155 replies to this topic

[The14th]

Thontor, on 29 November 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:

Guys, there has been crazy unexplained stuff going on in the periphery since August.. This is just an editorial opinion news article about that.

Check back on old ISN news feeds, this isn't the first time we've heard of strange things happening in the periphery.

Yeah, but this is there way to say that all of the "weird events" will be culminating soon with first sightings of Clanners in the IS.

[Tuoweit]

As someone who doesn't breathe Battletech lore, I wish these "news flashes" (and editorials) made more sense for the uninitiated. To me they're just white noise for the most part, with no included context or background to help me understand what the meaning of the events are and why they're "news".

Edited by Tuoweit, 29 November 2012 - 09:36 AM.

[Sarah Dalrymple]

Maybe some little known Mercs have decided to clean out those Pirates? I heard Oberon IV has been extremely quiet of late... that can't be anything but good news! Right? RIGHT??

[verybad]

Hate the clans. Everyone will probably have to buy clantech in order to compete however.

Hate the Daishi, would rather have a Gladiator if possible (100 KPH 95 ton clan mech? I'll take three.)

Edited by verybad, 29 November 2012 - 10:01 AM.

[BFett]

Things will get progressively worse as March approaches. We may represent different factions right now, but soon we will have to unite against a common enemy. To arms my fellow Mech Warriors, be prepared for the battles that await us and the hissing static that wishes to confuse us.

[XvDraxvX]

verybad, on 29 November 2012 - 10:00 AM, said:

Hate the clans. Everyone will probably have to buy clantech in order to compete however.

Hate the Daishi, would rather have a Gladiator if possible (100 KPH 95 ton clan mech? I'll take three.)

I would Rather a Warhawk

I will take:

1 Warhawk
1 MadDog
1 KitFox
and last but not least 1 Shadowcat

Thank you my fine shop-keep, and good day!

[Kristov Kerensky]

Tuoweit, on 29 November 2012 - 09:33 AM, said:

As someone who doesn't breathe Battletech lore, I wish these "news flashes" (and editorials) made more sense for the uninitiated. To me they're just white noise for the most part, with no included context or background to help me understand what the meaning of the events are and why they're "news".

Actually most people should be looking at these Periphery articles and going..

'So what, last year someone found remains of the lost SLDF that old man Kerensky took off with, or they found some super powerful alien tech, it's all just a bunch of lies and rumors, probably just claptrap that some pirates paid ComStar to put out there.'

Remember, in the Inner Sphere at this time, there is NOTHING happening in the Periphery that hasn't happened a thousand times before, rumors and speculation just like every time before. Some Merc unit will get a nice little contract to go out there and clear out some pirate scum or some green House troops will go out and get some on the job education clearing out some ragtag band of pirate wannabes and that will be the end of it until the next time it happens.

As for the regular ISN flashes, like Thontor said, sarna.net for more BattleTech information is in order..if you actually give a surat's furry hindquarters about the stories... The common people of the Inner Sphere will pay little attention to many of the articles we see, they mean as much to them as they do to you right now, the places and people and hardware mentioned have no meaning to them either. The IS is a huge place with trillions of people in it, just look how easy it is for someone who's a HUGE superstar in Europe to be a total unknown in America and vice versa..places that are a few thousand MILES apart not light years.....

WE are all people who SHOULD be interested in these news flashes and editorials however, we are professional military people, House troops or Mercs...WE pay attention to these little tidbits..we mine for more information because this could be where we are heading next due to orders or the potential a good contract. It's all part of the game, after all, this IS something of a MMORPG

[Atlas3060]

Sarah Dalrymple, on 29 November 2012 - 09:54 AM, said:

Maybe some little known Mercs have decided to clean out those Pirates? I heard Oberon IV has been extremely quiet of late... that can't be anything but good news! Right? RIGHT??

