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NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
Yikes... they sure don't make it easy. To be fair Battletech can be a bit impenetrable for newer players. To this day I still don't know which books are needed to create the most robust tabletop war-game version, nor how many neoprene maps are added to create a good sized game where range and flanking meaningfully happen.

I'm new. 100% agreed. I pledged ~$1100 on this kickstarter and then went out to buy the "A Game of Armored Combat" (I added a second smaller pledge to get the 2 mech starter box through the kickstarter as well as a second urbanmech and 2-3 of the mech salvage boxes or whatever).

I have zero idea what I'm doing or what I actually need to buy, or even what the best way to play is. All I know is I'm getting some really cool gak and I'm probably going to have some fun with it.

I don't have this problem with other games, they are usually much more straightforward and its typically much clearer as to what the "core" rules are and what the optional add-ons are, etc. but it seems like Battletech is a slightly different animal where the answers to these questions are "everything and nothing" depending on who you ask/how they play the game.

chaos0xomega wrote:

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
Yikes... they sure don't make it easy. To be fair Battletech can be a bit impenetrable for newer players. To this day I still don't know which books are needed to create the most robust tabletop war-game version, nor how many neoprene maps are added to create a good sized game where range and flanking meaningfully happen.

I'm new. 100% agreed. I pledged ~$1100 on this kickstarter and then went out to buy the "A Game of Armored Combat" (I added a second smaller pledge to get the 2 mech starter box through the kickstarter as well as a second urbanmech and 2-3 of the mech salvage boxes or whatever).

I have zero idea what I'm doing or what I actually need to buy, or even what the best way to play is. All I know is I'm getting some really cool gak and I'm probably going to have some fun with it.

I don't have this problem with other games, they are usually much more straightforward and its typically much clearer as to what the "core" rules are and what the optional add-ons are, etc. but it seems like Battletech is a slightly different animal where the answers to these questions are "everything and nothing" depending on who you ask/how they play the game.

It’s likely appeared several times in this thread already, but the ‘You've got the box set, now what?’ thread on the official Battletech forums is worth reading - https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=44730.0
As far as advice on map sheets, I consider one map sheet per 2-4 Mechs in the game as a minimum. So for a lance v. lance 4 on 4 game, I would use at least two sheets. In most cases, I would say two sheets is the least I would use for ANY game. But you know the great thing about Battletech? There are no official table sizes. Play some games, and you’ll get a feel for what’s right.

chaos0xomega wrote:

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
Yikes... they sure don't make it easy. To be fair Battletech can be a bit impenetrable for newer players. To this day I still don't know which books are needed to create the most robust tabletop war-game version, nor how many neoprene maps are added to create a good sized game where range and flanking meaningfully happen.

I'm new. 100% agreed. I pledged ~$1100 on this kickstarter and then went out to buy the "A Game of Armored Combat" (I added a second smaller pledge to get the 2 mech starter box through the kickstarter as well as a second urbanmech and 2-3 of the mech salvage boxes or whatever).

I have zero idea what I'm doing or what I actually need to buy, or even what the best way to play is. All I know is I'm getting some really cool gak and I'm probably going to have some fun with it.

I don't have this problem with other games, they are usually much more straightforward and its typically much clearer as to what the "core" rules are and what the optional add-ons are, etc. but it seems like Battletech is a slightly different animal where the answers to these questions are "everything and nothing" depending on who you ask/how they play the game.

YIKES! That is easily $1000 more than you ever needed to spend to play many years worth of Battletech games! The problem is people look at the hundreds of products available and the thousands of models in the catalogue and assume it to be WAY more complex than it is, because there's just SO much history to the game (and because the main Catalyst website is awful). You need the A Game of Armored Combat starter box and the main rulebook Total Warfare to play. Full stop. Really-really.

