aphyon wrote: I don't understand your obsession with avoiding parade color schemes,
Likewise, I don’t understand the obsession with parade paint schemes. Most of them are hideous. Even more of them look basically the same as many others. CamoSpecs is real amateur hour stuff quite literally, with zero advantage over me making up something I like better.
Maybe i am a closet imperial fist...
The parade schemes make the mechs "pop" on the table, and some units always use the parade schemes much for the same reason the fists do like the swords of light units.
I do have some units painted in scheme cammo like my 10th lyran guards desert lance. it is just not the majority. like most other game systems we tend to paint our armies in faction recognized colors rather it be warmachine, 40K, flames of war or battletech.
I thought CamoSpecs schemes were based on official artwork and written descriptions? I.E. the paint scheme for the 53rd Capplyran Guard is based on the cover art of the novel they were featured in, whereas the 21st Chumbawumba Revolutionaries is an interpretation of the written description of their mech livery from the same novel.
Translating a written source to a painted miniature requires, as you say, interpretation. Plus, even the authors of BT fiction and sourcebooks are frequently fans.
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aphyon wrote: like most other game systems we tend to paint our armies in faction recognized colors
This is def a big part of my goal. I suppose my “Davion” mechs could as easily be “Lyran” but the overarching goal is to have mechs that look militaristic (rather than like Transformers) and to be able to immediately differentiate between the different sides in a given session. This last part is often compromised by my buddies using their Transformers-esque mechs lol.
Manchu wrote: Translating a written source to a painted miniature requires, as you say, interpretation. Plus, even the authors of BT fiction and sourcebooks are frequently fans.
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aphyon wrote: like most other game systems we tend to paint our armies in faction recognized colors
This is def a big part of my goal. I suppose my “Davion” mechs could as easily be “Lyran” but the overarching goal is to have mechs that look militaristic (rather than like Transformers) and to be able to immediately differentiate between the different sides in a given session. This last part is often compromised by my buddies using their Transformers-esque mechs lol.
Sure - but if the book describes a mechs paint scheme as being royal purple with gold edge trim up top and a pink and babys breath polkadot/peadot type camo scheme on the front leg armor and shoulders, then you can't really say that fans are creating really gakky parade schemes that look hideous. That description on its own is already hideous, I don't think fans could make that any better or worse.
Korthu wrote: Just a quick question. What unit does the Battlemaster on the cover of the rulebox belong to? The blue one with the red and white strip. I can't figure it out but I like that color scheme.
Thanks.
-K
Well, I hope you realize, this was entirely your fault:
Spoiler:
absolutely beautiful. I think I've posted some of mine earlier but yours are waaaay better. I'm gonna post a full company (the first of just over 2 battalions of mechs I have) as soon as I finish.
Can't help but note you've missed the battlemaster *throws down the gauntlet*
Nope, it's an RRT Valkyrie with 3d printed parts (also, feth Palladium >_> )
Those are nice parts. Very nice parts.
I've done one myself, but not having got it past primer stage I can't really tell what the end result will be. I definitely didn't get it into as nice a pose as you did.
Pfft, my colors are based on what I had and the limits of my hands and brushes (which, I should probably replace soon, they're getting quite raggedy).
Basically I have two color schemes, one for Inner Sphere, and one for Clan.
A little inspiration came from a certain YT Battletech commentator's group...
I intend to get my IS 'Mechs, separate out the obvious faction-specific ones, and then take the rest and spray one half red, the other half blue, and then do details. Ditto for my Clans. One half green, the other half ice blue.
And then do the same for all my tanks. And power armour.
H.B.M.C. wrote: I intend to get my IS 'Mechs, separate out the obvious faction-specific ones, and then take the rest and spray one half red, the other half blue, and then do details. Ditto for my Clans. One half green, the other half ice blue.
And then do the same for all my tanks. And power armour.
There would be some outliers - I have a small pirate force (including a converted Zeus with the axe from a Ti Ts'ang), and some ComStar stuff, plus an smallish Capellan force. They wouldn't be included alongside the others.
And the Davions/Kuritans would get a few of the Clan 'Mechs as salvage.
So I was considering picking up the variant Stormcrow, and thought Id be clever and use a spare Stormcrow from the kickstsrter (presently have 5 due to salvage boxes, planning to buy an extra clan command star which would give me 6), but then I realized that the torsos are different because the variants don't mount a medium laser under the cockpit :( doesn't look like Id be able to rework the spare parts into any of the alt configs.
I have two Succession-wars era factions made from all the 1st Wave IS mechs from the Kickstarter painted. I kept them pretty generic, with no real mind to making a strict link to actual units. I did a blue/red quartered scheme to be some sort of a Steiner military unit, and a grey/green force to be some sort of Mercs, because I wanted to dust off the old Battlefleet Gothic Imperial scheme that I used to like to paint. I might add some splashes of purple to them and say they are on near-permanent retainer to the Free Worlds League, then it explains why the two forces are pitted against each other.
I've been thinking of building a small Clan force, and after a truly nightmarish picture colored by my 5yo daughter, I may have her lay out the color schemes for each mech. Just give her Clan mech pages from the Catalyst activity book and force myself to color the equivalent mechs like her designs to come up with something truly anti-Clan, just to poke fun at the fact that some players consider the Clans to be the "Munchkin" faction with all their high tech, so I might as well add insult to injury and hurt their eyes, too.
Yeah and the fun thing if you use the field manuals for unit specific special rules. they get an initiative bonus at the start of the game that gradually degrade over turns because of shock value. kind of a "what the heck is that?" mechwarrior reaction.
Ok, how did the guy at Camo-Specs convert this:
Obviously a nova cat body (G variant), the arms are off of....i should know they look really familiar
Nope, it's an RRT Valkyrie with 3d printed parts (also, feth Palladium )
Oh, yeah. Feth Palladium.
There is a tale or two here methinks.
What is the hate for Palladium beyond their badly formatted and sucky rules.
Probably the complete cluster feth that was the Kickstarter, the fact they announce like 12 products a year and release 2 of them, and any of the other number of absolutely mismanaged things they do regularly.
Nope, it's an RRT Valkyrie with 3d printed parts (also, feth Palladium )
Oh, yeah. Feth Palladium.
There is a tale or two here methinks.
What is the hate for Palladium beyond their badly formatted and sucky rules.
I'm surprised that you aren't already aware. Palladiums mismanagement of the Robotech RPG Tactics kickstarter is legendary. Long story short, Palladium took millions of dollars of backer funds for Robotech minis, produced and delivered about 1/3rd of the kits they promised to substandard quality which they grossly overproduced to the point that within a few months of the retail release they were in discount bins being sold at a lower price than they were offered through the kickstarter, strung backers along promising they were working on getting the second wave manufactured and delivered, and then after about 5 years or so came out and said "just kidding we almost went bankrupt on this and can't afford to fulfill what we promised you - plus we lost the license. you get nothing, lol, but heres a store credit for your troubles so you can buy our remaining stock of the wave 1 items at full retail price + cost of shipping".
and then once plladium feths that up horriably Harmony gold decides the best way to further aliennate boardgame fans was to launch a completely baseless lawsuit against Piranana Games, Hairbrained schemes and CGL on the basis that that the atlas looks too much like the armored veritech.
Lots of pieces but no posability, not a gtood combo.
I get it now, gross mismanagement and bad composition. Palladium is a name I remember from the 80's. They were authors not toymakers, their core 'competency' if you could call it such was making splatbooks.
Some of their games were well received, they did a reasonable job with the TMNT licence, and Rifts had a following, but I didn't rate either. If i wanted Rifts I would get the real thing and play Shadowrun, or Cyberpunk 2020.
The only product of their I bought was the red book Palladium Fantasy RPG, I was not impressed frankly, while there was room for progress in the setting nothing came of it and the core rules was an AD&D clone with little to show for it.
I did remember the Robotech kickstarter but did not bite, it was memorable to me because the Palladium name popped up again some decade after they stopped making books.
Sounds like I not so much dodged a bullet but had my apathy shield up.
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BrianDavion wrote: and then once plladium feths that up horriably Harmony gold decides the best way to further aliennate boardgame fans was to launch a completely baseless lawsuit against Piranana Games, Hairbrained schemes and CGL on the basis that that the atlas looks too much like the armored veritech.
Yep, I knew about that one, unseen etc. watched that for years, FASA and later Catalyst managed to clear all the unseen except the Robotech ones, and that only happened when the devs of Mechwarrior Online had the money to fight the case and found that while Harmony Gold had a a licence they did not have an exclusive licence, and all the claims made against non Robotech mechs was just a trolling even GW legal would baulk at.
Both are well and truly fethed. Harmony Gold are no longer permitted to go after Catalyst or other Battletech IP holders, we do not know what else transpired as there are NDA's involved. They are not doing anything of themselves but squat on the licences they actually hold, so they are a non issue now, an IP quatter wioth nothing to sit on.
Palladium are bankrupt.
You got your wish.
Albertorius wrote: By wa of example, this sprue was 2 Riflemen, with no options whatsoever:
What are you talking about? They had the two glorious options of stepping slightly and standing there with a stick up its butt.
I mean there's not a single extra piece ^^
some people like not having any "Waste" no I don't get it eaither
I don't mind not having "waste". I VERY much mind that each gakky mini is 20 pieces. FFS.
That was meant to be tongue in cheek. However, IIRC, they tried to justify that BS with the piece count by claiming they were small model kits rather than miniatures, which they had to do in the first place because they didn't technically have a license to produce a Robotech miniatures game(the same reason RRT was "technically" an expansion of the RPG).
Albertorius wrote: By wa of example, this sprue was 2 Riflemen, with no options whatsoever:
What are you talking about? They had the two glorious options of stepping slightly and standing there with a stick up its butt.
I mean there's not a single extra piece ^^
some people like not having any "Waste" no I don't get it eaither
I don't mind not having "waste". I VERY much mind that each gakky mini is 20 pieces. FFS.
That was meant to be tongue in cheek. However, IIRC, they tried to justify that BS with the piece count by claiming they were small model kits rather than miniatures, which they had to do in the first place because they didn't technically have a license to produce a Robotech miniatures game(the same reason RRT was "technically" an expansion of the RPG).
wonder if that played into why they lost the lisence
I think the generally really bad publicity that was generated by the Kickstarter was enough to seal the deal. I'd also be willing to accept the idea that Palladium declined to renew the license knowing that it was their "get out of jail" from being on the hook for fulfillment while also being a sound business decision, purely on the basis that they would never be able to recoup their licensing fees after pissing off the majority of the customers of that product line.
I still have about 100+ models for RRT that I opened, looked at and then set aside. They are buried so deep, I don't even count them as part of my pile of shame.
