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September, 2018 I'm gonna start this LP so I can blitz through the campaign and get it done before Flashpoint dropsDecember, 2018  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvRHsfmjfGM It is the 31st Century, and mankind is once again at war. In the shadow of the Third Succession War, conflict continues to rage through the Periphery- the area of space outside the Inner Sphere, unclaimed by the Great Houses, but instead formed of numerous independent nations. Some fight against each other, while others resist influence from their larger and much more powerful neighbours. Deep in the Rimward Frontier, the Aurigan Coalition struggles with a faltering economy, and pressure from House Liao to surrender sovereignty. Lady Kamea Arano, heir to the Aurigan throne following her parents death, has remained resolute in her belief of an independent Reach, despite pressure from her ward and uncle, Santiago Espinosa. His outlook is more grim- without economic upheaval, the Coalition will die a slow death. He demands action, while Lady Arano aims for stability. As Kamea prepares for her Coronation, a wayward Mechwarrior and his ancestral Blackjack are being put through their paces. They will serve as Kameas honour guard, her sword and shield, and they are prepared to put their life on the line for her. For as long as she can make payment, at least.  Battletech is a tactical tabletop boardgame from FASA, developed in the 1980s. Initially taking place in the far future of 3025 and continuing deep into the 32nd Century, it focused on combat between giant humanoid warmachines known as Battlemechs. Infamous for using tables upon tables to decide combat results, it gained a sizeable niche following, resulting in 3 decades of updates, a sizeable library of books, a cartoon series and of course, video games. Ask anyone who played PC games in the mid 90s, they will likely know of MechWarrior 2 and it's role in promoting 3D accelerator hardware. Battletech, meanwhile, is a 2018 tactical turn-based video game from HareBrained Schemes (and thus will be referred to as HBS:BT from now on) HBS is a studio headed by the original BT creator, Jordan Weisman, plus veterans from the older FASA Interactive games (most notably Mechcommander, which set a very high standard for real-time tactical games) They set out with a Kickstarter, and a stated goal to recreate the spirit of classic Battletech. This Kickstarter reached it's goal within the first hour, and the stretch goals within a few days. Initially pitched as a multiplayer skirmish game only, the stretch goals offered a full single player campaign. With the goals attained, HBS began crafting a mostly unexplored region of the Battletech Universe, allowing them the freedom to make grand changes to empires and factions, without upsetting the established canon (which in BT is exceptionally serious business) The Title As of December 1st, Kiva Maginn (SA user isildur) has announced a splatbook for the Battletech table top game based on HBS:BT. Which makes sense as she is the lead designer of the game. Since Battletech canon is dependent on the tabletop source books, it means the Aurigan Reach is canon, and by association, so is the HBS game. This announcement occurred post Flashpoint being released, and since this LP is explicitly pre-Flashpoint and Pre-1.3 patch... The Campaign The intro above covers the broad strokes- you are a mercenary, taken under the wing of grizzled veteran Raju 'Mastiff' Montgomery. You start the game by setting up your backstory, name and portrait. The 'ancestral Blackjack' is the one common element, the only thing your character 'owns', which fortunately means you have a free-pass to taking on potentially high paying freelance work. Assuming you manage to survive long enough to get paid. The games 'tutorial' comes from training under Raju. Within only a few missions however, things go awry, and you escape the Reach with another mercenary company. One timeskip later, and you are now commanding said company. Flat broke, stuck in a Leapord 'light' dropship you can't afford to pay off or even really maintain. And here the real campaign begins- you take jobs, repair damage, hire and fire, buy and sell, and keep an ear for an opportunity to escape your debt. The LP This Let's Play will be focused on the Campaign, including the plot, characters, cutscenes and Priority Missions. Because of this, the number of random Operations will be kept at a minimum- there will be times when the next Priority Mission will not be revealed until a number of random Operations have been completed, plus it's important to train up Mechwarriors and stockpile weapons and find bigger 'Mechs in the field, which is the primary reason to take these Operations. That said, the game is actually balanced towards advancing the campaign without too much diversion. Since the Priority Missions give you a massive boost of cash to remain operating, not to mention the salvage either gifted or to be potentially earned during these Operations, they are perfectly able to keep you solvent and with good enough equipment to finish the story. To that end, my plan is to focus on the Priority Missions over the random Operations. There won't be videos of each individual Operation, unless something major occurs. Instead, they will be edited down and summarized between the Priorities. The same will go for the upkeep on the Dropship. Modlist (requires ModTek) Configurable Camera Settings Pilot Health Popup Commander Portrait Loader  The Video List      In Thread Links: Character Bios In Game Tutorials (soon) 'Mech-a-dex (soon) See Also: The SA HBS:BT thread A drunken summary of Battletech. Contains Space Furries and Space AT&T PoptartNinjas Classic Battletech magnum opus- Let's Rewrite Inner Sphere History and Let's Rebalance Inner Sphere History berryjons MechCommander LP Paingod556 fucked around with this message at 03:38 on Dec 9, 2018 |
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Dec 1, 2018 10:00
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Excited to see how your mech luck pans out.
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Dec 1, 2018 10:21
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Taking bets on how long Dekker lives Spoiler- I have a decent history of keeping my pilots alive. My first run, Dekker lived to the end. It was Glitch who got surprised headshot to death 
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Dec 1, 2018 10:37
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Paingod556 posted:Taking bets on how long Dekker lives Decker dies on the second mission
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Dec 1, 2018 11:17
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Paingod556 posted:Taking bets on how long Dekker lives Didn't lose a single person when I ran through the campaign. No save scumming, just luck. My own character got a couple of 'Out of action for 100 days - Would definitely have died if it wasn't your hero'. But that was it.
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Dec 1, 2018 14:36
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While I support your choice of hero pilot, I have to object to the lack of Rooster. 
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Dec 1, 2018 17:00
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I admit, I savescummed whenever anything happened to Glitch, or to her male counterpart (a rando I hired somewhere). Having those two murdorable lunatics was just 
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Dec 1, 2018 23:00
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berryjon posted:While I support your choice of hero pilot, I have to object to the lack of Rooster. I'm still waiting for someone to figure out a way to mod in voice packs. I've actually got the MCG ones on hand just in case that's a reality. The Male!Glitch voice is pretty close, admittedly, but it's not quite 'good ol' boy' enough.
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Dec 2, 2018 01:12
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Glad to see this is finally up, can't wait to see some mecha-punching!
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Dec 2, 2018 02:14
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Are you doing RogueTech at some point? Also at some point all your mech warriors are going to get randomly headshot and/or insta-murdered.
