The rise of the SuburbanMech

Things are moving along as well as can be expected on the writing side of the Battletech Universe. I am waiting on feedback on a couple of projects and working on others. but I thought I would take a blog post on a 'Mech design I am very proud of -- the UM-R90 SurburbanMech.

As I described it in the article in Shrapnel #4, The SurburbanMech is an overcaffinated UrbanMech. It's faster than the original, can jump farther, and switches to an all-energy readout. By replacing the autocannon with a PPC, enough weight was freed up to install a larger engine and an extra jump jet. There are not enough heat sinks for an Alpha Strike, but with a some effort, it can do the job.

The SurburbanMech is an old design, one that has been around for over two decades. One day, I was looking at the design and something clicked. So, I did the redesign and used it in a couple of battles. At the time, Battletechnology was being published, so my friend Rob Madson and I decided to start submitting things to the magazine. The SurbarbanMech was the first thing we submitted and the first thing we had published in Battlechnology #16 -- my first Battletech writing credit.

For a couple of decades, the design was nothing more than a side note in the Battletech Universe. When the magazine decanonized, the SurburbanMech was in limbo. It wasn't until other Battletechnology designs started showing up in canon products, I brushed off the design, wrote a new entry for the 'Mech and submitted it. The rest is history.

Both the industries mentioned in both the TRO articles -- Hammerstorm Electronics Corporation (HEC) was my company, while Phoenix Heavy Industries (PHI) was Rob's company. The two appeared in the entry for the Rattlesnake in Battletechology #21. And while Rob is no longer with us, I had to keep his touch on the design as a tribute to his memory. 

I'm proud of the SurburbanMech being canon again. When I heard that the 'Mech was now part of the Battletech computer game, I couldn't help but smile. It's a nice upgrade to the UrbanMech. Death From Above Wargaming recently did an Battlytics of the SurburbanMech on their YouTube channel (Located here: UrbanMech Shootout PART 3 - UM-R90: Battlytics | Classic BattleTech Mech Review | Clan Invasion), along with the original UM-R60 and the UM-R60L UrbanMechs in other videos. Watch all three and see how the SurburbanMech stacks up with the others.

Oh, and if anyone wants to run the UM-R100, go ahead. I have never run it before in battle and I'm curious to see how it stacks up on the battlefield.

That's it for today. See you later!

Craig

 

Icons of War Audiobook

In early September, Icons of War as released as an audiobook. Read by the Battletech's novel voice actor, Tren Sparks, this full-length audiobook is unabridged and bring Garman, Satinka, and the other characters to life. It's only five hours, seventeen minutes long, and can be burned to four or five CDs.

This isn't the first novel I've had involvement in that's an audiobook: the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored are also audiobooks. But Icon is my first solo novel on Audio, and it's strange to listen to the words I wrote. As an author, you can hear he character speak those lines -- you imagine they way they speak, their accents, their micro expressions. Now, I had no interaction with Tren -- I didn't give him any notes about how a character should sound, how to pronounce any of the words, or any other advice.

Yet, he did a great job. The voices he use, especially for Kyne, are good. Tren brings the characters to life -- maybe not exactly the way I envisioned them, but I have no complaints. In fact, I think Tren's Kyne is better than the voice I imagined for him. I love the audio version of Icons.

Now, it's only available on Audible, and can be found here: BattleTech: Icons of War Audible Audiobook – Unabridged. If you are a Audible subscriber, you can use your free monthly audiobook to chose Icons. Tren is a great narrator and he brings my words to life.

That's all for now.

Craig

 

BattleTech is Officially One of the Biggest Names in Tabletop Gaming Now

At least according to both Catalyst and Polygon....

I hadn't intended on making a blog post this quickly after the last one, but I thought I would say something about the article. The Catalyst article can be found here:A Look Back–And Ahead–at BattleTech’s Success. The Polygon article can be found here: BattleTech is officially one of the biggest names in tabletop gaming now. What I want to do is take a look a the numbers Catalyst has put out.

At the end of 2022, the seventh printing of A Game of Armor Combat and the eighth printing of the Beginner's Box had been shipped out. In the last four years, 160,000 copies of both those boxed set have been printed up and sent to the market place.

160,000 copies.

Not bad for a game that was declared dead and buried the on the late 90's, or on life support in the 00's. A game that has been around close to 40 years, with an initial high learning curve, and whose rules had remained mostly the same in that time. In this day of short attention spans and computer games, Battletech has held its own and has brought in new players and those returning to the game after years of inactivity.

