Battlechat 26. Januar 2013 (Teil 2)

Zuletzt aktualisiert am 27. Januar 2013 von DarkISI

Beim zweiten Battlechat war ich diesmal anwesend, was bedeutet: Wir haben wieder ein schön sortiertes Log. Viel Spaß damit.

Greetings:
[02:01] <@Habeas2> Hi.
[02:01] <Steve_Restless> evenin.
[02:01] Hi Herb
[02:01] Hello
[02:01] <@Habeas2> Welcome to the second chat of the first Live BattleChat day of 2013.
[02:01] good evening
[02:01] <@Habeas2> Rules remains the same> Be nice or be kicked. Give everyone a chance to speak. Log at your own recognizance. Have fun.
[02:02] <@Habeas2> Floor’s open, Fire when ready.
[02:02] Hello, and happy new year.

XTROs:
[02:13] next one from the forums:
[02:13] Are there any planned XTROs to cover the clans pre-invasion?
[02:14] <@Habeas2> DarkISI – Not at this time.

[02:15] Final forums question:
[02:15] What’s the next XTRO going to be?
[02:16] <@Habeas2> DarkISI – Currently, it’s a toss-up between Primitives IV and Gunslingers.

[02:25] Will there be any one hit wonders or small production of mechs, BA, vechiles, and aircraft in up coming XTROs? Example „Schwerer Gustav
[02:27] <@Habeas2> Bigal – Most of them are just that.

[02:45] Any plans for an XTRO type armed industrial mechs
[02:46] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo – Not really.

[02:46] Will those item be covered in a more…mainstream publication?
[02:51] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo – Various sources have already toughed on this. The latest is the PDF-exclusive revision of TRO: Vehicle Annex
[02:53] Understood. I was wondering if we’d get something with a more in-depth write up, with maybe some art
[02:54] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo – Art costs. Writing costs. When we perceive fan interest is low, we seriously debate how to present information in its least costly way possible. If that means you just get a Record Sheet or a paragraph of text on the subject, then that’s how it works.

Hex Packs:
[02:05] First of the questions I promised to ask:
[02:05] What is the next planned Hex Pack?
[02:06] <@Habeas2> XotL – Presently, I believe our next Hex Pack is actually a suport product for Tactical Operations.

Map Tiles:
[03:14] <Circinus_Enquirer> Speaking of the maptiles – any chance of getting one with tiles for gun emplacements and ferrocrete walls so we can convert any map into a Castle Brian?
[03:15] <@Habeas2> Circinus_Enquirer – It’s possible.

Record Sheets:
[02:07] next forums question
[02:07] It was mentioned that HMP is out of date, do the devs use or have they considered using Solaris Skunk Werks for getting the mech sheets done quickly at least?)
[02:11] <@Habeas2> DarkISI – Frankly, we are using many independently-made software systems to try and make up for the loss of Heavy Metal as a viable product, but none of the fan-made software systems truly addresses all of our needs at thistime.

TRO VA, revised
[02:19] Any hop for a TRO VA record sheet book?
[02:20] <@Habeas2> Damage – Given the difficulties in producing Record Sheets, the chances are rather low.

3250:
[02:02] <Steve_Restless> I know the revelation of 3250 has raised quite a clamor(And I think this might calm some of it down), but i was wondering if you would please clarify whether 20 weapons means that in current weapon count, an AC/2, AC/5, AC/10 and AC/20 would be 4 weapons, or one weapon (Autocannon)?
[02:03] <@Habeas2> Steve_Restles – I am afraid that I cannot speak to future plans beyond the Dark Age setting.

ePub Schedule:
[02:02] 12I saw that LoT2 is underway and you have a 10 product print schedule. What is the epub schedule looking like?

Misjump/Pseudotech:
[02:03] Has there been any further thought on the Misjump and PseudoTech PDF ideas as of late?
[02:05] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Clarify. Where did I mention those previously
[02:05] <@Habeas2> ?
[02:06] In one of last year’s BattleChats, you mentioned both as potential avenues for exploring places off the beaten path, such as Kaetetôã and Far Country.
[02:09] MisJumps and PseutoTech were menioned in one of the October 2012 BattleChats: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,23997.msg536418/topicseen.html#msg536418
[02:14] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – At this ime, I have some very solid pitches in for Misjumps, and the first PseudoTech book has been written.
[02:14] I see, thanks. Can it be said if any of them refer to Far Country, or is that still under wraps for the time being?
[02:15] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – No serious pitches for either product covering the Tetaetae have been made yet.

