Had to think about that subject a little didn't you?
To the point, no punches held. The Handbooks have been under development for a while now, and four have already released. Where are the last two for the CC and DC? I understand front to back and back to front development, but chronologically within the game system and as a player, the recent releases are limited by the lack of the fundamental starting points for them without the remaining Handbooks.
I will make references to pieces, tactical and strategical aspects to follow. Keep in mind that these references are not just in a military sense, but a general incorporation of many aspects that provide context within a specific scope.
You cannot play the game of chess if the pieces are not on the board. The Handbooks put the pieces on the board. The CC and the DC are played on the board. Without their Handbooks, and in respect to the players, the CC and DC pieces are not in play.
I have been playing battletech since 1987. I came across the game at Balboa Game Shop in Long Beach while I was stationed in Long Beach for the military. While many players play a game at the individual level, those players rarely continue to play that specific game for more than a couple of years before the style they play becomes boring, and they move to another game. Some players develop a style of play that goes beyond the individual play, incorporating a tactical style of play. These players evolve around something that goes beyond the individual accomplishment of defeating an opponent. These are players that typically will stay with a specific game for more than two years. The development of Dark Ages, thrived on the individual type players, and ultimately that was also why the game failed. The individual types moved on, and game development did not satisfy the more 'advanced' type' of player.
I hope you are not asking what the player 'type' has to do with the Handbooks? While much more goes into developing a game system, ultimately the success of a game system in the long run is maintaining a player base. Basing a system on the individual type player can be quite profitable, but over time, that player base erodes quickly. Developing a game based on the 'tactical' players, creates a game system that will have a longer production life because the players build a commitment to 'something' beyond an individual aspect of play. In Battletech, factions are the 'something' that best identifies with this type of players commitment to 'something'.
Factions implement a tactical application to the game system that satisfies the tactical players need of community and provides a purpose beyond the individual players need to beat their opponent. While factions provide community, they also implement restraints. Faction involvement dictate what pieces are available to the specific player. In the end, pieces are just pieces, tools that a player implement to obtain a specific goal. Individual players horde the best pieces and eventually the game evolves to a point that all the players are playing with the same pieces. The tactics involved are reduced, and the outcome is almost completely determined by the random role of the dice. Player interaction is reduced, and the players seek out new games to provide their entertainment. Factions are a counter to this devolution, because it does not provide all players with the same pieces. Therefore, the tactics needed to defeat one opponent are not the same for another opponent. Having multiple opponents adds variety to the game, keeping the tactical player satisfied.
The Handbooks are what provide the pieces for the factions. The factions are what provide the variation of the tactics. The tactics provide the continued interest of the tactical players and it is the tactical players that are your prominent fan base. In essense, without the release of the Handbooks for specific factions, you are not providing the variation of tactics that keep Battletech as a game system evolving. As a player, while the game system has advanced well beyond 3068, the tools have not been provided that allow for historical reenactments of any battles involving the CC or DC factions. Nor have they been updated to 3067 for the WoB, Comstar, or any of the Clans. This is a major problem.
For players to play in a tactical, balanced, factional and historical 3067 context, the only factions available right now are the Lyrans, the Free World League, the Davions and the Major Periphery States. In that context of the Jihad Era, as players, we have been supplied the comprehensive resources need to play only the Lyran/Free World League conflicts. Without the additional Handbooks in print, the tactical type players do not have the wanted resources that provide that 'something' beyond individual play. Without that 'something', the recent releases of the Turning Points in the Jihad products are devalued to the tactical type player. The tactical type player that constitutes a majority of the games fan base.
It is in this way that I feel that game development currently has their cart before their horse. With the release of TRO:3085 the pieces are available but are undefined in the tactical and strategical context of their use. In the release of the Turning Points in the Jihad releases we have the strategical and tactical context, but still do not have the pieces. Without all three contexts available, tactical players are left with 'something' missing.
With this in mind, I wish to emphasize the priority need for the rest of the Handbook's publication. Without addressing the closure of the Clan Invasion Era, and finalizing the complete setting of the faction 'board', Battletech cannot proceed forward in the Jihad Era with the content that satisfies the tactical type players needs. A need that is fulfilled at the faction level, and not the universe level. A level that indicates what pieces I can use and where they are. As a tactical type player, you play at the regional level. Player's campaigns are based on where their character play, and who they play against. Strategical aspects are dictated by the writers, and as players you have little influence. Handbooks provide the motivation and the pieces that players use to play the game. Without them, the players do not exist.
