Documenting BattleTech History and Lore | A Conversation with Sven van der Plank with Guest Host Tex

Tex of the Black Pants Legion joins me as co-host as we welcome Sven van der Plank to the podcast. Sven is a content creator for BattleTech and has produced an expansive library of documentary style lore videos exploring the vast history of the Inner Sphere.
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/ @svenvanderplank
/ svenvanderplank
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[@SvenVanDerPlank]

Thanks for inviting me on. Was great getting to chat to both of you. Spent the past week thinking of better answers to some of your questions of course, but that's just the way it is.

[@RenegadeHPG]

I feel that way within minutes of wrapping every conversation bud. Just comes with the territory. I guess we'll just have to solve it with another podcast together in the not too distance future :)

[@Sumaire_STi]

Absolutely relatable, Sven. Did much the same, myself. In the end, it's just the nature of the beast, mate. :)

[@graywolfalphaone]

Love you re work sir.

[@rickypalacios1554]

@SvenVanDerPlank I really enjoy in your work

[@harvestblades]

Sven just want to thank you for putting out amazing content! As Tex said many creators can cover the same content and the lens they view it through will give a different flavor so don't hesitate to go over something Tex, Red or Mech Frog has covered.

[@CrazyGecko]

The more I listen TEX and the way he see things and life as a whole, the more I respect that man! Thank you TEX, for all the inspiring worlds and for sharing the ability to dream and create!

[@BigRed40TECH]

This'll be an interesting piece.

[@markmcguire2009]

I'd love to see a FULL round table with tex, bigred, hpg, madcat, critical rocket and sven.

[@RenegadeHPG]

That does sound fun but I've found over the years that once you get past 2 guests people start to get sidelined which I definitely don't want after inviting someone on. Sometimes I can pull off 3 guests but I think that is the max.

[@markmcguire2009]

@@RenegadeHPG we can dream. And trying to find overlapping timed where everyone could get one gets harder the more people there are involved.

[@EricDKaufman]

Sven's factual reporting and Tex's contextual videos are truly keeping this big stompy fire raging!!! HA!!! I knew it!!! Tex is in the defense industry! So happy to hear he knows Perun. And BTW, I sent Lazerpig on a homework mission to find out about Tex and the black pants legion. SOON!!!

[@michaelman957]

I appreciate Tex and Sven talking about how much we need those outlets, and how valuable it is when we help people with them. I sometimes struggle to keep up with mine, so this was a good reminder. Thank you Travis for having them on.

[@nerdinebe]

Y'know, for me, someone who has been listening to TexTalks for years after stumbling into his channel, and has similarly stumbled here and now will stumble into SvenVanDerPlank's channel, Battletech has given me a lot. Before he died, my dad had gone on a trip. He'd had a blast, and come back tired as shit from his adventure. I had been dogsitting for him, and had been rewatching the "Guerra on Terra" Amaris Civil War pt 2 for the millionth time and I decided to show it it. He loved it, and I was excited to get to show him more and perhaps show him the sheer size and scope of Battletech. And then he died, Jan 16, this year. And to this day, amongst all my regrets about this whole thing, another thorn was that I never got to show him the rest of the Civil War pt 2. I never got to show him what happened next, and on and on. I haven't found the energy some days to get out bed. I lost my job just before my father had passed, so really all I do is odd commission work and talk with my girlfriend and siblings. But seeing all the fantastic and brillant work, from many different artists online including TexTalks, keeps me trying on things, and tbh keeps me sane at times. Knowing its not just me who has gone thru shit-salad times and that making art is more than just a valid hobby but something nessacary for coping with this constant cycle we're just kinda, made to endure at times. Thanks for this show, its amazing to see other Battletech discussion and the behind the curtain talks are always illumanating. Seeing someone pour hours of labour for something they are passionate about is one thing in itself, but I feel yo learn to appriecate it and its art form more if you hear about the effort that goes into it. Also pardon the errors in spelling, I'm a dingus who can' spell straight to save her life.

