AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
edited May 2020
Does House Cameron yet live? Find out in this issue of Shrapnel #1!
It was a good read and available to Backers.
Also the answer (as of 3150) is a definitive maybe.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
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H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
edited May 2020
Nicky K's main squeeze has been hinted to be an illegitimate daughter of a Cameron, so presumably the Clans have a fair number of descendants floating around.
Edit: although it bears mentioning that they wouldn't know about it. IIRC, Jennifer Winson's origins were a closely kept secret even in the Homeworlds, even after Operation Klondike.
Just curious, is there a reason in the fluff that the Clans didn't make a Catapult IIc?
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H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
edited June 2020
Dedicated fire support platforms are generally unpopular among the Clans, and the various multirole design lineages that led to omnimechs like the Mad Dog (which, let's face it, is basically an Archer with reversed legs & more direct firepower) and the Timberwolf (Marauder-Catapult hybrid) probably made it seem redundant. There is the Hell Horses' Bowman, although that's really more of a Longbow successor.
It's a shame though, both the indirect and direct fire versions of the Catapult are a lot of fun.
Hmm, looking over the Clan second line mech list, they did make LRM boats (Howler, Ha Otoko, Blood Kite, Viking IIC, Kodiak II, Mandrill, Vulture Mk III).
But, looking those up, the majority of them were created after the Clan Invasion, with the remainder being oddities that were usually restricted to one or two Clans.
If I had to hazard a guess, there probably are mechs that would be classified as Catapult IICs, but they're actually Clantech retrofits of the Catapults that left on the Exodus rather than a whole new chassis.
Nobody on
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
Yeah a lot of the Clans (but perhaps not all) considered fire support to be dishonorable. Attacking your enemy without your enemy being able to attack back? For shame!
That said, the Catapult is kinda already pretty "OmniMech".
It should be noted though that fluff wise Clan secondary line formations do often use regular ol' Mechs (granted, equipped with Clan tech) and not OmniMechs. So yeah, could very well be Clan variants of the Catapult running around. I mean there are clan tech variants running around in the Inner Sphere so I suppose it wouldn't be much of a stretch for Clanners to have their own considering how crazy modular the Catapult is.
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
Thinking on it further, my guess is that as Clan doctrine and technology evolved, Omnimechs were initially designated as fire support (You can see this especially with the Lupus, and its descendent the Mad Dog), which allowed them shift the focus of the mech away from fire support if the mission demands changed.
Initially this made a lot of sense as early Clan toumans were a lot more mixed when it came to types of mechs. As doctrines evolved and second line forces got the glut of left over Archers, Catapults, and Bombardiers they probably decided they didn’t need to make new missile boats. Then the one on one combat protocol made it distasteful for forces to engage in fire support (and dangerous, since such forces would likely be wiped out entirely),
Ah, I was under the impression that the IIc models where refitting existing mechs with new Clan tech to bring them somewhat in line power wise with their newer mechs and omnis, rather than designing entirely new ones based loosely on the older existing models. Sarna seems to alternate between the two thoughts, sometimes even in the same article.
It seemed that the Clans would find a use for the Catapult frames, even if it meant stripping out the LRM launchers and swapping them out for SRMs to fit the Clans desire for up close and personal fighting.
Up armor the mech some so it's not a fragile butterfly causing torrential storms of missiles, maybe add MASC to get up close and personal with the brace of lasers, then unleash the swarms of missiles.
Or keep it a fire support mech with ATMs and let the mech warrior decide what to do with them.
I mean, there's even an Urbie-IIc, seems like a mech as widely used as the Catapult would have been swept up in numbers as Kerensky was making his exit.
That said, the Catapult is kinda already pretty "OmniMech".
I really wish there was more attention to this sort of thing drawn in the fiction. Mechs like the Catapult would absolutely develop a relatively sophisticated and simplified connective point for those shoulder collars.
Then again those may have just ended up becoming lostech.
Yeah a lot of the Clans (but perhaps not all) considered fire support to be dishonorable. Attacking your enemy without your enemy being able to attack back? For shame!
That said, the Catapult is kinda already pretty "OmniMech".
It should be noted though that fluff wise Clan secondary line formations do often use regular ol' Mechs (granted, equipped with Clan tech) and not OmniMechs. So yeah, could very well be Clan variants of the Catapult running around. I mean there are clan tech variants running around in the Inner Sphere so I suppose it wouldn't be much of a stretch for Clanners to have their own considering how crazy modular the Catapult is.
