325 replies to this topic

[Cimarb]

Heh, you can change your faction and unit, but not hard to tell who you are, Prussian...always got an angle.

TL;DR, thank you for the continued news coverage and great commentary along with it.

[Prussian Havoc]

Spoiler

Cimarb, on 13 March 2015 - 11:43 AM, said:

Heh, you can change your faction and unit, but not hard to tell who you are, Prussian...always got an angle.

TL;DR, thank you for the continued news coverage and great commentary along with it.

https://twitter.com/...969987623403520

Well, as the above Twitter Username will attest, I am not hiding my Main/Alternate accounts.

I have paid substantially into each by way of: All PGI Packages (plus no small amount of MC direct buys) for One Account and Resistance/Urban Mech Packages (plus no small amount of MC direct buys) for the Second Account. I encourage those gamers who can stand up two such account to do so... PGI's continued fiscal viability is in ALL of our best interests. I have no problem paying-forward so that others can Play4Free.

My daughters have proven to be to loyal to their 100th level WoW characters and Twitch-gaming to join me any time soon in MWO... more is the pity, as the MWO-aggregate median Age gets that much closer to Retirement Home Age!




But let us not sidetrack this very worthy and heavily trafficked TL,DR thread one second longer.

With the relegation of FRR solely to the environs around Bastion Rasalhague (long may her Mead hold out!) http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__4284258 The Defense of Terra is now placed squarely on Houses Steiner and Kurita as well as ALL those gamers who contribute to the Inner Sphere Common Defenses of both FORWARD-PLACED Great Houses of the Inner Sphere.

With CJF fending off an -MS- fueled resurgence by House Steiner, and a seesaw battle with HK, sidelining the CSJ assault these last few days, the preponderance of the burden for breaking the stalemated Drive on Terra falls squarely on CGB and CW, IMO.


Will Mercenary augmentation to the Inner Sphere Main Effort in House Kurita hold out?

Will the ENDGAME contract offered to 228 by notable House Kurita benefactors compel first 228, then other Mercenary Corps Unit Commanders to affix the fortunes of their name and Unit's to the Successful Defense of Terra THUS FORCING PGI to run its imminent 100-Sector-Battle-Royal on the PGI-world of Tukayyid rather than on Terra?

Will the bloom of a Mercenary Plan to breakout from Bastion Rasalhague dovetail with House Kurita's efforts to breakout from Luthien?

Will PGI see fit to coordinate the "Pathing Algorithms" in such a manner as to synchronize FRR and Kurita on CSJ Pathing to support a GRAND INNER SPHERE BREAKOUT OF BOTH BESIEGED CAPITOL PLANETS?


Only time, Paul and eventually, Twitter can tell us!

Edited by Prussian Havoc, 19 March 2015 - 07:00 PM.

[Trondheim Live Daily Report]

March 16th, 3050

FRR Insider's Report

Grumium Ceded
--Grumium fell into Clan Wolf hands after the KungsArme evacuated the planet late this week. After fighting for nearly a week on the planet - both in and around the 'MechWorks 'Grumium Creations' - the KungsArme completed stripping all valuable infrastructure, materials and personnel from the planet, as they had been doing throughout their February retreat.

After completing the evacuations, Clan Wolf launched a final attack to try and cut off the last ground troops before they could evacuate to their DropShips. Clan Aerospace fighters attempted to bomb the LZ, but were chased off by JagerMechs on AA watch before they could do significant damage. As they loaded up, the FRR forces detonated a large thermobaric bomb in the Grumium Creations Compound, virtually levelling the entire facility and wiping out a Clan Wolf ground patrol in the process. Clan Wolf was unable to retaliate before the DropShips rendezvoused with their JumpShips.

With Grumium lost, the FRR has no more holdings between the Clans and Terra. Though there is still plenty of fighting spirit in the FRR left, the KungsArme will have to find other ways to take the fight to the invaders than from the front lines.

