Bad Karma Mecha News 0008
Bad Karma Staff
BAD KARMA MBST
Mechwarrior & Battletech Support Teams
badk...@thepentagon.com
Newsletter 0008
August 1997 (terra)
http://www.geocities.com/~bad_karma_/
Whytewulv Speaks!
Honor is not dead. I would like to personally thank
all who have been involved in the Tribute page to
Rogue Wolverine.
The night it was posted, Rogue (Roger) was
considered beyond help by the Medical personnel
attending him. His wife (Cathy) printed the
messages that were being posted at the page. She
would take them to the hospital and read them to
him.
A few days later, Roger was moved from ICU. He
has shown incredible strides and is now entering a
therapy program. Your support brought hope from
tragedy.
The Book has been signed by as wide a range of
warriors ever assembled on-line. Battletech players,
MW2 and MW2 Mercenary players and Internet
players from all major game servers including Kali,
Mplayer and Khan. Both passing well wishers and
even company responses, including Mrs Eleanor
Cotton of the Kali game server company.
I take a great pride and salute our community!
Warriors all, from a group playing Battletech in a
living room in the UK to a sole player battling for
the honor of his unit via a PC in New Zealand. You
are one community when it counts.
To steal a now "catch phrase" from Mr Stackpole's
introduction of the clans...
"Well met and bartered!"
'wulv out
UPDATE:
It is my sad duty this night to inform the teams that Rogue wolverine
passed from our Inner Sphere Thursday August 17 1997.
The tribute has been updated.
Please continue the rally in support of the family he has left. The
Battlefields on Kali will be a little paler.
In honor of a warrior,
Whytewulv
Administrator
Bad Karma MBST
From the Editor
I received a lot of favorable response to the last
newsletter, thanks to all of you. We will be keeping
the new additions and adding a few more.
Wildcard has added a BattleTech Munchkin Mech
column/project.
I am including the first chapter of a BattleTech
story by our own Fokker, we will get the whole
story posted to the site, but I felt it was so good
that it needed to get some exposure.
The Bad Karma Illustrated story is coming along
with rough layouts being tried in HTML form now.
The Loremaster area is now open, and much
more… so check out the site.
Romulus Stahl
badkar...@thepentagon.com
BATTLETECH
Battletech Trivia Question of the Month
The Clan Wolf's Leaders were concerned with the
inability of the Timberwolf (Mad Cat) to keep up
with the rest of it's Star mates that they ordered
their technician's to supplement it and eventually
replace it with this design.
Last Month's Question
The year is 2439, the first battlemech is produced, it
is kept a secret until 2443 when a lance from the
801st Heavy Armored Regiment destroys a
company of Kurita tanks on the planet of Styx.
What is the name of the first Battlemech produced?
MSK-6S Mackie, FASA Technical Readout: 3058
page 148.
Romulus Stahl
BadKar...@thepentagon.com
Review: Maximum Tech
This has been long in coming, but it is finally here.
A book to answer a lot of the questions about rules
we have all been asking for. If you are a GM and
your gaming has lost a little of it's zip, of late, this is
the book for you. From expanded movement
modifiers, to expanded critical hits, it's in there. Not
real handy for the people that don't go beyond
tournament play rules but there is some worth to
them. For example the section on the battle value
system will be of use. Players don't let your GM
shrug this product off if you're looking for more out
of your gaming that just a slug fest, you owe it to
yourself to get it. Where are the new weapons you
may ask, There in there too. Everything from Light
Gauss to ER Pulse Lasers. You even get new
equipment like Compressed Heat Sinks and
composite internal structure. Needless to say there
is just too much inside the covers for me to list
here. So my best advice is to go out and buy it for
yourself a good investment for GM and player
alike.
IceMageX
Bad Karma MBST Staff
Battletech Board Gaming Updates
New Battletech releases for August
New releases from FASA
http://www.fasa.com/
Grave Covenant
As the Truce of Tukayyid nears its end, the lords
of the Successor States embark on a radical scheme
to stave off galactic war-creating a new Star League
Defense Force to destroy a powerful invading Clan.
But intrigues and power plays threaten the Inner
Sphere's surface unity-and may extinguish the last
hope for its survival.
A BattleTech novel by Michael A. Stackpole. The
second in the Twilight of the Clans series.
Stock - #5635
Price - $5.99
Field Manual: Mercenaries
Field Manual: Mercenaries plunges the players into
the deadly world of cash-and-carry warfare in the
31st century and includes the secrets of more than
forty of the most famous mercenary units in the
BattleTech universe, including their histories, troop
strengths and favored tactics. The extensive game
rules section gives players the tools to easily
create their own mercenary units from scratch, and
rules for maintaining their unit from one battle to
the next. A BattleTech sourcebook.
Stock - #1701
Price - $20.00
Available through your local book store
I've had excellent service with the following
vendors
http://www.concentric.net/~rdragonn/homepage.ht
m
http://www.amazon.com
Romulus Stahl
BadKar...@thepentagon.com
New Miniatures from Ral Partha
Release Date: July 21, 1997 -- Fasa's Battletech
20-696 SuperNova ..................................................
