Battlechat 23. Juni (Teil 1)

Zuletzt aktualisiert am 23. Juni 2012 von DarkISI

Hier der erste Teil des heutigen Battlechats. Ich wünsche viel Spaß damit – und denkt daran: Heute Nacht folgt Teil 2.

Wie auch schon beim letzten Mal, habe ich es wieder thematisch geordnet, damit ihr euch besser zurechtfindet.

Introduction, Fun stuff

[18:04] <@Habeas2> Hello, and again, welcome to this Catalyst Game Labs BattleTech Line Developer-aided public relations activity…
[18:04] <@Habeas2> As ever, I am your host, Catalyst Game Labs‘ BattleTech Line Developer
[18:06] <@Habeas2> Standard rules, as lways, are in effect for this chat: Be courteous, give others a chance to speak, no spitting, no fornicating, no chocolate cake….
[18:06] <@Habeas2> Anyone who violates proper decorum will be ejected into space….
[18:06] <@Habeas2> I am not logging this chat, so it’s on you to do so if you wish to preserve these words for posterity….
[18:06] <DarkISI> Is pizza allowed? Otherwise I would have to leave…
[18:06] <@Habeas2> This chat is scheduled to run a minimum of 1 hour.
[18:07] <@Habeas2> Thank you
[18:07] <@Habeas2> – Herbert Beas
[18:07] <Weirdo> Why no chocolate cake?
[18:07] <@Habeas2> BattleTech
[18:07] <@Habeas2> Catalyst Game Labs
[18:07] <@Habeas2> Ahem.
[18:08] <@Habeas2> DarkISI – Pizza is allowed, as long as it features BattleTech Line Developer-approved toppings
[18:08] <@Habeas2> Weirdo – Because chocolate cake hurts us.
[18:08] <DarkISI> Mushrroms, Bacon and Salami
[18:12] <@Habeas2> DarkISI – Salami? Really? That’s a sandwich topping, not a pizza topping!
[18:12] <Korsar_> Yeah, real pizzas feature spinach or pasta… 😀
GenCon
[18:05] <Terminax> How is the Gen Con prep coming along?
[18:08] <@Habeas2> Teriminax – GenCon prep is going… swimingly. We are therefore in full panic mode.
[18:08] <DarkISI> isn’t that business as usual when GenCon comes knocking?
[18:09] <Terminax> Cool. We appreciate the stress and medication all at Catalyst endures for our entertainment.
[18:12] <@Habeas2> DarkISI – Panic is effectively my norml state.
[18:15] <@Habeas2> Terminax – Catalyst Game Labs‘ BattleTech Line Developer also appreciates the medication and stress he is under.
[18:12] <Eisenzahne> Is there going to be a huge surprise product releases at GenCon (had to ask the silly question first)?
[18:17] <@Habeas2> Eisenzahne – We presently are planning no surprise releases for GenCon this year. Of course, this does not eliminate the possibility that something will surprise US.
[18:20] <xtrahmxwohld> If there was a surprise at GenCon, wouldn’t telling us about spoil the surprise?
[18:26] <@Habeas2> Xtrahmxwohld – Yes.
Interstellar Operations
[18:12] <mib_wf3mip> Think there any chanes of seeing preview of IO at GenCon?
[18:19] <@Habeas2> Mib_wf3mip – At present there is no real chance of seeing a preview of IO at GenCon. Sorry.
PDF Exclusive Products
[18:08] <Maddog18> Is there any news that you can give us on how the PDF only products are going? For example „Objectives“, „Bounty Hunter Dossier“, HTP, JTP and DATP.
[18:11] <@Habeas2> Maddog18 – The release rate for PDF-exclusive products has been affected by a concerted push to get several print projects out the door. Rest assured, none of the current series have been canceled
[18:13] <Weirdo> Are we likely to see any of the units and characters introduced in the various Dossier products reappear in future products? (Aside from the obvious Bounty Hunter, of course)
[18:21] <@Habeas2> Weirdo – It remains to be seen if any of the Dossier characters will make reappearances in the fiction/source material.
[18:22] <Weirdo> Fair enough. They seemed like a good way to introduce new characters for fans to follow after the Jihad, now that most of the old guard are dead or nearing retirement.