FRR Breaks Out from Rasalhague
--The FRR finally launched the long-awaited breakout offensive from Rasalhague, taking back worlds from Wolf and Ghost Bear deep behind enemy lines. Operation: Reprisal, put into action the first time the Clans managed to cut off Rasalhague from the rest of the FRR, was designed with three goals in mind:
1) Protect Rasalhague at all costs.
2) When the FRR has exhausted all other means of reestablishing connection with Rasalhague, build a force capable of A.) Breaking out from Rasalhague and taking back worlds, and B.) Holding said worlds from counterattacks.
3) Whenever possible, push to cut off Clan resupply lines and hamper Clan offensive efforts in the Inner Sphere.

The Operation was delayed for several months due to complications in supply lines, support personnel and equipment, and over-arching strategical changes. With the Star League unable to do more than delay the inevitable, the FRR dedicated much of its remaining funds and supplies sending whatever resources available to Rasalhague. By using star systems not common on star charts, the FRR has managed to sneak in forces to Rasalhague to bolster their numbers for just this Operation.

So far, Reprisal has led to the recapture of 6 FRR planets, most from Clan Wolf. Ghost Bear has a very thin support line keeping their offensive Galaxies supplied, but now faces the threat of being forced to reroute through Smoke Jaguar. As the two units are jockeying for the best line to Terra, such a cut-off could lead to internal struggles between the Bears and Jaguars, which could only benefit the FRR. Meanwhile Wolf has sent several units to quell the "uprising", but has not met with much success. It'll be interesting to see if the Clans choose to ignore the FRR's revival, or try and put it down once and for all.

Political Schisms Threaten Rasalhague Advance
--With the imminent collapse of the FRR's remaining world between the Clans and Terra, intra-House rivalries and schisms have shown up throughout the remaining KungsArme. The significant losses have lead many to dedicate more loyalty to their commanding generals than to the FRR, to whom they originally swore their allegiance to. Reports indicate most of these incidents are isolated, and not necessarily related to each other; nevertheless, internal disputes could pose a threat to Operation: Reprisal if not soon addressed.

Reports have been confirmed that the Varangian Guard currently contracted with the FRR in the deep reaches of FRR territory, ignored requests by FRR KungsArme Commanders to cease attacks on Ghost Bear worlds. Ghost Bears - while viable targets for the isolated units - have a very thin border in the neighborhood of Rasalhague between the FRR and Smoke Jaguar. The KungsArme feared opening a third Clan front too early in their advance, making them vulnerable. [VRGD] ignored all requests and continued to attack with abandon. Ultimately Ghost Bear held, but the action showed the sometimes thin communication lines between Houses and mercenaries, even ones like Vanguard who generally hold a good reputation with the FRR.

FRR's longest-serving and most highly rated Mercenary Company, the Skjaldborg, faced a spit upon entering Kuritan space for the first time since its birth. Born from the Ronin Wars, the Skjaldborg has a notoriously bad reputation with Kurita, and thus the flight to Kuritan space was an especially hard morale blow for several of its senior staff. While the Skjaldborg intends to convoy its way back to Rasalhague to continue the fight, it will be doing so without one of its premiere companies, which has left the Skjaldborg employ permanently. Regrettably, some of their elite commanders - whom had influence within the KungsArme - have also resigned their commission, seeking contracts elsewhere. We are told that while many of these warriors and commanders feel betrayed by their superiors for fleeing to Kurita and have left FRR, they have not stopped their supportive actions for Rasalhague.

Rumors indicate that shake-ups in the Allting Council are underway, with the Skjaldborg's Representative to the Star League stepping down. This one we can confirm debunked, as leadership has been already passed on to the next Representative cleanly and with no lingering issues. Despite struggles with outside units, the Allting has been running as smoothly as a Council-in-Exile can hope.

Many other reports are unconfirmed at this time, including the rise of new mercenary units and inter-House political relations. An interesting report surfaced that House unit Isengrim - often fighting in the shadows of the front - had withdrawn to its deep-space periphery homeworlds; the report neglected to mention how the unit would get past the Smoke Jaguars through what much of which is uncharted territory. This report was debunked after said article was found in last month's 'Sphere Inquirer. While amusing, most of these reports have either no standing or supporting evidence, and as such - aside from the sheer amusement factor - shall not be posted here.