That gives you 2 FULL armies to play and the complete rules to expand that into mixed-unit combat if you want to play with infantry and vehicles and purchase just a few extra models. This is a game where adding a single mech is a SIGNIFICANT change to playing the game, buying 4 mechs is akin to buying a complete new army in Warhammer 40K. In fact the book AGoAC comes with IS the full rulebook, it just doesn't have the optional-advanced rules like the Level 2 tech (upgraded versions of the basic mechs, essentially) or Clan Tech (level 3 tech, just think of Clan mechs as Level 3 tech). Also the full rules for infantry, power armor and vehicles/aircraft are all optional-advanced rules, that's all in the Total Warfare book. Everything else is ancillary and useful, but it's all sort-of-kind-of really useful for very very niche things you'd want to occasionally (and only very occasionally) do: rules for narrative & map based campaigns or experimental weapons or gladiator ring fighting, or just new variations on the same stuff in case you get bored or want to play specific in-universe historically accurate options. Or background fluff, A LOT of it if mostly just for background fluff.

How many neoprene mats do you need? One. One neoprene mat is the right size for a full 4 mech vs 4 mech game, which will take you most of an afternoon to play through. One neoprene mat is the same exact size as 2 paper mats placed side-by-side, like the 2 mats included in the AGoAC starter. The AGoC including exactly 2 paper mats is not a coincidence, nor is it a coincidence that the neoprene mat is the same size as 2 paper mats, all of these things are intentional. It's also the same size as any 2 paper mats from any of the paper mat addon packs that have been released over the last 30 years. 2 mats side-by-side has been the standard size playfield for decades, but sometimes you want a 4x4 for megabattles or if you want to try some really long range battles or extended narrative scenarios, etc. If you plan on playing all-day-long marathon-run megabattles, then you'd want a second neoprene mat.

The TROs are sort of a cross between fluff and useful rules, but they really aren't needed. At all. All game rules in them are just telling you how to fill out the Unit Sheets for that specific mech/vehicle. But, pre-filled out Unit Sheets aka Record Sheets for everything (literally every unit and variant in the game) are up for free online from multiple websites. My personal fav is http://battletech.rpg.hu/mechfactory_frame.php, which also has a phone app, but there's a few other websites that repeat the same info or can print the Record Sheets in older styles. You can get all the background (and more) by looking around https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page, which is an incredible fan-made wiki.

I'm not sure how one can pledge that much in the KS.

I think I paid $600 and I'm getting one of every 'Mech, all the map sheets, card packs and a few other add-ons here and there. That's about 74 'Mechs, plus the 10 from the Beginner/Starter boxes. That's more 'Mechs than someone really ever needs.

Sure, I have another 400 odd on top of that, but that's just me.

I do think that their website should be clearer on what is required to play BTech though.

I'd put:

Beginner Box
Starter Box
Total War -or- BattleMech Manual
1 Mapsheet Set (like Grasslands)

And that's it to start with.

 Kalamadea wrote:
You need the A Game of Armored Combat starter box and the main rulebook Total Warfare to play. Full stop. Really-really.

Unless you want to play Clans and not filthy freebirthers, in which case you only need the Clan Invasion box from the KS and Total Warfare.

 Platuan4th wrote:

 Kalamadea wrote:
You need the A Game of Armored Combat starter box and the main rulebook Total Warfare to play. Full stop. Really-really.

Unless you want to play Clans and not filthy freebirthers, in which case you only need the Clan Invasion box from the KS and Total Warfare.

The Clan Invasion box only has 5 mechs, AGoAC box set has 8. While 2v2 or 2v3 depending on mechs chosen can be a decent sized game, I wouldn't consider it a complete experience for 2 players in the same way that AGoAC is a complete game for 2 players. As HBMC said, if you get the Beginner Set+AGoAC box+rulebook+map sheets, you're pretty well set up for many, many games of Battletech and can stick with just that or expand from there to your heart's content. If you only have the Clan Invasion starter, that's quite a bit more limited. You could use the Beginner Box and use the Griffin as a Griffin IIc and the Wolverine as a Conjurer, but I still consider that much more limited. Most of those mechs are OmniMechs, so you've got a heck of a lot of options when playing within those fewer mech chasis. I feel like Clan Invasion Starter+Beginner Box is a great start for a single player whereas the AGoAC+Beginner Box can either be a decent start for 2 players OR a great start for one

As to your other point, Remember Tukkayid. The Clans brought their best, and Space AT&T said "get bent, weirdo."