XTROs
[18:12] <DarkISI> Any idea when (approximately) the XTROs will be back? Would love a new one 🙂
[18:17] <@Habeas2> DarkISI – When I have time to personally review and approve them, we should see the next XTR somewhere within a month afterward.
Chaos Campaign Rules
[18:08] <Moonsword> What’s your opinion on the way the Chaos Campaign products are doing?
[18:11] <@Habeas2> Moonsword – It’s hard to say; we have only actually released one, unless you count the entire Jihad series.
[18:13] <Moonsword> I was thinking of the various products that use the Warchest system, sorry.
[18:22] <@Habeas2> Moonsword – Yes, we are generally happy with he performance of the Warchest-based products and will likely continue to publish them in the future.
Total Chaos
[18:09] <Korsar_> I’m really digging Total Chaos. Thank you for this awesome product!
[18:15] <JoeChummer> Korsar_, glad you like Total Chaos. I put a lot of work into that book, and it’s always good to know it paid off 🙂
[18:13] <Korsar_> Is there a chance of another product like Total Chaos, perhaps with a different focus, let’s say the 4th SW?
[18:18] <@Habeas2> Korsar_ – Perish the thought
[18:22] <@Habeas2> Korsar_ – We are evaluating how well Total Chaos performs before determining if there will be more such products.
Wars of Reaving
[18:09] <Nerroth> Hello, Mr. Beas. I was wondering; in the forum archives for last month’s BattleChats, there was a note that a continuation of the events portrayed in The Wars of Reaving Supplemental might be released either this or next year. Is there any further update on whether or not such a file is indeed likely to be made available?
[18:14] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – There is one product in development now that will touch–however lightly–on the events in the Deep Periphery in the wake of the Wars of Reaving. Book-wise, it’s the very next thing on y list after A Time of War Companion.
[18:15] <Nerroth> I see, thanks. To clarify, will this file be available in print, or will it be PDF only?
[18:24] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – The product in which we may see more about the post-WoR Clans is a print book
Novels
[18:11] <AdamSteiner> Herb, What is the status of printed fiction? Will novels ever return? Have you and CGL thought of self-publishing through Amazon?
[18:16] <@Habeas2> AdamSteiner – Catalyst has frozen the release of older novels for an indeterinate period. A new BattleCorps ANthology: Weapon’s Free, is now out in PDF form and slated for print later this year. Additional fiction sources are pending review and development.
BV3
[18:15] <martian> Any progress with BV3?
[18:17] <maingunnery> what is the current state of BV3?
[18:23] <@Habeas2> Martian – I have received many proposals for BV3, but still have not decided among them, due to higher priorities
[18:25] <@Habeas2> Maingunnery – AS just stated, BV3 is still in development, leaving room of course, for the possible deletion of the system entirely.
[18:25] <JoeChummer> Would that then be BV0? 🙂
[18:27] <@Habeas2> JoeChummer – No, an absence of BV would not be BV0. That was callled CV.
Introbox
[18:24] <maingunnery> Dear Habeas2, for which reasons did TPTB decide to use a large introbox?
[18:26] <@Habeas2> Maingunnery – Not sure what you mean by a large intro box.
[18:27] <JoeChummer> Larger dimensions that previous BT box sets, I think
[18:28] <maingunnery> Well the introbox is quite large, it doesn’t fit in all my bags and it carries a lot of ‚air‘, it seemed to be that it would be possible to fit the content into a smaller box.
[18:31] <@Habeas2> JoeChummer – The physical size of the intro box set was based on the perceived packaging needs and possibly some aesthetic/layout choices I did not directly oversee.
[18:33] <@Habeas2> Maingunnery – Again, I’m not entirely certain why the decision was made to make the box the size it was produced in. There could have been production considerations I am unaware of.
[18:34] <JoeChummer> Although the intro box is a bit on the large side, the times I’ve carted it around, it’s been packed clear to the brim
[18:35] <JoeChummer> So the box size IMO works. Plenty of ‚Mech storage space 🙂
Battlefoce Boxed Set
[18:35] <maingunnery> Dear Habeas2, do you think that in the future there wil be room for a battleforce box? With BF minis it could be very small, I would buy it.
[18:37] <@Habeas2> Maingunnery – We’ll see.
Clan Boxed Set
[18:42] <Eisenzahne> Will there ever be a Clan Boxed Set or has that gone the way of the dodo?