I went for that thrice cursed Kickstarter because I wanted my Unseens for BT. Obviously on the surface, that was a big outlay for a handful of Unseens, especially when you factor in the scale differences, only four of the models were usable.
But, I got caught up in the KS hype-train plonked down too much money and got into the whole RRT idea. I'd end up with a cool Robotech game as well as my precious Warhammer minis.
Now, we all know how that turned out... a lot of plastic ended up in my personal Graveyard of Tears and Regret.
Over the next few years, we get MWO and its redesigns. People produce minis off them (might have bought the odd one here and there...). CGL realizes that they can get in on the action and behold, a lovely BT Kickstarter to wipe away the tears.
One thing changed my outlook on everything that took place - getting a 3d printer. Any BT minis that weren't in the KS? I can make them! All those minis that didn't appear because of Palladium's shenanigans? I can make those, too!
I think that there's a fair chance that I'll be playing RRT in the future. Seeing a MAC II Monster rising from the resin vat gives a person ideas and warm, fuzzy feelings!
chaos0xomega wrote: Same. I'm at an utter loss as to wtf I should do with them.
If you just want to get rid of them, shoot me a PM.
Will do, but I assume I'll need to dig them out of storage and inventory it first.
One thing changed my outlook on everything that took place - getting a 3d printer. Any BT minis that weren't in the KS? I can make them! All those minis that didn't appear because of Palladium's shenanigans? I can make those, too!
Only reason I'm not 3d printing my own (or buying other unofficial sculpts) is because I want to maintain scale consistency with CGLs new sculpts.
I think that there's a fair chance that I'll be playing RRT in the future. Seeing a MAC II Monster rising from the resin vat gives a person ideas and warm, fuzzy feelings!
Hmmm... maybe I don't sell everything to Manchu...
One thing changed my outlook on everything that took place - getting a 3d printer. Any BT minis that weren't in the KS? I can make them! All those minis that didn't appear because of Palladium's shenanigans? I can make those, too!
Only reason I'm not 3d printing my own (or buying other unofficial sculpts) is because I want to maintain scale consistency with CGLs new sculpts.
I think that there's a fair chance that I'll be playing RRT in the future. Seeing a MAC II Monster rising from the resin vat gives a person ideas and warm, fuzzy feelings!
Hmmm... maybe I don't sell everything to Manchu...
My scale obsession has relegated all of those purchased unofficial prints to a junk box - they're just not right. Having my own printer means that I can get the stuff I make match the CGL scale to my satisfaction. It's not even remotely hard to do, it just involves the odd mistake in scaling to find out what you actually wanted to do.
I've not gone into full RRT production runs yet, just enough test prints to realise that it's achievable; Gnerls, Ghosts, Armoured Valks, FPA units... you name it... It has the ability to redeem the game and Uncle Kev be damned!
RRT is a really fun game and I have lots of RRT minis but could always use more destroids. Chaosxomega, keep me in mind if you decide you want to get rid of your stuff.
Orlanth wrote: Lots of pieces but no posability, not a gtood combo.
Hmm... there's another company that does that and seems to be doing quite well...
Erm no. Ok we are talking GW.
GW has two types of infantry (mech sized) models. Either heavily posable and customisable kits and monopose kits. The former can be assembled in multiple combos and loadouts, but have some stiffness of pose to enable this. The latter are more flowing and natural but sacrifice most pose-ability with this, even so the monopose models normally have head variation and some weapon variation, usually two per pose.
The GW kits are also easier to kitbash.
The rifleman showcased here has no pose-ability and no variants yet has lot and lots of pieces.
In neither case have conversions been considered, as with all plastic kits you can do quite a lot to further variate them with as bit of skill and time.
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Easy E wrote: I still have about 100+ models for RRT that I opened, looked at and then set aside. They are buried so deep, I don't even count them as part of my pile of shame.
I believe you, looking back at the Kickstarter page I remember now why I never backed. The amount of gak you have to pay for to get a couple of Warhammers, Riflemen and one Marauder. In the end it just was not worth it.
Subsequently I forgot all about it, and now post delivery of Clan Invasion it can all join the pile of shame that never was.
Why bother about naff Rifleman miniatures when I have re-seen Riflemen in my pile of shame alongside c100 other mechs and elemental stands.
Doubt I am the only one.
Orlanth wrote: The rifleman showcased here has no pose-ability and no variants yet has lot and lots of pieces.
In neither case have conversions been considered, as with all plastic kits you can do quite a lot to further variate them with as bit of skill and time.
Orlanth wrote: The rifleman showcased here has no pose-ability and no variants yet has lot and lots of pieces.
In neither case have conversions been considered, as with all plastic kits you can do quite a lot to further variate them with as bit of skill and time.
Settle down Orlanth. I was making a joke.
One can never tell with all the triggered people over recent GW sculpt policy.
I've been looking all over for comparison pics of IWM, Catalyst miniatures, and MWDA. Is the MWDA cougar huge compared to the others? Are there any comparison pics floating around. Some of the MWDA have to be suitable for BT and Alpha Strike. I plan on rebasing most of my MWDA if they are suitable or close to the others. The infantry seem fine. Cheers and a happy weekend.
ottokill wrote: I've been looking all over for comparison pics of IWM, Catalyst miniatures, and MWDA. Is the MWDA cougar huge compared to the others? Are there any comparison pics floating around. Some of the MWDA have to be suitable for BT and Alpha Strike. I plan on rebasing most of my MWDA if they are suitable or close to the others. The infantry seem fine. Cheers and a happy weekend.
MW clicky minis are like twice the size of BT minis, and for no reason the Cougar is hilariously larger even than that. You could certainly use them for AS with the right sized terrain and probably modifying the measurements (or not), but MW minis are not going to fit on a standard map sheet.
The infantry are basically the same size as the IWM offerings and totally usable. Cheaper to get in some instances.
The original Mercenaries Handbook covers that quite neatly. You could try the rules in Strategic Operations but they will bog you down a lot and are best for RPG.
So my group is getting ready for an ilClan grinder style game. Free for all, everybody shows up with a light, medium, heavy and assault. Start with lights, and when they go down your next mech comes in.
I haven't used too much of the advanced technology- but as a Jade Falcon fan, I'm looking at running mostly their mechs.
I'm torn on assaults- the Turkina X looks great, and the ability to do a Talon assisted DFA is quite tempting.
But- I also think a tough mech would really help- and the Onager II has that regenerating armor from Harjel II.
Finally, because it's new and super shiny, the absurd maneuverability of the Jade Phoenix A, and it's pulse laser +Ultra Ac/20 array looks devastating.
Which of those mechs do you think would be best in a grand melee, free for all situation?
I never really had a chance to get in on the Kickstarter, however, I have been fortunate to collect some of the results.
I currently have 20 Inner Sphere mechs of CGL plastic, 20 Inner Sphere mechs from Ironwind Metals, 15 Clan mechs from Ironwind Metals, 14 mechs from the 3rd Ed boxset (recently rebased), and 1 from 2nd Ed Citytech.
Gitzbitah wrote: So my group is getting ready for an ilClan grinder style game. Free for all, everybody shows up with a light, medium, heavy and assault. Start with lights, and when they go down your next mech comes in.
I haven't used too much of the advanced technology- but as a Jade Falcon fan, I'm looking at running mostly their mechs.
I'm torn on assaults- the Turkina X looks great, and the ability to do a Talon assisted DFA is quite tempting.
But- I also think a tough mech would really help- and the Onager II has that regenerating armor from Harjel II.
Finally, because it's new and super shiny, the absurd maneuverability of the Jade Phoenix A, and it's pulse laser +Ultra Ac/20 array looks devastating.
Which of those mechs do you think would be best in a grand melee, free for all situation?
And how effective is Harjel II in practice?
Harjel isn't very good at all. It might be useful on some uber specific mech like one designed for underwater combat but in general it's kinda crap.
sure it COULD improve survivability but you're talking something that repairs 2 points of damage to it's location. that's not a whole lot and 2 tons can be a lot (thats 2 Medium lasers, or 1 pulse laser for example)
I have a footlocker sized container full of CBT minis.
The downside...most of them are metal so it is kind of heavy.
I was somewhat underwhelmed by the amount of mechs you get for the volume of packaging. My Battletech came in three huge boxes, but was condensable down into two Clan Invasion boxes full of mechs, well less than a footlocker.
3d print instead. You will typically need a lot of terrain pieces to do justice to it, .stls in 6mm are commonplace, many of the better ones are free. KLifts of high rises from computer games, actual architectural models and some made for purpose for 6mm wargaming. You can widen that by rescaling.
aphyon wrote: I have a footlocker sized container full of CBT minis.
The downside...most of them are metal so it is kind of heavy.
Orlanth wrote: Is that all you got? I was expecting proper whaledom from all the noises.
Oh this is just the Wave 2 Kickstarter stuff.
I haven't organised them into my cases, which is currently 2 of the big Sabol Division cases and another one of their smaller cases. I'll be just shy of 500 when this is all said and done. Going to spend a bit of time this weekend getting everything organised and into foam.
aphyon wrote: I am thinking of getting some of this terrain to add to my collection.
I've been thinking of 3D hex terrain as well. I like map sheets, but having a few obvious buildings that are scaled correctly couldn't hurt.
3d print instead. You will typically need a lot of terrain pieces to do justice to it, .stls in 6mm are commonplace, many of the better ones are free. KLifts of high rises from computer games, actual architectural models and some made for purpose for 6mm wargaming. You can widen that by rescaling.
That would kind of require me to have a 3d printer. as i do not, and have no plans to get one. i can buy them from somebody who does.
mostly i have been getting my scale terrain from brigade models.
aphyon wrote: I am thinking of getting some of this terrain to add to my collection.
I've been thinking of 3D hex terrain as well. I like map sheets, but having a few obvious buildings that are scaled correctly couldn't hurt.
As a terrain master, I'm curious what you considered 'scaled correctly' for CBT terrain. I love the look of a lot of what's out there but I can't make up my mind as to what looks 'right', trying to go with mini-scale buildings on map sheets that look huge or map scale scenery that the mechs tower over. Adding 3D terrain to map sheets kinda breaks the whole thing for me. I've had the same issue with dropships, I'd love to do one or two for dioramas or scene-setting for my forces, but a map scale ship is more useful for gaming.
I took a picture of a rebased MWDA clix Mjolnir. If anyone has a different Mjolnir(IWM, etc.) could you please post a picture of it next to a ruler for comparison. I would like to see if some of the MWDA mechs are usable with the others. Thanks.
3d print instead. You will typically need a lot of terrain pieces to do justice to it, .stls in 6mm are commonplace, many of the better ones are free. Lifts of high rises from computer games, actual architectural models and some made for purpose for 6mm wargaming. You can widen that by rescaling.
That would kind of require me to have a 3d printer. as i do not, and have no plans to get one. i can buy them from somebody who does.