Yeah that's kinda strange since the Oberon Confederation was almost on its way to being a minor House

[verybad]

XvDraxvX, on 29 November 2012 - 10:05 AM, said:

I would Rather a Warhawk

I will take:

1 Warhawk
1 MadDog
1 KitFox
and last but not least 1 Shadowcat

Thank you my fine shop-keep, and good day!

Shadowhawk won't be available for a few ingame years. They might make a time jump...or they might not.

[rolly]

Lol. Wait. Do the folks in the Periphery have Jenners? Then we don't have to worry about the Clans invading. Our netcode, lagshielded- uber Small Laser/SSRM Min-maxed Jenner armies will stop them.

Sorry good ol' Nick Kerensky. We have you beat.

(Wait. Unless the Clans all have Jenner IIC's... then we're in trouble. j/k)

[rolly]

Thontor, on 29 November 2012 - 09:34 AM, said:

That's not for another 4 months...

http://www.sarna.net...i/Clan_Invasion

Hmm we have a long way to go then. Lets get cracking on that Beta testing/patching.

[DegeneratePervert]

I, for one, plan to go out in a blaze of fire and glory (as well as shredded b00ty mags) when the Clanners arrive.

Edited by DegeneratePervert, 29 November 2012 - 10:55 AM.

[vitek r]

BFett, on 29 November 2012 - 10:04 AM, said:

Things will get progressively worse as March approaches. We may represent different factions right now, but soon we will have to unite against a common enemy. To arms my fellow Mech Warriors, be prepared for the battles that await us and the hissing static that wishes to confuse us.

More fantasy make believe nonsense. What do you think is going to happen? Another big war? Oh my, what an unusual thing that would be.

Listen buddy, if you want to have a come together party, then come to Outreach. You can rub elbows with the man you will be killing tommorow. You can bed some Lyran footslogger the night before you tear her in half with your autocannon. Thats all the coming together you're gonna get in this day and age. It really blows my mind how people think some enemy is going to unite the Inner Sphere. The Inner Sphere will never unite. Its always going to be war, war, war. You don't need to go looking for enemies from new places, when there are plenty of people to kill just a jump away. Looking for comraderie? It comes free with each contract, along with transport and salvage rights.

Edited by vitek r, 29 November 2012 - 11:08 AM.

[BFett]

vitek r, on 29 November 2012 - 11:07 AM, said:

The Inner Sphere will never unite. Its always going to be war, war, war. You don't need to go looking for enemies from new places, when there are plenty of people to kill just a jump away. Looking for comraderie? It comes free with each contract, along with transport and salvage rights.

As a merc I understand what you mean. As an individual looking out at the growing chaos, and the possibilities of a very powerful enemy, I must disagree with you.

As some ancient person once said, "We must hang together or we will hang separately."

[Parnage Winters]

I wish I could sit around writing gossip articles and being paid for it, would be a nice break from being shot at. Oh well I guess someone has to take advantage of the "romanticism" of the periphery. Hardenson has it dead on, bunch of uproar to make folks feel better about themselves and make them think of the supposed mysteries on the fringes.

The truth is it's just another day in the frontier.

[Darkmoose]

The days of gauss and streak cats are numbered me thinks. you piddly 40 pts of dmg will be nothing compared to the clan walloping of 100+.

[Muso ka]

Welcome Home Clanners... eat my sh....ts

Edited by Muso ka, 29 November 2012 - 11:46 AM.

[fluffypinkbunny]

A Jumpship is missing?! missing, how does one go missing, la la al fly fly fly oh whered it go, why are we here floating in space now? I demand more news.

[Stormwolf]

Tuoweit, on 29 November 2012 - 09:33 AM, said:

As someone who doesn't breathe Battletech lore, I wish these "news flashes" (and editorials) made more sense for the uninitiated. To me they're just white noise for the most part, with no included context or background to help me understand what the meaning of the events are and why they're "news".

It really pays of to do a little bit of research, though it would be nice if PGI included stuff in the game that would help you with that.

