Alternate time lines?

[Nebfer]

I have been hearing a number of times that what catalyst has been doing is creating alternate timelines, or retconing the past (i.e. Klondike, Age of War & the Reunification war), as the "newer" books do not match what was done in earlier books.

But no one who says that has indicated what they have changed?
So what has catalyst supposedly changed?

[SquareSphere }12thVR{]

fracture battletech ownership is what happened.  Basically they've said, Dark Age is canon, however the events leading up to it are up for "interpretation".

[Taemien]

Its personal preference at this point.

[~SJ~ Amarus]

Retconing is exactly what they are doing, taemien is right, at this point it is simply going to be which version of battletech would you like. They are essentially making sure that everything matches dark age, it does not matter how they get there, but dammit they are gonna get there. Sad I think, since a year ago Jordan Wiesman asked a fraction of the BT community if they wanted to see a DA return, two of roughly a thousand said yes, and yet Catalyst still treks in that direction.

Though for as much as I do not like Dark Age, I am glad that Catalyst is still doing that because it keeps companies like Ironwind making mini's that I can buy to play real battletech. People may say we should go with Catalyst because 'at least they are advancing the story' well I can understand that but to me it is not the story, I know there are people working on the real story but it is hard to restart the franchise when they do not own the IP anymore, but it will go through eventually and until that time, I wait patiently.

[SquareSphere }12thVR{]

slight subject change, I was reading over in the novel thread about the lack of books during the exodus period.  I think a reboot to that era would be fantastic.

For clan fans you get to see the events to SLDF exodus and for the IS fans you get to see their rise to power over the the old Star League.  Not to mention we get to see the mechanization of Stefan Amaris.

From a product stand point you get to retell the succession wars for IS players, and the Pentagon + Clan homeworld stories.  Make the new stories player based tournaments/events where they can affect what personalities within faction play significant story roles, but the company still controls major faction story lines.

[CGB [CoffiNail]]

CGL is attempting this with their release of Reunification War, which was the Star League bringing the Periphery in to the better good.

[=KoS= Eldragon]

CGL is attempting this with their release of Reunification War, which was the Star League bringing the Periphery in to the better good.

pfft. You can take your alliance and shove it. Browncoats forever!

[SquareSphere }12thVR{]

interesting! too bad they didn't have a video game to back it up.

what I would really love in a battletech game is something like a Real time tactical game like Frozen Synapse where it's like Mektek but each turn resolves simultaneously and you could watch the whole thing play out in a animated real time sequence once all the turns are committed.

[~SJ~ Amarus]

slight subject change, I was reading over in the novel thread about the lack of books during the exodus period.  I think a reboot to that era would be fantastic.

For clan fans you get to see the events to SLDF exodus and for the IS fans you get to see their rise to power over the the old Star League.  Not to mention we get to see the mechanization of Stefan Amaris.

From a product stand point you get to retell the succession wars for IS players, and the Pentagon + Clan homeworld stories.  Make the new stories player based tournaments/events where they can affect what personalities within faction play significant story roles, but the company still controls major faction story lines.

I would like this except that FASA already wrote what happened but because of how they decided to reveal the BT story line they did not publish it, if they(Catalyst) put out stuff in this era, I see massive retconning that will lead to huge plot holes and tech fapp ups later. Catalyst loves to change tech and it will snowball like crazy! I could only see badness from this. That is unless you like the alternate universe then a say go for it. But I see it as a bastardization of the only universe I say that I love. It is the equivalent of someone sodomizing my girlfriend in front of me and then the onlookers going "no that is the way it is supposed to be, stop your whining!" no words can convey they amount of tears...no words

[=KoS= Eldragon]

Remember... you can't call the Catalyst timeline an alternate universe when its the only one... for now 

[~SJ~ Amarus]

Remember... you can't call the Catalyst timeline an alternate universe when its the only one... for now 

I can and I will!!!

REBEL!!!!!