Reconsider joining the 3d printer party, it might be your Ham and Gren Eggs, something you currently really don't want to do but love when you try.
Second consider mooching of someone else you know who does. You can only do commercial casts with a merchant licence, but a personal licence can be used to make 3d prints for friends. Pay him in beer, or paint one of his minis for him etc.
The biggest benefit of mooching is finding out how awesome a hobby 3d printing is, and getting some familiarity with the process.
I came late to the 3d print party, and wish I bought in earlier.
As a terrain master, I'm curious what you considered 'scaled correctly' for CBT terrain. I love the look of a lot of what's out there but I can't make up my mind as to what looks 'right', trying to go with mini-scale buildings on map sheets that look huge or map scale scenery that the mechs tower over. Adding 3D terrain to map sheets kinda breaks the whole thing for me. I've had the same issue with dropships, I'd love to do one or two for dioramas or scene-setting for my forces, but a map scale ship is more useful for gaming.
I can help here.
Hexmaps are great for convenience and I do use them.
But for miniatures gaming 3up the map scale to make real scale. i.e 6mm. This is what was recommended for miniatures gaming in the old school Battletech Compendium.
I do something similar but choose 5cm per 'hex'/point of range. This is a neat halfway between official ground scale and map scale, you can use proper ground scale vehicles and buildings, and the combat scale seems fair. It works very well and allows you to have a terrain filled battlefield without being over or undersized.
As a terrain master, I'm curious what you considered 'scaled correctly' for CBT terrain. I love the look of a lot of what's out there but I can't make up my mind as to what looks 'right', trying to go with mini-scale buildings on map sheets that look huge or map scale scenery that the mechs tower over. Adding 3D terrain to map sheets kinda breaks the whole thing for me. I've had the same issue with dropships, I'd love to do one or two for dioramas or scene-setting for my forces, but a map scale ship is more useful for gaming.
I can help here.
Hexmaps are great for convenience and I do use them.
But for miniatures gaming 3up the map scale to make real scale. i.e 6mm. This is what was recommended for miniatures gaming in the old school Battletech Compendium.
I do something similar but choose 5cm per 'hex'/point of range. This is a neat halfway between official ground scale and map scale, you can use proper ground scale vehicles and buildings, and the combat scale seems fair. It works very well and allows you to have a terrain filled battlefield without being over or undersized.
TLDR: 1:1 too small, 3:1 too big, 2:1 just right
Thanks for the input, that is helpful. I've looked at some of the Miniatures Rules iterations over the years and certainly thought that was there 3D terrain made the most sense. I think I'm content to leave 3D buildings out of my map sheet games for now, even if some of the models are quite nice.
ottokill wrote: I took a picture of a rebased MWDA clix Mjolnir. If anyone has a different Mjolnir(IWM, etc.) could you please post a picture of it next to a ruler for comparison. I would like to see if some of the MWDA mechs are usable with the others. Thanks.
While I don't have a model of Mewmew, I did measure a couple of my Ironwind models to help some people understand the scale.
And since the Mewmew is a light mech, it's probably pretty close to the Fireball I have.
Our group has some people who still have their MWDA collections, and bring the Vehicles out from time to time. The base you have on it is pretty close to the base on the Fireball, Banshee, and Gauntlet pictured above, so other than being larger than life for a Light mech, it fits on the table better than a few of the other Ironwind models like the Tarantula or Poseidon.
H.B.M.C. wrote: I'm certain some of the vehicles go back to the 80's.
I don't see anything older then 2008 there.
I believe some of the sculpts that Ironwind has made were made from Ral Partha molds, or based on the same design. So it could be that far back, originally.
H.B.M.C. wrote: I'm certain some of the vehicles go back to the 80's.
I don't see anything older then 2008 there.
I believe some of the sculpts that Ironwind has made were made from Ral Partha molds, or based on the same design. So it could be that far back, originally.
Yeah, the reissue date by IWM doesn't necessarily represent the actual original release date of the sculpt.
Most of my collection goes back to the Ral Partha days so well before 2008. Late 90s to early 2000s. I've since picked up some stuff from Ironwind to round things out and then kickstarter allowed me to flesh out some new forces. I now have about a battalion for each of the 5 major houses plus Rasalhague, a merc unit, comstar/word of blake and about a trinary for 4 clans. The mechs from 3060 were pretty fugly and their configs seemed like rehases of existing designs so I don't plan on building any post jihad forces.
got mekHQ working and daaaaamn that is one complicated system, looking forward to cracking it though as I quite like the idea of knowing every single mektech, pilot, Dr etc.
Anyone on Dakka run any Megamek campaigns and can give advice ?
Whilst I haven't organised everything and put it in foam yet, I have gone over and updated my full listing of 'Mechs.
475 (145 Clan, 330 Inner Sphere) 'Mechs in total.
Adding things from this Kickstarter actually added 'Mechs I did not own previously, specifically the Linebacker, Battle Cobra, Crossbow, Conjurer, Goshawk, Pack Hunter, Highlander (no really!) and the Flashman.
Looking at duplicates, some highlights include 6 Pumas, 5 Centurions, 6 Hunchbacks, 5 Dragons (*groan*), 7 Catapults, 5 Grasshoppers, 7 Madcats (3 different plastic Mad Cats!), 7 Zeus, 5 Atlases and 5 Daishis!
Seriously. I don't understand why the Dragon isn't better. It's ubiquitous and great looking and so underwhelming.
In the case of the original, well... the AC/5 is sort of crap, and weight-wise 60 tonners kind of drew the sweet spot short stick. The Grand Dragon is decent enough for what it is, though, and you can use the same model.
Seriously. I don't understand why the Dragon isn't better. It's ubiquitous and great looking and so underwhelming.
In the case of the original, well... the AC/5 is sort of crap, and weight-wise 60 tonners kind of drew the sweet spot short stick. The Grand Dragon is decent enough for what it is, though, and you can use the same model.
So long as a 60 tonner doesn't jump, it can compare pretty well with 55 tonners. I worked out that if you dropped the Dragon by 5 tons, you're only losing out on 1 ton of equipment. However, the Quickdraw get seriously hosed as each of its jump jets weigh in twice as much as a Wolverine's, so gaining out on about 1.5 tons of equipment by dropping 5 tons in weight.
Seriously. I don't understand why the Dragon isn't better. It's ubiquitous and great looking and so underwhelming.
It has a very specific role in kurita military doctrine. It is a pursuit mech designed to run down lights in keeping with the kurita preference for fast heavy mechs.
Think about being a mechwarrior in a commando or something similar and that heavy mech is staying with you or catching up to you.
The improvement to the grand dragon variant near the end of the 4th succession war turned it from a decent mech into a fantastic mech.
Now if you want to talk about the sherman tank of the combine-cheap, easy to mass produce and kind of "meh" let me introduce you to the panther. the "light" mech that has none of the benefits of being a light mech.
H.B.M.C. wrote: I have a full Lance of Panthers now. They're just so... bland!
Oh come on now, I'll rip on the Dragon but the Panther is great. Besides, I'm pretty sure there's multiple books worth of scenarios you can now play with a lance of Panthers.
The Panther's exactly what you'd expect when a society rejects the idea of medium mechs as a waste of resources. Technically, it's still a light- so it keeps the Combine ethos of lights and heavies going. But in every practical respect, it fights like a medium, filling that gaping hole in their TO&E.
Personally I love the little guys. They're scrappy, and brave enough to forego speed for a chance at reasonably damaging larger mechs.
Gitzbitah wrote: The Panther's exactly what you'd expect when a society rejects the idea of medium mechs as a waste of resources. Technically, it's still a light- so it keeps the Combine ethos of lights and heavies going. But in every practical respect, it fights like a medium, filling that gaping hole in their TO&E.
Personally I love the little guys. They're scrappy, and brave enough to forego speed for a chance at reasonably damaging larger mechs.
I would agree if it was a 5/8/5 movement. But it's just too slow to really fill that role. I'll take Shadowhawk 2k anyday over a Panther.
Gitzbitah wrote: The Panther's exactly what you'd expect when a society rejects the idea of medium mechs as a waste of resources. Technically, it's still a light- so it keeps the Combine ethos of lights and heavies going. But in every practical respect, it fights like a medium, filling that gaping hole in their TO&E.
Personally I love the little guys. They're scrappy, and brave enough to forego speed for a chance at reasonably damaging larger mechs.
I would agree if it was a 5/8/5 movement. But it's just too slow to really fill that role. I'll take Shadowhawk 2k anyday over a Panther.
or if you have to go with a light mech with a ranged support weapon a Valkyrie.
I honestly like the Panths quite a bit, they're tough hombres.
But I've also just printed a Mauler so that I could add a stupid assault to a kuritan lance, so...
(I love the looks of the Mauler and I've been fond of it since I saw it on the Battletech Compendium. But 4x AC/2s is nuts. And the "Daboku", the 3025 era variant, is endearingly bad and ridiculous. The 1K is surprisingly decent, though).
Gitzbitah wrote: The Panther's exactly what you'd expect when a society rejects the idea of medium mechs as a waste of resources. Technically, it's still a light- so it keeps the Combine ethos of lights and heavies going. But in every practical respect, it fights like a medium, filling that gaping hole in their TO&E.
Personally I love the little guys. They're scrappy, and brave enough to forego speed for a chance at reasonably damaging larger mechs.
I would agree if it was a 5/8/5 movement. But it's just too slow to really fill that role. I'll take Shadowhawk 2k anyday over a Panther.
or if you have to go with a light mech with a ranged support weapon a Valkyrie.
Very interesting! The Shadowhawk's a no brainer- even by BV, it's 1.5 Panthers.
But there aren't many people who would choose a single LRM10 rack over a PPC- especially when it only has a single ton of reloads.
For speed and maneuverability, no question, 5/8/5 beats 4/6/4 hollow. But the Panther's about being tough enough to hold still, and put a few PPC shots accurately on target to open some holes for your Jenners to exploit.
There are only a few light mechs i am a fan of, i mostly gravitate towards mediums to do the same job, i love my wolverines for example but if i have to use them-
.talon
.night hawk
.razorback
.jakalope
On the clan side it is
.puma/adder
.piranha
.fire falcon
Is there a full list of the plastic mechs produced? I'm trying to go over the Succession Wars and the Clan Invasion TROs to see which one haven't been produced so far to try and find 3d versions of those...
Albertorius wrote: Is there a full list of the plastic mechs produced? I'm trying to go over the Succession Wars and the Clan Invasion TROs to see which one haven't been produced so far to try and find 3d versions of those...
From this Kickstarter?
