Alternate ranks ?

[JAMES_PRYDE]

Apologies if this is in the wrong forum, kind of is a half half...

Is this correct to say ?

Star Commander = Nova Commander, for example

As in Mechwarrior 2, all "Nova" ranks were portrayed to be more prestigious and worth it (ToP phase 2), than all the "Star" ranks.

Was this just done for the game ? As thinking about it in cannon and novels, does not a plain "Star Commander" command the star, regardless of what it is made up from

Also I have not seen the terminology used in novels ie: "Nova Colonel Thastus has sent word, begin immediate re-enforcement of our tank points to the Spaceport walls"

So just "word candy" for the game ?

[wantec]

In the Clans you have Nova Stars which are where two Stars (usually one of 'Mechs and one of Elementals) work very closely together on joint tactics & formations, so much so they are treated as effectively 1 unit. The Nova Commander is the equivalent of a Star Commander who is leading the combined unit.

There are also Supernovas which are Binaries or Trinaries made up of Nova Stars. Once again the Nova Captain is the equivalent of a Star Captain, but is leading this formation of Nova Stars.

Where the rank is used, Nova Commanders and Nova Captains have a slight prestige advantage over Star Commanders and Star Captains.

[Alan Grant]

Some sources say that some Clans treat Nova versus Star as being akin to unofficial Senior and Junior versions of the same rank. Emphasis on unofficial.

The Hell's Horses made them actual official ranks, effectively creating 2 new mid-level ranks and therefore more Horses officers are to be found in these mid-level ranks in the Clan.

I can't recall what the video game did myself, but from your description it went a different route from canon. Effectively treating Nova ranks like the Hell's Horses do. As actual ranks to be fought for and held. Whereas the Wolves and Jade Falcons regarded them as more unofficial.

So the video game handled it differently than canon for those Clans and for most Clans. In most Clans it is not necessary to go from Star Commander to Nova Commander to Star Captain for example and their careers may just walk past it. Most may never command a Nova. But when it comes to Nova and Supernovas, the Clans are a little pickier about who gets that job, because that person is responsible for more forces and more types of forces. They also need to have a good grasp of combined-arms.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

So at least in my head canon I tend to use Nova Commander and Nova Captain more frequently to determine seniority. A Nova Commander would be the senior Star Commander (usually the Mech commander), while the Nova Captain the senior Trinary Commander (Star Captain commanding the secondary Trinary).

I highly doubt there would ever be a Nova Colonel (even though my custom Galaxy has probably enough Elementals to make it happen) just from the sheer size of the force required.

However in canon only a few Clans made them actual ranks and not just ‘designations’: IIRC it was the Coyotes and Horses. Video games always have to be taken with a grain of salt of course, but as with all of BT: do what best fits your canon.

[Alan Grant]

When did the Coyotes make Nova into formal ranks? Source? I can't find that. I only see the Horses.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

When did the Coyotes make Nova into formal ranks? Source? I can't find that. I only see the Horses.

I might be wrong: I’m going off memory… maybe it was the Nova Cats too IDK. I just remember seeing more than one Clan with rank insignias.

[wantec]

Yep, in FMWC & FMCC both the Hell's Horses and Coyotes have separate rank insignia for Nova Command & Nova Captain. None of the other Clans call out specific rank insignia, but I think all clans (except maybe the Blood Spirits) use Nova formations, perhaps those are the only two that have formalized ranks for the Nova unit commanders

[Hellraiser]

Point of Order.

Do you actually have 2 Star Commanders in a Nova?

That seems to be implied above in some posts.

I don't have my WCSB available but I seem to recall it just being a single Star Commander in command of 5 Nova-Points but w/o a 2nd Star Commander.
Same with Star Captain.  There is no 2nd Captain in that Trinary/Binary.


Which is why I think the "Nova" ranks originated, your basically giving someone command of twice their normal forces but not 3-5x as much like the next rank up.

So likely the most senior members of the unit.

[wantec]

Yeah when I looked at the WCSB the Novas just had 1 Star Commander and then a bunch warriors/Point Commanders. However, in those books there was no mention of a Nova Commander rank. Obviously each clan handles it a bit differently.

[Alan Grant]

I've only ever seen it as 10 points of force in a Nova under the command of one Star/Nova Commander. No other "officer" present above the rank of Point Commander.

Scale up appropriately if a Supernova Binary/Trinary under a Star/Nova Captain. Just one officer in command of the entire formation with a Star/Nova Commander commanding the 2-3 Novas under that umbrella.

So they command twice the force of a Star Commander/Captain, and typically that means it's a unit that has trained a lot in combined-arms use of 'mechs and BA. Or in the Hell's Horses, the Supernova that combines vehicles and conventional infantry.

[tassa_kay]

None of the other Clans call out specific rank insignia, but I think all clans (except maybe the Blood Spirits) use Nova formations, perhaps those are the only two that have formalized ranks for the Nova unit commanders

Yep. Per FMCC: "Though all Clans assign a distinct position to commanders of Novas, within the Hell's Horses these officers have official ranks, which the Horses have employed ever since they first began to use the Nova formation." And the Coyotes probably picked that up from the Horses back when they crushed the Smythe-Jewels; in fact, they even state in TP: Foster that the Horses debuted the Nova formation there and it was the only doctrinal change accepted following the Kindraa's destruction. Makes sense that to me that the Coyotes would adopt the Nova ranks since they were the only other party that participated in that conflict (and it was in a reinforced Trinary of Horse and Coyote warriors where the Nova formation made its specific debut).