Your BattleTech News Roundup For August, 2022

August has been blissfully warm. Which is nice, since renovations have been a months-long string of disasters that have left me a husk of a man. The situation has convinced that perhaps the best life path for me is to actually quit writing entirely to focus on learning how to build kitchen cabinets and standing showers without having to pay anyone else.

While I contemplate the many wrong life choices that have brought me here, I will at least provide you all with your BattleTech news for August.

Catalyst Cuts Ties With Long-Time Author, Blaine Lee Pardoe

This technically happened at the end of July but it was basically right after we’d already published last month’s roundup. And man, this blew up my timeline along with everyone else’s. 

We’ll start with Catalyst’s statement, which simply stated it had “suspended publishing new works by long-time BattleTech author Blaine Lee Pardoe, primarily due to Mr. Pardoe’s online activities which do not align with Catalyst’s publishing vision.” Those of you who don’t follow Pardoe’s Twitter account might wonder just what those “online activities” might be and how they could be so bad as to cause a rift in a business relationship that had lasted 36 years. 

BlainePardoe

For an explanation, we’ll turn to Blaine Lee Pardoe himself, who published his side of the story in American Greatness, a news site that even its own Twitter account describes as “a hotbed of far-right Trumpist nationalism.” Blaine provides his account of what happened in an article titled “My Publisher Canceled Me in Favor of an Activist Who Threatened My Life,” where he accused Catalyst and BattleTech license holder Fanatic of caving to the demands of a “woke mob” that increasingly saw Pardoe’s political discussions online as… concerning.

I’m not even going to get into the bizarre odyssey of Pardoe’s alleged stalker, mostly because it seems like a he-said she-said that Pardoe plays up to rile his conservative supporters. 

Pardoe then posts an update to his personal blog where he goes into the call he received from Catalyst president Loren Coleman (another longtime author of the BattleTech franchise) as well as an email where executive editor John Helfers called Pardoe’s non-BattleTech work “drivel.” In case you were wondering, that “drivel” was book two of Pardoe’s Blue Dawn series of novels that describe an alternate reality where neoliberals overthrow the American government and replace it with a progressive/socialist one. 

Some of you might think that sounds great, but the blurb really makes it clear that the novel is targeting the kind of conservative audience who confuse “socialism” with “bad.” 

Helfers later apologized for what was apparently an accidental email CC, but it’s clear here that Catalyst had a real problem with Pardoe’s non-BattleTech career. Statements from both Catalyst and Coleman confirmed that this separation has nothing to do with Pardoe’s BattleTech works or novels, many of which remain the universe’s narrative cornerstones

There’s been a ton of community drama, some siding with Pardoe, some with Catalyst, but all of it just highlights how American politics has become so pervasively polarized. And that’s coming from a Canadian, a country which desperately tries to keep its nose out of American politics (barring softwood lumber or electric cars). 

Also, kudos to Insaniac99 on the BattleTech Reddit for providing links to those Facebook blurbs, since I have a general policy of staying away from Facebook as much as possible even without a category four shitstorm raging. 

Tex Talks About The Inner Sphere’s Great Houses

BattleTech 101: The Great Houses of the Inner Sphere
Watch this video on YouTube.

Another quick hit for July that I totally missed because YouTube’s algorithm is garbage. Tex and the Black Pants Legion did a new video describing the major Houses of the Inner Sphere. It’s a much quicker hit that Tex’s usual Tex Talks BattleTech fair, and is a great primer for anyone looking for a relatively quick explanation of the BattleTech universe. There’s also some new art in here too, so I’m even going to encourage BattleTech veterans to check it out. 

MechAssault 2 Mod Adds Wave Survival Mode

MechAssault 2 | Grinder Enhanced 2 (Dev Update) | Last Resort
Watch this video on YouTube.

I’ll admit it, I’ve never played MechAssault 2. But from the looks of this mod (and Wolves, the fan-made MechAssault game) I missed out on something pretty cool. But if you own a copy of MechAssault 2, you don’t have to miss out on what looks like a pretty cool mod.

Grinder Enhanced 2 comes courtesy of EliteAssault over on YouTube. It adds a new survival-based map where you get to take on waves of Word of Blake ‘Mechs using your choice of BattleMech and with the help of a few friends. Things keep getting progressively more difficult, with more enemy ‘Mechs dropping in until finally the player is overwhelmed. The objective is to last as long as possible and rack up as many kills before your reactor goes nova.

Check out EliteAssault’s Discord for directions on where to download the mod.

Catalyst Brings A Massive UrbanMech To Gen Con (And Previews Some New Stuff Too)

GenCon 2022: Catalyst Game Labs Battletech Alpha Strike
Watch this video on YouTube.

Finally getting to true August news, Catalyst was in full force at Gen Con 2022. And to prove it, they even brought a life-size UrbanMech with them. Sadly, it’s not a real UrbanMech, but a mere inflatable copy. Still, this is the closest we’ve come yet to seeing a real-life BattleMech walking around. Or waving its inflatable autocannon at us. 

Inside Gen Con, Catalyst showed off a bunch of new products, starting with the new Alpha Strike Box Set. Inside you’ll find a quick rules book, a bunch of Alpha Strike cards, some pilot cards, and 13 ‘Mechs, several of which have brand-new designs. There’s the Pouncer, a ‘Mech that proves all you need is Clan tech to make a 40-ton chassis workable, and the Wraith, a 55-ton Inner Sphere ‘Mech that proves all you need are pulse lasers and jump jets to take on almost anything. 

There were also copies of Empire Alone on sale, as well as the BattleTech Beginner Box set, a new T-shirt with a Banshee on it, and a selection of BattleTech‘s latest novels including A Question of Survival by Bryan Young and Land of Dreams by Randall N. Bills.

Elsewhere at Gen Con, Catalyst treated to a bunch of teasers for even more new models. Courtesy of the BattleTech Community Twitter account, we got to see teasers for some new sculpts. I spot a Javelin, a Clint, a Dervish, and a Scorpion, as well as Warrior VTOL and what might be the Behemoth tank. I’m sure there’s way more that I’ve missed, so please do share your best Gen Con reveals in the comments below. 

The Urbie Has The Spirit

Besides getting to see his beautiful UrbanMech design immortalized as an inflatable, Bishop Steiner also gave us… this. I’m not exactly sure what denomination this UrbanMech belongs to, but I understand that communication is the key to a successful religion, and it looks like this UrbanMech understands that too.

What If The King Crab Was In MechWarrior 3?

King crab in style of Mechwarrior 3 from mechwarrior

Honestly, this model seems like it could be good enough for MechWarrior 4. Thankfully, we never had to deal with the twin AC/20s hidden inside the King Crab‘s claws in either game, but TedwinK66’s animation does make you wonder. 

BattleMech Plush Prototypes Spotted

Archer Atlas Plushies

It’s been a while since we’ve seen the teaser of those BattleMech plushies, so it’s about time we checked in. And guess what? We got a set of pics for each of the new plushies coming. 

Courtesy of Reddit user Beskaryc117, who grabbed these pics off Twitter, we get to see what we’re in for. In the first image, we have two Archers and an Atlas. And in the second, a Phoenix Hawk. It doesn’t look like the Hatchetman is part of this set, which is a shame, but you can’t expect Catalyst to bring an entire roster of iconic ‘Mechs in a single go.

But a Hatchetman would have been nice. Outside of a Whitworth of course. 

No New ‘Mechs Planed For MechWarrior Online, But Updates Continue

Podcast 229 - Developer Chat - Q3 - 2022 Roadmap - Mechwarrior Online
Watch this video on YouTube.

And now we move on to MechWarrior Online news. And the news for MechWarrior Online is there is no news. Or there’s at least very little news. 

A new interview with No Guts No Galaxy’s Sean Lang and Matt and Daeron at PGI revealed there’s not a whole lot is going on with MechWarrior Online. New mapmaker Francois has left the company and the MWO team doesn’t have the resources to create new ‘Mechs or maps. Hence why the roadmap has been updated to not include any map after the Terra Therma rework which is still scheduled for October, and why there are no new ‘Mechs on the horizon.

