SuperCharger
06/14/02 08:13 PM
12.83.76.138
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Well, as everyone probably knows by now, WizKids' new MechWarrior: Dark Age site is up and running. After poking around a bit, I have thoughts:
[SPOILER ALERT: Some of this stuff apparently spoils things that will happen in the last Classic BattleTech book (Endgame/Endgames), which has yet to be published. Considering some of the things that happen, I can't imagine this will be good for sales.]
1) I was wrong: Victor is mentioned as being the brother of the rulers of both the Federated Suns and Lyran Alliance. Therefore, Peter must have returned from St. Marinus House and become Archon. Either that, or Katherine somehow retained the Archon's Throne, which I highly doubt, especially since Victor seems to be on good terms with both rulers; he introduces Devlin Stone to both of them, and they are receptive to his ideas. OTOH, that may be partially due to (2) below. My theory was that Adam Steiner would become the next Archon, because otherwise it was stupid to pull him from the poor quality cartoon and add him to official novel canon. Apparently, someone just decided to be stupid.
2) I (believe) I was right: Though the site insists no one knows who Devlin Stone originally was, it seems pretty obvious he is/was Arthur Steiner-Davion. Age was about right, circumstances surrounding his landing in an re-education camp sound about right.
3) Stupid things: apparently David Lear, aka Kai Alliard-Liao's son, is a professor of some sort by 3071. But he can't be more than 20, since he was born in 3051 or 52. And for some reason, some of the Clans participated in the ousting of WoB from Terra. And Stone's "Generation of Peace" is only, at most, 20 years.
4) Good things: Apparently, Victor did "fulfill the promise of his name," since he apparently won the FedCom Civil War and was instrumental in defeating WoB and bringing peace to the Inner Sphere. And Anastasius Focht was around until at least 3080 or so. And the Successor States finally admitted their new Star League was a sham (honesty! wow), though the Star League's dissolution apparently brought about the WoB Jihad.
5) Weird things: Foremost in my mind is the Inner Sphere map that has 4 sections in the coreward, "Clan" areas. The Wolf occupation zone has shriveled. Possibly the Ghost Bears/FRR fought a war with the Wolves and decimated the Wolf Occupation Zone, returning worlds to the FRR in the process? Also, the Republic of the Sphere text mentions the breaking of the Free Worlds League during the WoB Jihad, but the map has an FWL area that looks pretty well intact. Unfortunately, the only areas of the map that are interactive are areas controlled by the Republic of the Sphere, which I'm not finding particularly interesting so far.
Anyone else have thoughts? I don't think the storyline shaped up in the way I'd hoped it might, but it suppose it might have been much worse...though I'm not sure right now how that might have happened.
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Black_Phoenix
06/15/02 12:33 AM
207.252.105.99
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>>And for some reason, some of the Clans participated in the ousting of WoB from Terra.>>
That is not really surprising. Even having Terra in the hands of ComStar is better for the clans. ComStar can be trusted, Wobblies could just wreck everything.
>>Apparently, Victor did "fulfill the promise of his name," since he apparently won the FedCom Civil War and was instrumental in defeating WoB and bringing peace to the Inner Sphere.>>
This is why I love spoilers. Now that I know what is going to happen, I am even more interested in how it happens. 
>>Unfortunately, the only areas of the map that are interactive are areas controlled by the Republic of the Sphere, which I'm not finding particularly interesting so far.>>
Personally, I wish they had finished some of the Clan/Sphere areas of the map. I want to see what they say about the planets.
History is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever.
-Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
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SuperCharger
06/15/02 04:57 AM
12.83.66.218
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>>Personally, I wish they had finished some of the Clan/Sphere areas of the map. I want to see what they say about the planets.<<
My thoughts exactly. The Clan OZ sectors were the first thing I noticed. "Wait a minute, something's wrong up there...1,2,3,4 regions! And the Wolf Occupation Zone is much smaller, half eaten by this new middle ground." OK, so there's the chunk around Terra for the Republic of the Sphere, but 1) the text had prepared me for that and 2) it actually looks like the old 2750 maps with the Terran Hegemony. And in fact, it looks like the Republic and the shuffling of the Clans were the only changes; even the Periphery States look exactly the same. Given the hype about new factions and new technology (or commonplace old technology) I had assumed there might be some new Periphery States, or splits in the Successor States. I expected to see a reborn Duchy of Andurien, at least.
Looking at the map again (despite how tiny it is), I notice two new things:
1) The tiny stub that was what was left of the FRR is gone, apparently absorbed by the new middle zone in the OZs. This new middle zone must be the new Free Rasalhaugue Republic then. The Ghost Bears were after the Wolves already; the GB-FRR alliance must have licked the Wolves good.
2) There's a kink in the Lyran Alliance-Jade Falcon border where the Arc-Royal Defense Cordon was. Could it be Morgan Kell didn't reunify the ARDC with the Lyran Alliance after the Civil War was over? Interesting...
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