[SquareSphere }12thVR{]

But I see it as a bastardization of the only universe I say that I love. It is the equivalent of someone sodomizing my girlfriend in front of me and then the onlookers going "no that is the way it is supposed to be, stop your whining!" no words can convey they amount of tears...no words

The problem with that analogy is that, the goal should be to share your girlfriend with as many people you know and beyond, so lots of people can enjoy her

In reality, your girlfriend wants to be popular but as she is only a few people love her. She's going to get a face lift, boob job, and a new wardrobe.  Hit all the bars and clubs, do stupid shit so she can be on the cover for trashy mags, make the paparassi love her, just so she can get that dumb ass reality show that portrays her as a shell of her former shelf.

Some where along the way, the realization is that she's not the girl you fell in love with, and you treasure your memory as she was, but that only exists in your heart now.

[~SJ~ Amarus]

I do not literally have a girlfriend at the moment, so thank goodness that does not apply to me. It was an analogy, but a situation similar to that has already happened just without the reality show and boob job

[Gremlich]

CGL is attempting this with their release of Reunification War, which was the Star League bringing the Periphery in to the better good.

pfft. You can take your alliance and shove it. Browncoats forever!

Browncoats indeed! I agree with the sentiment. Bringing in the periphery to the better good, pshaw!

Being a Clan Blood Spirit clansman for many years, the Dark Age timeline is patent BS - The DA storyline brings everything back to the IS without even considering what the Clans might do to actually preserve Kerensky's Dream. I have always maintained that we, the players, create the progression of the timeline after the end of the classic BT novels. Read the CBS RP here and on the NBT-HC forums. CBS has a vison for the Clans and any of the other Clansmen were receptive without even realizing it, because it showed a path to continuation of the True Star League.

The only Canon documents out there are Classic BT and is the milieu to build on for grand gameplay, not to make it commercially lucrative for someone else.

Now, if we can get CCP to allow us to use their engine.......

[Nebfer]

Well now that the Jihad time line is almost over (all that remains is a combined field manual for 3085). Here's a look at what FASA was going to do in the first place, before they closed doors. Also the seeds where first placed in the mid 90s, and got further fleshed out over the years.

<DarkISI>: How much of where FASA wanted to go with the Jihad has been done the way they wanted it to go?
<Habeas2>: DarkISI - Aside from the final hero and the length of time taken, most of it went as FASA planned. The Manei Domini, the Five Worlds, and Stone were all add-ins, but many of those would likely have appeared in some form or another...
<Habeas2>: DarkISI - Actually, there were some changes we also made from the plan, some were even made by the PLAYERS:
<Habeas2>: Allow me to expand on this.
<DarkISI>: was just going to ask you to
<Habeas2>: The original FASA plan for the Jihad was still a war that begins as a temper tantrum when the allied leaders scrap the Second Star League for no good reason....
<Habeas2>: The plan held that, upon that failure, ALL FIVE CAPITALS would be assaulted by Word of Blake fleets appearing without warning to bombard and seize them....
<Habeas2>: Victor and company would run to Tukayyid to regroup, at which point the false Thomas Marik would "come clean", reveal his identity, and join their side....
<Habeas2>: Meanwhile, all of the CHaos March would be under WoB assault, while Wolf's Dragoons and NWH banded together to forge a mercenary protectorate around all nearby worlds willing to meet their price. (Yup; no noble sentiment at all here. This was pure "pay or die" politics)
<Habeas2>: Victor would again rally the various factions to put down the Word, a process that would take two years, and be nearly lost before suddenly the slumbering Ghost Bears, with their powerful WarShip fleet and such, would join the war berserker style, believing that the WoB is in league with the long-lost Wolverines.
<Habeas2>: The Bears would essentially lead the charge on all fronts as the allies led by Victor brought us to Terra (CapCon once again sat it out, going "turtle" while the rest of the IS fought and bled) and be stopped only in Terran orbit, when Victor points out that their landing of troops would unravel the truce between IS and Clan, something the Warden Bears were not ready to do.
<Habeas2>: That, in the short form, was the FASA plan