Which is a shame, since apparently, the Crusader was both successful financially for PGI and a big hit with fans. The Crusader was one of the few remaining Unseen ‘Mechs that have never really been in a MechWarrior game, and it’s so nice to see that old battlewagon make its virtual debut. 

That’s not to say that things will remain this way forever. Matt and Daeron are still negotiating with the higher-ups at PGI to get the staff they need for new content whenever they become available. It might just take a little while. And we should keep in mind that staff not working on MechWarrior Online means they’re working on something else. Wonder what that might be?

Support for MechWarrior Online continues with balance updates and bug fixes. The Commando and the Cougar are the big winners in this month’s quirk pass, but there was also some fine-tuning performed on some Phoenix Hawk, Warhammer IIC, and Marauder II variants. Light machine guns were buffed, and Snub PPCs--which have dominated the meta ever since their buff in July--have been nerfed with additional heat and heat scaling. Whether that’ll be enough to stop the Snub-pocalypse in MechWarrior Online remains to be seen, but I’m at least confident that the Cauldron is keeping an eye on things and will take even more drastic steps if necessary.

And that’s it for August! Join me next time where I’ll hopefully have moved successfully and it will still be warm enough for me to call it summer in September.

And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.

stay syrupy

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152 thoughts on “Your BattleTech News Roundup For August, 2022

  1. Heinzbond

    News about Blaine Lee Pardoe,

    As a long time Reader of the Battletech related Stuff like Novels, Readouts and all the fancy beautiful things that provide me with Mechs since i was a child, many decades earlier i was shocked to read that B. L. Pardoe was kicked out. and no further explanation why was given. Now that i could read i could UNDERSTAND the reason why .
    For me i always try to look separably at the work of an artist and the artist too. As with all i like some Authors, some Actors, some singers because of what they make of their art. Some of them share my beliefs, and most of them share not all of my beliefs and very few seems to be very sick, poor persons after that revealing their crimes. (thinking of King of Pop as example) i still listen his Music, will still watch movies with actors i now know there are filthy as something or read books from authors i wouldn’t otherwise take a second look for. I will not burn or smash this or that piece of art because the artist is saying or doing this or that, but sure i want buy any new thing from him/her.
    So i hope You can fix the rift in your society that is even to see and feel in Old Europe as we need your help here too. and a fractured ally isn’t for any good…

    Sorry about my English, still not my mother tongue…

  2. Galv

    we should be more worried about the division of American politics. From what I have seen, this is of no surprise, Sean. Cancel Culture should be a thing that should be avoided like the plague, and we should be united despite race, and creed and ideology. I am a conservative too and I love this franchise so much that I have been playing Mechwarrior since I was 10. 10 for god sakes. what catalyst did was wrong and I can sense a lawsuit coming. im sorry this has happened and I wish it never have happened.

    1. Seminymous Coward

      “Cancel culture” is just a buzzword for a negative viewpoint on consequences in general. A person should judge each case on its own merits. These consequences are entirely appropriate. Among numerous other things, he trash-talked specific segments of the fanbase.

      1. AlphaBlu

        No it’s not. Cancel Culture is a real and horrific thing.

        We need to get of Twitter. It is a divisive tool that has done nothing but harm humanity.

      2. Galv

        buzzword? I think you need to look at it in a big picture. both sides are being cancelled and its very dangerous.

        1. Militant_Monk

          Conservatives have often tried to cancel things I was interested in from rock music, to D&D, to Magic: The Gathering.

          A company no longer employing somebody is not cancel culture. It’s business. Blaine’s other work informed Catalyst that they’d no longer like to employ him. Saying this is cancel culture is disingenuous as saying a bad resume preventing you from being hired is cancel culture run amok.

          1. Yoga

            And now the Leftists have the Morale authority high ground. They are *literally* playing the part conservatives did in the 80’s and early 90’s. Arbiters of truth, and what is permissible to say.

            It’s punk rock to be conservative, while liberals are the marshmallow squares.

      3. MagpieOAO

        “Cancel Culture” is a pretty silly buzzword especially when most people mean “political persecution.”

    2. smiluk1508

      I agree whole heartedly. I refuse to name myself left or right. If one must lable me then I would be a moderate. Personally I think the republican party is in shambles and the democratic party has no idea what it is doing any more. I believe the poison pill is the presidency in and of itself. I am tied of feeling iike it is 1858. I think Americans are overworked, overstressed, angry, and confused. When I was 9 nears old (im 42) I had been into Battltech for two years. 1989 was the year that the Ken Burns Documentary abouut the Civil War aired on PBS for the first time. Ever since then the American Civil War and Battletech have dominated many many hours of my life, even to this day. I HATE how my Battletech is being invaded by toxic American dysfunction. If only more people could relax and get into something like battletech, something totally frivolus, maybe, just maybe things wouldn’t look so dark out there. For the Last year I have been turning to battletech more and more as a way to escape the “Bad feeling about this” and for the most part, it helps. Everybody stay safe out there and if anyone can point me to on line game of Inner Sphere at War, that would be ccol

      PS Sory for typos and the Don’t ha timr to go back and edit and im working with wireleess keyboard that is taking some getting use to.

      1. MagpieOAO

        No need to assign a label to yourself my guy, It sounds like you’ve got your head on straighter than most which is a good thing.
        Battletech is something that brings us together when the world has numerous reasons to push us apart.
        Can’t we leave our politics at the door?

    3. MagpieOAO

      Likewise, Blaine had his opinions which were odious to people who support his ‘firing’ but if the roles were reversed they’d be crying foul. People support political persecution and worse when it happens to ‘the other side’ not realizing that the vast majority of the populace are not actually invested in either ‘side’ of the conflict, they are only being used.

      1. cochise

        This is not “political persecution” it is a company cutting ties with someone who hurts their image

    4. cochise

      Companies firing people is not a new thing. Just because you invented a nonsense buzzword like “cancel culture” does not make it a real thing no matter how much you want it to be. You people need a reality check

  3. Aaron Doukas

    I feel I should point out that picture of the plushies are prototypes; the production Atlas will have a bigger head.

  4. Bishop Steiner

    Nice article Sean!

    The Urbie is is of the Word of Blake/Comstar Denomination, part of a series of really silly faction based Urbie variants I did (WWI Tommy for Davion, Viklng FRR one, etc). Just keeping things syrupy!

    Also love love love that MW3 King Crab!

  5. Svens

    Good round up, but missing some details on the Pardoe debacle, namely two things;

    1) Pardoe’s freelance contract was cut in February 2022 (not July, as article mentions). There’s three things pointing towards that time;
    – Probably the most important one; Pardoe himself confirmed it in his blog around or in February,
    – Harder to verify; Loren replied to a fan email saying Pardoe’s contract was ended “six months ago” and the email was circulating around twitter at the time when Pardoe announced his “cancellation” (his words) right before GenCon (6 months after it actually happened)
    – Easy to prove, but not necessarily convincing fact; CGL_Battletech and CatalystGameLabs twitters stopped following Pardoe in February, which people talked about back then, timing, again, matches.

    2) Pardoe’s “drivel”, as Helfers wrote in email, was published on Amazon with Catalyst Game Labs in the topic line, as if CGL published the book, to people following Pardoe. You can confirm this super easily by just looking at Pardoe’s blog where he posted image of the Email. The topic line, from Amazon, reads “Catalyst Game Labs: New from Blaine Lee Pardoe”.

    The point 2 really just looks like a mistake on Pardoe’s part, but point 1 is really scummy. He knew his contract was cut in February 2022, he told people about it too, in his own blog, but then he threw a tantrum about it right before GenCon and Leviathans KS to try to drum up people against CGL? It’s no wonder CGL cut contact with him, if this is how he has been acting behind scenes too.

    Svens

    1. Phoebe Williams

      Honestly Sean has an issue with reporting anything that even hints of being a politicized topic with any kind of neutrality. Maybe he isn’t even be aware he’s doing it or it could be deliberate, we can only speculate as to which.

      1. Kdogprime

        I don’t need to speculate much to understand.

        Sean lives in Ontario, Canada, whose urban areas are hotbeds of left-wing progressive thinking. It’s people like that who put Trudeau back in the PM’s office for a third time, and look at how well that’s turned out.

