Quotable Wednesday version 12

You are one ugly muttafacka. - Dutch - 1987 - Predator

So yesterday was the release of the ugliest hero mech ever but people love her. "Pretty Baby"



The history behind PB is this:
Leftenant Danielle Peterson: As a member of the Chisholm’s Raiders, Peterson has a petite build and physical beauty that is atypical of MechWarriors and seemingly at odds with her Awesome’s appearance. She is highly regarded for her exceptional piloting ability, and the extraordinary agility and performance she displays in her BattleMech have been well documented. Seemingly uninhibited by the Awesome’s typical lack of maneuverability, Peterson’s incredible skills have made her and her Awesome (“Pretty Baby”) famous in all the Successor States. Several Solaris VII stables have offered her tremendous financial rewards were she to retire and join them, but so far she has publicly maintained that her allegiance to the Federated Suns, and she claims she does not intend to retire until they are done with her

Mechs Listed in "The Sword and the Dagger "

I have finished reading and thought it might be cool to list all the mechs used or discussed in the game or mentioned at all.
Only 2 mechs mentioned in the book exist in the game so far. I posted pictures of them. PGI is hoping to release every mech known to man so all of these will be coming at some point :D


Mentioned in the book but no detail
Wasp
Rifleman Stinger
Enforcer Catapult

Ostroc
Archer
Trebuche


Listed in the glossary and used in the book.
Victor:
This 80-ton assault 'Mech moves at a maximum speed of about 64.8 kph, and is the only one of its class with jump capability (120 meters maximum). The Victor mounts an autocannon in its right arm, two medium lasers in the left arm, and an SRM 4 in its center torso. In battle, the Victor is often able to throw its opponents off guard, as they do not expect to find a heavy 'Mech with jump capability.
 
Zeus:
The 80-ton Zeus is the pride of House Steiner. whose designers created it as a heavy 'Mech capable of performing hit-and-run tactics. It mounts an LRM in the right arm, a large laser and medium laser in the left torso, a medium laser in the center torso, and an autocannon in the left arm. The Mech's top speed is 64.8 kph. Its excellent armor, especially around the chest and legs, allow it to withstand all but the heaviest fire. Its strong, heavily armored legs make the Zeus a feared kicker, and a bludgeon feature on its left arm gives it a mighty punch.
Battlemaster:
A formidable assault ‘Mech, the BattleMaster weighs 85 tons and has a maximum speed of 64.8 kph. The firepower that the BattleMaster can generate in one volley is staggering and more than deadly at close range. Its main fire weapon is its right-arm PPC, and its three right-torso and three left-torso medium lasers provide close support fire. Of the six lasers, two are mounted on the 'Mech's right and left rear, making it one of the few models equipped with rear firing weapons. An SRM 6 and two machine guns complete the BattleMaster's weaponry. 

  Dragon:
The Dragon is a well-armed 'Mech whose top speed of 86.4 kph makes it one of the fastest of the heavies. Armed with 24 rounds for its LRM and a whopping 40 rounds for its autocannon, the Dragon can carry on sustained battles without reloading. Even if ammo does run low, the 'Mech's left-arm and left-torso medium lasers ensure that it has other weapons to fire.



 
Warhammer:
Because of its size and weaponry, the 70-ton heavy 'Mech War-hammer is one of the most dangerous and powerful on the battlefield. It mounts PPCs on both right and left arms, an SRM on the right torso, and a medium and small laser and a machine gun on each side of its torso. These give it the sheer firepower needed by a first-line fighter. The special searchlight mounted on the 'Mech's left torso ties in with its tracking system. Able to function either as a light or as part of the targeting system, this feature makes the WarHammer a formidable night-fighter. The Mech's top speed is 64.8 kph.
JagerMech: This 65-ton 'Mech mounts two light and two medium autocannon and two medium lasers. Its top speed is 64.8 kph. Crusader: A heavy BattleMech, weighing 65 tons, with a top speed of 64.8 kph. It is heavily armed even for a 'Mech, mounting a laser, heavy machine gun, and massed LRM batteries in each arm, and SRMs on each leg. The Crusader is capable of delivering a full spread of 42 missiles at optimum 160-180 meter range, with the potential of crippling or destroying even the mighty BattleMaster
Thunderbolt:
The Thunderbolt is a 65-ton heavy 'Mech, and is one of the best-armed 'Mechs in existence. Its arm-mounted large laser packs a powerful punch. Combined with its three left-torso-mounted medium lasers and the SRM 2 mounted on its right torso, the 'Mech has ample firepower at long and medium ranges. For close combat, it mounts a torso-mounted SRM 2 and two left-arm machine guns.  Vindicator:
The Vindicator is a 45-ton medium 'Mech that is not particularly fast (top speed 64.8 kph) for its size. One of the most common 'Mechs among the House Liao forces, the 'Mech mounts an LRM in the left torso, a PPC in its right arm, a small laser in its left arm, and a medium laser that bulges from the left side of the 'Mech's head. 
Valkyrie:
A 'Mech design seen only among the forces of House Davion, the Valkyrie is a highly regarded light 'Mech. Its six tons of armor, top speed of 86.4 kph, and 150-meter jump capacity allow it to outmaneuver heavier units in battle and to absorb a fair amount of damage. Its left-torso LRM is unusual in a light ‘Mech, making it a potentially tough opponent at long range. At close range, its right-arm medium laser and super jump capacity can be a potent mix. Though no match for a medium or heavy ‘Mech in one-to-one combat, the Valkyrie is effective when part of a lance.

