LinkNet

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Overview[edit]

When WizKids launched the MechWarrior: Dark Age (MWDA) Clix game in 2003, they also dedicated a subsection of their web presence to the game, presenting it as an outlet for news and messages within the BattleTech universe (see Content below).

Real World Website[edit]

LinkNet was an in-character subsection on the last incarnation of the now defunct real-world WizKids website. Following the discontinuation of the MWDA game in 2008, the website was taken offline in 2010.

In a broader sense, "LinkNet" is a summary reference among the fan community for BattleTech and MWDA that also covers the preceding incarnations (or skins) of the MWDA subsection of the WizKids website.

Incarnations[edit]

The MWDA website underwent changes as the game's storyline progressed:

June 2002 – Jan 2004

In-universe date: June 3132 – 9 March 3134
The site was styled as INN, a news site based on Towne that offered a primer on the new Republic of the Sphere and a Republic Atlas, as well as Touring the Stars articles and ComStar newsfeeds. After the Blackout (on 7 August 3132) it only provided local news.

2005

In-universe date: Jan – Dec 3135
During this time, the website offered the PDA journals of Evan Kaiple and Deandra Lowe as is, without any in-universe context.

2006 and onwards
LinkNet screenshot

In-universe date: Jan – Aug 3136
The in-universe LinkNet was a network formed by a handful of still functional HPGs in the wake of the Blackout, to keep each other informed and maintain HPG communication as much as circumstances allowed.

Canonicity[edit]

Like MWDA in general, the MWDA website was considered part of the greater BattleTech universe and its in-character content is considered fully canonical, albeit subject to the usual possibilities for in-character resources to be in error due to oversight, bias, or outright misinformation.

Content[edit]

Compilations[edit]

Since much of the content published via the MWDA website was not published elsewhere, steps were undertaken to preserve it. Catalyst Game Labs and volunteers compiled some of the information into a number of files that CGL subsequently offered for free download via their website; these files are copyrighted to Topps with a 2012 timestamp:

  • Touring the Stars - An in-universe look at the major factions, their histories and their status quo as of 3130.
    (also contained within the 3132-3134 INN file, and not to be confused with the Touring the Stars series of PDF microproducts detailing individual star systems)
  • Republic of the Sphere - A brief primer for the government and history of the premier new faction introduced in MWDA, the Republic of the Sphere. Also includes short biographies of the prominent personalities of the early Dark Age era.
  • Republic Worlds - A gazetteer of the worlds that compose the Republic. (Note: Not all worlds are fully described by the time LinkNet was taken down; many entries remained placeholder "articles" with no content.)
  • Collections of in-universe news articles and personal journals that paint a vivid picture of life in the mid-thirty-second century from just before the HPG blackout into the years of Fortress Republic.
    • 3132-3134 INN - A collection of news articles fleshing out the universe and advancing the timeline
    • 3135 PDA Journals - Diary-style snippets of information, fleshing out the universe and advancing the timeline
    • 3136 LinkNet - Transcripts from the actual in-universe "LinkNet", a group of still functional HPGs after the 3132 HPG Blackout, fleshing out the universe and advancing the timeline
    • 3136 Levin's List - Wanted ads and snippets, fleshing out the universe and advancing the timeline

Faction Dossiers[edit]

From 2003 on, the website hosted two faction dossiers covering the Stormhammers and Republic Armed Forces, supplementing those in the MechWarrior: Dark Age Starter Set.

Short Stories[edit]

The website featured additional content for the BattleTech universe that (so far) was not made available for download again, including several short stories:

Scenarios[edit]

See also: Category:MWDA Events

Starting in September 2002, official scenarios for events and organized play arranged by WizKids became available from their website to support the MWDA game and its ongoing timeline and evolution. These included:

Solaris VII[edit]

Starting in 2007, some scenarios and events were made for the MechWarrior: Solaris VII ruleset:

External Links[edit]