        And before anyone give me any grief about that statement, I live in Alberta, and I’m very well aware of the political situation in my country.

  6. M. Jared Swenson

    I have a lot of respect for BLP after all this happened, especially when he explains the situations through the various interviews and podcasts he’s been on. He was my first introduction in to BattleTech back in the 90s, and to me will always be an important part of it. It is worth noting that he has never called for a boycott or any harassment of CGL, but I personally won’t be giving them any of my money. BattleTech predates CGL, and it will live long past them. The nice thing about BattleTech is you can very much be a part of it and separate CGL from the equation, unlike for example 40k.

    1. Brian

      Like hell he’s not calling for a boycott, ranting and raving about how he’s been mistreated by CGL? he knows damn well how his right wing followers will respond,

      1. M. Jared Swenson

        You can assume or derive all you want, but he has specifically not called for boycotts, and in his interviews he has defended most of those working at CGL. His criticism is more toward some of CGL leadership and the parent company, which is where the order to get rid of him came from due to the recent acquisition. During his time he has done a ton of great work for the property, community, and fandom. He has never once called for people to leave BattleTech or anything like that. He has repeatedly stated it will always be an important part of him and his writing, and to many fans, he still is important. I don’t get the amount of hate from him that so many I have seen accuse him of post-firing. I’ll miss his contributions to one of my favorite lifetime properties.

      2. Scrubbing Bubbles

        Fanatics’ major holder is Blackrock.
        Blackrock has been punishing companies in it portfolios for any “wrong think.” Look it up.

      3. Joshua

        BLP and his “right-wing followers”? You know how dumb this sounds, right? We are talking about Battletech, for heaven sake! The whole purpose of this game and universe is bringing people together for the love of the game. You do you, I’ll do me, BLP can do him, and Catalyst can do them. Why does politics have to be so divisive? Yup, Trump is an idiot and a scumbag…. And by that same measuring rod, so is President Biden and all the others who sell themselves to demagoguery politics. Enough already! Leave Battletech and RPGs out your political battles. RPGs and war games like Battletech are what they are in 2022 because they have left the fringe and become mainstream! It takes PEOPLE to do this. Keep pushing the the political polarization and ideological inquisition and at least half the fan base is going to leave. Not good for the country, NOT GOOD FOR BATTLETECH.

        1. MagpieOAO

          The problem is many of them see the personal as political and so associate your politics with your personage.
          Anyone with the wrong politics is a terrible person and so anything, ANYTHING is justified against them.

          People used to call them ‘bigots’ ‍♂️

    2. Chambers

      Actually you’re wrong.

      In an op-ed for American Greatness, titled “My Publisher Canceled Me in Favor of an Activist Who Threatened My Life,” Pardoe says “When corporate cowardice in the face of a minority of left-wing woke whiners alienates conservative fans, the fans need to speak with their money and remind publishers who they really answer to.”

      1. Pht

        If you had read it (I’m guessing you didn’t, because you didn’t post this, and what you did post was the very top part)

        Conservatives need to speak with their money by supporting conservative publishers or those companies that opt to ignore the politics of their creative staff altogether.

        Source: https://amgreatness.com/2022/07/29/my-publisher-canceled-me-in-favor-of-an-activist-who-threatened-my-life/

        When he has been specifically saying, over and over and over again, he is not calling for a boycott.

      2. MagpieOAO

        “Conservatives need to speak with their money by supporting conservative publishers or those companies that opt to ignore the politics of their creative staff altogether.”

        Was the quote.

  7. Goodnight, Gyr

    A frothing ideologue in the author’s seat is the last thing an obscure IP like Battletech needs. Let him enjoy his pity party; who knows, maybe the right-wing outrage media on youtube will throw him a few pity dollars while he does the rounds.

    1. Kdogprime

      The people we don’t need in Battletech are people like you, who think it’s cool to ditch a proven and popular author because of his political stances.

      Literally no one cared about Pardoe’s politics until a handful of frothing ideologues decided he needed to be fired because he didn’t hide on which side of the isle he stood. They made this into an issue, not Pardoe.

      The people who should be here, and who shouldn’t have a say are the people like you. Battletech fans should be gatekeeping this community to keep out self-righteous leftists who ruin literally everything they touch.

      1. Goodnight, Gyr

        Here to stay, bud. Cope and seethe. I’ll even extend an olive branch: when a left-wing Battletech writer decides to write half-assed apologetics for a riot with intent to overturn a national election, I personally guarantee you I’ll disavow him.

          1. Goodnight, Gyr

            I don’t have to do anything. I can just sit here and enjoy the simple pleasure of right-wingers getting absolutely triggered. No amount of conservative tears will get your Blardoe his job back.

          2. Scrubbing Bubbles

            So you are so triggered by this author, that you want to troll conservatives, hopefully trigger them and do this all for your pleasure?
            Are you that unhappy with your own life? Do you not have any mates to talk with?

          3. Scrubbing Bubbles

            For the record, I don’t really care if they bring him back or not. I find the situation very amusing, hilariously funny in fact. History repeated, over and over, again and again.

        1. Kdogprime

          You mean like the left has done with every Republican president that’s been elected in the last fifty years?

          You mean like how the DNC and the mainstream media desperately tried to get Trump out of the White House for four years using every false accusation they could possibly dream up, for which they came up with precisely nothing to support it?

          Talk about coping and seething, your entire political outlook is based on exactly that.

          But don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time for it come November. By then, the political views of Battletech authors will be the least of your concerns.

      2. Militant_Monk

        Pardoe’s other works are published on Amazon and are using Catalyst Game Labs in the topic line, as if CGL published the book, to people following Pardoe.

        That’s reason enough to terminate a contract with a writer.

    2. MagpieOAO

      The dude has contributed a tremendous amount of content to a very niche game/universe. Even when fired, whatever the case, he explicitly told people not to boycott and told them he loves the franchise and wants it to do well even if it means doing so without him.

  8. Russell Zimmerman

    A few important notes in all the PardoeGate drama are that firstly, no freelancer is ever really “fired” (unless a company breaks contract with them in the middle of a project, refuses payment, or withholds royalties, and that’s not what happened here). They’re just not contracted back for future work, which is something that no freelancer is ever guaranteed, anyways. Freelancers work contract to contract, project to project, that’s it, no matter how long-running their relationship with a company might be. A freelancer is ‘free’ (hence the name) not to pursue future contracts from an employer, and an employer is likewise free not to offer those contracts. There is no “wrongful termination” lawsuit or something that applies here, because there is no termination (because there was never actually employment, as the American legal system defines it).

    Secondly, it’s worth noting that Pardoe’s political views undeniably seeped into his writing. Writers are only human, of course their morals and ethics bleed into their work (even, or maybe especially, when that work isn’t purposefully political). The stories we tell, the characters we represent in telling them, the way people act, the worlds people act in; those are all ‘political’ whether storytellers and audiences are aware of it or not. It’s no coincidence that Pardoe consistently complains about Confederate statues being removed, and then there were multiple mentions of how sad it is Smoke Jaguar monuments are being taken down, for instance.

    Thirdly, everyone knows how influential social media is. Every professional in America knows that their online presence reflects them, and every corporation in America knows that their affiliated creators — freelance or otherwise — reflect on THEM. Choosing to make political divisive comments is just that, a choice. Choosing to make particularly incendiary ones, getting more and more divisive, especially in the last five years? That’s also a choice. Blaine Lee Pardoe made the repeated, conscious, decision to paint himself the blood red of the GOP, and by extension, to increasingly smudge that red paint on CGL by association. Republicans claim to be big advocates of personal responsibility…and yet…here we are, with Blaine desperate to rake in those “canceled” dollars, and constantly tagging Gina Carano in his Tweets to try and get that sweet, sweet, attention.

    1. Boltzman's Ladder

      From all I’ve seen BLP became a liability to Catalyst and to the wider Battletech brand.

      His recent eratric behaviour, his barely creditable story about the stalker, his frankly unhinged blog posts an yes his Blue Dawn novels which he tied to his work for Catalyst.

