leadership is particularly strong. They seem apt to wait for too long before taking direct action, though that's partly because the goonvote kept passing on the Comstar scenario. Ditto for the Clans. One triumphs; a second cuts a deal with an IS world. How are the others going to take that? (Betting the answer will vary wildly by individual clan.)
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Feb 11, 2012 18:24
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A RC3 Maybe the FWL will be helpful to Skye if we're nice to them 
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Feb 11, 2012 18:45
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Narsham posted:Strong Skye might reject a Clan overture; weak Skye can't afford to. Conversely, if the Clan attacks, Skye's strength matters to their ability to resist... but Marik might be more willing to provide assistance if "Melissa" treated him well. Cooperation is LosTech. Seriously, nobody ever plays nice with each other in Battletech, unless one of the two people playing nice is a surgically-reconstructed doppleganger or secretly a WOB agent. The only way for Skye to survive is to be strong. I don't think the strength of their forces has anything to do with the Steel Viper's overture--remember PTN was saying that the different combinations of votes would lead to different outcomes, not that the outcomes of the two votes are necessarily tied together (they might be, and this vote could be a sort of proxy for how Skye is dealing with other such situations, but if not, I can't imagine an extra regiment of mechs is going to suddenly make Skye feel so much more powerful that it would change the way they respond to the Snakes' proposal). But I cannot believe that there's any real possibility for cooperation. That never happens in Battletech or, if it does, it so pisses off the fan community and the game designers that they quickly destroy it.
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Feb 11, 2012 19:28
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In other words, cooperation only happens in so far as it allows the writers to set up a future sudden but inevitable betrayal.
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Feb 11, 2012 19:45
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W.T. Fits posted:In other words, cooperation only happens in so far as it allows the writers to set up a future sudden but inevitable betrayal. Right, or the downfall of the entire Inner Sphere. It's sort of a coin flip.
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Feb 11, 2012 20:07
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My informal count has us at roughly 41-50-38. I think if the Corsair decides to fight Skye there'll probably be a combat vote for selecting it.
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Feb 11, 2012 20:12
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cwDeici posted:My informal count has us at roughly 41-50-38. This is probably true. I can't wait until PTN forces a "Romantic Love Triangle" vote on us... Option D, Everyone Gets Married
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Feb 11, 2012 20:22
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Option E: The Dominion invades Cardassia and we the players must save it in giant robots. Wait, wrong game. 
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Feb 11, 2012 23:12
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TildeATH posted:Cooperation is LosTech. Seriously, nobody ever plays nice with each other in Battletech, unless one of the two people playing nice is a surgically-reconstructed doppleganger or secretly a WOB agent.....
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Feb 12, 2012 00:28
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Arquinsiel posted:Apart from the Ghost Bear Dominion, the Nova Cats/Irece prefecture, the Wolf in Exile/Arc Royal Defence Cordon, the Raven Alliance..... Yeah, besides PTN is writing this, things will be more logical.
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Feb 12, 2012 00:58
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Arquinsiel posted:Apart from the Ghost Bear Dominion, the Nova Cats/Irece prefecture, the Wolf in Exile/Arc Royal Defence Cordon, the Raven Alliance..... Sea Fox/Diamond Shark Interstellar Commerce Sector with Headquarters on Ferenginar.
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Feb 12, 2012 01:16
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Arquinsiel posted:Apart from the Ghost Bear Dominion, the Nova Cats/Irece prefecture, the Wolf in Exile/Arc Royal Defence Cordon, the Raven Alliance..... I'm hopelessly mired in a c. 3052 understanding of the universe... You kids get your RACs off my lawn!
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Feb 12, 2012 01:27
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It can be hard to shake out of it. I at least had the advantage of making it to the end of the Civil War before I disowned canon.
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Feb 12, 2012 01:48
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I've been lurking this thread for a while, but I just had to throw out a question (something for everyone voting to think on) and thought on the political vote. What kind of impact would a mixed force of IS mechs and SLDF mechs create (from a first impression visual perspective rather that a firepower one) compared to one that contains SLDF mechs only, if the steel vipers were to send an envoy to Skye? From what I've read, it seems like the clans are a superstitious lot(of varying degrees) and both options can create very different situations for everyone involved.
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Feb 12, 2012 03:34
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Jonatir posted:I've been lurking this thread for a while, but I just had to throw out a question (something for everyone voting to think on) and thought on the political vote.
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Feb 12, 2012 04:32
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Yea, there is that to consider, but I was more focused on a possible political effect the choices might have. For instance, would the Steel Vipers react negativity to the appearance of the mixed force, perceiving them to be looters of a legacy belonging to the clans? Or would the Vipers see the SLDF mechs as a good omen/legitimizing(whether by accident or on purpose) their course of action, encouraging them to fully ally with Skye? Just something that came to mind when reading the vote.
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Feb 12, 2012 05:11
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