54 replies to this topic

[Aranzor]

Heroes Take the Spotlight Contest!

Skilled beyond belief and armed with unique avatars of destruction, these men and women serve salvation to their allies and despair to their enemies when they take the field!

In the heat of battle, one never knows what lies around the next corner, but you never forget the first time you witness their onslaught!

Theme:
This contest will be a bit different from the usual type as this time you will be telling us the story of how your character(s) encounter just such a hero.

Guide:
You must tell the story from the point of view that is yours or your character's own. Do not use established characters.
You may use any hero and in-game associated hero mech. (ie. Natasha Kerensky in her Warhammer, but NOT her Dire Wolf)
The setting and outcome of the story cannot defy canon.
There will be 3 Categories for these stories:
UPDATED:
The 1st Category includes only the newly-released Clan Promo Heroes
The 2nd Category is for all remaining hero mechs with heroes named.
The 3rd Category is for the few hero mechs that were never attributed to a hero.
Top story from each category will win a prize.

Entry Rules:
Please state which category you are submitting the entry at the top of your post.
Please limit your story to less than 2,500 words.
You are allowed to use real events and people but encouraged to include your unit or a character you created. (Name and Shame or similar personal attacks will be disqualified, and probably deleted)
You may enter as many times as you wish to either category, but only 1 winner will be chosen for each category.
Attention to grammar, structure, and originality of story will serve to improve your chances of winning.
Although English would work best for me, you're welcome to submit entries in your native language (As long as Google Translate can convert it!).
You can edit your submissions, but please try to limit this. All changes made after the cutoff time will be disqualified!

Prizes
The winner from each category will win a hero mech of their choosing!

Judging:
Your judges this time around will be myself and Ibrandul_Mike!

Questions:
Please ask any and all questions below, and only submit your stories to the "Heroes take the Spotlight Contest Entries" thread.
If any changes need to be made I will make note of them as well as the time they were changed.
The cutoff date for entries will be October 28, 2016.

Edited by Aranzor, 14 October 2016 - 11:09 AM.

[Odanan]

Nice!
I will give it a try.

Edited by Odanan, 19 October 2016 - 09:41 AM.

[xVLFBERHxT]

Nice idea. Sadly i think, my english is not good enough to tell such a story. But I will read them .

[Ninjamoose]

Would a Loyalty mech count? I'm thinking of doing one with Captain Adams. and his AS7-S.

Edited by Ninjamoose, 12 October 2016 - 01:10 PM.

[Aranzor]

Ninjamoose, on 12 October 2016 - 01:01 PM, said:

Would a Loyalty mech count? I'm thinking of doing one with Captain Adams. and his AS7-S.

If you mean can you include the AS7-S in the story, sure! However, the theme of the story are the Hero Mechs and their associated pilots. How does one of these larger than life characters affect the plot of your story when they wander through it? Do they hold the line, save the day, inspire those about them? Do they simply play a cameo appearance? Does the sight of their mech become the source of that character's nightmares?

We're used to writing/seeing our main characters as the heroes of a story, but what happens when they become the onlookers instead?

[PanzerMagier]

awesome I was busy with my own character's bio and started a pitched battle small story a while ago. I'd can't wait to submit it!

[Karl Streiger]

hey nice concept, I'm glad you did find another idea.

some questions:
Do I need to keep the "Heros" Stock Loadout?

[Aranzor]

Karl Streiger, on 13 October 2016 - 11:45 PM, said:

hey nice concept, I'm glad you did find another idea.

some questions:
Do I need to keep the "Heros" Stock Loadout?

Going to say yes with this, unless you can find some notation in canon where that hero used a different loadout for the mech.

[Aranzor]

Updated the contest to now include a 3rd Category, so now you've got 3 chances to win! Also, listing my quick reference for all mechs to what category from my own research! If you find any in the 3rd Category with a Hero, let me know.