It's less that it's dishonorable per se rather then it makes it runs afoul of key parts of Zelbrigen; namely that combat should be determined more on a 1:1 basis, it makes it much harder to clarify who did what in the fight and it increases the liklihood of collaterol damage.
Also, it's important to note that their is a key difference between clan and innersphere LRM's; Clan missiles do not have a minimum range and as such LRM's go from being a support weapon to a rather terrifying shotgun.
Yeah a lot of the Clans (but perhaps not all) considered fire support to be dishonorable. Attacking your enemy without your enemy being able to attack back? For shame!
That said, the Catapult is kinda already pretty "OmniMech".
It should be noted though that fluff wise Clan secondary line formations do often use regular ol' Mechs (granted, equipped with Clan tech) and not OmniMechs. So yeah, could very well be Clan variants of the Catapult running around. I mean there are clan tech variants running around in the Inner Sphere so I suppose it wouldn't be much of a stretch for Clanners to have their own considering how crazy modular the Catapult is.
It's less that it's dishonorable per se rather then it makes it runs afoul of key parts of Zelbrigen; namely that combat should be determined more on a 1:1 basis, it makes it much harder to clarify who did what in the fight and it increases the liklihood of collaterol damage.
Also, it's important to note that their is a key difference between clan and innersphere LRM's; Clan missiles do not have a minimum range and as such LRM's go from being a support weapon to a rather terrifying shotgun.
They also really don't need "dedicated" anything because omni pods just let them switch out entire weapon loadouts based on the needs of the current mission. And clan gear is so overpowered even non-omni mechs can afford to add missiles or other weapons on any mech they care to use them on without needing to make as many tradeoffs as IS mechs do to really make their roles dedicated. For example the MadCat has missiles like the Catapult or Archer but it's not considered a fire support mech because it has the extra tonnage to carry other large weapons.
SiliconStew on
Just remember that half the people you meet are below average intelligence.
*Second line troops often did not have access to Omnis and used “standard” battlemechs.
*The majority of those LRM battlemechs I posted earlier? They were created post-invasion by Clans who settled in the Inner Sphere.
Simply put, the Clans (for the most part) apparently did not view fire support for second line mechs to be a necessity until after the invasion failed, and those that adopted it either merged with IS States (Ghost Bears and Snow Ravens), or were actively selling to them (Diamond Sharks).
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IanatorGaze upon my works, ye mightyand facepalm.Registered Userregular
"As soon as the Combine claimed New Avalon, DCMS troops took the initiative to make it remind them more of home. They toppled statues and monuments to House Davion, some of which had stood for centuries. Any art or architecture specifically celebrating the Federated Suns was defaced, burned, or leveled.
This sentiment extended to anything the troops labeled as seditious or contrary to the Combine's way of thinking. Within the first week of occupation, Pope Beneficent XVII of the New Avalon Catholic Church was located and killed along with his College of Cardinals for "fomenting rebellion" and "publicly practicing an unsanctioned religion within the Draconis Combine." The remainder of the Church's senior leadership escaped the Dragon's clutches and went underground to join the (Davion) Assault Guards' resistance movement."
I mean, religious tolerance isn't exactly the Combine's strong suit, but they have exercised restraint and tolerance at times in history. Apparently, the 3100's aren't that era. On top of their typical authoritarian bullshit!
And for some reason I haven't yet sussed out, Wolf's Dragoons is/was working for them at this point! You'd think the whole Company Store thing from a while back might still be fresh in the mercs' minds, but I guess not. Still getting caught up though, so I'm curious to see how it all lands by the end of the book.
So has anybody actually finished Shattered Fortress? Or did they leave it deliberately open-ended? Like, have they already revealed who was the IlClan and all that?
e: okay after picking up the PDF I realize there's an entire novel coming up where ALL WILL BE REVEALED
But, uhh, between the sidebar on 96 and the map at the end, it seems pretty clear to me who got it.
So has anybody actually finished Shattered Fortress? Or did they leave it deliberately open-ended? Like, have they already revealed who was the IlClan and all that?
e: okay after picking up the PDF I realize there's an entire novel coming up where ALL WILL BE REVEALED
But, uhh, between the sidebar on 96 and the map at the end, it seems pretty clear to me who got it.
The Sea Foxes!
