Battlechat 20. April 2013 – Teil 1

Zuletzt aktualisiert am 20. April 2013 von DarkISI

Neuer Monat (okay, ein paar Tage hat der eigentlich schon), neuer Battlechat. Wie immer konnte man Herb mit Fragen löchern und er hat, im Rahmen seiner Möglichkeiten, Antworten gegeben. Hauptthema diesmal waren TRO 3145 Mercenaries und Era Report 3145, was nicht wirklich überraschend war, aber auch Alpha Strike.

Der zweite Chat findet, wie gewohnt, um 2 Uhr statt. Ob ich da diesmal teilnehmen werde, kann ich noch nicht sagen. Aber selbst wenn nicht, gibt es morgen sicher trotzdem ein Log, wenn auch nicht so schön sortiert, wie sonst.

[17:59] <@Habeas2> Welcome to the first chat of the fourth BattleChat day of 2013!
[17:59] <@Habeas2> As always, I’m your host and primary guest of honor.
[18:00] <@Habeas2> Standard rules apply: Be courtesous or be kicked. Log on your own recognizance. I will try to answer all questions in the order received.
[18:01] <@Habeas2> Chat runs a minimum of one hour, and since it seems I’ll spend that hour hearing my nephew demonstrate his mental instability in the next room, expect me to seem distracted this afternoon.
[18:01] <@Habeas2> Aaaaaaaand begin!

Kickstarter/Robotech:
[18:02] Robotech miniatures Kickstarter seems to be quite successfull. Has CGL any plans to use Kickstarter too?
[18:04] <@Habeas2> Martian – There are no active plans to use Kickstarter for BattleTech. CGL may use Kickstarter for other projects, however.

Surrender your Dreams:
[18:02] I appreciate that the post-Dark Age setup is not open for discussion, but there was one thing I wanted to clarify; are the events of the epilogue in Surrender Your Dreams still considered canon, or is that glimpse of things post-3145 no longer valid?
[18:04] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – We are not necessarily considering the epilogue for Surrender Your Dreams valid. It would be too restrictive to upcoming plans.

Technical Readout 3145:
[18:03] My first question is due the TRO 3145 Serie. Can we expect for each mjor faction a separate TRO (4 Great Houses, one for all Clans and one for the RoTS)?
[18:05] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – We can EXPECT them, yes.
[18:05] In this case, expect means get, does it not?
[18:09] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – Not necessarily. Again, that reality thing may intercede.

[18:04] About how often are the 3145 PDFs going to come out?
[18:05] <@Habeas2> Garydee – If by that you mean the 3145 TROs, the plan is roughly 1 per month. Reality may alter these plans, however.
[18:06] Yeah, that’s what I meant. Sorry I didn’t make myself clear.

[18:07] Will any of the upcoming TROs cover „associated realms“ along with their primary faction of choice? For example, would the „Marik“ file cover Andurien an Regulus, the Liao file Canopus, and the Republic file the re-formed Com Guard?
[18:10] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Roughly, yes. The FWL can’t avoid looping in assiciated non-League states, and the Capellans and Canopians can’t really work separately either.

[18:11] Does that extend so far as to include any new ComStar units in the Republic file, or does the re-formed Com Guard use „standard“ RAF ‚Mechs instead?
[18:17] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – You’ll see.

[18:31] Can you clear up confusion on TRO 3145? One print book, 8 pdfs, what?
[18:35] <@Habeas2> Kamose – One print book, and maybe 8 PDFs.
[18:37] Will those mechs in the 8 PDfs make it into the print book?
[18:39] <@Habeas2> Garydee – Some will.

Turning Points/Dark Age:
[18:05] Thanks for your time today … how many Dark Age Turning Points are in the pipeline?
[18:09] <@Habeas2> SpaceCowboy1701 – As of the last data I seem to have, we have at least two DATP in the pipe. More may come.

Field Reports 2765:
[18:07] is there an expected delivery of the pdf for any of the 2765 Field Reports this quarter
[18:10] <@Habeas2> Drufause – An unexpected art issue has delayed the 2765 Field Reports, so I cannot offer ETAs

Poster/Map:
[18:14] Any chance we’ll see a 3145 poster map for sale(or in a box set) similar to the 3067 one?
[18:18] <@Habeas2> Garydee – There’s always a chance…

Dark Age/Mini Factions:
[18:15] Will we see mini-campaigns for the Dark Age RotS factions (Highlanders, Spirit Cats, etc) in any of the upcoming products?
[18:18] <@Habeas2> SpaceCowboy1701 – Hmmm. Possibly, but no project specifically detailing those pirate groups has been greenlit as of yet.