7.95
20-748 Challenger X 90 Ton M.B.T. (2)
........................... 8.25
20-749 Goblin Infantry Support Vehicle (2)
........................ 6.75
20-820 MHL-XI Marshall
.............................................. 5.95
Release Date: September 22, 1997 -- Fasa's
Battletech
20-747 Zhukov Heavy Tank (75 Tons) (2)
.......................... 7.50
20-754 KW1-LH2 Lineholder
....................................... 5.95
20-755 SPT-N2 Spartan ..............................................
7.95
20-756 AKU-1X Akuma
..................................................7.95
Available thru Ral Partha
http://ralpartha.com/cgi-bin/RalPartha
your local gaming store or online vendors.
I've had excellent service the following online
vendors
http://www.concentric.net/~rdragonn/homepage.ht
m
https://www.rpgspot.com/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi
Computer Gaming Updates
http://www.geocities.com/~bad_karma_/BadKarmaReviews.html
Mechwarrior 3
Scheduled release is early 98.
Romulus Stahl
Fasa Interactive opened up a great looking web site
this month!!! Take a look :
http://www.fasainteractive.com
Game can be pre-ordered from chips and bits
online catalog
http://www.cdmag.com
MechWarrior 3 IBM CD ROM 12/97 $49.40
Mechcommander
Fasa Interactive opened up a great looking web site
this month!!! Take a look :
http://www.fasainteractive.com
Game can be pre-ordered from chips and bits
online catalog
http://www.cdmag.com
Mechcommander IBM CD ROM 10/97 $45.60
MechWarrior 2 Battlepack Titanium
Game can be pre-ordered from chips and bits
online catalog
http://www.cdmag.com
MechWarrior 2 Battlepack Titanium IBM CD
ROM 02/98 $45.60
Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries
Romulus Stahl
BadKar...@thepentagon.com
Activision released the final beta Mercs D3D
patch 1.081, this patch corrects some bugs from the
previous 1.08 patch. I can only recommend the
patch if your running a P166 and 3DFX chip card.
Check out
http://www.activision.com/low/site/downloads/pat
ches/mercd3d.html for more information, and
download.
Kesmai's Multiplayer Battletech
MPBT States of War
The last month kicked into kicked into high gear
with the First Annual Junkmech Tournament. The
participants, forced to use lower quality mechs,
reported that it was a refreshing change from the
standard Catapult Vs Catapult fights. The winner
was Centaure of the Sable Guards, while second
place went to Huggybear, and third was Sneaker,
both independents. The success of this
tournament means that another official NGC
tournament may soon be announced, complete
with its substantial $175 purse. In other news,
many players have, as expected, migrated from
AOL to both our server and a new one maintained
by MSN. There has been some friction between
them and the locals, but the comparatively low
numbers of the newcomers, combined with the
excellent efforts of the leaders on both camps have
made the transition pleasant for all concerned,
though the "legging" issue remains to be solved.
On behalf of the local community I would
especially like to thank Sho-sho TC of House
Kurita for his handling of several highly strung
subordinates. The release of 3025 seems as far
away as ever, but in the mean time we are
attempting to set up a small league to simulate an
actual succession war. Anyone interested should
look for me in the game, post a message in
Compuserve's Aries Forum or e-mail me at
Zak...@iol.ie
Fokker
Bad Karma Ops
http://www.geocities.com/~bad_karma_/BadKarmaBattletech.html
Heavy Gear
Game can be pre-ordered from chips and bits
online catalog
http://www.cdmag.com
Heavy Gear IBM CD ROM 10/97 $45.60
Dream Pod 9 News
Upcoming Products
Jovian Chronicles Rulebook (232 pages,
$29.95, AVAILABLE NOW)
This very hot item introduces North America (heck,
the world!) to Japanese anime mecha action with an
American audience in mind. Enter the saga of
Mankind in a near-future universe where the
recently colonized solar system is rocked by
interplanetary conflicts. Jovian Chronicle features
vector-based space combat rules that require NO
paperwork and which have the simplicity of play
our customers have come to expect from the
Silhouette game engine. For those people who
bought Jovian Chronicles in 1992, this isn't just the
same old license, it's a brand new, stand-alone
product that is certain to leave its predecessor in
the dust! Also includes an 8-page color campaign
setting aboard one of the Jovian Confederation's
latest ships, the Valiant. HOT ITEM!
Jovian Chronicles Mechanical Catalog
(136 pages, $TBA, available July 25, 1997)
This book contains over 20 ships, exo-armors,
fighters and other vehicles for use with our hottest
release this year, Jovian Chronicles. Every page
includes excruciating details on every vehicle, such
as startup instructions, pilot comments and
blowouts of specific parts or instruments. Also
contains an 8-page color campaign setting aboard
one of Earth's space stations. A *must* for any
Japanese animation mecha fan!