No honestly, I don't think the Wolves are the ones that did it. Like, everything is spotlighting them and their Khan has such a massive fucking hard-on for conquering Terra. He wants it too much to ever get it, I think, narratively. Plus what'd be the point of leaving a cliffhanger if you also have giant neon signs?
I said it before in this thread, but I do seriously guess Sea Foxes. They are quickly becoming New ComStar (tm). They've got one of the biggest militaries, the most money, the most tech, the most ComStar knowledge and they've been just quietly doing their thing this whole time. Not making any waves. Plus they are also a relatively democratic Clan and even their lower Castes have a voice, which would make them perhaps not super awful to be IlClan.
Or, I could just be giving the writers too much credit.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
"As soon as the Combine claimed New Avalon, DCMS troops took the initiative to make it remind them more of home. They toppled statues and monuments to House Davion, some of which had stood for centuries. Any art or architecture specifically celebrating the Federated Suns was defaced, burned, or leveled.
This sentiment extended to anything the troops labeled as seditious or contrary to the Combine's way of thinking. Within the first week of occupation, Pope Beneficent XVII of the New Avalon Catholic Church was located and killed along with his College of Cardinals for "fomenting rebellion" and "publicly practicing an unsanctioned religion within the Draconis Combine." The remainder of the Church's senior leadership escaped the Dragon's clutches and went underground to join the (Davion) Assault Guards' resistance movement."
I mean, religious tolerance isn't exactly the Combine's strong suit, but they have exercised restraint and tolerance at times in history. Apparently, the 3100's aren't that era. On top of their typical authoritarian bullshit!
And for some reason I haven't yet sussed out, Wolf's Dragoons is/was working for them at this point! You'd think the whole Company Store thing from a while back might still be fresh in the mercs' minds, but I guess not. Still getting caught up though, so I'm curious to see how it all lands by the end of the book.
It really sounds like the writers offed Hohiro’s line so they could play up the “Kurita is evil” card again which is...frustrating.
As for the Wolf’s Dragoon’s, if memory serves they focused that entirely on Takashi Kurita, and once he died they let it fizzle out.
Something I've been curious about -- do any of the books like Strategic Operations talk about how inhabited planets get taken over? The logistics seem prohibitive in a universe where dropships hold maybe a thousand people, and sometimes take months to travel between jump points and planets. Exterminating local populations and recolonizing generally doesn't seem like the BattleTech style for the Successor States, but transporting and distributing the government and police apparatus needed to keep billions of unwilling people in check seems like an absurd amount of work.
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H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
Something I've been curious about -- do any of the books like Strategic Operations talk about how inhabited planets get taken over? The logistics seem prohibitive in a universe where dropships hold maybe a thousand people, and sometimes take months to travel between jump points and planets. Exterminating local populations and recolonizing generally doesn't seem like the BattleTech style for the Successor States, but transporting and distributing the government and police apparatus needed to keep billions of unwilling people in check seems like an absurd amount of work.
I think the general idea is that most worlds most of the time aren't really affected that much by whichever interstellar power claims them, so the locals tend to just change the flags and go about their business if the garrison gets defeated. In other words, complacency.
Something I've been curious about -- do any of the books like Strategic Operations talk about how inhabited planets get taken over? The logistics seem prohibitive in a universe where dropships hold maybe a thousand people, and sometimes take months to travel between jump points and planets. Exterminating local populations and recolonizing generally doesn't seem like the BattleTech style for the Successor States, but transporting and distributing the government and police apparatus needed to keep billions of unwilling people in check seems like an absurd amount of work.
IIRC most planets are largely treated like feudalism-era fiefdoms (or BCE-era client kingdoms). Once Faction A's forces have been defeated by Faction B's forces on planet C, planet C's local governments and citizens just sort of go, "Oh, alright." and then more or less proceed as before, just now as citizens of Faction B.
Sometimes that's not been the case, though. The Dracs have at times been especially, well, draconian, and the Capellans have their whole citizenship thing and internal police.
Plus the Clans are some complete other thing. Maybe you get the Bears and they play nice unless you rebel. Maybe you get the Falcons and have a real bad time.
Generally a planetary invasion is multiple regiments (so around 108 battlemechs for one regiment, plus supporting infantry and vehicle battalions).
Meanwhile, most worlds have a few population centers. Afaik, there's nothing along the lines of a hive world in Battletech and most worlds tend towards a population closer to a current Earth country or continent.