MWO Booklist

http://www.stargazerserv.com/csv/btech/battletech_novel_list.htm

BattleTech Novel List

This is a complete listing of BattleTech Novels in the order in which they should be read which is in approximately Chronological order, not when the books were actually published. This will give you a sense of flow for the events of the BattleTech Universe.

I say approximate Chronological order, because some books, or series, cover the events in others.  For example, the Jade Phoenix Trilogy acutally starts before The Blood of Kerensky series, and ends after it.  It is placed where it is because, The Blood of Kerensky Series, while written later, provides background for the Jade Phoenix.  (confusing is it not??)

Book Title	Author	Comments
Sword and the Dagger	Ardath Mayhar	The 31st Century begins
Decision at Thunder Rift	William H. Keith Jr.	Saga of the Grey Death Legion -- Book 1
Mercenary’s Star	William H. Keith Jr.	Saga of the Grey Death Legion -- Book 2
The Price of Glory	William H. Keith Jr.	Saga of the Grey Death Legion -- Book 3
Warrior: En Guarde	Michael A. Stackpole	Birth of the Federated Commonwealth--Book 1
Warrior: Riposte	Michael A. Stackpole	Birth of the Federated Commonwealth--Book 2
Warrior: Coupe	Michael A. Stackpole	Birth of the Federated Commonwealth--Book 3
Wolves on the Border	Robert N. Charrette
Heir to the Dragon	Robert N. Charrette
Lethal Heritage	Michael A. Stackpole	The Blood of Kerensky -- Book 1
Blood Legacy	Michael A. Stackpole	The Blood of Kerensky -- Book 2
Lost Destiny	Michael A. Stackpole	The Blood of Kerensky -- Book 3
Way of the Clans	Robert Thurston	Jade Phoenix Trilogy -- Book 1
Bloodname	Robert Thurston	Jade Phoenix Trilogy -- Book 2
Falcon Guard	Robert Thurston	Jade Phoenix Trilogy -- Book 3
Wolf Pack	Robert N. Charrette
Main Event	James D. Long
Ideal War	Christopher Kubasik	Is there room for Honor in a dirty little war?
Natural Selection	Michael A. Stackpole
Assumption of Risk	Michael A. Stackpole
Blood of Heroes	Andrew Keith
Close Quarters	Victor Milan
Far Country	Peter L. Rice
D.R.T	James D. Long
Tactics of Duty	William H. Keith Jr.
Bred for War	Michael A. Stackpole
I am Jade Falcon	Robert Thurston
Star Lord	Donald G. Phillips
Highlander Gambit	Blaine Lee Pardoe
Hearts of Chaos	Victor Milan
Operation Excaliber	William H. Keith Jr.
Malicious Intent	Michael A. Stackpole
Black Dragon	Victor Milan
Impetus of War	Blain Lee Pardoe
Double Blind	Loren L. Coleman
Binding Force	Loren L. Coleman
Exodus Road	Blaine L. Pardoe	Twilight of the Clans -- Book 1
Grave Conenant	Michael A. Stackpole	Twilight of the Clans -- Book 2
The Hunters	Thomas S. Gressman	Twilight of the Clans -- Book 3
FreeBirth	Robert Thurston	Twilight of the Clans -- Book 4
Sword and Fire	Thomas S. Gressman	Twilight of the Clans -- Book 5
Shadows of War	Thomoas S. Gressman	Twilight of the Clans -- Book 6
Prince of Havoc	Michael A. Stackpole	Twilight of the Clans -- Book 7
Falcon Rising	Robert Thurston	Twilight of the Clans -- Book 8
Threads of Ambition	Loren L. Coleman	The Capellan Solution -- Book 1
The Killing Fields	Loren L. Coleman	The Capellan Solution -- Book 2
Dagger Point	Thomas Gressman
Ghost of Winter	Stephen Kenson	One of the MechWarrior Books, while set in the BT Universe, presents no information that furthers the time line.
Roar of Honor	Blaine Lee Pardoe	One of the MechWarrior Books, while set in the BT Universe, presents no information that furthers the time line.
By Blood Betrayed	Blaine Lee Pardoe & Mel Odem	One of the MechWarrior Books, while set in the BT Universe, presents no information that furthers the time line.
Illusions of Victory