*deep breath*
Archer Archer (Kell) Atlas Awesome Axeman Banshee Battlemaster Black Knight Blackjack Bushwacker Cataphract Catapult Centurion Commando Crab Crockett Crusader Cyclops Dragon Enforcer Exterminator Flashman Grasshopper Griffon Guillotine Hatchetman Highlander Hunchback Jenner King Crab Lancelot Locust Longbow Marauder Marauder (Grayson) Marauder II Mercury Mongoose Nightstar Orion Panther Phoenix Hawk Raven Rifleman Sentinel Shadow Hawk Spider Stalker Stinger Thug Thunderbolt Trebuchet Valkyrie Victor Warhammer Wasp Wolfhound Wolverine Zeus
Battle Cobra Behemoth Black Hawk Black Lanner Cauldron-Born Conjurer Cougar Crossbow Daishi Daishi (Widowmaker) Dasher Dragonfly Fenris Fire Falcon Gladiator Goshawk Grendel Hankyu Hellion Horned Owl Howler Hunchback IIC Incubus Kingfisher Kodiak Koshi Linebacker Loki Mad Cat Mad Cat (Pryde) Man 'O War Marauder IIC Masakari Night Gyr Nobori-nin Nova Cat Pack Hunter Piranha Puma Ryoken Shadow Cat Supernova Thor Turkina Uller Vulture Warhammer IIC
Plus a plastic Annihilator which is some Best Buy exclusive or some other bull gak.
I forgot more than that. Alpha Strike Force Packs!!! All of these had two of the same plastic 'Mechs from the starter box, and two new sculpts. Except for one of them ( ).
Assault Lance Pack Atlas
Blackjack
Grasshopper
Victor
Fire Lance Pack Dervish
Stalker
Trebuchet
Shogun (WTF??? There's like 2 of these left in the Inner Sphere, and that's before 3070... why did they include this? )
Striker Lance Pack (aka the worst one)
Panther
Dragon
Quickdraw
Guillotine (the Guillotine is great, and you had to get the above three hunks of junk to get a single one )
H.B.M.C. wrote: I forgot more than that. Alpha Strike Force Packs!!! All of these had two of the same plastic 'Mechs from the starter box, and two new sculpts. Except for one of them ( ).
Shogun (WTF??? There's like 2 of these left in the Inner Sphere, and that's before 3070... why did they include this? )
I was giving you the benefit of the doubt because the AS sculpts are generally covered by the later starter sets I was recently unpacking all of my AS lances and trying to organize them and the Shogun really stood out as an oddball. Only thing I could think to use it for was Wolf's Dragoons but there's not really enough else from the AS packs that stands out as WD fluffy. I think it's going to end up being an old sculpt amongst my mostly Catalyst WD forces.
Gitzbitah wrote: The Panther's exactly what you'd expect when a society rejects the idea of medium mechs as a waste of resources. Technically, it's still a light- so it keeps the Combine ethos of lights and heavies going. But in every practical respect, it fights like a medium, filling that gaping hole in their TO&E.
Personally I love the little guys. They're scrappy, and brave enough to forego speed for a chance at reasonably damaging larger mechs.
I would agree if it was a 5/8/5 movement. But it's just too slow to really fill that role. I'll take Shadowhawk 2k anyday over a Panther.
or if you have to go with a light mech with a ranged support weapon a Valkyrie.
Very interesting! The Shadowhawk's a no brainer- even by BV, it's 1.5 Panthers.
But there aren't many people who would choose a single LRM10 rack over a PPC- especially when it only has a single ton of reloads.
For speed and maneuverability, no question, 5/8/5 beats 4/6/4 hollow. But the Panther's about being tough enough to hold still, and put a few PPC shots accurately on target to open some holes for your Jenners to exploit.
Sure the Panther is better for some roles, the valk is for others, it's all about trade offs, and yeaah, of course you can get more guns and more armor if you increase the mass by over 60%
I didn't want to derail the News thread further but thought it would be fun to share the Succession Wars era Sword of Light company I listed out based on what new plastics I've been able to score recently. I've been reading Warrior: En Garde and was inspired to make some thematic enemies for my Kell Hounds to square off against. I didn't set out to make a skew list but I kind of made a skew list:
Command Lance: Cyclops, Battlemaster, Grand Dragon, Capault K2
Fire Lance: Awesome, Thug, Rifleman (may swap this out), Warhammer (can be pre-Mallory's World Yorinaga)
Cavalry Lance: Panther, Jenner, Shadow Hawk 2K, Griffin
Do you like PPCs? Because it seems like SW era Dracs like PPCs.
Depends. Back before then unseen were removed, Thugs were supposed to be extinct. Then when then unseen were written out, they had space to fill so some downgraded variants from TR2750 were added into a revised TR3025. In fluff, the downgraded Thugs were built by Earthworks which was primarily in FWL/CC space so there shouldn't be many in Kurita space. A might be floating around as salvage and maybe some were even provided in a tech exchange or as foreign aid since the FWL and CC are loosely allied with Kurita at this point by the Concord of Kapteyn. In the 3030s, Comstar gave Kurita a lot of Star League designs downgraded to 3025 spec so they might have gotten some Thugs then. The Hatamoto-Chi looks suspiciously like a Thug that was fitted into a Charger chassis. Kurita probably liked the concept and decided to rework it with locally produced parts to make it more logistically friendly.
Strangely enough, the Master Unit List gives availability for the 3025 Thug to FWL and Kurita.
Post Thu, 18/Nov/2021 10:01:20 Subject: Classic Battletech Is Awesome: the Thread!
How common were Thugs in this era?
cannonfodr wrote: Depends. Back before then unseen were removed, Thugs were supposed to be extinct. Then when then unseen were written out, they had space to fill so some downgraded variants from TR2750 were added into a revised TR3025. In fluff, the downgraded Thugs were built by Earthworks which was primarily in FWL/CC space so there shouldn't be many in Kurita space. A might be floating around as salvage and maybe some were even provided in a tech exchange or as foreign aid since the FWL and CC are loosely allied with Kurita at this point by the Concord of Kapteyn. In the 3030s, Comstar gave Kurita a lot of Star League designs downgraded to 3025 spec so they might have gotten some Thugs then. The Hatamoto-Chi looks suspiciously like a Thug that was fitted into a Charger chassis. Kurita probably liked the concept and decided to rework it with locally produced parts to make it more logistically friendly.
Strangely enough, the Master Unit List gives availability for the 3025 Thug to FWL and Kurita.
Post Thu, 18/Nov/2021 10:01:20 Subject: Classic Battletech Is Awesome: the Thread!
How common were Thugs in this era?
I was also basing that choice off one of the short stories in Shrapnel (either #3 or #4) that was earlier in First or Second SW and featured a lance of elite Kuritan Thugs wrecking house before
Do you like PPCs? Because it seems like SW era Dracs like PPCs.
They never stopped liking PPCs
It is a matte of lore in the universe that each faction prefers a certain weapons package and combat tactics. they vary slightly by unit within their respective militaries (see the field manuals)but overall the great houses and the clans favor this approach.
The Combines love of PPCs is mirrored by the Lyran love of gauss, the Davion love of auto cannons, the odd Marik obsession with light gauss etc...
aphyon wrote: ... the odd Marik obsession with light gauss etc...
The Light Gauss Rifle was introduced by the Free Worlds League and (IIRC) first had it's rules and background presented in Field Manual: Free Worlds League, much like the Lyrans received the Heavy Gauss Rifle and the Kuritans received the Medium-Range Missiles.
I think it's funny how so many think that Davion has an obsession with Autocannons, but they also do a lot with lasers, too. Ever here of the ReEngineered Laser? That was NAIS work.
Charistoph wrote: I think it's funny how so many think that Davion has an obsession with Autocannons, but they also do a lot with lasers, too. Ever here of the ReEngineered Laser? That was NAIS work.
the "davions love autocanons" meme stems from a minor mention in one of the tro 3025 entries mentioned "duke davions love of autocanons" and in fairness the two "most davion" medium mechs are proably the centurion and enforcer.. that said the 3025 D varients tend to strip missiles and machine guns for additional armor and turn mechs into laser boats.
aphyon wrote: ... the odd Marik obsession with light gauss etc...
The Light Gauss Rifle was introduced by the Free Worlds League and (IIRC) first had it's rules and background presented in Field Manual: Free Worlds League, much like the Lyrans received the Heavy Gauss Rifle and the Kuritans received the Medium-Range Missiles.
Uh so yeah that's what i said, house Marik is the free worlds league, and they do love their light gauss
Charistoph wrote:I think it's funny how so many think that Davion has an obsession with Autocannons, but they also do a lot with lasers, too. Ever here of the ReEngineered Laser? That was NAIS work.
I think it more stems from the almost devotion level of use of the RAC specifically the RAC 5
Even looking at the iconic mechs that every faction has access to you see the same thing-marauder with PPCs-Kurita, marauder with gauss/heavy gauss Steiner, marauder with RAC 5-Davion, marauder with stealth armor-Capellan etc...
aphyon wrote: ... the odd Marik obsession with light gauss etc...
The Light Gauss Rifle was introduced by the Free Worlds League and (IIRC) first had it's rules and background presented in Field Manual: Free Worlds League, much like the Lyrans received the Heavy Gauss Rifle and the Kuritans received the Medium-Range Missiles.
Uh so yeah that's what i said, house Marik is the free worlds league, and they do love their light gauss
You said it was an 'odd Marik obsession'. It's not anymore of an 'odd obsession' for House Marik than it is for any other House to favor a weapon system built within their borders.
I meant it was odd because you are paying the weight and ammo requirements to get a weapon that is effectively an ER large laser with slightly longer range.
Granted everything is a trade off, heat sinks are "ammo" for energy weapons, gauss rifles are very heavy, take up a bunch of crit space,and explode when hit with internal crits, but generate almost no heat etc....
Maybe my Steiner is showing but i will take a 15 point wrecker over an 8 pointer.
aphyon wrote: I meant it was odd because you are paying the weight and ammo requirements to get a weapon that is effectively an ER large laser with slightly longer range.
Granted everything is a trade off, heat sinks are "ammo" for energy weapons, gauss rifles are very heavy, take up a bunch of crit space,and explode when hit with internal crits, but generate almost no heat etc....
Maybe my Steiner is showing but i will take a 15 point wrecker over an 8 pointer.
I always thought the same with light goose, but a buddy of mine ... who plays marik, did not know the connection till now, uses them all the time and over the game the lack of heat really adds up against my more toasty mechs I like, pretty sure he uses a Night star with 4 lights goose and a few mediums but its been a while.
aphyon wrote: I meant it was odd because you are paying the weight and ammo requirements to get a weapon that is effectively an ER large laser with slightly longer range.
Granted everything is a trade off, heat sinks are "ammo" for energy weapons, gauss rifles are very heavy, take up a bunch of crit space,and explode when hit with internal crits, but generate almost no heat etc....