[18:43] <@Habeas2> Eisenzahne – There have been more delays than I care to describe on the expansion box set featuring the Clans, but yes, we remain committed to producing that product.
[18:43] <maingunnery> Here is to hoping that the Clan box set will end up as a battleforce box set.
[18:44] <@Habeas2> Maingunnery – No, that would be a different box set
WarShips
[18:24] <Weirdo> Any good news you could give to us fans of Quick Strike? Or WarShips?
[18:27] <@Habeas2> Weirdo – There are discussions to explore wider use of Quick-Strike, particularly in larger-scale battles, in the future. WarShips, are, well….
[18:27] <Weirdo> …awesome?
[18:32] <@Habeas2> Weirdo – No, that wasn’t word I was looking for.
[18:33] <Eisenzahne> Perhaps ‚unnecessary was the wrd you were looking for or ‚extinct‘ perhaps re; WarShips
[18:31] <Weirdo> I’m mostly referring to the fact that the Star League and prior eras have long been viewed as the heyday of spaceborne war fleets. This being the Year of the Star League and all, if aero fans are ever going to get big news, this seems the time for it.
[18:35] <@Habeas2> Weirdo – The best you’re seeing is happening in the Liberation of Terra Historicals at present. There actually is only so much we can do with WarShips, really, though we are planning to stat out all remaining ships from the period.
[18:35] <Weirdo> ALL of them?
Quick Strike
[18:24] <Weirdo> Any good news you could give to us fans of Quick Strike? Or WarShips?
[18:27] <@Habeas2> Weirdo – There are discussions to explore wider use of Quick-Strike, particularly in larger-scale battles, in the future. WarShips, are, well….
Product Schedule
[18:26] <martian> Are there any products we can expect during Summer Holidays? RS: 3067 or XTRO: Phantoms perhaps?
[18:29] <@Habeas2> Martian – The PDF-exclusive series, as I mentioned earlier, has been hit hard by the push to get larger, print products out, so it remans unclear when each will resume. RS: 3067 is still in production.
[18:29] <martian> Okay.
Leviathans
[18:26] <Nerroth> Thanks again. On another note, I was wondering; if the Leviathans game system has a chance to bed down over the next few years, is there a possibility of its core engine being used as the basis for conversion into a WarShip combat game? (I’m thinking of how game engines such as A Call to Arms and Starmada currently handle multiple settings in the same way.)
[18:30] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – No
[18:35] <Nerroth> …but each draw from a common reference point. But if the idea is dead on arrival, it doesn’t matter.
[18:32] <JoeChummer> I’d think an adaptation of the Leviathans system wouldn’t be compatible with other rules aspects of BT…?
[18:34] <Nerroth> JoeChummer: The idea was more akin to how, say, the tactical space combat aspects of the Star Fleet Universe are presented both „in-house“ by ADB through Star Fleet Battles and Federation Commander, as well as „re-interpreted“ in Starmada and A Call to Arms courtesy of agreemenets with Majestic 12 and Mongoose. The game engines are not directly linked…
[18:36] <@Habeas2> JoeChumer – It’s not that, so much as we have no immediate desire to create an engine that runs across more than one game line. Leviathans works its way; BattleTech works its own way; Shadowrun works its own way…
[18:38] <JoeChummer> Herb, that’s what I figured. All the more reason to keep it separate.
A Time of War Companion
[18:37] <Terminax> The ATOW companion is coming soon. Is there anything neat you can tease us on?
[18:39] <@Habeas2> Terminax – I have been dribbling out occasional teaser posts on Facebook. Among those are revelation of the various new Special Pilot Abilities we’ll see there (including new abilities for infantry units), battle armor critical hit rules, advanced creature rules, and–of course–catgirls.
[18:40] <Terminax> Okay, I’ll hunt down the facebook page then.
[18:42] <Eisenzahne> Catgirls? Too bad they de whenever someone mentions physics in th BTU.
Stone Lions
[18:40] <Nerroth> Is the Tokasha stone lion set to be given its own stat entry in a future product, akin to those which currently exist for the „older“ Clan totem animals?
[18:41] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Yes
[18:42] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – How’s this for interactive; it was not going to happen until you said it right now, and I have the author already on the phone.
[18:42] <Nerroth> And here I thought I’d ruined things with the Leviathans request… thank you, Herb!
