Thank you all for the honest and kind words. This video was a huge ordeal for us all here. We struggled hard to create it with so many huge, sudden changes going on in our personal lives. According to some metric out there, I'm sure it says we probably shouldn't do these this big. That's honestly fair. However, I must resist the temptation to let my creativity be shackled by such metrics, cloaked in cruel yet comfortable logic. They are tools and can be guides, but they are not what direct our hearts. Our North Star is really all you guys. As Tex said, you're the board of directors. We read all these comments and love the critical ones because it feeds the furnace that keeps this ship movin'. Tex worked with Eldonious and kept things on track with all the other artists to get the scenes he was looking for. Tex and Gypsy worked on the credits and commercials and they came out phenomenal. Tex did all the scoring and picking tracks well into the morning with me. The BPL community kept Tex sane while he was dealing with so many things at once. Tex wrote a near PhD level thesis on stuff that flew right over my head in my first edit of this. With editing video you'll most likely watch a piece of footage hundreds of times before settling on a decision. (if you're picky like me.) It's pretty rare for me to get emotional from a thing I'm editing. That says a lot. I still get emotional at parts in this video even now, because my friend wrote something very deep and with many layers. I realized while editing that it would probably go unnoticed, which makes me tear up a little when I watch 'em. That's okay though. That's what art is supposed to do to us. I know what we make is not the greatest art on the internet. What we do make is "good enough." and I'm legit honored to be apart of it. Thank you to everyone involved, from the bottom of my heart. -Crow
The effort of everyone involved shines through in each and every aspect; content, flow, art, sound, etc. Being from something of an academic/history background, I'm somewhat picky about the lore videos that I watch, and yours are among the ones that I look forward to, savor, and treasure.
You're my spirit animal, Cro. Keep the BPL doing exactly what it is doing because although you may feel like your creative output might be weird to some, there are MANY, MANY of us out here for whom you are hitting the exact bullseye of what we want in our entertainment. Maintain The Tex in a Good Enough state of repair so that he can continue this until he doesn't have to fake his Grampy Tex voice. My friend group has started playing MW5 and MWO again and hunting Warhammers for the specific purpose of telling our victims that they were a NOT Good Enough pilot in a Good Enough mech.
Like a well made sword or a beautifully created garden, this video is both the song of glory to your efforts and the exposition of a vision made real. You did it, victory is yours.
I think I speak for most when I say fuck the metrics, fuck TH-cam "best practice" these videos are absolute works of art. Your time, effort and love do not go unnoticed. There a thousands (hundreds of thousands) of us out here that truely thank you guys from the bottoms of our hearts for the effort and dedication you put into these masterpieces. So once again and always, thankyou.
There’s a huge problem with the work you guys do. Every video is so well done that I want to go into Mechwarrior and play the hell out of the mechs you guys talk about. Every. Damn. Time. And I just do not have time to do so, which leads to frustration lol.
Who ever holds the rights to the novels. Needs to hire Tex, George, and the legion to record the entire series of audio books. To me Tex and George are the voice of Battletech, and theres none else that could do it justice. Well, maybe discount Dan.
Maybe throw in Elias Toufexis as well. He asked to voice a character in HBS Battletech because apparently he's a BT fan. Yes, Elias asked for this, don't let him tell you different. Can you imagine Tex, George and Elias in a room, growling sentences at each other?
Discounte dan would be the guy that would pose as gamesworkshop sales rep selling hermit crab and centurion mech claiming one as a warhound and the other as a free blade , selling them at typical price GW mini price making a good profit ( because battletech mini is around 5 to 15 bucks where as with warhammer is ten times more ) then promptly leaves with reassuring enthusiasm that only discounts dan can provide as one would watch infighting ensured by GW puritans. Eating each other with such emotional display that a capellan would write down note with jealousy and envy in their hearts to then turn and boast that they're THE backstabers of backstabers and will not be look at as second rate!
Ah, well Tex and possibly others depending on specifics are already recording the Stackpole stuff. I think starting with the Lethal Heritage clan invasiom trilogy
I feel this needs to be said. For the cost of 1 Baron Class Destroyer one could purchase 1,106 Urban Mechs and throw the mother of all pizza parties for the pilots with the remainder. That is a crime, and it needs to be addressed.
That 1,106 urban mechs and Mother of All Pizza Parties (MOAPP) is money better spent than on a SINGLE Baron. Hell you could purchase a few Stars of Clan Mechs with that!
@@boxtank5288 OMG... You're right!! The Urbanmech IIc is somehow even cheaper than the standard Urbie!!! Ultra AC/10 and a clan ER Small Laser. 😳😳 Plus, more pizza for the party! Good idea 👍😊
@@boxtank5288 at least six of those Urbies will be equipped with sprayers and tanks. They'll be known henceforth as, "The Six Pack," and they shall be painted as Bavarian beer servers. They will accompany the slow horde and after every mission, they will be responsible for dispensing Urbie sized Dixie cups full of beer to every pilot. *It's what we'd use the cost of the second Baron for.
Warhammer 40K Fans: "Warhammer 40K has the deepest lore of a Tabletop RPG ever." Battletech/Mechwarrior: "Hey, wanna hear about the time that screwing up the design for a Destroyer class ship had far-reaching consequences for centuries to come?"
40k gets boring when the 9th helldemon killfuck soulshitter the n9th who's 4,000 years old is attacking the secret imperial seed vault. Again. Except for real.
@@theblackpantslegion Because making the story actually move forward and have consequences is bad for them. And just like the British, they go overboard in playing it safe.
@@theblackpantslegion The main issue I've always had with 40k is no one except maybe the Guard actually feels grounded in reality. What I love about Battletech is it's a universe that feels lived in, one you could conceivably envision what it'd really be like to inhabit as a regular citizen or military grunt. And unlike 40k that universe isn't all bad, sure there's some horror but there's a lot of beauty too, it's much more human.
I feel like I should say something, because there is an actual irony in this that is kinda funny and I had no idea this was a thing, but honestly I like 40k and its lore and its cool if you think Battletech lore is better. It probably is in its own way. I really like the Battletech lore too, especially because it enables videos like this one, its a great setting.
@@hatt5350 The lore is certainly better in one aspect. In Mechwarrior/Battletech, the story isn't about gods, demons, superhumans, aliens, or anything else. It's just people, repeating the same mistakes that humans have been making for thousands upon thousands of years. Humans never evolved, or changed, or became a better version of themselves like they do in other Sci-Fi media. They've remained largely unchanged. That's why it is such a believable setting, because the people in it make decisions and mistakes that people have made throughout history. The toys have changed, the scale has changed, etc., so many things have changed, but people are still the same flawed beings they've always been and it shows in nearly every aspect of the setting.
Three days late from the memelord intended date of 4/20, at 420PM (1620 hours for you crew-cut guys and gals) on a Wednesday, but that’s the sort of man I am. What you see here is the end result of a long year of suffering, fighting, and enduring some of the most difficult times of my life. I shared this burden with my friends, and they were there to support me. This film is dedicated to my team, my friends, and those who remember how to move freight. This video is part of my attempt to stave back that darkness that almost nearly consumed me. I dedicate it to all who work to make the world a little better, one shitpost at a time. Bless you, all. HAIL CARGONIA. Want to fund this mess? - > www.patreon.com/BPLTEX If not - > There's a charity over on the right If not - > be well, do your best, and thank you for reading.
You & your team are some of the last handful of actual enjoyable content creators that I can watch endlessly. Thank you for every video both past, present, & future. As well as enriching all of us that love BATTLETECH.
Glory To Cargonia land of stolen things. obey the qaurter master unless they are a ling. o7 glory to cargonia, the bpl and to you Tex and your team. in these trying times im reminded of a vand zant qoute. we break for nobody capellans and crusader clans especially smoked jaguar. XD
I think the massive success of this series is atleast in part how Tex extrapolates usable lessons from the events covered. I work in the manufacturing field and a lot of what was covered here is part of my massive headache. We have a machine from the 40s that has been doing what are modern machines are doing but as long as we leave it alone it never breaks and even when it does it's usually easy to see why. It doesn't take rocket science to fix. Anyway, that's my rant, thanks for the insight Tex, I'll try to use it for... something...
As a machinist we had these old machine from the 40’s that could crank out parts, but only one type, it’s like ancient wizardry to us, it came with a Job we accepted, and a ancient machinist came with it. But the thing does work.
The propensity of humans to engineer perfect solutions that end up being bigger problems cannot be overstated. We use big deli slicers in my work. We have several that are older than I am. Friggin' workhorses, let me tell you. The reason they last so long and work so well is they are just a half-horse motor, one switch, and a couple belts. Elementary stuff. Every so often you have to give 'em an encouraging slap or change out the switch, but that's a job a fourth-grader can do. Even when the motor craps out, I've never known repair to take longer than the shipping time from some warehouse. Slap in the new part, flip the switch, and you're good. Due to time taking its inevitable toll on the old ones, we have also bought two modern slicers. They've got "safety" sensors all over the place, electronic readouts, everything an experienced operator never needed nor wanted in their machine. They work well enough most of the time. When they decide not to work, they're down for weeks. You can't fix it yourself because of all the electronics. Most of the repair shops around here won't even take them, because they are temperamental, require fancy circuit boards, hard to diagnose, and even harder to get working again. They cost so much to fix, you could buy an old one instead. Classic case of the people who design shit never having to use it themselves. Cutting corners where it matters and throwing in unnecessary crap because they think they're smart. Don't ever buy a modern Berkel.
Remember folks, any mech with hand actuators can pick up anything up to 20% of its body weight and use it as an improvised club. Meaning an atlas can punch a locust to death pick up the smoking wreck and use it to beat its friends to death.
@@scottgarza9629 i've been doing mech construction/loadouts wrong... i could have saved tons on close range weapons by just using the beat up 20ton mechs as improvised clubs.
You know when Tex said “what the heck I know about leadership” it is now my head canon that his character was a major of a Steiner lance unit and got kicked out for insubordination
Or to fit the Steiner theme, he got kicked out because he didn’t let a nobleman’s son be second in command because he was somehow more incompetent than Tex and said ‘I’m not letting a maniac ruin this unit’. Which then got him kicked out as ‘insubordination’ as the official reason.
@@robertivey7644 Nah, he got kicked out for painting a skull on the cockpit of his Awesome and trying to pass it off as an Atlas. That, or they found out he was drinking whiskey and not beer.
TBH I got kicked out of Steiner for shooting the leg of a stupid nobleman's 'mech before he fucked the entire smash and grab Op the party was running. Still got a sweet helmet for my Marauder from his dad for saving his son's life tho
The first, most important, and most often forgotten rule taught to Engineers: the K.I.S.S. principle: Keep It Simple Stupid. It seems that the Warhammer is proof of the value of that lesson. And thus, it became the original poster child of the franchise before the Clans showed up, and endures to this day.
@@sosogo4real Yes... 12 Long Toms, 8 MLRS Arrow IV's, and two ammo crawlers each (friends bought box sets, I picked up their vehicles cheap) They're meat if you can get to ER PPC range - but that can be a pretty big IF.
The story of Star League vs. the Taurians reminds me of the Battle of Fada, when Libya attacked Chad with an army of tanks--and got their butts handed to them by a fleet of Toyota Pickup trucks that could drive circles around the big, slow tanks. This is what I love about the Battletech setting: everything here is well thought out, nuanced, and grounded in real world logic and history. The world feels real.
Comparing the Concordat Navy to technicals is kinda insulting though. At the time hostilities broke out, the Taurians had the second largest navy in known space after the Terran Hegemony. They still got dogpiled in sheer numbers by the Spheroids, but Taurus was definitely on par with any single Great House (aside from Terra) back then. Hell, one reason why they never recovered afterwards was that half of all their systems got annexed by Davions and never returned so the Taurians could never again return to their glory days of winning every war against Davions that didn't have the SLDF helping them.
@@DonaldWWitt Tex didn't really have time to go into the nitty gritty of the Reunification War, but it was more complicated than that. The Concordat also had some pretty wacky warships like the Wagon Wheel. In the end, the Concordat's 200ish warships got whittled away by the 1000+ ships of the combined Spheroid navies. Even got outsmarted a few times by the SLDF, including the battle that lost them the war by losing too much ships in one go.