[@bruced648]

very entertaining conversation. got another 7 mechs painted while listening. the most common question I have seen thru the KZbin videos... 'how do I build a list?". as a person that has played standard battletech for 40 years, it's the most frustrating question. the first 14 years I played, there wasn't anything like CV or BV1/bv2 or any other balancing game mechanic. our forces were made from examples in the published source books and scenario books. when we would play, it was very simple. 'I have a company at medium strength mechs'. or, 'I have a combined arms battalion; 1 company mech, 2 company armor and 1 company support'. the games were story/mission objectives. a lot of the games were a campaign or series of 5-10 battles. resources were just as important as the units themselves. today's gamer wants to know the 'premium' or 'best designed mech' from a particular era. while min/max games are entertaining, they lack the fear of consequences or loss. if every game begins with a clean mech sheet, then you remove some of the command decision-making elements. the product I would like to see CGL provide, is a book that shows how to form various units as well as combined arms forces. once the force is conceptualized, then you can start looking at points cost. but most people that are new to the game don't have the basic concepts. at least not past the lance/star unit sizes. there is nothing that enlightens the players to the big picture of military forces. maybe it's too much info and overwhelming. but currently, there is nothing that says why various units should be used, other than some faction lore or era 'restrictions'. as I am currently running a campaign for several new players, the people looking at our scenarios are surprised that the players don't go blasting away at the opponents without regard. it's because they have mission objectives and know that they cannot afford the losses to the unit. the onlookers also see that forces are not even close to being balanced and they can't figure out why. even when they are told it's the current chapter of the story, they are saying 'but it's a war game. just start with fresh forces'... clueless to true campaign style war gaming. enough of my rant. if any of you could tackle this subject, I think a lot of people would benefit.

[@Ragnaroknrol]

I found the House sourcebooks and Master Unit List are great for building forces. You can see House Regiments and see how they were built, and MUL let’s you see what they had good access to once you filter it. Also making points caps in MUL will get you in the BV ballpark. But yea, we need a lot of books condensed and set up for campaign/force building that works better.

[@jasilvacook]

Enjoy so much both of their inputs ❤

[@xxxlonewolf49]

I'm a fan of Tex's way of speaking of things. The heart behind it, the passion, the desire to share the LOVE of the setting. It's helped me remember the fun of it all, which is a thing I rarely find anymore.

[@Ahira01]

Sven's series is what got me into battletech

[@RouterChain]

Gotta admit,his videos are really Interesting.

[@Brofisticus]

I'm with Tex. HBS' Battletech 2018 brought me into the setting. I've bounced off previous video game titles, could never afford the old Mechwarrior games, and never had time to watch the cartoon when it aired. Approached the HBS game as a refugee, trying out what I thought was a generic tactical sci-fi title. Now I'm here, eating up every little bit of content I can get my hands on. Channels like Sven van der Plank's, Renegade HPG, and the BPL are why I've never had a Battletech pile of shame. Rather, there are lances of mercenary and clan mechs that stand ready to convert each other into exotic particles via liberal application of kinetic forces. Welcome to the periphery! We've got fun and games!

[@Zenoflame]

Well dang'nabbit I'll probably miss this one, everyone streaming at 'reasonable' times and those of us who don't keep those times can't listen live. I'll catch you guys in the VoD and thanks for doing this with such great people!

[@yourseatatthetable]

Your in good company

[@ModalCuchulainn]

I've said it before on a previous Tex video, but this BT resurgence, and specifically the 3 participants here, have rekindled an interest for me that died when the Solaris 7 community died like 10 years ago. Thank you all.