      All the above made him a liability and since he was a Freelancer and not a contracted author he could be let go (not fired, despite what is claimed) and that can be the end of it.

      He may not have asked for any Boycotts directly but his extensive rabble rousing online, especially calling out a “woke mob” for his downfall has lead to at least Mage Leader stating publicly that he’ll boycott Catalyst.

      Battletech will survive BLP’s absence, he wasn’t as big, important or clever as he thinks he was.

        1. Kdogprime

          I guarantee he didn’t. I certainly didn’t know, or care, what Pardoe’s politics were until some perpetually offended leftist on Twitter made it a personal mission to get him fired.

          1. Boltzman's Ladder

            Can show us this “petually offended leftist on Twitter” ?

            Just like the guy living in his basement pretending to be a Lesbian Nurse that BLP blames for his woes, I’m not convinced they exist outside of his imagination.

    2. Pht

      Yes, you can get fired from freelance jobs, it’s pretty wild to say that you can’t. “We aren’t going to let you work for us anymore” = being fired, and trying to downplay that is silly, at best.

      Secondly, it’s worth noting that Pardoe’s political views undeniably seeped into his writing.

      *stares at the books on his shelves* Ok.

      Where? Because I didn’t see any of that and I had no idea what BLP’s politics were before this thing kicked off, and I’ve been around conservative politics since the 80s and had no idea he was even involved.

      No, your saying reality must be, has to be that way, doesn’t make it so. We don’t have to quibble over this, the books are there, to be quoted from. As far as squabbles over whether statues should be pulled down, maybe remember the discussion of the fights over whether to pull down statues from the former USSR days, and you’d have to apply the same standard and reasoning there (and it clearly wouldn’t apply).

      Choosing to make political divisive comments is just that, a choice. Choosing to make particularly incendiary ones, getting more and more divisive, especially in the last five years? That’s also a choice.

      That can’t work right now because we are in the middle of a radical upheaval. You literally cannot tell WHAT will be considered worthy of being a fireable offense right now, including if you don’t say ANYTHING about anything at all (get accused of not caring about the rage of the day). It doesn’t matter what side of these things you are on, or if you even are on a side, things have changed so quickly that it’s impossible to know what to do. That’s what societal upheavals are like.

      The only thing you CAN do that functions in these sorts of times is make a properly grounded moral judgement and say something is right or wrong. Which will get you in trouble too, but for different reasons.

      1. Boltzman's Ladder

        You can’t be fired from a freelance job becuse you’re not under any contract and are therefore not an employee.

        If someone were to go to a restaurant, shit on the table, claim it was the reastaraunts food and then be told not to come back to said reastaraunt they still wouldn’t have been fired form the restaurant.

        1. Pht

          I don’t know why you think that’s a worthwhile position to try and play this verbal shellgame to support.

          He produced content for them for 30+ years. He was told he will not be allowed to do that anymore.

          That IS a firing and it’s a very weird hill to die on to try and say it’s not. Children who mow their neighbor’s lawns for lunch money can understand this.

          1. Scrubbing Bubbles

            If let go in the middle of a gig, a freelancer/contractor is “fired”. If after a gig, they don’t ask you to do any more work for them, you aren’t really “fired”. The end result is essentially the same. However, it is all really just semantics and doesn’t help Boltz’s argument.

    3. MagpieOAO

      Do you know the politics of the guy who made your last meal when you went out to eat?

      How about the guy who made your chair?

      What about your miniatures? Or the paint for them?

      The vast majority of people are not going to be aware of someone’s politics much less care more than the service they provide. BLP’s book being related to Catalyst is something the vast majority of people wouldn’t even notice as they checked out the book and began reading, any more than someone would question the politics of a programmer at MWO or editor for SARNA.

      Even then, it’s not like he’s recommending heinous actions against people. He’s got some silly hot takes and books he writes that are a contemporary take on “Red Dawn”. If you don’t like it, don’t buy his books.
      But instead of course we see people demanding he can’t even make books or happy that he can’t.

  9. Rob C.

    I need ask, how much trouble is PGI if both their key people (map guy and the graphic artist who knows Crisis code, one and only one.) leaves the company. Side talk has mentioned that one of them has said it was PGI’s workplace mentality that drove them off. That’s bad news, especially if they expect someone else come in and have same results happen? MWO & MW5 won’t survive that keeps going.

    1. FlickerShine

      In the specific case of Francois, it doesn’t sound like it was workplace culture that led him to leave PGI, and more the very outdated game engine he was forced to work with when it came to the coding portion of map making.

      Cryengine 3 is more than 10 years old now, and literally nobody outside of PGI or the very small number of indie game devs to buy a licence for it still use it. Cryengine was always a “good looking” engine – albeit now it’s showing how long in the tooth it is – rather than a core gaming engine. By what I’ve heard, Francois left because spending time and effort working with a ten year old engine would get in the way of future projects and work; since cryengine is very idiosyncratic vs the more common Unreal-based platforms.

      This is, of course, just my third-hand understanding on the situation.

      1. Bishop Steiner

        also one need recall the “teams” behind MWO and MW5 are separate. I may be wrong, but I do not believe Francois was working on anything MW5 related, and as such, it’s a blow to MWO, in the short term, anyhow, but MWO is also a decade old game that honestly it’s crazy impressive still is running or adding new content at all.

  10. Just the facts

    Sean is biased as based on his talk about the American Greatness. The part that calls it “a hotbed of far-right Trumpist nationalism.” is actually a quote from Media Matters, a left organization known for its bias and lies. It was obviously posted as a dig at the organization the quote came from. Remember, full disclosure of all details or you are false.

    I am not defending his beliefs as I find some offensive, but I do believe all details matter.

    Also, I am anti-propaganda definition to socialism, which is “socialism makes everything magically better.” The real definition is centralized economy controlled by the government. This implies that socialism being good or bad is based entirely on the quality of the government.

  11. Lukas

    Yep let’s whine about the talking point of ‘Cancel Culture’ instead of addressing the actual issue at hand of at will employment that allows employers to fire people for any reason (which also includes having an opinion that doesn’t confirm to theirs)… Oh wait the talking heads those people listen too also have them convinced that being against at-will-employment is socialism.

    1. Scrubbing Bubbles

      Company, I work for has a union. Really sucks to bust your ass only to get the same raise as the person who sat on theirs.

      1. Iceciro

        You think that doesn’t happen in non-union companies?
        The only difference is in non-union companies the guy who sits on his ass and is chummy with his boss gets the raise and your hard-working self gets NOTHING.
        The idea you can magically work yourself into success in every non-union company and it’s only the union that holds you back is a preposterous one. Managers and companies are not rational actors.

        It’s like saying business is better at running [insert literally anything but squeezing things for profit] than government. Only people who can possibly say that must either be lying or have not seen decision making processes in large businesses.

        1. Scrubbing Bubbles

          Wow, you read a lot into my post that wasn’t there.
          I’ve worked union, non-union, free lance jobs at companies ranging in size from 20 to 400,000 people. So I’ve seen a lot of it in some form or another. Some better some worse.
          But my response to Lukas was simply to show that at-will or union doesn’t matter, something is going to suck, but thanks for playing.

    2. Trevor

      I’ve worked for both, it’s apples to oranges or 6 of one to 1/2 dozen of the other. Unions vs non-unions, each has it’s own problems. It’s more about laws passed by your gov’t, and less about capitalism vs. socialism.

  12. Kerry

    Considering that Trump stole several boxes of classified records including more than one marked Top Secret – Sensitive Compartmented Information, I can understand why CGL and Battletech cut ties with Pardoe over being a Trumper.

    Donald Trump is a national security risk, a terrorist, and a traitor. He belongs in Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay for a permanent vacation.

    Those that still follow him after the events of January 6th, 2022 belong in the same place.

    1. Scrubbing Bubbles

      LOL MSNBC much?
      The Big Guy Biden belongs there for being on the take from foreign governments, willful destruction of the economy, energy production, food production, medicine production, as well opening borders to real terrorists, drug trafficking, sex slave trafficking. All of this on the behest of his foreign masters who pay him to burn it all down.
      You, my friend are being played and can’t even see it.