Regardless of the political troubles, the FRR has pushed through it all, time and again, without complaint or cry of unfairness. Neither is the FRR alone in these issues, as each of the Houses (and if reports are true, even the Clans) have had political and philosophical rifts far more polarizing and damaging than the FRR. While surely there are no Saints in politics, the FRR certainly seems to carry the mantle - especially if the worst a news organization can dig up is a few wayward merc companies not doing what was asked and a few mechwarriors leaving for "greener pastures". Time will tell though, if these issues were indeed isolated as they appear now, or are indicative of a much deeper (and perhaps, far more serious) problem.

---

Have any war stories to share? The TL,DR is looking to share them! Send us a message detailing the accounts of the front lines and we'll do our best to bring your tale to the masses!

Edited by Trondheim Live Daily Report, 16 March 2015 - 07:14 AM.

[Divine Retribution]

Problems, huh? Guess I couldn't hear it over the cries of dying enemies or see it through the smoldering clan wreckage....

Good thing we have a free press to keep us updated while we maintain equipment between fights!

TL,DR is always a good read.

[Dungeon Keeper]

Trondheim Live Daily Report, on 15 March 2015 - 10:08 PM, said:

Reports have been confirmed that the Vanguard Merc. Corps, currently contracted with the FRR in the deep reaches of FRR territory, ignored requests by FRR KungsArme Commanders to cease attacks on Ghost Bear worlds. Ghost Bears - while viable targets for the isolated units - have a very thin border in the neighborhood of Rasalhague between the FRR and Smoke Jaguar. The KungsArme feared opening a third Clan front too early in their advance, making them vulnerable. [VGND] ignored all requests and continued to attack with abandon. Ultimately Ghost Bear held, but the action showed the sometimes thin communication lines between Houses and mercenaries, even ones like Vanguard who generally hold a good reputation with the FRR.

First of all, we are [VRGD] Varangian Guard.

And as you mentioned above:

Trondheim Live Daily Report, on 15 March 2015 - 10:08 PM, said:

Ghost Bear has a very thin support line keeping their offensive Galaxies supplied, but now faces the threat of being forced to reroute through Smoke Jaguar. As the two units are jockeying for the best line to Terra, such a cut-off could lead to internal struggles between the Bears and Jaguars, which could only benefit the FRR.

We are going to cut Bears line and I have no idea why other FRR units are not making any efforts to accomplish this goal. Instead guys from so called Council(what is it?) are asking us to stop. Yesterday we decided to help other FRR units to get Wolfs planet after Bears planet was 60%. This allowed CGBI to get their planet under 50% abusing ghost drops in last half an hour, we are nog going to let this happen again.

Edited by Dungeon Keeper, 16 March 2015 - 12:53 AM.

[ClaymoreReIIik]

Dungeon Keeper, on 16 March 2015 - 12:52 AM, said:

We are going to cut Bears line and I have no idea why other FRR units are not making any efforts to accomplish this goal. Instead guys from so called Council(what is it?) are asking us to stop. Yesterday we decided to help other FRR units to get Wolfs planet after Bears planet was 60%. This allowed CGBI to get their planet under 50% abusing ghost drops in last half an hour, we are nog going to let this happen again.

Right now we have 2 borders.

#1 is facing Clan Wolf. Clan Wolf is (apart from the fact that they are in lore our arch enemy) not really strong in terms of fighting the drops. Additionally they are really far behind in the race to Terra at the moment, so the chances are they are not committing a lot to defense of the planets we attack.

#2 is facing Clan Ghost Bear. The bears are right now 3rd on the race to terra and are hard pressed to keep up the numbers necessary to push on towards Terra. While the bears have far superior numbers (in comparison to us) and the ability to ghost drop back a lot of sectors short before cease fire, we are simply not a priority right now.

As long as we only have 2 borders, the offensive action directed against us will be limited to the groups from those 2 factions. This means we will be able to hold our planets in all timezones with relative ease. This is reflected by the continous growth of the FRR since our borders got consolidated.

By splitting the CGB Invasion korridor you are opening another FRR planet up for attack by the Smoke Jaguars and these guys are actually so many players that they got extra players for ghost dropping left short before cease fire.