Maybe my Steiner is showing but i will take a 15 point wrecker over an 8 pointer.
The Light Gauss is not a replacement for the ER Laser, it's a replacement for the ac/10 class that outranges everything save the Clan ER L Laser.
I'm not a fan of the LGR myself, I tend to prefer medium range bruisers (the ENF and CNT are long time favs of mine for instance) but it's def got a use. you'd use it on a design that might use a AC5 or even AC2 in the past.
I've often thought the Jaegermech'd be a good canidate for LGRs
Yeah the LGR is an odd one specifically because it weighs as much as the full-sized Clan version, and is so outclassed it's not funny. I'd rather take Large Lasers in the place of LGRs.
HGRs on the other hand. And, even better, Silver Bullet Gauss! Yes! More of that please!
A Thunder Hawk with a pair of regular Gauss Rifles and a Silver Bullet Gauss to back them up is a thing of beauty.
One in our group uses an LGR-equipped Malice with great affect, but it is a very heavy sniper in that position.
Still, a lot depends on what tech one is allowed to use. Indeed, that LGR-euqipped Malice doesn't take much to make it equivalently equipped GR-equipped Malice when using Clan equipment.
Still, I spooked the crap out of his last night when I had a 20-ton, 20 Cruising VTOL with a Booby Trap that was able to find hiding places along its path to it. Apparently 305 points of damage to everything in a hex can be scary (especially when an Atlas dies to a slightly lighter Hovercraft equipped the same earlier in the game).
Charistoph wrote: I think it's funny how so many think that Davion has an obsession with Autocannons, but they also do a lot with lasers, too. Ever here of the ReEngineered Laser? That was NAIS work.
the "davions love autocanons" meme stems from a minor mention in one of the tro 3025 entries mentioned "duke davions love of autocanons" and in fairness the two "most davion" medium mechs are proably the centurion and enforcer.. that said the 3025 D varients tend to strip missiles and machine guns for additional armor and turn mechs into laser boats.
I mean, there’s also the Davion (attempted) replacement for the Rifleman in the Jagermech
(Half of the Davion Rifleman variants going with bigger ACs was a thing too, the other half went with PPCs)
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H.B.M.C. wrote: Yeah the LGR is an odd one specifically because it weighs as much as the full-sized Clan version, and is so outclassed it's not funny. I'd rather take Large Lasers in the place of LGRs.
HGRs on the other hand. And, even better, Silver Bullet Gauss! Yes! More of that please!
A Thunder Hawk with a pair of regular Gauss Rifles and a Silver Bullet Gauss to back them up is a thing of beauty.
I have to asks why the SBG love when a HAG 20 just plain does it better ? Is it a self imposed Inner Sphere thing ?
Damn I so want to throw a Regent-C down on the table.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Yeah the LGR is an odd one specifically because it weighs as much as the full-sized Clan version, and is so outclassed it's not funny. I'd rather take Large Lasers in the place of LGRs.
HGRs on the other hand. And, even better, Silver Bullet Gauss! Yes! More of that please!
A Thunder Hawk with a pair of regular Gauss Rifles and a Silver Bullet Gauss to back them up is a thing of beauty.
I have to asks why the SBG love when a HAG 20 just plain does it better ? Is it a self imposed Inner Sphere thing ?
Damn I so want to throw a Regent-C down on the table.
Considering mixing tech is currently classified as "Experimental", it won't be available unless one is playing Clan side. There are also people who prefer to just use stock machines and one faction, yeah. There is also a challenge in using IS Tech vs Clan Tech and winning. And let's face it, there is no other way to cluster a Gauss attack in the Inner Sphere without buying Clantech.
Though, it is amusing that HAG is considered Standard while the SBG is considered Advanced. Crazy stuff in consideration.
I just think by the time you get to the current era continuing to insist on clan and IS as separate tech bases is just a little goofy. I mean there are so many canon design that are mixed tech anyways.
Jerram wrote: I just think by the time you get to the current era continuing to insist on clan and IS as separate tech bases is just a little goofy. I mean there are so many canon design that are mixed tech anyways.
I'm not disagreeing, I am just pointing out how it the different standards that apply right now. If nothing else, I think the introduction of IlClan should make mixed tech a Standard thing. But if the idea is that it should be kept out of "tournament" play, then one is making a lot of "current" designs unplayable as stock and would have to be altered to fit within that paradigm. Something I've done so I can run my Clan Mechs when we do Introtech night.
Do you have the wording of mixed tech is experimental are we sure that doesn't just apply to player created which are at least advanced anyways because the canon mixed tech design seem to be standard according to the MUL.
Jerram wrote: Do you have the wording of mixed tech is experimental are we sure that doesn't just apply to player created which are at least advanced anyways because the canon mixed tech design seem to be standard according to the MUL.
The Tech Manual does not allow for the mixing of tech. It's either all Inner Sphere or all Clan. That automatically makes it not Standard.
The old copy of Tactical Operations I have specifically state that these are experimental designs due to the general incompatibility of the technologies under "Mixed Technologies".
While not official or canon, I haven't found a mech-building software that doesn't consider such construction Experimental. One MUST pick a technology and stick to it short of Experimental.
Not including the QSR there are three rules levels Introductory, Standard and Advanced with standard being the default tourney level.
Experimental is an in universe designation on availability that can and often does change by era.
If you're playing a tournament or a pick up game and the mechs listed in the MUL as standard rules you can use it and that includes a good number of cannon mixed tech designs* (MUL is Official and Canon)
If you're at the point where you're worried about advanced rules you're already having discussions with your opponent so yeah if I'm playing in the Iclan era and we've agreed to construct our own mechs, I'm mixing tech.
Just because they are stock designs, doesn't necessarily mean your custom designs can be considered Standard/Tournament Legal.
Until they Errata it, custom mixed tech designs are Experimental. I'm all for the change, and people can do what they want locally, but it doesn't change how things are written now.
Huh ? I never said my custom designs would be standard/tournament legal, where did you read that ?
If I'm playing a game of Btech its one of two overarching situations.
Tournament/low discussion pick up game. No custom mechs at all but canon mixed tech mechs.
Therefore any game where custom mech are being used involve decent prediscussion with the opponent and in that situation if we're using custom mechs in the Iclan era I'm going to use mixed tech
Charistoph wrote: Just because they are stock designs, doesn't necessarily mean your custom designs can be considered Standard/Tournament Legal.
Until they Errata it, custom mixed tech designs are Experimental. I'm all for the change, and people can do what they want locally, but it doesn't change how things are written now.
*notes that generally custom designs period aren't allowed in tournies*
that said, a lot of stuff by 3145 that was experimental has been moved into advanced instead. it's lined out in Intersteller ops.
The really interesting thing is that experimental designs do not get their status updated.
So a mech that would have been mixed and experimental in the 3060s, like the Raptor RTX1-OR, is still classed as Experimental in 3145, while a far more technologically advanced mixed design like the Firestorm is considered Standard rules.
Jerram wrote:Therefore any game where custom mech are being used involve decent prediscussion with the opponent and in that situation if we're using custom mechs in the Iclan era I'm going to use mixed tech
Not really if you have a group that regularly meets up. For us, Mixed Tech is only available when it's an Anything Goes night. Customs are quite common as well.
BrianDavion wrote:*notes that generally custom designs period aren't allowed in tournies*
Heh, true, however one of the mech-building programs lists it as "tournament-level" for Standard games.
BrianDavion wrote:that said, a lot of stuff by 3145 that was experimental has been moved into advanced instead. it's lined out in Intersteller ops.
That's the tech itself, not necessarily the procedures.
Gitzbitah wrote:The really interesting thing is that experimental designs do not get their status updated.
So a mech that would have been mixed and experimental in the 3060s, like the Raptor RTX1-OR, is still classed as Experimental in 3145, while a far more technologically advanced mixed design like the Firestorm is considered Standard rules.
True. Why a Bulldog Variant is still Experimental, but the Firestorm isn't is not logical.
Gitzbitah wrote: The really interesting thing is that experimental designs do not get their status updated.
So a mech that would have been mixed and experimental in the 3060s, like the Raptor RTX1-OR, is still classed as Experimental in 3145, while a far more technologically advanced mixed design like the Firestorm is considered Standard rules.
Experimental is not, advanced or not advanced it is prototype vs mass produced The RTX1-OR was never mass produced and probably used jury rigged connections instead of the easily manufacturing connections of mech designed to be mass produced.
Charistoph I'm going to try keeping this nice, I would either find someone to play who would be fair or I'd find somewhere else to play.
I don't see any hexes so are you using the miniature rules and how do you find them as compared to the standard ?
Yes, 3d terrain rule with simplified firing arcs are much more fluid, we also use some optional rules that speed up game play like forced withdrawal and fire as you bare (no declare fire phase).
Once i went to 3d terrain rules i never wanted to go back to hexes.
Jerram wrote: Charistoph I'm going to try keeping this nice, I would either find someone to play who would be fair or I'd find somewhere else to play.
I'm not arguing. I'm merely pointing out that our group has it set up so we have one person making the guidelines for the week, and we go by that. Our Battlemaster, if you will. This takes a lot of prediscussion out of the picture. And in this case, we operate to 3 standards: Introtech, Standard, and Anything Goes. Standard is any tech in Total Warfare or the Tech Manual. Anything Goes is if you can find the rules, you can include it. Mixed Tech is not in the Tech Manual, as I pointed out earlier, so it gets relegated to Anything Goes.
We do have a smaller group doing a campaign, but we're so far from needing to worry about mixed tech, it isn't funny, as we're in the middle of the Auregan Restoration timeframe. The closest we've gotten to Clantech is finding a Leopard with Minnesota Tribe equipment in it, and all that is still Star League tech.
Seems like you're leaving a lot of interesting stuff on the table out of nothing but stubbornness.
"CASE II? You can't use CASE II! That's not in the TechManual!" *pops monocle*
This is why I like the BattleMech Manual. The 90% of what 90% of people use approach allows for "Advanced" tech to be used in a reasonable fashion, without diving into the deep end right away.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Seems like you're leaving a lot of interesting stuff on the table out of nothing but stubbornness.
"CASE II? You can't use CASE II! That's not in the TechManual!" *pops monocle*
This is why I like the BattleMech Manual. The 90% of what 90% of people use approach allows for "Advanced" tech to be used in a reasonable fashion, without diving into the deep end right away.
That is why the optional rule book is so great. all of them are legal to use, you just need to take the good and the bad together. the guy i was playing with (the marik player) was going on about the bonus's LBXs get against aircraft last week...without pointing out that it required you specifically load FLAK ammo. So, i was going WTF? it doesn't do that.... until the actual rule was clarified.
We are fine if you want to use FLAK, AP or any other type of ammo from the tac ops book, you just have to actually have to load it and take all the penalties along with the benefits.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Seems like you're leaving a lot of interesting stuff on the table out of nothing but stubbornness.