Intro Box:
[18:15] Herb, have you seen the new intro box minis Randall was tweeting about?
[18:20] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo – Yes.

[19:09] As a follow up question from an hour ago… can you tell us if any of the minis will be different in when the box set is re-printed?
[19:10] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo2 – Yup. The two premium minis are being changed.

[19:10] Plastic Mad Cat and Storm Crow?
[19:11] <@Habeas2> Drufause – Nope.

[19:11] Ah, but the re-mastered 24 are going to remain the same? I didn’t realize premiums we’re still going to be included. That’s great news!
[19:13] <@Habeas2> Sarcasmo2 – The hope is that the remastered 24 will be of improved quality to those of the last printed copies, to address the declining mold quality issues.

Raven Alliance:
[18:16] I’d like to find out what happened in the Raven Alliance
[18:20] <@Habeas2> Boulder – Era Report: 3145 should have some info on the Raven Alliance. You will see more in FM: 3145

Era Report 3145:
[18:16] Any insight into why there were so many unexpected changes in ER 3045? (Caleb, Nova Cats & Emi, etc.)?
[18:21] <@Habeas2> Kamose – Because that’s the direction we chose to take the story line. Sorry, I don’t see what you mean by „unexpected changes“.
[18:22] Davions getting so hammered, Kurita & Liao so resurgent, basically annihilation of the Nova Cats… didn’t really see much foreshadowing of that.
[18:23] <@Habeas2> Kamose – You really didn’t see that coming? Seriously? Wow.
[18:25] No… perhaps too much wishful thinking on my part. I guess I expected to see it unfold, not presented as a fait accompli. I buy the book, and suddenly I have no faction!
[18:28] <@Habeas2> Kamose – That is a risk that everyone faces, sooner or later. Plus, well, we have no novels, and we can’t keep up the news media approach forever, so you get the story „fait accompli“ so to speak.

[19:10] In a broader sense, has the entry into the Dark Age via ER:3145 generated the kind of reaction (in terms of PDF sales and in on-forum discussion) that you were expecting, or are things going better or worse than had been hoped?
[19:11] And TRO:3145M, I forgot to add.
[19:12] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Seems better than anticipated.

Fidelis/Flatus:
[18:19] Any chance of getting the class of the Fidelis WarShip, Flatus?
[18:22] <@Habeas2> Kamose – Someday, I imagine. I’m not really in a rush to find out myself.

Alpha Strike:
[18:20] Apologies if this is covered by Quick-Strike already, but will Alpha Strike include rules for operating Land Air ‚Mechs? With the recently-completed Spectral LAM project in mind, it would be welcome if those new minis (to include the Mk1 LAMs covered in stretch goals) were supported in the upcoming book.)
[18:23] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Hmmm. Doesn’t seem so.
[18:23] In that case, is that something that could be added in a future expansion or supplemental file?
[18:24] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Yup.

[18:25] Speaking of Alpha Strike, how far in scale will the actions it will cover go? For example, will WarShips be supported in the starter book; and if not, could they be added to a future expansion?
[18:29] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Looks like there’s minimal WarShip support. WOuld likely be a later supplement

[18:30] Will AS include rules for both hex-based and hexless play?
[18:30] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Yes

[18:34] Will the first AS book include the rules needed to support the „new“ units and technologies (such as Nova CEWS) from the Wars of Reaving or the upcoming TRO3145 PDFs, or would those have to wait for later expansions?
[18:37] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Later expansions

[18:40] Has there been any thought put in as to what era the presentation/cover art/etc for AS will be put in? I’m thinking of how StratOps has a Jihad-era cover, and how TW is currently presented as being in the midst of that era.
[18:44] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Likely Clan Invasion

[18:45] I see. When it comes to AS expansions, woudl they be pdf-based, or could there be print books which further build upon the game engine?
[18:46] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – The first batch of Alpha Strike supplements are planned for PDF-exclusive release.