Right now we are winning planets by a close margin, very seldom do planets change ownership with more then 60% sectors owned by the FRR attacker. Opening another lane will divert further groups from attacking to the easier defense queues on our planets which means our offensives are going to be harder and the defenses against smoke jags are an additional burden that we simply do not need right now.

If you need any further explanation, feel free to PM me. Short summary: the less borders we have the more successfull we will be with our limited numbers.

Edited by ClaymoreReIIik, 16 March 2015 - 01:09 AM.

[Dungeon Keeper]

If Jags will get planets instead of Bears they will cut Bears line to Terra, so Bears will have to fight Jags to get planets back. This will be so fun to watch. And also it's very unlikely FRR be any kind of priority for Jags.

[ClaymoreReIIik]

Dungeon Keeper, on 16 March 2015 - 01:14 AM, said:

If Jags will get planets instead of Bears they will cut Bears line to Terra, so Bears will have to fight Jags to get planets back. This will be so fun to watch. And also it's very unlikely FRR be any kind of priority for Jags.

I seriously doubt the Jags will fight the bears. They have a common border all the time and its not like they are doing much to hurt each other.

My opinion remains the same. Opening another border will make things harder for us and not prevent the clans from anything.

The FRR situation is "outnumbered". Making that worse is a bad decision, no matter how fun the scenario in your head sounds.

Just take Wolf worlds, you said yourself you cannot win on 2 planets in the offense at the same time (because your outnumbered). Whats the problem with winning on the left side?

[Divine Retribution]

I'd also stick to Wolf. We can tie up clanners from all factions as they come to defend Wolf's worlds without opening a third front.

We've seen how bad it gets when we have 3-4 fronts to fight on with our limited numbers. If the number of FRR pilots has gone down even further as was written in the TL,DR the FRR needs to pick fights carefully.

[Trondheim Live Daily Report]

Dungeon Keeper, on 16 March 2015 - 12:52 AM, said:

First of all, we are [VRGD] Varangian Guard.

Thank you for the notice; the change has been made in the TL,DR.

[Trondheim Live Daily Report]

March 16th, 3050

Mercenary Unit Highlights

Welcome to Merc Unit Highlights! Featured units will be given a short column, covering everything from their origins, goals, strength and resources! We won't hold back on the punches, the facts come first!

Forlorn Hope Mercs [FLH]

Ever heard of the Forlorn Hope? Well if anyone has read a good war story, surely you've seen some mention of them in history. They are always the leaders in battle, the first boots to take the fight to the enemy. Any group dubbed the "Forlorn Hope" knows two things: They are going to be the first to engage the enemy and, likely, most of them will be casualties. The title is infamous in all military circles, for while anyone who survives being the "Forlorn Hope" is usually given the highest honors, in many cases those honors are received...posthumously.

Enter the Forlorn Hope Mercenaries. The unit has only been around since the beginning of March, but its origins are nothing to laugh at. Almost all its Mechwarriors are Inner Sphere pilots who fought on the front lines of the Clan Invasion, many in key battles such as the Battle of Tukayyid and the Battle of Luthien. With the collapse of the FRR and many KungsArme pilots cut-off from returning to the fight, some have turned to becoming mercs to keep earning c-bills and keep their skills sharp. Others have been forsaken from their homes, friends and family, cast out for Grievances against them. They have all seen the horrors of war, and know the price of battle.

Thus, the Forlorn Hope was formed on one premise: Cast off your past, your history. That is dead to you now, buried in the sands of time. As the Forlorn, we dare to be the first on the field of battle, the first to enter the fight, and if necessary, the first to fall in the line of duty. We go first, so that others don't have to. We go first, so Mechwarriors can one day return to their families. We go first, because we have already died - we have been buried, and as such, there is nothing left for us to lose.

While this morbid theology may seem extreme (and has our on-staff psychologist throwing fits) it has managed to attract many to its cause. Barely a month into their registration with the MRBC and the unit has managed to secure several DropShips and stands mobilized at nearly full Company-strength. Their recruitment - rather than relying on job postings on the MRBC's 'Bulletin Board' - comes from talking directly to the soldiers they fight alongside in battles across the Inner Sphere. And while this has attracted many an odd-ball pilot (and the occasional pilot who puts the '@ss' in Ambassador) the members of the unit couldn't be happier with their "life choice". In our brief conversation, CO Niebel told us, "We were all lost, unable to go back home, but uncertain of how to move forward. So I created the Forlorn Hope; here we can bury our home, grieve for our loss, and go off together as Brothers and Sisters in Arms. We no longer grieve for our lost homes, for in the Forlorn Hope we are home."