Clan Invasion starter also includes two Points of Elementals, from what I can tell?

It's not full Mechs there, but from what's been said before to me there is no Battle Armor for the Inner Sphere...yet.

 totalfailure wrote:

chaos0xomega wrote:

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
Yikes... they sure don't make it easy. To be fair Battletech can be a bit impenetrable for newer players. To this day I still don't know which books are needed to create the most robust tabletop war-game version, nor how many neoprene maps are added to create a good sized game where range and flanking meaningfully happen.

I'm new. 100% agreed. I pledged ~$1100 on this kickstarter and then went out to buy the "A Game of Armored Combat" (I added a second smaller pledge to get the 2 mech starter box through the kickstarter as well as a second urbanmech and 2-3 of the mech salvage boxes or whatever).

I have zero idea what I'm doing or what I actually need to buy, or even what the best way to play is. All I know is I'm getting some really cool gak and I'm probably going to have some fun with it.

I don't have this problem with other games, they are usually much more straightforward and its typically much clearer as to what the "core" rules are and what the optional add-ons are, etc. but it seems like Battletech is a slightly different animal where the answers to these questions are "everything and nothing" depending on who you ask/how they play the game.

It’s likely appeared several times in this thread already, but the ‘You've got the box set, now what?’ thread on the official Battletech forums is worth reading - https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=44730.0
As far as advice on map sheets, I consider one map sheet per 2-4 Mechs in the game as a minimum. So for a lance v. lance 4 on 4 game, I would use at least two sheets. In most cases, I would say two sheets is the least I would use for ANY game. But you know the great thing about Battletech? There are no official table sizes. Play some games, and you’ll get a feel for what’s right.

Yup, read it a few times, its less helpful than most people seem to understand or realize as it requires a certain degree of familiarity with the material to fully understand, I think I pointed out its shortcomings a few pages ago, but it might have been on facebook or reddit. One of the big shortfalls is that Battletech as a whole is a much more open-ended ruleset than a game like 40k or Warmachine, so "what you need" will vary depending on who you're playing with/your local group of players.

You need the A Game of Armored Combat starter box and the main rulebook Total Warfare to play. Full stop. Really-really.

Which one is the "main" rulebook though? lol this is one of the problems with Battletech IMO - some people think the game should only be played with mechs, so get the Battlemech manual, others say you should play it as a combined arms game with infantry and vehicles, etc. so get Total Warfare.

How many neoprene mats do you need? One.

Need and want are two different things. I know I only needed one (technically none, if I really wanted to I could just play with the crappy paper mats that were included with the starter box), that didn't stop me from buying all 7 or 8 neoprene mats.

I'm not sure how one can pledge that much in the KS.

I think I paid $600 and I'm getting one of every 'Mech, all the map sheets, card packs and a few other add-ons here and there. That's about 74 'Mechs, plus the 10 from the Beginner/Starter boxes. That's more 'Mechs than someone really ever needs.

That doesn't sound right. I pledges Star Colonel + Ristar, added 9 more ForcePacks to get the rest of the mechs I was missing, Premium Record Sheets, Pilot and Initiative Decks, BattleMech Manual, Tac Ops Advanced Equipment and Advanced Rules, Total Warfare, one 5-pack mat set and one 6-pack (to get all of them, plus I think one extra because thats how it worked out for the best bang for my buck), Die Cut Pack, Record Sheet Book, and I think thats it.

Grabbing a late $150 pledge for my Dad, who currently only owns the Beginners Box and AGoAC Box.

Can people recommend four good pack choices to help flesh out the game? I know there are a handful of go-to staple Mechs in all different weight classes.

I got a Star Colonel pledge, and only had to add 8 packs to get all the 'Mechs.

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
Can people recommend four good pack choices to help flesh out the game? I know there are a handful of go-to staple Mechs in all different weight classes.

4 packs to expand upon. Let's go with 2 Clan and two IS, so when combined with the Beginniner/AToW boxes plus the Clan box you get by default in the KS you get an even spread.