Not really, it provides an easy standard for everyone to work with and what to reasonably expect. We work with all 3 levels on a rather consistent basis, (though the Standard level is a little less often). To use your example, Case II is available on Anything Goes nights, which happen about twice a month on average.
As it is, we're getting a feel as to how much is too much for a night, and so eventually trying to just have a standard BV2 for the assigned tech level.
As it is, this past week was Introtech, and because of the low turnout on Black Friday, we'll be redoing it again.
When you have a group that meets up regularly, it is actually quite easy to come to a quick agreement on such things.
Standard is defined as the tournament rules, custom mechs are not used in tournament. Just because the tech manual is how the units used in standard were created does not make it part of the standard rules.
Quoting Sarna
The Tech Manual contains the construction rules and statistics that were used to build the canon "Tournament Legal" units. While unit construction is not part of the standard rule set for playing games, this is the book that allows the player to build their own custom units. It also contains numerous short technical overviews of various weapons and equipment, as well as overviews of the technology behind BattleMechs themselves.
So basically someone says on these nights everyone here has to play with my home grown rules. Sorry but unless there's a tournament or multi player scenario, me and my opponent should be able to play whatever variant we wish on BattleTech night. Someone else dictating what we play unnecessarily rubs me the wrong way.
This probably comes off a lot more antagonistic than I want it to because for all of that, I'd love to sit down across the table from you and play a game of intro tech or anything goes.
You might be confusing tournament rules with tournaments :b In all seriousness if you're having a pick up game or a multiplayer extravaganza its a good baseline. But normally you're far more likely to come to an agreement with your opponent on how to deviate from that baseline.
chaos0xomega wrote: I didn't think "tournament rules" were a thing Battletech players really cared about.
there's three "levels" of play in battletech, introductory, "tournment" and advanced this losely adheres to the old level 1, level 2 and level 3 standard from the FASA days. however they moved a few things from level 2 which where a bit more complex and tended to slow games down such as arrow IV artillery from level 2 to "advanced rules"
BrianDavion wrote: LOL anyone else catch the 40k referance in the new recguide that came out today?
Do tell.
it's in the fluff for the Jade Pheonix Mech.
According to the design team, the chassis of each Jade Phoenix contains a one-milligram grain of armor from the
Timber Wolf Aidan Pryde heroically died in during the Battle of Tukayyid.
pretty clearly IMHO a playful referance to 40k Terminators containing a shard of the emperor's armor
BrianDavion wrote: LOL anyone else catch the 40k referance in the new recguide that came out today?
Do tell.
it's in the fluff for the Jade Pheonix Mech.
According to the design team, the chassis of each Jade Phoenix contains a one-milligram grain of armor from the
Timber Wolf Aidan Pryde heroically died in during the Battle of Tukayyid.
pretty clearly IMHO a playful referance to 40k Terminators containing a shard of the emperor's armor
More like the references of medieval relics that had a splinter of the cross.
kodos wrote: looks more like both used the same historical legend on how some special armour/weapons were made rather than a direct copy from 40k
Probably, but I guarantee you that more gamers are going to be familiar with the Terminator armor one than the actual historical one.
Wouldn't be so sure. I myself worked at GW for five years and didn't make the connection to terminator armor, whereas I did readily remember the stories about tha splinters of the true cross.
Even me, as most of my gaming time was Space Marine, would not have got the reference before the Terminator text was mentioned here, mainly because the Crux Terminatus is not an essential part of the background any more and Terminators being sidelined anyway
yet the religious aspect of relics in historic armoury is something that is more common to me and also more important
similar as any reference to space Navigators says "Dune" to me and not "40k"
Did anyone ever play the Solaris VII dueling rules from the original boxed set back in the day? I just got an immaculate copy of the box and it's a beautiful set, really want to try out the rules. It's 1/4 hex scale and 1/4 time scale so weapons are at 4x range and you have an extra sheet to make weapon groups because they have firing delays across multiple turns like in MechWarrior. Seems like the rules still work, they give you updated weapon profiles with 4x ranges to match the hex scale, and everything operates on a 120 max heat scale so weapon heat values are 4x standard but things like moving are still 1 or 2 heat so there's increased granularity there. The maps are also wild, really want to try the Factory with the elevated multi-story buildings. I'm finishing up a Yen-Lo Wang using the modern metal mini, will have to run him through a duel!
H.B.M.C. wrote: I've heard SRMs were mighty dangerous back then because of the cycle times, but you paid for it in heat.
Indeed, all SRMs were Delay 1 (meaning they needed a solaris turn to reload after shooting), so you could shoot them on alternate turns, but every shot generatyed four times as much heat. All lasers save the large ones had the same. The heat table was expanded, yes, but heat sinks only dissipated their regular amount per turn, so...
OTOH, MGs were murder in Solaris, with 0 Heat, 0 Delay and up to 12 hexes of range...
Well i was not really following what was going on here as i was in the middle of my own DUST game but i did pop over every so often to snap some pics-
This was a fedcom combined double lance force going up against the clanners. in the manner of operation bulldog/serpent.
The had to proxy a couple of the clan mechs as we did not have the control sheet for them. the puma/adder was a jenner IIC, not sure what the grendal was being run as. the nova, madcat & gargoyle were all what they were.
On the IS side the davions sent a tank lance X3 Ajax's and a Manteufel. the Steiner's part was a highlander, marauder, marauder II and blackjack.
Spoiler:
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The next time i popped in the ranged had closed a bit.
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The last bit i saw was this pic, apparently the tanks were wrecking the clanners for an IS victory.
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Now i think the clans might have done better had the new player listened to the suggestions from the guy teaching him.... instead of doing silly things like using a jenner to DFA a tank.
I usually use them as a last ditch effort for the last turn of the game for fun, or if nothing else will work and the unit is already in retreat, but otherwise unarmed.
BattleTech wrote:The next sourcebook for the ilClan era, Tamar Rising, will be available on the Catalyst Game Labs web store and via retail distribution on Wednesday, January 19! Here's a sneak peek at the Table of Contents.
I've loved mechwarrior since mechwarrior 2 came out ages ago, and I just recently picked up the beginner box for myself and my son to play. Seems pretty cool so far!
Also been reading a lot of the old novels. I read the Jade Falcon books when I was a kid and I remember really liking them. Started with the Warrior trilogy from Michael Stackpole and its pretty great!
daedalus-templarius wrote: I've loved mechwarrior since mechwarrior 2 came out ages ago, and I just recently picked up the beginner box for myself and my son to play. Seems pretty cool so far!
Also been reading a lot of the old novels. I read the Jade Falcon books when I was a kid and I remember really liking them. Started with the Warrior trilogy from Michael Stackpole and its pretty great!
I just finished the Warrior Trilogy and it was great the whole way thru. I've got a bit more that I want to read before I start on any Clan stuff but I have the JF trilogy on my pile as well. I'm surprised at how well what I have read so far has held up.
daedalus-templarius wrote: I've loved mechwarrior since mechwarrior 2 came out ages ago, and I just recently picked up the beginner box for myself and my son to play. Seems pretty cool so far!
Also been reading a lot of the old novels. I read the Jade Falcon books when I was a kid and I remember really liking them. Started with the Warrior trilogy from Michael Stackpole and its pretty great!
I just finished the Warrior Trilogy and it was great the whole way thru. I've got a bit more that I want to read before I start on any Clan stuff but I have the JF trilogy on my pile as well. I'm surprised at how well what I have read so far has held up.
The warrior trilogy has, hands down, the best line in science fiction period.
"GRAB THE PLATES! THEY'RE VITAL MILITARY INTELLIGENCE!"
I'm getting ready to start a merc campaign and wanted to add some Battletech content to my youtube.
For those that enjoy listening to some discussion on game systems.
Auticus I watched your video. Thanks for taking the time to go through that, it was quite well done.
It all seems so complex; If I get the $50 box, that is enough to play with for a long while, yes?
I'm glad you found it useful; a couple of friends of mine also jumped in today afterward so its an exciting time (for me)
I'm not sure what $50 box you are referring to. There is a box with like 22 miniatures in it that is a starter box that has lasted many people I know their entire battle tech experience. The clan invasion boxes run similar with lances and you can get by with a single lance worth of models forever as well if you don't mind playing the same mechs and you are playing in an era appropriate game (for example if you buy a clan box with clan omni mechs, then you're fine unless your playgroup is playing pre 3050 (succession wars or before)).
The older starter box is Inner Sphere mechs so appropriate for any era. The new clan invasion starter box has five mechs in it (clan era).
I'm getting ready to start a merc campaign and wanted to add some Battletech content to my youtube.
For those that enjoy listening to some discussion on game systems.
Auticus I watched your video. Thanks for taking the time to go through that, it was quite well done.
It all seems so complex; If I get the $50 box, that is enough to play with for a long while, yes?
I'm glad you found it useful; a couple of friends of mine also jumped in today afterward so its an exciting time (for me)
I'm not sure what $50 box you are referring to. There is a box with like 22 miniatures in it that is a starter box that has lasted many people I know their entire battle tech experience. The clan invasion boxes run similar with lances and you can get by with a single lance worth of models forever as well if you don't mind playing the same mechs and you are playing in an era appropriate game (for example if you buy a clan box with clan omni mechs, then you're fine unless your playgroup is playing pre 3050 (succession wars or before)).
The older starter box is Inner Sphere mechs so appropriate for any era. The new clan invasion starter box has five mechs in it (clan era).
Nice. Yeah that one comes with eight plastic battlemechs, or two lances worth. You can easily not get any other mechs and just stick with those eight.
The only time you would HAVE to put yourself out there and get more is if you wanted to do a company or more as a company of mechs is three lances.
Those are the big battles though - and likely using Alpha Strike rules.
Every group and area is different but most groups I am experienced with predominantly are running lances or the equivalent and as you get more comfortable nothing stops you from identifying some mechs you really like and finding just those to add to your collection
auticus wrote: Nice. Yeah that one comes with eight plastic battlemechs, or two lances worth. You can easily not get any other mechs and just stick with those eight.
The only time you would HAVE to put yourself out there and get more is if you wanted to do a company or more as a company of mechs is three lances.
Those are the big battles though - and likely using Alpha Strike rules.
Every group and area is different but most groups I am experienced with predominantly are running lances or the equivalent and as you get more comfortable nothing stops you from identifying some mechs you really like and finding just those to add to your collection
Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. I'll grab it soon. cheers and see you around here.
Game of Armoured Combat is a great start. I'd even suggest getting the Beginner's Box at the same time, both because it's a great way to ease you into the game, comes with two more 'Mechs (one unique to that set), and an extra map (having map variety is good!).
