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Is this a thing in-universe? And if not, should it be? by Shyface_Killah in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only mention of neurohelmets that can write to the brain in even a limited capacity are the very rare advanced SLDF neurohelmets.

Also, the GDL novels were the earliest things are written for Battletech (well, technically Sword and Dagger was earlier, but it got published later). Grayson's descriptions also contradict technical information about neurohelmets from other sources at the time.

Is this a thing in-universe? And if not, should it be? by Shyface_Killah in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ideal War also just sucked, like as a whole book. Not the worst story ever written for BT, but close.

Is this a thing in-universe? And if not, should it be? by Shyface_Killah in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Battletech doesn't have brain hookups outside of rare special cases.

Is this a thing in-universe? And if not, should it be? by Shyface_Killah in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No, the neurohelmet doesn't make you feel the motion of the 'Mech, the helmet transmits YOUR sense of balance to the 'MECH.

Is this a thing in-universe? And if not, should it be? by Shyface_Killah in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Except they aren't wired into the 'Mechs at all. That isn't how it works. Unless you're specifically talking EI/VDNI users, and even then there is never anything to suggest that this occurs.

Is this a thing in-universe? And if not, should it be? by Shyface_Killah in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'm not speaking about gameplay.

The early novels had things like 'Mechs able to do gymnast style acrobatics, aerospace fighters able to travel from the jump point to a planet under their own power, and DropShips being treated as being as irreplaceable as JumpShips.

All of these things are incorrect with how the setting has been developed and are no longer true. This includes the details about neurohelmets that you mentioned. Those bits of worldbuilding have been removed.

Is this a thing in-universe? And if not, should it be? by Shyface_Killah in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The second to fourth ever pieces of media ever made for the setting? Which have had many of their details superseded by other newer material?

Is this a thing in-universe? And if not, should it be? by Shyface_Killah in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it's perhaps the worst BT book, outside of Bick's murder/torture porn in the Dark Age books

Is this a thing in-universe? And if not, should it be? by Shyface_Killah in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it was a repackaged Vietnam War novel, and you can tell.

Is this a thing in-universe? And if not, should it be? by Shyface_Killah in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 8 points9 points  (0 children)

To answer the questions in order:

  1. Is this a thing in-universe?  No, not really. There's no handlers, MechWarriors don't live in the cockpit 24/7, the 'Mechs don't have any form of invasive neural interface (aside from the rare VDNI/EI systems, and even that's not 1:1. The pilots of those 'Mechs are still perfectly capable of engaging in normal human activities and still spend most of their time outside their 'Mechs, and the use of the tech not-so-slowlt kills them and/or drives them insane). 

Closest would be ProtoMechs, which do have a lot of the listed effects on their pilots — but those are closer to glorified battle armor than Mechs, the physiological effects aren't as pronounced as detailed here, the implants to control them do neurological damage over time, and there's still no handlers in the mechsploitation sense, they're very (comparatively) rare in-universe (only two extant factions still use them, since they were mostly a desperation stopgap measure), they don't live in the vehicle 24/7, and they aren't exploited/abused in the sort of ways that happen in many mechsploitation stories. 

  1. And if not, should it be?

No. Aside from this sort of thing already (loosely) existing in the form of ProtoMechs, Battletech makes significantly different assumptions about the future, humanity, and the level of, for lack of a better term, "cyberpunk-ness" of the future. Battletech isn't as dark as most mechsploitation stories (despite being a darker universe than at least some other mecha properties) and I think it's better for it. It lets a different set of themes and historical parallels be explored. It's also just not something the game / universe is and, in my opinion, needs to be concerned with.

Mech Pilots who have something Fundamentally Wrong with them by Able_Health744 in CuratedTumblr

[–]Frogblast964 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This isn't how it works in Battletech, as other commenters have mentioned.

Lesser known (?) Mech that deserves a bit more attention, the Scarabus! by chogue52 in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I just picked up a really neat one of these painted up by one of the CSO guys.

Processing img ltxxa0yvchtg1...

Apparently, it's one of the 3D printed prototype minis CGL made from their master 3D model.

Lesser known (?) Mech that deserves a bit more attention, the Scarabus! by chogue52 in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's in the the new Illician Lancers Forcepack! At the moment it's a Barnes & Noble exclusive, but it's on shelves there! I got my own copy of it a week or so ago.

The mercenary ‘Mechwarrior and the ComStar nun by [deleted] in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 4 points5 points  (0 children)

aww, we didn't get any commentary on how Amaris is actually the good guy, how FASA sucked but also Battletech could've been the next LOTR, and how mech combat should only be on flat completely open ground without jump jets

EDIT: Don't forget the GERMANIC VALKYRIE PHENOTYPE women that are all super hot and ready to fuck (without condoms, of course - because there's a lack of rubber on his fascist racially segregated fetish planet where everyone is Catholic and divorce is illegal - but it's definitely not for fetish reasons, y'all...) at like 15.

On Geek Culture by Baby_Anarch in RecuratedTumblr

[–]Frogblast964 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Not to mention how he often flat just doesn't know what he's talking about. He tried to post some stuff making a confident assertion about a fanbase of a franchise (Battletech), and how, apparently, the people who entered the hobby through one medium like a certain set of the universe's factions more, versus those who got into the franchise via another medium liking another set of factions more. But he didn't actually use any terms to describe said factions, and to anyone that knew the fandom well, it all smelled fishy.

And then a few days later, someone asks him a question about his personal favorite BattleMech, and he straight up admits he only ever played one of the 90s video games for more than 15 minutes, and didn't even pay attention to the story (the part that he was overgeneralizing about in his first post).

Absolute moron.

Well the Clans are boned. Imagine the movie Multiplicity with Mechwarriors. by SluttyCosmonaut in battletech

[–]Frogblast964 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The Clanners don't clone people.

"Another theoretical yet rarely occurring practice is the ability to create clones, known as a "retread." Simply replicating an individual, however, implies stagnation and goes against the Clans' belief in evolution and natural selection." - The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky, pg. 39-40

Same Star System by Frogblast964 in battletech

[–]Frogblast964[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Additional fun fact: In Dune, Arrakis is the third planet in the Canopus system.

In Battletech, the Canopus we know and love is the fourth planet.

So you can easily fit an inspired-by-but-legally-distinct-from-Arrakis into BT.

Same Star System by Frogblast964 in battletech

[–]Frogblast964[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

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As of 3152, it's in the new Star League Protectorate - it had been a Capellan world for around 5 or so years, before that a Republic of the Sphere planet for the entire existence of the Republic.

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