For the Clans, I'd recommend the Clan Command Star and Clan Heavy Striker Star - These give you some of the classic Clan 'Mechs of the era (Daishi, Thor, Loki, Vulture) and the best 'Mech in the entire game (the Ryoken).

For the Inner Sphere I'd recommend the Inner Sphere Battle Lance, and either the Inner Sphere Command Lance or Heavy Lance. The Battle Lance nets you 4 classic BTech 'Mechs, including the Warhammer, Rifleman and the ubiquitous Phoenix Hawk. The Command Lance gives you a Marauder and an Archer, however the Heavy Lance gives you the fantastic Grasshopper, the reliable Centurion, and the very interesting Hatcheman close-combat 'Mech.

So those. Or the IS Direct Fire Lance if you just want an Atlas (as a bonus, it has a Marauder II and the very reliable Orion heavy 'Mech).

 Kalamadea wrote:

 Platuan4th wrote:

 Kalamadea wrote:
You need the A Game of Armored Combat starter box and the main rulebook Total Warfare to play. Full stop. Really-really.

Unless you want to play Clans and not filthy freebirthers, in which case you only need the Clan Invasion box from the KS and Total Warfare.

The Clan Invasion box only has 5 mechs, AGoAC box set has 8. While 2v2 or 2v3 depending on mechs chosen can be a decent sized game, I wouldn't consider it a complete experience for 2 players in the same way that AGoAC is a complete game for 2 players. As HBMC said, if you get the Beginner Set+AGoAC box+rulebook+map sheets, you're pretty well set up for many, many games of Battletech and can stick with just that or expand from there to your heart's content. If you only have the Clan Invasion starter, that's quite a bit more limited. You could use the Beginner Box and use the Griffin as a Griffin IIc and the Wolverine as a Conjurer, but I still consider that much more limited. Most of those mechs are OmniMechs, so you've got a heck of a lot of options when playing within those fewer mech chasis. I feel like Clan Invasion Starter+Beginner Box is a great start for a single player whereas the AGoAC+Beginner Box can either be a decent start for 2 players OR a great start for one

As to your other point, Remember Tukkayid. The Clans brought their best, and Space AT&T said "get bent, weirdo."

Your statement that I have quoted doesn't suggest it's for two players, it suggests it's for the poster you're responding to. For everything one person needs, the Clan Invasion box instead of AGoAC is fine.

As for Tukkayid, we all know StarCom is special.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I got a Star Colonel pledge, and only had to add 8 packs to get all the 'Mechs.

Yes, I added an extra pack for the elementals because I wanted more than 2 or whatever.

I don't know if I needed more than 2, but they looked cool, so I *wanted* more than 2.

chaos0xomega wrote:

You need the A Game of Armored Combat starter box and the main rulebook Total Warfare to play. Full stop. Really-really.

Which one is the "main" rulebook though? lol this is one of the problems with Battletech IMO - some people think the game should only be played with mechs, so get the Battlemech manual, others say you should play it as a combined arms game with infantry and vehicles, etc. so get Total Warfare.

You just answered your own question, actually. The Battletech Manual is geared towards additional rules for advanced mechs vs advanced mechs, Total Warfare is all the rules for combined arms (advanced mechs AND vehicles AND infantry). If you think you want to only ever play mechs, get Battletech Manual. If you think you may eventually want to try infantry and vehicles, get Total Warfare. I personally recommend Total Warfare. Either way, those books are for ADVANCED-OPTIONAL rules. Emphasis on advanced, emphasis on optional. You get the complete rulebook in the box set (it even includes the basic rules for constructing custom mechs). Remember, you're looking at decades of expansions, but the rules in AGoAC was the ENTIRE game of Battletech for many many years when it first released. The early Technical Readouts just added more mechs using the same equipment built with the same construction rules, and importantly the early TROs were the only way to get fluff in the days before the internet. Later, the TROs started including Level 2 tech, vehicles and infantry, but the game had already been around (and been a complete game) for years by that point. The Total War/Battletech Manual rulebooks are basically codifying all the EXPANSION rules in a single book.

