User:Ocherstone
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My Own History[edit]
I first learned of BattleTech from MechWarrior (SNES). Despite being a not-very-well-done game, it still holds a special place in my heart. There weren't many SNES games I beat, but that was one of them. That Grand Crusader could mow down so many Dark Wingers, but I don't know that it helped bring me into the universe.
But at the ripe old age of 12, the BattleTech: The Animated Series did so. I wanted that Bushwacker, and never got it, but I did get that sweet red Toad toy. I later got an Axman, with the ejector seat. I watched every episode I could, read the back of the boxes and loved the hell out of those vector graphics.
Then playing Mechwarrior 2 on my friend's Genesis forced me into buy it for the PlayStation. That was when I started buying the books, starting with a used Technical Readout: 3055 with my very own allowance money and a brand spanking new Technical Readout: 3058 for Christmas. MultiPlayer BattleTech: Solaris on the AOL games, and later charging actual money for Kesmai/Gamestorm to my parent's card without their knowledge (for over a month). Headshotting the Catapults and Marauders in their tiny stupid cockpits was my jam and with a monthly fee? Sign me up, Gamestorm!
From there, the games have continued, my book hoard has grown, and I've continued to support this game whenever I could. MechWarrior 3, 4, even MechAssault couldn't stop me. I played a handful of the boardgame through the years, but I am by no means fluent in the rule side of things. I was sad to see FASA go, and I bought enough MWDA to know it wasn't for me. I even gave FanPro a good amount of my cash and continue to help Catalyst along whenever I can. MWO is not my jam. I was a backer for both the 2019 Clan Invasion Crowdfunding Campaign and 2023 Mercenaries Crowdfunding Campaign.
Editing[edit]
As an editor, I prefer a "yes, and" approach. I hate deleting or completely tossing away someone else's work. I'm very quick to miss some copy-editing, and I get easily distracted in the web of sidetracked pages I get through. I get bored VERY quickly trying to copy/paste the same headers from somewhere else it belongs, and I forget to triple-check formatting. But hey, I'm trying! I have no real interest in copy-editing other's work. If it's interesting to me, I'll get to it. But checking for the correct use of an em or en dash? Hard pass. Sorry to those who do, you're doing the real work! I appreciate you fixing my stuff!
Projects[edit]
I'm trying to get BattleTechWiki:WikiProject Spacecraft working again, but am a group of 1. I spent 9 months pouring over the entries I could find for all WarShips, Jumpships, DropShips, and small craft. There's more, I'm sure.
My Essay on Essay:Clan Naval Forces is 3/4ths done. I've tried to be as thorough and comprehensive as possible, and I hope it helps someone somewhere.
Current Work[edit]
MUL collation[edit]
Collate the spacecraft above against the MUL to make sure all variants are accounted for. There are disagreements about what makes a variant, what gets its own page, and what deserves the page space. And they will be done!
JumpShips appear to be done. I think WarShips should be most of the way. But the project continues!
What I'm Doing[edit]
My favorite factions, and those I will keep coming back to depending on my readings and my mood: Clan Jade Falcon, the Lyran Commonwealth, old-school Kurita, the Smoke Jaguars, and Mercenaries (especially ones that hate Katherine Steiner-Davion). You can often find me reading up on one of them and getting a string of pages together to edit. I much prefer the earlier Scenario Books, as they often have enough info to be of use in getting added to the wiki, but are often neglected.
I can't really sit and datamine a whole book. I don't like it, so don't make me! Plus, kids and work simply don't let me, and I forget where I was. I'm doing what I can on the below, mostly when they intersect with my favorite factions:
- Combat Manual: Kurita
- Combat Manual: Mercenaries
- The Battle for Twycross
- The Battle of Coventry (scenario pack)
- The Dragon Roars
- Luthien (scenario pack)
I'm trying to keep track of my workload a little better, so bear with me. Feel free to reach out to me here or Discord if I can help with something. Good luck out there!