[@sharlin648]

Excellent video :) SLDF era AI always gets me thinking as I would assume that at the time, the writers would have based AI on things like HAL-9000 who's a shackled AI. And the CASPERS were even more shackled as they seem to be not true AI but machines that can calculate and react so fast to situations that it SEEMS like AI. They're basically able to calculate and computate thousands of scenarios at the same time and come up with an answer to what they're facing. A super advanced IF-THEN machine.. And whilst the setting is meant to be The future but 1980's, the Inner Sphere probably has digital tech that's more potent than what we can do. They just went down different paths. In the 70's and 80's it seemed that Optical computers were seen as being 'the future' and in the BTech universe, this is the path they went down in the 80s, 90s and beyond in the setting, and the earlier introduction of viable fusion engines could mean that whereas we got a digital revolution, they got an energy one. So by the time the Age of War comes around, instead of RISC computing had never really become a ‘thing’ and general purpose processors hadn’t exploded onto the scene and set the PC revolution up, instead the Inner Sphere or what would become it, seems to produce specalized machines for specific purposes and uses interlinked mainframes. So you don't have a 'PC' you have basically a terminal that would plug into your worlds centrally run data net and you'd access stuff from there. Couple that with the IS not doing anything like planned obsalecence and them seeming to build everything to a level of robustness that would be far and above true 'military grade'. You only have to look at a Mechs DI computer, and the advances they made to develop Neurohelmets, the Inner Sphere has a LOT of raw processing power in its computers.

[@MM22966]

This is where you get hints about Comstar naming its spy agency "ROM", right?

[@A1eafFa11s_Turtles]

Good stuff. Keep the Battletech content coming!

[@Iambelch01]

Such a great interview. It was Battletech, history, military, and all the good thing. Tex is just awesome, funny and knowledgeable. Sven is awesome too, with great videos, so glad to find his channel! 😊

[@yourseatatthetable]

I've been listening to the interview for the past few hours and over a hundred miles and can honestly say it is one of your best, kudos

[@mickbrown7793]

On the subject of ComStar's handling of Terra, I view the Housebooks with their... sometimes exaggerated ideas about the Successor States and the Periphery, as ComStar published books to begin indoctrinating Terran recruits about 'the horrible things you may encounter while working at an HPG station on a less fortunate world than Terra'.

[@tomrowlette9573]

Love the music at the end too

[@sinjin8576]

Tex is what actually got me into battletech, I'd dabbled but never been hooked, I never thought the universe was deep and thought things like Titanfall were cooler But that changed after his Amaris civil war videos, I realized how deep the setting can get, it opened the door and let me take the actual plunge and now I'm playing it with my friends, I've dumped a ungodly amount of hours in MW5 and I'm back to painting minis after nearly 2 years of letting my art table sit idle. Thanks Tex

[@yourseatatthetable]

Gotta love Sven's work

[@DrendarMorevo]

Personally, I'd love it if Catalyst gave space ships an updated source book with more explanations of how things work more than just game stats. Explain why some WarShips ships are designed as "Vertical" style rockets (as befitting the hard science lack of anti-grav) and others are clearly more "boats in space" with a clearly more horizontal orientation.

[@watchm4ker]

That's... Yeah, they've tried their best to revise those earlier designs, but stuff like the Aerodynes will just never make sense. The short answer is, FASA earlier design work hadn't considered the gravity problem, but by the time they caught themselves, they'd already published dozens of pieces of 'wrong' artwork and miniatures that they didn't want to just go back and wholesale redesign. One element that has always bugged me, however, is that to my knowledge, they have never come up with a consistent, logical depiction of a Docking Collar on any of their DropShips.

[@DrendarMorevo]

@@watchm4ker they've also never shown an example of a "gravity deck" in their designs outside the one produced for HBS Battletech and by extention the House Arano Sourcebook.

[@DrendarMorevo]

@watchm4ker personally I think CGL should just errata the whole thing and establish anti-grav and explain that the only reason it works is because of the gravimetric anomaly and immense energy created by a KDF drive.

[@ulricgrey5219]

Love hearing three of my favorite battletech commentators have these discussions.

[@jamessmith5666]

When ComStar lost Terra to the Word of Blake, that's when ComStar should've said to the Clans that the Truce of Tukayyid was now null and void because they no longer are in possession of Terra. Or at the very least, the Clans should've made the argument that the truce was now null and made a reinstated the invasion.

[@ArawnNox]

I remember reading the novel about the Refusal war (I forget it's title) and when the Clans demanded Terra as the prize should they win, Victor Steiner-Davion was like "I WISH I could give them Terra or any Word of Blake world."