Promo Clan Heroes 1

Kit Fox Brett Andrews Adder Dirk Radick Stormcrow Barbara Sennet Nova Mar Helmer Timberwolf Vlad Ward Summoner Aidan Pryde Warhawk Hunter Tseng Dire Wolf Jin Mehta



Named Heroes 2

Mech/ Name/ Pilot

Light
Commando The Death's Knell Bono Duganmare
Firestarter Ember Portia "Torrent" Ryan
Jenner Oxide
Locust Pirate's Bane Lori Kalmar(Carlyle)
Raven Huginn
Spider Anansi


Medium
Blackjack Arrow Michael Ubodo
Bushwacker High Roller Valten Ryder?
Centurion Yen-Lo-Wang Justin Xiang-Allard
Cicada X-5 Test Pilot
Griffin Sparky Elle Bennett
Hunchback Grid Iron
Huntsman Pakhet Calvin Deleportas
Kintaro Golden Boy
Phoenix Hawk Kuroi Kiri Shin Yodama
Phoenix Hawk Roc Paul Masters
Shadow Hawk The Gray Death Grayson Carlyle
Trebuchet Loup De Guere Peter Chandler
Vindicator St. Ives' Blues Michael Jones
Viper Medusa Dwillt Radick
Wolverine Quarantine


Heavy
Archer Tempest Morgan Kell
Cataphract Ilya Muromets Grigori Kovalenko
Catapult Butterbee Jenny Templeton
Catapult Jester Leigh Voss
Dragon Fang Donald Takeda
Dragon Flame Martin Takeda
Linebacker Redline Not Announced
Jagermech Firebrand Donald Vincent
Quickdraw IV-Four Ivy Upsalom
Marauder Bounty Hunter The Bounty Hunter
NightGyr Jade Kite Timur Malthus
Orion Protector Aleksandr Kerensky
Rifleman Legend-Killer Gray Norton
Thunderbolt Top Dog Mary Tallman
Warhammer Black Widow Natasha Kerensky

Assault
Atlas The Boar's Head Rodney Van Kleven
Awesome Pretty Baby Danielle Peterson
Banshee La Malinche El Guapo
Battlemaster Hellslinger
Cyclops Sleipnir Ariana Winston
Highlander Heavy Metal Rhonda Snord
Kodiak Spirit Bear Laurie Tseng
Marauder II C Scorch Not Announced
Stalker Misery J. Elliot Jamison
Victor Dragonslayer Ardan Sortek



Unnamed Heroes 3

Cicada Test Pilot Spider Unknown Raven Unknown Jenner Unknown Hunchback Unknown Wolverine Unknown Battlemaster Star League Era Mech Kintaro Unknown

Edited by Aranzor, 21 October 2016 - 05:52 AM.

[Karl Streiger]

Well most of your unnamed heros have a name
For example the Iv Four by Ivy Upsalom is mentioned in the TRO 3025 as a classic QKD-4G. She is known as one of the best Quickdraw pilots and she always challenge other Quickdraw pilots. And to kill them.

Well stock is a problem - at 20 October 3028 there was no Gauss available.
The BH2 is also just a after War of 39 variant.

Edited by Karl Streiger, 14 October 2016 - 01:29 PM.

[Aranzor]

Karl Streiger, on 14 October 2016 - 01:22 PM, said:

Well most of your unnamed heros have a name
For example the Iv Four by Ivy Upsalom is mentioned in the TRO 3025 as a classic QKD-4G. She is known as one of the best Quickdraw pilots and she always challenge other Quickdraw pilots. And to kill them.

Well stock is a problem - at 20 October 3028 there was no Gauss available.
The BH2 is also just a after War of 39 variant.

I'll do a recheck, but not surprised there are some I missed. Thx for the heads-up!

[Karl Streiger]

Aranzor, on 14 October 2016 - 11:02 AM, said:

Going to say yes with this, unless you can find some notation in canon where that hero used a different loadout for the mech.

Hm afaik only Roc and the BH2 loadouts are somehow founded in the lore - ok YLW Minus the fingernails also.
The most heros are also from the TRO 3025 so again only the "Prime" loadout if not mentioned otherwise - most of the TRO3025 notables were not again mentioned in the TRO3039

Of course this is MWO and not battletech - another time frame or even dimension - So I can enjoy the work of others, but my satisfaction comes from sticking as close to the lore as possible.

