Technical Readout: 3028

[Prussian Havoc]

To me the paradigm needs to be shifted ~ Lore should never be a case of, “THIS, and nothing else.”

Lore, to me should be a case of “THIS, has been this far revealed.”


So rather than be exclusionary in nature and saying NOTHING else exists, unless it has already been written, Lore should be receptive and inclusive of having its “nooks and crannies” filled in, just as Jordan and Team HBS have filled in a number of Rimward Periphery nooks and crannies with BATTLETECH, the Aurigan Reach and its Directorate and Restoration. : )

 

[TaurianMerc]

To me the paradigm needs to be shifted ~ Lore should never be a case of, “THIS, and nothing else.”

Lore, to me should be a case of “THIS, has been this far revealed.”


So rather than be exclusionary in nature and saying NOTHING else exists, unless it has already been written, Lore should be receptive and inclusive of having its “nooks and crannies” filled in, just as Jordan and Team HBS have filled in a number of Rimward Periphery nooks and crannies with BATTLETECH, the Aurigan Reach and its Directorate and Restoration. : )

That's fine where there is a blink to fill in, like this particular region of the periphery. But if you are "filling in the nooks and crannies" you do so in a way that is smooth and leaves as few blemishes as possible. You don't go leaving lots of huge contradictions. I'm fine with a downgraded Nightstar for example, as it's entirely plausible that a small outfit was able to refit them with lower tech after the factories were both put out of action - it plays to the lore and doesn't stick out. The Daboku/Mauler however already has a complicated and documented genesis as a Drac design, the German magazine article is a very clumsy and conspicuous attempt to shoehorn the mech into an earlier period.

I guess what I'm trying to say is there is a difference between detailing the areas that have only been sketched or covered in broad brush-strokes, but its another thing entirely to take an area that has already been painted in detail and needlessly repaint it.

 

[The Shadowhawke]

The Mauler was the one item in the book that stuck out like a sore thumb, while everything else has some obvious care taken to integrate it into the canon.

TRO3050 was released in 1990... it's been established for 28 years now that the Mauler was always a Kurita in house design. The idea of expanding that to where a related industry name influenced the Mauler with a prototype design is even plausible, but the Liao connection seems totally random and unfounded.

All that said, while the Mauler won't be appearing in the field for another two decades, so far as the game is concerned, it would be interesting to see the Linesman and eventually the Daboku appear, with notable differences to the more refined Mauler.

 

[Sigil]

The Mauler was the one item in the book that stuck out like a sore thumb, while everything else has some obvious care taken to integrate it into the canon.

TRO3050 was released in 1990... it's been established for 28 years now that the Mauler was always a Kurita in house design. The idea of expanding that to where a related industry name influenced the Mauler with a prototype design is even plausible, but the Liao connection seems totally random and unfounded.

All that said, while the Mauler won't be appearing in the field for another two decades, so far as the game is concerned, it would be interesting to see the Linesman and eventually the Daboku appear, with notable differences to the more refined Mauler.

The "New Designs and Prototypes" section is intended to flag readers that the BattleMechs included therein are not widely deployed and/or have not reached full production status as of early 3028. Regardless, I made every effort to find at least a veneer of canon to justify including them. Certainly some fit better than others and my bias was always towards including as many of the PGI-designed models as possible. In the case of the Linesman, the fluff reflects the story as told in Battletech, Die Welt des 31. Jahrhunderts, a German publication, which in turn relates the original story from MechForce Germany's magazine, Life Support, issue #4. Regardless, the Linesman is clearly an apocryphal unit.

Currently, I'm struggling with PGI's recently released 80-ton Hatamoto-Chi. I made it as far as a draft of what it would look like if included in the "New Designs and Prototypes" section. Feel free to comment

 

[Sigil]

Those silly Kuritans, always causing problems...

 

[Gronk311]

I have noticed that the “watermark” at the bottom of each page still reads “WWW.BATTLETECHGAME.COM”

That website has been abandoned for some time now, as I’m sure you know.

Also, are there any plans to bring the Merlin, Dervish or any other mechs that are available in this era?

 

[Sigil]

I have noticed that the “watermark” at the bottom of each page still reads “WWW.BATTLETECHGAME.COM”

That website has been abandoned for some time now, as I’m sure you know.

Also, are there any plans to bring the Merlin, Dervish or any other mechs that are available in this era?

The BattleMechs that appear in TRO: 3028 are only those with updated art from PGI/HBS. If either of those companies release concept art for the Merlin, Dervish, or any other period-appropriate 'Mech, they will (eventually) be added. The Charger/Hatamoto-Chi will the next additions (see above).

 

[fearfactory]

What a cool fan book. I really like how the new 'Mechs look... even though I really really love the classics.

 

[DSkou7]

So i just downloaded the most recent version of this, and noticed that one of the champion's medium lasers has migrated from left torso to left leg. I'm guessing this is a typo, just thought you might want to know. Keep up the awesome work guys!

 

[400]

This book is awesome! Any plans to add in the aerospace fighters from the late succession war period?

