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Author Topic: Are the fan sites essentially dead?  (Read 12942 times)

Von Ether

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #60 on: 11 January 2015, 20:11:55 »
Well, hasn't that be sort of been the double edge sword for BT? There seems to be a lot more interaction with writers and develops, which creates this passionate community that have a sense of ownership that fuels the creation of amazing things like Sarna.net.

But then when those same fans feel like they've been ignored or even threatened by other side projects (like Alpha Strike), they get unduly nervous or even angry.
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"New players, regardless of age, need to know two things about a wargame. How to blow stuff up and what faction is painted in his favorite color. All the rest can come later when they are hooked." -- A.G.
"But the problem is that it seems to have been made by someone who equates complication with complexity, and that just ain't so." -- iamfanboy

qc mech3

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #61 on: 12 January 2015, 10:31:42 »
Quote from: worktroll on 11 January 2015, 17:32:49
Ummm, no. The man who ran it decided not to renew his URL; he felt he didn't get the official support that he felt a fan site deserved.

Yah.  ???

If I remember correctly, it was after receiving a bunch of ''Cease and desist'' messages for having the TROs online that he decided to just flush it. I'm sure it wasn't TPTB who did it but that would still be a killjoy for anyone.  :-\
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worktroll

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #62 on: 12 January 2015, 16:54:29 »
If it wasn't TPTB, who would have been issuing them?

As far as I can remember, it was lack of response from TPTB which led to his decisions. In all my years on this site and its predecessors - since 2000 - I can't recall TPTB doing the "Cease & Desist" thing.

(A cynical man might suggest they're not that organised; an accurate & polite man would suggest they've found talking politely has dealt with issues well enough.)
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* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
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qc mech3

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #63 on: 13 January 2015, 08:32:23 »
From what he wrote before closing his site, it was more some Btech fans thinking it hurts the game to have the TROs online.

I agree that we have it easy compared to others (cough.. GM... cough) but I remember that internet publication at the time was pretty wild (and we didn't have no new TROs beyond 3067).

I also have to point a change that occurred here: at least 10 years ago, you couldn't log on this forum using a hotmail or similar account. If, like me, it was the only option, you had to get on a fan site first if you had questions about the game. Then they change the policies and now those site are less interesting than the official one for questions...   
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atlask

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #64 on: 13 January 2015, 11:32:12 »
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Catalyst Demo Agent #881, Tulsa, OK

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #65 on: 13 January 2015, 12:45:50 »
While not exactly a fan site, the Frontier (pm for the current address) is still running Battletech grand strategy games, though the most recent one ended back in the fall with the moderator heading off for military service. Eventually someone else will get around to running a new game.
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Von Ether

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #66 on: 14 January 2015, 18:03:09 »
Quote from: atlask on 13 January 2015, 11:32:12
well these are not battletech websites.. but facebook has a few

For Oklahoma Players
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1513040152317722/

Battletech
https://www.facebook.com/groups/95989675197/

Battletech International
https://www.facebook.com/groups/battletechinternational/

Alpha Strike Live
https://www.facebook.com/groups/674308555970508/

Battletech past & Present
https://www.facebook.com/groups/battletechpastandpresent/

This might be a big part of it. I've always seen FB as the "1990s personal website and chat window that we were too lazy to build." Small local BT sites don't have a chance to grow into a healthy fan site if they become FB pages instead.
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"New players, regardless of age, need to know two things about a wargame. How to blow stuff up and what faction is painted in his favorite color. All the rest can come later when they are hooked." -- A.G.
"But the problem is that it seems to have been made by someone who equates complication with complexity, and that just ain't so." -- iamfanboy

atlask

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #67 on: 14 January 2015, 20:11:28 »
Quote from: Von Ether on 14 January 2015, 18:03:09
This might be a big part of it. I've always seen FB as the "1990s personal website and chat window that we were too lazy to build." Small local BT sites don't have a chance to grow into a healthy fan site if they become FB pages instead.

True there.. the international one is pretty active one.. But it does make for easier connection..
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Catalyst Demo Agent #881, Tulsa, OK

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #68 on: 14 January 2015, 23:25:12 »
Quote from: Von Ether on 14 January 2015, 18:03:09
This might be a big part of it. I've always seen FB as the "1990s personal website and chat window that we were too lazy to build." Small local BT sites don't have a chance to grow into a healthy fan site if they become FB pages instead.