As said I'm working on the Misery - obviously the battered Mech is piloted by J. Elliot Jamison about his loadout you can only guess - with references from the Novel Wolfpack and the refit after the dragoon civil war - the usual 3F but with clan tech

Of course Misery could be also the Stalker of Tara Lucas she also survived Misery with her Stalker - her loadout is not known - maybe there was a modification like a Ac20. Also she might have changed her mech several times - at last she did on the controlls of a Warhawk where ad Jamison suffocated in the cockpit of his modified Clan Stalker 3F.

As you see I love skimming the lore sorry for that

[FLG 01]

Karl Streiger, on 14 October 2016 - 11:47 PM, said:

Hm afaik only Roc and the BH2 loadouts are somehow founded in the lore - ok YLW Minus the fingernails also.

I think there are some more...

Canonical Configuration:

• St. Ives Blues (Vindicator)
  
• Roc (Phoenix Hawk)
  
• [Yen Lo Wang [Minus the Claws/Hatchet] (Centurion)]
  
• Sparky (Griffin)
  
• Butterbee (Catapult)
  
• Top Dog (Thunderbolt) [known as TDR-5S-T in canon]
  
• Bounty Hunter 2 (Marauder)
  
• HellSlinger (BattleMaster)

Configurations based on canon-rumours:

• Legend Killer (Rifleman)
  
• Tempest (Archer)
  
• Black Widow (Warhammer)

Non-Canon:

• All the others, though some are based on TRO entries about notable pilots.

Note that the canon-rumours are usually false but they are believed by some people in-universe. It is rumoured e.g. that Gray Noton found a Star League-era Rifleman II but it was never proven. And the LK we have in game is naturally no Rifleman II but has a load-out based on it.

[Odanan]

Aranzor, on 14 October 2016 - 11:26 AM, said:

Cicada Test Pilot Spider Unknown Raven Unknown Jenner Unknown Firestarter Unknown Blackjack Unknown Hunchback Unknown Trebuchet Unknown Wolverine Unknown Quickdraw Unknown Jagermech Unknown Catapult Unknown(Jester) Thunderbolt Unknown Victor Unknown Stalker Likely from Battle of Misery Battlemaster Star League Era Mech Atlas Unknown

There was a sheet in the game files with the name of most of these pilots.

Some of the pilots are here (very old post). The others were discussed somewhere in the threadzilla, but I can't find them right now.

EDIT: here are some:

Thunderbolt Mary Tallman
Victor Ardan Sortek
Stalker J. Elliot Jamison or Tara Lucas
Atlas Danielle Rondema
Jagermech Donald Vincent
Quickdraw Ivy Upsalom
Wolverine Salome Ward

The Blackjack is inspired in a canonical pilot, but I can't remember right now his name.

Edited by Odanan, 16 October 2016 - 04:15 PM.

[Karl Streiger]

Odanan, on 17 October 2016 - 01:51 AM, said:

The Blackjack is inspired in a canonical pilot, but I can't remember right now his name.

Quote

Major Michael Ubodo: Best remembered for his actions
in defense of Xhosa VII, Ubodo and his Blackjack, “The
Arrow,” was given a permanent commission in the Eighth
Deneb Light Cavalry. Rising through the ranks to command,
Michael has earned the respect of his troops with his
easygoing but effi cient style of command. Major Ubodo is
a great proponent of the maligned Blackjack, and he challenges
anyone who criticizes it. He is just as fi ercely loyal to
his men and to House Davion.

FLG 01, on 15 October 2016 - 06:15 PM, said:<p class="blockquote">

• St. Ives Blues (Vindicator)

indeed;

Quote

MechWarrior Michael Jones: Now in the Second St. Ives
Lancers, Michael was glad to escape the political nightmare
that killed his father and nearly himself. Scheduled to be
court-martialed when war broke out, he managed to
escape this fate when his unit followed Candace Liao in
succession. St. Ives has been more accommodating, going
so far as to consider standardizing Vindicators based on
Jones’ fi eld modifi cation: an upgraded LRM system and a
large laser to replace the PPC.

although the name St.Ives Blues is mentioned in the TRO3025

Catapult: maybe:

Quote

MechWarrior Janice Abermann: Janice is an exceptional
warrior with a rather unsettling personality. A terror
on the battlefi eld, she treats all her opponents and support
staff with contempt. Her fashion sense harkens back
to mid-28th century neo-gothic, but it doesn’t stop men
and women from making fools of themselves over her in
bars after hours.