      1. ComStar did nothing wrong

        “Foreign masters.” Say what you really mean. C’mon, you know you want to. Why not just come out and say the quiet part loud?

          1. ComStar did nothing wrong

            Continue that line of thought. Who specifically? Show the world your true colors.

          2. Scrubbing Bubbles

            ComStar – couldn’t reply directly to your post. Show my true colors? What are you talking about? Sounds like you have a complex about someone disagreeing with you or who may have a differing opinion. That’s the problem with all sides, unwilling to listen or definitely unwilling to have an actual discussion, because they are incapable of handling honest truth or real facts. Geez, as I said below, so boring.

          3. ComStar did nothing wrong

            Tabloid politics like Infowars and decades of educational neglect took a sledgehammer to your critical thinking capacity, and now you think Joe Biden, one of the most milquetoast, inoffensive old farm animals that the two-party establishment could proffer is personally intent on destroying this country at the behest of “foreign masters” (my dog is barking, weird).

            You’ve got just enough situational awareness to realize that the American establishment is a calcified husk of crony lobbying and neoliberal indifference to working American needs, but instead of bothering to understand why the system is so broken and how it ended up that way, you latched on to whatever half-baked disinformation gets your id riled.

          4. Scrubbing Bubbles

            Wow, what a lazy attempt at a personal attack. Your argument is boring and contrived, something I would expect from a college sophomore. Also despite your belief of superiority, I assure you that your characterization of me is very inaccurate. I’m pretty confident in saying, that you will refuse to accept this fact. This makes you just another boring self styled intellectual, who like to talk down to others because only YOU know better as evident by your comments. You bore me, thanks for playing though.

          5. ComStar did nothing wrong

            I can’t help it if you think it’s a personal attack, but I guess that’s what happens when a frank assessment gets under somebody’s skin. Bye, champ. Better luck next time.

          6. Scrubbing Bubbles

            Hardly, but whatever helps you feel better about yourself. Sorry, no participation trophy for you.

        1. Scrubbing Bubbles

          Is that supposed to be a jab? Good God man put some effort into it. Your making this so boring!

      2. APinchofMensch

        Lol! You’re practically frothing at the mouth to tirade about George Soros and “global elitists.” All talking points fed to you by a failed global real estate developer that shits in golden toilets in his bankrupt luxury resort.

  13. Samuel Crosbie

    I have been playing Battletech since 1984. Been reading since the OG Decision at Thunder Rift. I must say, I am disappointed with both Catalyst, and BLP. But I still appreciate BOTH entities, no matter what. I am in this for the long haul. So, yeah. Here I am. Here I stay. And ain’t no upstart wannabe Woofie on Terra gonna move me.

    1. Trevor

      I’m more disappointed with Catalyst than Blaine, cowering before the ‘woke’ gains you nothing.

      1. Iceciro

        It’s not cowering to cut ties with a freelancer over odious political commentary.

        It would be cowering to keep him.

        1. Kdogprime

          And yet they took the word of a non-employee who is guilty of far worse commentary.

          You obviously don’t know what cowardice is, or who the bully was is this situation.

          The only odious ones in this equation are the ones at Catalyst who acted cravenly and caved to a faceless voice on the internet who has done nothing to benefit them.

          All they’ve accomplished is piss off the people who have the money and are supporting the franchise. I guarantee this wokester who targeted Pardoe isn’t rushing to buy anything Battletech now that Pardoe is gone.

          Catalyst didn’t do anything brave. They didn’t stand up for anything or anyone. Confronted by a weak dog with a loud bark and the first thing they did was run.

          That’s cowardice.

        2. MagpieOAO

          Let’s say some full speech purists saw you say this and were absolutely enraged.
          They harass your workplace about wanting you fired.
          At first the workplace doesn’t care, but they continue to move up the chain until they start pestering someone above your position who decides it’s better to just cut ties with you than continue to deal with the annoying libertarians.

          Would that be justified?

  14. Scrubbing Bubbles

    Et tu Sean? Definitely sounds like your politics may have leaked into this months roundup.

    1. Trevor

      Agreed, very much so. As a fellow Canadian I can see that moral superiority complex Canadian’s have over Americans without understanding the American position. Sean is also deluding himself that these left/right tribalist positions are not corrupting life in Canada. Look to the trucker protest= right, rebellion = left. Sean’s opinion piece is not remotely unbiased. I can for the most part separate the artist from the art, unless the artists’ action are especially egregious such Bill Cosby’s criminal acts.

  15. Rob

    Truly disappointed and disgusted by the coverage given to Mr. Pardoe’s firing here. Regardless of one’s position on the man or his work, every author deserves a fair, equitable presentation when it comes to stuff like this. We’ve lost a cornerstone writer of BattleTech fiction and we aren’t even going to attempt an even-handed investigation of the facts, just because the editor doesn’t like the website Blaine posted on and can’t be bothered to discuss the stalker situation? Instead of spending time actually discussing the issue, we’re just going to throw shade on American politics, while conveniently ignoring Trudeau’s unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act to crack down on protesting Canadian citizenry? Sarna does a lot of great work, but you’ve lost a user and frequent visitor with this sad attempt to editorialize off of another man’s misfortune.

    1. Russell Zimmerman

      What wasn’t fair or equitable about the coverage here? What information or links to sources do you think are missing?

      1. Pht

        Well that’s easy.
        If he was just going to report what happened, he wouldn’t have said anything that would say one side or the other was right.

        We’ll start with Catalyst’s statement, which simply stated it had “suspended publishing new works by long-time BattleTech author Blaine Lee Pardoe, primarily due to Mr. Pardoe’s online activities which do not align with Catalyst’s publishing vision.” Those of you who don’t follow Pardoe’s Twitter account might wonder just what those “online activities” might be and how they could be so bad as to cause a rift in a business relationship that had lasted 36 years.

        That is CGL’s claim of why they fired BLP. Which is contested by blp and very much unverified by cgl.

        If you’re reporting news, you just say what happened. You don’t pick a side.

        No, I don’t believe there is such a thing as being true neutral or completely unbiased, but you do have to *try.* This stuff is basic.

        It was also deceptive for him to have said

        … American Greatness, a news site that even its own Twitter account describes as “a hotbed of far-right Trumpist nationalism.”

        … and not very smart, because when you click the link he gave, it says:

        American Greatness
        @theamgreatness
        “. . . a hotbed of far-right Trumpist nationalism . . . ” —Media Matters for America
        Hearts & Mindsamgreatness.comJoined July 2016

        From just that, should anyone think they know why AMG used that? Or is it ok to just presume things?

        I’m not even going to get into the bizarre odyssey of Pardoe’s alleged stalker, mostly because it seems like a he-said she-said that Pardoe plays up to rile his conservative supporters.

        Again, picking sides, in that he presumed why pardoe has talked about it.

        It’s not news reporting, it’s an editorial, and it’s a one-sided editorial. He really fell on his face hard, if he was genuinely going for news (reporting what has happened).

    2. APinchofMensch

      So lovely to see people paint the borderline terrorism and intimidation by force that is/was the Canadian trucker convoys as “protesting.”

      1. Kdogprime

        If all you are going to do is parrot the mainstream media’s false narrative on the convoys, you can piss off to Reddit.

      2. MagpieOAO

        Ah yes the peaceful protest of the proletariat against an authoritarian state mandating medical discrimination through financial coercion moving quickly to PHYSICAL threats and violence against the workers who literally provide your goods and services was “Terrorism” against the bourgeoise.

  16. sute

    Good riddance. As usual the “freedom of speech” advocates really mean “freedom from the consequences of speech”. If BLP wanted to champion conservative political views AND write for Battletech he could have just… not gone crazy conspiracy nut on main. This has been escalating for years and IMO, if anything, Catalyst have been too protective of, and lenient with, this dude.

    1. Kdogprime

      Which you say as if championing conservative causes is inherently evil.

      And you’re projecting, as leftists love to do. You talk about how free speech advocates want, “freedom from the consequences of speech.” Nevermind that the Twitterite who started this whole mess did so by telling lies about Pardoe that Catalyst then believed.

