I think the Guillotine loses something by having squarer shoulders. The extreme inward angled shoulders worked in its favour, making it a unique design.
ekwatts wrote: I won't be touching any of those limited resin miniatures either if Pardoe is involved.
I keep hearing this without explanation.
There's been some kind of dust up with him and a Faith McClosky, or someone pretending to be Faith McClosky. I am far from knowledgeable about it, but he's got a lengthy blog post detailing the situation.
ekwatts wrote: I won't be touching any of those limited resin miniatures either if Pardoe is involved.
I keep hearing this without explanation.
Some people are being vocal that his new "what-if" political thriller novel Blue Dawn is an attack on their beliefs, and there's the Faith McClosky / McCarron thing Gitzbitah mentioned.
There's also been a few people going after CGL in-general as well, accusing them of not paying freelancers and employing their family members on inflated salaries to 'steal' from the company, etc.
ekwatts wrote: I won't be touching any of those limited resin miniatures either if Pardoe is involved.
I keep hearing this without explanation.
Some people are being vocal that his new "what-if" political thriller novel Blue Dawn is an attack on their beliefs, and there's the Faith McClosky / McCarron thing Gitzbitah mentioned.
There's also been a few people going after CGL in-general as well, accusing them of not paying freelancers and employing their family members on inflated salaries to 'steal' from the company, etc.
I mean... it is not exactly subtle:
Almost five years ago America as everyone knew it, came to an abrupt end in a spectacular coup d’etat. It was called the Liberation by those progressives and radicals that screamed for its outcome; the Fall, by its victims whose freedoms were trampled. The White House and the Capitol were overrun by anarchists and the leaders of the once proud nation were either imprisoned or sent to Social Quarantine Camps. The President was arrested and eventually died in prison, or so everyone was led to believe. America was rebooted in a new progressive/socialist image, Newmerica. The United States of old was gone, its history erased and rewritten, its icons destroyed. By the time people tried to organize resistance it was too late. The citizens lost their history, their flag, their traditions, their freedoms, and their leaders. Newmerica is a state of reparations, citizens turning on citizens, where even the churches are targets of social justice.
But, to each their own power fantasies, as long as they don't try to make them reality.
Nurglitch wrote: Well, yeah, some people don't want to signal-boost misinformation by supporting the author of that misinformation.
What misinformation? His story about this Faith McClosky person?
This is SOOOOOOOOO far off topic. It also does not need to be reiterated here. I'm sure there is another forum to delve into it Politics, because that is what the person was having issues with and took it out on an author who they believed was attacking their political beliefs.
Please lets get back to fictional plastic soldiers.
Nurglitch wrote: Well, yeah, some people don't want to signal-boost misinformation by supporting the author of that misinformation.
What misinformation? His story about this Faith McClosky person?
No, I mean the quoted text, presumably a cover blurb or somesuch, contains misinformation:
Almost five years ago America as everyone knew it, came to an abrupt end in a spectacular coup d’etat. It was called the Liberation by those progressives and radicals that screamed for its outcome; the Fall, by its victims whose freedoms were trampled. The White House and the Capitol were overrun by anarchists and the leaders of the once proud nation were either imprisoned or sent to Social Quarantine Camps. The President was arrested and eventually died in prison, or so everyone was led to believe. America was rebooted in a new progressive/socialist image, Newmerica. The United States of old was gone, its history erased and rewritten, its icons destroyed. By the time people tried to organize resistance it was too late. The citizens lost their history, their flag, their traditions, their freedoms, and their leaders. Newmerica is a state of reparations, citizens turning on citizens, where even the churches are targets of social justice.
Like, oh no, even the churches are targets of social justice? THE INFAMY! Social justice is a good thing. Representing it as a bad thing is ++ungood.
Although, it's a good seque into how BattleTech is something of a power fantasy that should greatly appeal to politically 'conservative' gamers. There's that lionization of the MechWarrior/Pilot, the fetishization of the military as benevolent rulers of society, a society so conservative it has regressed to feudalism, and so on. The ideology is just a tad more obvious when Mr. Pardoe updates his straw men with modern conservative boogeymen. It's a bit of a 'ah, we're soaking in it' moment, for me at least.
maybe because I am from Europe, but a piece of fiction cannot be misinformation
for the same reason people must act against Battletech on its whole as the whole thing of Neo-Fascist, Neo-Neo-Absolutism etc. is than misinformation
I have not seen anything that proofs that the fictional story are his personal views or just some what if-scenario he found interesting
and the book was written prior the the scenes in Washington
so for me it looks more like people start to pick him out because his book was published at the wrong time while a year earlier no one would have cared
I don't care about his internet battle with a troll hiding behind a false identity, and I don't care about his dumb "culture wars" book.
All of those things are just an excuse for him to manifest his otherwise thoroughly objectionable beliefs. He and others might try and dress those beliefs up as rightwing political orthodoxy, but that doesn't also stop them from being absurd nonsense.
Refusing to signal-boost such a person is pretty much spot on, for me; As an actual historian, I would say my biggest issue with him is his pseudo-intellectualism, using selected and/or decontextualised segments of "history" to try and support his wacky beliefs and conspiracy theorising. He wields a level of economic and cultural power, and he's using that to basically spread misinformation or prop up those who do.
There's a responsibility that comes with that power.
Yes, his book was written before the actual Jan 6th insurrection, and while it is somewhat amusing that it was not led by whatever he thinks "progressives" and "anarchists" are, I don't see it as being particularly important, since it's pretty obvious what the book is meant to be. Even putting the aforementioned lazy stereotyping aside, of course a piece of fiction isn't strictly "misinformation", but it's serving a purpose for those that lap up misinformation, all the same. He might just be playing to the gallery (which is lazy if not necessarily deplorable in and of itself), but that gallery is composed of some pretty grotesque people. You know, fellows that wanted to murder the Vice President and Speaker of the House?
My problem with Blaine goes back further than his attempt to become a dollar-store Tom Clancy. I didn't even know he had a book coming out until somebody mentioned it in this thread.
It looks like Mr. Pardoe's involvement is limited to his novels, some background fluff, and to the products of Creative Juggernaut. Presumably if you want to enjoy big stompy robots BattleTech without supporting Pardoe you can do so without buying his novels or those multi-part mechs.
So are we reasonably expecting an August delivery in America now? From the previous timelines and info, I was guessing August Rest of world, and September US fulfillment.
So are we reasonably expecting an August delivery in America now? From the previous timelines and info, I was guessing August Rest of world, and September US fulfillment.
Shanie Moorey wrote:Hey Battletech fans! I'm Shanie, one of the Community Managers at GamesQuest for the UK and EU fulfilment - I've popped an update in the comments for backers in our GQ blog, but I wanted to just reiterate here for you guys that we are aiming for August for this project to start shipping but we should be able to give a better estimate of when in August this will be once we have received all shipments to the hubs and the data has passed our internal validation checks. - So we are still very much on course with this.
Nurglitch wrote: It looks like Mr. Pardoe's involvement is limited to his novels, some background fluff, and to the products of Creative Juggernaut. Presumably if you want to enjoy big stompy robots BattleTech without supporting Pardoe you can do so without buying his novels or those multi-part mechs.
Correct. Which is why a number of us have said we're not going to buy the Creative Juggernaut minis.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Seems weird not to buy some miniatures because of some guy you disagree with politically. It's certainly not "signal boosting" him. Sheesh.
I mean, never heard of separating art from artist?
Its less about "signal boosting" and more about denial of financing. I think his right wing fanwank of a novel is an excuse for him to write about his power fantasy of murdering people who have a difference of political belief (and indeed, if you dig a bit into what the book is about, you'll see thats more or less exactly what it is), and I think that comes at a very dangerous time in America where that can influence peoples thinking. I want no part in that, and by extension I want no part in him. If he directly financially benefits from my patronage of a certain product line I'm not going to involve myself in it.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Seems weird not to buy some miniatures because of some guy you disagree with politically. It's certainly not "signal boosting" him. Sheesh.
I mean, never heard of separating art from artist?
I've heard of it, but I disagree with it very, very strongly. Particularly after the last few years, finding out the human cost of funding so many artists, writers, and producers who are human garbage. I'm glad it was brought up.
Yeah I'm not really big on the whole "death of the author" critical theory stuff. Frankly I think its a load of tripe. Everything is written, drawn, and produced to convey certain thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. You can't just separate out all the intent behind it and make up your own interpretation in a vacuum as you see fit.
Additionally, in modern society basically everything is made for mass consumption with an underlying motive to derive profit from it, and thats okay, but I don't want to consume anything that results in financial windfall or profit for someone whos beliefs and morality I find repugnant and who uses said profits to enable or bankroll activities which I find harmful.
I wouldn't expect a political conservative to patronize a business or individual who advocates for or donates to causes with which they disagree with, don't expect me to patronize a business or individual that does likewise. Its really that simple.
New today in the store are Alpha Strike cards for WarShips, JumpShips, and DropShips and other small craft–completely FREE to download, or pay what you want. And, don't miss our next AMA with the factchecking team tomorrow, Sat 7/17 at 2 pm EST. http://ow.ly/a05P50FxSVh
Its less about "signal boosting" and more about denial of financing. I think his right wing fanwank of a novel is an excuse for him to write about his power fantasy of murdering people who have a difference of political belief (and indeed, if you dig a bit into what the book is about, you'll see thats more or less exactly what it is), and I think that comes at a very dangerous time in America where that can influence peoples thinking. I want no part in that, and by extension I want no part in him. If he directly financially benefits from my patronage of a certain product line I'm not going to involve myself in it.
My trouble here is 'mission creep' for the far left.
In days of yore society would ostracise actual fascists, now the definition of a fascist has widened to include those insufficiently woke and others who really haven't done much, or anything wrong..
We simply cant take cancellers word at face value anymore, and in order to make a case you either have scream louder or showcase your target's opinions. Most cancellers chose the former, and most cancellers are increasingly being ignored for it.
No one is "cancelling" anyone. Customers are allowed to select who they want to give their money for. If your displayed values are actively hostile to mine, why would I give you my money?
That's all there is to it. That's the price you pay for putting your personal beliefs in the public realm- those who don't like them won't give you their money and will tell others about it. If they also find your values...of poor quality, they will also not give you money.
Yeah, not seeing where "cancelling" comes into play here. Hes still publishing his book, to my knowledge nobody has called for it to not be published, nor is there any sort of active movement to cause trouble for him, etc.
I simply stated I wasn't interested in involving myself with something he is involved with and relevant info resources were provided for those who were curious as to why. A few people agreed likewise. Thats pretty much it. If thats "cancellation" then the bar has been set very very low.
I’m curious, do you check the bibliography of all authors of all wargaming products before you purchase them to see if you agree with their fictional writing?
MaxT wrote: I’m curious, do you check the bibliography of all authors of all wargaming products before you purchase them to see if you agree with their fictional writing?
He doesn’t have too. He could just listen for the ones who make him unhappy, or who get attention for their opposing views. If I were to purchase something and then find out it was made by or the proceeds go to funding XYZ, which I might have an issue with, then I can choose not to invest further into it. I might even try returning whatever it was and let others know about it before they support it.