Jovian Companion (?? pages, $TBA, available
October 1997)
More rules and _stuff_ for Jovian Chronicles fans.
Includes a mandatory player chapter featuring new
skills, perks and flaws to complement any
Silhouette-based Player Character (yes, it's even
useful for Heavy Gear!). Features an 8-page color
campaign setting to allow new GMs a simple way
to start a Jovian Chronicles series of adventures.
New vehicles! New equipment! Perfect munchkin
book!
Heavy Gear Southern Republic
Sourcebook (?? pages, $TBA, available August
1997)
The latest book for the ongoing Heavy Gear saga,
the SR sourcebook (like the Norlight sourcebook)
contains detailed information on the culture and
city-states of the league dominating the southern
hemisphere. Includes maps, NPCs of note, political
organizations, etc.
Heavy Gear Activision Landship Book
(128 pages, $22.95??, available Sept. 1997)
This book contains the stats, crew and deck plans
for two main landships from the upcoming game
from Activision. Set in TN 1933, this book is a
prequel to the computer game and features events
and background information which will give
players the one-up on those who won't be "in the
know." Also includes a 16-page color preview for
Activision's game.
Miscellaneous News
http://www.geocities.com/~bad_karma_/BadKarmaReviews.html
Intro RPG Box Pushed Back
The Heavy Gear Introductory RPG Box has been
pushed back to later this year.
Heavy Gear CCG!
Please, folks, no groans! Considering how hot a
property Heavy Gear is becoming, it should come
as no surprise that our partners-in-crime, Target
Games, are moving in for the kill. They'll take care
of the publishing CCG using the very cool color
artwork which was previously published in black &
white in our books. Don't miss this golden
opportunity to see Heavy Gear's incredible art in
full color. The game should be tentatively released
some time before Christmas.
Storyline Book #1 in the Works
Yes, at long last, we will move the storyline
forward. Be sure to get this long-awaited book as
soon as it comes out. It will tentatively figure 32
pages of COLOR art, some of it previously
unpublished before. Details cannot yet be
disclosed, but stay
Mechwarrior & Battletech Support Teams
BattleMech Training Academy (BMTA)
The academy is in full swing on KALI right now and students are signing
up fast. To be a part of the best MW2 and Mercnet training on-line get
to
http://www.solaris7.com/BadKarma/BMTA/
Battletech
http://www.geocities.com/~bad_karma_/BadKarmaBattletech.html
Wildcard's Munchkin Mech Designs
All right Techs and Warriors, now is your chance
to show us your BattleMech design skills. Your
objective: Design the most lethal Munchkin 'mech
possible. Exploit the rules to your advantage.
Virtually any equipment will be allowed, except that
of Maximum Tech.
Non-Combat Categories of merit are:
* Most Scary (e.g.: A Mech with Quad
UAC/20s and no heat)
* Most Lethal (e.g.: A Mech that does
100 damage in 1 turn)
* Most Exploitive of the rules (I have seen 'mechs
that can target the head,
and hit it, on a 5+)
Combat Category:
* Longest to survive. (This is the key category.
Designs will be fighting 1v1 in this section, as
much as possible, in one big melee.)
Our expert pilots will take it to battle, and fight
using it as best they can.
Currently there are no prizes, but if there is a big
enough response, then maybe, just maybe, there
will be some next time!
The Top 3 Munchkin Mechs, the Category
Winners, and the Most-Rapidly-Destroyed-Design
will make it into the Newsletter, and the up-and-
coming "Advanced BattleMech Design Manual 2",
with the designers'
nickname/realname.
Mail WildCard <bo...@ozemail.com.au> for more
details. BattleMech designs are to be mailed to the
same address, with information on how it is meant
to be piloted. (e.g.: Stand-and-fire, Outrange, toe-
to-toe
etc.).
WildCard
BadKa...@thepentagon.com
http://www.geocities.com/~bad_karma_/BadKarmaBattletech.html
Look out for more manuals by WildCard.....they are
coming soon to a Bad Karma near you! If you have
anything you'd like to add, comment about, or just
ask me about, send your mail to
bo...@ozemail.com.au
Repairs & Utilities!
Steelwolf
BadKar...@thepentagon.com
http://www.geocities.com/~bad_karma_/BadKarmaMechlabs.html
From: Tecumseh Bad Karma R+D
bba...@mail.edumaster.net
NEW
Clan Mek
Organize your Clan MEK files today at the Mechlabs
http://www.geocities.com/~bad_karma_/BadKarmaMechlabs.html
New Programs
Win95 SMK viewer
Allows you to view the movie clips off the CD's.,
windows version.
Battle Tracking Program for windows
This is a Battle Tracking program for league play.
Art Dept
BadKa...@thepentagon.com
http://www.geocities.com/~bad_karma_/BadKarmaArtGallery.html
We'd like to welcome Lord Dacodo as the new
administrator of the Art Dept., he has a great
background in Mecha Art and is a wonderful
addition to the Bad Karma Staff.