Loren L. Coleman
Is the game world of Solaris VII a reflection of the Inner Sphere?
Flashpoint
Loren L. Coleman
Measure of a Hero
Blaine Lee Pardoe

Path of Glory
Randall N. Bills

Test of Vengeance
Bryan Nystul
Patriots and Tyrants
Loren L. Coleman
Call of Duty
Blain Lee Pardoe
Initiation to War
Robert N. Charette
A MechWarrior Book, it does further the time line
The Dying Time
Thomas S. Gressman
A MechWarrior Book, it does further the time line
Storms of Fate
Loren L. Coleman
Imminent Crisis
Randall N. Bills
A MechWarrior Book, it does further the time line
Operation Audacity
Blaine Lee Pardoe
EndGame
Loren L. Coleman
Ghost War
Michael A. Stackpole
First of the MechWarrior Dark Age books:  set approximately 80 years after End Game
A Call to Arms
Loren L. Coleman
Ther Ruins of Power
Robert E. Vardeman
A Silence in the Heavens
Martin Del Rio
Truth and Shadows
Martin Del Rio
Service for the Dead
Martin Del Rio
By Temptations and by War
Loren L. Coleman

Do You Want Original Computer Voice Actress Back

I saw this on the forums. You know "the voice" if you played any MW2 you know this voice all to well. Forum topic

Carole Ruggier

She is an amazing voice actress and I would at this point bet money on her involvement.

 

 



Exciting news because on teamspeak I have heard players playing the dropship sound and voice while we are all "ready"ing up.

It sets the tone and draws you in. Worthy of a new blog post :D

Battletech 101: Inner Sphere and the Houses

I can't even imagine jumping into a game with super rich lore and history and being expected to stay because of that content. It is just too much to ask for a casual player.

WoW is kind of an exception because so much of it became mainstream ...but still new people jumping in are doing so to play with friends or family ...I highly doubt they care about the lore or background story.

I am thinking about starting a Tuesday blog discussing components which hopefully will be interesting enough to draw more people in and show the reasons to play besides "blowing up some bitches".

Years ago; to get anyone off my back when I was on my way to my office to start gaming I would tell my family "Well, I guess I am off to save the world (or universe)" they would laugh because they knew I was off to gaming ....but the side note here is I was playing a game which is persistent with people from all over the world ----I don't know about you but that is just damn cool to me.

Now I do not know a lot about Battletech or MechWarrior ...I played Mechwarrior 2 and fell in love with piloting a huge mech and I said I am not interested in playing any new games unless someone does a battlemech type game. Fast forward 5 years later and here we go.

MWO timeline: We are currently in 3049 during Mechwarrior Online. Basically Humans have moved beyond the solar system; achieved FTL (faster than light) and splintered into feudal territories which each believes to be theirs.

What is the Star League?
The brainchild of Ian Cameron, the Star League was a self-policing interstellar council formed from the Terran Hegemony, the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere, and the Territorial States of the Periphery. Each of the States of the Star League was required to provide soldiers and war materiel for the mutual protection of the Star League Defense Force, but otherwise was allowed to maintain its own standing army, and even conduct (rare) small-scale wars. Though not completely stable, the relative peace, prosperity, and advanced technology of the Star League have led many to consider the Star League as the zenith of human civilization.

What is Inner Sphere?
The Inner Sphere is a region of interstellar space surrounding Terra to a radius of roughly 450 - 550 light-years, generally demarcated by the outer borders of the "Great Houses." Within this region of about 2 million stars, there are approximately 2000 inhabited planets. Beyond the Inner Sphere is the Periphery.

What is Terra?
Terra is Earth.

