Battlechat 29.September 2012 (Teil 1)

Zuletzt aktualisiert am 29. September 2012 von DarkISI

Wie versprochen, war ich diesmal wieder beim Battlechat dabei. Hier also das Log des ersten Chats des Tages.

Wie gewohnt, wenn es mein eigenes Log ist, ist alles ordentlich sortiert, damit ihr euch leichter zurechtfindet.

Opening:

[18:00] <@Habeas2> Hello, folks, and welcome to the first chat of today’s BattleChat-Live days
[18:00] <@Habeas2> As always, I’m your host and modertor, Herbert Beas, also known as the Line Developer for the BattleTech wargame and RPG.
[18:01] <@Habeas2> This chat will run for a minimum of 1 hour, during which I request that everyone be courteous, give others a chance to ask questions, and keep them simple and brief.
[18:01] <@Habeas2> Misbehavior can and will be punished by channel kick/banning.
[18:02] <@Habeas2> As always, I will not be making an official log, so if you want one, it’s on you.
[18:02] <@Habeas2> Thank you again for coming to another live BattleChat. The floor is open to your questions, which I will endeavor to answer in the order received.

XTROs:
[18:02] <tolan> What is the next TXRO to be published?
[18:03] <@Habeas2> Tolan – It’s a toss up between four heading to layout as we speak: Phantoms, Primitives Volume III, Succession Wars Volume I, or Boondoggles.

[18:03] <ClanERPPC> Boondoggles? Sounds interesting.
[18:04] <@Habeas2> ClanERPPC – It is, and kinf of funny as well.

[18:19] <ClanERPPC> What’s XTRO: Phantoms going to be about? It’s the only one where I can’t figure out.
[18:20] <@Habeas2> ClanERPPC – Black Ops units

Retcon:
[18:02] <Clutch> Is there to be a retcon?
[18:03] <@Habeas2> Clutch – We are not planning to launch a retcon at this time.

[18:43] <Logging-Guy> Are you surprised with the current results of the Retcon Reset polls? Any special observations?
[18:47] <@Habeas2> Logging-Guy – A bit, yes. Some of the results I predicted, but others–like the notion of making retcons as far back as present day–were a minor surprise. Of course, with only about 220-230 respondants in each poll so far, the data is not considered all that representative of the community at large. (Only one poll I ever ran was THAT significant…)

Asskissing ;):
[18:03] <Nerroth> Hello, Herb. Firstly, I wanted to say that I’m really looking forward to Interstellar Expeditions; it’s got just the kind of „strange, new worlds“ I like to see more of in the BT setting.
[18:04] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – hanks.
[18:04] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – That was „thanks“ in Typo, by the way.

Maps/Deep Periphery:
[18:04] <Nerroth> Once the four sectors of the Deep Periphery are published, could there be scope for a full-colour poster showing them integrated in with a map of the Inner Sphere at some point?
[18:05] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Anything’s possible, but I couldn’t guarantee it right now. Those maps are kind of hard for us to produce.

[18:40] <Nerroth> Along with the NDC previewed on the spinward map, would any of the „new“ planets (such as New delphi itself, or any other notable worlds in the other three DP sectors) be given detailed data?
[18:40] <Nerroth> With world maps, population data, etc.
[18:40] <Nerroth> *Delphi
[18:42] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Yes
[18:42] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – No world maps, though; that would have been too costly.

[18:46] <Nerroth> Were any of the four sectors of the Deep Peiphery more of a deisgn challenge than the others?
[18:46] <Nerroth> *design
[18:49] <Lance> Nerroth – none of the sectors was a real design challenge. We had a notion of what to include besides what the authors put in, and went with that. I am fairly pleased with how they turned out.
[18:50] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Not to trump Oystein, but I think the bigger challenges were the Rimward and Spinward directions, because they were nearly blank slates and we had to try and fill them up with interesting things. One of thoe things, of course, is the collection of real-world nebulae and clusters that exist around Terra. Overall, it wasn’t a GREAT challenge, just more of a creative one.

Maps:
[18:06] <Nerroth> Will there be a black-and-white map in the book showing a consolidated look at the „human sphere“?
[18:06] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – No, as it would simply be too large for legibility.