BV:
[02:06] Any new news on the revamping of BV?
[02:08] <@Habeas2> Damage – In the near term a compiled errata for BV2 will be released as part of an upcoming product. Any all-new BV systems will have to wait until the next edition of BattleTech (whenever that occurs)
[02:08] Will the BV2 errata include all units including aero?
[02:09] As in, will there be a table listing the values for existing units, perhaps.
[02:13] <@Habeas2> Kamas – Maybe
[02:13] <@Habeas2> Kamas – Getting BV for existing units will be the MUL’s job.

Upcoming products:
[02:06] Can you list the ten products that you maybe able to print this year?
[02:09] <@Habeas2> Bigal – I’ll list some of them: Historical: Liberation of Terra Vol. 2, Handbook: House Kurita, Era Report: 3145, Field Manual: 3145, Technical Readout: 3145, BattleCorps Anthology #4: Fire for Effect, and Alpha Strike

[02:31] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Which is the next product to most likely come out?
[02:32] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Maybe Historical: Liberation of Terra Vol. 2

Interstellar Operations:
[02:06] <Circinus_Enquirer> Mr. Habeas! Mr. Habeas! Can you comment on whether the Alternate Eras for Interstellar Operations might include game rules for the effects of the „Fortress Republic“ jump-blocking technology in Grand Strategic level games?

Risk Items:
[02:07] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Will RISK items still exist in the dark age or will they be retconned out?
[02:10] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – They are not being retconned, per se, but they may be only rumored tech.

Timber Wolf:
[02:08] <Steve_Restless> can you shed some out-of-character light on the tough treatment the Timber Wolf omnimech seems to be recieving as of late?
<@Habeas2> Steve_Restless – We have more than enough Timber Wolves now. At last check, in fact, I think we now have maybe 6 chassis that all claim to be Timber Wolf/Mad Cat designs. After a while, older models will simply have to retire.

Design philosophy:
[02:15] For the future, will BattleMech development follow an Old is the New New/Project Phoenix mindset of dramatic upgrades and rebuilds to current designs, or is the intent for more brand new designs?
[02:17] <@Habeas2> Kamas – All I can say is that the next TRO will feature a total of 200 units, many of them designs introduced for Dark Age before the Click Dial game was retired, coupled with some all-new units. Stats are still being generated for these.

IlClan:
[02:16] <Steve_Restless> Is the ilClan Book planned as a part of the 3145 era, or the 3250 era?
[02:18] <@Habeas2> Steve_Restless – The ilClan book is set at the tail end of the Dark Age period. I cannot discuss post-Dark Age material at this time. People get too nervous.

Fall From Grace:
[02:16] <Circinus_Enquirer> I’ve recently been re-reading and greatly enjoying Chris Hartford’s BatteCorps „Fall From Grace“ serial. What are the prospects of seeing such novel-length serials in the future?
[02:19] <@Habeas2> Circinus_Enquirer – Novel-length serials via BattleCorps are always a possibility, but they are something that can only be handled by our top writers, because it kind of sucks to get part-way into the series, only to have the writer flake out on you.

Periphery:
[02:19] While the coreward sector of the Deep Periphery is under an information blackout for the time being, is the same true for the three „new“ sectors detailed in ISP3? As in, could any of the 3145 works provide update for the spinward, rimward, or anti-spinward sectors; or are they no-shows for a good while yet?
[02:22] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Most of those regions are occupied by rather tiny and ultimately inconsequentil realms. They have no significant military forces or factory production, and do not interact with many (or, in some cases, ANY) outsiders. This makes them something of a storyline dead-end, presented for flavor only.

[03:30] Are there plans to detail the Periphery rising at all?
[03:31] <@Habeas2> Maelwys – Who rising?
[03:32] <@Habeas2> Maelwys – You mean the one that preceded the Amaris Crisis? Nope.

Protégé:
[02:17] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Will the Protégé play an important roll in the 3145 era?
[02:20] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – The what? I saw a bunch of bizarre characters here.
[02:20] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> *the protege, accents don’t work well i guess

Arthur Steiner-Davion:
[02:23] Have we already seen what happened to Arthur Steiner-Davion without realizing it, or has he been set on the back burner for the 3145 era?