 

[Justin Kase]

This book is awesome! Any plans to add in the aerospace fighters from the late succession war period?

Right now the book is limited to PGI/HBS/Paradox assets. So, if MW5 or BATTLETECH introduce some AeroSpace fighters, it won't be long before they get integrated

So i just downloaded the most recent version of this, and noticed that one of the champion's medium lasers has migrated from left torso to left leg. I'm guessing this is a typo, just thought you might want to know. Keep up the awesome work guys!

Nice catch Maybe with the next release @Sigil can get that fixed

 

[The Shadowhawke]

The BattleMechs that appear in TRO: 3028 are only those with updated art from PGI/HBS. If either of those companies release concept art for the Merlin, Dervish, or any other period-appropriate 'Mech, they will (eventually) be added. The Charger/Hatamoto-Chi will the next additions (see above).

The Merlin is a bit more obscure, but I'm fairly surprised the Dervish hasn't been touched yet, being a '25 original...but I say that with the awareness of just how much art and modeling has been created between the games, and those darn mechs won't build themselves.

 

[Nichino]

The Merlin is a bit more obscure, but I'm fairly surprised the Dervish hasn't been touched yet, being a '25 original...but I say that with the awareness of just how much art and modeling has been created between the games, and those darn mechs won't build themselves.

Yea, same boat as the Clint, Hermes II and Whitworth. We've seen the Assassin and Vulcan released by PGI relatively recently so I'm sure we'll see the others sooner or later too.

 

[Justin Kase]

The Chameleon would also be a nice addition - and it has similar geometry to the Phoenix Hawk

 

[Nichino]

@Justin Kase @Sigil
I know you embraced the Roughneck and the Loader King made it into the TRO, but what are your thoughts on the Corsair? (Personally, I'm more on the fence based on its backstory.)

 

[Justin Kase]

That would be up to Sigil - I know he has a couple of things in the works, but I don't know that the Corsair is on his radar.

 

[Sigil]

@Justin Kase @Sigil
I know you embraced the Roughneck and the Loader King made it into the TRO, but what are your thoughts on the Corsair? (Personally, I'm more on the fence based on its backstory.)

The Corsair is not a production 'Mech, nor it is the progenitor of one. Yet, FrankenMechs are absolutely a thing in BattleTech and have been practically since its inception. The first FrankenMech I recall was Captain Samuel "Shorty" Sneede's Rifleman from the 1986 Cranston Snord's Irregulars scenario pack. It was described as having the right arm from a Warhmmer, the left arm and torso of an Archer, all integrated into what was left of a Rifleman chassis.

One of my favorite aspects of the BattleTech universe was its early desperate scavenger economy feel and nothing says desperation like a FrankenMech. As for including it in TRO 3028, I'm already backlogged a few chassis but for cases like the Corsair, I generally challenge myself to write a plausible entry and then decide if its good enough. Somewhere earlier in this thread is my attempt at a plausible Hatamoto-Chi entry, which gives the general idea of what I'm talking about, as canonically, the -Chi was non-existent in 3028.

Enjoy!

 

[Nichino]

The Corsair is not a production 'Mech, nor it is the progenitor of one. Yet, FrankenMechs are absolutely a thing in BattleTech and have been practically since its inception. The first FrankenMech I recall was Captain Samuel "Shorty" Sneede's Rifleman from the 1986 Cranston Snord's Irregulars scenario pack. It was described as having the right arm from a Warhmmer, the left arm and torso of an Archer, all integrated into what was left of a Rifleman chassis.

One of my favorite aspects of the BattleTech universe was its early desperate scavenger economy feel and nothing says desperation like a FrankenMech. As for including it in TRO 3028, I'm already backlogged a few chassis but for cases like the Corsair, I generally challenge myself to write a plausible entry and then decide if its good enough. Somewhere earlier in this thread is my attempt at a plausible Hatamoto-Chi entry, which gives the general idea of what I'm talking about, as canonically, the -Chi was non-existent in 3028.

Enjoy!

View attachment 451395

Cool, yea, technically that "hybrid Rifleman" that's a Rifleman-Warhammer-Archer FrankenMech would be called a "Corsair" in the periphery, according to the fluff for the Corsair. But seems odd to me to have an entry that covers "heavy and assault FrankenMechs" but only has the one model for these "Corsairs". Almost every one would look different, but that's not really reproducible, so I get it.

And yea, I wouldn't advocate this to be on your list, even at the bottom, until your backlog is cleared. Even then... I was just curious what your thoughts on it were.

 

[ADisplayName]

Enjoying the TRO very much, art work is brilliant... I have just one, small issue.
The LDK-5C seem totally out of place sandwich between two tanks.

Thank you for such effort, and the quality work/workmanship

 

[Nichino]

The Packrat as well as Rotunda and Gallant are next on the docket?

Looks like the trickle of new things that can be added has become a slow drip with PGI deciding to add a lot less content to MWO going forward. But I guess we'll find some VTOL and such in MW5 and probably other vehicle additions by HBS.

Setting my expectations low, I'm hoping to be happily surprised.