Aerospace:
[18:07] <Logging-Guy> What is your current opinion concerning the Aerospace game and construction rules?
[18:08] <@Habeas2> Logging-Guy – I think there are problems with the aerospace game and construction rules, most of which are legacy in nature and therefore rather hard to change without a significant retcon to the game. This, however, is only natural for a game based on ground combat first and foremost.

Aerospace Record Sheets:
[18:10] <Mimo> In the last chat you’ve said that there are plans for Aerotech Records Sheets „Unabrigde“, any idea when this will come out?
[18:13] <@Habeas2> Mimo – Not at this time, no. There are a number of technical issues to resolve.

ISP 3:
[18:07] <ClanERPPC> So, can you tell us when Interstellar Expeditions: Interstellar Players 3 is coming out? I know it’s kind of obnoxious to ask that kind of question, but I haven’t been so excited about a BattleTech product since Wars of Reaving.
[18:09] <@Habeas2> ClanERPPC – Sorry; it remains our standing policy not to release promise dates if a street date has yet to be confirmed.

[18:08] <martian> Will you mention planet „Cermak“ in the upcoming Interstellar Expeditions?
[18:10] <@Habeas2> Martian – Mmmmmmmmaybe

[18:21] <Logging-Guy> Can you tell us anything more about Interstellar Expeditions?
[18:24] <@Habeas2> Logging-Guy – It’s set in 3095, so players can expect some bits about the post-Jihad Inner Sphere, though not an abundance abut it simply because of the focus on more outward activities and discoveries.

[18:24] <DeJaVu> How many pages Interstellar Expeditions? We read in the book about Wolverine?
[18:28] <@Habeas2> DejaVu – At this moment, Interstellar Expeditions is coming in smaller than usual, at about 120-124 pages. There will be some mention on the WOlverines, if only because it remains a part of IE’s agenda to learn the truth about them.

[18:29] <Nerroth> How in-depth will IE go into the New Delphi Compact?

[18:54] <Nerroth> Aside from any notes in IE, will the coreward deep Periphery (or, more specifically, the fate of those places within the Homeworld Clans‘ post-Reaving sphere of influence) have to wait a few years yet to be further updated?
[18:57] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Expect to see some updates to the Coreward region in IE

Word of Blake Remnants:
[18:29] <Logging-Guy> Will Interstellar Expeditions list know missing WOB assets and what players are likely to find in WOB caches?
[18:30] <@Habeas2> Logging-Guy – A basic idea of what players might find while hunting the Word of Blake’s missing assets will be discussed, but don’t expect hard numbers or data. That would be totally anticlimactic (not to mention a continuity violation).

Development time/Future:
[18:10] <Logging-Guy> How is your development time currently divided? And what are your expectations for the future?
[18:13] <@Habeas2> Logging-Guy – Right now, I spend about half my time between getting current projects ready for layout, and the rest of it planning future developments. We’re currently in something of a blitz to narrow down all the details for the 2013 product line and have even begun talking about a possible box set for 2014.

Box Set:
[18:14] <martian> Possible Box Set – you mean Intro box set with new miniatures? Or Clan Expansion Box Set?
[18:16] <@Habeas2> Martian – Neither.

A Time of War Companion:
[18:11] <Nerroth> Some of the options included in AToW Companion include things like Animal Cognition or Animal Language. Are these designed more to handle „sub-sentient“ or „pre-sentient“ species in known space, or would they also go so far as to cover the likes of the Tetatae?
[18:15] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – They are for pre-sapient/proto-sapient species (note: while studying this stuff for the game rules, I found out there’s a difference between sentient and sapient; it’s fascinating, and there’s a reason I use „sapient“ rather than „sentient“ now). In other words, for species probably only about 10,000 years or so from acheiving the self-awareness needed to start a real civilization….
[18:16] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – For Tetatae, you would NOT use those features, and indeed should probably not even use the creature rules exclusively at all.
[18:17] <Nerroth> Thanks for the clarification.

Tetatae:
[18:18] <Nerroth> Could there ever be soem sort of semi-official „advice“ on what kind of templates that Tetatae characters would need to work in AToW terms; or will anyone crazy enough to want to role-play on Kaetetôã or Far Country going to have to figure it all out by themselves?
[18:20] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – You might be on your own for a while there, but I wouldn’t say it’s impossible either. There is a product line I am contemplating where just such rules would be perfectly suited.