[@Jay-ql4gp]

This was a lot of fun to listen to, thank you! One of the things I love most about Battletech is that, especially when I'm watching Tex, it's real. It's real people, making real mistakes with real consequences.

[@mathewkelly9968]

Why is the Galtor Campaign book so good ? It's my most treasured battletech book besides my House Liao and Steiner book , I've never played battleforce or even really looked at the rules but I love that book .

[@Avtbro]

Tex could make an IKEA instruction manual sound like an epic tale of furniture construction.

[@Greenlantern115]

I would very much enjoy a Tex video on the spookier morsels of battletech lore, like the black marauder, and his personal speculation on what they may be, fringe science or what have you.

[@cherryicebox3775]

I get it tex because the charger video got the vibe of my life man you hpg and plank do amazing for the community and y'all rock ! Keep throwing hands guys!

[@lucassmith4524]

Awesome.

[@Wildcat144]

Fantastic podcast. I hope one of these days I can do something great enough to hopefully get on. Keep up the fantastic work and plenty of Battletech to go around!

[@graywolfalphaone]

This was an amazing little round table. I would love to hear more like this one. Bravo all three of you.

[@RenegadeHPG]

Definitely plan to do more. Have you caught the other round table discussions I've done previously? You can find them in the podcast playlist.

[@graywolfalphaone]

@@RenegadeHPG yep. Thanks. I should probably go back and leave comments to help the algorithm find you.

[@RenegadeHPG]

Great. I definitely enjoy the format so whenever I can get a group and a good area of focus to muse on for a couple hours I'll do it :)

[@harvestblades]

That was a great interview so thank you for having Tex co-host & getting Sven on. I listened to the podcast which I didnt see drop, but Big Red 40tech referenced it in his stream so made 2 of my 3.5 hour drive fly by! Stopped by YT just to feed the glutanous algorithm

[@NewsOfTheInnerSphere]

I just love this new era of BattleTech that we're enjoying now. Back in the day, we had to go to gaming stores to have talks like this. Now we have all of these wonderful creators doing videos and podcasts on this epic game. Loving it! Keep up the great work guys!

[@pa_gaming_dad2810]

Really enjoyed the conversation and more importantly just how genuine everyone really seems. Towards the end when talking about wanting more people in the Battletech creator community I believe what was said. Certainly no egos in the room, but honest support for everyone in the community. Thank you from an old timer that started with the original box set. All 3 of you keep up the great work.!

[@LostInNumbers]

The problem with getting another HBS BattleTech is that the decision is in the hands of Paradox Interactive, and they already said no at least once.

[@RobertWilke]

First I want to thank all of you for this. I can relate to everything all of you have gone through. Looking forward to more content. This is coming from someone that's been there and back with Battletech. I was there in College just after Battle droids. Played the TT, built the pewter mechs, got to play in an OG mech simulator. Even played against one of the creators (and seriously got my Arse kicked). Fell out when whizkids and clicky tech and the dark era began. Came back when i Heard about HBS BT. Haven't left since. Saying all that i understand why you and everyone else is as much in love with this universe as i am. Cheers and on to better things.

[@therakshasan8547]

Budget Tank : A Winnebago with a Recoilless Rifle .

[@DarthP00P00]

Spend 2hrs supporting an Annihilator 3D print and this was a nice video to have running in the background. Thanks for the fun podcast.

[@alastairandrews493]

This was great podcast! I love Battletech, it's my favourite sci-fi setting. As an 80's Kid Brit it just has something nostalgic and familiar. Maybe because it feels like it's very much not an Americentric setting - which is rare or maybe it's just how 80's the artwork is (Is that Grayson Death Carlisle or Rod Stewart?) Or that a lot of the planets are named after places in driving distance to me (Twycross and Coventry - looking at you). It feels like it has exactly the right balance of Retro Nostalgia and verisimilitude for me. Like, it's always felt like one one of the few settings I could imagine myself inhabiting. Weird mix for sure but alot of my mate's feel the same.

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Awesome guest and topics, thank to all of you for your hard work!!

[@graywolfalphaone]

I had to see the bus jump. That was amazing!!!