I think my big issue with this is the lengths the individual went too, which were way beyond acceptable and by the articles wording, criminal.
Pretty much what was said above. I didn't go out of my way to learn who Blaine Lee Pardoe was and what his politics are, but when people in various threads and discussions online keep bringing up the name you get curious about it and you do tend to look the person up so you can at least get a sense of whats being discussed. In Blaines case it became immediately obvious what his beliefs and attitudes are because hes rather quite vocal about it.
It would be a bit like being in the 40k community and hearing names like Jervis Johnson, Andy Chambers, Gav Thrope, Rick Priestly, Alessio Cavatore, Matt Ward, Robbin Cruddance, Phil Kelly, etc. are. After a while you might get curious enough to google some of those names, and for the most part you won't find very much info about them other than their work histories and a few blogs where they discuss game design or literary philosophies and criticism, etc. In Blaines case the politics are basically front and center.
Cronch wrote: No one is "cancelling" anyone. Customers are allowed to select who they want to give their money for. If your displayed values are actively hostile to mine, why would I give you my money?
That's all there is to it. That's the price you pay for putting your personal beliefs in the public realm- those who don't like them won't give you their money and will tell others about it. If they also find your values...of poor quality, they will also not give you money.
People can decide not to buy a product. Here we see exposition as to why, highlighting grievance against the author due to other unrelated products. That isn't just a decision not to buy but a boycott, and if it solicits support it is cancelling. There is a scaling here, different rungs of the ladder.
- Decided not to read War and Peace.
- Decided to personally boycott Tolstoy's works.
- Vocalised grievance against Tolstoy thus influencing others.
- Calling for ban on Tolstoy in state education
Theres some real gymnastics in there. For one, nobody is soliciting support - you want to buy his products go right on ahead, I won't even bother to try to stop you and I don't think anyone else here will either.
Also, a boycott is any withdrawal of social, financial, or commercial relations with another entity as a form of punishment and/or protest. Boycotts can be initiated and maintained on a personal basis or as part of a group effort. It is not automatically some sort of organized movement that seeks to grow itself, which I feel is what you are trying to imply by using the term.
The suggestion that vocalizing a grievance against an entity that one is boycotting is automatically some sort of higher "rung" or escalation of effort on the "cancellation spectrum" is just laughable. If I was standing on a street corner handing out pamphlets that would be one thing, but saying you're not a fan of something and aren't going to commercially patronize them during the course of conversation is an entirely different manner altogether. Might in influence others? Sure, but thats someone elses problem and not necessarily the reason why the point comes up in the conversation in the first place.
Stop trying to turn this into something that it clearly isn't. If you want to buy the minis, go buy the minis and stop worrying about why I choose not to.
Cronch wrote: No one is "cancelling" anyone. Customers are allowed to select who they want to give their money for. If your displayed values are actively hostile to mine, why would I give you my money?
That's all there is to it. That's the price you pay for putting your personal beliefs in the public realm- those who don't like them won't give you their money and will tell others about it. If they also find your values...of poor quality, they will also not give you money.
People can decide not to buy a product. Here we see exposition as to why, highlighting grievance against the author due to other unrelated products. That isn't just a decision not to buy but a boycott, and if it solicits support it is cancelling. There is a scaling here, different rungs of the ladder.
- Decided not to read War and Peace.
- Decided to personally boycott Tolstoy's works.
- Vocalised grievance against Tolstoy thus influencing others.
- Calling for ban on Tolstoy in state education
You forgot step five, Tolstoy must be destroyed.
Step six: And Carthage.
Just a heads up in case any here have a 3D printer and want some terrain. There's a new (second) crowdfunding campaign for the Hexhog terrain.
Note that as the new system requires the former to work properly there's a tier both for all in (everything from both campaigns) and a tier just to get the previous stuff.
Again this is 3D printer stuff not physical models.
Also, big news: The ilClan sourcebook will be available from the Catalyst Game Labs store on Friday, August 6, and through retail outlets on Wednesday, August 11.
Ghaz wrote: Also, big news: The ilClan sourcebook will be available from the Catalyst Game Labs store on Friday, August 6, and through retail outlets on Wednesday, August 11.
Pre-ordered mine through MM. Ever since the Succession War volumes sold out without reprint, I don’t mess around when it comes to ordering BT books.
Sourcebook. It will contain the full background/history of the IlClan event.
It will have rules though, probably along the lines of:
1. Campaign tracks for BattleTech.
2. Maybe some RPG rules for the main players/people involved in the event.
3. A mini-TRO with new 'Mechs/vehicles/etc.
4. AlphaStrike rules for the above.
You know, I was just looking at getting their Emerald Drake STL for a friend to use to print me a flock of Ion Sparrows. Do you happen to know if their files can be resized easily? Thanks!
You know, I was just looking at getting their Emerald Drake STL for a friend to use to print me a flock of Ion Sparrows. Do you happen to know if their files can be resized easily? Thanks!
Hi Gitzbitah,
So far, I've ordered physical products only from Hardware Studios. No idea as to the specifics/attributes of their STL files.
I'd suggest sending Dale an email (I've done so at several occasions and have always received a reply).
btw, he also designed the Hierofalcon and Ion Sparrow IIRC..
As mentioned earlier in the thread, a a multi-part Black Knight has been released by Creative Juggernaut, and a Stormcrow is in the works (although it's still not clear if they are plastic).
Automatically Appended Next Post:
H.B.M.C. wrote: IlClan Tableau of Confidence... uhh... table of contents:
Hell's Horses are mentioned - looks like I need to buy it.
As mentioned earlier in the thread, a a multi-part Black Knight has been released by Creative Juggernaut, and a Stormcrow is in the works (although it's still not clear if they are plastic).
Automatically Appended Next Post:
H.B.M.C. wrote: IlClan Tableau of Confidence... uhh... table of contents:
Hell's Horses are mentioned - looks like I need to buy it.
fair warning, the hells horses where opposed to Alaric so I expect "bad stuff" to happen to them :(
As mentioned earlier in the thread, a a multi-part Black Knight has been released by Creative Juggernaut, and a Stormcrow is in the works (although it's still not clear if they are plastic).
'Plastic' can cover a number of materials, not just the high impact polystyrene that Games Workshop uses.
As mentioned earlier in the thread, a a multi-part Black Knight has been released by Creative Juggernaut, and a Stormcrow is in the works (although it's still not clear if they are plastic).
Automatically Appended Next Post:
H.B.M.C. wrote: IlClan Tableau of Confidence... uhh... table of contents:
Hell's Horses are mentioned - looks like I need to buy it.
fair warning, the hells horses where opposed to Alaric so I expect "bad stuff" to happen to them :(
They ought to be alright in the short to medium term. Alaric seems like more of a conqueror than a destroyer- as long as you're willing to accept him as your ilclan ilKhan, you can keep your clan. Even if it has been obliterated
Spoiler:
(Jaguars)
, or it was the genocidal boogeyman of the Dark Ages
Spoiler:
(Jade Falcons)
.
Just don't ever betray him or the Clans- man, does he hate that!
Y'know, they ought to come out with a boxed set of "one of everything" - one for Clan, one for Inner Sphere. Throw in Alpha Strike cards and laminated sheets for the Special Edition of it.
Stormonu wrote: Y'know, they ought to come out with a boxed set of "one of everything" - one for Clan, one for Inner Sphere. Throw in Alpha Strike cards and laminated sheets for the Special Edition of it.
There's so many mechs though. Even for a Cluster/Battalion box at less than $5 USD a mech?
Incidentally at $5 USD a mech that's slightly less than $1 a mech to produce (accounting for the cost of packaging, packing, etc). It makes me wonder at the volume they must be running at!
Stormonu wrote: Y'know, they ought to come out with a boxed set of "one of everything" - one for Clan, one for Inner Sphere. Throw in Alpha Strike cards and laminated sheets for the Special Edition of it.
I'm not sure if they're allowed to - doesn't their licence (or whatever it is) limit them to Alpha Strike Lance / Star boxes?
Nurglitch wrote: Maybe Creative Juggernaut has a different license and using Catalyst's storefront is both allowed and enables them to fill that gap.
I was sure they'd made a comment / statement to that effect, but I can't find it now. The closest I can find is this:
Q: Are you coordinating with Iron Wind Metals on what you are producing?
A: The short answer is no, these minis will fulfill a very different role amid the product line. These new minis are being produced for CGL, delivered to CGL, and sold by CGL - all with the intention of strengthening the IP as a whole. IWM has their own license for metal miniatures, their own production schedule with quarterly releases of premium metal miniatures - and a massive library of fantastic miniatures. I'd be stunned if IWM saw any impact from this at all, and coordinating schedules and releases for something like this isn't necessary. Our goal at this point is proving the possibilities and viability for Catalyst of producing variants in plastic. We will be using Catalyst's own 3D models to ensure that ours are fully compatible (and scaled correctly) with the current generation of box set miniatures. At this point we're trying to prove the concept. We hope, at some point, to be producing new BattleMechs and vehicles in support of the game, but much will depend on the profitability and practicality of such releases.
They are... or will be. There is an Elemental Star boxed set that was part of the KS that will be available alongside everything else once everything is available.
Don't know the dates on the retail side of things though, sorry.
Midnightdeathblade wrote: I saw some images of some newly designed clan battle armor points, are these available?
The Clan Elemental Star was KS Wave 1, so retail stores have already had stock of it (and some stores in the UKstill have them). They should be restocked when Wave 2 arrives. There's also two Points / bases in the main Clan Invasion boxset.
Do we have an idea what retail price will be for these lance/star packs? I assume the stars will be slightly more expensive. I just recently got interested in Battletech again after vomiting all GW related products I owned onto eBay. Im already impatient on these new mech packs, I cant imagine waiting for three years haha.
US backers have been receiving address confirmation e-mails since last week. It's kind of an update.
Yep - the updates should be coming from the shipping partners now. This is what ShipQuest said on the 10th:
BattleTech: Clan Invasion (Wave 2)
As you guys know, we’ll soon be fulfilling the second wave of the super popular BattleTech: Clan Invasion which is a massive (massive!) fulfilment project. Our aim is to begin fulfilling in both the UK and EU the week commencing the 16th of August. To make this all go as smoothly as possible, we’ll be splitting the orders into 3 phases:
PHASE 1: This will largely be made up of the smaller orders that can hopefully be completed within a week.
PHASE 2: Will be mid level orders in terms of amount of items included. These orders will take longer to move through Project Data Analysis and will obviously take longer to pack.
PHASE 3: Primarily the largest orders, potentially requiring multiple boxes for individual orders. Again, this will take more time to move through Project Data Analysis and to pick and pack.
We’re hoping the whole process will take about 3-4 weeks to complete so please be patient and awesome. This is a big one for us and we’re so excited to get it underway.
Midnightdeathblade wrote: Do we have an idea what retail price will be for these lance/star packs? I assume the stars will be slightly more expensive. I just recently got interested in Battletech again after vomiting all GW related products I owned onto eBay. Im already impatient on these new mech packs, I cant imagine waiting for three years haha.