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Dec 2, 2018 17:39
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No plans for doing a RogueTech or LongWarrior at this point, and I also don't have the latest patch or Flashpoint installed (classic Bulwark cheese coming soon) The number of videos would be insane for the free-play run, and I'd probably only consider it as a stream. Next video should be out tomorrow night, I'm aiming for at least one a week. Already got the next few missions done and pre-recorded as well, since there's not a lot of 'Mech editing going on. Once the game gets to the point I can go wild with the 'Mechbay, I'll be taking suggestions on loadouts people want to see.
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Dec 3, 2018 00:21
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Paingod556 posted:Once the game gets to the point I can go wild with the 'Mechbay, I'll be taking suggestions on loadouts people want to see. I'll poke through my MWO screenshots for awful builds I've seen.
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Dec 3, 2018 01:12
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I was hoping someone would make an LP of Battletech. Given your previous Mechwarrior LP I am looking forward to this.
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Dec 3, 2018 01:46
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Polka_Rapper posted:I'll poke through my MWO screenshots for awful builds I've seen. I've got one 'Mech modified for the first Priority mission that might be mid-tier pubbie build level I had regrets as soon as it left the dropship. I'm sure it won't be a complete failure, but at least I should get some  posts.
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Dec 3, 2018 03:25
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Paingod556 posted:Once the game gets to the point I can go wild with the 'Mechbay, I'll be taking suggestions on loadouts people want to see. Take your starting Blackjack and strap 
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Dec 3, 2018 03:45
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Paingod556 posted:Taking bets on how long Dekker lives I managed to keep Dekker alive through the entire campaign, only for him to die on a milk run afterwards to a Locust. 
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Dec 3, 2018 22:57
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Paingod556 posted:Taking bets on how long Dekker lives I'm betting he'll make it halfway through the campaign, then die to a random PPC from a near death cicada or something. I had mine survive the my first run as well, but he was almost always injured. He survived multiple headshots and in between those injuries he'd get hit by stray machine gun fire or something almost every other mission.
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Dec 3, 2018 23:19
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Dekker dies midway through, during one of the first engagements where you run into heavies. Ironically it's a HBK-4G's AC 20 that manages the random headshot that offs him and not the heavies.
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Dec 3, 2018 23:59
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90% of the builds I've screenshotted are apparently impossible to make without mods. I ignored all the clan mechs right off the bat and checked what remained to see if the chassis was on one of the wikis for HBS Battletech. Then I checked to see if the weapons existed in the game (sadly, that means the six Light PPC Hunchback 4P is out). In addition, I don't know when certain lostech items show up. Or how many, for that matter. A couple of the mechs that remained didn't seem to have the proper hardpoints. After that, I had to factor in the differences between BT and MWO and consider that a bad MWO build might work just fine in BT. Like say, LRMs on an assault. I disqualified zero of them for that reason. In the end, only three remained (may contain spoilers for certain weapons).
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Dec 4, 2018 01:37
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The weapons and equipment in this game will be covered when the Mechbay becomes relevant. The short answer is- 3025 TRO tech only, but there are 'advanced' versions of weapons. So the only gear you get from salvage and the market are regular lasers, regular autocannons, flamers, MGs, LRMs, SRMs, and PPCs. And I know there are several mods to add in Ultra ACs, ER weapons, etc. but I actually like the limitations of having base tech. Especially since HBS actually tried to balance things as needed, tabletop stats be damned As for 'Mechs- quote:LIGHT I'll call attention to 'Mechs as we encounter them. Starting with the next update sometime tonight.
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Dec 4, 2018 05:34
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So somehow I didn't notice the audio for the latest video is all screwed up. Rebuilding it now, but Australian internet means it'll be up tomorrow. In the mean time, here's something I was supposed to put up after the OP, but nows as good a time as any- Dramatis Personae Kamea Arano  Born- 2999 Affiliation- House Arano High Lady of the Aurigan Coalition Ancestral 'Mech- KTO-18 Kintaro The daughter of Tamati Arano II and Sara Espinosa, rulers of the Aurigan Coalition, Kamea was destined to continue their legacy of an independent Reach. Schooled in politics, diplomacy, negotiation and strategy, she also excelled in open combat, trained under Raju in the art of BattleMech warfare along with her cousin, Victoria Espinosa. Following her parents death, she inherited the throne with the support of her uncle and Victoria's father, Santiago. In the lead up to her Coronation, however, the pressure placed on the Coalition begins to strain the relationship between Kamea and Santiago... Santiago Espinosa  Born- 2974 Affiliation- House Espinosa Lord of the Aurigan Coalition, Advisor to Kamea Arano One of many minor Houses that rule over the Aurigan Reach, House Espinosa is highly regarded for it's industrial holdings. Following his sisters wedding to Tamati Arano II, Santiago became a respected advisor and close friend to the High Lord. His dealings with the neighbouring nations has given him a dire view of the Coalitions future, leading him to promote the abolition of the Coalition, and a more rigidly authoritarian rule under House Arano to prevent the collapse of the economy, and potentially the Reach itself. In the wake of the High Lords death, and Kameas ascension to the throne, Santiago has pressed her to take the actions necessary for survival. He has not taken her refusal well, and has elected to take matters into his own hands... Raju "Mastiff" Montgomery  Born- 2967 Affiliation- House Arano Captain of the Guard Ancestral 'Mech- CN9-A Centurion A veteran Mechwarrior with over 30 years of combat experience, Raju came to the Reach from the Lyran Commonwealth, where he had fought as a mercenary. During his time there, he also earned money on the side training nobles who wanted to fight. With his experience, Tamati Arano made him his Captain of the Guard, responsible for the High Lords security and training his Mechwarriors, including his daughter and niece. His mercenary reputation has been a useful asset for House Arano, as his manner of dealing with other freelance units has helped earn their loyalty. Victoria Espinosa  Born- 3001 Affiliation- House Espinosa Noble and MechWarrior Ancestral 'Mech- CPLT-K2 Catapult The only daughter of Santiago Espinosa, Victoria was raised to act as a protector for her House and the Coalition. Trained by Raju alongside Kamea, she quickly showed her abilities in a BattleMech cockpit. As a reward for satisfying Raju during her initial trial, her father gifted her a Catapult K2 from the House stable. She has since taken great pleasure in using the 'Kaga' to dominate her cousins Kintaro in training duels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBN1_DSPeMg
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Dec 4, 2018 11:35
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I thought that the message for your system crashing being "reactor offline, weapons offline, systems inoperable" was a nice reflection to the classic powering up sequence. A thing that I remember hearing, if not a source for it, is that the original plan was for your ancestral mech to be a Phoenix Hawk, and the Kaga was supposed to be some kind of Marauder. But, well, Unseen and all that. Which makes me wonder: I saw a thing saying that we're getting the Unseen (or at least some of them) in a future expansion. Is the option to swap out the Blackjack and Catapult K2 for a Phoenix Hawk and Marauder in the cards?