Mechwarrior 2 had a archive for Clan Wolf and Jade Falcon the player could consult about the lore. This sadly was never done again in any other Mechwarrior title. It really brings the universe to life for you when you know what is actually going on and where some mechs originate from.

Anyway, the current era is well detailed in a trilogy of books, you can find them in the Blood of Kerensky Omnibus:
http://bg.battletech...erensky-omnibus

All the stuff about missing jumpships and silence in the periphery get really well explained there.

Here's a little snipped of text from those books:

Quote

The Precentor Martial clapped his hands once.

"Computer, project the holographic reconstruction of the primary BattleMech from the Kell tape, clarified and at one-tenth scale."

In silent compliance, the computer materialized a holographic image of the Catapult/Marauder b@stard that had broken the Locust and destroyed Phelan Kell's Wolfhound. Even at only a meter in height, the machine's image retained all its menace. It feels so malevolent. A shiver ran down Myndo's spine and she fought to keep revulsion from her face.

The Precentor Martial, however, was not looking in her direction. He slowly circled the projection like a wolf stalking prey, his gaze flicking from point to point seeking out flaws in the design. When he found none, a smile crept onto his lips and he nodded with admiration and respect.

"Primus, I have taken to calling this model the Mad Cat. As with the Catapult 'Mech, the machine boasts two longrange missile pods, one on each side of the forward-thrust torso. It walks on bird's legs, which gives it a hopping-bobbing gait, though this pilot seems to have been able to conquer that tendency. Quite an achievement, with the low gravity on the asteroid. In addition to the standard Catapult features, two Marauder-type weapons pods have been added. They have large lasers over medium lasers. Two more medium lasers, one on each side of the torso and two machine guns mounted in the center torso, round out the weapons selection. Yes, a most impressive machine."

Indeed. With an army of such 'Mechs, we could make Blake's dream of a united humanity a reality in short order. Myndo stared through the image at Focht. "I shall order our armorers to modify our existing Catapults to this configuration."

Anger creased the Precentor Martial's brow for an instant, then disappeared as if banished by the force of his will. "I am afraid that is not possible, Primus. As you saw in the battletape, Phelan Kell attacked the machine but failed to damage it. Were we to create a 'Mech with such an array of weapons, we would be unable to armor it sufficiently. On the other hand, if we gave it the armor it needed, the 'Mech would be unable to move because of the current power-to-weight ratios available in our fusion engines. In short, either this 'Mech has incredibly light but durable armor, or it has a power plant of a design surpassing anything we have to offer."
Myndo's mouth went sour. New technology in the hands of someone other than ComStar!

"That's terrible!"

Focht's grim nod echoed her concern. "It gets worse. The ranges at which these new 'Mechs were able to hit their targets is 300 to 400 percent better than what our current targeting and delivery system allows. It also appears that their heat compensators are much better or else their pilots can tolerate higher levels of heat because the rate of fire shown would have virtually fried any 'Mech known in the Successor States."

Myndo chewed her lower lip to stop it from trembling. "Explanation?"

The Precentor Martial shrugged. "Their 'Mechs show evidence of technology beyond what we know. My advisors and I wrestled with the question of where these 'Mechs might originate and who piloted them right up until the time I left to join you here."

The Primus's dark eyes half-closed. "Are they Kerensky's army come back to haunt us?"

[Cachucho]

Meanwhile rumours emerge about a strange periphery baron and his excentric maddening behaviour. Last known contact had him referring to the ghosts of the ancient past, strange toad like aliens that ate battlemechs, and finally, if reports are credible, of him pole dancing outside his palace under the ancient star league banner.

No further news emerge from this backwater, outside Commstars reach....


(ok, seriously though I would love to see a map based on Von Strang)


P.S.

This is probably the best most easily accesible resource for Battletech lore;

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/

Edited by Cachucho, 29 November 2012 - 12:16 PM.