[@RenegadeHPG]

Excellent! :) For anyone else that wants to enjoy the pure awesomeness, kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZLbXmyvf9hqbrs

[@arcosraid]

This was an amazing interview 👏 i learned alot of it and really showed me i have alot to learn about the setting.

[@ricardomachado6718]

Mr. TEX: waiting for the Hunchback video!!!!!! greetings from Portugal

[@Zattack19]

I love the dead ends of Battletech. I have a special one that led me to love the Periphery. There existed, in the Rimworld Republic Navy, a singular Tracker Class Warship. Outdated, singular one of her class in the entire navy, theres not even rules for the stealth armor she had. The RWR Krait. This singular little dinky ship had its own Exodus when the Amaris Civil war began. The Captain of this dinky little ship couldnt stomach it all and left. She had but 2 docking bays with a Leopard CVS and a Intruder Dropship. Just sailed off into the deep to who the fuck knows where. That mystery. Combined with the Rim Republican Army has occupied my mind with possibilities. The region is a dead zone writing wise. But theres just that nugget that intrigued me so much.

[@Jacen32272]

... You know, considering how Small Lasers fire automatically after melee attacks in HBS Battletech, the basic Charger should be a very effective melee mech in that game...

[@benparker2522]

Awesome questions, awesome answers, thanks again!

[@LindowAaron]

I completely agree with yall on HBS giving us another battletech game..

[@chrishotovec4163]

Excellent podcast! I now plan to look up both new podcasts. Well done everyone!

[@RobtheStampede]

55:11 there is, in fact, a surviving Cameron heir. At least two of them, in fact. One is the Prince of Regulus and the other is the Duke of England. Turns out, having a Cameron heir means absolutely dick.

[@watchm4ker]

Yeah. This also nudges into the "What if Kerensky declared himself First Lord"? scenario as well: The Hegemony was a *ruin.* It wouldn't have mattered if there was a secret clone of Ian Cameron in a secret bunker in Unity City, he would have nothing to back his position, save for an enormous, exhausted army and smouldering ashes of a single star system.

[@Havocme7]

1:37:00 I wish I could be one of those people. I think I received my first TRO in 1990 when I was about 10, but I've never found anyone else to play with/against in my area. And now we've moved even further away from people so it is even less likely to play in person.

[@yourseatatthetable]

Rule of Cool ... Tex, your tha man.

[@jamesmccrea4871]

First, I love the work all three of you have done, and your crews. I don't post much, but I have to say, it's interesting that nearly every time Tex had something to say, there a moment of silence as though his words had to be absorbed. At first it felt like there was a delay between him and HPG and Sven, bit it wasn't a delay, and that was an striking feature of this conversation.

[@harbingerx7793]

WHOOT! WHOOT! Sven my boy! Keep up the great work. I really appreciate the vids you create.

[@knighthawkS86]

Great little pod/discussion and very appreciative of all y'alls work... though that whole aside on the Tirpitz (the "typo" with Tripitz will forever bug me, lol) got me thinking that it would be TONS of fun to have some "what if" storylines fleshed out by these guys about some of the alternate histories that could have been...

[@jonathandarnel3765]

I second BPL Tex's plea to Harebrained Schemes.

[@Everstrife]

Didn't watch this when it came out a month ago. But it really glad that I did today. Puttering around the house (renovating) with BT-hobbyists is not a bad thing. Just wish there were more locally. Maybe you could a shorter round of this again? Discussing a specific vehicle, or a faction perhaps?

[@GeofftheIronwolf]

Some day I want to get on a stream with Tex and talk about the M.O.L.L.E. ruck pack.

[@Tatsu_of_Liao]

Great episode! Keep it up!!

[@HondaWagovan]

I love the mention of Supreme Commander, such a good RTS. I'm talking about the first Supreme Commander.

[@obliviousfafnir01]

I think if any battletech faction was going to pursue the development of advanced AI again, it would probably be Word of Blake. They would benefit the most from it and are clandestine enough to be able to develop it in secret away from the prying eyes of the great houses.

