Battletech! The Future of the 80s Forever!

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
Yeah both boxes are out this week :smile: Pretty psyched
Catalyst made both boxes available through their store, at 7am PST this morning. (I've been watching the Battletech Facebook group pretty closely this morning, for an announcement). I shelled out for the main box.
 
Catalyst made both boxes available through their store, at 7am PST this morning. (I've been watching the Battletech Facebook group pretty closely this morning, for an announcement). I shelled out for the main box.
I've got the Beginner Box on its way from Miniature Market, but my copy of the main box hasn't shipped from Alpha Omega yet. Hopefully they'll get here at the same time.
 
picked up my boxed set today! Surprised at the quality of the box itself, looks like it's made to last
Which boxed set, the Beginner Box or the full boxed set? I guess it doesn't really matter with regard to the actual box as I agree. I got my Beginner Box today and it's the same construction as my introductory boxed set. Though I have to admit it seems like there's a lot of wasted space in the Beginner Box. I fully understand the reason for having a spacer/packing tray for the two minis and whatnot, but still, they could have easily included the rulebook from the introductory boxed set instead of just the quickstart in order to give players more of a running start at the full rules - well, that and a second paper mapsheet. That's really my only gripe about it. Overall, I'm impressed with the quality of the minis. It's vastly improved over what they had in the intro set.
 
Which boxed set, the Beginner Box or the full boxed set?

I picked up both, but only had a brief moment to open the larger and check it out (got in two Kill Team games at the flgs). Waiting until my nxt day off (likely Monday) to really delve into both. Really love the new plastic mech sculpts so far though. Be nice if we get more of those like the Alpha Strike boxes
 
I picked up both, but only had a brief moment to open the larger and check it out (got in two Kill Team games at the flgs). Waiting until my nxt day off (likely Monday) to really delve into both. Really love the new plastic mech sculpts so far though. Be nice if we get more of those like the Alpha Strike boxes
So the minis in the full boxed set are the same quality as in the Beginner Box? Sweet! Can't wait for the other boxed set to arrive! It'll be right in time for my first BattleTech "convention" game.

I'm running a couple of beginner scenarios at a game day (called the Nuke-Con Aftershock in these parts) on Feb. 2. The first is the standard "Final Exam" scenario where everybody learns the ropes of the game. The second is a little more advanced, giving the players an actual objective (taking control and holding onto a Star League supply cache). Here's the info from the website:

MechWarrior Academy: Basic Training
Date/Time/Duration:
Saturday 10:00 AM (2 Hours)
Player Skill Level: Any
Character Level: Pregen
Player Count (min/max): 1 / 4
So you want to be a MechWarrior and pilot a big, flashy BattleMech? Well, cadet, you're gonna have to crawl before you can walk. Welcome to the New Avalon Institute of Science War College! This is a simple scenario where you'll learn the basics of BattleTech. Good luck and good hunting!

MechWarrior Academy: The Depot Raid
Date/Time/Duration:
Saturday 12:00 PM (4 Hours)
Player Skill Level: Any
Character Level: Pregen
Player Count (min/max): 2 / 4
This is where things get interesting, boys and girls. Teamwork is key when you're fighting as a group. The objective is a Star League supply cache in the Periphery. Our mission is simple - to reach the depot first and keep the enemy from getting it.

I'll post the second scenario once I have it written. I've got some prep work to do with regard to some papercraft scenery (namely the bunker and the cliffs for the main mapsheets. Hopefully we'll get some good pictures from the game day that I can post.
 
Are the new mechs the same scale as the old ones? In some of the few pictures I've seen the new mechs/sculpts look bigger.
 
Are the new mechs the same scale as the old ones? In some of the few pictures I've seen the new mechs/sculpts look bigger.

Yes and no. Just as with GW, there's been scale creep for years, so while thy are technically the same scale/base size they've always been, compared to the original Ral Partha mechs from the 80s, they are noticeably bigger/bulkier.
 
I thought so. At least the new Btech minis aren't as bad as the new Adeptus Titanicus ones, when it comes to size and using old sculpts. The old AT minis are unusable with the new ones. I certainly wouldn't replace all my ancient Ral Partha minis for new one's any time soon.
 
I've been meaning to do this for a while but just haven't made time for it until now. Now that I have both my Beginner Box and full boxed set, I ran through a listing of what mechs were common between those sets and the intro boxed set. I found there were two in common between the new full boxed set and the old introductory boxed set - the Catapult and Awesome. I also snapped a pic of my metal Ral Partha Battlemaster in comparison to the plastic cast from the full boxed set (including my metal Wasp, the future One-Armed Bandit because, why not?).