      “I will say anything I choose against anyone I choose regardless of how false it is in order to ruin lives and no one will punish me because I’m perceived as righteous and good.”

      How is that not exactly what you were just talking about? But then again, self-reflection is not a trait the left is known for.

      I look forward to the day the same standard is used against you. Don’t complain.

      1. hurfdurf

        “Which you say as if championing conservative causes is inherently evil.”

        A lot of the current conservative causes are inherently evil, yes. It wasn’t always this way, but it sure as shit is now.

        1. Kdogprime

          Which causes would those be?

          The cause of keeping children from being indoctrinated into ruining their bodies permanently with surgery and drugs?

          The cause of keeping criminals in prison where they belong?

          The cause of keeping illegal immigrants out of countries where they don’t belong?

          The cause of preventing pedophiles from accessing children under the guise of, “tolerance?”

          The cause of keeping the country out of foreign wars?

          Which of those causes is evil?

        2. MagpieOAO

          My guess is that you don’t actually know or understand ‘Conservatives’ let alone what they intend to conserve or what their causes actually are.

    2. MagpieOAO

      Well yes, Freedom of speech does mean in spirit “Freedom of consequences of speech”.

      You can say anything you want in North Korea….Once.
      People used to respect freedom of speech as “People can have some stupid takes but I won’t judge them as a person based on them”.

  17. OddRoot

    Man, oh man, how I wish modern politics would keep out of fandoms I enjoy, no good has ever come of it, not once, not anywhere.

    I come to Sarna to read about BattleTech, not read random hot takes on US politics, irrespective of the mess between Catalyst and Pardoe.

    As long as we are bitching about politics: I am a US conservative and do indeed take a rather dim view of socialism and all of the closely-related concepts. Socialism is as bad as the government implementing it, and there are no good governments anywhere because they are comprised of people who will tend toward greed and corruption over time. This is a universal thing, no exceptions, full stop. Long enough in government corrupts even the best intentioned people. The strange corporatism that we have in the US is also not great, but we choose our evils at least.

    I would guess that a lot of the fandom of BattleTech probably skews at least slightly right/conservative, most of your “harder” military settings do.

    1. APinchofMensch

      What would do you live in where you choose your corporate masters in the crony corptocracy that is America? Trumpublicans are an absolute riot with the imaginary world they live in. Literally everything you’re whinging about as “evil” in socialism applies to capitalism.

    2. Kdogprime

      If you want to fix the problem of invasive politics in your favorite IPs, the solution is simple; gatekeep the fandom and keep the socialists out.

      1. Gatesmasher

        Yes because if there’s one thing that resurgent franchises need its gatekeeping by reactionary right wing grognards. That’s absolutely guaranteed to attract new blood!

      2. MagpieOAO

        Gatekeeping always fails inevitably, what you can do instead is always work to progress the positive ideals of the community that will be repugnant to those who want to destroy it.
        For instance, a healthy hatred of Capellans.

    3. MagpieOAO

      The problem is that socialism requires totalitarianism. “Free healthcare as a human right” for instance requires a provider, someone must provide services and at some point if say every doctor were to strike what would happen? They would be compelled to provide the service as it is a ‘human right’ through the only methods government has, coercion and violence.

      Another problem is people confusing “Social programs” with a complete economic and government system of “socialism”.
      It’s possible to have social programs without society being ordered around a totalitarian state.

    1. Boltzmanns Ladder

      I’m glad he’s gone and I think the wider BattleTech franchise will be better for his absence.

  18. Silence

    While I normally do net get involved in the commenting, I feel obliged to way in.
    It’s normal to report about “behind the fantasy” occurrences of the universe and nowhere is written, that this site is an impartial news site. So an opinion piece is nothing sinister – if you do not share that opinion that’s ok. Major sources were given – it’s always the best way to make up your own mind, anyways.
    Keep it civil and respect your fellow posters and the author. I, for one, am grateful for the monthly reporting. I get most of my BT News here!
    The Battletech Universe is dear to me, but let’s keep it honest: we’re not talking about journalism here. BLP is -and was- a separate business entity all along, so he can do what he likes. No one is burning his books or is keeping him from writing new books (with a different IP, of course).
    Not a single one of us armchair generals have all the facts. For my part, I read BLP statements and did not find them overly professional. It’s easy to cry wolf and tell the world that the other side doesn’t know what it’s doing, is influenced, weak,[…]. A dignified response, it was not.

    I would much rather focus on his work than any political byplay. I was very disappointed of the timeline turnover in Hour of the Wolf. FOR ME the book was a disappointment and could not hold up to my love of the CivilWar novels, now 20 years old.

    I’m not an American, but maybe you can explain to me why there is such a double standard.
    It’s ok for a corporate entity – a bakery – to deny creating a wedding cake to gay people because that is “their right”. People can agree with that, or not (I do not, if you couldn’t tell).
    But if a corporation ends an business relationship with an freelancer, that’s sinister.
    You cannot have it both ways.

    Much rambling- it’s a slow work day.
    Instead of letting your hobby divide you further, why not let it bring you back together? The (western) world needs “you american people” and if you continue on your current path…well, last time around (1861) you started the first industrialized war – with yourself.
    I would much rather read about war than see it in the news.
    An Atlas will still be an Atlas, even if you paint it red or blue.
    Maybe, the best paintjob includes both colors?
    Best regards to ALL

    1. OddRoot

      >An Atlas will still be an Atlas, even if you paint it red or blue.
      >Maybe, the best paintjob includes both colors?

      So, you’re saying Marik? ;-)

    2. Scrubbing Bubbles

      My thoughts and maybe this will help you or not.

      The bakery is exercising a “right” to not provide a service for something they believe goes against their religion, even if it hurts their business. Those that agree or disagree have the right to decide if they would like to financially support the bakery or not. It’s really the consumers choice.

      Fanatics/CGL is exercising a “right” to no longer have a author create future content for them as they believe the views of said author will hurt the business. Those that agree or disagree have the right to decide if they would like to financially support Fanatics/CGL or not. Again it’s really the consumers choice.

      Both companies have the right to make the decision it did and both companies will have to live with the positive and/or negative results of that decision.

      The decision in both cases result in consumers feeling either attacked or offended depending on the consumers personal beliefs. It’s a no win scenario and regardless of the decision, it will impact the business.

      As someone once said, “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.

    3. DavionRifleman

      >Instead of letting your hobby divide you further, why not let it bring you back together?

      That’s a great suggestion that is entirely undermined by your defense of blatantly biased news reporting. What do you think is creating the great division in America? It’s biased reporting. The criticism of the above reporting is entirely justified. And if you genuinely want to see these divides healed, you will do your part to call out such malicious behavior.

    4. MagpieOAO

      Point of order on the wedding cake;

      The Baker did NOT deny to make them a cake. In fact, he offered them many cakes he had made and to provide alternatives to what THEY wanted him to make. They wanted him, specifically, to make a cake that was antithetical to his beliefs.

      When something similar happened to an Islamic store (If I recall, someone demanding unclean meats at a butcher) they were chased out of the store and there was no demands for ‘justice’.
      The fact that the story is misunderstood to this day is a testament to how deceptive ‘cancel culture’ is at spreading false narratives.

  19. Falston

    Do people even liked BLP stories? I’m more than happy to see him go because he was a one-note writer that had 2 nice-ish stories in his name. The fact that he was a disgusting person not working at the game anymore (and that a segment of similar thinking fans are also leaving the hobby) is just a cherry in the top

    1. sute

      Like most BT fiction I’d consider his stuff pretty workmanlike (although the latest book seems to be almost universally panned). But as this mess has been escalating it’s been increasingly hard to differentiate those who are big enough fans of his work that they tolerate his views, from those who are big enough fans of his views that they tolerate his work…

  20. LamontCranston

    Neoliberal means something quite different to liberal, progressive, socialist.

  21. N

    I think Catalyst’s treatment of longstanding authors and members of the creative team/community speaks more about them as people than it does about Pardoe.

    That being said, I dont know if Mech plushies other than the Urbanmech are really going to work, those (alleged) prototypes look really weird. I think it’s the bulbous proportions caused by the way they are stuffed. Maybe you could get it to work with some like the madcat, maybe the Atlas if you redo most of it.