[18:45] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Nope. Nothing ruined. While we don’t take unsolicited suggestions from the general public, simply spouting off something we may already be working on or planning does not suddenly force us to change course either.
Era Digest/Clan Homeworlds
[18:44] <Nerroth> One other question, for now; is there a possibility of there being an era digest looking at the „Political Century“ in the Homeworlds, covering the era between the end of the Golden Century and the onset of REVIVAL?
[18:47] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – That’s not very likely, no. Nothing of terribly great interest occurred in that period of Clan development that would be worthy of an Era Digest.
[18:53] <Nerroth> I see, thanks again.
Battlecorps Anthology 3: Weapons Free
[18:46] <wolfhound_88> herb: I know its early days but is „weapons fre“ selling well?
[18:47] <@Habeas2> Wolfhound_88 – I do not have sales figures in front of me for that right now.
Superheavy Mechs (Tripods)
[18:47] <maingunnery> In which DA product can we expect to see the tripod SH Mech rules?
[18:48] <@Habeas2> Maingunnery – That remains to be seen; the schedule for the Dark Age products is in flux
Unseen ‘Mechs
[18:48] <martian> Do you plan a product which will contain all re-imagined classical Unseens „in one place“?
[18:49] <@Habeas2> Martian – That remains to be seen as well. We’re still debating whether or not we really want to do t
[18:49] <martian> Thanks.
MechWarrior Online
[18:50] <maingunnery> To which ways are TPTB helping/working with Mechwarrior Online staff?
[18:54] <@Habeas2> Maingunnery – We help hem promote their game; that’s about it.
Liberation of Terra 2
[18:58] <Nerroth> Is there any update on when volume 2 of Liberation of Terra will be published?
[18:59] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – We are aiming tor elase volume 2 of Liberation of Terra early next year
[19:00] <Nerroth> Sounds good, thanks.
[19:01] <Nerroth> Or are events like the final conquest of the Terran Hegemony set to be in Lot2?
[19:02] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – They may get mentioned in passing, but don’t expect details on the absorption of the post-AMaris Hegemony in LoT2.
House Davion
[18:58] <JoeChummer> Herb, here’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask but kept forgetting to: At GenCon’s seminar last year, you said you thought the Davions were „crooks.“ Can you elaborate on this sentiment?
[18:58] <JoeChummer> Keep in mind I’m not a Davion fanboy by any stretch of the imagination. Just merely curious.
[19:00] <@Habeas2> JoeChummer – They’re Davions. What more do I need?
[19:02] <JoeChummer> I meant in terms of any specific instance that formed your opinion
[19:03] <@Habeas2> JoeChummer – You mean that an old geezer robbed a cradle to form an alliance and promptly smashed the hell ou of the weakest kid on the block to prove he was tough? NOOOOO!
Miniatures
[18:58] <Terminax> Anything interesting going on on the miniatures front?
[19:00] <@Habeas2> Terminax – Iron wind Metals will know before I do. But I hear the Omega’s out already!
[19:01] <DarkISI> Yes, it was available at Origins and will also be on HistoriCon and Gen Con and then be available on the web store in September
Historicals
[19:00] <Nerroth> Once the Star League era is wrapped up, would Historicals based on the First and Second Succession Wars be likely to follow, or would the focus then shift mainly to the Dark Age and beyond?
[19:01] <@Habeas2> The early SWs are so painfully dull–no, I’m serious–that hey would likely get Era DIgest treatment, rather than Era Report treatment
[19:02] <Alex_AFK> Early SW reports „And these five worlds were nuked into the stone age. The following week, these two were virus bombed….“
Interstellar Expeditions
[19:02] <martian> Is it still true that Interstellar Expeditions will be available this year?
[19:04] <@Habeas2> Martian – We hope so
[19:05] <Nerroth> Is IE the book which will have the post-Reaving Homeworld Clan data noted earlier, or is that in a yet-to-be-announced product?
[19:06] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Yes
[19:06] <Nerroth> Excellent, thank you.
[19:06] <Nerroth> Will it also include maps of some of the other Deep Periphery regions, such as the Jarnfolk or the Samoyedic Colonies?
[19:06] <Nerroth> With planetary data, I mean.
[19:07] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – MMMmmmmmmmmmaybe
[19:07] <Nerroth> I’ll have to wait and see, then.