So my guess is that planetary defenders get smashed and planetary government gets to make the calculation of "will friendly military forces get here in time?" Meanwhile the invaders have brought dropships full of battalions of infantry to begin pacifying those few population centers. Resistance cells pop up and work with guerilla fighters based on the smashed defenders, but most citizens generally just sigh, change the flag, and wait to find out who they make the tax check out to.
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NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Generally a planetary invasion is multiple regiments (so around 108 battlemechs for one regiment, plus supporting infantry and vehicle battalions).
Meanwhile, most worlds have a few population centers. Afaik, there's nothing along the lines of a hive world in Battletech and most worlds tend towards a population closer to a current Earth country or continent.
So my guess is that planetary defenders get smashed and planetary government gets to make the calculation of "will friendly military forces get here in time?" Meanwhile the invaders have brought dropships full of battalions of infantry to begin pacifying those few population centers. Resistance cells pop up and work with guerilla fighters based on the smashed defenders, but most citizens generally just sigh, change the flag, and wait to find out who they make the tax check out to.
It's also important to remember that most worlds in battletech aren't 1:1 analogues to earth; their atmosphere is toxic, they're too hot, they're too cold or they have too much radiation,but whatever the case is the population simply can't spread as easily as it can on earth.
As a result you can often conquer a planet by simply seizing the star port.
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
Yeah a large percentage (if not outright majority) of worlds in the Inner Sphere have less than a billion people. Most worlds perhaps only have the planetary capital as the only real city, with the rest of the population living in small towns or rural villages. Some worlds have the planetary capital as the only population center.
Capital worlds for the various Inner Sphere factions have populations that range in the 6-12 billions (maybe more, maybe less). A handful of other important worlds are similar.
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
Generally a planetary invasion is multiple regiments (so around 108 battlemechs for one regiment, plus supporting infantry and vehicle battalions).
Meanwhile, most worlds have a few population centers. Afaik, there's nothing along the lines of a hive world in Battletech and most worlds tend towards a population closer to a current Earth country or continent.
So my guess is that planetary defenders get smashed and planetary government gets to make the calculation of "will friendly military forces get here in time?" Meanwhile the invaders have brought dropships full of battalions of infantry to begin pacifying those few population centers. Resistance cells pop up and work with guerilla fighters based on the smashed defenders, but most citizens generally just sigh, change the flag, and wait to find out who they make the tax check out to.
It's also important to remember that most worlds in battletech aren't 1:1 analogues to earth; their atmosphere is toxic, they're too hot, they're too cold or they have too much radiation,but whatever the case is the population simply can't spread as easily as it can on earth.
As a result you can often conquer a planet by simply seizing the star port.
Looking at Sarna, the first few worlds I recognize seem to have sizable populations. New Avalon has 7B, St. Ives 5B, Quentin 1B. They'd kind of have to be hive worlds to cram that many people into just a few cities, but I don't think BattleTech does hive cities. And these planets were apparently settled in the 2100-2300s, so they've had 700+ years to build out.
Earlier, when people were saying the Clans don't have the manpower to take over the Inner Sphere, it just seems like no one else does, either, unless planetary populations really do just roll over after a few symbolic fights. It's hard to imagine how else Hanse was planning to take over the entire Capellan Confederation. The Clans could at least grow colonization groups, although I don't think that's what they actually do, and anyways they're all about the symbolic fights.
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
The Clanner population vs the Inner Sphere would be similar in disparity as the population of the UK vs China.
It is a MASSIVE gap between the two. Hell, probably more people in just one Successor State then in the entirety of Clanner space.
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
Realistically the only way the Inner Sphere would combine under the Great Houses was marriage.
Thanks to Victor there are people running around who have potential claims on 3 of the thrones (Steiner, Davion, one who’s Kurita and a few who are Marik).
(The Kurita one almost ended up on the throne in the Draconis Combine, but then he revealed his parentage and, well...)
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It was a good read and available to Backers.
Also the answer (as of 3150) is a definitive maybe.
Edit: although it bears mentioning that they wouldn't know about it. IIRC, Jennifer Winson's origins were a closely kept secret even in the Homeworlds, even after Operation Klondike.
It's a shame though, both the indirect and direct fire versions of the Catapult are a lot of fun.
This makes me think it and the Locust both had the same designer or inspiration.
But, looking those up, the majority of them were created after the Clan Invasion, with the remainder being oddities that were usually restricted to one or two Clans.
