174 replies to this topic

[Rush Maguin]

Bumping this because of the great Steam insurgence. I've seen a lot of players dreading and reviling the crowd from Steam that's going to indulge our ranks. It's been almost overwhelmingly negative.

This attitude some people have going is no better, not one whit, than what the bully-hosts pulled on me and mine all those years ago. The vitriol these not-even-arrived-yet players are already taking is frankly reprehensible.

We don't need to divide off from our own community into the elitest factionalizing that poisons a lot of MMO/Online communities. Yes, I know a lot of players will be doing that anyway, but perhaps a reminder about the true value of sportsmanship is in order. Sportsmanship is important; today's green Mechwarriors are tomorrow's old guard. We have more to gain by being hospitable where we can.

Instead of seeing intruders, see reinforcements.

Instead of seeing crap pilots, see teaching opportunities.

Instead of being hostile, be indifferent, if you absolutely can't show welcome.

We have a chance here, us old timers in particular, to introduce new people, verily, an entirely new generation, to how awesome Battletech is. The setting, the eras, the valor and villainy. As it began with many of us, that starts with a fleeting taste and a warm welcome.

Let's not be the bully-hosts. Nowhere in gaming needs more of -them-.

[GLaDOSauR]

I only got into battletech a year ago, and so missed a lot of the history. Is the TT community still active? Is the timeline still running?

[Rush Maguin]

Like a great beast that just won't die, Battletech is still alive and well, and the storyline is moving forward. The current game year is 3150 (a century after the Clan Invasion). The Wolves have taken a huge chunk of Steiner and Marik space, and Clan Jade Falcon gutted a chunk of Steiner for themselves along the way. Both clans invaded Tharkad (!!!) in July of 3143, and the Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth was killed in her throne room by Wolf Elementals. House Davion saw a massive defeat against House Kurita that thinned their forces to the breaking point, and Kurita has a large swath of territory curving in toward New Avalon. If you're interested in the source material, check out the Handbook Series (in your case, I get the feeling Handbook: House Marik is a must), and for the Clan Invasion, look up Era Report 3052, Era Report 3062, Technical Readout 3039 and 3050/3055/3058 (all separate readouts). For the Clans themselves, check out Operation Klondike, Invading Clans (if you can find it), Field Manual Warden Clans, Field Manual Crusader Clans, and to see how bad things went for the Clans in the Jihad era, check out Wars of Reaving. Many of these books are from different eras - the Battletech timeline always pushes forward and more books are released to further the story - but these are cornerstone books for the Clan Invasion era (IE, MWO). Happy hunting.

EDIT: Also, check out www.classicbattletech.com !

Edited by Rush Maguin, 29 November 2015 - 11:29 AM.

[Tyler Valentine]

That was incredible. Thanks for sharing man. Hope you still play and I really hope I get you in my drop one night

[Rush Maguin]

I'm still here. My name in game is the same. Keep an eye out.

[TheSilken]

Excellent story on the 1st page, I loved it. More please.

[Rush Maguin]

I wish I had more. That story, though, pretty much said it all, IMHO. I don't know if I'll ever do anything cooler in Battletech. But hey, at least my precious Marauder has arrived.

[Metus regem]

Rush Maguin, on 01 December 2015 - 10:43 AM, said:

I wish I had more. That story, though, pretty much said it all, IMHO. I don't know if I'll ever do anything cooler in Battletech. But hey, at least my precious Marauder has arrived.

I'm counting the days till I can have my Royal Brigade Warhammer WHM-6Rb.... I'm so excited for it to arrive.

I can understand your feelings about the Marauder.

[Rush Maguin]

Marauder report: Been kicking tail in a 3-M and enjoying it immensely. What I truly want is the Marauder II. Then I'm in seventh heaven. Still, I started off in a MAD-3R so this is sort of a homecoming, anyway.

[Metus regem]

Rush Maguin, on 26 June 2016 - 09:52 AM, said:

Marauder report: Been kicking tail in a 3-M and enjoying it immensely. What I truly want is the Marauder II. Then I'm in seventh heaven. Still, I started off in a MAD-3R so this is sort of a homecoming, anyway.

My WHM-6R, she eats things alive in CQB....

[Rush Maguin]

I have yet to try the Warhammer, but that was always my brother's ride of choice.

[rollermint]

Thank you for the story, truly enjoyed it! I never get to experience the TT side of battletech, only introduced to it by the CARTOONS lol and of course, the truly amazing Mech 2 series. In fact, all my lore at that time was from all the short stories, tech readouts and lore included in the PC games! I knew sourcebooks, tech readouts and novels existed but not where to find them. But even then, I was awed and immersed in how big and in-depth the lore is and had a pretty good idea of the timeline and the notable characters/factions. I cant remember how many times i played Mech 2 and especially Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries, I probably completed it every other week.

I envied how you said that whenever you read or hear about the Battle of Luthien, you feel as if you were "there". Coz thats how I felt (due to playing Mech 2 mercs wayy to much) but it surely pales in comparison to your experience, against real players commanding multiple lances. I wonder if there are many other BT or Mechwarrior players that feel the same way, having this sort of "intimate" connection to a fictional universe. In any case, I'm perfectly happy with how my own story ends. My pilot died defending Luthien on the outskirts of the city against Clan forces with his mercenary unit that was also completely wiped out.(that was how my first attempt at the final level ended and it remained my "canon" ending"). I like to imagine that a rusting carcass of a Victor 9k lay forgotten somewhere on that planet, amongst many others, each an untold story of a Mechwarrior's life and struggles.