Not gonna lie, the first 30-40 minutes I was wondering to myself, "Why is Tex taking me on this super long tangent about the Baron class warship in a lecture about the Warhammer?", but I had faith that much like other Tex-Tangents, he would weave this one back into the lecture's subject somehow; and I certainly was not disappointed. Love all the little SS13 details sprinkled throughout too! The Legionnaires have once again put out a fine lecture. My only piece of constructive criticism would be that the end credits seemed to 'stutter' a bit, I think the scroll speed needs to be dialed down a notch.
They have taken three days longer than they thought. We have prepared for this for months, but will not have to wait longer. The ground shakes... Mechs. Mechs in the Deep Periphery. We cannot wait. A drop ship moves in the dark... We cannot wait... It is coming.
I'm sorry, but every unit hires loot goblins as their engineering support. They will successfully pull mechs and vehicles off the field while under fire.
Thank you Tex and team! Please never feel bad about not making deadlines. We care far more about your health than the videos. That said, the videos are fucking awesome. We appreciate you all very much! ❤️
I appreciate it, but deadlines must be enforced. They must. Because while I do hear a good deal about "oh tex we support" and much praise, and while that's fantastic, every month a production goes on - people do leave. Support disappears. Checks stop coming. My team cannot eat upvotes and hearts. So, hard work is very necessary. Discipline, as well.
"Good Enough" is enough to make its way into just about every lance I have. I would rather have a Warhammer than other favorites like the Black Knight, Marauder, Atlas, or even sometimes a MadCat. It fills so many roles and while it doesn't specialize in any one thing, that's where its strength is, not having the weaknesses of overspecialization.
My favorite part of these is just hearing him actually give the historical context and philosophy behind the mechs honestly, for one thing it’s just kinda cool, for another it sells the idea this actually a history class and Tex is an in universe professor/semi retired mercenary. It’s what helped me get into this universe and really learn about the lore. Awesome work as always.
This is the first of the Tex Talks that has come out since my best friend passed away in February, and I can see and hear all the jokes we shared because of this series. Thank you for this wonderful series Tex and batshit-crazy crew, I have and will continue to experience great enjoyment and memories from these exceptional videos.
My only criticism is that this only happens once a year, because its honestly my absolute favorite content on youtube and i rewatch these documentaries often fot he humor and the incredible storytelling. Thank you Tex, Mike, George, and all the BPL who are involved.
Ever since I was a lonely kid in a new town where my only solace was reading Battletech books in my room in the basement, I dreamed about a show or a movie about it. This is a rare case where the most optimistic, uncorrupted fantasy of youth has been far exceeded by reality. You guys have done something amazing and frankly impossible, and brought joy and new life to an old thing that we all love. And you make it free. Grayson Carlyle would be proud, and frankly, so are we.
"It can move, it can shoot, and it can severely damage or destroy things its size or smaller." Arguably it can do so to bigger opponents as well, with a bit of good piloting. There's something to be said for weapon systems that are as deadly as they are humble and non-pretentious.
1:16 Start of Lecture 2:32 Preamble 3:30 Part 1 Baron and Military Procurement 44:15 Part 2 Starcorp Industries: Military/Business Cooperation 54:25 Intermission 59:12 Part 3 What makes a Warhammer 1:04:05 WHM-6R 1:07:18 Warhammer Variants 1:20:44 Competitors 1:26:53 Warhammer inspired Mechs 1:34:07 Part 5 Warhammer The Great Equalizer 1:39:16 End of Lecture
Considering he was only attacked with egg wielding children and had his house tarred and feathered, I'd say Van Zandtians have already accepted Dorn as one of their own.
Absolutely majestic. The video is fantastically narrated and full of interesting side notes but the Oktoberfest Atlas takes the cake. Also thanks for the little Feature Hired Steel got. Keep on doing what you’re doing
In an age where mechs were new, and the Warhammer succeeded in setting a standard for performance and armament in a heavy mech, wouldn't it be more accurate to say that the Warhammer wasn't merely 'adequate' for its age but rather ahead of its time, precisely because it stood the test of time?
Well that’s the thing, isn’t it? When it released it wasn’t particularly special in any aspect. It just worked, and worked really well. Over the centuries, by virtue of being simple to manufacture, easy to maintain, easy to use, and abundant, it was able to be what it’s contemporaries weren’t; timeless.
@@mrbigglezworth42 Well, if the period Mechs that Tex mentions (aside from the Thunderbolt, perhaps its prime competitor) are anything to go by, the Warhammer was outstanding in how many roles it could do well. It wasn't that the other 'Mechs were overspecialized, it's that they did _a_ thing that the Warhammer did well, while the Warhammer did several things well.
@@CrizzyEyes Thunderbolt has some serious deficiencies in the not exploding when shot department, even compared to other heavy mechs of it's day. It's not really a direct competitor to the Warhammer but is a reasonably effective support option. LRMs and PPCs are a seriously dangerous combo.
The Black Pants Legion is a community that stands as a symbol of what fan communities should be. You make quality content for the joy of it. You are good people doing good things well. You all deserve every view, every subscription, every piece of praise that comes your way. And dang it Tex, you deserve every hour of rest you can get.
@@VallornDeathblade : I'm certain the Van Zandt militia and competitive brisket team (inclusive) will convince him of the fortification merits of mounting machine guns on the flash suppressors of cannons.
It's the sort of setup that once you unlock it in a game, you quicly realize you can settle into a groove with it that takes you all the way through the end credits and well into a NG+ run.
@@magni5648 The AK is a reliable gun, that has lived since the early 1950's, able to go through hell and back. The Warhammer, has had a 500 year production run, while being an overall reliable mech with plenty of spare parts and the most simple mech one can get their hands on. The shadowhawk is a flawed mech, and a disappointment in a nice looking shell. The Centurion was a good mech, but the AC/10's reliability issues were it's Achilles heel. The Warhammer is basically the AK of 'Mechs. Reliable, mass produced, a variant for everything, a good amount of firepower, a good amount of armor, and all around just a good mech.
@@funnyman4311 The Shad is older than the Warhammer, and pretty much the single most numerous Mech in existence other than the Bugs. Hardly a dissapointment. Hell, the Warhammer can't even claim to be the unrivaled "AK" of *heavy* Mechs. The Thud exists after all.
Dude, that was fucking fantastic. I appreciated the tangent into SLDF history that you used to compare the ideas of 'biggest and best' with simply 'good enough.' You guys have yet again outdone yourselves with production quality, this made it well worth the wait! :D
I was dubious when I saw the video was 2 hours long, I was sure I wouldn't be able to watch the whole thing. Thankfully I was wrong. This is a masterpiece of a fandom lore video. Yeah, it would've been easy to break it up into 3-4 shorter videos and drop them one a week to stretch things out. But like you said, you have to listen to your creative voice and follow what it says. Love, *Love* the animation at the end, absolutely hilarious. Please do more of that.
Just finishing the "Mercenary's Star" 3-book series for the 1st time! Van Zandt!! Gray Death Legion! holy Space Biscuits, so THAT's what happened to the planet after it was Liberated :D (Audiobook format from Audible, it's actually Good! for a change lol)
The Warhammer is like the Sherman. Is it the bleeding edge? No. Does it get the job done at a low price, lend itself to upgrades, and generally keep the crew alive? Yes. Also, Tex's gunbuilder side showed off throughout, especially when talking about checking serial numbers, building vs buying, and so on. Fitting, as the Warhammer is the AK-47 of mechs. It's built everywhere, used by everyone, not the best but is reliable, effective, and cheap, with a mix of legitimate acts of defense on one end and war crimes on the other.
I have watched videos of The Chieftain (Nicholas Moran) that said that the Sherman was designed to be transportable using existing equipment and was field tested in the US to make it as reliable as possible unlike German tanks like the Panther.
@@shaider1982 : Also, had spring-loaded hatches to make it easy to escape when burning. Which the German tank crews "uncomfortably" couldn't claim about their own vehicles.
@@shaider1982 The funny thing is that I remember watching a History Channel special in the early 2000''s where they shat all over the Sherman by claiming how it was plagued with a myriad of issues due to it being a outdated design originally meant for the first world war however in reality none of that was the case as it did the job it was intended to do.
Huh in a way you are right: underarmored for a design of it's weight class, prone to overheating and cooking it's ammo (MG ammo is a bitch when it explodes). Though on the weapon's side it's perhaps even over gunned with it's 2 PPC's and the complement of secondary weapons that can protect it from litertally everything should a wily opponent close in under the range of said PPC's
I speak for literally everyone when I say: "Tex, we love you." Yeah, even that person. Everyone. Also the into music was good. Dunno if yall made that, but if so nice work. If not, nice selection.
The intro song is Devil of the Town by Kenzo Almond. It's on TH-cam and, honestly, it gives me vibes from Kari Kimmel's Black, except more relaxed and ominous in its own way.
@@dr.steelworth5775 Nice. Thanks! I know BPL does some of their own music so I was like damn if so the production and arrangements took a massive leap! I'll have to give Kenzo Almond a listen.
Today is such a lovely day. Im going to be listening to this at least once a day for the next week. And it'll be added to my daily soothing bedtime playlist lol. Youve been lulling me to sleep with your sweet sweet whiskey over gravel voice for a couple of years now. Silencing my tinnitus and sending me into the slumber on mech flavored dreamfood. Thank you, Tex and the legion.
If there's one thing this vid's taught us all more thoroughly, it's this: You can do something fast, or you can do it right. Don't ever feel bad about your output taking the time it takes. Because *that's how long good output fucking takes*. Swing too soon and you won't hit it out of the park, but this was just goddamn right. What a beauty.
It is a possible loophole in baseball to foul off indefinitely. The game doesn't move until that third strike, fourth ball, beamed batter, or fair ball. This one was a center field perfect storm monster that is still flying.
If there's one thing this vid's taught us all, it's this: Van Zandt militia has a SHIT TON OF WARHAMMERS. Fuck invading warhammer land. Nope nope nope.
tbh the baron is just... it's kinda the same song and dance as the Bradley irl. "we want a fast warship that can deploy rapidly!" says the military. naturally the engineers provide, and the brilliant minds of the men in suits that haven't seen active combat in an ever, start making CHANGES. like putting a (admittedly small) tank gun on what was INTENDED to be, essentially, a lightly armed apc.
@@blightybog7207 Aaaaand we have a reformer. That’s wrong. The APCs were old rejected projects, and the Bradly project started out to make what we got. A multi mission INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLE. Not an APC. It was intended from go to carry half a squad. It was intended from the start to have a cannon and TOWs. The reason they didn’t fully load them so Burtan could blow 30 of them up was so they could see exactly what damage was done and fix that problem then test it again. While yes there was Grafting involved in the Bradly it wasn’t the shit show the Pentagon wars says it was. Go watch the Chieftains video on the Bradly please and thank you.
"15 whole heatsinks (wow)" Even the little details you pause for are amazing. It's no exaggeration to say that every bit of this video is some of the best production and editing done on the planet! You tell people this thing took a year to produce, and I'm sure they'll be shocked it didn't take you longer to reach this level of quality!
Thank gang, your labors are legend. The battletech community is so much richer with your voices in the chorus. Break out the champaign, you owe it to yourselves.
God bless, Tex. We love you. Thanks to you, I've gotten 7 people into Battletech and some of them have started getting others into it. You have brightened my year and helped me through some very trying times, including a death in the family. It's no small thing what you do. Don't ever think what you do doesn't matter, because it does. You help people.
I think there should be a saying amongst artists... "True artists create for the love if their craft, thus admiration will come to their work... Those who create seeking admiration are doomed to fail". In it's lore the Warhammer could very well be the embodiment of those who love their craft and the admiration of it's users really shows that.
Today I have learned the history, to the history, of the mech that I came here to see. The breadth of knowledge on display is staggering, as is the team's ability to format it into a product that not only informs, but entertains. Stunning from start to finish, with a special shout out to the animation work, and those fine mechtechs with their light up safety hats. Thank you, good folks, for putting this together and sharing it with us all.