I just got the Clan Invasion Reinforcements box in and if you're just looking for gaming value this is a tremendous next step after the starter boxes. It comes with a ton of card standee mechs with a variety of record sheets for each, card support vehicles that also have dust storm hexes on the reverse, and a new map with special rules for those dust storms. Also included are simplified rules for the support vehicles to add some spice to your scenarios without having to learn all the vehicle rules. Really great box that I hope is widely available.
Played our biggest game yet so far based on a scenario I wrote up for my Gray Death Legion. We played 3040 era so nothing too fancy, two lances per side, around 7500BV before pilots. The setup was that the GDL are on pirate patrol and intercept some bandits trying to get off planet with their loot. The pirate dropship is disabled in atmo and ejects two cargo pods and then the pirates combat drop out to secure the loot on the ground, and the GDL drops in after them. It's capture the flag with a bit more elaborate setup. The cargo pods drop and scatter, and each side had a couple extra terrain tiles to modify their side before game start.
Both sides drop in their territory with the goal of defending their cargo pod and bringing the opposing side's pod back to their home edge. The city in the middle is neutral and any damage inflicted to buildings (by weapons or skidding into one) is negative victory points.
Spoiler:
GDL Command Lance and Scout Lance all setup.
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OpFor side deployed... some mech drop rolls were failed...
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Gray and McCall hung back to defend their pod for longer than I probably should have held them back.
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The action heated up as we met around the city.
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A few mechs ended up jumping in and around the urban center for cover but we ended with no collateral damage.
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Most of the game ended up taking place in the pirate territory, with them trying to take advantage of the fact my heaviest hitter was hanging back on the defensive.
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Blake hops up the ridge to claim the opposing cargo pod and prepares to run for it... by this point his mech was mostly armorless.
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Sure, what could go wrong, standing here on a Level 2 ridge holding the flag.
Spoiler:
Blake made it two turns jumping the pod towards home and then suffered an arm hit that knocked the pod free and crippled the Stinger, preventing it from picking it back up. The next turn Clay jumped in with his Wolverine and claimed the pod. Then pretty much the entire table pounced on this spot...
Spoiler:
Thanks to a few lucky rolls the Wolverine survived the turn and his friends cleared out the biggest opposing threats. Big play of the game went to Grayson, taking a turn to cool his Marauder down and making up for it in the Physical phase, double punching the enemy Crusader and crumping it dead with a head strike. All that took us from around 9:30 AM to 6PM with a break for lunch so we called it, figuring that the Wolverine was just zippy enough to jump along the board edge back to safety and outrun the enemy Arched and Marauder that were still in pursuit.
Playing an 8 on 8 game opened up a lot of tactical options but still took us a long time. I'm not sure how anyone finished some of the Company v Company scenarios from the old sourcebooks in a day. It was very fun to try out a scenario I had written, and interesting to see what did and didn't work so I could make updates for future use. Biggest mistake I made was making picking up the objective an action in the Physical Attack phase, so a mech has to move into the hext with the pod and then stand there for a turn waiting to see if it survives long enough to attempt a pickup. I updated my packet to make the pickup attempts a 2MP action taken at the end of the Movement Phase so you potentially have more than one attempt and can better plan out the rest of your turn.
Next match is probably going to be an urban defense setup with some Lyrans I'm finishing up. After that I'm thinking I kinda want to jump ahead and mess with some IlClan nonsense just to get a taste of that tech level. We were holding off on introducing Clan tech proper with the goal of doing a mini-campaign to blood our Clan forces against each other before letting one side run some invasion missions on IS defenders to give us a good sense of Clan stuff and then putting it in context. I think I want to skip that for now and get a sense of what's in some of the Rec Guides and get in the mood for Tamar Rising where we'll get the first real sense of how my beloved GDL are doing as if their re-founding. I'm also building up some Kell Hounds, where I figure it makes more sense for more advanced stuff to show up.
Miguelsan wrote: What a lovely sight. Those Citytech buildings surely bring back memories.
M.
I was worried they would be annoying and not stay put but they ended up working fine and looking great. The urban setups on the modern maps are gorgeous but they're drawn at a very different scale. The CityTech setup gave a great sense of a small metropolis with robots stomping through the streets.
Or they are the robotech minis. It is just the standard Valkyrie and Valkyrie with super parts.
Alway nice to see unseens on the table. i bought a couple of the catalyst plastic sets just to get some in my collection.
Unfortunately, the RRT valks are 1) gak and 2) way too big. I ended up getting good models elsewhere and eventually I expect I'll set the RRT sprues on fire.
Ok i am snowed in for another day at home so i thought-Fun battletech question time-
Favorite factions and units within those factions you play on TT and why?
I will start
Inner sphere i have 2 factions and 3 units (thank you field manuals for all the special rules)
My original love for all things japanese means-
Draconis combine
2nd swords of light
In the realms of TT rules they get some slight initiative bonuses, but the main reason is because they are the pillar of steel. the eblem of what it means to be a warrior of the combine and they also have dedicated support assets.
2nd deiron regulars
I play them mostly because i liked the idea of a dedicated mountain division and they have a great official "parade" scheme of black/green cammo
TT side they get an initiative bonus when fighting in mountain terrain.
Lyran alliance/fedcom
Because who doesn't like a bunch of crazy Germans with the biggest mechs and bigger guns.
steiner scout squad i am looking at you.
10th lyrans guards
This is pretty obvious. it was prince victor steiner/davions unit prior to the clan invasion and has been the unit of note for all future rulers to serve in.
TT rules wise they get over-run and bank intiative, or if you are playing a campaign, they get a bonus to mechwarrior skill roles as well as acess to some clan equipment post 3050.
Clan side
Hells horse
I love their philosophy -the warrior is the greatest asset not the specific battlefield position of that warrior-making the horse toumen one of the best combined arms force among the clans almost to the point of being the anti-clan in combat doctrine
Iota galaxy(the 9th ring of hell)
The 9th is a special case-the unit of misfits and rejects. warriors sent to die in glorious suicide missions because they vex the khan, then they not only succeed in their missions but usually survive.
The paint scheme for the unit is just flat black, however they have taken to painting their units with garish schemes depicting fire, skulls, lava and lightning. i like to think of them as the legion of the damned.
TT rules wise-they have off board movement, refuse to follow zellbrigan, and seek to take out command elements.
As with all HH units if they do not take something in their star that counts as infantry, they suffer an initiative penalty.
Many moons ago (towards the end of the 90's) a friend of mine at another site, as part of a drunken chat, came up with the idea of the UN turning into a dictatorial world government. This got morphed into a crossover with BattleTech, where rifts opened up near Earth that allowed various IS and Clan forces to descend on this 'Other Terra', or 'Scorched Earth' as it became known, and a big war for this different Terra began. The Clans were on the side of the UN, the Inner Sphere on the side of everyone fighting against them.
As a way of getting loads of people involved, most of the characters in the story were people from the forum, and eventually he brought other people in to write short stories with their own characters that fed into the narrative. Naturally I wanted my character to fight my fav faction, the Jade Falcons, so I went looking for a Falcon unit to be my adversary.
I came across the 5th Battle Cluster from the Jade Falcon Epsilon Galaxy:
For reasons I won't go into, I tend to give female main characters the surname 'Anu'. As luck would have it, this group was commanded by Star Colonel Diane Anu. She became the main rival to my character, appearing in a few stories. I was surprised to learn, many years later, that Anu not only became Galaxy Commander of Epsilon, but rose to the rank of the Jade Falcon saKhan!
So they became where I put the majority of my Omnimechs.
My Clan 2nd Line 'Mechs on the other hand, all went to...
The 7th Bear Regulars
As a big MechWarrior 2 fan - one of the first two games I got when we got a band new top-of-the-line Pentium 166MHz, alongside Quake - I played the hell out of that game. I did so mostly with the Jade Falcons (#Death2Wolves), but when Ghost Bear's Legacy came out I jumped at the chance to play that. This is back when I didn't even understand how BTech worked or what the Inner Sphere was (and as I wouldn't play MW2: Mercinaries for many years, that knowledge would come later). I didn't realise that the Draconis Combine forces in that game weren't Clan forces. I just thought they were the Dragon clan.
So when organising my 'Mechs I knew I wanted my collection of 2nd Line 'Mechs to go somewhere that wasn't the Falcons, and I also had a Binary of Clan vehicles as well. So I found the 7th Bear Regulars to be a good home for them.
Some time before I got into the actual BattleTech tabletop game, my fav BattleTech game of all time - MechCommander - was released, and with that a wealth of knowledge on how BTech actually functioned, including the Inner Sphere.
So it should be unsurprising that yet another one of my forces is influenced by a video game, roughly half the my IS 'Mechs fall under the banner of the...
1st Davion Guards
I may be #ClanJadeFalcon4EVA, but my loyalties lie with the Inner Sphere and the 1st Davion Guards.
But, thanks to Ghost Bear's Legacy, I also really liked the Draconis Combine, and as I found out more about the universe I knew that I had to split my IS 'Mechs between the two factions, much as I did with my Clan 'Mechs.
So, in reference to the game (again), my DC forces are, of course...
2nd Sword of Light
Shame what became of them in the end...
Now I have three other small forces - a ComStar force, a Capellan Confederation force, and a Pirate force. The first two don't have a canon unit associated with them yet as they're not really organised. The Pirate Force is known as Bronstein's Berzerkers, and is led by the vicious noble-turned-pirate Amelia Bronstein. Even made a custom 'Mech for her, a Zeus converted with the axe from a Ti Ts'ang.
My favorites are the worst losers of Clan Jade Falcon, the Iota Galaxy. They're a garrison command, who are routinely raided to give experience fighting Clans to Lyrans. (this helps explain my lamentable tabletop performance) but their force mixture of second line mechs, often with the latest technological bells and whistles means that they often serve as guinea pigs for new technologies.
I'm hoping they were left behind when the Clan went for Terra, and will appear as part of the Falcon Remnant in Tamar Rising next year.
While I have my preferred House (Davion) and preferred Clan (Cloud Cobra, but Hell's Horses has been growing on me), I didn't paint with that in mind. I did paint to keep the differences between IS and Clan intact, but that's about it.
For Clan, I went with a psuedo-Cloud Cobra design, with a dark sea blue top and purple pants and break up. Painting the bottom a different color was inspired by the Black Pants Legion idea.
For Inner Sphere, I went with a Brown Pants look and a green top. The Mercury II shown is technically Clan, but built on Star League tech, so I hybridized the scheme.
We don't really operate as factions, except the campaign which has most of us as a merc group.
Not named as yet, but it was last piloted by "Harridan" in the last campaign mission. If I had painted my Primitive Banshee that way, it would be worthy of the name. "Hulkling" would probably be a better name for that 40 tonner.
We just did a little thematic lance on lance innersphere battle.