[@squizzlor]

Capelin’s made The Broken, blakists have used similar systems there after, but are more like programable machines.

[@negawan]

this was a wonderful listen. it was insightful to hear your takes

[@AlexisVolk97]

On the dukes of hazard anecdote, if i remember correctly i heard somewhere they had to hunt for more cars with a helicopter on the highway like exotic animals.

[@Ragnaroknrol]

I like using ASI for Artificial Sapient Intelligence to mean true AI. And the Star League didn’t have these. They had very cunning and unwavering systems. They would perform tactics that required overwhelming force to counter and they didn’t have to hollow out their ships for squishy bodies that can’t survive a vacuum. Their best systems could approximate intelligence, but actual independent new ideas? Nope. And you all are awesome, FYI

[@xxxlonewolf49]

Pepperidge Farm remembers The Star League....

[@joshblack2362]

Love battletech! Hope to see more videos in the future, earned a sub great upload!

[@psychkosys]

Hey this was a great podcast. Subscribed.

[@mathewkelly9968]

For me Sven is THE Battletech guy these days

[@jessestanley1690]

Hold my beer kids I’m going water skiing lol

[@b.v.9864]

If only HBS would listen to what fans wanted

[@illogicalbobcat8365]

I think if HBS would bring a new Battletech game with Clan Invasion, would be perfect, because there is BTA: 3062, but then there's also things beyond that, but I played the shit out of the HBS Shadowrun games too. I think just give the modders a foundation, at least.

[@FeelingShred]

oh thank god, now I can understand what the H is going on 🤣🤣👍 I read someone on a forum saying the game had an initial period where there were no clans at all? would you cover that part of history as well? that would be interesting to watch... and how BattleTech compares to D&D (or if it does at all)

[@jamessmith5666]

Tex knows Perun? Kinda wanna hear Perun do analysis videos of famous Battletech battles now!

[@Suodemon]

House Liao tried to make an AI, and it screwed up and didnt recognize anyone as friend anymore. It killed everyone and had to be shut off forcibly.

[@rookiemechwarrior]

Unless I'm mistaken, WOB also tried to rebuild the Casper network to try and hold onto Terra. Worked about as well as last time, tho.

[@warkardz]

I try to not #fangirl over Tex, but... it's Tex. Probably because I relate 😂

[@jessestanley1690]

I would like to see a serious attempt at a show

[@ZombieSexmachine]

As to the AI discussion, there were AI piloted mechs used by the WoB to defend the Terran system.

[@AlexisVolk97]