about the Atlas:

Quote

Mechwarrior Rodney Van Kleven
A member of the 6th Syrtis Fusiliers, Rodney Van Kleven is an aristocrat with the instincts of a democrat. Extremly personal, he is well-liked by everyone from fellow MechWarrior's to the lowliest ship's cook.
On the battlefield, Van Kleven uses his Atlas, which he calls Boars Head, like a 100t scout . He stomps all over the field, creating general terror in the enemy lines and almost overheating his Mech. He won several land grants, but quickly looses titles when his 'Mech overheats and shut down on the battlefield

Might have found something about the Ember - Jenny Umbra: hates everything about infantry although Hecate would have been the better name in this case -

[Odanan]

That leaves us with the:

Cicada, Spider, Raven, Jenner, Hunchback, Trebuchet and Battlemaster. Of those, only the Battlemaster has lore backgrounds, I guess.

BTW, my story will be about the Cicada test pilot.

[B L O O D W I T C H]

Aranzor, on 14 October 2016 - 11:26 AM, said:

Unnamed Heroes 3

Cicada Test Pilot Spider Unknown [color=red]Raven Unknown[/color] Jenner Unknown Firestarter Unknown Blackjack Unknown Hunchback Unknown Trebuchet Unknown Wolverine Unknown Quickdraw Unknown Jagermech Unknown Catapult Unknown(Jester) Thunderbolt Unknown Victor Unknown Stalker Likely from Battle of Misery Battlemaster Star League Era Mech Atlas Unknown

About the Huginn,
the pilot's name is Odin Sigurd, he is an FRR Pilot. Cattra Kell wrote a short story about Sigurd and his Huginn for the introduction of the raven Hero'mech.
Since MWO is officially licenced, i consider Sigurd and the Huginn as canon.
http://mwomercs.com/...h-now-available

[Aranzor]

Ok so I've updated the list and changed the format so it would be easier to look through and show which ones I'm missing still. If there is nothing after the hero mech's name, then its still category 3. I had to discount a few of the suggested heros for the mechs because they didn't fit with the mech in question:

Huginn: Cattra's story, while great, is not official from either PGI or Catalyst, so doesn't count.
Wolverine: Currently the closest mech I can find for either Salome Ward or Roger Callahan is a WVR-7H which even for a modded mech wouldn't fit the Quarantine because the Quarantine doesn't have Ferro.
Jagermech: Still looking for more info on Donald Vincent before I can count this one.

Still keep coming with these corrections though, love reading up on new lore I haven't seen yet! Just because I haven't included a mech into Category 2 doesn't mean you cant use the hero, so long as you're not writing the story from their point of view!

Also, FLG-01 pointed out the limitations of my original thought on builds. If you're going to use an alternate build from whats provided in MWO, just give me a blurb at the bottom of your story indicating where you found the canon build you're using. Otherwise go with what MWO provides.

Special thanks to both Karl Streiger and Odanan for helping me track down these trickier heroes!

Edited by Aranzor, 17 October 2016 - 01:36 PM.

[Odanan]

Aranzor, on 17 October 2016 - 08:47 AM, said:

Jagermech: Still looking for more info on Donald Vincent before I can count this one.

I can assure you the Firebrand (name invented by PGI) is Donald "Devil" Vincent's. The name of the pilot was in an old .xml file inside the game folder. Actually, all heroes up to that date had the names of their pilots in that file.

[Aranzor]

Odanan, on 17 October 2016 - 01:53 PM, said:

I can assure you the Firebrand (name invented by PGI) is Donald "Devil" Vincent's. The name of the pilot was in an old .xml file inside the game folder. Actually, all heroes up to that date had the names of their pilots in that file.

Never knew that! I tried looking for that file but could not find it. Then again, I've cleaned up PC files recently so old installations were lost if it isn't in the newer versions. Are there any more we've missed in that list?

Edit:
Donald is now added, per Odanan. ^^
Also: Did a bit more digging and it seems the consensus for La Malinche is El Guapo.

Edited by Aranzor, 18 October 2016 - 07:50 AM.