The key is no doubt the plastic miniatures that come with each box. The minis, well-detailed and relatively cheap (Compared to the metal minis, which have their own place in the play of things), have been overhauled and resized to make clear the differences between each 'Mech class from light 'Mechs up to the assault 'Mechs.

On that foundation, Catalyst launched a highly successful Kickstarter to  bring in Clan 'Mechs into the mix. A Boxed set was backed with multiple Lance, Star, and Level IIs packs, (AKA, Force Packs) along with a wave of swag. The Clan boxed set is currently on it's fourth printing and brings another 55,000 copies to the marketplace, bringing the number of copies of the three boxed sets to 215,000.

And the New Alpha Strike boxed set, that adds another 25,000 to the initial print run, and a second printing run of 20,000 already in progress, will boost the number of boxed sets to over a quarter of a million for all boxed sets.

As for force packs? 600,000 force packs printed up, of which most have already been sold. According to the Polygon article, over 9,000,000 plastic minis have been manufactured. NINE MILLION. (It can be argued that's more 'Mechs than the 'Mech combat strength of the combined militaries of every faction in the game) and the four new merc-themed lances coming out in January and four more in March will add another 160,000 force packs, bringing the total number of force packs up to three quarters of a million.

But I have to include the other part of the Battletech line -- sourcebooks, rulebooks, and supplements. The Total Warfare rulebook is on its tenth printing, and comparing a first printing with a tenth printing will show that the two printings rules set are 97-98% the same. Catalyst has gone heavily into digital products, allowing series that would otherwise never be seen a chance to find an audience that is more tech-savvy than ten years ago. 

And Fiction.... What can I say? Only a few IPs can boast over a hundred novels, covering several hundred years of war, political intrigue, and skulduggery and have a base consistency few other IPs can match. Shrapnel has been a success, and the next issue will be #12 -- three years of consistence work to get the magazine out on time. I have had some success in  both fiction and sourcebook writing and hope to do more of it in 2023.

I can't wait to see the Merc Kickstarter!

Craig

What's on the Horizon for me in Battletech in 2023?

 

2023 is a new year and I hope will see more growth in both Battletech and my writing for it.

A note about upcoming projects: I have little insider knowledge of what's in the works unless I am directly involved in it. And even if I did know anything, I have an NDA preventing me from revealing it. So, when things are announced, I am as surprised and delighted as you are.

Right now, things are looking up. If things go right, I will have three Battletech novels out this year. I won't go into great detail, but want to say something about them.

The first one up should be Elements of Treason: Honor. This is a Hell's Horses-center novel, the first one about the combined-arms Clan. Like the other two Elements of Treason novels, the background for the novel can be found in the Tarmar Rising sourcebook. But unlike the other two, I couldn't fit the story into the word count of the other two. So, with John Helfer's (Catalyst's fiction director) permission, I expanded the novel to 75,000 words to broaden the story. The second draft was turned in just before the holidays, and hopefully, I will get the needed feedback before the end of the month.

The second novel has been written, but there are changes that will have to be made to bring it into line with the current timeline. The novel dives deeper into one of Major Houses' culture in an area that hasn't really been explored before. I won't say anything more than that, as I still need feedback from the powers that be on what needs to be changed.

The third novel is in the planning stages, and is part of a trilogy along with two other well-known BT authors. The three novels will cover events that have been talked about in sourcebooks, but have never been really explored before in fiction. More when the process is father along -- as I said, it's in the planning stages right now.

As for other projects, I'm still writing short stories and hope to have two more published in Shrapnel this year. I also have a few ideas for gaming content for Shrapnel I need to pitch to Phil. And if other lines ask for something from me, I will do my best to accommodate them.

That's the plan at any rate......

That's it for now, I'll try and be more proactive in the blogging part of the occupation. Until next time!

Craig

Elements of Treason: Duty and Elements of Treason: Opportunity

These two novels of a three-book series that dive into the events of the Tamar Rising sourcebook. Elements of Treason isn't a trilogy in the normal sense of the word, as all three books deal with different characters, but they all occurr in the same area of space, the former Falcon Occupation Zone. 

I was brought on board as the Tamar Rising sourcebook was being written. I was told which books dealt with what, and the first book was to be about the formation of the new Tamar Pact. I was given a word count and the developing sourcebook text.

Elements of Treason: Duty is about the formation of the new Tarmar Pact. I had two characters from the sourcebook to start with: Sarah Regis and Krit Sirsopa. A few more names came from FM:3145 in the form of Cox, Torres, and Brooks. The Fyhne name is from one of the sourcebooks as the ruling family of Arcturus. There are a number of KS characters in the book (I folded and bent a few to get them into the book, but I did so. However, I lost the list of the character and need to track them down again so these people get the credit they deserve). Everyone else (Including the current Fyhnes) is an original character.