I don't know how this crossover happened with the purple chickens going up against the swords of light.
The table-
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
The starting forces
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
True to form for kurita i was running some fast heavies with c3, ERPPCs, and MRMs. The marik player countered me with light gauss, light/heavy/snub nose PPCs.
We were using the ghost imaging rules for ECM and it saved his bacon on several turns because he rolled really high and i failed to see through it.
We both managed to get some small headshots, the only one that killed was his commander in the archer taking a large laser and part of an MRM 30 volley to the face.
My daikyu managed to survive much longer than i expected as he managed to spread the damage all over the mech. he eventually went down to multiple pilot hits that put him to sleep. The daikyu was my only actual loss, the cat was forced to withdraw as were his marauder and awesome.
All in all, a great game, very close in the end. MVP goes to the grand dragon and its blistering speed.
Pandemic silver lining: Completing battalion-sized painting projects (started like 15 years ago) for Davion and Kurita - plus a few binaries of Falcons and Bears.
H.B.M.C. wrote: It bothers me greatly that the Ryokens are on the GB side, and the Dasher is on the JF side.
It bothers me greatly there isn't more love for the other clans that were not part of the "big 4" that spearheaded the invasion.
It seems like almost every new clan player is running wolf, falcon, bears or jags.
We do end up with some variety though i have been a hells horse forever along with another long-time player running nova cats. of the 3 new players just getting into battletech one chose wolf, one chose hells horse because he loves vehicles and the third went with steel viper for their clan affiliations.
Probably not a lot of love for the Jaggies as they were wiped out quite a while back. The Wolves get enough love as it is, given that they just won BattleTech.
aphyon wrote:It bothers me greatly there isn't more love for the other clans that were not part of the "big 4" that spearheaded the invasion.
Well, since the War of Reaving, the "Homeworld" Clans were basically written out of the story.
H.B.M.C. wrote:Probably not a lot of love for the Jaggies as they were wiped out quite a while back. The Wolves get enough love as it is, given that they just won BattleTech.
The Smoke Jaguars were actually resurrected, from what I heard, due to favors rendered to the Wolf Clan during the IlClan events.
Well, since the War of Reaving, the "Homeworld" Clans were basically written out of the story.
It's battletech, not like that matters at all, you can play any era including prior to the war of reaving.
It isn't like there is some big corporate behemoth breathing down the neck of the fanbase and forcing conformity to the newest edition/current timeline,
catalyst isn't going to move anything to legends status.
Well, since the War of Reaving, the "Homeworld" Clans were basically written out of the story.
It's battletech, not like that matters at all, you can play any era including prior to the war of reaving.
It isn't like there is some big corporate behemoth breathing down the neck of the fanbase and forcing conformity to the newest edition/current timeline,
catalyst isn't going to move anything to legends status.
And I wasn't saying otherwise. However, it makes it less likely to see any love regarding something that has basically been sent to the cleaners.
Of course one play in any one setting they choose, and even mix it up if they want. However, the likelihood of seeing more stories of the Cloud Cobras, Star Adders, Coyotes, and Stone Lions set past the War of Reaving is low at this point. And it is this last of which I was speaking.
Edit: Though calling the Succession Wars as the "Legends" Era would probably work better than just calling it "Introtech".
just because you can still play a faction doesn't mean you're gonna be fine if it gets written out. Following the storyline is something most fans of battletech enjoy.
BrianDavion wrote: just because you can still play a faction doesn't mean you're gonna be fine if it gets written out. Following the storyline is something most fans of battletech enjoy.
as well as a lot of people like to play specific time settings and even with people enjoying the ongoing story, most games here are played with 3025
For our group it is usually 3050+ so we can pit clans VS IS as well as clan VS clan or IS house VS house. it also allows a great variety of mechs and vehicle units to choose from.
We kind of ignore the dark age, and only dabble with the jihad if we have players that want to be WOB
For us it is either Introtech, Standard (Total Warfare and Tech Manual), or "Anything Goes" (though usually leaving ASF and artillery out). We leave Eras out of it because it gets way to complicated to track.
Hey I'm new here, but ive lurked since my early warhammer and star wars legion days! I was thinking of making and uploading my first battletech battle report here. Would I have to make my own thread or would I put it here?
MVeedra wrote: Thanks for the help on the previous question :3
Also I was wondering if anyone knows any good cheap ground vehicles to-scale for Battletech?
Would the Reaper Minis ones be too big?
Honestly, I went the proxy route when I started. Battletech vehicles are just too weird looking to be satisfying as proxies, especially if you get into the Clans vehicles. It'll be more costly, but I'd recommend just biting the bullet and going the official ones, or buying up some of the Mechwarrior dark age vehicles. They'll at least look right.
Short term? Print the picture and stick them on hexes or coins. Same for infantry and battle armor until you know what you'll enjoy using.
I imagine for newer players it's easier to like a faction that actually has some source material and is an active participant in hostilities. There wasn't much on the Homeworld clans until the Field Manuals. Yes, I have forces painted up in Ghost Bear, Wolf and Jade Falcon colors. I also have forces painted up for Davion, Steiner, Kurita, Liao, Comstar/Word of Blake, Marik and even Rasalhague.
To be fair, I got started back in the 90's just before the Clans arrived and still remember the surprise they were. WTF is a Gauss Rifle and WTF is that thing firing it? 15 pts of damage at long range? And your PPCs do 15 pts of damage too? Holy S**T.
H.B.M.C. wrote: It bothers me greatly that the Ryokens are on the GB side, and the Dasher is on the JF side.
It bothers me greatly there isn't more love for the other clans that were not part of the "big 4" that spearheaded the invasion.
It seems like almost every new clan player is running wolf, falcon, bears or jags.
We do end up with some variety though i have been a hells horse forever along with another long-time player running nova cats. of the 3 new players just getting into battletech one chose wolf, one chose hells horse because he loves vehicles and the third went with steel viper for their clan affiliations.
A little clan on clan action, steel viper alpha galaxy VS clan hells horse iota galaxy.
Silly thing about this game my commander (hell star) took 2 head hits and immediately went to take a nap and missed half the battle.
Not to worry in true horse tradition my strike tanks and proto mechs came to the rescue. including iota's penchant for headhunting command elements
the tally wasn't good for the Vipers. every mech was put into forced withdrawal from damage save the executioner who saw the way the wind was blowing and surrendered the field.
the horse side lost a timber wolf, a strike tank, with light damage to the tomahawk II, a protomech and heavy damage to the hell star.
Has there been any communication from Catalyst about where things are headed in terms of further plastic mini releases? We know Scroggins and co have been doing concept art and 3D models for what seems to be a pretty extensive range of additional sculpts (easily a few dozen more mechs), but no real indication as to whether they will be connected to another kickstarter or if there are more direct-to-retail forcepacks coming, etc.
Nothing from Catalyst. Quite understandable, since because of supply issues or whatever they end up missing most projected deadlines- Tamar Rising, the awesome sourcebook that finally dropped this week, was supposed to have been out around November of last year.
Scroggins did say that the Wolf's Dragoon assault Star was only a small taste of things to come on facebook a few days ago, though that's hardly official or a timeline.
Well thats my bad then. I didn't know the Annihilator wasn't a part of anything else, I was told / read that the wolf's dragoons box was just alt poses or special variants of everything that had already come out.
auticus wrote: Well thats my bad then. I didn't know the Annihilator wasn't a part of anything else, I was told / read that the wolf's dragoons box was just alt poses or special variants of everything that had already come out.
B&N is a US only chain. B&N however ships to Canada so I got mine, I know it's not exactly ideal but B&N seems to be willing to ship world wide, It's proably the best you can do that way
auticus wrote: meh it was only a single box of alt poses and mechs you could get in the other lance packs.
It's a different Black Jack. The Annihilator isn't available anywhere else.
We don't have Barnes & Nobles in Australia.
you should be able to get one, one of the BT players I know lives in New Zealand and ordered one (and we made jokes about of the 2nd Wave of the KS or the B&N Box will arrive first)
auticus wrote: meh it was only a single box of alt poses and mechs you could get in the other lance packs.
It's a different Black Jack. The Annihilator isn't available anywhere else.
We don't have Barnes & Nobles in Australia.
you should be able to get one, one of the BT players I know lives in New Zealand and ordered one (and we made jokes about of the 2nd Wave of the KS or the B&N Box will arrive first)
Paying more than double or even triple (outrageous shipping, plus VAT, plus "expenses") for the privilege is not really an option.
I just ordered the delta base garrison set for the mech repair facility. a buddy of mine just got a printer so i am sure we will see some of those STLs make it onto our game tables.
Death From Above. No words better describe Hellion Keshik, the bodyguard Trinary for Clan Goliath Scorpion’s saKhan. Few formations conjure terror amongst their enemies more than this assemblage of warriors. Forged from tattered remnants of two Clans, one Absorbed and the other Abjured, Hellion Keshik welded their disparate philosophies into one. As the tip of the spear for Hellion Galaxy, the Keshik does more than protect the saKhan. These warriors train endlessly and fight savagely like no others in the Scorpion Touman. The Keshik has never tasted defeat, because victory is so sweet.
Spotlight On: Hellion Keshik includes a Unit History, Personalities, Personnel Rosters, Mission Tracks, and data for use with all scales of BattleTech play.
I need to find myself an old school Crusader somewhere. I don't like the current iteration of the design. Then printlike a full company of 55 toners, can't never go wrong with those.
Miguelsan wrote: I need to find myself an old school Crusader somewhere. I don't like the current iteration of the design. Then printlike a full company of 55 toners, can't never go wrong with those.
M.
I did find a nice one on Thingymawajit.
I know what you mean about the new sculpt - whilst it's really good, it's one of the few where I prefer the old one. Those forearm LRMs give me bad Project Phoenix flasbacks.
The one I found was obviously just an armoured valk, but it's so much better than the skinny 3rd ed. plastic one that I'd previously been using.
Miguelsan wrote: I need to find myself an old school Crusader somewhere. I don't like the current iteration of the design.
I don't know, I rather like it, personally. Let's face it, there is almost no way to make LRM-15s in the forearms to be pretty. It's still a long shot better than the Project Phoenix model, and looks so much less like the Armored Valkyrie of Robotech that only a property manager would think they are the same.
Still, I only got it because I wanted the other three. It's hard to say no to an Atlas, Marauder II and an Orion. It's not a problem with the model, I just am not a fan of its weapon placement.
FYI: The premium Black Knight is back on sale for the last time:
NOTE: This item will be discontinued after this release, as the manufacturer has shifted away from its previous plans. Future premiums are being re-sourced.
No idea - That's all GGL have said, and Creative Juggernaut haven't said anything (their latest update is from last year about their textured bases). There's a few comments on the socials that Blaine L. Pardoe has gone too far off the rails for CGL to work with, but
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