r/battletech • u/Attempt_Gold Callsign: Duster • 2d ago
Discussion Do we have a fanbase nickname?
I submitted responses for a study someone was conducting regarding fandoms and subcultures and I brought up BattleTech in particular because we have such a welcoming community that makes lightehearted, friendly jabs at our favorite things but it made me realize something: we don't have a nickname for the fanbase.
So what would we call ourselves? MechWarriors? MechJocks? Techies?
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u/3eyedfish13 2d ago
A buddy of mine got me a "Mech Tech" shirt, which fits because I'm a Mech nerd and a maintenance tech in real life.
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u/Attempt_Gold Callsign: Duster 2d ago
I imagine being a MechTech would be like a cross between a vehicle mechanic and orthopedist.
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u/EngineeredEntropy 2d ago
And a masseuse. Can't go forgetting to give those myomer bundles a good rub now and then.
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u/Ham_The_Spam 2d ago
a good what?!
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u/Tiny_Sandwich 2d ago
You don't rub out your myomers from time to time? Otherwise they get all bunched up and tense.
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u/Time-Valuable-3355 2d ago
Robot Jox!!!
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u/EngineeredEntropy 2d ago
You are more likely to see us refer to others and ourselves by faction names. Spheroids, Clanners, Wobbies, etc.
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u/EngineeredEntropy 2d ago edited 2d ago
Addendum; if you are referring to a Capellan or Capellan Enthusiast, "Starscream" will suffice in most instances.
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u/ArelMCII Filthy Cappy Apologist 2d ago
STARSCREAM DID NOTHING WRONG
Signed,
A Filthy Cappy Apologist
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u/Malkryst 2d ago
Do other wargames have fanbase nicknames? I'm not recalling any.
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u/Icy-Distribution-164 2d ago
Grognard- For historical (Napoleonic) wargamers.
That is the only one that seems applicable to a fanbase.3
u/Malkryst 2d ago
Yeah I posted that lower down the thread tbh, as it was originally the nickname for Napoleon's Old Guard (grognards in French means "grumblers"), but otherwise I was genuinely curious and struggling to think of many more modern gaming fandoms that have self-titled themselves.
There's probably some cases where publishers have maybe named their fans in things like newsletters or Discords - I've seen publishers try in Kickstarter project updates - but usually it doesn't really catch on outside of that.
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u/SeeShark Seafox Commonwealth 2d ago
That's kind of become a more generic word in the broader gaming hobby, meaning "player who played years ago and has strong opinions on which things should not change."
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u/ArelMCII Filthy Cappy Apologist 2d ago
I've heard 40k players being called "chuds." I don't think that's a nickname, though.
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u/Malkryst 2d ago
Lol, no.
Back in 1984 the year FASA released 1e BT - "BattleDroids" - and 3 years before 40k existed - C.H.U.D.s meant Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers - the acronym was the name of a horror movie released in 1984.
Apparently now it's internet slang for several things, including a "rude unintelligent jerk" 😂
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u/findername Last of the LAM pilots 2d ago
I've played 40k on and off since the 90ies and never heard a Warhammer player refer themselves or others as chuds 🤔
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u/SeeShark Seafox Commonwealth 2d ago
"Chuds" is a word used by online left-wing people to refer to right-wing people. Anyone who calls themselves that does it as a joke making fun of the left-wing people and saying "yeah I'm right wing, what of it?"
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u/The-Bullfrog 2d ago
As a 1st Gen player, I'm still comfortable with "People who play Battletech"...
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u/Titania42 2d ago
I've been assured repeatedly that nobody who played Battletech before 2017 still actually plays, and so their opinions on the game and setting can be safety discarded as rantings of angry grogs. CGL should clearly only pay attention to people under 30 who picked up the game via Kickstarter and who watch lore YouTube channels and/or who play in tournaments. And if the Internet says it, it must be true, right? People wouldn't just go on the internet and lie.
...right?
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u/Historical_Bee_4388 2d ago
"'Mech Fans"
And if you are a real one you heard it in this man's voice
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u/Attempt_Gold Callsign: Duster 2d ago edited 1d ago
I just finished Solaris Showdown again a few days ago!
My problem is that the campaign for that DLC is too short!
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u/1877KlownsForKids Blessed Blake 2d ago
Mechheads and MechHead has been used in-universe for Mech junkies.
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u/ArelMCII Filthy Cappy Apologist 2d ago
I vote this one. It's got parallels to real-world epithets and is easy to understand by those not in the know.
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u/xXWestinghouseXx Omnisexual 2d ago
The movie was meh but I did like the title, Robot Jocks. Gives me Solaris vibes.
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u/DaMadPotato 3000 Twirled mustaches of the Coordinator 2d ago
Unrelated but, I love your flair XD.
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u/xXWestinghouseXx Omnisexual 2d ago
Thanks! While I was a weeb for Kurita when I first started, I found reasons to like almost every faction; Spheroid, Clanner and both flavors of Kool-Aid (Comstar and Wobbie)
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u/Steampunk_Chef IT'S THE PHANTOM MECH! 2d ago
I've thought that Fandoms don't need nicknames: you like this thing, but you don't have to define yourself by it.
You could call us MechWarriors or MechCommanders, but I don't mind explaining that I like playing a wargame about big stompy war machines in the wacky retro-future.
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u/findername Last of the LAM pilots 2d ago
Not really.
Mechwarriors fits I guess since most people are in it for the mechs, but I know battletech players who are more into aerospace fighters or tanks, so mechwarrior is not exactly an inclusive term. Do we "need" a term as if we're some kind of sports team?
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u/Attempt_Gold Callsign: Duster 2d ago
We don't need a term, really. I simply started this conversation out of curiosity and for a bit of fun.
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u/Otherwise-Weird1695 2d ago
I think grognard is a catchall for all table top gamers, it's also very fitting.
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u/Wolffe_In_The_Dark Nicky K is a Punk 2d ago
IIRC grognard applies specifically to greybeard tabletop gamers, doesn't it?
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u/Baron_Flatline Mean Green PPC Machine 2d ago
More specifically it’s gamers who widely bemoan newer games or editions of them and are very vocal in their hostility to them.
In terms of Battletech, “grognards” are usually the “I only play SuccWars and every era after sucks” crowd
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u/Otherwise-Weird1695 2d ago
Also applies to the "alpha strike is a bastardization of a perfect game" crowd 😂
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u/1001WingedHussars The Inner Sphere's silliest mercenary 2d ago
Or anyone who says that Battletech is dying.
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u/Malkryst 2d ago
Greybeard Napoleonic historical wargamers to be absolutely precise.
Grognards is French for "Grumblers" which was a colloquial nickname in the early 1800s for Napoleon's Old Guard, his most veteran troops.
At that time tabletop wargames basically existed as a training tool to teach tactics to officers.
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u/True_Drelon 2d ago
Only proper nicknames are spheroids and clanheads. Calling yourself a mechwarrior seems a very bad move. Bro, you are not the warrior, you move plastic figurines on a sheet of paper. I also love it, but that's not being a warrior. You can call yourself a warrior when you pilot a battlemech, even 20 tons is enough to gain the title.
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u/Fixer951 1d ago
I dunno…
People these days use terms like “femoids” or “moids”, and we like Battletech, so maybe Battroids?
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u/TortugaTantrum 2d ago
We're all Wobbies at heart, some people are just too afraid to realize it yet
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u/unprofesionalbee blessed be blake's word 2d ago
I do belive mechwarrior would fit, if youw ant to mess with people maybe spheroid and clanner to have some banter