The question I had to answer is "Why didn't Arcturus come back to the Commonwealth?" On the face of it, Arcturus should have been glad to be part of the Commonwealth again or made a bigger stink about being annexed by Regis. That led to "Why did Sarah Regis choose to set up her own state?" The wonderful thing about fiction for Battletech is that you can weave events into the story that gives the reader a fuller picture of why events went the way they did. In Tamar Rising, Sarah Regis and her RCT goes rogue and declares the formation of the New Tamar Pact. Elements of Treason: Duty gives the reader the full background of why she went rogue.

Elements of Treason: Opportunity is different because I was dealing with an established character, Vedet Brewer. Brewer has been playing a villain for a while, taking the Archonship for a couple of years before being deposed and fleeing Tharkad. The wonderful thing about Battletech is no faction or character is 100% good/evil (Well, except Max Liao -- that dude is crazy and evil! ;)).

I found myself wanting to fill out Brewer a bit, to make him a more rounded character. In Elements of Treason: Opportunity, we find out more about Brewer's life and how one incident changed his life forever, and a glimpse at what would have been a different Brewer, even as he's carving out an empire of his own. I hope I made him a little more understandable and humanized him some.

There is a third novel in the series. Elements of Treason: Honor is very different from the first two and more  of a challenge to write. The Hell's Horses take center stage for the first time in a novel, and it was a challenge, so much so, that I couldn't fit it into 45,000 words. So, this one will be longer and I hope will make the Horses fans happy. I have submitted the second draft earlier this month, but as everyone is spending time with friends and family, so it will take some time to get the feedback. I hope we will see it published before the Mercenary Kickstarter in March.

And as a teaser, I have begun work on a new novel that will bring light to an era we know little about. I won't say anything else now but down the road...?

That's it for now. I need to get this blog up and running again.

Later!

Craig

Vengeance Games -- Some Background

Shrapnel #6 has the first part of a novella of mine called Vengeance Games I thought I should write this post and give you same background on it. There are no spoilers in this post about the story itself, but the background is a lot deeper.

The main character, Gideon Wozniak, is the same one that appeared in my story End of the Road from the Legacy Anthology. But Vengeance Games was written before End of the Road, mostly as a mental exercise, but with a hope to see it published. When my pitch for End of the Road was accepted, by using Gideon, it gave him some needed background.

Who is Gideon Wozniak?  A former AFFS soldier, born and raised on Antietam. His father was a soldier, and he grew up in a military family. He was the man nicknamed "Stone's Hammer," commander of Stone Lament's Third Battalion, and one of Stone's Immortals, those who were with Stone on Kittery from the start. He has spent years fighting in the Jihad, earning the reputation for being the one Stone turn to to hold a position or to take one. Someone, who should have been a Knight, or even a Paladin, so what happened? Why did he walk away from that? Vengeance Games gives those answers.

Gideon is a complex character. While we saw only Stone's Hammer in End of the Road, in Vengeance Games, we see more of a man who has spent years fighting in some of the most intense fighting. Such fighting has left scars, and we've seen a few of them come up in the first part.

Another character who had been around (in a couple of new items from the now-extinct Battlecorps website) is Baron Riordon Mallory. (BattletechWiki page: https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Riordan_Mallory ). Riodron has always been on the edge of my story-telling thoughts, but Vengeance Games is his first actual appearance in a canon story. He is a historian, with a penchant for being blunt in his assessment, much to those in power. Only the fact his father is the Duke of Antietam has kept him from the wrath of a few powerful Federated Suns families and is Solaris for "Research."

Vengeance Games combines a few things of mine that have either become part of the official Battletech fabric or have been published as non-canonical. Threads that go all the way back to Battletechnology #21 and the story that my late friend and I wrote, Snakedance. Sharp-eyed readers who have read both will see a Snakedance character in Vengeance Games and a couple of other characters who are name-checked.

So, why Vengeance Games? I won't go into too much detail, but what unfolds is exactly as the title stated. And it takes place on Solaris, the Gaming world, where there's more than one game being played....

Later!

