tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post751959704730658673..comments2023-08-11T05:49:23.366-04:00Comments on Exploring Believability: Analysis: BattletechJ. Sheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10652255892382558843noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-63637698126522387852016-03-18T14:17:26.254-04:002016-03-18T14:17:26.254-04:00I think the difference I'd draw is more about ...I think the difference I'd draw is more about "scale". Even when the clans invaded, they invaded using rules and laws - in fact, thanks to Zellbrigen, they're more restrained than the Inner Sphere is. Plus, the Battle of Tukayyid was an incredibly contained affair that ended up having a huge influence on the invasion.<br /><br />The Clans and the Inner Sphere were "fighting seriously", but they were still fighting relatively small-scale wars in a huge-scale setting. And as I said in the article, the difference between the Clans and the Great Houses aren't really that big - it's not like the Clans are the "bad guys" and the Great Houses are the "good guys".J. Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10652255892382558843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-10604865020150537632016-03-18T12:56:20.258-04:002016-03-18T12:56:20.258-04:00Well done article sir. When BattleTech first appe...Well done article sir. When BattleTech first appeared, the game was set in the last days of the 3rd Succession War and it truly was a contest of fighting nobles just like you said.<br /><br />However, I wouldn't sell the "war of survival" concept short. In BattleTech, the "wars of survival" are handled as an event that changes the universe. Once its over, the small, political level of fighting re-emerges. But, now the borders have changed, enemies of changed and tech levels have changed. Helps keep the universe fairly fresh and its why we keep talking about it 30 years after is was first released. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00847514317364311952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-65784740146182120952016-01-20T17:36:08.872-05:002016-01-20T17:36:08.872-05:00There is a new version of Battletech as a boardgam...There is a new version of Battletech as a boardgame it is called Alpha Strike and it is supposed to be easy and quick to play with many more units than regular BT. The Battletech universe is very interesting with explanations why they fight with progressively lower techs until the Clans, the Mechs are rare, vehicles should rule...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18396280857458139932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-57465942603104688342016-01-19T17:24:26.955-05:002016-01-19T17:24:26.955-05:00Fair enough. My first paragraph incorrectly implie...Fair enough. My first paragraph incorrectly implies that those things are no longer in print, so I accept the correction.J. Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10652255892382558843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-83228488649887527572016-01-19T17:23:28.386-05:002016-01-19T17:23:28.386-05:00I stand by it. Mechwarrior is relatively easy to u...I stand by it. Mechwarrior is relatively easy to understand for a casual player. Board-game Battletech requires a ludicrous amount of computation and marking that the average person is simply unwilling to do.J. Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10652255892382558843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-88790411227863132942016-01-19T16:14:57.152-05:002016-01-19T16:14:57.152-05:00Hilariously complex??Hilariously complex??Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17591301332512884928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-49354115800110855482016-01-19T12:34:17.713-05:002016-01-19T12:34:17.713-05:00I forgot to mention that the Main websit is at htt...I forgot to mention that the Main websit is at http://bg.battletech.com/<br /><br />CraigCraighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16931466556564141251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-15703010843363823562016-01-19T12:11:05.812-05:002016-01-19T12:11:05.812-05:00I should point out that the Battltech tabletop gam...I should point out that the Battltech tabletop game is still on-going, from Catalyst Games Labs. There is still fiction being written for it, and new Battletech novels are in the pipeline.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16931466556564141251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-78493116133174841712015-12-25T14:44:35.169-05:002015-12-25T14:44:35.169-05:00Most settings try to justify them. Gundam, for exa...Most settings try to justify them. Gundam, for example, is built around the idea that "mobile suits" are more maneuverable in space compared to traditional spaceships. Arguments like that are always pretty nonsensical, and yes, Battletech did try to make it so that there's a justification for using mechs instead of tanks or planes. But they're not particularly convincing reasons, especially given that orbital nuclear bombardment is also something that exists within the setting. As such, it makes more sense if you consider it as code-of-honor thing, and less sense if you think they're being serious.J. Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10652255892382558843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-78389854278761680942015-12-25T11:38:56.823-05:002015-12-25T11:38:56.823-05:00Mechs in general always struck me as meaning that ...Mechs in general always struck me as meaning that this kind of fighting is not about practical, but I thought battleTech writers went out of their way to explain that mechs really are practical.Panzehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08544560793818193551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-65864181963553589892015-12-24T07:45:03.130-05:002015-12-24T07:45:03.130-05:00Most of the video games are working under the &quo...Most of the video games are working under the "Battletech is about war" concept, so while I'm sure you might have fun with a lot of of the games, they don't exactly represent what I like about the series. I think, of the old games, MechCommander is probably my favorite. If you're willing to go through some finagling with virtual drives, it's available here:<br /><br />http://gamestand.net/Downloads/details/id=8.html<br /><br />On the other hand, MechWarrior Online is about mech-on-mech arena battles, and as such does a pretty decent job of representing what combat should be like in the Battletech universe. Also, it's free, and it just got put on Steam. So I'd probably just play that if I were you.J. Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10652255892382558843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-51629472027007930792015-12-24T03:37:22.514-05:002015-12-24T03:37:22.514-05:00Interesting read. I'm not familiar with Battle...Interesting read. I'm not familiar with Battletech at all (I didn't even realise Battletech and Mechwarrior had the same setting). From the computer games what would you recommend someone check out both from the story side of things and the "is actually a good game" side of things? Doesn't matter if it's "aged badly" I'll gladly play games through DOSBox or whatever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493946997489326661.post-80552206497186298802015-12-24T00:23:01.279-05:002015-12-24T00:23:01.279-05:00Thanks for this. I'd heard of Battletech, but ...Thanks for this. I'd heard of Battletech, but honestly had no knowledge or exposure to it at all. Bretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05741738070067590221noreply@blogger.com