What are Houses?
The sundering of the Star League, followed by centuries of Succession Wars, brought about five large nations known as the Successor States (called so because they were controlled by bloodlines). These are feudal realms, modeled after stereotypical cultural templates. They collectively comprise the Inner Sphere. Numerous other factions came and went over the course of the perpetual conflicts. The most notable and long-standing BT factions are:
 House Davion, House Liao, House Marik, House Steiner and House Kurita

What is Lostech?
It is Lost Technology - technological advances and knowledge that existed during the Star League era, but which were lost in the Succession Wars that followed

Do you remember QEMM?

Quarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager
This post has a point ....it is one of those remembering the past to better understand the future.

QEMM was a product from the 80's it was a memory manager for DOS. My dad and I had it on every pc we owned ....it was vital the difference between loading a application and a game at the same time without running in to memory error. More than likely my dad and I over did it with utilities ...we were obsessed with fine tuning everything to make it run better (which meant we probably slowed it down running utilities) but we could really tell the difference if we commented out a load command.

Today memory is CHEAP like $54⁹⁹

G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR20% off w/ promo code EMCNAJF34, ends 9/20




So today you don't need memory management right? Well that is not entirely true. Razer has announced Razer Game Booster.

So what is it?
I signed up for beta so i will tell you as soon as I know.
Here are the facts (followed by a video)
It looks at everything that is running and creates a profile which disables EVERYTHING that is not essential to gaming. Once the game is over it reverts to its standard profile. Memorymanager, Application Manager and Monitor all in one and its free.





I am becoming a fan of Razer. This needs a cooler name though.

What is success in a gaming MMO?

First
What is an MMO?
MASSIVE - Supporting Hundreds of players.
MULTI-PLAYER - must allow multiple people to play simultaneously in a persistent world
ONLINE - must be online to play

Second
What is success?
Well no one will give the same answer. The truth is success is a measurement of happiness and money. For example, if I owned my own business and barely made any money but I loved what I do - I would consider that a success. But say I had creditors ...then I owe money and I am also quite unhappy. What if I make enough to pay my creditor but cannot pay my employees what they deserve and they are unhappy.

Now look at the gaming industry MMOs in particular.
The most successful game in the history of gaming World of Warcraft. Even if you haven't played it I bet someone you know close to you has. WoW became the standard of what gaming companies thought they should be. So now every single game that comes out says well its like WoW but the setting is different or Wow doesn't include this we do.
When someone steps outside of what makes WoW successful they either fail, or are looked down on like a failure.
EQ2 has been running as long as WoW ...it has a deep lore, made players happy with wants and fulfilled many roles. Yet no where near the player base of WoW, gone free to play, yet no advertising.
Warhammer Online - huge opening day, too big in fact they underestimated the need for servers and had long queues. They resorted in opening new servers and after the newness wore off they had to shutdown and combine servers. While they had lots of testing they failed by not including a 3rd realm for combat and could not support huge battles when 300 people entered a combat zone the servers just could not handle the load.
SWTOR - after a huge bump and push to take over the top slot ...failed as of this writing it looks like they are combining ALL servers just to get a reign on population. Froogle
Guild Wars 2 - nothing truly original and yet, so far, highly successful. 2 million subscribers when it opened.

There is no magical formula. WoWs numbers are slipping even though they have a huge expansion coming out. Almost every game on the horizon is free to play. How much time are you willing to invest ... and how does that equate to money and success for the company making the game? Can they paid developers with that success? Do companies just keep making games as fast as possible and move to the next one until they make a successful self running game and then come back to it and "fix" it? At what point is it considered a success?

Current state of Mechs

From the wiki
BattleMechs (often abbreviated 'Mechs) are large walking war machines that feature prominently in the fictional universe of BattleTech. 'Mechs, which are generally either bipedal or quadrupedal in configuration, are controlled by human pilots and can thus be classified as mecha.

Now this isn't really useable by anyone but it is a step in that direction..

 

Not real but closer!

Real but not built anymore.

 

 

Burning man video ...who is the builder?

 

Slow and yet still.