They're $5 US per miniature, so $20 for Inner Sphere, $25 for Clan and $30 for ComStar.
Orlanth wrote: Can we have links to the ShipQuest info please.
https://www.shipquest.co.uk/blog
Orlanth wrote: Are Salvage Boxes still Wave 1 clan, or are they fully mixed?
From the KSFAQ:
What Minis are the Salvage Boxes drawn from?
They will be drawn from the Clan Invasion and the first 2-4 Clan Star Packs. Basically, the ones that will be done in time for the First Wave of product.
Sarna wrote:The CrowdOx Pledge Manager defined the list of OmniMechs available in the Salvage Boxes as the following: Adder, Dire Wolf, Gargoyle, Grendel, Hellbringer, Ice Ferret, Mad Dog, Mist Lynx, Nova, Shadow Cat, Stormcrow, Summoner, Timber Wolf and Viper. However, at least one other design was also available via a Salvage Box; the Executioner.
There are also Legendary Salvage Boxes (Morgan Kell (Archer), Natasha Kerensky (Dire Wolf), Grayson Death Carlyle (Marauder) & Aidan Pryde (Timber Wolf)) and UrbanMech Salvage Boxes, but they are labelled as such.
Clan Heavy Striker Star (Gargoyle, Mad Dog, Hellbringer, Viper, Ice Ferret)
Thirteen of the sixteen 3050 designs, but missing the Kit Fox. This limits the 'I am Jade Falcon' in me too much. Sounds like my enemies will have to double their caution.
Quartermaster Logistics wrote:Battletech: Clan Invasion Wave 2 from Catalyst Game Labs has commenced this morning and will be our main focus for the remainder of August and into September! Tracking emails will be going out daily as we work through the project.
Picking/packing started today, and the first shipments are actually in the mail! We can’t wait to read about the first confirmations as items begin arriving. All US customers are supposedly 2-5 days shipping time (although we suspect that may not have taken Alaska or Hawai'i into account).
Canadian shipments will be picked and packed, and then bundled for freight delivery to our friends up north. We were asked to tell you that it may take about +1 week for the extra freight time, so don’t be surprised if you look at tracking and your package hasn’t moved in a few days. It may be awaiting bundled delivery to your local post.
EU and UK
Officially, these are two regions and two different hubs, but it’s the same information, so we’ll just put it out together.
Picking/packing started, but they do not expect to mail out a package until the end of the week, so we expect to hear about first deliveries until next week. If someone gets a tracking notice, yell! That way we know mailing has commenced.
All emails should come from “ShipQuest” regardless. We believe all shipments should be done within three weeks, but we will follow up with better information when we have it.
AUS and NZ
A month ago, they expected to be the first region to begin fulfillment, but then suffered some new Covid lockdowns. This set them back about three weeks. This region now expects to start their pick/pack/ship process by the “end of August.”
You may be able to see more detailed information on the Aetherwerks Facebook page. They are pretty good about making posts.
ASIA
Picking/packing started last week, and mailing was expected to commence this week. VFI’s rough timeline indicates that China/Hong Kong/Macao should all expect deliveries (or at least notifications) in the next week and a half. Other regions in Asia will go out following these shipments.
Remember, VFI does all the picking and packing, and then bundles freight to each region in turn. Often they are using local game stores to help deliver to customers. This takes a lot of time. We have no control over which regions are done first, or how fast it proceeds. We’ve been told that often Indonesia is the last in the chain, and if we have customers there it might be early October before the chain stretches that far. Please be patient, and we will report more as we know more.
Catalyst wrote:I wanted to come up with a way to thank you, the backers, for your support of this amazing campaign. Secretly crafting a reimagined Shilone with a Tyra Miraborg pilot card, placing it in a Salvage Box and then dropping it into Wave Two; i.e. if you are receiving a Wave Two shipment, you are getting this Shilone thank you from us!
It's nice, and I get the fluff reason for a Shilone but I'm not sure how useful in-game it is (having never used aircraft). Is it actually useful / usable in 'normal' B'Tech?
chaos0xomega wrote: Confirmed on Facebook its just a one-off and not a hint at the contents of the next kickstarter :(
That's just what they want you to believe!
I dunno. Seems odd that they'd go through the process of re-imagining a vehicle, like the Battlemechs, and not use it to at least be a gauge of interest in redesigning other vehicles.
I don't necessarily disagree, but Battlemechs are also the games bread and butter and there are still hundreds of mech designs (to say nothing of variants) out there for them to update, so I wouldn't be surprised if they chose to focus on the mechs and push aircraft, tanks, etc. further down the timeline.
Personally, if they make the Shilone available for individual purchase at a $7-10 price point I'd be willing to chuck money at picking up another 2-3 of them. I imagine if it outsold expectations they might be jazzed enough by it to consider further vehicles.
It's nice, and I get the fluff reason for a Shilone but I'm not sure how useful in-game it is (having never used aircraft). Is it actually useful / usable in 'normal' B'Tech?
there are rules to use aerospace fighters in battletech, I've never done it myself but they exist. obviously it's another layer of complexity added in but...
RazorEdge wrote: What is this "Reinforcements Clan Invasion" Box?
I believe it's a box of die-cut standups of every mech from the kickstarter, record sheets for those mechs, vehicle counters, and an exclusive mapsheet.
That is not what I mean. I was hoping for the Kit Fox to be included in the RNG give outs. Makes more sense to include the original 3050 designs before adding the Grendel and Shadow Cat.
That is not what I mean. I was hoping for the Kit Fox to be included in the RNG give outs. Makes more sense to include the original 3050 designs before adding the Grendel and Shadow Cat.
While the Grendel wasn't introduced until 3053, the Shadow Cat was introduced in 3003 well before the Clan Invasion (although it did not make an appearance in the Inner Sphere until the Battle of Luthien) and is actually an older design than the Puma and the Dire Wolf.
Ghaz, this is my point. The mechs were available but not from 3049, and not in the 3050 sourcebook which was our staple for the clans for a long time.
As a general rule if the mech isn't in 3025 or 3050 it's an add on. No matter how far the story moves on it always roots back to thee two books and 3026.
Those are the models players most want to see.
Ghaz wrote: The Clan Invasion era covers the years of 3050 to 3061. These are appropriate 'mechs for that era, not just those found in the 3050 Technical Readout.
I think what Orlanth is trying to say is if it wasn't printed in the 1986 TRO for 3025 or the 1990 TRO for 3050, it's not an "original" mech, even if later publications put the mech active in that time frame.
Ghaz wrote: The Clan Invasion era covers the years of 3050 to 3061. These are appropriate 'mechs for that era, not just those found in the 3050 Technical Readout.
I think what Orlanth is trying to say is if it wasn't printed in the 1986 TRO for 3025 or the 1990 TRO for 3050, it's not an "original" mech, even if later publications put the mech active in that time frame.
Ghaz wrote: The Clan Invasion era covers the years of 3050 to 3061. These are appropriate 'mechs for that era, not just those found in the 3050 Technical Readout.
I think what Orlanth is trying to say is if it wasn't printed in the 1986 TRO for 3025 or the 1990 TRO for 3050, it's not an "original" mech, even if later publications put the mech active in that time frame.
original mech doesn't really matter, The shadow Cat is one of the more popular medium clan mechs out there, more popular then the kit fox by far to most people I suspect
Miguelsan wrote: Edit: Actually Sarna says that the Shadow Cat is the only omni that lacks an IS name with both sides using the same designation.
It's far from the only one these days.
kiiinda, after tro 3050 or so FASA abandoned the "two names for every clan mech" (hard to blame them TBH) but recently they went back to some of the clan mechs where it would make sense to have two names and gave them a clan name. the most obvious example I can think of is the Cauldron Born, which was a mono named mech for ages until CGL gave us it's clan name of "Ebon Jaguar" with TRO 3058U
The two names thing came about because the IS didn't know what they were called so made up their own. It stopped because the Clans became more of a known factor.
Anyway, got an E-mail from Aetherworks. It's happening! Finally!
H.B.M.C. wrote: The two names thing came about because the IS didn't know what they were called so made up their own. It stopped because the Clans became more of a known factor.
It still occasionally happens - the Ion Sparrow is called the Butcherbird by the Lyrans.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Anyway, got an E-mail from Aetherworks. It's happening! Finally!
Yay! Still waiting for mine (UK) - getting slightly worried / annoyed that other people have already gotten theirs of a similar size to mine.
So some news that LONG TERM, could have some ripple effects for battletech. Topps, which owns Wizkids and thus owns the Battletech IP, has after 70 years of making baseball cards, lost the MLB lisence.
I'm not worried but as I said it could have some long term impact. (frankly the most shocking thing about this news to me is that baseball cards are still a thing)
Are there more Touring the Stars: Yes, many. Announcement soon.
Founding of the Clans postponed to September
Part 3 planned for December,
Den of Wolves might work … Yes… Stackpole is working on it
Novels and source books are written side by side, which means a lot of work to make sure that everything fits together and that no mistakes happen.
Digital Game Aids: everything is very difficult. The old contracts are old ... they don't cover how games work today and what computers and mobile devices can do today. All very, very difficult.
Will Battletech Change:
Catalyst is not a fan of change just for the sake of change. There's no 3rd edition, 4th edition, 5th edition ...
That's not how Battletech works.
You can certainly try something new (cards, board games, etc.), but that doesn't mean that the old one will be abolished.
Succession Wars Boardgame:
Randall has it. Randall is working on it. But it is not shared with everyone. But there is progress.
Brent wanted to playtest it with Randall, but then they had a power outage and were in the dark. Yes, really!
Battletech comics:
Topps removed comics from Catalysts license 8 years ago because they can do better themselves.
Has anyone seen the Topps comics?
They are working to change that again.
Will something happen to the Tukayyid vehicle rules?
Yes
Will there be more plastic minis for other mechs?
Brent: Metall
Ray: The first Kickstarter was very successful ... Make it what you want.
Will there be a core trilogy for the IlClan era?
Not a trilogy no. Trilogies are difficult to complete in a meaningful, timeframe.
More Scorpion Empire: Yes, at some point. And Brent said something about an illustration they had recently. But hadn't revealed anything to anyone yet. Oops
Updates on Origins 2021, Final Cycle of Recognition Guide, and More
on AUGUST 24, 2021
There’s a mix of BattleTech related news to share with you today, headlined by an update on the Origins convention this year and a rescheduling of the final cycle of Recognition Guide: ilClan. Strap in, and let’s get to it!
Origins 2021
Due to the shortened convention calendar, reduced exhibit hours at Origins, and COVID in general, Catalyst Game Labs will not be attending Origins 2021 as an exhibitor. We will continue to support our demo teams, and look forward to getting back to Origins in 2022.
Recognition Guide: ilClan
As Wave 2 of the Clan Invasion Kickstarter continues shipping, and with the ilClan sourcebook recently released, we have decided to move the start of the fourth and final cycle of Recognition Guide: ilClan. In addition to not crowding out those other major releases, this rescheduling will ensure that our creative team has the time to match the high level of quality of the previous RecGuide installments.