We hope to soon have our monthly on-line
Illustrated story based on the FASA Battletech
Universe. Following the fictional exploits based on
gaming of the Bad Karma unit. Follow it as
appearances of other units in the story are about
guaranteed! The Bad Karma Illustrated story is
coming along with rough layouts being tried in
HTML form now.
See the greatest on-line Mecha art at the new
improved Bad Karma Gallery.
H20 Rat
Roca
Havoc
Breetai
Lancer
Research
BadK...@thepentagon.com
http://www.geocities.com/~bad_karma_/BadKarmaLoremaster.html
In fact we have a special RESEARCH area now for
those of you who want more details on who what,
where etc.
Don't forget we have the most complete list of all
registered on line units anywhere at the
WARRIORS area.
Some of our projects include a theme'd
Mechwarrior MSIE browser final beta due out this
month, and a new Win95 MW2 modification
program, similar in concept to the Mercs NAIS
shell. These projects are really coming along and
were sure you'll enjoy them.
Knights of Honor
KO...@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/2875/kohframespage.htm
Bad Karma is now the official home of the Online
Mechwarrior watchdogs, the Knights of Honor.
On line Cheaters beware. I've met these zealots and
it's scary. They know who you are, where you live
and have an arsenal of anti-cheat programs that
borders on Heavy Assault!
Bottom line though, is they are out to help the
majority of online players by eliminating those who
can not play without resorting to cheat methods.
Thereby lessening the enjoyment of all.
League News!
Note: Apologies to the leagues who's submissions were not included this
month. We know your doing great things at
The Killing Zone - http://www.math.ucla.edu/~sundling/TKZ/
Mplayer Grand Council - http://www.geocities.com/~captrosha/MGC/mgc.html
and
Mplayer Netmech League! ;>
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/5845/mnl.html
Mercnet Players CHECK THIS OUT!
http://jkingsbury.home.mindspring.com/tourney/tourney.html
The Registry
Notes from the "Registry Level 3" Chairman's
Desk..
Registry Action!..
- Planets formally in Eridani Light Horse's Empire
are now owned
by House Marik!
- Planets in the southern part of Clan Diamond
Shark's Empire
are under Heavy Attack!
- Planets on the southeastern area of Clan Black
Sheep's Empire
are under Assault!
- Several Planets east of Clan Goliath Scorpion
were recently
taken by the St. Ives Compact.
Registry Groups!..
- New additions to the Registry.. -clans-> Clan
Snow Panther, Clan Goliath ,Scorpion, Clan Atom
Bomb, Clan Hell Catz, Clan Phoenix Hawk, Clan
Fubar Bear.. -Houses-> House Kell, House Juari.. -
Mercenaries-> Dark Angels, Flesh N Bones,
Artificial Intelligence, Terra's Guardians.
Registry Updates!..
- Central Bank Transfers *Fully Automated*
- Increase Industry *Fully Automated*
- Decrease Industry *Fully Automated*
- Increase Garrison *Fully Automated*
- Decrease Garrison *Fully Automated*
- Unit Action Form revised for easy use.
To view the registry groups and map of their
empires, go to:
http://www.polarismech.com/level3/
Grand Council
Unfortunately, the Grand Council's site is being
refurbished and Beta tested, so most clans have
not had much of a chance to war. Apart from that,
the new site looks great! The new site's war
submission is fully automated now, which means
that the score is updated as soon as the war is
submitted correctly. Great job guys....
Clans were allowed to war during beta testing, and
there were rumors of a tight struggle for good
position (if short-lived) of 1st between Clans Wolf
and Widow Maker.
Scores have been reset to zero, until the final
testing is complete.
So that's it from me this month....stay tuned for
(hopefully)more action!
WildCard
Battletech Information and News
AWARDS
See the write up in the CHAMPIONS area of Bad
Karma
1. Our Featured Unit Award
2.The recipient of the GOOD KARMA AWARD for
best exemplifying and promotion of fair gaming on
the Internet!
Past GOOD KARMA Awards
NAIS
Alshain Mechworks
Solaris7 Gaming World
Alshain Mechworks
Past Unit Awards
Eridani Light Horse (Registry and NBT) Dec96 Unit
Award
Clan Burrock (Grand Council) Jan97 Unit Award
Free Worlds League (Registry)
Clan Fire Mandril (GC)
Clan Nova Cat (The Killing Zone)
Clan Fire Bear
NOW This Months Winners!
Good Karma Award
July-August 97
Slayers Batteltech
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/3058/index.
html
Slayers Battletech Pages receives the GOOD
KARMA award for outstanding contribution to the
Battletech and Mechwarrior communities. By
maintaining a consistent doctrine promoting fair
gaming on the internet, and by exemplifying the
highest standards in web site support for
Mechwarriors
This is truly one of "The Premiere Sites" on the
Internet and had sustained a long and glorious
career!
Congratulations and May you continue to bring
enlightenment and assistance to our Inner Sphere.