If I had to hazard a guess, there probably are mechs that would be classified as Catapult IICs, but they're actually Clantech retrofits of the Catapults that left on the Exodus rather than a whole new chassis.
That said, the Catapult is kinda already pretty "OmniMech".
It should be noted though that fluff wise Clan secondary line formations do often use regular ol' Mechs (granted, equipped with Clan tech) and not OmniMechs. So yeah, could very well be Clan variants of the Catapult running around. I mean there are clan tech variants running around in the Inner Sphere so I suppose it wouldn't be much of a stretch for Clanners to have their own considering how crazy modular the Catapult is.
Initially this made a lot of sense as early Clan toumans were a lot more mixed when it came to types of mechs. As doctrines evolved and second line forces got the glut of left over Archers, Catapults, and Bombardiers they probably decided they didn’t need to make new missile boats. Then the one on one combat protocol made it distasteful for forces to engage in fire support (and dangerous, since such forces would likely be wiped out entirely),
It seemed that the Clans would find a use for the Catapult frames, even if it meant stripping out the LRM launchers and swapping them out for SRMs to fit the Clans desire for up close and personal fighting.
Up armor the mech some so it's not a fragile butterfly causing torrential storms of missiles, maybe add MASC to get up close and personal with the brace of lasers, then unleash the swarms of missiles.
Or keep it a fire support mech with ATMs and let the mech warrior decide what to do with them.
I mean, there's even an Urbie-IIc, seems like a mech as widely used as the Catapult would have been swept up in numbers as Kerensky was making his exit.
I really wish there was more attention to this sort of thing drawn in the fiction. Mechs like the Catapult would absolutely develop a relatively sophisticated and simplified connective point for those shoulder collars.
Then again those may have just ended up becoming lostech.
It's less that it's dishonorable per se rather then it makes it runs afoul of key parts of Zelbrigen; namely that combat should be determined more on a 1:1 basis, it makes it much harder to clarify who did what in the fight and it increases the liklihood of collaterol damage.
Also, it's important to note that their is a key difference between clan and innersphere LRM's; Clan missiles do not have a minimum range and as such LRM's go from being a support weapon to a rather terrifying shotgun.
They also really don't need "dedicated" anything because omni pods just let them switch out entire weapon loadouts based on the needs of the current mission. And clan gear is so overpowered even non-omni mechs can afford to add missiles or other weapons on any mech they care to use them on without needing to make as many tradeoffs as IS mechs do to really make their roles dedicated. For example the MadCat has missiles like the Catapult or Archer but it's not considered a fire support mech because it has the extra tonnage to carry other large weapons.
Twitch | Blizzard: Ianator#1479 | 3DS: Ianator - 1779 2336 5317 | FFXIV: Iana Ateliere (NA Sarg)
Backlog Challenge List
Only after 3052, though.
Gummy vehicles? Or is this one more like a Jolly Rancher? I can taste the green apple flavor.
*Second line troops often did not have access to Omnis and used “standard” battlemechs.
*The majority of those LRM battlemechs I posted earlier? They were created post-invasion by Clans who settled in the Inner Sphere.
Simply put, the Clans (for the most part) apparently did not view fire support for second line mechs to be a necessity until after the invasion failed, and those that adopted it either merged with IS States (Ghost Bears and Snow Ravens), or were actively selling to them (Diamond Sharks).
...Great, now I have to make a mold of an Atlas and make Candy 'Mechs.
Twitch | Blizzard: Ianator#1479 | 3DS: Ianator - 1779 2336 5317 | FFXIV: Iana Ateliere (NA Sarg)
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Holy wow, the Combine truly are a total collection of shitbags, aren't they?
"As soon as the Combine claimed New Avalon, DCMS troops took the initiative to make it remind them more of home. They toppled statues and monuments to House Davion, some of which had stood for centuries. Any art or architecture specifically celebrating the Federated Suns was defaced, burned, or leveled.
This sentiment extended to anything the troops labeled as seditious or contrary to the Combine's way of thinking. Within the first week of occupation, Pope Beneficent XVII of the New Avalon Catholic Church was located and killed along with his College of Cardinals for "fomenting rebellion" and "publicly practicing an unsanctioned religion within the Draconis Combine." The remainder of the Church's senior leadership escaped the Dragon's clutches and went underground to join the (Davion) Assault Guards' resistance movement."