[18:22] <Nerroth> One last Tetatae-related question; is Kaetetôã somewhere within the boundaries of the Milky Way Galaxy, or is it in another galaxy (or, perhaps, another quantum reality)? Or is that the kind of question that should wait for that potential new product line to be addressed?
[18:25] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – If we ever deal with it, we’ll probably address the notion of where the Tetatae homeworld is, but don’t expect a definitive answer only because, well, there’s no way to confirm it.

Novels:
[18:16] <DeJaVu> Hi, mr Beas. Is there any news on paperbooks?
[18:17] <DeJaVu> for example – Dark Age 31
[18:18] <@Habeas2> DeJaVu – Sorry, I have no news on paperbacks. As it stands, I would not expect to see them resume this year or next, but it remains solidly on my list of goals.

Bonfire of Worlds:
[18:24] <tolan> Can you say if your think that you might be able to  find time to continue work on  a new Bonfire of worlds installment?
[18:28] <@Habeas2> Tolan – I’m afraid not. Bonfire of Worlds will be the last of the Dark Age-setting stories for a while.

Field Reports 2765:
[18:18] <MrKiasu> Hi Herb! What’s the current status for the 2750 field reports? Last thing I read was that they might not happen due to the continuity burden.
[18:19] <@Habeas2> MrKiasu – I’m happy to report the 2765 Field Reports are now in production, and the first is already going through a continuity/quality check.

BV3:
[18:29] <martian> BV3 – do you know how will you replace existing BV2?
[18:31] <@Habeas2> Martian – Not at this time, but expect a system far less detail-driven and nitpicky.

Unseens:
[18:32] <martian> Unseens and new appearances – any info?
[18:33] <@Habeas2> Martian – There will be no new appearances of the Unseen. We will not be going back to those images.
[18:36] <martian> So you have decided not to retcon how they have looked like?
[18:38] <@Habeas2> Martian – At this time, it has been deemed too costly and problematic to do so, yes, especially as we are moving away from the eras when those units were in play.

Lance Pack: Bounty Hunter:
[18:39] <DeJaVu> PDF Bounty Hunter – freeze? Or a problem in the miniatures iwm?
[18:42] <@Habeas2> DeJaVu – The miniatures for the Bounty Hunter’s Lance already went into production, actually. We simply hit a stall in our PDF releases in the run up to GenCon. Bounty Hunter is one of several PDF projects simply awaiting layout for release.

Early Republic Era:
[18:42] <Logging-Guy> During the ‚peace‘ period will factions and mercs going to upgrade their introductory version Mechs to royal versions?
[18:43] <@Habeas2> Logging-Guy – Not likely, no

Field Manual Mercenaries:
[18:46] <ClanERPPC> Will we ever see Mercenary Field Manuals again, or are those too unprofitable?
[18:48] <@Habeas2> ClanERPPC – Single-faction sourcebooks have proven more costly than the moneys they bring in, though mercs tend to get more fan interest than others. It may, however, be a long time before we see more merc unit books.

Objectives: Free Worlds League:
[18:48] <martian> Objectives: FWL – this year, or next year?
[18:51] <@Habeas2> Martian – This. It’s one of the PDFs in the standby queue already.

Objectives: Clans:
[18:51] <Logging-Guy> How is Objectives: Clans doing?
[18:52] <@Habeas2> Logging-Guy – Also in the final lap. All of the remaining Objectives were actually written and have been for a while, but needed editing, approval for layout, and some art. That is all being handles in turn.

Post Dark Age:
[18:53] <Logging-Guy> 3150+ products are currently planned for 2014 right?
[18:53] <@Habeas2> Logging-Guy – Yes

Liberation of Terra 2:
[18:57] <tolan> What is the status of lib of terra Vol 2?
[18:59] <@Habeas2> Tolan – Several chapters and all the new units for Liberation of Terra Volume 2 are in playtest/fact-check as we speak. The rest is still being written.

Other:
[19:00] <ClanERPPC> How excited are you for the timeline to start moving forward again?
[19:02] <@Habeas2> ClanERPPC – More than you can possibly imagine.

3250 Era:
[19:01] <tolan> Would it be possible to tell us the name of the new era (if you have one )or is that to far out of scope?
[19:02] <@Habeas2> Tolan – The working title for the new era is the 3250 era for now.

Ending:
[19:03] <@Habeas2> With that said, thank you all for your attendance! Net chat is today at 8 PM Eastern (so, in 7 hours from now). See you then!