‘Mech Manufacturers:
[02:24] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Are mechs such as the Exhumer, Gravedigger, Cadaver and Mortis made by the same manufacturer, or is the IS going goth?
[02:26] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Looking at the list, it’s a pan-Sphere phenomenon

[02:52] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> There seem to be a lot of mechs being made be unknown, new or mysterious companies in the DA. Is this a conspiracy? :O
[02:53] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Yes. A conspiracy of writers adding more details to a previously under-written segment of history that everyone already complained was „pre-spoiled“

3145:
[02:25] Can it be said yet whose point of view the 3145 source books will be written from?
[02:27] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – The Republic.

[02:26] <Circinus_Enquirer> What factions/forces are planned to be detailed in the 3145 books? Will it just be the major Houses/Clans, or will the factionettes get summaries? What about the rebel Senatorial forces that made it off Terra – still an active faction?
[02:28] <@Habeas2> Circinus_Enquirer – All Great House factions, all major Periphery factions, all Inner Sphere Clan factions, and the most prominent mercenary groups. Not covered: Minor Periphery, Deep Periphery, or Homeworld Clans.

[02:28] So, will FM:3145 give an accurate account of the present state of the RAF within the boundaries of the Fortress?
[02:29] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Yup

[02:30] So, will there be details showing how the Republic has been able to maintain intel on the goings on of the Inner Sphere beyond the walls of the Fortress? (As in, can HPG and black box comms from outside of the Fortress be sent back in?)
[02:32] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Maybe. But, to be honest, details are killing us, so we may stop giving too many of those. Do you realize how demoralizing it is to my writers when they work hard under a strict deadline and risk getting reassigned at the last minute, only to have their carefully laid story disputed by the first fanboy who picks up the PDF?

3145/Map:
[03:22] One thing I was wondering about the 3145 maps we’re due to get; is there any particular method they’ll use to show which worlds still have functioning HPGs, and which are in the dark?
[03:22] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – No such thing is presently planned.

Mysteries:
[02:26] There has been a few complaints that there are a lot of mysteries (Green Ghosts, Clan Wolverine, the missing WOB planets, ect) Are there any plans to clear some of these mysteries up?
[02:28] <@Habeas2> Trboturtle2 – Only when we feel like it. And, honestly, we don’t.

Minnesota Tribe:
[02:54] <Circinus_Enquirer> Mr. Habeas! Mr. Habeas! My team just stumbled across a major cache of Minnesota Tribe artifacts! Can Catalyst comment on the large force of Spectral omnifighters now deorbiting and burning for our position? (That and how come more archeologists and groupies tracking the Minnesota Tribe don’t get similarly bushwacked?)
[02:54] <@Habeas2> Circinus_Enquirer – Peace of Blake be with you.

White Out:
[02:29] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Is there a devious plan behind why the 6 (known) HPGs survived the white-out while the rest did not, or is it pure luck?
[02:29] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Pure luck

Praise for the writers:
[02:33] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> The writers are awesome. I love them.

Christopher Marik:
[02:36] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> How can the inner sphere handle the amount of badassery condensed into Christopher Marik?
[02:36] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Same way it put up with Victor Steiner-Davion and Hanse before him

Era Digests:
[02:37] It has been said that an Era Digest is planned to cover the first years of the Dark Age (with the proto-factions from the clicky game). Would the Dark Age pre-3145 have any other stories that could get similar treatment, or will the Era Report be good enough a venue?
[02:38] Say, for example, when it comes to detailing the re-emergence of the Free Worlds League.
[02:38] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – I am not sure exactly what you’re asking there.
[02:40] To put it another way, will the rebirth of the FWL be covered in detail in one of the 3145 books already on the production schedule, or could it perhaps be a topic that a future PDF file could focus on exclusively?
[02:41] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – It would be covered in the 3145 ER and FM.
[02:41] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – SOlo-faction print products have proven to be more costly to produce, so we aren’t going to do so many of them from now on.

Federated Suns:
[02:37] have you decided how many worlds the FS are going to loose to CC and DC due to the leader being insane
[02:39] <@Habeas2> Drufause – Sort of.

TRO Submissions:
[02:38] Will there ever be another submission request for future TROs like the one for Battlecorps members for (I think) 3085?
[02:39] <@Habeas2> Kamas – No. Sorry.

Omni technology:
[02:38] omnimechs and omnifighters, are these gradually going the way of the dodo?
[02:39] <@Habeas2> Vition – No.

Fake Thomas Marik:
[02:38] <Circinus_Enquirer> Any chance that the Fake Thomas Marik is actually a real Marik, descended from the illegitimate child of Rhean Marik and Zane Davion?
[02:39] <@Habeas2> Circinus_Enquirer – No.