I mean, religious tolerance isn't exactly the Combine's strong suit, but they have exercised restraint and tolerance at times in history. Apparently, the 3100's aren't that era. On top of their typical authoritarian bullshit!
And for some reason I haven't yet sussed out, Wolf's Dragoons is/was working for them at this point! You'd think the whole Company Store thing from a while back might still be fresh in the mercs' minds, but I guess not. Still getting caught up though, so I'm curious to see how it all lands by the end of the book.
e: okay after picking up the PDF I realize there's an entire novel coming up where ALL WILL BE REVEALED
But, uhh, between the sidebar on 96 and the map at the end, it seems pretty clear to me who got it.
The Sea Foxes!
No honestly, I don't think the Wolves are the ones that did it. Like, everything is spotlighting them and their Khan has such a massive fucking hard-on for conquering Terra. He wants it too much to ever get it, I think, narratively. Plus what'd be the point of leaving a cliffhanger if you also have giant neon signs?
I said it before in this thread, but I do seriously guess Sea Foxes. They are quickly becoming New ComStar (tm). They've got one of the biggest militaries, the most money, the most tech, the most ComStar knowledge and they've been just quietly doing their thing this whole time. Not making any waves. Plus they are also a relatively democratic Clan and even their lower Castes have a voice, which would make them perhaps not super awful to be IlClan.
Or, I could just be giving the writers too much credit.
It really sounds like the writers offed Hohiro’s line so they could play up the “Kurita is evil” card again which is...frustrating.
As for the Wolf’s Dragoon’s, if memory serves they focused that entirely on Takashi Kurita, and once he died they let it fizzle out.
I think the general idea is that most worlds most of the time aren't really affected that much by whichever interstellar power claims them, so the locals tend to just change the flags and go about their business if the garrison gets defeated. In other words, complacency.
IIRC most planets are largely treated like feudalism-era fiefdoms (or BCE-era client kingdoms). Once Faction A's forces have been defeated by Faction B's forces on planet C, planet C's local governments and citizens just sort of go, "Oh, alright." and then more or less proceed as before, just now as citizens of Faction B.
Plus the Clans are some complete other thing. Maybe you get the Bears and they play nice unless you rebel. Maybe you get the Falcons and have a real bad time.
Meanwhile, most worlds have a few population centers. Afaik, there's nothing along the lines of a hive world in Battletech and most worlds tend towards a population closer to a current Earth country or continent.
So my guess is that planetary defenders get smashed and planetary government gets to make the calculation of "will friendly military forces get here in time?" Meanwhile the invaders have brought dropships full of battalions of infantry to begin pacifying those few population centers. Resistance cells pop up and work with guerilla fighters based on the smashed defenders, but most citizens generally just sigh, change the flag, and wait to find out who they make the tax check out to.
Spotted on the MUL !!!!!
Ooooooh that is so cool looking. What is MUL?
Steam: betsuni7
Guessing somebody leaked the redone Urbie which looks great.
It's also important to remember that most worlds in battletech aren't 1:1 analogues to earth; their atmosphere is toxic, they're too hot, they're too cold or they have too much radiation,but whatever the case is the population simply can't spread as easily as it can on earth.
As a result you can often conquer a planet by simply seizing the star port.
Capital worlds for the various Inner Sphere factions have populations that range in the 6-12 billions (maybe more, maybe less). A handful of other important worlds are similar.
Looking at Sarna, the first few worlds I recognize seem to have sizable populations. New Avalon has 7B, St. Ives 5B, Quentin 1B. They'd kind of have to be hive worlds to cram that many people into just a few cities, but I don't think BattleTech does hive cities. And these planets were apparently settled in the 2100-2300s, so they've had 700+ years to build out.
Earlier, when people were saying the Clans don't have the manpower to take over the Inner Sphere, it just seems like no one else does, either, unless planetary populations really do just roll over after a few symbolic fights. It's hard to imagine how else Hanse was planning to take over the entire Capellan Confederation. The Clans could at least grow colonization groups, although I don't think that's what they actually do, and anyways they're all about the symbolic fights.
It is a MASSIVE gap between the two. Hell, probably more people in just one Successor State then in the entirety of Clanner space.
Thanks to Victor there are people running around who have potential claims on 3 of the thrones (Steiner, Davion, one who’s Kurita and a few who are Marik).
(The Kurita one almost ended up on the throne in the Draconis Combine, but then he revealed his parentage and, well...)