From watching BPL for awhile now, one thing I absolutely respect is how these videos have increased in quality (which is hard, since every video is quality) on a consistent basis. This is a Magnum Opus, this is a documentary the length of a movie that intrigues you, makes you laugh, makes you think seriously, and has some of THE BEST ANIMATED SCENES I HAVE SEEN ON TH-cam. Watching the Turian frigates and the SLDF Barons fight was majestic. Please BPL, don't stop, never stop. Compared to other tabletop "lore channels", this is the quality that they should all aspire too. I can tell the delay was needed, I can tell you all cared about making the best product possible, instead of hitting a deadline, and dammit I'm so glad you all made this. This video has made my day. I watched the premiere of it, and now I'm watching it again. Once I get enough money, I'm throwing it at St. Judes, because that's what Tex wants, and Tex deserves to get what he wants. BPL is a channel that is funny, informative, cares about those who don't have much hope, (St. Judes) and is an example that EVERY TH-cam CHANNEL should hold themselves too. If you ever read this Tex or BPL staff, well done, Bravo, Encore, you have outdone yourselves. Be careful, if you keep increasing in quality, then you will make everyone else jealous lol.
I would say the 4 videos which make up the Amaris civil War + Exodus to Elementals is far and away their best work. I love these videos, but I can't get enough of the true lore dives that were those four films.
I have to convince myself that I'm not learning actual history. That is how realistic and in touch with human nature BattleTech lore is. EDIT: Tex, you should make a video covering the entire history of BattleTech in one go...if that's possible as it's a lot to go over.
It's not possible. it'd take several hours just to go through the dissolution of the Terran Alliance and the buildup to the age of War, how all the Great houses and Inner Sphere states came to be would be another Several hours EACH, and then finally the periphery states, not to mention Development of things like the Dreadnought and warship development in general, how KF-Drives work, development of HPG... and that's all before the fall of Star League!
You are learning actual history. Look up the Starfighter, the scandal surrounding it's NATO adoption, the pilot deaths that happened because of it, and NATO giving them away like candy to 2nd-string countries. It's all related, and the writers for Battletech had to take inspiration from somewhere. We in the real world are just as dumb as the Inner Sphere.
@@havoc3742 I mean, you can technically sum up the fall of the Alliance as "The leadership was failing the people, and the military, so James Mckenna used the first warship to blow them away and crowned himself leader in a military coup."
"it's not about how hard you can hit; it's about how hard you can get hit and keep getting back up." - Rocky There's nothing wrong with a bruiser mech that can take abuse and keep trucking. Like a hockey goon, it ain't fancy but it does the shit nobody else wants to do, and that's why everyone respects them. You gotta love the Warhammer for that
Tex and crew, never change. Please always allow your creativity to flow. You have brought this 40K refugee to battletech and made me appreciate each mech. I cannot wait to see what else you have in store for us. Thank you all so much.
Blackjack: "Who are you?" Warhammer: "I'm 'okay' like you but stronger" I love that ride, it just shows sometimes in war all men really need is a stick with a lot of nails jutting out to bash someone in. The Warhammer ain't flashy but that's okay you'll get enough flash from the PPCs
Atlases in lederhosen is the most terrifying this I've seen on this channel since Amaris at the all you can eat buffet. EDIT: Is that Rogal "Lord Adorable" Dorn?!
I love that you used the Sgt. York slide. For those not in the know, it locked onto porta-shitters during its public test trial. Like, it really was a terrible weapon. That's essentially where US SPAAG development ended forever.
Its a bit ironic since the ideas behind the York were: Keeping it simple and Using what has been proved to work. It was the most basic approach to weapon development in recent US AFV history... yet it fails miserably
@@Alvi410 Goes to show that definition of “fiasco” from, of all places in the universe, “Elizabethtown”, fits: “Anybody can achieve failure. But a fiasco is a tale that is passed on from person to person and makes them glad that it did not happened to them.” Some times there is just no excuse. It’s just the universe wanting to screw with you. Also that weapons design is as much artistry as it is technological know-how, even with design simplicity as a stated goal.
It had technology in to to automatically lock onto helicopters by “hearing” the rotors blades, when that was turned on during testing it “heard” the fan blades in the shitter so locked on to it. The reason it was canned had nothing to do with this incident though, the reason was it couldn’t shoot through the front of modern Russian MBTs so the military brass didn’t see the point of a SPAAG that couldn’t kill tanks
Like the Warhammer itself, this was that special blend that ended up adding up to perfection. Thank you Tex and crew, I couldn't be any happier with the results. The sheer research and span of knowledge that this touches is incredible and really hits home how good you all are at this. I'd say I can't wait for more, but seeing how long this took, I can in fact wait for more. As long and as lengthy as it will take, I can wait it out with this delightful community for more Tex Talks Battletech.
I think the story of the Warhammer and the general principles and modus operandi of StarCorps Industries can be summed up by a quote from another elder statesman from ancient Terra. During the mid to late 19th century, this statesman, who spent most of his life working his ass off to first unite a large collection of minor kingdoms, fiefdoms, and city states in What was known then as Eastern Europe into a mighty empire by various means and then keep said empire from getting annihilated by other major empires was believed to have said the following: “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” - Otto Von Bismarck. First chancellor of the German Empire
51:24 this is another reason I like house Davion, while they have their issues like every other house, they actually fucking listen to pilot feedback. Edit: ok that was a great episode of Steiner scout squad, I especially love the Fraulein Atlas, she was adorably murderous. Edit2: glad to see lord adornable is here too
To hell with deadlines. Every work you've delivered has been a gem and a constant evolution of awesomeness in the immense lore that is the world of Battletech. The haters will hate, but your true fans will always patiently await the next bit of awesome. Keep up the awesome work! And praise Z0rg!
Deadlines aren't just about hate sir. There's a real balance in delaying and losing money. People do say they support, but, over time, goodwill is a fickle thing. My team can't eat upvotes.
@@theblackpantslegion that is a fair point sir. My statement was more in the spirit of the people that lack patience and want things rushed out. Quality over quantity, and while unmet deadlines do cost money, an unfinished product is a poor product. IE: Rushed games.
I concur wholeheartedly. It's a balance in small production. I can't get loans. It's either ride it to the brink, and release, or burn until you die and people never come back. It's chaos, but, we've never borrowed. I just paid my own money in. Honest work, but we're doing it the howard hughes way - OCD and paying in more than we'd ever get. Plus we release this big work for charity. We're not . . . in this for riches. At all. But, it has to self sustain...to a point.
The thing I love most about these battlemech histories is the context. I read TROs all the time and it provides a introduction year, but especially with age of war and star League designs, all the context around the design is missing. Tex's inclusion of all that history around the mech really helps put it into it's place in the universe.
In my most recent MW5 playthrough, a Warhammer was my main for most of the midgame. She was a Goddes of the battlefeild, a perfectly acceptable balance of weapons for all ranges, protection and mobility. I particularly loved how a mech with its main weapons leaning towards longer range combat, its backup weapons are a terrifing cheesegrater capible of shredding anything dumb enough to close the range
My go-to is the King Crab with 4 UAC-5's and a LRM10. Not the most powerful loadout, but hey! Autocanon Fever is a thing. That, or the Maurader 2 with 3 PPC's and pulse lasers. Failing that, I also have a Cyclops with 2 gauss rifles andsome backup weapons I almost never use. Speedy dude is bester than the Nightstar in my opinion, but... (shrug) I like big 'mechs.
i think he's talking about the WH-BW version, with 4 MGs, it is a demolition mission BEAST, can kill a demo target in 2 min flat, its my go-to mech for ALL demo missions
My fist CoverMech... the one that started it all for this lad when youth spun in my life. I can distinctly remember trying my best to make this Mech 'in the field' the best beast there was out there, my good friend showed me time and time again that these child-spun fantasies were not true using a Mech 10 tons lighter (Dang Thud...). Thanks again Legion and Tex for making this video and for working such a great cause with it.
The Warhammer was also my first cover mech and what got me into Battletech. Although in my case, it was the cover of the very first Mechwarrior video game rather than any of the tabletop books or novels.
Check out so-called 'energy drinks' like gatorade and crap. As well as having mineral salts to replace what you lose after a proper workout or day of working now lots also feature certain flavours that ALSO come loaded with zinc, vitamin d, c, b's... so you are also supplementing your water with effectively a multivitamin. Plus they taste great. Excellent way of keeping your system ticking over tickety boo, without chomping lots of pills.
@@DixonsCider thing is, if you have vitamin-d deficiency induced depression, those aren't going to cut it. Not until you die from diabetes or cancer first. Every drink of that type is just sugar water with a passing attempt to make them look healthy.
Holy f*** Tex! You guys of the BPL crew are crazy. By that I mean CRAZY with the utmost humble respect. I remember I started watching Tex talks battletech when it was high quality 8 min "short" clips... and now, with the marauder being an exceptional quality documentary over an hour long rivaling or hands down beating the production value of professional documentaries. With that said, I cannot believe you share this with the world for every one to watch at no cost via youtube. This speaks volumes to me about your passion for the universe. I simply cannot wait for this new warhammer installment! Keep up the awesome work, but most of all stay healthy and don't forget to treat yourself to a good rest after a massive project like this!
All of you at BPL have made a child hood become a reality for me being able to show my kids that this is and was a thing has made it possible for me to bond with my kids over something that has had a huge influence over my life thank you all for the work you have done!
The first time I saw the Warhammer, i was maybe 11-12 years old, and at a Hungates hobby store, i spotted a box for BATTLETECH 3rd Ed. The Unseen Warhammer (aka Destroid Tomahawk). I feel in love with it . . . don't know why, but something in it's aesthetic seemed perfect. Barrel gun arms, 3 additional weapons ports on each torso, plus a missile rack and spotlight. Easily modified, and highly adaptable, it is a walking Abrams tank, and it makes no mistake about what it is, and does. A midrange brawler that can pack a surprise depending on who's piloting it, and what their objective is. Basically, the Warhammer is the A-10 of the mech world. It's simple, rugged, powerful, tried and true . . .
I started wih the very first german edition (which is the 2nd edition iirc) and it had the Warhammer on the cover in all it's glory. It was the image we see in this video at 42:18, but with explosions in the background and one of the PPCs firing. Good times to start with all 14 "unseen" and nothing else. "Sturmdrache" bedeutet wohl, daß ich auch auf Deutsch schreiben könnte :)
The basic idea of the A-10 and Warhammer comparison is there. But the Warhammer has the advantage of being able to survive in a high intensity battle against other modern equipment. Plus try running a Warhammer without a targeting system, which is at least comparable to early A-10's before the sensitive electronics that the people who didn't even design it thought it didn't need were installed. Basically don't give the A-10 to much credit and compare it to something that actually works even like the fictitious Warhammer.
@@mando_dablord2646 "But the Warhammer has the advantage of being able to survive in a high intensity battle against other modern equipment." YOu clearly haven't researched the A-10s success story.
To everyone who made this possible and worked on this feature length presentation, thank you. Seriously. You all rock. I started out watching the premiere, then had to go eat dinner at the 90 minute mark. Finished up afterwards. Worth the wait. Loved the little 'purpose:' bits. I learned the Warhammer is the kind of weapons system I have a fondness for: like the Pps-43 or the M4 Sherman, something that is good enough to get the job done and very friendly to mass production and maintenance. Also it is nice to see that the ones who crafted this lore in Battletech include realistic touches like a bloated, ineffective weapon that was too ambitious and overengineered for its own good in the form of the Baron.
Having only discovered this channel last week, and having now gone through the entire Tex Talks Battletech playlist, I want this on record. For every single "I may come back to this later if there's interest" across all the videos, yes, I am very interested. Battletech was my gateway into RPGs and miniature wargaming, and at one point I had a lot of the sourcebooks, but never got into the novels, and most of the books I had were the casualty of flood damage long ago. This deep dive has been amazing. Thank you for all you've done.
"The SLDF assumed their navy and their military was of higher quality, and should that fail, the substantial numbers advantage would make the war a decided outcome." Similar assumptions throughout history have resulted in embarrassing defeats and major military upsets throughout history. For examples, look at the American Revolution, Imagawa Yoshimoto's spectacular defeat at the hands of Oda Nobunaga at Okehazama, and countless others thoughout world history.