[18:48] In the longer run, will the existence of AS as a product line in its own right have an affect on future TROs or sourcebooks? Will any of those latter books be more likely to include the AS unit cards included within, or would they have to go into the same queue as those currently waiting to go into the MUL?
[18:51] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Yes

[18:52] How far along is Alpha Strike in terms of its development process?
[18:56] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – The core rules are done and are undergoing a crash playtest to verify workability. SUpplemental rules and other writing continue as we speak. Art, fortunately, is not that big an issue.

[18:59] Is there a particular design choice that is making the Clan Invasion the most likely starting point for AS? (Is it as simple as there being unit card pdfs for the 3039 and 3050 TROs, or would there not have been enough room to start in the Jihad or Dark Age at this point?)
[19:00] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Not enough hard data on Dark Age units was available when production started, and art/miniatures are not yet up to Dark Age needs. Also, the fact is that the electronic properties out there are focused on roughly the Clan era of play, so we felt it would be more recognizable to new-ish players.

[19:02] That leads me to a semi-related question; is there any particular issue with using the MW:DA/AoD minis/stands with the AS rules, or would those minis have to be re-based before they were compatible?
[19:06] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Legally speaking, the click-dial base concept is a property of WizKids Games, so we try to stay clear of using Dark Age minis in our present-day artwork.
[19:07] To clarify, though, N-scale miniatures will work with the new AS rules, then?

[19:07] So, the large-scale adoption of AS to the Dark Age would be dependent on IWM getting more of the 3145 units done up in mini form? (And is there any word from that quarter on that happening in the near future?)
[19:08] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Not really, since we continue to alow proxy minis. Just don’t expect a lot of mini-based art support for the Dark Age before we have enough DA-era figures to show.

Sun Tzu:
[18:18] so some of us are still waiting to find out what happend to sunny
[18:21] <@Habeas2> Drufause – You already know. He died and got tucked into a freezer so people could keep worshiping his corpse.
[18:22] right but what disease is it hereditary from the davions?
[18:24] <@Habeas2> Drufause – Fiat poisoning.

Clan Sea Fox:
[18:23] The semi-nomadic DA Shark-Foxes are very interesting, can you think of expanding the idea to a true space-nomad-based faction?
[18:24] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – Nope.
[18:25] Why not, if I may ask?
[18:27] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – Because BattleTech is a land-based setting, not a space-based one.

Field Manual 3145:
[18:26] Will FM 3145 have info on the RotS forces inside the Fortress as well as the Remnant?
[18:30] <@Habeas2> SpaceCowboy1701 – Yes.

[18:35] Another question on FM 3145 — will we see which units the RotS pirate factions have been folded into? The Stormhammers, for example, still seem to be together as a unit, though now under the LAF command structure.
[18:38] <@Habeas2> SpaceCowboy1701 – We will see, eventually, where they went. Any we forgot will have been disbanded/destroyed.
[18:43] Fair enough … I’ve been waiting 10 years for the Dark Age to be „filled in“ properly like this. Thanks to everyone involved for making it worth the wait.
[18:45] <@Habeas2> SpaceCoyboy1701 – On behalf of the team, thank you for your support.

[18:43] Can you tell us when we can expect FM 3145?
[18:46] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – I cannot offer a hard ETA at this time, but it will likely be toward the end of the year.

[18:48] Thank you. Given the ongoing timeline, does it report the To&E at the Moment when ER 3145 ends or later?
[18:51] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – You’ll see deployments of al notable forces as of 31 Dec 3145

Katrina Steiner-Davion:
[18:27] did Kat-S-D leave behind memoirs to instruct her son on how to run his future realms
[18:30] <@Habeas2> Drufause – No
[18:28] Drufause – No, but she left Alaric a broken TV and three spoons
[18:28] whats he going to use a spoon for does he even eat pudding

Upcoming Products/3145:
[18:34] What is the next 3145 product to be released?
[18:36] <@Habeas2> Kamose – The next 3145 PDF should be TRO 3145 Capellan Confederation. The next print book would be Field Manual 3145.

[19:12] TRO 3145 Capcon you mentioned as being the next in the serie, what faction after this?
[19:13] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – TRO 3145 Draconis Combine

[18:40] Will we get a conspiracys plot book for 3145 and if not…. Please… Pretty Please…. Pretty Please with an Atlas on the top.
[18:43] <@Habeas2> Drufause – None is currently planned.