Novels:
[02:39] <Steve_Restless> Are there any details about things being held back, with the hopes that they will some day be covered in novel format?
[02:40] <@Habeas2> Steve_Restless – We are currently operating under the presumption that there will be no novels any time soon, so nothing is being held back for the sake of novel presentation.

Preferred Question:
[02:41] <Steve_Restless> What, if any, is the question you wish that we would ask you?
[02:42] <@Habeas2> Steve_Restless – When you ask it, you’ll know.

Era Report:
[02:41] How many pages is the Era Report looking to be, just as far as a rough guess?
[02:43] <@Habeas2> Kamas – It was specced for 160 pages.

Filtvelt:
[02:41] Does Filtvelt go out in a bang or in a whimper?
[02:43] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo – …. That is beyond the present Dark Age.

Clan Protectorate:
[02:44] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Is the Clan Protectorate here to stay?
[02:45] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – …. That is beyond the present Dark Age

Succession Wars:
[02:44] <Circinus_Enquirer> I enjoyed the XTRO Succession Wars Prototypes. Are there plans for Era Reports/Digests for 1st SW, 2nd SW, 3rd SW, and/or Outer Reaches Rebellion?
[02:46] <@Habeas2> Circinus_Enquirer – Yes, Yes, Yes, and No.

[03:05] Has it been decided what direction the Third Succession War era product will take? There’s been mention of an Era Report at times, and an Era Digest at others.
[03:07] <@Habeas2> Xotl – Undecided, but likely an Era Report.

Exodus:
[02:45] One last question for now. There has been a lot of debate on the question of Alexandr Kerensky’s choice to launch the Exodus, rather than stay and try to defend the Hegemony. Will the second Liberation of Terra volume shed more light on this fateful choice; and what (little) there was in the Hegemony left to try and rebuild?
[02:49] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – ….somewhat.

Liberation of Terra:
[02:46] I know this has not even been hinted at so sorry if its a bomb. If the Liberation of Terra books series are successful enough will us grongards get something like a short historical series for the 1st succession war so we can see the first set of mass WMD’s that were thrown
[02:49] <@Habeas2> Drufause – Yes.

Andery Kerensky:
[02:49] <Circinus_Enquirer> Are there any plans to release fiction covering the fate of Andery Kerensky – either through translation/adaptation of the remaining ClanGrunder books, or with new fiction covering that period and those characters?
[02:50] <@Habeas2> Circinus_Enquirer – Whenever Randall gets around to it.

Rules:
[02:54] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Are there plans on revamping or redoing certain rules in time for the DA?
[02:55] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Are you looking for something specific, or shall I give you a very vague answer?
[02:56] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> err – let’s go with the vague
[02:57] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Relevant rules and technologies from the Dark Age are being adapted for the classic TW-style game as we speak.

Fan Interest:
[02:56] <Circinus_Enquirer> Where is fan interest generally highest? (You mention that you deprioritize areas that lack such interest, so according to your data, what is the fanbase clamoring for most?)
[02:58] <@Habeas2> Circinus_Enquirer – Apparently, they want to play Shadowrun more these days….

Post Dark Age/Writing:
[02:58] What’s the most difficult part of writing for the post-DA era?
[02:59] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo – Honestly? Not being able to talk about it without inciting panic.

[03:01] What do you LIKE about writing for the post DA weal.
[03:01] era. wow, that was horrible spelling.
[03:02] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo – Having a say in it.

Movie Rights:
[02:59] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Who does have the film rights to this setting?
[03:00] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Topps

Mercenaries post Dark Age:
[03:01] Seriously though now that Dark Age appears to be returning to Inner Sphere war as the common way of life will we get more Mercenary type forces
[03:02] <@Habeas2> Drufause – ….. That information is post-Dark Age, and I cannot discuss that.

Republic of the Sphere:
[03:02] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Why is the RotS evil?
[03:03] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – They’re not.

Faction Writing:
[03:05] what’s the hardest faction(s) to wrote for?
[03:06] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo – Freee Worlds League.

Sales Figures:
[03:06] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Has there been an increase in sales/customers with the appearance of MW:O and MW:T?
[03:08] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Not really. Computer/video games do not have a serious impact on the tabletop game market that we have seen.

Miniatures:
[03:07] In terms of miniatures, do you know if any of the current (or pending) minis are designed using 3D models, or are crafted by hand?
[03:08] Nerroth: The upcoming Spectral LAMs use 3D printing from 3D CAD drawings
[03:08] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – We produce books, not minis. IWM representatives would be a better ource for such answers
[03:09] Cool. Would the models then be available for BT artists to use in future book art? (As a point of comparison, some of the new 3D models used for ADB/Mongoose’s Starline 2500 minis has been usable for book artists.)