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Dec 4, 2018 16:43
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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H96J0ccR1H4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMN18hvKM-w Eight Hours Later High Orbit - Coromodir  - "Easy there, Duncan - you took a nasty crack on the head when you punched out. Don't worry. You're safe now.My name is Darius Oliveria, and I'm the XO of Markham's Marauders. We're a mercenary outfit with ties to House Arano... we did some work for High Lord Tamati1 way back when. I'd introduce you to Commander Markham, but he was on a supply run in the Market District when the bombs fell. He, uh... well. He didn't make it."  - "I'm sorry for your loss.""Yeah... I am, too. He was a good man. A lot of good people died today. We picked up your distress beacon on the emergency band as we were on our way off-planet. After seeing what'd happened to Markham, it didn't feel right leaving you in the hands of this new "Directorate." We did a sweep of the combat site, grabbed your ejection pod, and ran." - "What about Mastiff? Sir Raju Montgomery- did you find him?" "We found his 'Mech. It was completely cored out. Nobody survives a hit like that. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. We supported the Royal Guard on a handful of deployments, and Sir Raju earned my respect many times over. His death is a loss for us all." - "Were you able to recover my Blackjack?" "Yeah, our MechTech hauled what's left of it into the Mech Bay. It isn't pretty, but if you give him enough time, Yang can fix just about anything. Try not to take the loss too hard. Yang said that your 'Mech shows signs of deliberate sabotage... whoever you had working on it really did a number on the reactor. Punching out was the right move." - "So what happens now?" "Well, things aren't looking so hot around here, what with the coup and all. House Espinosa's2 Directorate is the new de facto government of the Aurigan Reach3. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but Lady Arano is dead. Her DropShip was destroyed on takeoff. It's all over the news." - "Then Mastiff died for nothing." "He died doing his duty. From what I remember of the old man, that's exactly how he'd have wanted to go. Speaking of going, we're getting the hell out of Aurigan territory. We're heading to a nice, quiet stretch of independent space all the way across the Frontier, on the Canopian4 border. As for you... well, you've got options. According to your blood chit5, you've got family out in the Lyran Commonwealth6. If you want, I could look into booking you transport on a freighter bound for Steiner space. I can't make any promises, but I'm willing to try." - "No way. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let the Directorate chase me away." "In that case, you could stay with us for the long haul. When we get where we're going, we can drop you at the nearest planet... maybe you can make a place for yourself there. Of course, I'll need you to pitch in for your share of the fuel- plus food, lodging, and repairs on your 'Mech. Fair's fair, after all. Alternatively, you could find a place for yourself in the Marauders if you wanted to. Wouldn't take you long to work off your debt, and you ran with Mastiff, so I know you've got the chops. Think it over. Sleep on it. You've had a hell of a day, and we've got a long road ahead." 1- High Lord Tamati Arano II: Born 2970, died 3022. Tamati Arano II was a High Lord of the Aurigan Coalition. He succeeded his father, High Lord Tamati Arano I in 2988. Tamai is remembered throughout the Reach as a kind and benevolent rule. His key accomplishments include a military campaign against pirate activity on Fjaldr, the expansion of social welfare on Coromodir VI, and the Coalition-funded renovation of the Espinosa Refit Yards. Tamati and his wife, Lady Sara Arano, were tragically killed in a JumpShip accident in 3022. They are survived by their daughter, Lady Kamea Arano. 2- House Espinosa: "FOREVER VIGILANT" A Founding House of the Aurigan Coalition, currently ruled by Director Santiago Espinosa. The Espinosa house sigil is an ibex on a field of thorns. The ancestral seat of House Espinosa is Coromodir V. House Espinosa staged a military coup on Lady Kamea Arano's coronation day, toppling the old Aurigan Coalition and replacing it with a new authoritarian government: the Aurigan Directorate. 3- The Aurigan Reach: The Aurigan Reach is a specific group of about two dozen systems in the Rimward Periphery bordering the Taurian Concordat and the Capellan Confederation. The Reach is home to the Aurigan Coalition ruled by House Arano. Beyond the Reach are a large number of independent systems colloquially referred to as the Frontier. 4- The Magistracy of Canopus: The Magistracy of Canopus is a large Periphery state, located rimward and anti-spinward of Terra, just beyond the Free Worlds League. Founded explicitly as a matriarchy, the Magistracy is ruled by a Magestrix, a position open only to women, and usually held by a member of the founding Centrella family. Independent since the fall of the Star League, the Magistracy has remained mostly untouched by the Succession Wars, except by the overall collapse of trade and travel. The Magistracy is famed for its social and cultural freedom, with no consensual behavior forbidden by law or custom. The current ruler of the Magistracy is the Magestrix Kyalla Centrella, who harbors a deep grudge against the Inner Sphere, and the Free Worlds League in particular. 5- Blood chit: ComStar-issued identification carried by MechWarriors in the field. 6- The Lyran Commonwealth: The Lyran Commonwealth is one of the five Successor States of the Star League, located coreward and anti-spinward of Terra. Ruled by House Steiner, the Commonwealth is the wealthiest of the five, with an entrenched and powerful noble class. The focus on pedigree and prestige among the nobility has often resulted in less-than-brilliant officers being elevated to high command, to the detriment of the Commonwealth's military strength. Much of the Commonwealth's success comes from the vast resources located within its borders. The current ruler of the Commonwealth is Archon Katrina Steiner, notable for her peace proposal that, in allying the Commonwealth with the Federated Suns, effectively ended the Third Succession War. Paingod556 fucked around with this message at 14:29 on Dec 12, 2018 |
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Dec 5, 2018 11:55
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H32wljnkEnY The next update will involve a ton of exposition. We're out of the info dumps in the missions, but now they'll be showing up between missions instead.
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Dec 9, 2018 07:12
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"Hey, those guys we hired to kick the poo poo out of the people who kept wrecking our faces just kicked the poo poo out of the people we couldn't beat. Welp, time to rob 'em!"  Maybe they figured you'd be more worn down than you actually were. I like the sort of montage-y style of this video. It gets the point of the action across without having to see every single maneuver.
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Dec 9, 2018 16:08
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MechaCrash posted:I like the sort of montage-y style of this video. It gets the point of the action across without having to see every single maneuver. I've recorded stuff from BT in the past, and XCOM. They both have a lot of dead air just from the turn structure. To give an idea of how much time goes into playing this- I watch Beaglerush (where I learned how to XCOM properly) and I did watch his BT launch streams while going through the campaign and messing with modding. His full campaign run is about 70 hours total. I ain't got time for that and I don't expect people to endure it from myself. The early random contracts I've got recorded took about a half hour each. I can cut them down to 5 minutes of actual stuff happening.
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Dec 9, 2018 17:56
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Paingod556 posted:The early random contracts I've got recorded took about a half hour each. I can cut them down to 5 minutes of actual stuff happening. That is a good/time-efficient way to show those missions, will you keep the random missions in their own videos or are you keeping them in the same video as priority missions?