  22. AlphaBlu

    “… confuse “socialism” with “bad.” ”

    Socialism -is- bad. Time and time and time and time again socialism and its derivatives have proven to be highly destructive and oppressive societies and never prosper.

    Next you’ll be pulling the “Real socialism has never been tried” nonsense out on us.

    1. Boltzman's Ladder

      Socialism seems to be working out pretty well for the Scandinavian countries.

    2. Scrubbing Bubbles

      “‘Socialism is a wonderful idea.’ It is only as a reality that it has been disastrous. Among people of every race, color, and creed, all around the world, socialism has led to hunger in countries that used to have surplus food to export.”
      – Thomas Sowell

      “Nevertheless, for many of those who deal primarily in ideas, socialism remains an attractive idea — in fact, seductive. Its every failure is explained away as due to the inadequacies of particular leaders.”
      – Thomas Sowell

      “Many of the intelligentsia remain convinced that if only there had been better leaders — people like themselves, for example — it would all have worked out fine, according to plan.”
      – Thomas Sowell, Disastrous Utopia — Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism

      “Anyone who studies the history of ideas should notice how much more often people on the political left, more so than others, denigrate and demonize those who disagree with them — instead of answering their arguments.”
      – Thomas Sowell quotations on the ‘vision of the political left’

      “The political left has never understood that, if you give the government enough power to create ‘social justice,’ you have given it enough power to create despotism. Millions of people around the world have paid with their lives for overlooking that simple fact.”
      – Thomas Sowell quotations on the ‘vision of the political left’

        1. Boltzman's Ladder

          They kind of are though.

          Comparably high taxes, lots of social services, public healthcare, nationalised utilities, state education system with free education up to and including free university education including PhD’s.

          Maybe thay sounds like a socialist hellhole to you but I can tell you from experience that it’s quite nice.

          1. Scrubbing Bubbles

            Kinda are? Not, if you ask them.
            Also they are finding out that they can’t keep up with the constant financial burden of these policies.

          2. Kdogprime

            None of that is socialism.

            Socialism is an economic system where the means of production is owned by the people, usually in top-down, government-management. None of the Scandinavian countries have a system like that.

  23. Kdogprime

    Sean, your writing has a negative bias when it comes to anything conservative, and it’s blatantly obvious. Of course, I’d hardly expect any neutrality from a Ontarian who probably votes left on reflex.

    If you can’t handle that simple requirement and keep your personal biases out of your writing, my recommendation is that you steer clear of political issues in the future or get someone else to write about any contentious issues addressed in the roundup from a more neutral perspective, because the last thing Battletech needs is leftists turning this IP into yet another political battleground the way they have with Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, DC, Doctor Who, and now Lord of the Rings.

    Also, no one is confusing socialism with, “bad.” Socialism is bad. Period. That’s reality. Everywhere and anytime socialism has gained a foothold, things turn out for the worst. If you think otherwise, please name a single socialist country that is superior to western nations in terms of economic prosperity, personal freedoms, and equal rights under the law. Name a single franchise that has improved by embracing progressive socialist identity politics. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

    1. Boltzman's Ladder

      “Name a single franchise that has improved by embracing progressive socialist identity politics. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.”

      Battletech, now that BLP is gone.

      In all seriousness the franchises you mentioned haven’t embraced some woke ideology just to spite you, they’ve just moved with the times. Stuff like the OG Star Trek would have been “woke” to anyone who’s cultural identity was rooted in the 50s for example.

      The world and society is changing and those franchises have just adapted to appeal to the majority of people who want to see them.

      Thats right as much as it might pain you, the majority of people want the content as it is now not as you imagine it was. Hence why the Rings Of Power has been doing so well and the hate campaign by grognards who were determined it was to fail has gone absolutely nowhere.

      1. Scrubbing Bubbles

        That’s funny.
        Battletech, not enough time has past to say one way or the other. So you are just stating your opinion.
        Many companies have been bluffed into believing the progressive narrative by the vocal opinion of the minority. Then why is the progressive Disney failing? Why did Netflicks cancel the vast majority of their progressive programming? Why is CNN hemorrhaging money to the point that they are realigning and removing so many of their progressive “journalists”.
        So I could really say just the opposite. The vast majority of people are starting to tire of being force fed the progressive narrative and it is being rejected. Slowly but surely it will have been nothing but a fad like disco was.

        1. APinchofMensch

          By what metric is Disney failing? It makes gobs of money. The MCU will continue to make billions. Avatar 2 will make billions. Always love the delusions you Trumpublicans dream up to make some point y’all invented.

          What’s really the matter guy? Does two men or two women kissing make you that upset? Are you scared of questioning your sexuality? Uncomfortable of what you might discover and then what all your little troll friends will think of you?

          Hate comes from fear and you got a lot of hateful feelings my guy. So what are you afraid of?

          1. Scrubbing Bubbles

            Walt Disney shares down by about 40% over the past year, not a delusion.

            You are deflecting.

            And now you are projecting.

      2. Kdogprime

        Hahahaaaahahaaaaahahahahaha!

        Hold on, let me read that again….

        AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAAA!

        “The world and society is changing and those franchises have just adapted to appeal to the majority of people who want to see them.”

        Right. Which explains why modern Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel and DC comics, LOTR, and Doctor Who have been such rousing successes.

        Except that’s not the case. It’s been one long string of failures after another. Admittedly, Star Wars may have lagged behind the rest, but even it is now seeing the consequences of embracing wokeness.

        The Rings of Power is going to be a massive failure. Amazon Prime has already removed the show from its Recommended category after only two episodes. Between the two episodes, they only got 25 million viewers, and I guarantee that number is going to drop now that people have seen how garbage it is. Even the usually woke mainstream critics haven’t had much to say about it other than, “it looks expensive.” That’s hardly a rousing endorsement.

        But even regardless of all that, if these things are what the public at large now wants from their beloved franchises; well, I guess that just proves how shitty the public’s taste has become.

        1. Boltzman's Ladder

          Oh to have a mind so deluded that “only 25 million views” of something can be considered failing.

          All you need to know is that those franchises are successful and are being made becuse the audience wants them like that.

          “Am I so behind the times that my views have become culturally irrelevant? No, it’s the people who are wrong!”

          1. Scrubbing Bubbles

            The Lord of the Rings did well because it followed the source material. Game of Thrones did well until it veered away from the source material, though not by choice. The Hobbit wasn’t nearly as good (IMHO it sucked), because it didn’t follow the source material.

            Jury is still out on LotR:RoP. The production value and visuals are absolutely phenomenal, but my concerned is the story. As much as I would like this to be a success (and I really do), the story does not feeling enough like a Tolkien story. It has all the world elements, but I don’t think that alone is enough. Again my opinion, it just feels like just another mediocre fantasy story and not a Tolkien story (ie not following the source material). Not that the source material for this time frame is all that great to begin with as most of the “stories” for this era not being fully fleshed out and are just used as snip it backstories that tended to compete with each other and are mostly unfinished or just margin notes to support the depth and lore of the LotR and the Hobbit more than anything else.

            I agree with Kdogprime about the franchises. Most have run their course, the new directions lack compelling or interesting stories or attempt to completely rewrite the beloved characters audiences grew up with. The Star Wars “Special Editions” actually ruined Star Wars for me long before the sequels put the nail in the coffin. Were the sequels successful? Sure, they made a lot of money, but for millions of fans they won’t be re-watched over and over like the unaltered originals.

            I will leave you with this thought, many people today equate high production value with flashy visuals with a great movie or TV show. A great story and great actors make great movies and TV shows, the rest is just icing on the cake. If the cake tastes like shit, it doesn’t matter how good the icing is, no one is going to eat it. My favorite video game (released in the 80’s) has the crappiest 8-bit graphics and a terrible interface, but the story is so compelling that I still play it over and over again.

  24. Zera

    Sean, next time you feel the urge to editorialize on a political matter, let it go. Your insights on such matters are trite and your obvious bias has you oblivious to other reasons this matter is concerning to hobbyists. A big reason political discourse in the world today is so polarizing is because “news” like this is making it polarizing. Suggesting it’s a uniquely American phenomenon is disingenuous.