To further illustrate the difference in scale and detail, I grabbed the Thor from the introductory set and found it just as well-cast and scaled as the newer minis. Please pardon the crappiness of the photos as my phone is old.

Initial comparison of all the 'mechs
All mech comparison.jpg

First up, the Catapults...
Catapults.jpg

And the Awesomes...
Awesomes.jpg

Now the Battlemasters and Wasp...
Battlemasters and Wasp.jpg

And now the Clans have to get in the picture...
Catapults-Thor-Awesomes.jpg
Awesome-Thor-Battlemasters-Wasp.jpg

There's also this video which compares the Cataphract in one of the lance packs to the metal cast Cataphract - pretty favorably, I might add.


To be honest, when I first saw the new castings, I debated internally whether or not I even wanted to bother painting the mechs from the intro set. My better self won out and so I'll be spending a lot of time painting all of these up in the livery of my personal mercenary company the Port Omaha Irregulars - and that includes the Thor and the Loki (once I get that bugger put together). I plan to do them up in either primarily black with red and white markings or primarily red with black and white markings. :grin:
 
I like the new mechs! They look beefy and substantial.
 
I got my copy of the Beginner Box. I haven't been able to spare the money to get the full game yet (well, technically I could have purchased that instead of some other stuff but priorities).

Glad to have a BattleTech board game in my hands again, though.
 
So does "Overwatch" have a relationship to Battletech? This Lego set we saw at Target sure looks like some of those droids.
20190218_120644.jpg
 
No, Overwatch is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game by Activision. No relation to BattleTech.
 
I bought the Beginner's Box in February. It is one of the few gaming purchases I have buyer's remorse over. Not because I don't like the game, but because I do like the game enough that I wish I had just gone ahead and bought the full game.
 
Is there a Battle tech video game similar to how the Ogre video game is?

I Know I can use Vassal but it would be nice for more automation.
 
I bought the Beginner's Box in February. It is one of the few gaming purchases I have buyer's remorse over. Not because I don't like the game, but because I do like the game enough that I wish I had just gone ahead and bought the full game.

Life hack: Why not both?

Each box has something the other doesn't.
 
I bought the Beginner's Box in February. It is one of the few gaming purchases I have buyer's remorse over. Not because I don't like the game, but because I do like the game enough that I wish I had just gone ahead and bought the full game.

I never moved past the rules in the Battletech Compendium, released when the Clans were first introduced. Having recently gotten back to BTech I was somewhat astounded, and pleased, that the back story had progressed so far but, if truth be told, I haven't looked at any of the current mechanics.
 
Played some BTech two weeks ago, the last time we played was 3 or 4 years ago, and it was a blast! We completed two linked scenarios -Com Guards versus Clans, set in 3049, taking place on a secret Com Star controlled world that was a major listening outpost located in the periphery, and had once been a Star League Communications Hub. Hence the Clans interest. We intentionally decided to use mechs that we typically avoided back in the day, for what ever reason.
The first scenario was an escape with the info mission. An Assassin and Cicada had to make across two boards, (length wise) and exit at least one unit off the edge. Blocking them was a Loki. It was a relatively quick mission, and my opponent was able to get a unit off the board, and win the scenario. Even though the Loki was piloted by a 3, 2, and I had multiple shots over the course of the mission, at both mechs, I couldn't hit to save my life. For the entire scenario I kept rolling 1 less than what I needed. :irritated:
The second mission was bit trickier, and comprised of Clans trying to capture and HPG intact, and the Com Guards trying to prevent it. The Clans had a Loki, Thor, and Mad Cat, and the Com Guards had a Mongoose, Crab, Thug, and a Kintaro, with the added bonus being allowed to destroy the station in order to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. We used the mountainous terrain maps (the HPG was on an L6 mountain top reached by a single switchback road), and limited jump capable mechs. It ended up in a draw that went to the last turn. A great evening was had!
Our next engagement, hopefully in a couple of weeks, will be primarily an infantry battle. The Com Guards will have Jump Troops, Laser Troops, and Rifle Troops while the Clans will be using Elementals. Com Star forces will also have various light armoured vehicles, and we probably will have some type of off board arty or air support.
Should be a good old slog fest, and the type of scenario that we haven't run since the late '80's!
 
Is there a Battle tech video game similar to how the Ogre video game is?

I Know I can use Vassal but it would be nice for more automation.

Not familiar with the Ogre video game, but do you mean something like MegaMek?

 
I still have my late 80s Battletech stuff. I also picked up the Introductory Set with the Atlas on the cover a few years ago. Regardless... MINIS! So I picked up both the new Game of Armored Combat and Beginner Box some time ago.