The fourth cycle will now begin with Vol. 19 on Friday, Oct. 15 and continue bi-weekly until concluding with Vol. 24 on Friday, Dec. 24.
Interview with Line Developer Ray Arrastia
Sarna.net, the BattleTech wiki, recently hosted an interview with Line Developer Ray Arrastia. The wide-ranging interview delved into topics such as Ray’s history with the game and recent events in the community, and included a few hints of what’s to come. Check it out!
Anyway, Sarna has an interview with the BTech Line Developer, Ray Arrastia. It's a good read, but I found this question/answer quite curious:
Sarna.net wrote:Sarna: Alright, let’s talk tech. It’s 3150. The Clans have been around for a century, and in my reading of the Recognition Guides: ilClan, I’m seeing a lot of classic-era BattleTech ‘Mechs remade with Clan tech. This makes sense, given how Clan technology really should have disseminated across the Inner Sphere at this point. Are we heading into an era where Clan tech is the standard and we can throw away all our regular old Medium Lasers?
Ray: Yes.
Sarna: Well. Asked and answered.
So, just to clarify, all our favorite classic ‘Mechs–from Centurions to Marauders to UrbanMechs–they’re all getting Clan tech makeovers?
Ray: They’re all getting makeovers with ilClan era tech, yes. Not necessarily Clan tech in all cases.
I am very happy about this.
BTech has always been a story that moves forward, and its good to see that a lot of the "experimental" stuff is, over time, just becoming the norm.
Thats one of the things I love about BTech is that you can see tech progression over time resulting in modernizations and variants of various designs - much like in real life where tanks, aircraft, ships, etc. will have engines, weapons, sensors, armor packages, etc. swapped and replaced over time to keep pace with the latest capabilities and tech development made by adversaries.
Im going to need to start buying these sourcebooks/TROs/recognition guides, etc. Is there a recommended list out there for what I should prioritize/get first? I'll admit that (as we discussed a couple dozen pages back) I find the world of BTech publications to be very opaque. I already have the core rulebooks (i.e. Total Warfare, Battlemech Manual, Tac Ops - Advanced Rules, Tac Ops - Advanced Equipment, Alpha Strike Commanders Ed, Tech Manual, Campaign Ops, Strategic Ops, etc.), beyond that I have a hard time understanding whats what in terms of all the other different book categories beyond just a vague comprehension that none of them are strictly necessary but they all have something to add to the experience. It seems to me many of them have a heavy degree of overlap between them though (i.e. TRO: Clan Invasion duplicates some (but not all?) of the content found in a number of other TROs that are named after the year of events, etc. An upcoming IlClan TRO will duplicate a lot (but not all) of the content found in the recently released IlClan recognition guides, etc.), which doesn't make it any easier, as I hate buying duplicate content if I don't have to.
chaos0xomega wrote: Thats one of the things I love about BTech is that you can see tech progression over time resulting in modernizations and variants of various designs - much like in real life where tanks, aircraft, ships, etc. will have engines, weapons, sensors, armor packages, etc. swapped and replaced over time to keep pace with the latest capabilities and tech development made by adversaries.
Im going to need to start buying these sourcebooks/TROs/recognition guides, etc. Is there a recommended list out there for what I should prioritize/get first? I'll admit that (as we discussed a couple dozen pages back) I find the world of BTech publications to be very opaque. I already have the core rulebooks (i.e. Total Warfare, Battlemech Manual, Tac Ops - Advanced Rules, Tac Ops - Advanced Equipment, Alpha Strike Commanders Ed, Tech Manual, Campaign Ops, Strategic Ops, etc.), beyond that I have a hard time understanding whats what in terms of all the other different book categories beyond just a vague comprehension that none of them are strictly necessary but they all have something to add to the experience. It seems to me many of them have a heavy degree of overlap between them though (i.e. TRO: Clan Invasion duplicates some (but not all?) of the content found in a number of other TROs that are named after the year of events, etc. An upcoming IlClan TRO will duplicate a lot (but not all) of the content found in the recently released IlClan recognition guides, etc.), which doesn't make it any easier, as I hate buying duplicate content if I don't have to.
Battletech's sourcebooks are very..... I guess the best term is "narrative driven" if you want the actual data sheets for the differant mechs in theory you'll wanna buy the record sheet books. (in practice you can get all that info with the mech lab software out there like MekLab or Solaris Skunkworks which is how most players get em.) the TROs are mostly fluff for all these mechs.
In regard to the TROs they've been reorginizaing them in an attempt to make things a bit clearer for new comers, we used to have TRO 3025 3050 3055 etc. and CGL has been re-ordering the TROs a bit to focus on era rather then the date, as yeah sometimes that got confusing.
I'd snag the TROs that intreast you the most.
one you;'re done with the TROs it's really a matter of deciding what ers you wanna look into, what factions etc. A great place to start would be the house Handbooks.
Handbook, Davion, Steiner, Liao, Kurita, and Marik.
A great source for the clans is a book titled "the clans warriors of kerensky" (sadly it's not avaliable as a PDF :( )
then there's novels. Battletech has a lotta em and it's worth reading. might wanna look into the offical reading order.
Battletech's sourcebooks are very..... I guess the best term is "narrative driven" if you want the actual data sheets for the differant mechs in theory you'll wanna buy the record sheet books. (in practice you can get all that info with the mech lab software out there like MekLab or Solaris Skunkworks which is how most players get em.) the TROs are mostly fluff for all these mechs.
In regard to the TROs they've been reorginizaing them in an attempt to make things a bit clearer for new comers, we used to have TRO 3025 3050 3055 etc. and CGL has been re-ordering the TROs a bit to focus on era rather then the date, as yeah sometimes that got confusing.
I'd snag the TROs that intreast you the most.
one you;'re done with the TROs it's really a matter of deciding what ers you wanna look into, what factions etc. A great place to start would be the house Handbooks.
Handbook, Davion, Steiner, Liao, Kurita, and Marik.
A great source for the clans is a book titled "the clans warriors of kerensky" (sadly it's not avaliable as a PDF :( )
then there's novels. Battletech has a lotta em and it's worth reading. might wanna look into the offical reading order.
As someone who's coming back to CBT for the first time in ~15 years, I'm also a bit lost trying to navigate the different types of books both old and new. I get TROs vs. Record Sheets and the basics of what I need to play (Total Warfare), but I am really struggling to understand the difference between Field Manuals, Handbooks, and Source Books.
As someone who's coming back to CBT for the first time in ~15 years, I'm also a bit lost trying to navigate the different types of books both old and new. I get TROs vs. Record Sheets and the basics of what I need to play (Total Warfare), but I am really struggling to understand the difference between Field Manuals, Handbooks, and Source Books.
Field Manuals contain information on the military side of a society, so units, commanders, deployments, etc. Handbooks are of the society as a whole, with lots of history attached, how did the nation form and so on. Source books are usually related to singular events, eras or units, and can contain a mix of the info above, but usually more in depth than the FM or Handbooks would, since the scale of information/event is smaller and the content can thus be deeper.
Thats good to know re: field manuals, handbooks, sourcebooks. I feel like theres got to be a better way to present all this information in a less convoluted way. Like, I feel Record Sheets and TROs could be a single product that provides you all the necessary fluff and specs on one page, and the opposite page gives you the corresponding record sheet. And I feel like the fact that the sourcebooks cover all the details of the field manuals and handbooks, but in greater detail, renders the existence of the Field Manuals and Handbooks entirely redundant.
chaos0xomega wrote: Thats good to know re: field manuals, handbooks, sourcebooks. I feel like theres got to be a better way to present all this information in a less convoluted way. Like, I feel Record Sheets and TROs could be a single product that provides you all the necessary fluff and specs on one page, and the opposite page gives you the corresponding record sheet. And I feel like the fact that the sourcebooks cover all the details of the field manuals and handbooks, but in greater detail, renders the existence of the Field Manuals and Handbooks entirely redundant.
Honestly, nowadays record sheets are kind of a throwback, and you've never really needed them. If you wanted to use official designs. the only thing you really needed was the TROs. Now that we have access to multiple very good mech creators, many with all the official mechs (or well, most) already in a database, all the record sheets you could ever need are literally at the push of a button.
chaos0xomega wrote: So it sounds like basically just buy TROs and ignore the rest unless for whatever reason I decide I want to take a deep dive into the fluff.
TBH even the TROs aren't important if you're not intreased in the fluff, Battltech is a VERY fluff driven game.
Yeah. Basically all you need to play is a few of the core rulebooks, some maps, dice and a recordsheet/mechlab program. Some minis or tokens. All the rest is fluff of one sort or another.
As someone who's coming back to CBT for the first time in ~15 years, I'm also a bit lost trying to navigate the different types of books both old and new. I get TROs vs. Record Sheets and the basics of what I need to play (Total Warfare), but I am really struggling to understand the difference between Field Manuals, Handbooks, and Source Books.
Field Manuals contain information on the military side of a society, so units, commanders, deployments, etc. Handbooks are of the society as a whole, with lots of history attached, how did the nation form and so on. Source books are usually related to singular events, eras or units, and can contain a mix of the info above, but usually more in depth than the FM or Handbooks would, since the scale of information/event is smaller and the content can thus be deeper.
Thank you for this! I'm mostly focusing on Merc fluff right now so probably going to buy all the vintage books regardless, but this is really helpful for figuring out what else to go back and grab.
chaos0xomega wrote: So it sounds like basically just buy TROs and ignore the rest unless for whatever reason I decide I want to take a deep dive into the fluff.
Mainly yes, and as said before, if you don't want any fluff at all, not even that. Take, for example, MegamekLab and you'll have all the construction rules to create your own mechs and/or a whole load of official designs to play with without needing absolutely anything else. You can even go to Sarna for pics and fluff.
And on that environment, you could also take the whole Megamek kerfuffle: MekHQ, that will allow you to both run a full mercenary campaign, play the battles over Megamek and maintain and design mechs with MegaMekLab.
As someone who's coming back to CBT for the first time in ~15 years, I'm also a bit lost trying to navigate the different types of books both old and new. I get TROs vs. Record Sheets and the basics of what I need to play (Total Warfare), but I am really struggling to understand the difference between Field Manuals, Handbooks, and Source Books.
Field Manuals contain information on the military side of a society, so units, commanders, deployments, etc. Handbooks are of the society as a whole, with lots of history attached, how did the nation form and so on. Source books are usually related to singular events, eras or units, and can contain a mix of the info above, but usually more in depth than the FM or Handbooks would, since the scale of information/event is smaller and the content can thus be deeper.
Thank you for this! I'm mostly focusing on Merc fluff right now so probably going to buy all the vintage books regardless, but this is really helpful for figuring out what else to go back and grab.
I belive the merc unit construction rules is in campaign ops (revised) if that helps. in terms of merc fluff there's a lot of it out there, but as mercs also fight for the various great houses it helps to know who you're working for too (word of advise don't work for the dracs! )
Haha, totally. I just started Decision and Thunder Rift and plan to plow through the GDL stuff. I was deep into CBT back during the FedCom Civil War era and then the start of the Dark Ages so that's what I've read. Time to go back further!
they never printed that book again after it's inital run so it's damn near impossiable to find. It's also not very good. I'd start with the Warrior trilogy.