@@bthsr7113 The fun thing is that munitions are unlimited, manpower isn't. US Bombing campaigns were very, VERY much limited in scope and scale then they were in WW2. We don't bomb like we bombed Dresden or Firebombing Japan.
Ok, Tex has covered the Rifleman, Marauder, Warhammer, and even (briefly) the Longbow. So, there's just the Archer and Phoenix Hawk series of mechs left of the Macross inspired Battlemechs. I look forward to seeing how those are covered in the future.... (What can I say? I bought my first Battletech Box Set because it had a Destroid on the box. Of course I'm interested in these mechs in particular.) So, anyone else get into Battletech thanks to Robotech?
I think there's more. Also, one config of the Stone Rhino looks like the walking battleship turrets, but much smaller. 4 * LB2X and 6 * ER medium. If you're feeling like flipping the bird at HG.
@@bthsr7113 I know there are other mechs based on the Valkyrie Fighter, but their names elude me at the moment. I think the Wasp is one of them, but I'm not certain. I don't think any other Zentradi mechs were used as inspiration then the one that led to the Marauder. As to the Stone Rhino, it doesn't really look all that much like a MAC II, even a scaled down one...
Wait the brisket really that tasty?! I tasted every brisket in my home state of Texas and if I gotta get my hands on that brisket then hell ya I'll join the Van Zandt militia! Jokes aside keep up the good work as it's rare to find lore videos that don't have the same charm as the folks in BPL god I love this community.
OOOH SWEET LORD YES! Patience is a virtue and it has paid off. All the love and time you guys have put into this series really makes me feel like there are still people who care about the content they make, Thanks for all your guys time and work. Now go take a vacation, you know... if you want.
The naval doctrine and history part is glorious, and I would love to see more of that in the future. (Of course the rest of it is superbly done - this feels like listening to someone's masters thesis being read.)
I keep scrolling down, but never fine anyone trying to answer the question at 1:13:04, the "what sells for 500+ years unchanged" question. My guess is something small and simple: a toothbrush. That fact alone makes the Warhammer even cooler in my opinion.
Ohhhh muh gawd, Tex Talks Battletech is back, SUSAN! CANCEL MY APPOINTMENTS TODAY! Ok, I love that these keep getting longer. I'm still slogging my way through, but I shall complete this lesson. Great work so far Tex and team, as always.. even better than the last.
A true master class of media and documentary, hats of to you all at the BPL also should i be concerned regarding Tex's attempted acquirement of a nations entire air force? And how can i forget, THE GLORIOUS RETURN OF THE STEINER SCOUT LANCE and for another edit, the appearance of a certain fortification and infrastructure obsessed individual in the credits was a treat
This series is helping me to want to get into battletech. The history of the world, plus the breakdown of the mechs themselves is fantastic. Also, I love how the Goddamn Blackwatch is the proper name for that unit. If you hear bagpipes, you're already dead.
Oh damn, that was beautiful. The musical scoring was on point, the art was damn fine at the very least. This is a series of documentaries i'm happy to watch and wait for. You can feel all the care and fucks given that go into a project of this scope and its amazing.
When I went live, youtube said 4k was the total amount of people that should be able to watch. period. Out of my 88k subs. That's why I don't have a million subscribers. Even if I did, that's not a useful metric.
So I’m new to the battle tech universe having just stumbled onto Mech warrior 5 out of boredom, and I have to say that I fell in love with the simple destructive fun that game is. But finding out that there is an entire, deep community that’s decades old built around this whole franchise made me so happy and Tex you are the absolute man! I can’t believe I never heard of battletech until I’m 28 years old I hope they keep making games I love this shit.
I wasn't expecting to get so personally emotionally involved in a mech company at Part 3. Beautifully scored and edited too, I see you Mr.Mike and/or Gypsy.
@@theblackpantslegion Extra kudos to you then. Right around the reading of the Warhammer ad was a particularly poignant foreshadowing of the emotional punch. That was the exact moment I thought "Hey, someone left a piece of their soul in my TH-cam funnies".
Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half light, I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
Come for the Warhammer, get a primer on the military industrial complex. That level of "above and beyond" is one of the reasons I love this series so much
The Charger is one of those 'Mechs that I can imagine being used as a "Fleet in being" on a backwater world without much in the way of education. Riot starts? Fire up the Charger and let the small lasers do the talking. Forest fire? Send in the charger to create a firebreak at 40kph. Need an IndustrialMech? Send in the Charger.
Rolling out the Yamato battleship pic! Freaking awesome work Tex! The “I taught you that, to teach you this...” technique was always one of my favorites to use in my teaching days!
I absolutely love the discussion of warships. I feel like it's a part of battletech lore that has never been fully appreciated, and I love seeing it get more exposure
As always, a big thank you to everyone over there who helps with these marvelous, marvelous spots. Fight on against TH-cam, keep bringing over more and more 40k refugees, and Tex.. have a better rest of the year, yo.
For Battletech fans 'Tex Talks Battletech' is closest we got to 'Battletech Cinematic Universe'. In terms of quality it beats a lot of other CUs. Cheers guys.
You can really pick up some good life lessons on this Channel. Never thought I would get into battletech but thanks for mature storytelling and a badass narrator I'm in. Thanks for the hard work guys!!
This was stunning. Much more than just a great lore video. We went on deep dive into the BUSINESS of warfare. Not just in a fantasy but a great allegory for the hear and now. I will have to watch this several times. It is so packed full raw information, nuance, layered and dare I say brilliant complexity. My deepest respect and appreciation BPL team.
This video is „good enough“. Which means when it comes to Battletech content, it’s damn perfect. Outstanding work, guys. As long as you make em, I will watch em and support you guys on Patreon. You bring joy to an old Mechwarriors heart.
I may or may not get my first Battletech Miniatures for my birthday next week. Thank you Tex. You made my introduction into the hobby that I have come to deeply enjoy so smooth. Edit: For those who want to know. It will either be the starter box with 8 Mechs, including an Awesome and a Catapult or, and that's what I am actually hoping for, it will be a ComStar Command Level II box. With a Black Knight, a King Crab, a Highlander, an Exterminator(Which I will not be able to field, my local group mostly plays 3025 and the exterminator is lostech in that era) and 2 other mechs which I don't remember right now. The Black Knight is my favorite mech, so I will field the hell out of that one!
Thank you all for the honest and kind words. This video was a huge ordeal for us all here. We struggled hard to create it with so many huge, sudden changes going on in our personal lives. According to some metric out there, I'm sure it says we probably shouldn't do these this big. That's honestly fair. However, I must resist the temptation to let my creativity be shackled by such metrics, cloaked in cruel yet comfortable logic. They are tools and can be guides, but they are not what direct our hearts. Our North Star is really all you guys. As Tex said, you're the board of directors. We read all these comments and love the critical ones because it feeds the furnace that keeps this ship movin'.
Tex worked with Eldonious and kept things on track with all the other artists to get the scenes he was looking for. Tex and Gypsy worked on the credits and commercials and they came out phenomenal. Tex did all the scoring and picking tracks well into the morning with me. The BPL community kept Tex sane while he was dealing with so many things at once. Tex wrote a near PhD level thesis on stuff that flew right over my head in my first edit of this. With editing video you'll most likely watch a piece of footage hundreds of times before settling on a decision. (if you're picky like me.) It's pretty rare for me to get emotional from a thing I'm editing. That says a lot.
I still get emotional at parts in this video even now, because my friend wrote something very deep and with many layers. I realized while editing that it would probably go unnoticed, which makes me tear up a little when I watch 'em. That's okay though. That's what art is supposed to do to us. I know what we make is not the greatest art on the internet. What we do make is "good enough." and I'm legit honored to be apart of it.
Thank you to everyone involved, from the bottom of my heart.
-Crow
The effort of everyone involved shines through in each and every aspect; content, flow, art, sound, etc. Being from something of an academic/history background, I'm somewhat picky about the lore videos that I watch, and yours are among the ones that I look forward to, savor, and treasure.
You're my spirit animal, Cro. Keep the BPL doing exactly what it is doing because although you may feel like your creative output might be weird to some, there are MANY, MANY of us out here for whom you are hitting the exact bullseye of what we want in our entertainment. Maintain The Tex in a Good Enough state of repair so that he can continue this until he doesn't have to fake his Grampy Tex voice. My friend group has started playing MW5 and MWO again and hunting Warhammers for the specific purpose of telling our victims that they were a NOT Good Enough pilot in a Good Enough mech.
Like a well made sword or a beautifully created garden, this video is both the song of glory to your efforts and the exposition of a vision made real. You did it, victory is yours.
I think I speak for most when I say fuck the metrics, fuck TH-cam "best practice" these videos are absolute works of art. Your time, effort and love do not go unnoticed. There a thousands (hundreds of thousands) of us out here that truely thank you guys from the bottoms of our hearts for the effort and dedication you put into these masterpieces.
So once again and always, thankyou.
There’s a huge problem with the work you guys do.
Every video is so well done that I want to go into Mechwarrior and play the hell out of the mechs you guys talk about.
Every. Damn. Time.
And I just do not have time to do so, which leads to frustration lol.
Who ever holds the rights to the novels. Needs to hire Tex, George, and the legion to record the entire series of audio books. To me Tex and George are the voice of Battletech, and theres none else that could do it justice. Well, maybe discount Dan.
Tex and Baradul are already in a series of shorts, so they've started.
Maybe throw in Elias Toufexis as well. He asked to voice a character in HBS Battletech because apparently he's a BT fan. Yes, Elias asked for this, don't let him tell you different.
Can you imagine Tex, George and Elias in a room, growling sentences at each other?
Discounte dan would be the guy that would pose as gamesworkshop sales rep selling hermit crab and centurion mech claiming one as a warhound and the other as a free blade , selling them at typical price GW mini price making a good profit ( because battletech mini is around 5 to 15 bucks where as with warhammer is ten times more ) then promptly leaves with reassuring enthusiasm that only discounts dan can provide as one would watch infighting ensured by GW puritans. Eating each other with such emotional display that a capellan would write down note with jealousy and envy in their hearts to then turn and boast that they're THE backstabers of backstabers and will not be look at as second rate!
Tex did an audiobook for Catalyst! Blood of Kerensky I believe. I don't think it's been released yet, but hopefully soon.
Ah, well Tex and possibly others depending on specifics are already recording the Stackpole stuff. I think starting with the Lethal Heritage clan invasiom trilogy
I feel this needs to be said.
For the cost of 1 Baron Class Destroyer one could purchase 1,106 Urban Mechs and throw the mother of all pizza parties for the pilots with the remainder.
That is a crime, and it needs to be addressed.
That 1,106 urban mechs and Mother of All Pizza Parties (MOAPP) is money better spent than on a SINGLE Baron.
Hell you could purchase a few Stars of Clan Mechs with that!
@@boxtank5288 OMG... You're right!!
The Urbanmech IIc is somehow even cheaper than the standard Urbie!!!
Ultra AC/10 and a clan ER Small Laser. 😳😳
Plus, more pizza for the party!
Good idea 👍😊
@@davidmeigs2152 What can I say, except give some love to the little guys, right?
@@boxtank5288 at least six of those Urbies will be equipped with sprayers and tanks.
They'll be known henceforth as, "The Six Pack," and they shall be painted as Bavarian beer servers.
They will accompany the slow horde and after every mission, they will be responsible for dispensing Urbie sized Dixie cups full of beer to every pilot.
*It's what we'd use the cost of the second Baron for.
@@davidmeigs2152 Wait? There is an Urbanmech IIc? Like, seriously, a Clan Urbie?
Warhammer 40K Fans: "Warhammer 40K has the deepest lore of a Tabletop RPG ever."
Battletech/Mechwarrior: "Hey, wanna hear about the time that screwing up the design for a Destroyer class ship had far-reaching consequences for centuries to come?"
40k gets boring when the 9th helldemon killfuck soulshitter the n9th who's 4,000 years old is attacking the secret imperial seed vault. Again. Except for real.
@@theblackpantslegion Because making the story actually move forward and have consequences is bad for them. And just like the British, they go overboard in playing it safe.
@@theblackpantslegion The main issue I've always had with 40k is no one except maybe the Guard actually feels grounded in reality. What I love about Battletech is it's a universe that feels lived in, one you could conceivably envision what it'd really be like to inhabit as a regular citizen or military grunt. And unlike 40k that universe isn't all bad, sure there's some horror but there's a lot of beauty too, it's much more human.