Congratulations and May you continue to bring
enlightenment and assistance to our Inner Sphere.
Bad Karma MBST Featured Unit
AWARD
August 1997
House Steiner
(REGISTRY & TKZ)
http://www.ameritel.net/lusers/cobal66/steiner/main
.htm
House Steiner made a great showing in this months
poll with a huge vote if there favor from all corners
of the Inner Sphere. Renowned as a unit of "True
warrior spirits"! House Steiner has exemplified
Honor, Professionalism and Courage. In thorough
training and dedicated personnel they have set an
example to be admired and emulated by their peers.
Congratulations House Steiner. Good Hunting!!
These awards are our way of recognizing the hard
work and contribution to our playing universe
made by others. They are nominated by you the
Bad Karma MBST visitors, and voted on by the
Senior Bad Karma Staff. They are judged within the
spirit of the Bad Karma mission and the guidelines
are dependent on the type of nomination.
Come see the winners at the site, and make your
nominations for the JUNE 97 FUA and next Good
Karma award!
This is just the beginning!
We Win Too!
We at Bad Karma MBST are proud reciprients ourselves of the Critical
Mass award this month! For maintaining a site with valuable impact on
the Internet. Thanks to all who's support made this possible.
SERVER PINGS
KALI NEWS
http://www.kali.net/
Kali 1.1t Beta is out.
Get Kali951.1T beta now at
http://www.kali.net/
Also on Kali...
They have added a Mechwarrior dedicated server!
You can now launch IPX games from the main
screen and it just keeps getting better.
Look For these Channels:
GC Netmech ][
GC NetMech ][ at 207.137.137.136
AVMercnet
AVMercnet at 206.100.137.82
Datasync home of St. Ives Compact
Datasync at 208.132.72.1
[DCM]Luthien Station Home of House Kurita
[DCM]Luthien Station at 207.122.244.3
<Mech>
Jay Cottons NEW NetMech and Mercs dedicated
server. Great connection is possible here.
Official Kali Mech Server! - 205.244.188.81
MECHNET
MECHNET at 199.3.82.68
MechwarriorHQ
MechWarrior HQ at 207.113.11.69
BATTLETECH
Alshain MechWorks and BattleForce
IRC
http://www.surfnetinc.com/spectre
Held on July 27th 1997 was the first Officially
FASA sponsored IRC
Gunslinger Tournament on Betty.surfnetinc.com.
The Champion was NONAME3D, who took home,
or rather was sent, FASA Gift certificates as his
prize. The event was run and monitored by our
own Solaris Faction Leader Ed Karl. The next Event
is being worked on now, and we encourage anyone
out there that want's to play BattleTech or wants to
learn BattleTech to come out and join us on the
IRC.
Here's an excerpt from one of the games:
<[Slayer]> roll 1d6
<Betty> [Slayer] rolls 1D6: He gets a 2.
<[Slayer]> 1 to the right
<[Slayer]> loc right 2
<Betty> [Slayer] hits on right: RA CT
<[Slayer]> Both get crit chances
> Damn1 again?
<[Slayer]> Yep :(
<[Slayer]> Roll 'em..
> you roll 'em. They are self-inficted. :)
> inflicted, even.
<[Slayer]> Ahh
<[Slayer]> Hehe
<[Slayer]> roll 2d6 2
<Betty> [Slayer] rolls 2d6 2 times. He gets: 1 + 2 (3),
1 + 2 (3)
<[Slayer]> phew
<[Slayer]> well.. done
<[Slayer]> oh
<[Slayer]> roll 2d6 (damage roll(
<Betty> [Slayer] rolls 2D6: He gets a 1 and 6 for a
total of 7.
> roll 2d6 (init)
<Betty> Deadeye rolls 2D6: He gets a 2 and 1 for a
total of 3.
<[Slayer]> I surrender
<[Slayer]> Better to be alive then dead, eh?
<HToM> Match over...
* [Slayer] shakes DE's hand
<HToM> DCC me a log DE
* Deadeye returns the shake.
* Deadeye then bows.
Be on the lookout for "Betty's Brigade", the world's
FIRST OFFICIAL MechForce IRC based
Chapter.The site features a JAVA based IRC client
and a RealAudio jukebox with some nice thrashing
tunes [need ra3.0 or better, and the MW2
soundtrack to be added soon!] URL is:
http://www.surfnetinc.com/spectre/betty
You need an IRC client like mIRC, PIRCH, or Ircle
[mac]. [unless you are a UNIX user, of course].
Also available is a JAVA based IRC client located
on the BattleForce IRC site at the URL above. The
direct URL is:
http://www.surfnetinc.com/spectre/docs/Battleforc
e97.htm
For those of you that are MechWarrior 2 advocates
[and I know most of you are] there is room for you
on the IRC server. We do not just 'chat' about the
boardgame all day, and some of us are sim players
in our own right.