They're 90% background books, and contain basic stats but none of the record sheets. And then even the record sheet books, as others have said, aren't necessary given that there are lots of 'Mech building programs out there.
Personally I use Solaris Skunk Werks, which is the spiritual successor to The Drawing Board, the best 'Mech program that ever existed. SSW is also back in development, and getting updates again after many years on hiatus, which is great, as it means it can keep adding all the newer stuff. Every record sheet I use comes out of that program.
As for the other books, really it depends on what you want. Handbooks/Field Manuals tend to look at factions, whereas Sourcebooks tend to look at events. There was a long period where the story in BTech was driven by sourcebooks because they weren't doing novels. So the FedCom Civil War and especially the Jihad leading into the Dark Age-era was all sourcebook based.
Catalyst have said that they don't want to just have sourcebooks driving everything forward, and want to make novels a big part of the universe again, which might be why Hour of the Wolf was the first big IlClan thing to come out rather than the actual IlClan sourcebook.
As for the other books, really it depends on what you want. Handbooks/Field Manuals tend to look at factions, whereas Sourcebooks tend to look at events. There was a long period where the story in BTech was driven by sourcebooks because they weren't doing novels. So the FedCom Civil War and especially the Jihad leading into the Dark Age-era was all sourcebook based.
actually the FCCW had novels dedicated to it, it was the Jihad that was entirely sourcebook driven
Without fluff Btech is not that interesting. The stuff that makes Btech great in my opinion are all the small things you find in the sourcebooks. I have all the TROs up to Jihad, and the why some mechs, tanks, warships came to be is hilarious sometimes.
Miguelsan wrote: Without fluff Btech is not that interesting. The stuff that makes Btech great in my opinion are all the small things you find in the sourcebooks. I have all the TROs up to Jihad, and the why some mechs, tanks, warships came to be is hilarious sometimes.
M.
ohh agreed. Battletech is a MUCH more intreasting game as a setting then just a game.
As for the other books, really it depends on what you want. Handbooks/Field Manuals tend to look at factions, whereas Sourcebooks tend to look at events. There was a long period where the story in BTech was driven by sourcebooks because they weren't doing novels. So the FedCom Civil War and especially the Jihad leading into the Dark Age-era was all sourcebook based.
actually the FCCW had novels dedicated to it, it was the Jihad that was entirely sourcebook driven
I was gonna say, my whole exposure was driven by the FCCW novels. It's the Dark Ages books that lost me... After I do some of the earlier stories I want to dive into the Clan Invasion and do the Blood of Kerensky books then the decline of the invasion stuff. And here I thought I was going to dive back into the Horus Heresy books
the early MWDA novels where TERRIABLE, some of the later ones less so but a lot of ".... yeah this happened because plot, ignore the extreme level of bs required for it" happened there but that's the NORM in Battletech novels. this is the game setting where we are told repeatedly that nationalism is largely dead and the people over all don't care which flag flies over their head, until suddenly the entire sarna march collapses due to capellan nationalism...
they never printed that book again after it's inital run so it's damn near impossiable to find. It's also not very good. I'd start with the Warrior trilogy.
Glad I found my copy at a used bookstore years ago (or maybe not after reading the book... )
they never printed that book again after it's inital run so it's damn near impossiable to find. It's also not very good. I'd start with the Warrior trilogy.
Glad I found my copy at a used bookstore years ago (or maybe not after reading the book... )
yup I got my copy, up until they resumed making the novels I could proudly boast of having EVERY Battletech novel on my book shelf.
Use Sarna to find which of the mechs you like best fit which factions and use that knowledge to help justify the mechs you wanted to field anyway.
As a general rule so long as the mech is not lostech in an era when that was important or hasn't been manufactured yet then anything goes. So long as you pay some lip service to faction production you can get away with a lot and in most cases have at least one or two unusual units the faction does not normally produce or purchase.
The worst way to design a mech force is by rolling on TRO tables. Not only will you get a very skewed force that does not make sense, but you may well roll mechs you do not like or do not own, and many TROs are either flat out wrong or contradict the sourcebooks.
they never printed that book again after it's inital run so it's damn near impossiable to find. It's also not very good. I'd start with the Warrior trilogy.
Glad I found my copy at a used bookstore years ago (or maybe not after reading the book... )
yup I got my copy, up until they resumed making the novels I could proudly boast of having EVERY Battletech novel on my book shelf.
I had all the early novels in mint condition, then they were stolen and only slowly replaced. Sword and Dagger was the hardest to find, I was lucky, my copy was(is) damaged and thus a reasonable price. It goes for silly money nowadays.
Frankly I think it one of the better novels and introduces new concepts from the get go.
Use Sarna to find which of the mechs you like best fit which factions and use that knowledge to help justify the mechs you wanted to field anyway.
As a general rule so long as the mech is not lostech in an era when that was important or hasn't been manufactured yet then anything goes. So long as you pay some lip service to faction production you can get away with a lot and in most cases have at least one or two unusual units the faction does not normally produce or purchase.
The worst way to design a mech force is by rolling on TRO tables. Not only will you get a very skewed force that does not make sense, but you may well roll mechs you do not like or do not own, and many TROs are either flat out wrong or contradict the sourcebooks.
I like them too. Coming from 40k I look at them like army lists - these are the units available to your faction. I've copied out the Hells Horses ones and am using them to choose what stuff to buy.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Then again, I like fanmade (and far more comprehensive) RAT. The big one that a guy at the BTech forums has been working on for years.
So I'm thinking of getting some TROs, as it seems like they might be worth it on the basis of fluff based on some of these responses.
I'm looking at:
TRO: Succession War
TRO: Clan Invasion
TRO: Jihad
TRO: Golden Century
TRO: Irregulars
These seem to all be the "new" standard for TROs going forward, collapsed by era rather than a mess of specific books by year, with new artwork, etc. Worth it? Also considering the Recognition Guides but not sure if I should just wait for the eventual TRO: IlClan compilation.
Also, some said before that the TROs don't include record sheets, but several of these indicate that they include "game stats" for a number of mechs - are game stats not the same as record sheets?
A few of them indicate specifically that they do include Record Sheets ("Statistics and Record Sheets are included for 29 new IndustrialMech MODs, Security- and MilitiaMechs, support vehicles, and their variants ready for play." Golden Century says something similar).What gives?
chaos0xomega wrote: Also, some said before that the TROs don't include record sheets, but several of these indicate that they include "game stats" for a number of mechs - are game stats not the same as record sheets?
A few of them indicate specifically that they do include Record Sheets ("Statistics and Record Sheets are included for 29 new IndustrialMech MODs, Security- and MilitiaMechs, support vehicles, and their variants ready for play." Golden Century says something similar).What gives?
I'm not sure about that last part as I don't have that book, but all the TROs I have are like this:
Spoiler:
So you have the fluff of the mech and the stats listed as such, but not the record sheet to play with it.
Golden Century and Irregulars are kind of obscure ones, TBH.
And yes, some TROs do contain record sheets, but usually the smaller ones (the IlClan Recognition Guide TROs have regular TRO entries plus all the record sheets in there).
TRO: Succession War, TRO: Clan Invasion, TRO: Jihad would be a good starting point, but again these are mostly fluff. They're not really gaming aids.
Yeah, so I feel compelled to pick them up on the basis of fluff. I basically have an at-best cursory understanding of Battletech fluff. I know that there was once a spacefaring human government centered on earth and then some stuff happened that resulted in a civil war that saw it fracture up into 4 or 5 major competing states (and a number of smaller minor powers on the periphery) while the commander of the military fled into the unknown regions to establish the clans. I know that as a result of this a bunch of tech and R&D capacity was lost and a whole bunch of wars and conflict occurred. And I know that one day the clans showed up and started kicking the inner spheres asses forcing them to kinda unit against a common enemy. And I know that a religious cult based on space telecommunications arose in the aftermath of that invasion and caused even more problems, and then somewhere in all that a couple of the clans managed to invade earth and reestablish rule on earth or whatever...
but thats about *all* I know. I see people throwing names of characters and mechs around, and I'm clueless. Events get mentioned, and assigned from the Battle of Tukayyid I know nothing about them, etc. etc. etc.
So the TROs seem like a good place to start in terms of learning some of the background.
chaos0xomega wrote: Yeah, so I feel compelled to pick them up on the basis of fluff. I basically have an at-best cursory understanding of Battletech fluff. I know that there was once a spacefaring human government centered on earth and then some stuff happened that resulted in a civil war that saw it fracture up into 4 or 5 major competing states (and a number of smaller minor powers on the periphery) while the commander of the military fled into the unknown regions to establish the clans. I know that as a result of this a bunch of tech and R&D capacity was lost and a whole bunch of wars and conflict occurred. And I know that one day the clans showed up and started kicking the inner spheres asses forcing them to kinda unit against a common enemy. And I know that a religious cult based on space telecommunications arose in the aftermath of that invasion and caused even more problems, and then somewhere in all that a couple of the clans managed to invade earth and reestablish rule on earth or whatever...
but thats about *all* I know. I see people throwing names of characters and mechs around, and I'm clueless. Events get mentioned, and assigned from the Battle of Tukayyid I know nothing about them, etc. etc. etc.
So the TROs seem like a good place to start in terms of learning some of the background.
I don't own a ton of TROs myself but I don't think you're going to get as much of the basic setting background from them, they are more specific to individual mech fluff. You'd probably want Handbooks or Field Manuals for the setting and events.
chaos0xomega wrote: Yeah, so I feel compelled to pick them up on the basis of fluff. I basically have an at-best cursory understanding of Battletech fluff. I know that there was once a spacefaring human government centered on earth and then some stuff happened that resulted in a civil war that saw it fracture up into 4 or 5 major competing states (and a number of smaller minor powers on the periphery) while the commander of the military fled into the unknown regions to establish the clans. I know that as a result of this a bunch of tech and R&D capacity was lost and a whole bunch of wars and conflict occurred. And I know that one day the clans showed up and started kicking the inner spheres asses forcing them to kinda unit against a common enemy. And I know that a religious cult based on space telecommunications arose in the aftermath of that invasion and caused even more problems, and then somewhere in all that a couple of the clans managed to invade earth and reestablish rule on earth or whatever...
but thats about *all* I know. I see people throwing names of characters and mechs around, and I'm clueless. Events get mentioned, and assigned from the Battle of Tukayyid I know nothing about them, etc. etc. etc.
So the TROs seem like a good place to start in terms of learning some of the background.
For a quick overview of the setting, start with the BattlTech Universe Guide that's a free PDF from Catalyst Game Labs.