It’s likely appeared several times in this thread already, but the ‘You've got the box set, now what?’ thread on the official Battletech forums is worth reading - https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=44730.0

Yup, read it a few times, its less helpful than most people seem to understand or realize as it requires a certain degree of familiarity with the material to fully understand

Yes, that is the point. If you're having problems with the linked "Where to go from there" Battletech forum thread, it's because you're trying to absorb 30+ years of materials without even a fundamental grasp of the base game. That thread boils it down to as basic as it possibly can be boiled down to. If if it's still too much info, then you need to go back to the core. Battletech is fundamentally about mechs vs mechs. A lot of people like to expand that into combined arms, but that isn't what the basis that the core game is built around. Level 2 tech isn't complicated, but it's another layer on top of the main game. Vehicles (tanks and APCs) aren't very complicated, but it's another layer to learn on top of the core game. Hovercraft aren't complicated, but it's another layer on top of tracked/wheeled movement. VTOLs aren't complicated, but it's another layer. Infantry isn't complicated, but it's another layer. Clan technology (level 3) isn't that complicated, but it's yet another layer. That's why they aren't in the basic rulebook that comes with AGoAC, and I can't stress this enough, the rulebook that comes with AGoAC is a complete rulebook for the game. EVERYTHING else is an unnecessary (but often very fun) addon for people that want to dive deeper into Battletech. I don't recommend even looking at that stuff until you've played enough games of Level 1 mechs vs Level 1 mechs that you know the fundamentals, because it will never make sense until you know the fundamentals.

Yes, I added an extra pack for the elementals because I wanted more than 2 or whatever.

I don't know if I needed more than 2, but they looked cool, so I *wanted* more than 2.

And that is why rules for infantry and vehicles exist. That is why virtually every Battletech player has dozens of mechs that have never and will never get played with. It looked cool, so I wanted it. Story of my life.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I got a Star Colonel pledge, and only had to add 8 packs to get all the 'Mechs.

For the Clans, I'd recommend the Clan Command Star and Clan Heavy Striker Star - These give you some of the classic Clan 'Mechs of the era (Daishi, Thor, Loki, Vulture) and the best 'Mech in the entire game (the Ryoken).

For the Inner Sphere I'd recommend the Inner Sphere Battle Lance, and either the Inner Sphere Command Lance or Heavy Lance. The Battle Lance nets you 4 classic BTech 'Mechs, including the Warhammer, Rifleman and the ubiquitous Phoenix Hawk. The Command Lance gives you a Marauder and an Archer, however the Heavy Lance gives you the fantastic Grasshopper, the reliable Centurion, and the very interesting Hatcheman close-combat 'Mech.

So those. Or the IS Direct Fire Lance if you just want an Atlas (as a bonus, it has a Marauder II and the very reliable Orion heavy 'Mech).

Thanks! I'll go with precisely this. Should we assume, broadly that there will be plenty of ways to end up with equitable Combat Value games, between these?

Edit: Random aside, but which book has the hex-grid-less version of the rules? NOT Alpha Strike, rather playing the full game on open tabletops? I remember seeing them ages ago, but imagine they might've gotten folded into Total War?

The miniatures ruled are free to download on their website: https://bg.battletech.com/downloads/

I recall that being conversion scale, it was in the 3rd edition compendium, but I'm a dinosaur.

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I got a Star Colonel pledge, and only had to add 8 packs to get all the 'Mechs.

For the Clans, I'd recommend the Clan Command Star and Clan Heavy Striker Star - These give you some of the classic Clan 'Mechs of the era (Daishi, Thor, Loki, Vulture) and the best 'Mech in the entire game (the Ryoken).

For the Inner Sphere I'd recommend the Inner Sphere Battle Lance, and either the Inner Sphere Command Lance or Heavy Lance. The Battle Lance nets you 4 classic BTech 'Mechs, including the Warhammer, Rifleman and the ubiquitous Phoenix Hawk. The Command Lance gives you a Marauder and an Archer, however the Heavy Lance gives you the fantastic Grasshopper, the reliable Centurion, and the very interesting Hatcheman close-combat 'Mech.