Additionally, I KNOW there are those of you that
play the sim religiously without any indication on
just that BattleTech is really about aside from
history. You can learn a lot about MechWarrior2's
roots on the IRC. If you are interested in setting up
a MW2 room for your unit on Betty.surfnetinc.com,
just drop in or contact spe...@surfnetinc.com.
Registration of the room and channels will be
granted accordingly.
Phil Benton
Alshain MechWorks
spe...@surfnetinc.com
BATTLEFORCE
http://www.surfnetinc.com/spectre/battlechat/battl
eforce.htm
Battleforce is the IRC equivalent of BattleChat on
WBS. Generally, BattleForce is less graphical (i.e.
no pictures).
What it loses in graphics, it more than makes up in
speed with. IT IS FAST, and this is what we need.
BattleForce will be the ARENA for all future
"scheduled" BattleChat combat events. BattleChat
itself will
become the "hall" for meeting gamers and
recruiting your warriors.
What you need to play in the BattleForce IRC
chatrooms are an IRC client, and the address.
PRIMARY Servers:
Betty-- betty.surfnetinc.com (205.139.14.249)
Alshain-- Alshain.MechWorks.surfnetinc.com
(205.139.14.123)
Lite Beer-- irc.httpinc.com (205.139.14.170)
The room is called #BattleForce
NEW!
Heat Multiplayer Internet Gaming
System
http://www.heat.net
Check out Sega's new online gaming system in beta
test at this time.
Zone (Micropsoft)
http://www.zone.com
Check out Microsoft's internet gaming interface if
you get a chance, for a couple of games.
Conventions on Terra
Never In a Million Years Will You
Witness an Event like This
GENCON
http://users.aol.com/gencon97/genreg97.html
Outstanding as ever this year! Look for afetr action report next month!
Story Time.....
Autumn, 3054
by Fokker
Solaris City was not known for the splendour of its
sunsets, but on occasion, when the nigh perpetual
cloud cover broke at just the right time, the dying
light of the fierce Solaran primary blazed red across
the bleak cityscape, illuminating the great glass
citadels in bright orange, casting a crimson glow
over the industrial wastelands. The more poetic
inhabitants compared the effect to a sea of blood
covering the city.
Such thoughts were far from the mind of Wendy
Larkin, who, standing on the roof of her Silesian
apartment building, had sought refuge from her
thoughts in the sunset. The wind picked up
suddenly, wiping at her hair, She brushed the
errant strands from her face, and drew her coat
tighter, warding off the cold. In the sky above,
clouds approached, dark with promise of yet
another rainstorm, swallowing the sinking sun and
returning Solaris to its accustomed drab grey.
Wendy sighed, knowing she still had a difficult
decision to make. She'd come back from a shopping
excursion about twenty minutes earlier to find an
unusual message awaiting her on the answering
machine. Voice-only, it promised the prospect of
gainful employment, the details of which were
located in an envelope secreted on the roof. She
already had a bad feeling about the whole thing
then, but a lack of recent work and a flood of bills
had left her in a financially precarious position, and
the apparent paranoia of the prospective employer
hinted at great risk, and therefore great reward.
Intrigued by the message, she followed it's
instruction and proceeded to the roof.
She found the envelope hanging in front of the
stairwell door, suspended by a string from one of
the multitude of antennae which adorned the
rooftop. She tore it open, picked up the small key
which had dropped from it, then read the letter it
had contained. It was then that she purposefully let
her mind drift to take in the sunset.
Now that that was no longer possible, Wendy
looked at the letter again. The reward it offered was
certainly substantial, 80,000 C-bills, half in advance,
but in return she would have to steal a certain
painting from the mansion of a stablemaster. Theft
wasn't her favourite pastime, and the task sounded
extremely dangerous, but the pay was bordering on
the exceptional. That was the advantage of
freelancing, she thought. Most of her work was for
SAFE, the underfunded, underskilled intelligence
agency of the Free Worlds League. It felt better
that this, more honest, but it sure didn't pay as well.
She was sorely tempted to take the offer. Danger
didn't matter much to her anyway, and if she was
honest with herself she had to admit that her work
for SAFE was just as disreputable as what she was
being offered now.
She read the last part of the letter, the part which
she had not reached the first time round, and had
to laugh. Whoever had set this up had seen to
many bad spy films. The details of the operation
and the up front payment were hidden in yet
another envelope, which in turn was locked in the
mailbox of one of the building's empty apartments,
hence the key. She thought she might as well read
that too, and just not take the money if she didn't
want the job.
She jogged down the eight floors worth of steps to
the ground floor and located the mailbox for
apartment 413, quickly unlocking it and removing
the heavy brown pouch it contained. No-one was
ever around at this time of day, so she just dumped
the contents on the floor and sat down next to it.