    But I suspect you know this already and posted what you did anyway.

  25. Chambers22

    Actually you’re wrong.

    In an op-ed for American Greatness, titled “My Publisher Canceled Me in Favor of an Activist Who Threatened My Life,” Pardoe says “When corporate cowardice in the face of a minority of left-wing woke whiners alienates conservative fans, the fans need to speak with their money and remind publishers who they really answer to.”

      1. Kdogprime

        Even if you do interpret it that way, so what?

        This may come as a shock to you, but the companies that own these IPs are not owed your loyalty or your money simply by virtue of the IP’s ownership.

        Catalyst didn’t fire Pardoe because his books weren’t selling. They fired Pardoe because of a threat made by an anonymous voice on Twitter who isn’t even a Battletech fan in the first place.

        Pardoe is pissed, and rightfully so. If it were me, I’d be doing the exact same thing.

        1. Boltzman's Ladder

          They didn’t fire him becuse he was never an employee in the first place.

          They opted to not purchase anymore of his stories becuse he had become a liability, both through his personal behaviour and putting their company name in the tagline for his unrelated books on Amazon.

          BLP played stupid games and won stupid prizes. He “fucked around and found out” to put it in the vernacular you’re so fond of.

          Also we’ve yet to see any evidence of this Twitter troll who BLP blames for his own mess. All we have rongo on is is own rambling statement from his blog which is backed up by nothing.

          1. Scrubbing Bubbles

            Oh my, has hell frozen over. I’m going to agree with Boltzman’s Ladder!
            BLP was contract writer for CGL, so could not be “fired”.
            Although, it is all really just semantics and it really doesn’t help Boltz argument.

            Not really someone or a group of someone’s didn’t like BLP’s politics and raised a stink about it to the IP’s owners. CGL and BT fans didn’t give a flying flip about his politics until now. Unfortunately this put CGL and the IP’s future in a no-win situation.

            BT fans didn’t have a problem with the leftist leanings and TDS of CGL execs, staff and writers. I would say I’m pretty sure most didn’t care, until now.

            Have you tried doing any research or are you stating your opinion?

          2. Scrubbing Bubbles

            “putting their company name in the tagline for his unrelated books on Amazon.”

            You mean like many other authors do?

  26. Joatmon

    It looks like there is more than enough turd slinging here to go around, but there are three deserving targets.

    Catalyst, because terminating an employee for a political reason has ironically now drug real world politics more firmly into the BT eco system while they were apparently trying to prevent the very thing.

    BLP, because he published on Amazon and had the Catalyst tag used with his non Catalyst work.

    Sean, because this was a very bias piece of editorial he tried to turducken in with the rest of the monthly news.

    1. Scrubbing Bubbles

      I’m pretty sure that this is going to do to Battletech, what Harmony Gold has never been able to.

      1. Boltzman's Ladder

        I don’t think BLP is as big or as important as he thinks he is to the setting that his departure will have any noticeable impact.

        I’ll ask again, can anyone provide any evidence of the “leftist troll mob” that BLP blames for his getting “fired”?

        1. Scrubbing Bubbles

          Like I said before, I don’t really care one way or the other. He was never my favorite or least favorite Battletech author. Authors come and go.

          I believe the only ones who could truly verify aren’t talking.

  27. Scrubbing Bubbles

    Like I said before, I don’t really care one way or the other. He was never my favorite or least favorite Battletech author. Authors come and go.

    I believe the only ones who could truly verify aren’t talking.

  28. MagpieOAO

    I appreciate linking BLP’s article it could have been kept short and sweet with the simple “This is what he said, this is what happened and he gave his best wishes to Battletech without him, saying he does not encourage a boycott.

    As long as they keep MWO up I’ll be playing on and off. I dream of a MWO:2 on a new engine with some features including a jump in co-op but I don’t have high expectations.

  29. Alrik

    Yes, socialism is bad. We had it here in Europe for almost 45 years.
    And it was real socialism, as proofed by scientists. Its scientific proofed benefits were peace and social justice, and anybody who dared to doubt that was called a science denier, or an enemy of peace, or a fascist.
    So please don’t doubt that it was a real-existing socialism, or else…
    And of course that real socialism was also antifascist. It even maintained an antifascist border wall were refugees trying to leave the real existing socialism got shoot in the back.
    It was also a democratic society – only democratic parties were allowed in the parliament, and the government was always lead by the socialist party.
    Non-democratic political parties and media (anything that might challenge the democratic, socialist & antifascist system) were banned.
    Besides all that socialist progressive politics it was also pretty conservative… listening to the wrong music, wearing long hair & wrong clothes and questioning authority was considered anti-socialist behavior that could be punished.
    It was also a pretty nationalist society. In fact “national” was a buzzword as popular as “socialist” or “democratic”. But more honest used.

    But to switch the topic to Battletech:
    You are all aware that the whole lore and many of the Mech names are a minefield of non-pc topics?
    House Liao & Kurita early lore checkmarks every box for Asian stereotypes (and not the nice ones).
    There are Mechs called Crusader & Huron Warrior.
    There is a faction of religious fanatics starting a genocidal war called “Jihad”.
    The Clans are a Mongol inspired horde with eugenics aimed to produce the Uebermensch.
    Periphery pirates raid undefended worlds for slaves, and even sell those slaves with a certificate of origin.
    Some of the early Holloway cover arts are… let say there was a reason why teenage boys loved them back in the day.
    But thank god no one would today use all that stuff to blame Battletech being racist, sexist, downplaying or exploiting slavery… well at least as long the Warhammer Franchise is the more popular one, and the better target to collect fame for greater social justice.

  30. Just a Person

    I really don’t get why people are so pissed.

    Most media companies enforce professional respectability amongst their staff, if not outright neutrality. It’s standard practice to sanitise one’s social media in the arts industry and only talk about politics where directly relevant to the work at hand. Because if I want to be honest from my experience, nobody gives a damn who you vote for, and frankly work too long hours to give a crap.

    So every time I see some conservative weirdo getting pissed off about being fired for expressing fringe political beliefs, I end up wondering why they are surprised or incensed.

    BPL thought himself too important to Battletech brand – to the point of being above professional courtesy. Being a freelancer with no permanent contract, CGL cleanly dropped him to avoid controversy.

    Rather than being a damned professional and moving on, his response was to throw a shitstorm. Because again, BPL still sees himself as being above professional courtesy. And y’all are here screaming censorship when there is a far more mundane reason for it.

    And for those of you who think this happened to BPL because he was conservative…

    No, not really. If BPL was a tankie (and an outspoken, public one at that), the result would have been the same.

    1. Scrubbing Bubble

      “Most media companies enforce professional respectability amongst their staff, if not outright neutrality”
      You have seen CNN or MSNBC right?

      “So every time I see some conservative weirdo getting pissed off about being fired for expressing fringe political beliefs, I end up wondering why they are surprised or incensed.”
      So it’s okay to fire someone based on their political beliefs, just as long as you don’t agree with them or call it fringe?

      “Rather than being a damned professional and moving on, his response was to throw a shitstorm.”
      Because no one should bring attention to being fired for their political beliefs, right?

      “And for those of you who think this happened to BPL because he was conservative…”
      So BLP would have been fired if he was just as outspoken about the latest SJW fad or if he was just as vocal about being against Trump?

      Just a side note: I think all or at least most of us here have come to the consensus that as a freelancer BLP wasn’t “fired” per se, but he would just no longer be asked to write for CGL. Result is the same, but get it right next time.

  31. Sean Post author

    Alright, we’re lockin’ this post down. You’ve all generally stuck to the big rule of “no personal attacks,” but the conversation surrounding BLP has degenerated into an argument over left vs. right politics, and not only do I not care to read such posts any longer, but they also have absolutely nothing to do with BattleTech. If you were planning on posting something so insightful that it would end the argument once and for all and convince everyone that we’re all just people trying to survive in a cruel and unforgiving universe and this left vs. right dichotomy is entirely unhelpful… sorry, you’ll have to post it on a different BattleTech wiki.

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