I feel like I should say something, because there is an actual irony in this that is kinda funny and I had no idea this was a thing, but honestly I like 40k and its lore and its cool if you think Battletech lore is better. It probably is in its own way. I really like the Battletech lore too, especially because it enables videos like this one, its a great setting.
@@hatt5350 The lore is certainly better in one aspect. In Mechwarrior/Battletech, the story isn't about gods, demons, superhumans, aliens, or anything else. It's just people, repeating the same mistakes that humans have been making for thousands upon thousands of years. Humans never evolved, or changed, or became a better version of themselves like they do in other Sci-Fi media. They've remained largely unchanged. That's why it is such a believable setting, because the people in it make decisions and mistakes that people have made throughout history. The toys have changed, the scale has changed, etc., so many things have changed, but people are still the same flawed beings they've always been and it shows in nearly every aspect of the setting.
My wife cried watching this. She used to roll a Warhammer in the old tabletop days and has wanted this video for a long while. Cheers. Praise z0rg.
You are a goddamned lucky man, my friend.
now that is emotion right there, and one hell of a statement.
Aww.
"My wife...warhammer."
You sir have won life. Congratulations.
The envy is real, bro
Three days late from the memelord intended date of 4/20, at 420PM (1620 hours for you crew-cut guys and gals) on a Wednesday, but that’s the sort of man I am.
What you see here is the end result of a long year of suffering, fighting, and enduring some of the most difficult times of my life. I shared this burden with my friends, and they were there to support me.
This film is dedicated to my team, my friends, and those who remember how to move freight. This video is part of my attempt to stave back that darkness that almost nearly consumed me.
I dedicate it to all who work to make the world a little better, one shitpost at a time.
Bless you, all. HAIL CARGONIA.
Want to fund this mess? - > www.patreon.com/BPLTEX
If not - > There's a charity over on the right
If not - > be well, do your best, and thank you for reading.
Well if it's any consolation the video will be up right after the orthodox easter :)). Make of that what you will as a meme factor :)).
You & your team are some of the last handful of actual enjoyable content creators that I can watch endlessly. Thank you for every video both past, present, & future. As well as enriching all of us that love BATTLETECH.
Thanks for your service and everyone who helped you Tex take care.
Glory To Cargonia land of stolen things. obey the qaurter master unless they are a ling. o7 glory to cargonia, the bpl and to you Tex and your team. in these trying times im reminded of a vand zant qoute. we break for nobody capellans and crusader clans especially smoked jaguar. XD
Thanks for doing things like this it means a lot
General: “no more nukes allowed.”
Mad Scientist: “ok, hear me out. Giant fucking robots.”
General: “….go on….”
Lol
Jacob Cameron: Tell me more...
You’re not wrong...and I love it.
...that somehow turns into a fusion "meltdown" when their hyper-containment Fields fail ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
and so the mackie was born, and from that, the almighty urbie
I think the massive success of this series is atleast in part how Tex extrapolates usable lessons from the events covered. I work in the manufacturing field and a lot of what was covered here is part of my massive headache. We have a machine from the 40s that has been doing what are modern machines are doing but as long as we leave it alone it never breaks and even when it does it's usually easy to see why. It doesn't take rocket science to fix. Anyway, that's my rant, thanks for the insight Tex, I'll try to use it for... something...
As a machinist we had these old machine from the 40’s that could crank out parts, but only one type, it’s like ancient wizardry to us, it came with a Job we accepted, and a ancient machinist came with it. But the thing does work.
Now imagine a machine that is advanced enough to still be used, and old enough that the guy that invented it died 500 years ago.
That's the Warhammer!
@@ghoulbuster1 no that is Battletech, warhammer it was 10k years old
@@ghoulbuster1 or the Windmill!
The propensity of humans to engineer perfect solutions that end up being bigger problems cannot be overstated.
We use big deli slicers in my work. We have several that are older than I am. Friggin' workhorses, let me tell you. The reason they last so long and work so well is they are just a half-horse motor, one switch, and a couple belts. Elementary stuff. Every so often you have to give 'em an encouraging slap or change out the switch, but that's a job a fourth-grader can do. Even when the motor craps out, I've never known repair to take longer than the shipping time from some warehouse. Slap in the new part, flip the switch, and you're good.
Due to time taking its inevitable toll on the old ones, we have also bought two modern slicers. They've got "safety" sensors all over the place, electronic readouts, everything an experienced operator never needed nor wanted in their machine. They work well enough most of the time. When they decide not to work, they're down for weeks. You can't fix it yourself because of all the electronics. Most of the repair shops around here won't even take them, because they are temperamental, require fancy circuit boards, hard to diagnose, and even harder to get working again. They cost so much to fix, you could buy an old one instead. Classic case of the people who design shit never having to use it themselves. Cutting corners where it matters and throwing in unnecessary crap because they think they're smart. Don't ever buy a modern Berkel.
Remember folks, any mech with hand actuators can pick up anything up to 20% of its body weight and use it as an improvised club. Meaning an atlas can punch a locust to death pick up the smoking wreck and use it to beat its friends to death.
Well...gonna keep that idea for my Mechwarrior Destiny RPG
straight up beat a mf with another mf.
@@scottgarza9629 i've been doing mech construction/loadouts wrong... i could have saved tons on close range weapons by just using the beat up 20ton mechs as improvised clubs.
With triple-strength myomer, you might even be able to throw the Locust at people. "AC20? Who needs it? I'MMA HURL THAT MOTHER!"
@@CM-wv8nsheh... urbie-chucks....
You know when Tex said “what the heck I know about leadership” it is now my head canon that his character was a major of a Steiner lance unit and got kicked out for insubordination
Or to fit the Steiner theme, he got kicked out because he didn’t let a nobleman’s son be second in command because he was somehow more incompetent than Tex and said ‘I’m not letting a maniac ruin this unit’.
Which then got him kicked out as ‘insubordination’ as the official reason.
Yessss
Tex got kicked out of the Steiner Scout Lance for building a Cowboy hat for his Atlas.
@@robertivey7644 Nah, he got kicked out for painting a skull on the cockpit of his Awesome and trying to pass it off as an Atlas. That, or they found out he was drinking whiskey and not beer.
TBH I got kicked out of Steiner for shooting the leg of a stupid nobleman's 'mech before he fucked the entire smash and grab Op the party was running. Still got a sweet helmet for my Marauder from his dad for saving his son's life tho
Tex’s voice now sits next to Optimus Prime’s in the choir that keeps me pushing this broom for a living.
Dudes voice is a gift to mankind. One we don't deserve but sorely need.
Same.
The first, most important, and most often forgotten rule taught to Engineers: the K.I.S.S. principle: Keep It Simple Stupid.
It seems that the Warhammer is proof of the value of that lesson. And thus, it became the original poster child of the franchise before the Clans showed up, and endures to this day.
I heard that in marketing, sales, engineering and bartending, a very useful rule.
That would be the Marauder, or the Atlas, or the Shadowhawk, or well you get the idea. Also it's shit. Fucking ammo bombs man.
@@sosogo4real I'll take some nice, simple, artillery parked 2 maps away - simple, cheap, and quantity is a quality all it's own.
@@muninrob arty is the king of the battlefield for a reason. Tube or are you a filthy Arrow man? Lol.
@@sosogo4real Yes...
12 Long Toms, 8 MLRS Arrow IV's, and two ammo crawlers each (friends bought box sets, I picked up their vehicles cheap)
They're meat if you can get to ER PPC range - but that can be a pretty big IF.
The story of Star League vs. the Taurians reminds me of the Battle of Fada, when Libya attacked Chad with an army of tanks--and got their butts handed to them by a fleet of Toyota Pickup trucks that could drive circles around the big, slow tanks.
This is what I love about the Battletech setting: everything here is well thought out, nuanced, and grounded in real world logic and history. The world feels real.
The Hilux is the only war machine to have lasted longer than the Warhammer!
Comparing the Concordat Navy to technicals is kinda insulting though. At the time hostilities broke out, the Taurians had the second largest navy in known space after the Terran Hegemony.
They still got dogpiled in sheer numbers by the Spheroids, but Taurus was definitely on par with any single Great House (aside from Terra) back then. Hell, one reason why they never recovered afterwards was that half of all their systems got annexed by Davions and never returned so the Taurians could never again return to their glory days of winning every war against Davions that didn't have the SLDF helping them.
@@MoreEvilThanYahweh But the point is they used ships that they KNEW worked and used their superior speed to their advantage.
@@DonaldWWitt Tex didn't really have time to go into the nitty gritty of the Reunification War, but it was more complicated than that. The Concordat also had some pretty wacky warships like the Wagon Wheel.
In the end, the Concordat's 200ish warships got whittled away by the 1000+ ships of the combined Spheroid navies. Even got outsmarted a few times by the SLDF, including the battle that lost them the war by losing too much ships in one go.
@@DonaldWWitt Your point is correct.
But they were still near-peer adversaries.
Technicals against tanks is not an accurate analogy.
Not gonna lie, the first 30-40 minutes I was wondering to myself, "Why is Tex taking me on this super long tangent about the Baron class warship in a lecture about the Warhammer?", but I had faith that much like other Tex-Tangents, he would weave this one back into the lecture's subject somehow; and I certainly was not disappointed. Love all the little SS13 details sprinkled throughout too! The Legionnaires have once again put out a fine lecture. My only piece of constructive criticism would be that the end credits seemed to 'stutter' a bit, I think the scroll speed needs to be dialed down a notch.
At 32 mins in I am wondering if it should have been titled "Tex Talks Battletech: The Warship" - but I have faith 😄
The amount of work and sweat they put in…. Worth of all of our respect and that’s what you did. Cheers :)
I love how much more setting-exposure we get through these relevant tangents/detours, pivoting topics like this *chef’s kiss*
I forgot that it was a lecture on the Warhammer because I listen to these in the background while I play other games
They have taken three days longer than they thought.
We have prepared for this for months, but will not have to wait longer.
The ground shakes... Mechs. Mechs in the Deep Periphery.
We cannot wait.
A drop ship moves in the dark...
We cannot wait... It is coming.
Bruh...I got chills from that lol
@@seth4065 Nothing like a little Tolkien added to Battlemech badassery for pure epic WIN! 😎
The Inner Sphere don't want you to know this, but the mechs left after they retreat are free. You can take them home. I have 458 mechs.
I'm sorry, but every unit hires loot goblins as their engineering support. They will successfully pull mechs and vehicles off the field while under fire.
Jesus Christ loves you
Thank you Tex and team! Please never feel bad about not making deadlines. We care far more about your health than the videos. That said, the videos are fucking awesome. We appreciate you all very much! ❤️
When the end result is always high quality, deadlines become more like guidelines. People will wait for a good product.
We will remember the quality. Not the delays. Take the time to do it right and if it that means a pause for any personal reason, do so.
Deadlines... there was a deadline on this one?
@@juangonzalez9848 Tex (or someone on the team) mentioned the video was 3 days late.
I appreciate it, but deadlines must be enforced. They must. Because while I do hear a good deal about "oh tex we support" and much praise, and while that's fantastic, every month a production goes on - people do leave. Support disappears. Checks stop coming. My team cannot eat upvotes and hearts. So, hard work is very necessary. Discipline, as well.
"Good Enough" is enough to make its way into just about every lance I have. I would rather have a Warhammer than other favorites like the Black Knight, Marauder, Atlas, or even sometimes a MadCat. It fills so many roles and while it doesn't specialize in any one thing, that's where its strength is, not having the weaknesses of overspecialization.
Black Knights keep ya coffee warm though.
Yeah, sometimes you gotta take a step back from the crazy. "Its good enough"
@@p00tis aaah Black Knights Aka “Henry the Red” not from any tale of superb butchery but from all the overheat warnings
@@amishrambo4096 you're not piloting a Black Knight correctly unless you cause concern for anyone looking at the mech with IR sensors.
Good enough is realizing that you can field 4 urbies with NUKES for the cost of your (former) buddy's new madcat
My favorite part of these is just hearing him actually give the historical context and philosophy behind the mechs honestly, for one thing it’s just kinda cool, for another it sells the idea this actually a history class and Tex is an in universe professor/semi retired mercenary. It’s what helped me get into this universe and really learn about the lore. Awesome work as always.