[Rush Maguin]

Thanks. It was as much in part from the excellent players I threw dice with as it was the attitudes out of game that made it feel appropriate. IE, the bully-hosts were as condescending, over the top and convinced of their own indestructibility as the Clans were, while we felt embattled, pressured, but steadfast in our determination to fight to the last man. Ironically, it helped sell the feel of the Battle of Luthien through the cruelty of the bully-hosts. But yeah, these days I call myself a veteran of the Battle of Luthien. That game felt the most real and personal of them all.

Footnote, that game was 25 years ago now this very week, almost to the day. Incredible to believe. I miss the days when the clans were new and we had no idea how we were going to survive. I know some old timers despised the Clan Invasion, but man, I had the time of my Battletech life. For Davion. o7

[ghoost dragoon]

ME GONNA GET U

[Rush Maguin]

BUTWHAI :'(

[Rush Maguin]

Still waiting for you to get me, Ghoost Dragoon. You'll find us Davions aren't easy kills, especially us Clan War veterans.

[Horse Pryde]

Love the story. I have seen my share of good sportsmanship and cheating in my TT days as well. It is nice to read that someone else feels a personal connection to the game and or specific battles. My experiences started a few years after yours but my friends and I (along with my reluctant father) ran a long game scenario on the clan invasion when I was about the same age you were in your story. However I took the other side of the battle as I was a true CJF fan from the start, having been introduced to the game via the Jade Falcon trilogy. We went as far as to earn blood names and ranks via trials and work our way through the invasion corridor battle by battle and my personal pilot lost his life at the battle for Twycross, though he will live on in the clan gene pool as a hero. I also have been a loyal DireWolf pilot for 20 years now. Wow that brings back a lot of great memories, My brother still keeps a lot of the record sheets and info from the battles. We also share in the fact that a bad experience cost us some of our gaming friends as I have had players come and go over the years.
As someone pointed out that was the big down fall of MW:DA as I got into that big time when it came out and it is how I am introducing my 10 year old son to the game now.
While I tend to get hyper competitive and show my excitement when things go my way. I am happy to say I have always been a good sport and NEVER cheated just to win.

[Chados]

I'm literally a veteran of the Third Succession War, having played Multiplayer Online Battletech on the GEnie service over 20 years ago. It was set in 3025 and I was Kurita, serving as a mechwarrior and lance leader in the Draconis March with the 9th Benjamin Regulars, then rising up command of the 17th Rasalhague Regulars on the Lyran border. I was a Marauder 3D and Rifleman 3N (outfitted as a 3C) pilot and I still favor the 3R MAD and 3C RFL to this day. The first medium mech I ever ran was a Phoenix Hawk PXH-1. And I've got one now.

Good times.

Edited by Chados, 27 October 2016 - 08:58 AM.

[Rush Maguin]

If only PGI would release the Marauder II. I'd be in seventh heaven!!! *sigh*

[Rush Maguin]

It's July of 2017. That epic battle I recounted in my original post is now 26 years ago. I'm 43 years old, I've developed my first chronic health problem, and most of the people I threw dice with or taught the game to have moved on or no longer have the time to do so.

It's a sobering thing. I have a long, long line of Battletech books on the shelf beside my bed, some dating back to when I was 15, that simply collect dust now. I was asking some friends on Facebook if it seemed that Battletech was finally dying. My FLGS has stopped carrying anything but the basic core books because they just don't move anything else. I'm not sure how to grade Catalyst's development or support of the line anymore (though I do think Alpha Strike was an excellent idea).

Tonight, I almost unloaded my entire Battletech library to a used bookstore for store credit. I came close. I finally decided that I was an old man now and my days of running 'mechs, even my beloved Marauder II, were well past me now. I've done maybe one Battletech game in the last two years. It just doesn't seem like the world has time or interest for our wargame du jour, and maybe the modern world just feels like one where gaming instead of facing the numerous, overwhelmingly serious problems all around us just feels like fiddling while Rome burns.

I did find a couple of fellow players in my question thread on Facebook, local Davions no less, who gave me second thoughts. I'm thankful for that, because they stopped me from unloading the collection. I've spent the night since going over my favorite old BT books and daydreaming about games long gone (like the one I described) and the bucket list of things I still wanted to achieve in the game.

As of 2:00 AM here now, I can say I'm not getting rid of the books. I may take these fellow armchair soldiers up on a game or two locally to keep the heat sinks pumping. I don't know what to say about this wave of cynicism that took me. I've always loved the game and the setting, and where rules failed it, the story always kept me rooted in place. It feels alien to be so skeptical, but then, it feels alien to be 43 sometimes too. Recall I was 17 for this tale. I got into Battletech in 1989 and the clan Invasion is the better part of 30 years old now. That's really something to consider.

But I'm still here. I'm still Rush Maguin, I'm still House Davion, I'm still a dedicated Marauder II pilot, and I'm still here. I came back to this forum last and reread my original post (which does seem to be in need of editing, all told) and then the responses from all of you, being so kind about such a long but epic tale. And I realized I can't leave. This is one of my favorite fictional settings of all time and I've invested far too much emotion into it, if nothing else at all, to heave my treasured library into a bookstore's anonymity.

So, all of you who have commented on this over the years, thank you for the good will and support, because it helped me stay with a game that's been my imaginative home away from home since Vanilla Ice was new. I may not get many games in now, but I'll make 'em count for old time's sake.

For House Davion. o7

Edited by Rush Maguin, 24 July 2017 - 01:08 AM.