If you are looking for the [FLH], you can currently find them surfing around the Marik front lines. Don't wait too long though, as they are preparing already to head off to their next contract in the near future, and it may be hard to contact them once they leave. Good luck Forlorn Hope, for we hardly knew ye.

---

Have any war stories to share? The TL,DR is looking to share them! Send us a message detailing the accounts of the front lines and we'll do our best to bring your tale to the masses!

Edited by Trondheim Live Daily Report, 16 March 2015 - 08:04 AM.

[Prussian Havoc]

Molossian Dog rocks!

Spoiler

Divine Retribution, on 16 March 2015 - 02:27 AM, said:

I'd also stick to Wolf. We can tie up clanners from all factions as they come to defend Wolf's worlds without opening a third front.

We've seen how bad it gets when we have 3-4 fronts to fight on with our limited numbers. If the number of FRR pilots has gone down even further as was written in the TL,DR the FRR needs to pick fights carefully.

I hope PGI gets its "Logistics" act together with Community Warfare Phase 3.

If FRR were to be able to severe CGB Lines of Communication (LoC) AND Lines of Resupply there should be HEAVY penalties at the CGB Front, and these penalties should become incrementally more invasive and harsh.

Perhaps it could be an immediate 20% loss of Generator and Turret hit points in all Defenses for the first three Days of a severed LoCs and loss of 20% hit points to the CounterAttack Mobile HQ - basically resource/defensive penalties.

After that, Day 4 and 5 could see all the above plus the loss of 5-tons per gamer drop deck. Days 6 and beyond should see this 5-tons increase appropriately - basically recourse/all-around penalties (both Offensive and Defensive penalties.

These penalties SHOULD be severe enough that there is a Real-Vested-Interest for a Faction to preserve its LoCs.

These penalties would currently apply to the Clan Jade Falcon pocket that was recently pinched off by a resurgent, -MS- fueled House Steiner,

Of course these same mechanisms would work in reverse against the Inner Sphere too. For example, the developing envelopment/bypass of Benjamin. If CSJ were ever successful in its Rimward Pincer movement and to completely envelop the Combine's Military District HQsof Benjamin, once enveloped, the Kurita defenses within the enveloped pocket would be detrimental accordingly.

A second example would be the FRR Stars surrounding Bastion Rasalhague, though here we find a great example why the penalties for being encircled needs to be capped-out at a reasonable level, because in truth Rasalhauge and Luthien for that matter, once encircled could stay that was for many weeks if not months. Thus max detriment should be IMO 30% hit point for Generators and turrets when Defending, or when Counterattacking the Mobile HQ should only have 30% less hit points. While in all modes the max tonnage penalty can max out at 10-tons.

THESE penalties are IMO significant enough to:

1). Make it worthwhile for Factions to prevent their Invasion Corridors from being pinched off from behind.
2). Dissuade a Faction from easily permitting a Faction from turning a blind eye to any portion of their forward territory being enveloped for any length of time,
3). Perhaps MOST significantly, steadily weakening Pockets will make the job of PGI's algorithm just that much more manageable as those pockets are either "broken out" by the owning Faction or fall prey to Invaders all the sooner.
4). Bring realism to our Beta, as there should be impacts to having a 200-light year Invasion Corridor cut-off near its source; Rasalhague DESERVES to be RELEVANT, let FRR play the role of SPOILER to the Clan Drive on Terra; force CGB and CW to have to FIRST contain FRR, then SECOND to push on to Terra.


I contribute all this because I am FIRST - an MWO-fan who just wants to see the strongest Title / Gaming Mechanisms developed in my current favorite BattleTech PC game... and second because it would benefit my ALT account by giving the Clans consequences and repercussions to having their invasion corridors cut.