100% this!
This is the first of the Tex Talks that has come out since my best friend passed away in February, and I can see and hear all the jokes we shared because of this series.
Thank you for this wonderful series Tex and batshit-crazy crew, I have and will continue to experience great enjoyment and memories from these exceptional videos.
My only criticism is that this only happens once a year, because its honestly my absolute favorite content on youtube and i rewatch these documentaries often fot he humor and the incredible storytelling. Thank you Tex, Mike, George, and all the BPL who are involved.
Ever since I was a lonely kid in a new town where my only solace was reading Battletech books in my room in the basement, I dreamed about a show or a movie about it. This is a rare case where the most optimistic, uncorrupted fantasy of youth has been far exceeded by reality. You guys have done something amazing and frankly impossible, and brought joy and new life to an old thing that we all love. And you make it free. Grayson Carlyle would be proud, and frankly, so are we.
There is a show in the making (fan-made), it's called "Hired Steel". So far we do have a pilot and 2 episodes.
@@Puschit1 Sweet, I am going to check it out!
@@doc_sav it's *GOOD*
"It can move, it can shoot, and it can severely damage or destroy things its size or smaller." Arguably it can do so to bigger opponents as well, with a bit of good piloting. There's something to be said for weapon systems that are as deadly as they are humble and non-pretentious.
And there are so. MANY. PARTS of it.
It's a right-to-repair man's wet dream of a mech. I particularly love that bit of the warhammer now.
1:16 Start of Lecture
2:32 Preamble
3:30 Part 1 Baron and Military Procurement
44:15 Part 2 Starcorp Industries: Military/Business Cooperation
54:25 Intermission
59:12 Part 3 What makes a Warhammer
1:04:05 WHM-6R
1:07:18 Warhammer Variants
1:20:44 Competitors
1:26:53 Warhammer inspired Mechs
1:34:07 Part 5 Warhammer The Great Equalizer
1:39:16 End of Lecture
this needs to be higher
Knowing that Dorn found a job after TTS warms my heart and in the Battletech universe, nonetheless. We must put him in an Atlas, ASAP!
Considering he was only attacked with egg wielding children and had his house tarred and feathered, I'd say Van Zandtians have already accepted Dorn as one of their own.
Where was dorn 👀
@@Fallout3kicksass1 1:51:50
I think Door the 40th (wink) might also be open to a dedicated fire support platform.
James check alfua's channel
Absolutely majestic. The video is fantastically narrated and full of interesting side notes but the Oktoberfest Atlas takes the cake. Also thanks for the little Feature Hired Steel got. Keep on doing what you’re doing
Honestly I still feel the pain of "you hit a locust but not a tank?!?"
Looking forward to ep. 3!
It's lyran assault squad the cartoon!
@@eddapultstab2078 when The fedcom war happens I'm going to lay low.
Wheres the gigantic soft pretzel dispenser with Stiener Mustard and ac2 rock salt???
I cannot praise you guys enough, I gave you a huge shoutout for a reason. I am hugely humbled by your grand work. It is most amazing.
In an age where mechs were new, and the Warhammer succeeded in setting a standard for performance and armament in a heavy mech, wouldn't it be more accurate to say that the Warhammer wasn't merely 'adequate' for its age but rather ahead of its time, precisely because it stood the test of time?
You could argue this was an instant classic, a breakout star on release.
@@bthsr7113 a certified mech classic, if you would
Well that’s the thing, isn’t it? When it released it wasn’t particularly special in any aspect. It just worked, and worked really well. Over the centuries, by virtue of being simple to manufacture, easy to maintain, easy to use, and abundant, it was able to be what it’s contemporaries weren’t; timeless.
@@mrbigglezworth42 Well, if the period Mechs that Tex mentions (aside from the Thunderbolt, perhaps its prime competitor) are anything to go by, the Warhammer was outstanding in how many roles it could do well. It wasn't that the other 'Mechs were overspecialized, it's that they did _a_ thing that the Warhammer did well, while the Warhammer did several things well.
@@CrizzyEyes Thunderbolt has some serious deficiencies in the not exploding when shot department, even compared to other heavy mechs of it's day. It's not really a direct competitor to the Warhammer but is a reasonably effective support option.
LRMs and PPCs are a seriously dangerous combo.
Great video! Well done BPL.
Bruh, Shack watches these? Ya learn something new every day
fix ya audio and we might care shack , damn
@@raxsavvage ?
@@CaptainShack He's jealous that he doesn't have a cup of coffee rn
@@dj11o9er yep. Just learned this myself.
Ladies and gentlemen. It finally is here. Now, let's force Tex to take time off... Again.
reporting for nap time duty
Just need a trail of corndogs leading to the ballpit and hammock bunker
*stops loading dart gun* wait fo we want to convince him...OK, I'll put the sleep darts away.
@@everyonethinksyoureadeathm5773 no no, keep those ready. He gets ornery when we kill the lights.
@@muffincutting6020 we need to be able to lock the door from the outside. Otherwise he'll sneak out to do research Ameris's favorite GC dishes .
The Black Pants Legion is a community that stands as a symbol of what fan communities should be. You make quality content for the joy of it. You are good people doing good things well. You all deserve every view, every subscription, every piece of praise that comes your way.
And dang it Tex, you deserve every hour of rest you can get.
Sees new Tex Talks BattleTech- smiles.
Sees children's hospital fundraiser attached already raised over a grand.
You're doing the Lord's work, Tex.
WAS THAT DORN AT THE END?!?! I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!!! Bravo team! You have once again made an amazing video that exceeded all expectations!
Pretty sure that was, in fact, Lord Dadornable.
It was amazing
Rescued from 40K by the BPL!
Dorn trying to collect taxes on Van Zandt brings all kinds of great ideas. I hope this continues.
@@VallornDeathblade : I'm certain the Van Zandt militia and competitive brisket team (inclusive) will convince him of the fortification merits of mounting machine guns on the flash suppressors of cannons.
The Warhammer is the physical manifestation of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
The AK-47 of mechs.
@@KommandantDahl Nah, that's probably the Shadowhawk, the Centurion or the Panther.
It's the sort of setup that once you unlock it in a game, you quicly realize you can settle into a groove with it that takes you all the way through the end credits and well into a NG+ run.
@@magni5648 The AK is a reliable gun, that has lived since the early 1950's, able to go through hell and back. The Warhammer, has had a 500 year production run, while being an overall reliable mech with plenty of spare parts and the most simple mech one can get their hands on. The shadowhawk is a flawed mech, and a disappointment in a nice looking shell. The Centurion was a good mech, but the AC/10's reliability issues were it's Achilles heel. The Warhammer is basically the AK of 'Mechs. Reliable, mass produced, a variant for everything, a good amount of firepower, a good amount of armor, and all around just a good mech.
@@funnyman4311 The Shad is older than the Warhammer, and pretty much the single most numerous Mech in existence other than the Bugs. Hardly a dissapointment.
Hell, the Warhammer can't even claim to be the unrivaled "AK" of *heavy* Mechs. The Thud exists after all.
Dude, that was fucking fantastic.
I appreciated the tangent into SLDF history that you used to compare the ideas of 'biggest and best' with simply 'good enough.'
You guys have yet again outdone yourselves with production quality, this made it well worth the wait! :D
The perfect mech to discuss after all of the Warhammer+ tomfoolery.
On a semi-related note, the Van Zandt tax guy sounded rather familiar, especially talking about fortifications.
After all of the things they tried to Nuke off the internet, may this video be more popular than that entire service
@@robrib2682 Not a hard bar to clear with the budget they're working with for a professional service.
I was dubious when I saw the video was 2 hours long, I was sure I wouldn't be able to watch the whole thing. Thankfully I was wrong.
This is a masterpiece of a fandom lore video. Yeah, it would've been easy to break it up into 3-4 shorter videos and drop them one a week to stretch things out. But like you said, you have to listen to your creative voice and follow what it says.
Love, *Love* the animation at the end, absolutely hilarious. Please do more of that.
That's typically all I ask- dont look at the length of it and be terrified. It's all one meal. Its layered like that for a reason. A composed bite.
Side note, I love that Van Zandt was scrubed from the star charts and the jump points mined becaise of a "Fiesta pail" incident.
The fact Van Zandt is cannon and slowly turning into Tex's version.
Just finishing the "Mercenary's Star" 3-book series for the 1st time! Van Zandt!! Gray Death Legion! holy Space Biscuits, so THAT's what happened to the planet after it was Liberated :D (Audiobook format from Audible, it's actually Good! for a change lol)
The Warhammer is like the Sherman. Is it the bleeding edge? No. Does it get the job done at a low price, lend itself to upgrades, and generally keep the crew alive? Yes.
Also, Tex's gunbuilder side showed off throughout, especially when talking about checking serial numbers, building vs buying, and so on. Fitting, as the Warhammer is the AK-47 of mechs. It's built everywhere, used by everyone, not the best but is reliable, effective, and cheap, with a mix of legitimate acts of defense on one end and war crimes on the other.
I have watched videos of The Chieftain (Nicholas Moran) that said that the Sherman was designed to be transportable using existing equipment and was field tested in the US to make it as reliable as possible unlike German tanks like the Panther.
@@shaider1982 : Also, had spring-loaded hatches to make it easy to escape when burning.
Which the German tank crews "uncomfortably" couldn't claim about their own vehicles.
@@shaider1982 The funny thing is that I remember watching a History Channel special in the early 2000''s where they shat all over the Sherman by claiming how it was plagued with a myriad of issues due to it being a outdated design originally meant for the first world war however in reality none of that was the case as it did the job it was intended to do.
Huh in a way you are right: underarmored for a design of it's weight class, prone to overheating and cooking it's ammo (MG ammo is a bitch when it explodes). Though on the weapon's side it's perhaps even over gunned with it's 2 PPC's and the complement of secondary weapons that can protect it from litertally everything should a wily opponent close in under the range of said PPC's
@@absalomdraconis Maybe because Shermans couldn't take a hit and fleeing from a burning coffin is to be expected when fighting German tanks.
I speak for literally everyone when I say: "Tex, we love you."
Yeah, even that person. Everyone. Also the into music was good. Dunno if yall made that, but if so nice work. If not, nice selection.
I like the vids, but......pls dont speak for me.
@@thepsychicspoon5984 not a person confirmed #amogus
The intro song is Devil of the Town by Kenzo Almond. It's on TH-cam and, honestly, it gives me vibes from Kari Kimmel's Black, except more relaxed and ominous in its own way.
@@dr.steelworth5775 Nice. Thanks! I know BPL does some of their own music so I was like damn if so the production and arrangements took a massive leap! I'll have to give Kenzo Almond a listen.
Today is such a lovely day. Im going to be listening to this at least once a day for the next week. And it'll be added to my daily soothing bedtime playlist lol.
Youve been lulling me to sleep with your sweet sweet whiskey over gravel voice for a couple of years now. Silencing my tinnitus and sending me into the slumber on mech flavored dreamfood. Thank you, Tex and the legion.
Me too!!!
Honestly the same.
Ditto
If there's one thing this vid's taught us all more thoroughly, it's this: You can do something fast, or you can do it right. Don't ever feel bad about your output taking the time it takes. Because *that's how long good output fucking takes*. Swing too soon and you won't hit it out of the park, but this was just goddamn right. What a beauty.
It is a possible loophole in baseball to foul off indefinitely. The game doesn't move until that third strike, fourth ball, beamed batter, or fair ball. This one was a center field perfect storm monster that is still flying.
If there's one thing this vid's taught us all, it's this: Van Zandt militia has a SHIT TON OF WARHAMMERS. Fuck invading warhammer land. Nope nope nope.
tbh the baron is just... it's kinda the same song and dance as the Bradley irl. "we want a fast warship that can deploy rapidly!" says the military. naturally the engineers provide, and the brilliant minds of the men in suits that haven't seen active combat in an ever, start making CHANGES. like putting a (admittedly small) tank gun on what was INTENDED to be, essentially, a lightly armed apc.