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Dec 9, 2018 21:30
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Reminds me of Beagle's old Ironman Impossible videos, which is definitely a good thing (assuming you can stomach playing and editing for hours and ending up with a video that's much shorter than that).
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Dec 10, 2018 00:05
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Ah, shooting generators to disable all defenses. How nostalgic. Too bad you couldn't capture them and use them against the vehicles!
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Dec 10, 2018 01:44
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I want to see how much you cheese the hell out of this game. (I have beaten this game). Also It's a shame you can't get vehicles.
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Dec 10, 2018 10:35
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SugarAddict posted:I want to see how much you cheese the hell out of this game. (I have beaten this game). Honestly, I love the idea of vehicles in the game, but there are just so many downsides to them in the tabletop and besides a few special builds, they don't tend to end up that useful. I think PTN has managed to do a good job of making them more viable in his setting, but I think they might need a few overhauls until they're on par with other things. Aside from a few vehicles we might see coming up later.
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Dec 10, 2018 12:17
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evilmiera posted:Honestly, I love the idea of vehicles in the game, but there are just so many downsides to them in the tabletop and besides a few special builds, they don't tend to end up that useful. They're great for some things, which is stuff like defense of a static point or harassment. If you really want to slow down or stop 'Mech's from getting to a spot having a couple of SRM carriers and Demolishers sitting on it is great. Stand up fights not so much.
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Dec 10, 2018 22:52
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seaborgium posted:They're great for some things, which is stuff like defense of a static point or harassment. If you really want to slow down or stop 'Mech's from getting to a spot having a couple of SRM carriers and Demolishers sitting on it is great. Stand up fights not so much. Rocket launcher carrier with 100 Rocket Launcher 20s. That happened in someone's BattleTech Roguetech game, they rolled up their melee mech to a vehicle convoy and melee-killed a tank and ended up right next to a rocket launcher carrier. They had 10 chevrons of evasion and some other defensive equipment, the mech survived but ended up with 2 head hits and moderate armor damage.
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Dec 11, 2018 02:57
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SugarAddict posted:Rocket launcher carrier with 100 Rocket Launcher 20s. That happened in someone's BattleTech Roguetech game, they rolled up their melee mech to a vehicle convoy and melee-killed a tank and ended up right next to a rocket launcher carrier. They had 10 chevrons of evasion and some other defensive equipment, the mech survived but ended up with 2 head hits and moderate armor damage.  Whats more terrifying is that vehicles don't have to worry about heat, which RLs generate a shitton of. Related to this, Roguetech isn't going to come up in the videos. I don't have any interest in it after going through the Long War mods, which are the XCOM equivalent. Some cool stuff buried in a pile of 'you should play it this exact way or the game will gently caress you'. Though at least theres no Airgame. This isn't a 'dont talk about RT', just that its not fully relevant here outside of 'it'd be cool if X' 'RT has X  ' Which you're welcome to point out.
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Dec 11, 2018 04:38
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Paingod556 posted:
There are alot of neat and hard to find things in RT which are used to jigsaw mechs together into a piece of art, and the higher tech powered ones are rarer and harder to find and more expensive to maintain. The Mech that facetanked a rocketlauncher carrier had a combat shield( 40% dmg reduction), defensive gyro (+2 defense) primarly for defense. He could have some other equipment which would allowed him to facetank 4 of them in a row without much issue like a Laser Anti-Missile-System which straight up deletes 25% of all missiles/rockets AND add +2 missile defense, an Electronic Warfare Suite which would add another +2 defense, a Null Signature System which would add ANOTHER 4 DEFENSE. RT gives you ALOT of bonus defense equipment, if you are using them it's rare to get hit. Except when you are going up against mechs with Heroic pilots or something because those get between +10 and +40 to all stats or something but are guaranteed to have the top tech equipment. Then you get to the Superheavy 150 and 200 ton mechs with superheavy weapons and that you can take on normal missions, including a long range 400 dmg pinpoint weapon. Then you think you got THE BEST then you go against clan mechs who's lightest mech has 1.5k armor or something dumb. Then you do something dumb and fight ComStar, who supposedly have entire lances of Death-From-Above mechs, and it would not surprise me if they have 200 ton mechs that spam death-from-above as well. And they add new and maybe exciting things every update and even include mech builds from Mech-Warrior-Online so you could find a 100t mech with no armor, light engine, light fusion core, and loaded to the gills with LRMs and LRM ammo. I'm not disappointed that you aren't doing a RT run or anything like that, it's way beyond the scope of your Lets-Play, but its entertaining to talk about sometimes.
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Dec 11, 2018 11:12
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SugarAddict posted:And they add new and maybe exciting things every update and even include mech builds from Mech-Warrior-Online so you could find a 100t mech with no armor, light engine, light fusion core, and loaded to the gills with LRMs and LRM ammo. Ok, that's actually loving genius. Pirate ad-hoc loadouts are 100% my poo poo
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Dec 11, 2018 12:11
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I absolutely rate the original game higher than RT any day. And I say that as someone who mostly liked Long War, aside from some of its dumber blobs of enemies problems. That said, some of the extra tech stuff is stuff I'd love to see in coming expansions. Even if it is just more variety in mechs.