Upcoming Products/XTRO Primitves IV:
[18:34] What about the XTRO:Primitives 4? Can we expect it in next two months or so?
[18:38] <@Habeas2> Martian – Depends on real-world considerations. We have something of a glut of PDFs in the pipe right now.

Upcoming Products/Post Dark Age:
[19:03] Just a cautious question, when can we expect to get the first info about So-Far-I-can-not-tell-you new setting?
[19:06] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – Probably when we publish the first one; sorry, but you guys panic WAY too easy for me nowadays.
[19:08] You know to stop panic, it is to be recommended not to do a sudden surprise, but rather a slow careful Information flow …
[19:09] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – Kind of tried that. It started panic early. I decided to shut up about future plans after that.
[19:11] You know more People did not Panic, those who did were just very noisy.
[19:12] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – It was enough to shut me up either way.

Tech Advancement:
[18:45] Is the new tech that the Inner Sphere introduces during the Dark Age going to be at Clan tech level or are they still behind the curve?
[18:46] <@Habeas2> Garydee – Yes
[18:49] Perhaps I should restate my question. Is the new tech the IS develops during the Dark Age at Clan level?
[18:52] <@Habeas2> Garydee – Some are. Some aren’t. Nobody holds an exclusive right to tech advancement, after all.

Quirks:
[18:51] <John_Hawk> Will there be a document updating quirks for previously published units — perhaps a .pdf exclusive, or through the MUL? Or will we have to wait for a revision to see those quirks?
[18:52] <@Habeas2> John_Hawk – Eventually. Our hope was to circulate it through the MUL when resources became available, but we’ve been taxing those resources on all things technical this year.

XTRO 1945:
[18:52] What’s been the reaction to the XTRO:1945 been like? I know it was an April fools joke, but I think peoiple liked it…
[18:55] <@Habeas2> Trboturtle – Fascinating question! I checked out the sales data and found that, of all the BattleTech-related AFD gags we’ve done since Best Ever!, XTR 1945 broke all kinds of records. Over 2,00 copies of XTR 1945 were „sold“ in the first 14 days of its release. Compared with 3,193 copies of Best Ever! since that book came out 4 years ago, and 1,479 copies of Free Taiw..St. Ives since that debuted last year, the response is nothing short of phenomenal.

[19:00] Any chance of another XTRO 1945 volume?
[19:01] <@Habeas2> Trboturtle – There’s always a chance–but don’t hold your breath.

Miniatures/Fan Funded Primitive Thunderbolt:
[19:00] <John_Hawk> Herb, I know this is probably a better question for the guys at IWM, but have you heard any news about the fan funded Primitive T-Bolt?
[19:01] <@Habeas2> John_Hawk – You’re right. That’s a better question for IWM. I can’t say where that one is.

Factions:
[19:04] Besides killing off known factions, might new ones be introduced?
[19:07] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – You could say that.

Historical: Wars of the Republic Era:
[19:14] Has a chief author been selected for Historical: Wars of the Republic Era?
[19:15] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Yes. Three, in fact.
[19:15] One for each campaign?
[19:16] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Yes.

Handbook: House Kurita:
[19:15] Is planned date for Handbook: House kurita still mid-year?
[19:16] <@Habeas2> Martian – That is unknown. Due to the poor selling nature of Handbooks, Kurita (unfortunately) gets shunted down the priority chain a lot and thus has no art to speak of yet.

Quad Vees:
[19:15] Are the Quadvees included in the TRO 3145: Clans (inclusive construction rules)?
[19:17] <@Habeas2> Gaiiten – Yes

Era Digest: Dark Age:
[19:17] One final question for now: is Era Digest:Dark Age close to being ready for upload?
[19:18] <@Habeas2> Nerroth – Nope. The author is taking a temporary break from 3145

Silly Stuff:
[18:43] does the invention of Pop Tarts in the late 20th century keep conventional pop up toaster ovens in manufacture throughout all eras of the universe
[18:45] <@Habeas2> Drufause – I’ll have to check with continuity on that. I’d hate to straitjacket my writers.

[19:17] <@Habeas2> Thank you for participating in this Catalyst Game Labs BattleTech Line Developer-aided Public Relations Activity