She sorted through the pile and found, amidst
about a dozen photographs and several bundles of
C-bills, a blueprint and another letter. Her eyes
widened as she scanned the letter. The painting
she was to steal was a 23rd century masterpiece,
one of the oldest paintings in existence outside of
those in the museums on Terra, and had recently
been purchased at auction for no less than 8 million
C-bills by Fiona Louden master of the famous
White Hand Stables. Wendy smiled. No matter how
much burglary was beneath here, stealing from the
Davions was, in her opinion, one of the noblest
things a person could do. Frankly, she felt she
deserved to be knighted if she broke into the
Louden mansion, Callista's Bluff, and made of with
one off the Inner Sphere's most expensive works of
art. The decision on whether to take the job was
now easily made.
Looking at the rest of the envelope's contents, she
saw that the blueprints were of the Bluff, and that
the photos depicted various parts of the mansion
and it's grounds. Also included was a single
photograph of the painting, causing Wendy to
wryly wonder if they feared she would take the
wrong picture by mistake. She gathered up the
materials, returning them to the envelope, and took
the elevator back to her apartment to study and
make plans.
Night had come to the city several hours ago, yet
Wendy hadn't budged from her position atop the
Black Hills Traveller's Inn. From her vantage point
Callista's Bluff, even though over a mile away, was
plainly visible, and Wendy swept her image
intensifier over every inch of the building and it's
grounds. She had worried that her information on
the security set-up had been inaccurate, that
maybe her employer sought to have here caught, or
perhaps was himself mistaken. It had even occurred
to her that the nameless employer might be Fiona
Louden herself, her intention to test some new
facet of the security system, and that the moment
Wendy set foot in the mansion, armed guards
would surround her and haul her off to prison. But
as near as she could tell, the grounds matched the
blueprints and photographs exactly so, after telling
herself not to get paranoid, she decided to move.
The hands on the looming clock tower of the
Federated Banking and Investments building
moved from ten minutes to three to fifteen past as
Wendy moved through the affluent
neighbourhood of which the Bluff was an
illustrious part. Nobody saw her - she proceeded
carefully, avoiding the brightly lit streets and
shying away from houses who's windows glowed
with internal illumination. Her ensemble was all
black, from shoes to the long, light coat she wore.
She'd even dyed her hair black, more for the look of
it than for effect.
She soon reached the estate's outer wall, an eight
foot high brick structure running parallel to the
back street. Lamp posts were unavoidable here, but
Wendy was confident no-one was about, so she
approached the wall. She could see the security
cameras, evenly spaced every fifty feet, their ever-
watchful eyes searching the interior for intruders.
Less visible, but many times more dangerous, were
the pair of mono-molecular wires strung a foot
above the wall. Wendy only knew of them from the
security blueprints, and tried not to dwell too much
on images of lopped off limbs flying in every
direction. She knew getting past them would be
difficult, as a tiny current running through them
would raise the alarm if broken, leaving only one
viable option.
Wendy, standing only a modest 5 foot 4, had never
been a very good jumper, but the wall was low
enough to make the leap easy. Too easy in fact, for
she almost reached her arms too high, almost
touching the wire and losing her fingers in the
process. At the last moment she pushed her arms
forward, reaching across the wall to grab hold of
the far edge. She pulled herself up, delicately
avoiding getting limbs anywhere near the two
wires. Here her small size proved to be beneficial,
and she managed to keep at least three inches
between her body and the wires at all times. She
then swung her legs onto the wall, again very
carefully, until she was lying flat on the walls top,
the street to her right and the Bluff's gardens on
her left.
After catching her breath, she dropped down into
the grounds, landing gingerly lest she injure herself
now. Looking up, she spotted the nearest camera.
It was currently turning away, but Wendy knew
she would not have much time before it began it's
return arc. Still, she had a few seconds, and she
used them to ascertain her position. As expected,
the long, low bulk of the mansion lay ahead, it's
front facade off to her left. Between was open lawn
interspersed with the occasional bush, flower-bed
or sapling. Just beside the building was a small,
recently constructed shed, her destination. It had
apparently not been joined to the main building
because of some obscure heritage law - the
mansion was several centuries old, and the shed
would have damaged it's "historical integrity".
The security systems had not been modified to
account for it, thus providing Wendy with an easy
route into the main building.
Sensing that time was running out, she broke into a
fast run which took her behind the protective
shade of a large, verdant bush. She'd timed this
very carefully with the blueprints so as to always
be out of sight of the cameras, but almost didn't
make it to the small copse of trees in her second
sprint. The rougher ground has slowed her down,
and she threw herself behind the cover as the
nearby camera swung it's lens in her direction.
Bruised but not seriously injured, she stood and
brushed herself off, praying that the advanced
program running the camera would think the
rustling leaves to be a bird or squirrel. Her timing
now all thrown off, all she could do was wait for the
cameras to go through their sweeps. As she waited
she thought again of the chance she was taking.
Masters of AA rated stables weren't the kind of
people street scum like her should mess with. That
thought made her pause. She found it amusing that
she still defined herself by her old life on the
streets, despite having left that hell years ago. She
shrugged, and seeing that the cameras had just
swung passed the copse again, ran the remaining
distance to the shed and safety. As she gratefully
accepted it's cover she breathed a sigh of relief,
thankful that only on difficult task remained.