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Dec 12, 2018 01:58
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFhdT_tcQo4 Rent-to-Own In Orbit - Úr Cruinne  - You need to start finding us better clients, Darius. I mean it. We've been slumming it on the rear end-end of the Frontier for three years now, and we are drowning in debt. - I'm fully aware of our financial situation, Meyer. But I can't just conjure up new clients out of thin air. Duncan, do me a solid and back me up on this. - Is this why you all made me your Commander? So I could break up fights and review financial reports? - drat right it is. It isn't like any of us wanted the job. Darius, could you walk us through the details of this trouble we're in? It might help if you broke things down point by point. - Sure thing, Yang. Point one, Meyer's right—we're in debt. Every C-Bill1 we make technically belongs to the banks. Point two, this corner of the Frontier is a dead zone for mercenary work. There are clients, but they're terrible. That's just a fact.…And that's it. There are no other points. - What's our best-case scenario? How many jobs will it take to repay the loans? - Truthfully? I can't even say. We're in a pretty deep hole, and from where I'm standing, I don't see a whole lot of daylight. The thing is, these banks… and I use that word loosely… they don't want us to pay off our loans. They'll do whatever they can get away with to keep us on the hook—hit us with fees, jack up our interest rates, "misfile" our paperwork. I'm trying to find us a way out of this, but it's gonna take time. - And every day that passes, we accumulate more debt. If we keep going like we have been, we're screwed. - Why not just refuse to pay? We can afford to throw our weight around, we've got BattleMechs. - That wouldn't be a very good idea, Duncan. The banks wouldn't come for us themselves—they'd hire mercenaries. And you already know how hard up Frontier mercs are for work. If we stiff the banks, we'll wind up dead or in debtors' prison… and out here in the Frontier, those are basically the same thing. - Okay, so we're in a bad spot. What are we gonna do about it? - I don't see what else we can< do, Duncan. I'm already serving up every legitimate contract I can find. Unless you want me to sidestep the Mercenary Review Board2 entirely, we're basically out of options. - Go around the MRB? No thanks. Taking an uncertified job is a great way to wind up with a knife in your back. - We just got betrayed on a Board-certified contract, Yang. How much worse could it get? - Plenty. What happened down there was an exception, Boss. With uncertified jobs, it's the rule. Remind me again why we don't just skip town and head to a nicer corner of the Periphery3? - Because the banks and the JumpShip4 crews have an arrangement. Until we pay up, they're gonna keep us on a short leash. - That's a good reason. Look, Darius… Meyer's right. We need to start earning some real money, and we need to do it soon. It's only a matter of time before something breaks down that I can't fix with duct tape and good intentions. - (Origin:Loner) If I were afraid of taking risks, I never would've left that gilded cage my parents called a home. We're gonna have to be just as bold. - You hear that, Darius? The voice of experience speaks. Going around the MRB might kill us, sure. So might a thousand other things. We're mercenaries—taking risks is our business. But we need to get paid. - It's settled, then. I'll start digging for contracts outside of the MRB system. Who knows? Maybe it'll work out for the best. It isn't like we've got all that much to lose.In the meantime, we need to find another paying job, and our prospects in this system have completely dried up. I'd recommend booking travel to a neighboring system and seeing what the Review Board has for us. With any luck, we'll find enough work to keep going until something better rolls in. 1- C-Bill: The standard galactic unit of currency, named for ComStar. One C-Bill is valued at one millisecond of HPG transmission time. 2- Mercenary Review Board: Founded in 2789, the Mercenary Review Board (MRB) serves as an impartial broker of mercenary contracts. The MRB is overseen by ComStar, a communications giant that is famous for its neutrality. An essential component of modern military culture, the MRB ensures an even playing field between mercenary companies and their employers, and it is quick to arbitrate any breach of contract. 3- The Rimward Periphery: The Periphery is a region of space bordering and surrounding the Inner Sphere. The area directly opposite the galactic core is known as the Rimward Periphery. The Rimward Periphery is home to major states such as the Magistracy of Canopus, the Taurian Concordat, and the Aurigan Coalition as well as a large number of independent worlds. 4- JumpShip: JumpShips are spacegoing vessels capable of faster-than-light travel, using massive Kearny-Fuchida drives to instantaneously 'jump' from one planetary system to another. Typical civilian JumpShip designs dedicate 95% of their mass to the K-F drive and a solar energy collection system to power it, leaving little room for conventional engines. Consequently, these ships are only seen at jump points beyond each star's gravitational proximity limit. Commercial interstellar travel involves riding a DropShip from the planet to the jump point, docking the DropShip to a JumpShip for transit to a new system, and then riding the DropShip back down to the destination planet.
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With thanks to Galaga Galaxian- Darius Oliveira Born- 2991 Affiliation- House Arano (Mercenary) Mercenary Company XO Born and raised in the lowest quarters of a wealthy orbital habitat station, Darius has a disdain for the rich and noble. Escaping at age 16 with a rucksack full of expensive cavier (equal to a lifetimes worth of his fathers wage) he soon joined up with Commander Markhams mercenary unit, Markhams Marauders. Despite a lack of any formal training, he was brought up to speed by the company, eventually earning his titles of MechWarrior, and later as Executive Officer under Markham. The Marauders first encountered House Arano during a pirate incursion, when they were deployed to Fjaldr to eliminate their base. Despite the harsh conditions and heavy opposition, the Marauders came out victourious, though down over a dozen pilots. According to Darius, the losses would have been higher if anyone other than Raju Montgomery had been in command, as the Captain of the Guard ensured the mercenaries had proper support and at times personally waded into the fray to assist them. These actions would earn Darius's eternal loyalty to Raju, and to House Arano as a whole. Markhams Marauders would continue to be on the High Lords payroll as a security force in Coromodir ---- "Always good to see you at Ops, Duncan. Can I do something for you?" - "I want to know more about our debt situation." "Yeah, sure, that's fair… and I'm glad you're taking an interest. I've got time to get into the nuts and bolts of it if you do. What did you want to know?" - "Remind me why we took out so many loans in the first place." "How much time have you got? I mean, we've been hit with a thousand expenses since we were forced to flee Coromodir… but I guess you're mostly interested in the big-ticket items. Well, first and foremost, there's the Leopard. We still owe a lot of money on this ship, and losing her isn't an option. Then you've got all the assorted fallout from our impromptu trip across the Frontier: JumpShip passage, docking fees, miscellaneous travel expenses. All paid for on credit… as if we had a choice. There's more that I could get into—the loan we took out to set up Markham's family, et cetera, et cetera—but that'd be gilding the lily at this point. The fact is, we're in a lot of trouble with a lot of lenders. But hey, we're mercenaries… we live for trouble." - "Who are we in debt to, exactly? I want names." "How about I give you the top three? First, you've got Blue Horizon… that's the big commercial bank on Lyreton1. They're the ones that own the lease on this ship. Then there's the Indri Consortium… they've got people everywhere, but they're based somewhere in Marik2 space. We borrowed from one of their "associates" to make the jump away from Coromodir on the day of the coup. 1- Lyreton: A system in the Aurigan Frontier, Lyreton was formerly a Capellan garrison world, lost after the Second Succession War. The population of Lyreton is spread across three tropical moons of the system's large gas giant. Each moon is independent, and civil conflict between the moons makes the system a tense and dangerous place. 