Product Piracy:
[03:10] <Circinus_Enquirer> How much of a concern is piracy for your products and output? (More the type of having your PDF’s posted to filesharing sites than having the cargo ships carrying the crates of maptiles hijacked by Somali privateers)
[03:10] <@Habeas2> Circinus_Enquirer – It is a concern, but not exactly an overwhelming one.

Inspiration:
[03:11] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> What was your largest sci-fi inspiration growing up?
[03:12] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Star Wars
[03:13] Wonder how many SciFi Writers would actually answer Star Wars to this question
[03:13] I gues: Quite a lot 🙂
[03:15] <@Habeas2> DarkISI – Well, he speified childhood. WHen I was in elementary school, Star Wars was the rage. Star Trek was a close second. The big robots came later.
[03:15] Speaking of big robots, have you been following Transformers: Prime; and if so, how do you rate the series?
[03:18] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Yes, and I like it. I still feel Animated was the best, though. It had some well-thought out plots, good dialogue, didn’t take itself too seriously, and gave nods to G1 every chance it had.

Cats:
[03:12] How are the cats doing, Herb?
[03:13] Cats are letting him give us an extra half hour. Guess they’re either doing good or are on nip!
[03:14] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo – The cats are doing fine. Oscar is presently invading my parents‘ home, so he can vex his cousin Oliver.

What-If Product:
[03:15] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Which product would you like to publish the most, but cannot due to a lack of interest on our behalf?
[03:17] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Hmmmmmmm. Anything that would take the entire core rulebook series and simplify it to one book, incidentally removing construction rules while we’re at it.

[03:23] Biggest thing you wish you could change about the franchise?
[03:25] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo – I wish the gameplay could be simplified, perhaps abstracted, keeping the focus on the ground war and ‚Mechs, and enabling players to enjoy quickly resolved battles involving large forces with enough time left over for dinner and sleep before going back to work the next day.
[03:25] Oh, so like quick strike
[03:28] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo – 😉

Circinus Federation:
[03:18] <Circinus_Enquirer> When the Circinus Federation was masquerading as peaceful farmers, did it have a different flag? (Spiked ring and skull = not terribly subtle re: „we be pirates“) There was some sort of abstract planet and arrow thing as a watermark in MW 1st Edition.
[03:19] <@Habeas2> Circinus_Federation – The original CF flag was a skull superimposed on three bones arranged in a Y-shape. Subtle never worked for them.

Dice:
[03:20] Anything new on the con dice matter?
[03:20] <@Habeas2> Trboturtle2 – We’ll likely have dice for the cons. And that’s it.
[03:21] Hopefully a lot more than last year….
[03:22] <@Habeas2> Well, remember that CGL hits more than one con. IIRC, a lot of dice were bought up before we even made it to GenCon

T-Shirts:
[03:23] Any new T-shirts planned?
[03:26] <@Habeas2> Trboturtle2 – T-Shirts are a con-exclusive item, and usually decided by art department, rather than line development.

Pride of Davion
[03:23] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Is the Pride of Davion important at all?
[03:24] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – To the Davions, maybe

Dark Age:
[03:25] It’s somewhat ironic that the Dark Age has been lying in wait from a BT perspective for a long time, but is now being talked about in light of the looing ilClan/3250 business. Do you still fee lthat the Dark Age will get its fair turn at the wheel, or is there a risk that people will be looking past it to the next gret leap forward?
[03:28] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Since the great leap forward has pretty much been revised away (something about trying to offset panic or something) I think the Dark Age will get its fair turn, yes.

Planet Traps:
[03:28] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> In the „Levlin’s List“ download the wobbies use talk about „odd jumpships and Planet Traps“. What’s a Planet Trap? Anything important?
[03:29] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – Nope.

Hidden Planets:
[03:31] Was Planet Sterilization just a cover for the WOB to make more hidden
[03:32] <@Habeas2> Drufause – Nope

Rim Collection:
[03:32] Will the Rim Collection ever get its own flag?
[03:33] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – ….. That information lies in the post-Dark Age setting, and cannot be discussed at this time.

This year:
[03:30] <MITSUBISHI_AUTO_RACER_VROOM_VR> Herb: Do you have any parting comments to get us pumped about the upcoming year?
[03:31] <@Habeas2> Mitsubishi – There’s a lot of great stuff coming. You really don’t want to be missing any of it….