Also, you don't really need much else. You might want more, of course, but that's good enough to have fun with the setting, and if you play in a narrative campaign, an rpg group or something, you can learn by doing and seeing.
chaos0xomega wrote: Yeah, so I feel compelled to pick them up on the basis of fluff. I basically have an at-best cursory understanding of Battletech fluff. I know that there was once a spacefaring human government centered on earth and then some stuff happened that resulted in a civil war that saw it fracture up into 4 or 5 major competing states (and a number of smaller minor powers on the periphery) while the commander of the military fled into the unknown regions to establish the clans. I know that as a result of this a bunch of tech and R&D capacity was lost and a whole bunch of wars and conflict occurred. And I know that one day the clans showed up and started kicking the inner spheres asses forcing them to kinda unit against a common enemy. And I know that a religious cult based on space telecommunications arose in the aftermath of that invasion and caused even more problems, and then somewhere in all that a couple of the clans managed to invade earth and reestablish rule on earth or whatever...
but thats about *all* I know. I see people throwing names of characters and mechs around, and I'm clueless. Events get mentioned, and assigned from the Battle of Tukayyid I know nothing about them, etc. etc. etc.
So the TROs seem like a good place to start in terms of learning some of the background.
You will also learn about the Toaster worshippers!
Project Update #178 wrote:
Faction Dice, Pilot Decks, and Remaining Digital Items
Greetings, MechWarriors!
Wave 2 shipping is well underway in four of our five regions. US/CA/ROW continues, and should wrap up somewhere around the end of September or early October. UK and EU reports that they hope to be 100% complete by the "middle of September." And VFI in Asia has reported that their initial sort & package is nearly done, with China 100% mailed soon, and then other Asian countries moving forward in turn. For our Australian and New Zealand backers, delayed by local Covid shutdowns, Aetherworks hopes to start mailing packages early next week.
The feedback we have gotten from backers who have received their Wave Two shipping has been amazing, and the surprise and pleasure over the Shilone fighter fufilled our every expectation. And while Catalyst is incredibly pleased at the quality and quantity of nearly every aspect of this massive Kickstarter, there were a few notable exceptions, for which we want to provide the following updates:
INSIGNIA DICE
Much to our chagrin, and despite all the quality control during the process, the Insignia Dice simply failed. Over 20% of all dice produced (and paid for) were not of an acceptable quality. (By comparison, an "acceptable failure rate" is usuall under 2%.) We only discovered this with the shipping of Wave One material.
With all of the moving parts to this campaign, we had to make a choice as to where we put our focus, and instead doubled down on the miniatures (and other elements) ensuring quality was retained for these all important items. We immediately shut down this production line, which did cause an eventual shortage.
With that in mind, the following covers how we will proceed on this:
If your Inisignia Dice are of sufficient quality, you don't need to do anything but enjoy them!
If you received Insignia Dice that are not of sufficient quality, you can claim a credit for their value. A link will be provided at the end of fulfillment for you to make a claim.
If you do not receive Insignia Dice at all, as part of your pledge or an add-on, we will automatically issue a credit in the coming weeks. QML has tracked this and it should affect less than 1,000 orders overall.
We absolutely hope to revisit Insignia Dice in the future, as we know how much the community would love such dice on their tables. Once we are more confident of the final quality.
MECHWARRIOR PILOT DECKS
During Wave One (or those with Single-Wave shipping) we produced and delivered three MechWarrior Pilot Decks:
Champions of the Inner Sphere I
Mercenaries of the Inner Sphere II
Warriors of Kerensky I
As part of Wave Two we were supposed to produce the following decks:
Battle of Tukayyid
Mercenaries of the Inner Sphere I
Warriors of Kerensky II
What no one foresaw was how insanely complicated these decks would be to produce. Custom art, based on backer photos or description. Rendering of the art for the units with appropriate colors. Collation. Coordination. We stressed out our pool of authors, artists and fact checkers; just about killed out Art Director who still rolls into a fetal position any time we bring up doing new custom-art card decks.
In the end, with the clock bearing down on us and no leeway from our factory (at that time) for error, we chose to focus our efforts on the miniatures, maps, plushies, and so on. So, instead of three decks, we took the best of what we had ready and produced one new deck: Heroes of the Clan Invasion.
Everyone who purchased any of those decks will receive a credit in the coming weeks. ALSO, you should receive a free copy of Heroes as our way of making up for any inconvenience.
As with the faciton dice, above, we hope to revisit these decks in the future.
FINAL DIGITAL CONTENT
Having dug through all of our spreadsheets, the following are the remaining digital items (be it fiction, a video, and so on) that we need to deliver on (in parenthesis is the Stretch Goal where the item was unlocked, as appropriate):
Scenario #4 Grand Melee (was #1) ($55,000)
Expanded Military Breifing: The Clans ($105,000)
Scenior #5 Batchall (was #3) ($130,000)
Honor & Glory (Level 2) ($160,000)
Honor & Glory (Level 3) ($290,000)
Honor & Glory (IV) ($360,000)
Founding the Clans (II) ($390,000)
Founding the Clans (III) ($460,000)
Den of Wolves ($700,000)
What Would Victor do? ($1,125,000)
MechWarrior 5 Unleashed ($1,375,000)
Camospecs: A Guide to Faction Paint Schemes ($1,750,000)
Beard-Off Rematch ($1,875,000)
Camospecs: A Unit Art Manual ($2,000,000)
KerenskyCon
[If anyone believes an item was missed, by all means, let us know!]
Nearly every single item on that list is well underway and in the coming weeks many of these will start to drop; for those items not underway, we have plans for how to get them done and delivered. We hope you enjoy your big box 'o stuff as you wait for these final elements.
mumsnarf wrote: Has anyone in the USA received their wave two yet? I really need that urban lance.
Yes mine arrived here early Thursday. (Near Chicago)
Very happy with things and I did the 3D sculpting on the Warhawk so it’s my first ever model I’ve done to see production in injected molded plastics. Been dying to see how it’d come out, the molding was apparently really rough on that one but that part is handled by the engineers in China. Quite happy with the quality for the costs of the models.
Wave Two shipping is of paramount importance to you all, as it should be. However, we've seen many backers asking about various reprints of core items. Since you don't just want your items, but you want to make sure the line is healthy and strong and available for anyone to leap in and grab what they need to start playing.
And we love that passion! As such, just as we've given you full behind-the-scenes data before, we thought we'd provide details on all printing (and reprints) to date of the miniatures of this Kickstarter, along with the core BattleTech boxes.
BEGINNER BOX
We have published 31,500 copies of this game since the start of 2018, and the sixth printing, at 10,000 copies (the highest quantity yet printed, giving us a total of 41,500) is done right now, and we are working to get it on a ship. Normally it would be available by October, but with all of the shipping snafus around the world, it will likely be November before it's available.
A GAME OF ARMORED COMBAT
Once again, from when this was first released in early 2018, we have published 33,500 copies. The fifth reprint, of 10,000 copies (for a total of 43,500), is on a ship and scheduled to arrive into the Savannah port by September 14th. If that stays on track, it means the base game will be available again to stores and our website by early October. Based upon sales projections, we are already looking to start the sixth reprint of this box by the end of the year.
CLAN INVASION BOX
The Wave One printing of this box was 25,000 copies (the largest single printing of any game we have ever done); 17,000 Kickstarter covers and 8,000 standard covers. As part of a Wave One restock (see below), we reprinted 5,000 additional copies: 1,000 Kickstarter covers and 4,000 standard covers. As part of Wave Two we then printed an additional 5,000 copies (all standard covers), giving us 35,000 total. We are reviewing whether we'll need to start a fourth printing soon to keep it well in stock.
BY WAY OF COMPARISON
Just for comparison purposes, to showcase the insanity that has been this magnificent resurgence you have helped create, FanPro US and Catalyst Game Labs, from 2002 to 2017, published and sold four base box sets: stock # 10980 (one printing), 35000 (three printing), 3500A (one printing), and 3500B (two printings). Four boxes in fifteen years sold roughly 40,000 copies combined. As you can see above, in just over two years we've nearly matched that with just one box. And by the end of the year--making it roughly three years since this all began with the release of the Beginner Box and A Game of Armored Combat, we'll have three box sets that each will have surpassed that number.
Meeting the voracious demand for these high-quality box sets keeps us busy, but you can see that the numbers are clear: there's more BattleTech on the shelves now than any time in the last two decades.
WAVE ONE FORCEPACKS
The following numbers were printed of the Wave One ForcePacks:
Clan Command Star: 14,000
Inner Sphere Command Lance: 15,000
Clan Heavy Striker Star: 14,000
Inner Sphere Battle Lance: 15,000
Clan Elemental Star: 6,000
Legendary MechWarrior Pack: 8,000
SALVAGE BOXES
And the Salvage box numbers:
Salvage Box: Clan Invasion: 82,000
Salvage Box: UrbanMech: 22,000
Salvage Box: Legendary: 19,000
WAVE ONE RESTOCKS
Before Wave Two, we did the following Wave One reprintings. This is currently on a ship, arriving early September into the Savannah port.
Clan Elemental Star Pack: 7,500 (13,500 total)
Legendary MechWarriors Pack: 1,000 (9,000 total)
Salvage Box: UrbanMech: 2,000 (24,000 total)
Salvage Box: Legendary: 1,000 (20,000 total)
WAVE TWO FORCEPACKS
The following numbers were printed of the Wave Two ForcePacks (all of this has arrived at QML, of course, as shipping is underway!):
Clan Fire Star: 9,000
Inner Sphere Direct Fire Heavy Lance: 12,000
Clan Support Star: 9,000
Inner Sphere Heavy Lance: 9,000
Clan Heavy Battle Star: 9,000
Inner Sphere Striker Lance: 9,000
Clan Heavy Star: 9,000
Inner Sphere Fire Lance: 9,000
Clan Striker Star: 9,000
Inner Sphere Heavy Battle Lance: 9,000
Clan Ad Hoc Star: 9,000
Inner Sphere Urban Lance: 9,000
Inner Sphere Support Lance: 9,000
ComStar Command Level II: 9,000
ComStar Battle Level II: 9,000
And we ordered more of the following as a restock as part of that printing:
The following are currently scheduled to finish printing by early September, with most of it already finished (they were ordered back in April). Again, trying to take into account the current shipping issues, we are looking at either late November or December to have everything back in restock. Again, to be clear, the numbers directly below are completely beyond the needs of the Kickstarter, to carry us well into 2022.
Clan Command Star: 7,500 (21,500 total)
Inner Sphere Command Lance: 7,500 (22,500 total)
Clan Heavy Striker Star: 7,500 (21,500 total)
Inner Sphere Battle Lance: 7,500 (22,500 total)
Clan Fire Star: 8,500 (20,500 total)
Inner Sphere Direct Fire Heavy Lance: 10,000 (22,000 total)
Clan Support Star: 7,500 (16,500 total)
Inner Sphere Heavy Lance: 7,500 (16,500 total)
Clan Heavy Battle Star: 7,500 (16,500 total)
Inner Sphere Striker Lance: 7,500 (16,500 total)
Clan Heavy Star: 8,500 (17,500 total)
Inner Sphere Fire Lance: 7,500 (16,500 total)
Clan Striker Star: 7,500 (16,500 total)
Inner Sphere Heavy Battle Lance: 7,500 (16,500 total)
Clan Ad Hoc Star: 7,500 (15,600 total)
Inner Sphere Urban Lance: 7,500 (15,600 total)
Inner Sphere Support Lance: 7,500 (15,600 total)
ComStar Command Level II: 10,000 (19,000 total)
ComStar Battle Level II: 8,500 (17,500 total)
Salvage Box: Shilone
As we announced, we secretly produced a thank you miniature:
Salvage Box: Shilone: 20,000
We've gotten a question from some baclers of whether there will "be enough." As you can see, we absolutely have plenty to cover every last backers and then some.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BOOKS?!
