Battletech! The Future of the 80s Forever!

[Fenris-77]

There have been more than a few really well painted mechs gracing my FB lately and it's really given me the nostalgias for BT. There are few things as satisfying as jumping over a mothefucker and shooting him in the back of the head with an AC20 Ultra.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

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Thing of beauty!

 

[Fenris-77]

Honestly, I'm not sure I've seen a better painted mech. BT isn't maybe known for it's artistes, but that one is gorgeous.

 

[Harl Quinn]

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That is awesome. I love the little infantry guys at the Atlas' feet!

 

[TristramEvans]

 

[Fenris-77]

 

[chuckdee]

The Real-Life History of Battletech Part IV

The classification of mechs as "Unseen" meant that , while they continued to be represented in the fiction and game stats, all images of them were removed from Battletech publications, and the associated miniatures were taken out of production. Among these, of course, was the iconic "Warhammer" that had graced the cover of the Battletech boxed sets since Battledroids.

Other mechs deemed Unseen include The Battlemaster, The Crusader, The Griffin...

...The Marauder, Phoenix Hawk, Rifleman...

... and The Thunderbolt, Valkyrie and Wolverine

The loss of these mechs were devastating for many fans who grew up with them as a huge part of the game or in some cases, the reason they were attracted to Battletech in the first place. Yet, I think nothing says more for the unique identity that Battletech carved for itself that it continued to move forward and thrive even with this incredible blow. Sure, it meant that many classic sourcebooks and gaming materials were discontinued and could no longer be reprinted, but FASA continued on without skipping a beat...

Some of those I totally get, but it gathered in mechs that I don't get why there were there as it doesn't seem to have anything to do with Robotech.

 

[TristramEvans]

Some of those I totally get, but it gathered in mechs that I don't get why there were there as it doesn't seem to have anything to do with Robotech.

they were all part of the TMI license agreement

 

[Lunar Ronin]

Time Extension (a retro video games website), has a danged good article out about Battletech Centers, and how Battletech/MechWarrior invented e-sports.

There were around 26 of them at one point, dotted across the United States, Canada and Japan. They were like Disney theme parks for gamers, offering simulated 3D mech battles at a time when 16-bit consoles were only just emerging. Players sat inside a realistic mech cockpit – with multiple monitors, joysticks, pedals and a myriad of switches and flashing lights – going head-to-head with other players in the same room, or even fighting mech pilots on the other side of the world – despite the fact that many people hadn't even heard of "the World Wide Web" at this point, let alone had internet access at home.

These futuristic battle arenas were the brainchild of Jordan Weisman, serial entrepreneur, theme-park obsessive and creator of franchises such as Shadowrun, Crimson Skies and, naturally, BattleTech – which began as a board game but soon evolved into a tabletop RPG, novels and the MechWarrior series of video games. And it all began when he attended the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, in 1979.

There's a lot to the article. If you have any interest in Battletech and/or FASA, I recommend reading it.