2- House Marik: "WE STAND UNITED." The Free Worlds League, the oldest of all Successor States, has long been ruled by House Marik. The League is an open, multicultural state, consisting of many great and small realms loosely joined together. Politically fragile and frequently riven with instability; House Marik has relied heavily on free trade and technological advancement to keep pace with its rivals. Finally, you've got Lockown Lending. They're a Frontier outfit from Hastur, and they're about as crooked as they come. Now, I wouldn't normally do business with an outfit like the Double-L, but we didn't have a choice… they made a deal with Blue Horizon to buy half of our debt. So that's the big three: a commercial bank, a shadowy financial consortium, and a bunch of leg-breakers in cheap suits. And each of 'em is dangerous in its own way." - "That's enough money talk for now. Lemme ask you about something else." "Be my guest. What do you need?" - "Got a few minutes to chat? I'd like to catch up." "Yeah, sure. I've got time to talk." - "Before any of this started, you worked with the Arano Royal Guard. Tell me about it." "It was more than just a deployment. It was a full campaign. High Lord Tamati gave us the job back in '19. We were supposed to be assisting the Royal Guard to round up and eliminate a pirate clan on Fjaldr3. Commander Markham thought it'd be easy money… turned out to be anything but. 3- Fjaldr: Fjaldr was originally a Capellan colony world, lost in the Succession Wars. It is a bleak ice planet, swept constantly by howling winds and blowing snow. The original colony was largely underground, built in the sides of deep kilometer-wide shafts that breach the ice that envelops this world. Fjaldr survives on its rich mineral resources and its position as a well-connected hub world near the Inner Sphere. We lost a dozen MechWarriors in the three months of the Fjaldr campaign. Had to hose 'em out of their cockpits. Would've been more if it wasn't for Sir Raju. He saved our people's asses on more than one occasion… went out of his way to do it. And the thing is, he didn't have to. We weren't under his protection—we were the hired help. A lot of people in Mastiff's position would've used us as cannon fodder, but that wasn't his way. He treated us as if we were his own. He was a good man, Duncan. As good as they come." - "Tell me a bit about yourself, Darius. Where are you from?" "I grew up on Nassau Heights… it's one of the hab stations orbiting Artru. Thirty decks of economic stratification, with the corporate suits on the upper decks and everyone else crammed into the lower ones. My old man was a dockhand. We lived on Deck 28—two levels up from the bottom, with the other station maintenance personnel. Twelve hours a day, six days a week, my dad would load and unload cargo shuttles. Vacuum-sealed quillar4 and nutrient paste for people like us, and luxury goods for the suits upstairs. The old man must've unloaded a thousand cases of Cassildan5 eel roe—plump, succulent eggs the size of melon balls. Never got to taste any, though. Any one of those tins would've cost him a half a year's wages. 4- Quillar: A bio-engineered crop that serves as the staple foodstuff of the Inner Sphere. Quillar looks like an ordinary grain, but grows to twice the size of Terran corn, and can be textured and flavored to mimic a wide variety of fruits, grains, and vegetables. 5- Cassilda: An aquatic world famed for its bountiful, deadly oceans. Cassilda's human population is clustered on volcanic island chains along the equator, while the oceans are ruled by a vast array of native predatory life forms. Cassildan seafood is sold as a delicacy throughout the Rimward Periphery. Anyway, Duncan… I don't wanna saddle you with my life story. Suffice it to say that I got an eyeful of what I didn't want to be on Nassau Heights, and I did what I had to do to change my circumstances. And by the age of sixteen, I struck out on my own. I left that station with a handful of skills, an enormous web of contacts, and a rucksack full of that expensive caviar. And once I made it off of Nassau Heights, I never, ever looked back." ---- Yang Virtanen Born- 2987 Affiliation- House Arano (Mercenary) Chief 'Mech Tech Hailing from the Capellan Confederation, Yang enlisted with the Liao military and served with the 2nd St. Ives Lancers. A veteran of the Third Succession War, he lost his right arm during a raid on his base when an enemy 'Mech fired on a Centurion he was working on, specifically in fitting a rumble seat in the cockpit. His mechanical abilities and knowhow were considered valuable enough that he was given a cybernetic replacement that gave him a high percentage of his dexterity back. After his tour ended, he left Capellan space, with a suspicion of anyone of noble birth due to his experience with nepotism flaring up within the Liao military, and of ever riding in a BattleMech again. Fortunetly, he was picked up by the Markhams Marauders, who gave him a place commanding their MechTechs. Since then, his ability to repair, rearm and restore 'Mechs from piles of twisted metal and composites has only gotten better. ---- "Heyya, Boss. Welcome to the Mech Bay—my own little piece of heaven right here on the ship. Something I can help you with?" - "I want an assessment on the Leopard. How much trouble are we in?" "Dunno. I mean, we're doing okay for the moment, but give it a few months, maybe a year… You know how it goes. Eventually, everything falls apart. Maybe our drive system will give out. Maybe some debris will perforate the hull. Who knows? But on that day, we're gonna need to be able to cover our repair costs. And if we can't… well. That'll be that." - "Tell me a little bit about yourself. How'd you wind up with this crew?" "That's a long story, Boss. Shortest version I can give you? I signed on after I served my term in the Third Succession War1, fighting for the Capellan Confederation2. If you want to know more, you can ask whatever you want. Otherwise, let's get back to talking shop." 1- Third Succession War: The Third Succession War began in 2866, when Coordinator Miyogi Kurita responded aggressively to rumors of the Draconis Combine's weakness, but the fighting spread to the entire Inner Sphere. Because the Successor States' military capabilities had been dramatically reduced in the previous two Succession Wars, this conflict proceeded at a slower pace and with less intensity than the earlier wars. Treaties signed in 3020 and 3022 limited the fighting, and by 3025 the Third Succession War has effectively ended. 2- Capellan Confederation: The Capellan Confederation is one of the five Successor States of the Star League, located rimward of Terra. Ruled by House Liao, the Confederation is the smallest and newest of the Successor States and often the loser in conflicts against the other powers of the Inner Sphere. It is an authoritarian police state, with philosophical origins in a text known as the Korvin Doctrine, which argues for total subservience of the individual to the state. Citizens of the Confederation must earn their position and the benefits of citizenship through service to their community. The current ruler of the Confederation is Chancellor Maximilian Liao, a shrewd planner and master manipulator. - "Where are you from, originally?" "Bryant, in the Confederation. You may have heard of our claim to fame: the Crowley Lizard Cow3. …No? Well, trust me, they're delicious. 