Robotic Control Systems
[19:05] <maingunnery> What are the chances of finding Jihad robotic systems outside of Terra?
[19:05] <@Habeas2> Maingunnery – Slim to none.
Deep Periphery
[19:07] <Terminax> Heh. And that four world „empire“ that the JF supposedly took over.
[19:07] <Terminax> Whatever its name was.
[19:08] <Nerroth> Oh, according to Field Manual: 3085, all of the Deep Periphery factions are off the table, interms of contact with the Inner Sphere. (Presumably thanks to Star Adder patrols in DP space.) However, given how relatively close the JarnFolk are to the near Periphery, should they be on the list, too?
[19:08] <Nerroth> As in, would the Homeworld patrols extend so far into the coreward Deep Periphery that even the jarnFolk would be cut off, also?
[19:10] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – I gave all the spoilers I’m going to right now
[19:11] <Nerroth> I’ll leave it at that, then.
Republic of the Sphere
[19:10] <maingunnery> Where do you see the RotS on the good-bad guy spectrum?
[19:10] <@Habeas2> Maingunnery – Neutral Good
‘Mech design style
[19:12] <Nerroth> One final question (honest); will there be more scope for „faction-specific“ unit deisgns, such as the Celestial series for the Word of Blake, or the more birdlike designs the Jade Falcons adapt by the Dark Age?
[19:12] <Nerroth> *designs
[19:12] <Nerroth> Sigh.
[19:14] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – That remains to be seen; it should be some time before we see our next TRO, after all.
Technical Readouts
[19:18] <Maddog18> Thanks for the battlechat , So the next TRO will not be coming out next year
[19:18] <@Habeas2> Maddog18 – No. There will be no new TRO this year
Herblets
[19:20] <JoeChummer> How are the Herblets?
[19:21] <@Habeas2> JoeChummer – Mostly fine.
[19:21] <JoeChummer> Good to hear. We lost one of ours not long ago 🙁
[19:22] <@Habeas2> JoeChummer – Sorry to hear that. A few of mine are rather advanced in age these days. I’m mentally warning myself about that
Periphery
[19:23] <Maelwys> Are there any plans to flesh out the Periphery Uprising, beyond what we’ve seen in the Liberation of Terra Part 1?
[19:24] <@Habeas2> Maelwys – Unless the Chrises plan to add more detail about it in Liberation of Terra volume 2 (for whatever reason), no.
[19:24] <@Habeas2> ANd, oh look! There’s one of the Chrises now!
[19:24] <Maelwys> Ah, k. Thanks for the answer.
Rules Questions
[19:25] <martian> Will you answer questions in „Rules Questions“ section? There are dozens of unanswered questions…
[19:27] <@Habeas2> Martian – We are actually in the process of reforming how we handle the rules question area. Fact is, I do not even know all the rules, and tend to reserve my input for occasional construction questions and/or RPG questions. So, we’re building a more responsive volunteer team to help out
[19:28] <martian> Thanks. If not for Chunga, the section would be dead.
[19:28] <@Habeas2> (I mean, have you seen the size of the core book series? NOBODY probably has all of that committed to memory unless they has Aspergers or something…and my whole life is BT these days!)
[19:29] <Terminax> Hah, even with Aspergers I don’t have it memorized.
[19:29] <@Habeas2> Martian – Yeah; we’re looking to install Chunga permanently into our servers, just to make him more responsive. We might even get record sheets out faster that way… 😉
[19:29] <DarkISI> Even I admit not to know the construction rules for anything that can go into space
[19:29] <@Habeas2> Terminax – I rest my case.
[19:30] <@Habeas2> DarkISI – Me neither, and I wrote the latest rules there!
[19:30] <DarkISI> and I can do Frankenmechs in my head…
[19:30] <Alex_AFK> SPAAAAAACE! Gotta go to space!
[19:30] <DarkISI> there simply is a limit of what one person can do without screwing it up.
[19:30] <@Habeas2> Freaking hate big ships
[19:30] <Terminax> It’s shocking just how much I forget actually. Every time we play a game, gotta keep the book handy because something always comes up.
[19:30] <@Habeas2> It seems all our construction rules break over 100 tons of anything
[19:31] <JoeChummer> I used to know some of the space construction rules, but that was back in the BattleSpace days…
[19:31] <DarkISI> I never even tried ^^