Craig

Icons of War (Mild Spoilers)

Okay, I'm writing this a few days before Icons of War is out, but won't be posting it until after the novel is out. If you haven't read the Back Cover Copy, here it is:

Symbols of Power

After the Word of Blake exacts an incalculable toll on Clan Wolf, Elemental warrior Garmen Kerensky is tasked by Wolf Khan Vlad Ward to undertake an audacious, top-secret mission in the Clan Homeworlds. While other covert teams help the Wolves evacuate Clan Space, Garmen’s command will steal the most prized relic of Clan history: the body of the Great Father, Commanding General Aleksandr Kerensky, Garmen’s ancestor. But the father of the Clans’ founder is entombed aboard the McKenna’s Pride, a Star League-era WarShip in permanent geosynchronous orbit above the Clans’ capital city, a staunchly guarded vessel that will take ingenuity, a warrior’s spirit, and more than a little luck to reach.

Stealing his ancestor’s remains is a tall order under normal circumstances, but the Homeworld Clans are on the verge of open warfare with each other, and this mission threatens to blow Clan society apart entirely. As the elite warrior guards of the Ebon Keshik hunt Garmen, he and his hardened team must navigate the intrigue of the shadowy Dark Caste to have any hope of reaching the Pride alive. But no plan ever survives enemy contact, and Garmen must overcome the forces arrayed against him or risk forever losing the Great Father’s body to the chaos and destruction of the Clans’ internal warfare.

So, when John Helfers, Catalyst's Director of Fiction, IMed me with the an offer of writing Icons, I took it. He asked how many words would I need for it, and I, like an idiot, told him 20,000 words....

Blaine Pardoe (who had the original idea) told me that stories will take all the words they need, and Icons fits that. I had gone in, expecting Icons to be a novella (20,000 words) But Icons, for several reasons, refused to fit into a novella. Instead, it has become a short novel, nearly 50,000 words, and it could have been much longer. While it mostly takes place long before IlKhan, it has a direct tie-in with a major event that occurs in Children of Kerensky.

After actually digging into the background (Note to would be BT authors: RESEARCH!) , I realized that was optimistic in the word count. First the body is on a battleship, in orbit over the Clan's capital city; accessible, it isn't. Second, I could not see Vlad Ward ordering a team into post-War of Reaving Clan Space. Six years of no knowledge of what was happening. During the Jihad? That don't make sense, as the Wolf Clan is fighting for its life, and in that case, is retreating a dead body high on their list? Also, if Vlad wanted the body, why wait until years later to do it? the Wolves have been Abjured, they had no assets or intelligence left in the Clan Homeworlds. That approach I couldn't see working. If Vlad wanted all the Kerensky Legacies, he's do it all at once. That's why the story starts in 3071.

Of course, there were other problems: the McKenna's Pride itself. It was used by the Grand Council in Clan Steel Viper's Trial of Annihilation in 3075. It was also used as a meeting place for the Grand Council for a while -- which meant heavy security. With the War of Reaving exploding through Clan Space, security was going to be tight in the Stana Metchy system. So I took the long approach when building the plot -- a plot-line that covered several years. I had to gloss over a few years, but I do have a few pieces lying around that might be enough for a short story that takes place doing those years I skipped. Maybe in a future issue of Shrapnel....

If I has to describe the story, I would say it was a heist story (maybe the wildest one in Battletech history), a love story, a story of revenge and redemption, and a story about duty and going up against the odds. It sets up events that play out sometime in the future (when I don't know), and answers a couple of questions about the Dark Age/IlKhan era that have been hanging around for a few years. 

Writing this was tough, but rewarding. It forced me to bone up on things like Jump drives, WarShips, and space combat. It also allowed me to take a look at Clan Homeworld Society before and during the War of Reaving. It also allowed me to expand on areas of Clan Homeworld Society, like the Dark Caste, the Free Guilds, and the Ebon Keshik -- all had some information out there, but nothing like I created for this novel.

An impossible mission and I hope you will find it a wild ride and a unique story, with characters that are engaging and interesting. I had the honor of writing in an area of time and space that hadn't been explored before in any Battletech fiction. It was both scary and thrilling to create and expand on things that hadn't been really looked at. While I had a couple of anchor points from sourcebooks, most of what I created was taking a reference here, a line there, and expanding on them into fully realized aspects that some people won't expect.

Now, for some reason, as I write this, Icons isn't available in the Kindle format on Amazon, but the POD version is. It's here: Icons of War -- Amazon. The E-book version(and POD version) is available on the Barns and Noble Website (EPUB) here: Icons of War -- Barnes and Noble. Or you could try the Catalyst store and get the E-books (Both MOBI and EPUB -- a value deal!) here: Icons of War -- Catalyst Store.Or, you could try DriveThroughFiction here: Icons of War -- DriveThruFiction. Please pick it up and enjoy it!

If you have any questions, post them here or on the Battletech forum; I will do my best to answer them.

Later!

Craig