3- Crowley Lizard Cow: An edible reptile indigenous to the planet Bryant. The meat of the Crowley Lizard Cow is considered a delicacy, and it is one of Bryant's few planetary exports. Anyway, as the story goes, Bryant was a really nice place once—a tourist spot, big with hikers and fishing enthusiasts. Pale blue skies, emerald-green seas, and a booming agricultural business. You know… the works. I never knew it that way, though. Stefan Amaris4 got to it a couple centuries before I was born, and, well… that was that. 4- Stefan Amaris: Born 2717, died 2779. As President of the Rim Worlds Republic, Stefan Amaris expanded the Republican army and placed Republican agents in key positions throughout the Star League. He fostered a close relationship with Richard Cameron while the First Lord was in his minority. When Cameron came of age, Amaris guided him toward policies that would move Aleksandr Kerensky's SLDF away from Terra and place Republican forces there instead. With these preparations in place, Stefan Amaris murdered Richard Cameron on December 27, 2766, and declared himself First Lord, beginning the Amaris Civil War. Kerensky razed the Rim Worlds Republic and returned to Terra to defeat Amaris's forces and capture him. Stefan Amaris was executed by firing squad in 2779. His remains were donated to the medical school of the University of New Samarkand. As the story goes, Bryant used to have these enormous orbital mirrors—"Storm Inhibitors," they called 'em. The Star League5 put them in place. When Amaris took the system in his civil war, he had his troops use 'em for target practice. Without those mirrors, Bryant reverted to its natural state: a miserable little ball of windblown dirt, actively hostile to human life. 5- Star League: From 2570 to 2780, the Star League was an interstellar council formed from the Terran Hegemony, the five Great Houses of the Inner Sphere, and the Territorial States of the Periphery. The stability and prosperity of the Star League led to the flourishing of civilization and technology. The Star League ended in civil war when the leader of the Rim Worlds Republic, Stefan Amaris murdered the First Lord in a bid to usurp his position. By the time I came along, the only places where people could live in relative safety were the planet's poles. Of course, you can't fit a planet's entire population into a handful of cities at its poles—there isn't enough space, no matter how far down you dig or how tall you build. A lot of people—mostly the poor—died in the early days. There's still a lot of overcrowding in Bryant's cities even now. That's my childhood home in a nutshell… way too many people jammed into a tiny, claustrophobic space, with nowhere to go but off-planet. I cleared out of there as fast as I could and never looked back. Gotta admit, though… I do miss the taste of Lizard Cow." - "Tell me about your time in the military. Who'd you serve with?" "The 2nd St. Ives Lancers6, 1st Battalion, under Major Ling. We saw more action than most. The arm is a souvenir of my time in the service. I lost the original back in 3010, on St. Loris7. 6- 2nd St. Ives Lancers: A well-connected and well-financed regiment, the Lancers operated along the Capellan Confederation's rimward quarter, fending off pirates and conducting raids into the Free Worlds League. In 3025, its three battalions are allocated to the defense of St. Ives, Maladar, and St. Loris. 7- St. Loris: St. Loris is an important agricultural center in the Capellan Confederation. In 3010, a notable battle took place between the 2nd St. Ives Lancers and two regiments from the elite Ceti Hussars of the Federated Suns. Much of the planet's vital wheat crop was destroyed. Y'know, when we first arrived at St. Loris, I loved the place. It's an agricultural world… sort of a breadbasket for the neighboring systems. Green fields, rolling hills, you get the picture. We'd just walked out of hell on Kittery8—the FedRats9 drove us out in '05 with our tails between our legs. So it looked like paradise to us. I remember kicking back in the Mech Bay, my feet propped up on an engine block, sipping on a snifter of Ambergrist vermouth10. Not a bad way to spend a sunny afternoon. 8- Kittery: Previously under Capellan control, in 3005 this inhospitable jungle world was conquered by the Federated Suns. A resistance movement kept the world a war zone for many years. In the 3020s, House Liao returned and waged war for a more permanent liberation. So far it has succeeded only in creating lasting enmity between the defending 1st Kittery Borderers and the invading forces of the St. Ives Armored Cavalry. 9- FedRats: A person living in, or whose national origin is, the Federated Suns. Considered derogatory. 10- Ambergrist vermouth: Ambergrist vermouth is red and usually found in tiny bottles in port shops. Getting larger bottles takes connections. Getting a crate of it, well… Anyway. Turned out, the Federated Suns11 weren't done with us yet. We were barely a month into our deployment when they sent the Ceti Hussars12 to burn us out. I'm sure that there were sound strategic reasons for House Davion13 to want St. Loris, but it sure felt personal to me. 11- Federated Suns: The Federated Suns is one of the five Successor States of the Star League, located rimward and spinward of Terra. Ruled by House Davion, the Federation is the most powerful of the five, and the people of the Federation pride themselves on their self-proclaimed role as defenders of justice and liberty. The Federation is quite capable of ruthless, decisive action, though, and its idealism readily gives way to pragmatism when called for. The current ruler of the Federation, Prince Hanse Davion, is an experienced and unconventional military commander. The Federation's alliance with the Lyran Commonwealth effectively ended the Third Succession War. 12- Ceti Hussars: Created by the Federated Suns in an effort to replicate a light horse–style regiment of the Star League era. The combination of 'Mechs and mounted infantry was ideal for conducting swift raids. The Hussars also encouraged personnel to dine together regardless of rank or branch of service, prompting a high reenlistment rate. 13- House Davion: "BY FREEDOM'S SWORD." From their capital world of New Avalon, the Davion family led the Federated Suns to become one of the largest and most militarily powerful states in the Inner Sphere. The Federated Suns' motto "By Freedom’s Sword" illustrates their self-image as a nation: the champion of freedom, democracy, and human rights, although the reality is not so clear-cut. In addition to being a military power, the Federated Suns is home to the New Avalon Institute of Science: the premier research and development center of the 31st century. Long story short, one of their scouts managed to slip through our perimeter and hit my Mech Bay. I was tinkering around in a Centurion's custom-made rumble seat14 at the time… being surrounded by all that armor is the only reason I made it out alive. Still, I didn't make it out unscathed. I lost two of my favorite assistants and my own right arm, and I've got this ugly thing grafted onto me as a reminder. 14- Rumble seat: An optional secondary passenger seat that can be built into the control area of a BattleMech. Rumble seats are positioned away from all control systems and ejection equipment; those who ride in them have no control over the 'Mech itself, and are utterly at the mercy of the MechWarrior in the cockpit. …And yet, here I am, doing mercenary work for a living. Some people never learn, huh?" - "Why'd you leave the Capellan Confederation?" "After my tour of duty was up, you mean? I dunno, it was just… time for a change. Besides, the place wasn't for me anymore. In a way, it never really was. I learned a lot from my time in the service. Got a first-hand view of the elitist bullshit that saturates Capellan culture, how it rewards highborn idiots at the common people's expense. Speaking as a thoroughly common man, that didn't sit right with me. When my tour was over, I packed up my things and made a beeline for the Periphery. Seemed like as good a place as any to find a new beginning." - "For what it's worth, I'm glad that you made that choice. You've brought my 'Mech back from the brink more than once." "Heh… way more than once, if memory serves. Still, I appreciate the kind words. And for what it's worth, I'm happy to be here, with this crew. Going career military would've been an enormous mistake." ---- Sumire Meyer Born- 2996 Affiliation- House Meyer / Arano (Mercenary) Dropship Pilot Ancestral 'Mech- Leopard-class Dropship 'Rent-to-Own' (repayments owing) Though a noble by blood, Sumire's life has been a slow spiral downward. Beginning with the Third Succession War, her family fled from the Draconis Combine to the Taurian Concordat. Born on the planet New Vandenberg into poverty, her brother killed during the War and her parents later dying of easily treatable disease due to a lack of liquidity, Sumire eventually turned to the Taurian Naval Institute to train as an aerospace operator. It was her name that gave her that oppurtunity, a fact