The shed was easy to get into. The lock was a
tumbler system of the kind that Wendy had already
picked when she was eight, and although the door
was in sight of a camera, another nearby bush was
enough to shield the small, knelling woman from it's
roving eye. Once inside, Wendy quickly located a
short ladder, carried it back outside and into the
shelter between the shed and the mansion.
Her plan was to enter the building via one of the
first floor guest rooms, through a window just
opposite the shed's roof. She could have simply
put the ladder against the mansion and climbed up
that way, but the blueprints had told her that the
security system maintained an infra-red beam
seven feet up and one foot out from the wall, all
around the building. Anyone using a ladder,
jumping or just climbing the wall would immediately
have raised the alarm. But there was no such
security watching over the shed, and it's roof was
above the beam. Wendy quickly scaled the ladder,
pulling it up behind her. She could have just
jumped and pulled herself up again, but once on
the roof she needed the ladder to cross the five
foot gap between the shed and the windowsill. She
pushed the ladder across, then, after ascertaining
that the far end was secure on the ledge, stepped
from rung to rung, treading cautiously lest the
impromptu bridge collapse beneath her.
On the ledge, which was a good foot or so wide
and provided somewhat safer footing, Wendy
pulled a measuring tape and heavy marker from her
coat. The last obstacle in gaining access was the
window's security system. She knew forcing it
open would certainly raise an alarm, and likewise
breaking or cutting would sever one or more of the
half dozen wires imbedded in the glass. As with the
mono-wires atop the wall, they carried a current
which, when broken, sounds an alarm. However,
again thanks to the blueprint, Wendy knew exactly
where the wires were located, and also that the
switch which would deactivate them was located in
the wall just to the right of the window from her
perspective.
With the tape she measured off twenty centimetre
intervals, marking them with the pen. She then took
out a small glass cutter and made a circular incision
fifteen centimetres in diameter between the second
and third wires. The glass disc dropped from the
cutters suction cup, landing on the floor with an
uncomfortably loud clink. Wendy winced, listening
for any movement inside the mansion, but heard
none. She relaxed and stuck her arm through the
hole. She felt along the wall with her fingers,
having to twist her body at an awkward angle, until
she found the switch. She flicked it, and with the
alarm and magnetic locks deactivated, pushed open
the window.
Once inside she quickly walked to the door and
opened it. Outside was a gallery surrounding the
large central staircase. Wendy followed it to the
right, towards the landing and the door to Fiona
Louden's study. That door was locked by a rather
sophisticated alphanumerical system. Wendy
however had a rather more sophisticated code
breaker which, after removing the keypad cover,
she attached to various wires and powered up. It
took the device a few minutes, during which
Wendy was watching the many doors nervously.
She knew Louden had a family, and she didn't want
a child looking for a midnight snack to discover
her. When the green light on the lock finally
glowed, Wendy smiled and quickly picked the
regular lock, and in less than a minute was standing
inside the office.
Louden apparently wasn't the type to lock away all
her valuables - the painting was prominently
displayed in an ornate wooden frame opposite her
desk. It's water-colour landscape was pleasant
enough, a scene from New Earth or Rigil Kentarus
or one of the other old colonies, but would never
warrant even a million C-bills if not for it's age.
Thinking evil thoughts about the sanity of the art
world, Wendy took the painting, broke it's frame
and rolled up the thin canvas. She had brought
along a special plastic tube to carry the painting,
and now she stuffed the 8 million C-bill
"masterpiece" into it.
To make her flight easier, she located the building's
main security controls on the desk, and deactivated
all systems as well as cutting all communication
lines. It would take the folks at the security
company a good five minutes, maybe more, to get
to the mansion and by then Wendy would be long
gone.
Last, but not least we are also looking for
a. Volunteers!
We are always in search of new people to help in
any way they can. We have three levels of
memberships, and remember it's all-free. Come by
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b. We really need more Battletech pros!
Remember
We are voluntary, and wish to provide fair and
unbiased coverage of the Mechwarrior and
Battletech worlds. Any assistance will be
appreciated, as the response from companies and
individuals has been amazing to date. 8000 hits in
the 1st 250 days for a new, non-search engine
registered, and obscure site!
--
Look for new programs from the Bad Karma MBST. Including Mecha Online
Explorer, Mech Master MW2 Shell, and a Mech Sceen Saver.
Coming to a Mechlab near you Soon!
Bad Karma's Mission
1. To strive to bring Mechwarrior and Battletech pilots closer together
through shared information and scheduled events.
2. To assist in helping players and informing any interested in
Battletech,
Mechwarrior RP and PC games and related topics.
3. Promote fair gaming on the internet.
BAD KARMA MBST
Mechwarrior & Battletech Support Team
A group for Fans on the Internet
http://www.geocities.com/~bad_karma_/
Mesich
hi there im a newbie netmech drone and im looking for new mechs and weapons
can u help me im mesich thanks