River City

From Wikipedia : "River City" as a brevity code, an order to implement immediate communications blackout until further notice
River City this video is very interesting. I love the urban decay and broken bridges.
Also from the Wiki:
River City, as a city nickname, may also refer to any of the following cities:

[edit] Australia

• Brisbane, Queensland

[edit] Canada

• Edmonton, Alberta
• Winnipeg, Manitoba

[edit] China

• Chongqing

[edit] Indonesia

• Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan

[edit] Japan

• Hiroshima
• Kōtō, Tokyo
• Niigata, Niigata
• Osaka
• Tokushima, Tokushima

[edit] New Zealand

• Wanganui

[edit] United States

• Austin, Texas
• Cape Girardeau, Missouri
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Decatur, Alabama
• Evansville, Indiana
• Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Jacksonville, Florida
• Kansas City Metropolitan Area, MO/KS
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Mason City, Iowa
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Oconto Falls, Wisconsin
• Omaha, Nebraska
• Peoria, Illinois
• Portland, Oregon
• Richmond, Virginia
• Sacramento, California
• San Antonio, Texas
• Sioux City, Iowa
• Spokane, Washington
• St. Louis, Missouri
• Toms River, New Jersey
• Vicksburg, Mississippi
• White River Junction, Vermont

Future MMOs and PvP

http://kotaku.com/5938199/somebody-has-already-hit-level-80-in-guild-wars-2

Somebody Has Already Hit Level 80 In Guild Wars 2


Its amazing the game is barely out (launched on August 28th) and here we are - a person at level cap. In a pvp game; the comments indicate that crafting levels you faster than playing or doing pvp.

I am personally burnt out on fantasy style MMOs - for years I have logged in and played with friends and people I had met. What made this fun was it was world wide and I thought it was uber-cool to be playing with them one night and the next day at work discussing it ...yeah my friends in Austrailia or Russia said (whatever they said) that was cool to me.

I don't roleplay so maybe I am missing out on that but its just not me. In fact, I secretly laugh at those who do roleplay its awkward to invite other people when you got a very plain American trying to act British ...yeah awkward.

WoW in one corner and Everyone else in the other. You could say well WoW is not the leader anymore and I would agree with you. Worldwide it holds the largest population but does that mean its the best ....I would say not anymore. The formula mmorgp is not working anymore - people want something different and this is splitting gamers in every direction.

Warhammer to me was the pinaccle of pvp, however, a few broken patches and server consolidations, hardware issues with so many people in one zone and a lack of a third realm killed the game for me.

EQ2 held my attention the longest - even with no friends playing if you are bored in EQ2 you aren't doing it right. There is so much to do and so much to see the world is expansive and the quest are endless. The graphics are better than any game I have ever played with everything turned up all the way up you will find yourself turning them back down because it is too much input for your eyes. Imagine if everything you did casted a spell which turned on police lights and strobes your eyes would hate you.

DDO great game. In fact so close to tabletop DnD I cannot play it - I would rather do tabletop. Unless you want to run the same dungeons over and over.

So what does all this mean:

It means to stand out you have to think differently, try something new. Who will step up? What company will hire a visionary, an artist that is willing to make the next best thing. Will it be PC, console or a combo? Will it be pve, pvp, crafting, solo or team based or guild based, f2p or p2p or p2w? How will communications be handled?

Don't tell me what I can't do.

In the middle of LOST rewatch. I am reading everything I can get my hands on concerning MWO and Battletech.
It is extremely difficult to not get excited about whats coming up.

I have a kindle and have added "BattleTech - 08602 - The Sword and the Dagger - Ardath Mayhar" to my list to read. May have to start before finishing "Life of Pi"

Every excited.

So many people play tabletop Battletech that I feel like I am missing out on some good background knowledge. So while during some research I discovered another game that is coming out called MechTactics ....now I know nothing about this game I think it is in beta right now too. It is just a browser game and tabletop.

Read this:
http://www.dotmmo.com/mech-tactics-6453.html
"Involve yourself in the futuristic battles to eliminate all opponents with the company of powerful and hulking behemoths, and control your combative robots to venture through any difficulties in the expansive Mech Tactics world.
Overview:
Built with Unity3D engine used in Battlestar Galactica Online, Mech Tactics is a 3D sci-fi browser game developed by the Norwegian game studio Artplant and published by DTP Entertainment. The game has a fairly satisfactory graphic presentation and jaw-dropping spectacle. Meanwhile, there is an extensive range of character customization options, which enables the players to forge an ideal and overwhelming unit of fighting giants.

As a commander in Mech Tactics, you should train your futuristic combat units and keep enhancing your tactical skills and overall planning ability in order to compete with thousands of other commanders.

With extensive customization options, each commander can make his personalized units and engage in the action-packed battles.

To survive in the game, you will have to tactically guide your troops to step on different maps, and adjust your fighting strategies according to conditions of the diverse environments.

Although only bits of information on the game is leaked right now, its release date is about to come. Just get ready to sign up for its closed beta test starting in mid-February this year."

 

9090909090909090990

So having read this I am going to be posting stats about MechTactics what is known, BattletechMWO. I am not going to release any info outside of what is currently available.