none of the other cadets let her live down. Despite earning her qualifications in operating Jumpships and Dropships, early into her career she accepted a role as a Leopard light Dropship pilot for Markham's Marauders, as she realized flying the larger craft was less about her piloting skills, and more sitting down, yelling orders and getting jump sickness on regular occassions. ---- "Hey, Commander. Something I can do for you?" - "Does the decision we made about uncertified contracts satisfy your concerns?" "My concerns won't be satisfied until our creditors have been paid and the loan sharks are off our backs. But this is a step in the right direction, and that makes me happy. I'm not blind to the risks that uncertified contracts entail, by the way. I mean, I know that what we're doing is dangerous. But it's the best chance we've got to dig ourselves out of this hole." - "I'm collecting stories about the crew. Tell me something about yourself." "Well… I'm from a noble family, like you. We're old money—made our fortune out in Rasalhague1, then repatriated to the Taurian Concordat2. That's where I grew up. I'm not sure if this is the kind of stuff you were hoping to hear, but we can talk about whatever. I'm not shy." 1- Rasalhague: A minor interstellar state conquered 700 years ago by the Draconis Combine. Now officially known as the Rasalhague Military District. 2- Taurian Concordat: The Taurian Concordat is one of the largest Periphery states, located rimward of Terra, beyond the Federated Suns. Founded and ruled by House Calderon, the Concordat prides itself on its independence, freedom, and stability. The Concordat is wealthy, well educated, and well armed for a Periphery state. The Taurians defend their independence fiercely against Inner Sphere aggression, particularly by the Federated Suns; they perceive House Davion's reputation as a protector of liberties as unwarranted and even hypocritical, and they have a long history of conflict with the much larger Successor State. The current ruler of the Concordat is Protector Thomas Calderon. - "Where in the Concordat are you from?" "I grew up on New Vandenberg. It's a nice enough place, I suppose. Do you like birds?" - "Why do you ask?" "Because New Vandenburg is crawling with them. It's basically one big aviary. Something like two-thirds of the native fauna has feathers, flutters on the wind, and splatters its excrement across every available surface. Naturally, the original colonists adopted the feathery little monsters into the culture, and those of us that came after were kind of… stuck with it. Statues, fountains, murals… you name it. Just a giant, feathery pile of screeching alien birds. If the system had a motto, it'd be "Squawk."" - "Cute." "Maybe if I hadn't grown up with it." - "Where'd you learn to pilot a Leopard, anyway?" "The Taurian Naval Institute, on New Vandenberg. Well, among other places—it's a big campus. The low-gravity training station orbiting Lompoc was my second home for a time. TNI flight training isn't usually open to civilians, but my parents had good credit back then, and they could name-drop Protector Calderon3. That'll get you pretty far in the Concordat… for a while, anyway. 3- Protector Calderon: Born 2984. Thomas Calderon succeeded his mother Zarantha Calderon as Protector of the Taurian Concordat in 3017. House Calderon leaders are known for their pragmatism and sound judgment; Thomas is no exception. The other cadets in my class weren't especially happy sharing air with a civvy, but they couldn't say much. I was nobility and they weren't. Everyone sort of kept me at arm's length, so I had plenty of time to concentrate on my studies. I got my certification in both DropShip and JumpShip operation in four years. I even tried working on a commercial jump crew for a while, once upon a time. The people were fun, but it wasn't for me. The ratio of flying to violent jump sickness skewed hard in the wrong direction." - "What can you tell me about House Meyer?" "You're looking at it. My parents are both gone—blood cancer and heart disease, respectively. Both treatable, but they were out of money at that point, so into the ground they went. Ditto my brother David, who ran off to serve in the Third Succession War and never came back." - "I'm no stranger to loss myself." "Yeah, I'm sure you're not. Nobody is, really. It's a rough galaxy. David was thirteen years older than me, and had a foot out the door before I turned three. And my parents, well… they raised me by proxy, in the traditional noble fashion. There was no real bond there, even when I was young. None of this is to say that my folks were bad people. They weren't! They were just… doing what they knew. Their upbringings had been outsourced, just like mine was. Anyway, that's all I've got to say about my family. They're gone, I'm here, the end. So… you got another question? Or should we get back to our duties?" - "Your family came from Rasalhague?" "It was a long time ago, but yeah. As my parents told it, we were landowners on Pomme De Terre… it's an agricultural world, sort of the breadbasket of the Draconis Combine4. …And yes, I know that "Pomme De Terre" means "potato." My ancestors came from the planet Potato. It took some time for me to accept that, but hey, here we are. 4- Draconis Combine: The Draconis Combine is one of the five Successor States of the Star League, located coreward and spinward of Terra. Ruled by House Kurita, the Combine has always been aggressively expansionist—the head of the Combine was the first of the Council Lords to declare himself the new ruler of the collapsing Star League. Regularly in conflicts along its borders with all its neighbors, the Combine is a highly structured, militaristic society, with rulership in the hands of the Coordinator, the commander-in-chief of the Draconis military. The Combine's culture is heavily influenced by the Japanese roots of the ruling family—despite the minority status of those with Japanese ancestry—as this cultural heritage is imposed from above by the predominantly Japanese ruling class. The current leader of the Combine is Coordinator Takashi Kurita. …Anyway. Moving on. House Meyer's holdings were meager, but the value of that land was astronomical. For minor nobility, we were really very wealthy. And then the Third Succession War broke out, and the political rhetoric got ugly. House Meyer didn't want a single part of what was happening, so my ancestors emptied their accounts and ran. As a rule, House Kurita5 takes a really dim view of nobles who cut and run. Words like "traitor" and "defector" start getting thrown around. In the Combine, you really don't want to be on the receiving end of allegations like that. I wouldn't be standing here today if House Calderon6 hadn't granted my ancestors asylum in the Concordat. In all likelihood, House Meyer would've been wiped out before I was even born." 5- House Kurita: "HONOR THE DRAGON." House Kurita has dominated the Draconis Combine since its founding in 2319 by Shiro Kurita, who imbued the state with its strong Japanese culture. Personal honor and a self-reliance bordering on xenophobia are hallmarks of Kuritan policy. Embracing 'the way of the warrior,' the Draconis Combine has had a long history of antagonism with and aggression against its neighbors. 6- House Calderon: House Calderon is the dynastic ruling house of Taurus, the Taurian Homeworlds, and the Taurian Concordat. The line is descended from Samantha Calderon, who founded the first colony on Taurus in 2253. Members of House Calderon are considered fair, egalitarian, and pragmatic in their decisions. Paingod556 fucked around with this message at 11:11 on Dec 13, 2018 |
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One minor formatting thing: instead of putting the footnote explanations at the end of the conversation, can you put them right under the line where it's explained? Saves a lot of scrolling up and down for people who need it. Basically, instead of: : I am giving exposition (with a term that is explained)! : I am responding to that.: We go back and forth for several paragraphs!(footnote explantion) It'd be: : I am giving explanation (with a term that is explained)!(footnote explanation) : I am responding to that.: We go back and forth for several paragraphs!
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Dec 12, 2018 18:13
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