Obviously the box sets and ForcePacks form the core of the line now, but the core books are still a crucial element. And so after all the miniatures numbers above, thought I would share some book numbers as well (all of these are just within the last two to three years!):
Strategic Operations (Vintage Cover): 2,000 (1 printing; a 2,500 2nd printing is about to start)
Campaign Operations (Vintage Cover): 2,000 (1 printing; a 2,500 2nd printing is about to start)
As for those wondering, yes, we are working right now on an Interstellar Operations: Alternate Eras and Interstellar Operations: BattleForce Vintage Cover reprint split and hope to send them to print soon.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
What does all of that mean for the health of BattleTech and its availability to the market?
Well, it means that despite the insane rocket ship BattleTech has become the last two-and-half-years we have been on top of reprints and restocks. And it simply is the nature of the current world situation of delays in production and shipping that have pushed releases back. But that by the end of the year we will be stocked as we have never been stocked in the history of BattleTech in over 35 years. It means that by the time the last of the ForcePacks above hit our warehouse and start rolling out to gaming tables around the world, we will have published nearly 2.8 MILLION plastic miniatures in three years!
Thanks to all of you for helping us achieve this incredible moment for this game and universe we all love!
For someone who has mostly stuff from the 80’s (and early 90’s) are the map packs worth getting or are they just reprints of the old cardboard map packs?
Stormonu wrote: For someone who has mostly stuff from the 80’s (and early 90’s) are the map packs worth getting or are they just reprints of the old cardboard map packs?
I didn't think it was make such a difference but I pulled out my Fourth Edition starter last night and compared it to the new maps for my first game in ~15 years today and yeah, the new maps are gorgeous and so much more readable.
Just received shipping confirmation, si will supposedly arrive in about a week.
Spoiler:
14 x Salvage Box: Clan Invasion
3 x MechWarrior Pilots: Card Pack #2
2 x BattleTech: Clan Invasion box set (Kickstarter version)
2 x MapPack: Battle for Tukayyid
2 x Inner Sphere Command Lance
2 x Reinforcements: Record Sheet Book #1
2 x Salvage Box: Urbanmech
2 x Salvage Box: Legendary
2 x Posters (Set of 3)
2 x Clan Daggerstar Keychain
1 x Reinforcements: Die-Cuts #1
1 x Faction Pack T-shirt #22: House Davion (X-Large)
1 x Clan Codex Dogtag
1 x Challenge Coin #21: House Kurita
1 x Challenge Coin #22: House Davion
1 x Faction Pack Lapel Pin #22: House Davion
1 x MechWarrior Pilots: Card Pack #1
1 x Faction Pack Patch #21: House Kurita
1 x BattleTech Salvage Box: Shilone
1 x MechWarrior Pilot Deck: Mercenaries II
1 x BattleTech MechWarrior Pilot Deck: Heroes of the Clan Invasion
1 x MechWarrior PIlot Deck: Warriors of Kerensky I
1 x MechWarrior PIlot Deck: Champions of the Inner Sphere
1 x BattleTech ComStar Battle Level II
1 x BattleTech ComStar Command Level II
1 x BattleTech Inner Sphere Support Lance
1 x BattleTech Inner Sphere Urban Lance
1 x BattleTech Inner Shere Heavy Battle Lance
1 x BattleTech Inner Sphere Fire Lance
1 x BattleTech Clan Heavy Star
1 x BattleTech Inner Sphere Striker Lance
1 x BattleTech Inner Sphere Heavy Lance
1 x BattleTech Inner Sphere Direct Fire Lance
1 x BattleTech Clan Fire Star
1 x Inner Sphere Battle Lance
I got my wave 2 shipping notice the other day for CA, USA, should get it tuesday according to tracking. I should probably spend some time cleaning up my room this weekend, gonna need some space for it
Kalamadea wrote: I got my wave 2 shipping notice the other day for CA, USA, should get it tuesday according to tracking. I should probably spend some time cleaning up my room this weekend, gonna need some space for it
Kalamadea wrote: I got my wave 2 shipping notice the other day for CA, USA, should get it tuesday according to tracking. I should probably spend some time cleaning up my room this weekend, gonna need some space for it
Catalyst has updated the Upcoming Releases page, including a sneak peek at the cover art for some of the upcoming Recognition Guides and a more in-depth look at the IlClan era in early 2022:
Prometheum5 wrote: What is in the Recognition Guides? I don't understand how they fit alongside TROs and Record Sheets.
Bite-sized TROs (like, 6-7 mechs?) with record sheets for the models therein and a whole load of variants of those.
Oh you get TRO content and the sheets together? That's awesome. I wish more of the books on the Catalyst site had a Table of Contents or some more clear picture of what the heck is in them.
I'm also wondering how some of the Catalyst sourcebooks are, like the historical for all the succession war stuff. I love fluffy books like that, but some of them seem really expensive now and I didn't see them listed as things that will be restocked any time soon.
Prometheum5 wrote: What is in the Recognition Guides? I don't understand how they fit alongside TROs and Record Sheets.
Bite-sized TROs (like, 6-7 mechs?) with record sheets for the models therein and a whole load of variants of those.
Yep, with a mix of old & new - so vol. 1 includes Griffin, Dominator, Goliath, Hellbringer (Loki), Commando, Pack Hunter & Grasshopper; vol. 2 has Ostscout, Sojourner, Stone Rhino (Behemoth), Mongrel (Grendel), UrbanMech, Bushwacker & Zeus; etc.
Prometheum5 wrote: What is in the Recognition Guides? I don't understand how they fit alongside TROs and Record Sheets.
Bite-sized TROs (like, 6-7 mechs?) with record sheets for the models therein and a whole load of variants of those.
Yep, with a mix of old & new - so vol. 1 includes Griffin, Dominator, Goliath, Hellbringer (Loki), Commando, Pack Hunter & Grasshopper; vol. 2 has Ostscout, Sojourner, Stone Rhino (Behemoth), Mongrel (Grendel), UrbanMech, Bushwacker & Zeus; etc.
Oh, thanks! I guess I should have just checked Sarna.
I like to think that I had pretty high expectations of the new stuff, fortunately, they were exceeded!
The latest scupts are very nice and yes, the Turkina is really good.
Scores on the doors:
Grayson's Marauder x2 (seriously?)
Mist Lynx x2 (oh, come on!)
Viper
Ice Ferret x2 (I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!)
Shadowcat
Gargoyle x2 (I like the new sculpt, but I've gone from never owning one, to having three...)
Executioner
Dire Wolf
Plus a couple of Urbies...
I really wanted a Timber Wolf, Summoner, Hellbringer and Mad Dog. All of them, no shows. This reminds me of the time that I spent a year in WoW collecting RNG eggs to try to get a Proto- Dragon mount...
Yeah, the inherent problem with the Salvage Boxes is that many of the first wave Clan 'Mechs aren't necessarily ones you want multiples of. Just looking at those initial boxes, how many Man'O'Wars, Koshis, Fenris or even Dragonflies does one person ever need or want?
I got lucky, and was able to swap the duplicate Shadowcat I received with a friend for a duplicate Phoenix Hawk he had. Could've ended up with 4 Man'O'Wars though. That has happened.
I mean, case in point:
Chillreaper wrote: Mist Lynx x2 (oh, come on!) Ice Ferret x2 (I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!) Gargoyle x2 (I like the new sculpt, but I've gone from never owning one, to having three...)
Yeah, that sucks. None of the ones you want, all the ones you wanted just 1 of.
Prometheum5 wrote: What is in the Recognition Guides? I don't understand how they fit alongside TROs and Record Sheets.
The Recognition Guides are also an interesting product line in that they're looking at new fluff for a lot of existing designs - basically showing how they're used in the current IlClan era - as well as the odd completely new design. Then we get the actual record sheets for updated old designs, which is great.
Does that open up the possibility of getting an updated Katyusha!? I've still got a little stash of sealed Ral Partha UK blisters with some of the weird stuff.
Does that open up the possibility of getting an updated Katyusha!? I've still got a little stash of sealed Ral Partha UK blisters with some of the weird stuff.
Yeah, the inherent problem with the Salvage Boxes is that many of the first wave Clan 'Mechs aren't necessarily ones you want multiples of. Just looking at those initial boxes, how many Man'O'Wars, Koshis, Fenris or even Dragonflies does one person ever need or want?
I got lucky, and was able to swap the duplicate Shadowcat I received with a friend for a duplicate Phoenix Hawk he had. Could've ended up with 4 Man'O'Wars though. That has happened.
I mean, case in point:
Chillreaper wrote: Mist Lynx x2 (oh, come on!)
Ice Ferret x2 (I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!)
Gargoyle x2 (I like the new sculpt, but I've gone from never owning one, to having three...)
Yeah, that sucks. None of the ones you want, all the ones you wanted just 1 of.
Prometheum5 wrote: What is in the Recognition Guides? I don't understand how they fit alongside TROs and Record Sheets.
The Recognition Guides are also an interesting product line in that they're looking at new fluff for a lot of existing designs - basically showing how they're used in the current IlClan era - as well as the odd completely new design. Then we get the actual record sheets for updated old designs, which is great.
every "issue" of the rec guide has at least one new mech I belive
Prometheum5 wrote: What is in the Recognition Guides? I don't understand how they fit alongside TROs and Record Sheets.
The Recognition Guides are also an interesting product line in that they're looking at new fluff for a lot of existing designs - basically showing how they're used in the current IlClan era - as well as the odd completely new design. Then we get the actual record sheets for updated old designs, which is great.
Indeed. It feels to me that the Recog. Guides aim to be a sort of replacement/update of all older TROs and mechs for the ilClan timeline, so that you're able to play with whichever mech from whenever without shooting yourself in the foot and with a selection of Clan only/IS only/Mixed tech options.
Same. They said they would be fulfilling smaller orders forat and larger orders last, but Ive seen quite a few people sharing photos of their hauls which look to be quite a bit latger than mine so who knows
chaos0xomega wrote: Same. They said they would be fulfilling smaller orders forat and larger orders last, but Ive seen quite a few people sharing photos of their hauls which look to be quite a bit latger than mine so who knows
Isn't that what the UK/EU is doing, but the US is doing largest first?
chaos0xomega wrote: Same. They said they would be fulfilling smaller orders forat and larger orders last, but Ive seen quite a few people sharing photos of their hauls which look to be quite a bit latger than mine so who knows
Isn't that what the UK/EU is doing, but the US is doing largest first?
In theory, yes... but my delivery of 370 dollars of mechs was filled before my friend's 1700 dollar order- he's still waiting. The difference is that he went in for the collectible stuff, like the books and things. It appears these were not distributed correctly to the packing hubs, which is holding up larger orders in some cases. So pure mech orders like mine are being filled while they wait for unspecified product to arrive at the hubs in the US.