@@blightybog7207 Aaaaand we have a reformer. That’s wrong. The APCs were old rejected projects, and the Bradly project started out to make what we got. A multi mission INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLE. Not an APC. It was intended from go to carry half a squad. It was intended from the start to have a cannon and TOWs. The reason they didn’t fully load them so Burtan could blow 30 of them up was so they could see exactly what damage was done and fix that problem then test it again.
While yes there was Grafting involved in the Bradly it wasn’t the shit show the Pentagon wars says it was. Go watch the Chieftains video on the Bradly please and thank you.
"15 whole heatsinks (wow)"
Even the little details you pause for are amazing. It's no exaggeration to say that every bit of this video is some of the best production and editing done on the planet! You tell people this thing took a year to produce, and I'm sure they'll be shocked it didn't take you longer to reach this level of quality!
Thank gang, your labors are legend. The battletech community is so much richer with your voices in the chorus. Break out the champaign, you owe it to yourselves.
God bless, Tex. We love you. Thanks to you, I've gotten 7 people into Battletech and some of them have started getting others into it. You have brightened my year and helped me through some very trying times, including a death in the family. It's no small thing what you do. Don't ever think what you do doesn't matter, because it does. You help people.
I think there should be a saying amongst artists... "True artists create for the love if their craft, thus admiration will come to their work... Those who create seeking admiration are doomed to fail". In it's lore the Warhammer could very well be the embodiment of those who love their craft and the admiration of it's users really shows that.
Today I have learned the history, to the history, of the mech that I came here to see. The breadth of knowledge on display is staggering, as is the team's ability to format it into a product that not only informs, but entertains.
Stunning from start to finish, with a special shout out to the animation work, and those fine mechtechs with their light up safety hats.
Thank you, good folks, for putting this together and sharing it with us all.
Thanks bud. You're cool too. Don't tell nobody though.
From watching BPL for awhile now, one thing I absolutely respect is how these videos have increased in quality (which is hard, since every video is quality) on a consistent basis.
This is a Magnum Opus, this is a documentary the length of a movie that intrigues you, makes you laugh, makes you think seriously, and has some of THE BEST ANIMATED SCENES I HAVE SEEN ON TH-cam. Watching the Turian frigates and the SLDF Barons fight was majestic.
Please BPL, don't stop, never stop. Compared to other tabletop "lore channels", this is the quality that they should all aspire too.
I can tell the delay was needed, I can tell you all cared about making the best product possible, instead of hitting a deadline, and dammit I'm so glad you all made this.
This video has made my day. I watched the premiere of it, and now I'm watching it again. Once I get enough money, I'm throwing it at St. Judes, because that's what Tex wants, and Tex deserves to get what he wants. BPL is a channel that is funny, informative, cares about those who don't have much hope, (St. Judes) and is an example that EVERY TH-cam CHANNEL should hold themselves too.
If you ever read this Tex or BPL staff, well done, Bravo, Encore, you have outdone yourselves.
Be careful, if you keep increasing in quality, then you will make everyone else jealous lol.
I would say the 4 videos which make up the Amaris civil War + Exodus to Elementals is far and away their best work.
I love these videos, but I can't get enough of the true lore dives that were those four films.
Oh I read sir. I thank you. TH-cam believes this is, well, not worth much. But I know its worth. It pleases me.
I have to convince myself that I'm not learning actual history. That is how realistic and in touch with human nature BattleTech lore is.
EDIT: Tex, you should make a video covering the entire history of BattleTech in one go...if that's possible as it's a lot to go over.
It's not possible. it'd take several hours just to go through the dissolution of the Terran Alliance and the buildup to the age of War, how all the Great houses and Inner Sphere states came to be would be another Several hours EACH, and then finally the periphery states, not to mention Development of things like the Dreadnought and warship development in general, how KF-Drives work, development of HPG...
and that's all before the fall of Star League!
You are learning actual history. Look up the Starfighter, the scandal surrounding it's NATO adoption, the pilot deaths that happened because of it, and NATO giving them away like candy to 2nd-string countries.
It's all related, and the writers for Battletech had to take inspiration from somewhere. We in the real world are just as dumb as the Inner Sphere.
@@havoc3742 I mean, you can technically sum up the fall of the Alliance as "The leadership was failing the people, and the military, so James Mckenna used the first warship to blow them away and crowned himself leader in a military coup."
that'd be over 48 hours long sense the history dates back as far as the 1500s
battletech writers just traveled to the future and brought some history books back to use as "lore"
"it's not about how hard you can hit; it's about how hard you can get hit and keep getting back up."
- Rocky
There's nothing wrong with a bruiser mech that can take abuse and keep trucking. Like a hockey goon, it ain't fancy but it does the shit nobody else wants to do, and that's why everyone respects them. You gotta love the Warhammer for that
Ref: "Hatchetman - five minute for high sticking, the Atlas stays in, head or no head"
Tex and crew, never change. Please always allow your creativity to flow. You have brought this 40K refugee to battletech and made me appreciate each mech. I cannot wait to see what else you have in store for us. Thank you all so much.
Blackjack: "Who are you?"
Warhammer: "I'm 'okay' like you but stronger"
I love that ride, it just shows sometimes in war all men really need is a stick with a lot of nails jutting out to bash someone in.
The Warhammer ain't flashy but that's okay you'll get enough flash from the PPCs
Atlases in lederhosen is the most terrifying this I've seen on this channel since Amaris at the all you can eat buffet.
EDIT: Is that Rogal "Lord Adorable" Dorn?!
The barmaid Atlas is just adorable destroying everything💀👍
It's SuperAnchors, the voice actor.
I thought it was that Clanner Elemental at first, given the voices, at least to me, sound a bit similar.
@@moriskurth628 Same guy I think.
@@moriskurth628 Elemental is Rycon Roleplays, though they do have a pretty similar voice
I love that you used the Sgt. York slide. For those not in the know, it locked onto porta-shitters during its public test trial. Like, it really was a terrible weapon. That's essentially where US SPAAG development ended forever.
It got fixed but we kinda figured out that we really didn't need it and dropped the program afterwards.
Its a bit ironic since the ideas behind the York were: Keeping it simple and Using what has been proved to work.
It was the most basic approach to weapon development in recent US AFV history... yet it fails miserably
@@Alvi410 Goes to show that definition of “fiasco” from, of all places in the universe, “Elizabethtown”, fits:
“Anybody can achieve failure. But a fiasco is a tale that is passed on from person to person and makes them glad that it did not happened to them.”
Some times there is just no excuse. It’s just the universe wanting to screw with you. Also that weapons design is as much artistry as it is technological know-how, even with design simplicity as a stated goal.
It had technology in to to automatically lock onto helicopters by “hearing” the rotors blades, when that was turned on during testing it “heard” the fan blades in the shitter so locked on to it. The reason it was canned had nothing to do with this incident though, the reason was it couldn’t shoot through the front of modern Russian MBTs so the military brass didn’t see the point of a SPAAG that couldn’t kill tanks
Tex, the Black Widow - Natasha Kerensky's hand reaches up from the depths of Hell to salute you for this Tex Talks about the Warhammer!.
Well, technically Natasha's warhammer is actually the bounty hunters she stolenfrom him when he stole HER marauder... so yea...
Like satan can keep her there..
Like the Warhammer itself, this was that special blend that ended up adding up to perfection. Thank you Tex and crew, I couldn't be any happier with the results. The sheer research and span of knowledge that this touches is incredible and really hits home how good you all are at this. I'd say I can't wait for more, but seeing how long this took, I can in fact wait for more. As long and as lengthy as it will take, I can wait it out with this delightful community for more Tex Talks Battletech.
I wouldn’t say perfection it’s lacking Autocannons.
I think the story of the Warhammer and the general principles and modus operandi of StarCorps Industries can be summed up by a quote from another elder statesman from ancient Terra. During the mid to late 19th century, this statesman, who spent most of his life working his ass off to first unite a large collection of minor kingdoms, fiefdoms, and city states in What was known then as Eastern Europe into a mighty empire by various means and then keep said empire from getting annihilated by other major empires was believed to have said the following:
“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”
- Otto Von Bismarck. First chancellor of the German Empire
Sieg Zeon
51:24 this is another reason I like house Davion, while they have their issues like every other house, they actually fucking listen to pilot feedback.
Edit: ok that was a great episode of Steiner scout squad, I especially love the Fraulein Atlas, she was adorably murderous.
Edit2: glad to see lord adornable is here too
Davion were responsible for making some of the best Steiner designs.
To hell with deadlines. Every work you've delivered has been a gem and a constant evolution of awesomeness in the immense lore that is the world of Battletech. The haters will hate, but your true fans will always patiently await the next bit of awesome. Keep up the awesome work! And praise Z0rg!
Deadlines aren't just about hate sir. There's a real balance in delaying and losing money. People do say they support, but, over time, goodwill is a fickle thing. My team can't eat upvotes.
@@theblackpantslegion that is a fair point sir. My statement was more in the spirit of the people that lack patience and want things rushed out. Quality over quantity, and while unmet deadlines do cost money, an unfinished product is a poor product. IE: Rushed games.
I concur wholeheartedly. It's a balance in small production. I can't get loans. It's either ride it to the brink, and release, or burn until you die and people never come back. It's chaos, but, we've never borrowed. I just paid my own money in. Honest work, but we're doing it the howard hughes way - OCD and paying in more than we'd ever get. Plus we release this big work for charity. We're not . . . in this for riches. At all. But, it has to self sustain...to a point.
The thing I love most about these battlemech histories is the context. I read TROs all the time and it provides a introduction year, but especially with age of war and star League designs, all the context around the design is missing. Tex's inclusion of all that history around the mech really helps put it into it's place in the universe.
This production went above and beyond. You absolute mad lads.
Never apologize for giving a gift, seeing there was new Tex Talks:Battletech was honestly the highlight of my day!
In my most recent MW5 playthrough, a Warhammer was my main for most of the midgame. She was a Goddes of the battlefeild, a perfectly acceptable balance of weapons for all ranges, protection and mobility. I particularly loved how a mech with its main weapons leaning towards longer range combat, its backup weapons are a terrifing cheesegrater capible of shredding anything dumb enough to close the range
Mine was a bottomless pit that i kept tossing pairs of PPCs down, so I sold it for a stalker. No regrets
My go-to is the King Crab with 4 UAC-5's and a LRM10. Not the most powerful loadout, but hey! Autocanon Fever is a thing. That, or the Maurader 2 with 3 PPC's and pulse lasers. Failing that, I also have a Cyclops with 2 gauss rifles andsome backup weapons I almost never use. Speedy dude is bester than the Nightstar in my opinion, but... (shrug) I like big 'mechs.
i think he's talking about the WH-BW version, with 4 MGs, it is a demolition mission BEAST, can kill a demo target in 2 min flat, its my go-to mech for ALL demo missions
@@Deridus try running 2 heavy rifles in the Cyclops. I slapped 2 tier 5s in and it'll core out most mediums and a few heavies in one salvo.
@@mdsx01 I only have1 tier 5 HR, and I put it in my Hero Stalker.
My fist CoverMech... the one that started it all for this lad when youth spun in my life. I can distinctly remember trying my best to make this Mech 'in the field' the best beast there was out there, my good friend showed me time and time again that these child-spun fantasies were not true using a Mech 10 tons lighter (Dang Thud...).
Thanks again Legion and Tex for making this video and for working such a great cause with it.
Capellans...
The Warhammer was also my first cover mech and what got me into Battletech. Although in my case, it was the cover of the very first Mechwarrior video game rather than any of the tabletop books or novels.
TT and video game mechanics are quite different
We will all be watching, of course. Looking forward to what you guys came up with!
THis needs more promotion, it is a great series. Also a vitamine D supliment may help with anyone suffering for the BIG winter SAD.
Check out so-called 'energy drinks' like gatorade and crap. As well as having mineral salts to replace what you lose after a proper workout or day of working now lots also feature certain flavours that ALSO come loaded with zinc, vitamin d, c, b's... so you are also supplementing your water with effectively a multivitamin. Plus they taste great.
Excellent way of keeping your system ticking over tickety boo, without chomping lots of pills.
It was 80° here yesterday. Heaven help me, I think I have a baby farmers tan.