With all respect to three smart people i admire, you all got post industrial feudalism backwards. It isn't an administrative choice from above but a result of central authority failure and people's limited perspectives. Let's imagine a mostly democratic nation colonizing a spacerock, they set up mining camps, say with 10 habitation blocks. Someone smart plans the lay out and someone smart is sent to manage the volunteer miners. Something breaks or was miscalculated, in a spacerock, so in the best of cases it takes a lot of time to actually fix but the miners get angry now. Using a water pipe breaking for the example, the miners in block organize behind the most charismatic one and go demand a solution. So the smart man decides that they'll give them water rations, and for administrative simplicity ask the chariamatic guy to help with the organization as he knows the miners and they trust him. Other stuff breaks in other blocks, and miners choose their own charismatic guy because they trust the local guy more. All is fine until you get a small riot or minor discontent, so as you can't have a conversation with a mob the smart guy calls the charismatic guys involved and reasons, begs, threatens and bribes for he is smart and in charge of stuff. Then the charismatic guys go to exert their social influence on their fellow miners to stop, but maybe some of them are more pissed at the smart guy or the mosly democratic nation than they like the charismatic guy. So the later tries to reason, beg, threaten and bribe their fellow miners into complience. It so happens that in our spacerock the water pipe is still busted, so our first charismatic guy both promises that he'll make sure they fix the pipe and threatens that they'll cut the rations. They small riot is dispersed and they fix the pipe, but now the chariamatic guy demands to be in charge of something else to have leverage in the future in exchange for siding with the smart man. With this in mind the smart man puts the other in charge of something like offworld clothes or space smut. With fulfilled promises and threats the charismatic man gains true influence over the miners and, as monkey sees monkey repeats, some of not all the other chariamatic men start to do the same. Those who don't might still be there but they are given less attention by the central authority. Their miners start to ask for the nice things the other miners get, and their gatherings start to thin. So they sell or they try to raise the concern with distant burocrats more concerned with the voter base in home planet than space rock or with a company or institution mostly concerned with productivity. Process perpetuates, and the chariamatic men start to demand more power. Probably the smart man tries to keep them in check, and he probably can with bribes and infighting. But we get to election time, and the smart man post might or not be elective, but his inmidiate superior's post probably is. In the local election either the smart man or his boss would love the miner's votes, but at this point the charismatic men have enough influence to "persuade" them to vote as they like. So in spacerock, the smart man would like his boss' job and to get it he makes a deal with the charismatic men. He promises control over something important for the miners like housing o payroll to the chariamatic men in exchange for support. And so the election is doomed, and if they did't well before charismatic men start to appear everywhere at the same preexisting charismatic men start to offer "help" with peoples problems. This last one probably start free, to later evolve into guilt tripping and favour owing, and finally actual monetary debt. All that get's a pass from the smart man for he needs them to win the next election and maybe erase any reelection prohibitions or anti-corruption laws. For the smart man starts to stockpile money and resources to keep up with the chariamatic men. The same charismatic men that have started to fight over who controls what people. After some time the fenomenon expands into a regional scale as the local smart men see opportunity, thirst for power or actually belive they'll make everything better once they are in charge. So the regional elections are doomed and people probably start to get worried. But the combination of actually fulfilled promises, raw charisma and most importantly the fear of loosing what little you have. And that last one is important, for all this to happen the chariamatic men always keep people afloat but never let them forget it's them and no one else. So the problem perpetuates itself, and the nature of colonial interests and the democratic veneer keeps the sham going in the eyes of a distant home world. The next generation probably intermarried among itself or with the richest elites, and use the fulfilled promises and good name of their forefathers mixed with their wealth and the economic dependancy of a good portion of voters to succeed in attaining power. As their surname is their most powerful asset they leonize the smart men and the charismatic men that did so much good, so many thing, loved everyone and you trusted. They sell themselves as a continuation of that, remind the people of how awful broken water pipes and company riot breaking is, demonize either a rival corporation or home world and build a straw boogey man. And, as home world only wants the minerals and the grandsons of the first little "lords" were elected, when a democratic rebellion manages to gain some footing they get space stomped as it threatens local stability and most importantly the mineral flow. By the time some well intentioned politician from out world tries to do something, all local politicians are part of the neo feudal system and the local "king" can threaten the mineral flow. So attempts to reinstate democracy will be seen as both undemocratic and not cost effective. All this is only posible with a preexisting central authority that can dispense resources that a local leadership can control and hold over people, at the same time that said people a few enough and far away enough from the source of said resources for a politically relevant number of people to care at all. Then you give it enough time and the system becomes tradition, so not even an actual democratic election will oust them. Unless they let their people starve and don't have enough stick to keep them in line until the stop starving. Water pipe moments wouldn't be too common, but in the inner sphere the UN's abandoning the colonies offers you quite the galactic water pipe momment simultaneously. I really like the episode, as a do all you people's work, sorry for the long schizo post.

[@Cowboycomando54]

I wonder if something made by Tex has ended up on my ship.

[@evanwalters-noto9513]

Mass effect podcast when

[@mavrick195]

33:25 Can confirm the amount of stupidity I've run on calls has never ceased to impress me

[@sanguiniusonvacation1803]

That car costs almost as much as a Urbanmech.

[@JanJansen985]

Thought it said ghost host

[@sanders2strong]

i love HBS BT but by my ADHDness cant handle how slow it is. i grew up mechcommander / gold. and i can replay that 100 times. i recall every mission exactly. i need instant feedback. HBS BT is tOO slow/ plus i need a campaign to play. i love the mods for BT but they don't have a campaign. open world nonsense is stupid to me. i hate it.