Much that lends the game realism, is in fact a future MWO:CW "selling point" at Steam Launch as mode "authenticity" will reach more distinct gamer niches to a much more greater depth IF each game mode is fully fleshed and immersive in nature,

Molossian Dog for First Lord of the n-SL!

Edited by Prussian Havoc, 17 March 2015 - 10:25 PM.

[Molossian Dog]

EDIT: Besides, this might not be the right place to discuss this. My apologies. I put the comment in spoiler tags so it doesn´t get into the way of the TL;DR reports.

Spoiler

While generally I do agree that logistisc should become a factor you should not forget there is no way to "block" or "cut off" someone in space entirely.

A planet can be put under blockade. Yes.

An interstellar realm not. There are always jump points "above", "below" or "right next to" the worlds shown by the map and BT lore is full of forces "secretly" bypassing inhabited worlds and recharging in uncharted or neglected systems.
This is usually avoided, especially by single jump ships and civilian traffic as the ever present threat of a malfunction could strand you away from any help.
But it is mainly an inconvenience increasing transport time and costs. Anything else than a single world cannot be blockaded. (and given the small space navy sizes in BT and the prevalence of pirate jump points, even that is difficult)

So I wouldn´t make those penalties going too far.

Edited by Molossian Dog, 17 March 2015 - 03:43 AM.

[Hrokir]

Thank you to the TLDR for an honorable mention in the last article. First round is on us!

[Prussian Havoc]

Spoiler

Molossian Dog, on 17 March 2015 - 03:40 AM, said:

EDIT: Besides, this might not be the right place to discuss this. My apologies. I put the comment in spoiler tags so it doesn´t get into the way of the TL;DR reports.

Spoiler

While generally I do agree that logistisc should become a factor you should not forget there is no way to "block" or "cut off" someone in space entirely.

A planet can be put under blockade. Yes.

An interstellar realm not. There are always jump points "above", "below" or "right next to" the worlds shown by the map and BT lore is full of forces "secretly" bypassing inhabited worlds and recharging in uncharted or neglected systems.
This is usually avoided, especially by single jump ships and civilian traffic as the ever present threat of a malfunction could strand you away from any help.
But it is mainly an inconvenience increasing transport time and costs. Anything else than a single world cannot be blockaded. (and given the small space navy sizes in BT and the prevalence of pirate jump points, even that is difficult)

So I wouldn´t make those penalties going too far.

You good FRR Sir, have led me to a better, more post-friendly and thread-considerate way of contributing to TL,DR.

I apologize for not seeing the light Molossian Dog shined so very brightly, on my own. I simply went back one post (http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__4292997) and added the spoiler tags.

From now on I will endeavor to ALWAYS use these tags here.

Thank you Molossian Dog... and truly, if I had a Star League ballot here in front of me, YOU would be my write-in candidate!

Edited by Prussian Havoc, 20 March 2015 - 05:44 AM.

[Ivanskij]

By keeping the pressure on Clan Wolf, we might be able either cut them in half and/or forcing them to commit forces from the bottom to plug up the hole, which reduces the amount of attackers facing inwards the sphere.
If we are able to do so (and be organized about it), Clan Wolf will be having a much more difficult time to plug up the hole we made - unlike the Ghost Bears, which will be able to do this more swftly.

[oldhasu]

VRGD took Vipaava solo today. Bears are cut in half but sadly this does not prevent them from attaking on Kurita territory on the bottom of their "corridor". No front line with Jags opened.

[Molossian Dog]

Spoiler

Prussian Havoc, on 17 March 2015 - 10:29 PM, said:

...I apologize for not seeing the light Molossian Dog shined so very brightly, on my own.
...

Which is cool.

And only slightly creepy.

So, win-win.

[Klappspaten]

oldhasu, on 18 March 2015 - 02:51 PM, said:

VRGD took Vipaava solo today. Bears are cut in half but sadly this does not prevent them from attaking on Kurita territory on the bottom of their "corridor". No front line with Jags opened.

Not yet at least, that can change very quickly.

[Prussian Havoc]

Spoiler

Klappspaten, on 18 March 2015 - 05:58 PM, said:

Not yet at least, that can change very quickly.

It could be only a Tweet to Paul away...

Edited by Prussian Havoc, 18 March 2015 - 09:55 PM.