I got my shipping notice yesterday for Wave 2. In the US - only had ‘Mechs in my order. Don’t know if my order were would be considered large or small - maybe medium?
Just got back from PAX west. CATALYST was there with a table full of the wave 2 mechs they had a sneaky annihilator done in there! Talked with the guys and it is for a new wolf's dragoons box dew out in a few months
Sinner098 wrote: Just got back from PAX west. CATALYST was there with a table full of the wave 2 mechs they had a sneaky annihilator done in there! Talked with the guys and it is for a new wolf's dragoons box dew out in a few months
That's wonderful news, Annihilator is one of my favs and I was planning on doing some Dragoons!
chaos0xomega wrote: Im guessing the Wolfs Dragoons box will also include the Kraken, Galahad, Assassin, etc that Scroggins has been previewing
Dragoons were more noted for bringing the Annihilator, Shogun, Imp, Marauder 2, Hoplite, Fleas, Firefly, Hornet, and Falcon to the Inner Sphere as well as helping to develop the Wolfhound with the Kell Hounds. That doesn't consider what they developed by the Jihad, either.
Annihilator (concept sketch + 3D render) and Hoplite (concept sketch by Bishop Steiner) have been shown on
Anthony Scroggins' Patreon recently..
EDIT : clarification by CGL (Adrian Gideon) :
There is a Wolf’s Dragoons themed ForcePack (not box). The Annihilator is in it. It’s not (at all!) indicative of themed or faction ForcePacks. Nor is it connected to any forthcoming Kickstarter. Can’t say anything else at this time.
There is a Wolf’s Dragoons themed ForcePack (not box). The Annihilator is in it. It’s not (at all!) indicative of themed or faction ForcePacks. Nor is it connected to any forthcoming Kickstarter. Can’t say anything else at this time.
Sinner098 wrote: Just got back from PAX west. CATALYST was there with a table full of the wave 2 mechs they had a sneaky annihilator done in there! Talked with the guys and it is for a new wolf's dragoons box dew out in a few months
You can see the 3D render of the Annihilator on Anthony Scroggins' Patreon.
Got my wave2 yesterday somehow, despite the national holiday. It was just mechs and the Shiloh (no collector's stuff for me), and they're amazing. Salvage mechs are all from wave1 clan stuff, got another Loki, a Thor, 2 Vulture's, a Black Hawk and in my last box I finallly got another Mad Cat, so pretty happy with the salvage packs I got.
Quality is on par with Wave1, everything has some minor mold lines that need cleaning but the detail is excellent for PVC plastics and even the longer thinner weapons were pretty straight, I think only a couple will need the hot water trick out of the 50 mechs I received
Kalamadea wrote: Quality is on par with Wave1, everything has some minor mold lines that need cleaning but the detail is excellent for PVC plastics and even the longer thinner weapons were pretty straight, I think only a couple will need the hot water trick out of the 50 mechs I received
My wave 2 arrived today. I managed to open every lance/star pack I got and give each make a once over, I'd argue the quality is even better than Wave 1, or at least it seems like there are a lot fewer noticeable mold lines, no wonky posing that stood out, and - like yourself - just a handful that could use the hot water treatment (especially my poor Blackjack!).
The only production defect I found was on the Warhawk; the top of the 'Mech appears to sink inwards a tad.
All in all, good stuff, and even more exciting with the news of the Wolf's Dragoons box coming - means they're pushing forward with bringing out new 'Mechs post Kickstarter.
Soundtheory wrote: All in all, good stuff, and even more exciting with the news of the Wolf's Dragoons box coming - means they're pushing forward with bringing out new 'Mechs post Kickstarter.
I wonder if they're going to be KS China plastics or Creative Juggernaut US plastics...
I would guess they are going to be KS China Plastics as they are following the ForcePack format vs the individual model release format that Creative Juggernaut is using.
A friend of mine got his order today; Star Colonel pledge. It all appears to be there except the neoprene Strana Mechty battlemap. Anyone know more? Was this cancelled or is it just missing?
Orlanth wrote: A friend of mine got his order today; Star Colonel pledge. It all appears to be there except the neoprene Strana Mechty battlemap. Anyone know more? Was this cancelled or is it just missing?
Is it listed in their shipping email? I'm getting two and they're listed (but I've not got it yet to check!)
2 x BattleTech BattleMat: Strana Mechty
GQCAT35800J
Orlanth wrote: No they were not listed, but on the website.
Were these he cancelled item from the KS? So long ago I cant remember.
They were not ‘cancelled’. The map and the paper stuff was removed from pledges and a thirty dollar credit given. This was because they were a particularly significant contributor to overall postage expense, and people were sobbing over it. You could use your credit to add that stuff back in, or spend it on other stuff. But it was removed from all qualifying pledges; you had to add it back in via the pledge manager. If you didn’t spend it at all, or thought you just got a bonus and spent it on something else without checking, no map for you.
I have not got my pledge yet, but included the five map set, this includes Strana Mechty. I actually wanted it for neoprene map sets A-D
Depending on how I feel at the time I might give the map to him. I dont think it will matter, he bought a crapton of Runescape a few years back and uses that
beast_gts wrote: My salvage was: 2x Hellbringer / Loki, 2x Mongrel / Grendel, Stormcrow / Ryoken & Timber Wolf / Mad Cat (plus Morgan Kell & Natasha Kerensky).
There seems to be a lot of duplicates this time round...
I don’t feel like searching the thread, but I think I mentioned here in my wave one shipment, I got 3 Mad Dog/Vultures out of eight or so boxes. So the randomness wasn’t so hot before, either.
There's a couple of mechs I thought I was getting that aren't here, so I'm now trying to work out if they've sent me the wrong things, I ordered the wrong things or if mechs were moved between boxes...
beast_gts wrote: There's a couple of mechs I thought I was getting that aren't here, so I'm now trying to work out if they've sent me the wrong things, I ordered the wrong things or if mechs were moved between boxes...
Yeah...I screwed up and doubled up on the Clan Fire Star and completely missed adding the Ad Hoc Star. No huge loss as I play Smoke Jaguars, but still...
beast_gts wrote: My salvage was: 2x Hellbringer / Loki, 2x Mongrel / Grendel, Stormcrow / Ryoken & Timber Wolf / Mad Cat (plus Morgan Kell & Natasha Kerensky).
Yeah but you didn't get a litany of Gargoyles, Koshis and Fenris. That's a silver lining.
Yeah I got 3 friken gargoyles.. :(
Right! Sack it!
I'm printing some new arms and converting one of them into an A.
When the RNG gives you lemons...
I only got one Gargoyle, but was given three Mist Lynx, Grendels and Shadow Cats (each) to compensate.
I also got two Timber Wolves and Dire Wolves. So I reboxed one of all five and will gift them to a new start in my local gaming community.
Battletech is picking up and is already in game shops.
H.B.M.C. wrote: So, here's hoping for the Annihilator, Imp, Falcon and... Hornet. Two very big 'Mechs, and two very small 'Mechs.
Anthony just posted the Firefly on his Patreon.. together with the Annihilator and Hoplite posted earlier, that gives us 3 candidates for the Wolf's Dragoons ForcePack. I'm guessing Imp for the 4th slot..
Has there been any further word about doing more of the aerospace fighters? Was surprised they did the one for a bonus but it is pretty nice and I would buy more....
petrov27 wrote: Has there been any further word about doing more of the aerospace fighters? Was surprised they did the one for a bonus but it is pretty nice and I would buy more....
No word of any follow up Kickstarter of any kind, or more fighters. Someday, maybe. But I wouldn’t bet at least until next year, or later. The Shilone fighter was a good choice for a gift, given its deep tie in to a major event in the Clan Invasion storyline.
petrov27 wrote: Has there been any further word about doing more of the aerospace fighters? Was surprised they did the one for a bonus but it is pretty nice and I would buy more....
Designer said that the Shilone was not a harbinger of things to come and was just a one-off design unrelated to future plans.
petrov27 wrote: Has there been any further word about doing more of the aerospace fighters? Was surprised they did the one for a bonus but it is pretty nice and I would buy more....
No word of any follow up Kickstarter of any kind, or more fighters. Someday, maybe. But I wouldn’t bet at least until next year, or later. The Shilone fighter was a good choice for a gift, given its deep tie in to a major event in the Clan Invasion storyline.
this, I think the shilone was more a "passion project" for the designer. for those unaware the shiloine was used to ram the bridge of the clan flagship that killed the ilkhan and stopped the clan invasion for a year. was pretty epic stuff.
... course if you don't know this means you've not read the blood of kerensky novel trilogy, which are worth reading.
its incorrect to say theres no word of a follow up kickstarter. They told us about a year back that they plan one which will be focused on mercs. whether thats imminent or something that they are going to take some time to develop and work on is unclear.
chaos0xomega wrote: its incorrect to say theres no word of a follow up kickstarter. They told us about a year back that they plan one which will be focused on mercs. whether thats imminent or something that they are going to take some time to develop and work on is unclear.
they need to do a house focused one, forget WD KH etc lances, give us a davion lance a capellan lance etc!
H.B.M.C. wrote: Doesn't that run the risk of leaving popular factions out of stock and unpopular factions sitting on shelves going nowhere?
I mean, Loren can't by all the Cappie boxes himself.
I mean in fairness if the cappie box had a raven, a vindiator a cataphract and a cyclops I'd proably buy one or two of those myself.
the capcon is also, bafflingly popular among the Btech community, although I wonder how many of those people are real capcon fans and how many just pretend to be so they can be edgy anti-fedsuns
H.B.M.C. wrote: Doesn't that run the risk of leaving popular factions out of stock and unpopular factions sitting on shelves going nowhere?
I mean, Loren can't by all the Cappie boxes himself.
I mean in fairness if the cappie box had a raven, a vindiator a cataphract and a cyclops I'd proably buy one or two of those myself.
the capcon is also, bafflingly popular among the Btech community, although I wonder how many of those people are real capcon fans and how many just pretend to be so they can be edgy anti-fedsuns
I'm a CapCon for the silliest reason. Back when I bought my 1st Btech box I saw the little black mech arm holding a katana over a green field and I decided I wanted to join that faction.
And the Ti Ts'ang is a monster.
M.
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Orlanth wrote: Bandwagon Capellans detected, all after shiny hi-tech mechs with sneaky powers and Chinese names.
Go spam some Vindicators and then we will talk about how Capellan you are.
Signed, ex-Capellan since 3049.
Thunderbolts, that in the mists of the old Housebooks where a Cap produced for the SL.
Does anyone know if the Urbanmech will be available outside of the salvage box? One of my merc companies makes exclusive use out of them, and id rather not pay the scalpers $40-50 a potato.
Midnightdeathblade wrote: Does anyone know if the Urbanmech will be available outside of the salvage box? One of my merc companies makes exclusive use out of them, and id rather not pay the scalpers $40-50 a potato.
nothing annoucned but given the things popularity I imagine something'll be done