So those. Or the IS Direct Fire Lance if you just want an Atlas (as a bonus, it has a Marauder II and the very reliable Orion heavy 'Mech).

Thanks! I'll go with precisely this. Should we assume, broadly that there will be plenty of ways to end up with equitable Combat Value games, between these?

Edit: Random aside, but which book has the hex-grid-less version of the rules? NOT Alpha Strike, rather playing the full game on open tabletops? I remember seeing them ages ago, but imagine they might've gotten folded into Total War?

Absolutely. If you are using classic rules, you are not going to want more than 4 mechs to a side for any games under 2 hours. With Clans, maybe 5 Clan mechs vs 2 Inner Sphere lances. Having as many as you'll have access to will give you many combinations- and each mech can be reconfigured into multiple variations (the Warhammer alone has over 10 canon variants).

I'm not sure where the rules are for converting to tabletop play- as I recall it was a simple equation, like make each hex equal an inch, and apply some modifier for turning. I don't think it was complicated enough to merit its own ruleset.

They're not as common, but you may want to take a look at the Comstar packs, and see if they look cool to you. They are a better value for pledge reward than anything else, because they contain 6 mechs which are used by the Inner Sphere and more rarely by the Clans. But right now you don't know how you'll like to play, so go with what looks cool.

It's fairly short about 24 pages and also includes things like los rules and fire arcs as well as tables with all the ranges movement modifiers and so on.

Some like to say Battletech is too complicated and confusing. It’s doesn’t have to be that way. First, you don’t need everything day one. Buy the box set and play some games before you buy six hardcover rule books you may never use. One of the great things about Battletech is it is very easy to customize the play experience to what you want, and completely ignore the rest of the stuff you don’t want or need for your games. Or better yet, play some games first, and then decide what you need, instead of just ‘everything’ now.

 Ghaz wrote:
And yet again, the new artwork wins hands down...

That was never the problem. Certainly, the new Crockett art is undeniably better than the old Crockett art. The problem is, it does not look anything like a crockett.

Look at the Guillotine or the Crab or the Mongoose. The new art is just as much better than the old art as the Crockett, but the new artwork for those mechs still share similarities in silhouette or layout that allows you to look at the new Guillotine and say "yes, that's a Guillotine" . Without the label on the drawing, you would never guess the new artwork is supposed to represent a Crockett.

That's the problem some people are having.

 Kalamadea wrote:

chaos0xomega wrote:

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
Yikes... they sure don't make it easy. To be fair Battletech can be a bit impenetrable for newer players. To this day I still don't know which books are needed to create the most robust tabletop war-game version, nor how many neoprene maps are added to create a good sized game where range and flanking meaningfully happen.

I'm new. 100% agreed. I pledged ~$1100 on this kickstarter and then went out to buy the "A Game of Armored Combat" (I added a second smaller pledge to get the 2 mech starter box through the kickstarter as well as a second urbanmech and 2-3 of the mech salvage boxes or whatever).

I have zero idea what I'm doing or what I actually need to buy, or even what the best way to play is. All I know is I'm getting some really cool gak and I'm probably going to have some fun with it.

I don't have this problem with other games, they are usually much more straightforward and its typically much clearer as to what the "core" rules are and what the optional add-ons are, etc. but it seems like Battletech is a slightly different animal where the answers to these questions are "everything and nothing" depending on who you ask/how they play the game.

YIKES! That is easily $1000 more than you ever needed to spend to play many years worth of Battletech games! The problem is people look at the hundreds of products available and the thousands of models in the catalogue and assume it to be WAY more complex than it is, because there's just SO much history to the game (and because the main Catalyst website is awful). You need the A Game of Armored Combat starter box and the main rulebook Total Warfare to play. Full stop. Really-really.