That principle doesn't just apply to Facebook, but Reddit, Tumblr and other websites. Why go to the trouble of building your own fansite when you just piggyback on an established website with a built-in userbase?
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Legion

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #69 on: 16 January 2015, 02:21:57 »
Quote from: worktroll on 11 January 2015, 17:02:31
Possibly thinking of TRO: Legends? Sounds like that. Either that, or Patrick's BattleTech Archive. They're the ones I recall with white-on-black art.

To throw in my 2 cents, (and since we no longer use pennies in Canada, I guess that rounds down to worthless?) I remember regularly using a site like this years ago, I think it was called Chaos March, maybe?
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worktroll

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #70 on: 16 January 2015, 04:22:05 »
Oh my, how could I have forgotten Chaos March? I even chatted with the guy who ran it. And now I can't recall his name  :(
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* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

pensiveswetness

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #71 on: 02 May 2016, 21:35:34 »
Quote from: blackjack on 11 October 2014, 05:03:56
Anyone do a search for Dropship command? haven't been there in a while .

http://www.dropshipcommand.com/

DSC is very much dead and deceased (but consider that the video games of that era are also dead...) kind of makes sense. RIP DropshipCommand Long live the Urbanmech Brigade!!!
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StoneRhino

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #72 on: 02 May 2016, 22:50:44 »
Back from the dead....this thread.. >:D

But since I'm here. It doesn't count as a fan site, such as Sarna, but I am sure that there are pockets of BT players that have their own forums. My online gaming group, those lazy forum lumps, has a forum that I just added a section for Battletech for my small BT group that we have. I am hoping that as we add people that the forum will grow into something more.

hopefully galleries of our games with reviews of what happened, what the players were thinking, and hoping to accomplish. Personal TROs if you will, either slight mods or completely new designs made by individual players. Force lists to be considered. Scenarios to be tried out, hopefully with reviews as mentioned above to serve as the "historical" part. Most of this will just be for the members, but I'm hoping to publish some stuff in sections that are accessible to others, mostly stuff that I produce or others wish to put out there.
« Last Edit: 02 May 2016, 22:56:50 by StoneRhino »
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Korzon77

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #73 on: 02 May 2016, 23:23:44 »
I think one problem for most fansites is that today, having a good web presence is a much bigger thing for most companies than it used to be.  So it's easier to just take fan stuff to the company webside.
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pheonixstorm

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #74 on: 03 May 2016, 00:01:07 »
Fan sites for video games are much easier though since they generally revolve around a league or game mod. Just look at the recently closed private (pirate?) WoW server that was shut down (don't recall the name).
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StoneRhino

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #75 on: 03 May 2016, 06:48:42 »
I guess the real question is what is the purpose of a fansite today, in general. Also, what is the purpose of a fansite for Battletech today beyond what is already available? I hate facebook, but it can take away the need for another fansite,while avoiding the problem of producing a fansite, on top of paying for it. Facebook is free. Outside of wanting something for your little group that is just for your little group, it seems difficult to find a need for a fansite outside of a place to post your own thoughts and designs. Of course seeing stuff such as a RAC20, or some other kind of super weapons that you know nobody would let you field based upon the all benefit, no risk rules that players would create for their super weapons that they posted on their sites back in the days.
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elf25s

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #76 on: 03 May 2016, 18:01:38 »
the fan sites are not exactly dead...but search engines by far and large have a tendency to throw out the results you need to the ones that are backed by heavy advertising...but if you are persistent you will find few newer ones
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Grognard

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Re: Are the fan sites essentially dead?
« Reply #77 on: 03 May 2016, 22:23:03 »
my favorite fansites are still up and running...

battletechuniverse.org
and
lordsofthebattlefield.com

BTU is over 13 years old.
LotB is ... I don't know?
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GROGNARD:  An old, grumpy soldier, a long term campaigner (Fr); Someone who enjoys playing tactics and strategy based board wargames;  a game fan who will buy every game released in a certain genre of computer game (RTS, or computer role-playing game, etc.)
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