The older Introductory Set maps were nicer and there were more minis. But the new minis are much cooler not only in sculpt but because they're more of what I think of as iconic. It just needs a Warhammer.

Anyway, since I got the Beginner Box anyway, I decided to start from ground zero and relearn the game anew. I've been periodically playing Beginner Box games. It's goal is to really drill into the player the ideas behind movement and to hit modifiers. It lacks rules for most other things. It's oddly fun not having to worry about Heat and just jumping around and blasting away.

The bad thing is most of the Beginner Box components don't transfer over to the full game. The mech records lack nearly all the information needed for a full game (internal structure, critical locations, heat sinks and info, etc). The charts in the Beginner Set are limited to what is in the Beginner Set, so they're not good for reference once moving to the full game. About all that carries over is the map sheet, the terrain tiles, and the miniatures/standees.

Regardless, I picked up another Beginner Box for another Griffin. I've always had a soft spot for the Griffin.
 
Nope! But then they're the only minis that I currently have and use for Battletech. If I had some of the newer minis, they might not match up size wise. I also had to 3d print some hex bases and glue them on.
 
I need people nearby to "pew! pew!" with.
 
Antivirus and safety filters don't seem to like that link. I had to look for the news elsewhere.

It looks like Catalyst is running a Kickstarter to make minis for the Macross sourced Unseen as well as some Clan mechs. Maybe a new box game set something like the old CityTech, but Clan oriented?

I know there are people who really like the Clan stuff. But for me, this comes across as the highly desirable return of the Macross Unseen with the addition of the Clans coattailing off of them to get that latter undesirable portion through the door.

I don't really see why this should be a Kickstarter either. There's clearly demand. They should have some useful sales numbers from the recent Beginner Box and Game of Armored Combat. They can't even keep Armored Combat in stock and it's currently being peddled by resellers for greatly above MSRP. To me, this should be a standard pre-order.
 
Antivirus and safety filters don't seem to like that link. I had to look for the news elsewhere.

It looks like Catalyst is running a Kickstarter to make minis for the Macross sourced Unseen as well as some Clan mechs. Maybe a new box game set something like the old CityTech, but Clan oriented?

I know there are people who really like the Clan stuff. But for me, this comes across as the highly desirable return of the Macross Unseen with the addition of the Clans coattailing off of them to get that latter undesirable portion through the door.

I don't really see why this should be a Kickstarter either. There's clearly demand. They should have some useful sales numbers from the recent Beginner Box and Game of Armored Combat. They can't even keep Armored Combat in stock and it's currently being peddled by resellers for greatly above MSRP. To me, this should be a standard pre-order.
I'm guessing it's due to when money comes in. With pre order I don't believe they get your money until shipping time. With KS they get it as soon as it funds. Also I don't think you can back out of a KS and get a refund.

From a business perspective it guarantees you more money with less chance of fluctuations than pre orders.

I think there was a thread here where either MiniatureMarket or another big online retailer had to change there returns policy because people were pre-ordering product and then dropping if they didn't like the early reviews. Apparently it's happening enough that it is a problem to profitability.
 
FYI, it looks like Catalyst has the current Battletech A Game of Armored Combat box set in stock again. For a while, it was out of stock & I saw it as high as $150 on other sites. MSRP is $59.99. If only I hadn't already blown this month's play money on dumb crap... :quiet:
 
FYI, it looks like Catalyst has the current Battletech A Game of Armored Combat box set in stock again. For a while, it was out of stock & I saw it as high as $150 on other sites. MSRP is $59.99. If only I hadn't already blown this month's play money on dumb crap... :quiet:

The boxes are both available as add- ins in the Kickstarter, for anyone who wants to garuntee a copy
 
Justing trying to get a general feel of the room while we all patiently wait for the pledge manager to open.

1. I'm guessing were all going to exchange our oc canon character option (and hopefully T-shirt, keychain, dogtag, and I forget what else) for more minis, right?
2. I like the previews of the new minis but I also like the Cav mechs from Talon games. How do y'all feel about the new look?
3. Man, the new Battletech computer game is cool. Who thought that would be contemporaneous statement to make in 2019?
 
What's a good solo mech? If you had to pick a medium or heavy mech to pilot with no support, which would you pick?

What are the mook mechs? These are the mechs that just aren't all that great and tend to be popcorn for the more combat capable machines. If you were in your solo mech pick above, what mechs would you be most comfortable fighting two or three of? Or what would be in a similar weight class to your solo machine, but you feel confident you could scrap in a fight without much damage on your part?
 
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top