That gives you 2 FULL armies to play and the complete rules to expand that into mixed-unit combat if you want to play with infantry and vehicles and purchase just a few extra models. This is a game where adding a single mech is a SIGNIFICANT change to playing the game, buying 4 mechs is akin to buying a complete new army in Warhammer 40K. In fact the book AGoAC comes with IS the full rulebook, it just doesn't have the optional-advanced rules like the Level 2 tech (upgraded versions of the basic mechs, essentially) or Clan Tech (level 3 tech, just think of Clan mechs as Level 3 tech). Also the full rules for infantry, power armor and vehicles/aircraft are all optional-advanced rules, that's all in the Total Warfare book. Everything else is ancillary and useful, but it's all sort-of-kind-of really useful for very very niche things you'd want to occasionally (and only very occasionally) do: rules for narrative & map based campaigns or experimental weapons or gladiator ring fighting, or just new variations on the same stuff in case you get bored or want to play specific in-universe historically accurate options. Or background fluff, A LOT of it if mostly just for background fluff.

How many neoprene mats do you need? One. One neoprene mat is the right size for a full 4 mech vs 4 mech game, which will take you most of an afternoon to play through. One neoprene mat is the same exact size as 2 paper mats placed side-by-side, like the 2 mats included in the AGoAC starter. The AGoC including exactly 2 paper mats is not a coincidence, nor is it a coincidence that the neoprene mat is the same size as 2 paper mats, all of these things are intentional. It's also the same size as any 2 paper mats from any of the paper mat addon packs that have been released over the last 30 years. 2 mats side-by-side has been the standard size playfield for decades, but sometimes you want a 4x4 for megabattles or if you want to try some really long range battles or extended narrative scenarios, etc. If you plan on playing all-day-long marathon-run megabattles, then you'd want a second neoprene mat.

The TROs are sort of a cross between fluff and useful rules, but they really aren't needed. At all. All game rules in them are just telling you how to fill out the Unit Sheets for that specific mech/vehicle. But, pre-filled out Unit Sheets aka Record Sheets for everything (literally every unit and variant in the game) are up for free online from multiple websites. My personal fav is http://battletech.rpg.hu/mechfactory_frame.php, which also has a phone app, but there's a few other websites that repeat the same info or can print the Record Sheets in older styles. You can get all the background (and more) by looking around https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page, which is an incredible fan-made wiki.

THANK YOU

That is really what has kept me out of the game ever since it came out. I’ve seen all the things and then look at my wallet , I’ve spent ten seconds of thousands on GW in close to 30 years of playing Warhammer. Spent lots on D&D back in the day as well, and just didn’t need another money sink. If it really is just needing that stuff to play, then I may stop by the FLGS today and grab the starter and AGoAC and start reading. One of the guys up here was about to start up a league before the Covid shutdown.

Removed - Rule #1 please

Just the addition of its primary weapon to the artwork puts the new Crockett art in a class above the original art.

Battletech is incredibly cheap to get into.

A box set and you are usually good.

Total War maybe if you want the full core rules.

That's it really. As another player said don't spend mega money on stuff you don't need. Dip your foot in for $60 and go from there. Especially anyone who hasn't went big on the Kickstarter.

MegaMek is also there as a way to get your toes wet or to try the rules out.

Clan Ad Hoc Star redesign sketches:


Kodiak, Hellion, Pack Hunter, Fire Falcon, Howler(from top to bottom).
Kodiak and Pack Hunter might be my two favorites out of that mix.

Kodiak is the first one I've disliked. Doesn't look angry enough.

The Howler is so cute! It's so short, and has those chubby little cheeks!

The lift assembly below the launchers is a very nice touch.

The Fire Falcon looks like a slimmed down Turkina, which is wonderful. I always loved how that series of Falcon mechs shared the same torso design.

Ive mixed feelings on the Pack Hunter, Im sure its an improvement on the original (no idea what it looks like) but something feels off, not sure if its the arms or legs, just slightly bizarre proportions there

chaos0xomega wrote:
Ive mixed feelings on the Pack Hunter, Im sure its an improvement on the original (no idea what it looks like) but something feels off, not sure if its the arms or legs, just slightly bizarre proportions there

The original Pack Hunter looks like this...

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Kodiak is the first one I've disliked. Doesn't look angry enough.

Looks pretty much exactly how I expected it. Similar to the MWO one.