@@DixonsCider thing is, if you have vitamin-d deficiency induced depression, those aren't going to cut it. Not until you die from diabetes or cancer first. Every drink of that type is just sugar water with a passing attempt to make them look healthy.
1:43:47 I don’t know why, but Chippi’s scream of frustration is a very nice note to listen to. Again, I have no idea why.
Tex, Tren Sparks, George and Dan....
My all-time favorite Voices of Battletech.
The best Earth Day Present.
Cause we're STOMPING the Earth with MECH FEET. :D
Holy f*** Tex! You guys of the BPL crew are crazy. By that I mean CRAZY with the utmost humble respect. I remember I started watching Tex talks battletech when it was high quality 8 min "short" clips... and now, with the marauder being an exceptional quality documentary over an hour long rivaling or hands down beating the production value of professional documentaries. With that said, I cannot believe you share this with the world for every one to watch at no cost via youtube. This speaks volumes to me about your passion for the universe. I simply cannot wait for this new warhammer installment! Keep up the awesome work, but most of all stay healthy and don't forget to treat yourself to a good rest after a massive project like this!
All of you at BPL have made a child hood become a reality for me being able to show my kids that this is and was a thing has made it possible for me to bond with my kids over something that has had a huge influence over my life thank you all for the work you have done!
The first time I saw the Warhammer, i was maybe 11-12 years old, and at a Hungates hobby store, i spotted a box for BATTLETECH 3rd Ed. The Unseen Warhammer (aka Destroid Tomahawk). I feel in love with it . . . don't know why, but something in it's aesthetic seemed perfect. Barrel gun arms, 3 additional weapons ports on each torso, plus a missile rack and spotlight. Easily modified, and highly adaptable, it is a walking Abrams tank, and it makes no mistake about what it is, and does. A midrange brawler that can pack a surprise depending on who's piloting it, and what their objective is. Basically, the Warhammer is the A-10 of the mech world. It's simple, rugged, powerful, tried and true . . .
I started wih the very first german edition (which is the 2nd edition iirc) and it had the Warhammer on the cover in all it's glory. It was the image we see in this video at 42:18, but with explosions in the background and one of the PPCs firing. Good times to start with all 14 "unseen" and nothing else. "Sturmdrache" bedeutet wohl, daß ich auch auf Deutsch schreiben könnte :)
The basic idea of the A-10 and Warhammer comparison is there. But the Warhammer has the advantage of being able to survive in a high intensity battle against other modern equipment. Plus try running a Warhammer without a targeting system, which is at least comparable to early A-10's before the sensitive electronics that the people who didn't even design it thought it didn't need were installed.
Basically don't give the A-10 to much credit and compare it to something that actually works even like the fictitious Warhammer.
@@Puschit1 Not sure what your last line is implying, just wanted the german version for the name "Storm Dragon" That's it.
@@mando_dablord2646 "But the Warhammer has the advantage of being able to survive in a high intensity battle against other modern equipment."
YOu clearly haven't researched the A-10s success story.
@@teknicron1080 I just speculated that you might be german and that I could have written in german but alas you aren't.
To everyone who made this possible and worked on this feature length presentation, thank you. Seriously. You all rock.
I started out watching the premiere, then had to go eat dinner at the 90 minute mark. Finished up afterwards. Worth the wait. Loved the little 'purpose:' bits. I learned the Warhammer is the kind of weapons system I have a fondness for: like the Pps-43 or the M4 Sherman, something that is good enough to get the job done and very friendly to mass production and maintenance. Also it is nice to see that the ones who crafted this lore in Battletech include realistic touches like a bloated, ineffective weapon that was too ambitious and overengineered for its own good in the form of the Baron.
Having only discovered this channel last week, and having now gone through the entire Tex Talks Battletech playlist, I want this on record.
For every single "I may come back to this later if there's interest" across all the videos, yes, I am very interested.
Battletech was my gateway into RPGs and miniature wargaming, and at one point I had a lot of the sourcebooks, but never got into the novels, and most of the books I had were the casualty of flood damage long ago. This deep dive has been amazing. Thank you for all you've done.
"The SLDF assumed their navy and their military was of higher quality, and should that fail, the substantial numbers advantage would make the war a decided outcome." Similar assumptions throughout history have resulted in embarrassing defeats and major military upsets throughout history. For examples, look at the American Revolution, Imagawa Yoshimoto's spectacular defeat at the hands of Oda Nobunaga at Okehazama, and countless others thoughout world history.
Just look at post WWII American foreign Policy.
@@bthsr7113 Much harder to defeat an enemy when bombing their cities to oblivion is no longer moral.
@@dansmith1661 Wasn't all that moral in first place. And when fighting insurgents, it's even less effective at demoralizing an enemy.
@@bthsr7113 The fun thing is that munitions are unlimited, manpower isn't. US Bombing campaigns were very, VERY much limited in scope and scale then they were in WW2. We don't bomb like we bombed Dresden or Firebombing Japan.
Ok, Tex has covered the Rifleman, Marauder, Warhammer, and even (briefly) the Longbow. So, there's just the Archer and Phoenix Hawk series of mechs left of the Macross inspired Battlemechs. I look forward to seeing how those are covered in the future....
(What can I say? I bought my first Battletech Box Set because it had a Destroid on the box. Of course I'm interested in these mechs in particular.)
So, anyone else get into Battletech thanks to Robotech?
I think there's more. Also, one config of the Stone Rhino looks like the walking battleship turrets, but much smaller. 4 * LB2X and 6 * ER medium. If you're feeling like flipping the bird at HG.
@@bthsr7113 I know there are other mechs based on the Valkyrie Fighter, but their names elude me at the moment. I think the Wasp is one of them, but I'm not certain.
I don't think any other Zentradi mechs were used as inspiration then the one that led to the Marauder. As to the Stone Rhino, it doesn't really look all that much like a MAC II, even a scaled down one...
Wait the brisket really that tasty?! I tasted every brisket in my home state of Texas and if I gotta get my hands on that brisket then hell ya I'll join the Van Zandt militia!
Jokes aside keep up the good work as it's rare to find lore videos that don't have the same charm as the folks in BPL god I love this community.
many love, and yet, it is still a mad place.
Well Iam joining if the promise of coke and free beer go with the brisket.
Edit note and clown college tuition
OOOH SWEET LORD YES! Patience is a virtue and it has paid off. All the love and time you guys have put into this series really makes me feel like there are still people who care about the content they make, Thanks for all your guys time and work. Now go take a vacation, you know... if you want.
The naval doctrine and history part is glorious, and I would love to see more of that in the future.
(Of course the rest of it is superbly done - this feels like listening to someone's masters thesis being read.)
profession meets hobby in a strange way.
Dracinfel would be proud indeed.
@@theblackpantslegion I'm sure. Also, I had no idea there was so much background on the Baron-class.
I keep scrolling down, but never fine anyone trying to answer the question at 1:13:04, the "what sells for 500+ years unchanged" question. My guess is something small and simple: a toothbrush. That fact alone makes the Warhammer even cooler in my opinion.
Ohhhh muh gawd, Tex Talks Battletech is back, SUSAN! CANCEL MY APPOINTMENTS TODAY!
Ok, I love that these keep getting longer. I'm still slogging my way through, but I shall complete this lesson. Great work so far Tex and team, as always.. even better than the last.
A true master class of media and documentary, hats of to you all at the BPL
also should i be concerned regarding Tex's attempted acquirement of a nations entire air force?
And how can i forget, THE GLORIOUS RETURN OF THE STEINER SCOUT LANCE
and for another edit, the appearance of a certain fortification and infrastructure obsessed individual in the credits was a treat
This series is helping me to want to get into battletech. The history of the world, plus the breakdown of the mechs themselves is fantastic.
Also, I love how the Goddamn Blackwatch is the proper name for that unit. If you hear bagpipes, you're already dead.
It’s a great universe to dive into.
Oh damn, that was beautiful. The musical scoring was on point, the art was damn fine at the very least. This is a series of documentaries i'm happy to watch and wait for. You can feel all the care and fucks given that go into a project of this scope and its amazing.
I just don’t understand why you guys don’t have a Million subscriptions, these videos are magnificent and nowhere else seen on the web! 👏🏽😋🎉
When I went live, youtube said 4k was the total amount of people that should be able to watch.
period.
Out of my 88k subs.
That's why I don't have a million subscribers. Even if I did, that's not a useful metric.
So I’m new to the battle tech universe having just stumbled onto Mech warrior 5 out of boredom, and I have to say that I fell in love with the simple destructive fun that game is. But finding out that there is an entire, deep community that’s decades old built around this whole franchise made me so happy and Tex you are the absolute man! I can’t believe I never heard of battletech until I’m 28 years old I hope they keep making games I love this shit.
I wasn't expecting to get so personally emotionally involved in a mech company at Part 3. Beautifully scored and edited too, I see you Mr.Mike and/or Gypsy.
I did. Actually. I score most of it.
@@theblackpantslegion Extra kudos to you then. Right around the reading of the Warhammer ad was a particularly poignant foreshadowing of the emotional punch. That was the exact moment I thought "Hey, someone left a piece of their soul in my TH-cam funnies".
Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
Come for the Warhammer, get a primer on the military industrial complex. That level of "above and beyond" is one of the reasons I love this series so much
Watching this again after watching Perun's video on the US Navy procurement issues is showing some massive parallels!
I'm seeing a pattern of the mechs covered. Practical and amazing at it's job. Like the Urby.
For now. Next is the Charger.
@@Chromevod The Charger is a truely awesome machine when used for its job.
The Charger is one of those 'Mechs that I can imagine being used as a "Fleet in being" on a backwater world without much in the way of education. Riot starts? Fire up the Charger and let the small lasers do the talking. Forest fire? Send in the charger to create a firebreak at 40kph. Need an IndustrialMech? Send in the Charger.
Rolling out the Yamato battleship pic! Freaking awesome work Tex! The “I taught you that, to teach you this...” technique was always one of my favorites to use in my teaching days!
I absolutely love the discussion of warships. I feel like it's a part of battletech lore that has never been fully appreciated, and I love seeing it get more exposure
As always, a big thank you to everyone over there who helps with these marvelous, marvelous spots.
Fight on against TH-cam, keep bringing over more and more 40k refugees, and Tex.. have a better rest of the year, yo.
For Battletech fans 'Tex Talks Battletech' is closest we got to 'Battletech Cinematic Universe'. In terms of quality it beats a lot of other CUs. Cheers guys.
Some, but not all, and not the big one.
You can really pick up some good life lessons on this Channel. Never thought I would get into battletech but thanks for mature storytelling and a badass narrator I'm in. Thanks for the hard work guys!!
Love that you talked about the Taurians. My favorite faction in Battletech.
@LabRat Knatz Just Spanish, or even just fanboys of Spanish art
@@jamesperkins191 what?
@@adamofblastworks1517 the founders of the Taurian Concordat
Tex Talks BattleTech shows that quality beats the hell out of quantity. This is absolutely fantastic.
This was stunning. Much more than just a great lore video. We went on deep dive into the BUSINESS of warfare. Not just in a fantasy but a great allegory for the hear and now.
I will have to watch this several times. It is so packed full raw information, nuance, layered and dare I say brilliant complexity.
My deepest respect and appreciation BPL team.
Hands down, this Tex Talks was, pure and simple, "Good Enough".
Jokes aside. Best TTB to date guys.
This is the first time I've heard about procurement in the Battletech world - finally my profession is in sci-fi.
Wait until you hear about the Assassin. That one had a.... special procurement.
This video is „good enough“. Which means when it comes to Battletech content, it’s damn perfect. Outstanding work, guys. As long as you make em, I will watch em and support you guys on Patreon. You bring joy to an old Mechwarriors heart.
I may or may not get my first Battletech Miniatures for my birthday next week. Thank you Tex. You made my introduction into the hobby that I have come to deeply enjoy so smooth.
Edit: For those who want to know. It will either be the starter box with 8 Mechs, including an Awesome and a Catapult or, and that's what I am actually hoping for, it will be a ComStar Command Level II box. With a Black Knight, a King Crab, a Highlander, an Exterminator(Which I will not be able to field, my local group mostly plays 3025 and the exterminator is lostech in that era) and 2 other mechs which I don't remember right now. The Black Knight is my favorite mech, so I will field the hell out of that one!