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I currently play 40k and warmachine but wanted another game system to mix it up.

Does anyone have any experience with either? The battletech universe seems to be very rich and the fact you don't play on 3D terrain is a huge plus (hexes). The games been around since the 80s and had that 2010 re-boot. The level scale is the total opposite of DW as it is almost micro squad level or single unit level.

Dystopian wars steampunk universe seems really cool but the game only been around for 3-4 years? How are the rules? I really like the epic-level scale that's above 40k.

Lastly do either of these have any players in the US and UK specifically the New York City and the London area (I rotate between the two cities) if any of you guys are from either city.

Battletech is my choice game. It is able to be scaled to what you want, with large battles using the Alpha Strike rules, all the way down to an RPG with miniatures. The standard rules tend to take a while to play with anything over a squad(lance) especially when just starting. The rules are pretty tight, very few guess the rule type situations.

I have never seen anyone play Dystopian wars, so can not comment about it, it just didn't take off in my area.

Isn't Battletech due to get a re-launch at some point soon?

I saw some previews of some of the classic mech designs, looked rather nice.

 Pacific wrote:
Isn't Battletech due to get a re-launch at some point soon?

I saw some previews of some of the classic mech designs, looked rather nice.

Wasn't it just relaunched? TWICE? in 2008 and 2012.

I play Dystopian Wars. It is a great game, but not really comparable to Battletech.
The rules for D-Wars are pretty neat and balanced (there used to be quite a bit of flaws, but a new edition came out recently which vastly improved everything). Naval battles get the most attention, but land battles are also decent (and become great with the Armoured Clash rules) You should just give it a try and see if you like it, the rules are now completely free and downloadable from Spartan Games' website.
The game is not very old yet, but it already has a huge range of different factions and miniatures.

DorianGray wrote:

 Pacific wrote:
Isn't Battletech due to get a re-launch at some point soon?

I saw some previews of some of the classic mech designs, looked rather nice.

Wasn't it just relaunched? TWICE? in 2008 and 2012.

No, it is not being relaunched and has never been relaunched. 2008 and 2012 were new Starter Boxes. The newest one is still in print. There are rumours of a new Alpha Strike box, but that is just a rumour for now.

The new mechs are a Retcon of the original mechs, due to licensing issues, I would let those with a better working knowledge of it speak more on that.

CBT currently has the best starter box I have ever seen.

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/cat3500b.html


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 VensersRevenge wrote:
There are rumours of a new Alpha Strike box, but that is just a rumour for now.

MM has certainly heard that "rumor" ...

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/cat35610.html

Catalyst also plans to release Alpha Strike "Combat Manuals" for factions (currently Davion, Kurita, Steiner, and Mercs). But I don't think Alpha Strike is really what OP is looking for as it turns CBT into a miniatures game and OP seemed to like the boardgamey aspects of CBT.

 Manchu wrote:
CBT currently has the best starter box I have ever seen.

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/cat3500b.html


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 VensersRevenge wrote:
There are rumours of a new Alpha Strike box, but that is just a rumour for now.

MM has certainly heard that "rumor" ...

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/cat35610.html

Catalyst also plans to release Alpha Strike "Combat Manuals" for factions (currently Davion, Kurita, Steiner, and Mercs). But I don't think Alpha Strike is really what OP is looking for as it turns CBT into a miniatures game and OP seemed to like the boardgamey aspects of CBT.

There are rules that allow Alpha Strike to be used on hexes. I haven't gone over them fully yet, but what I got out of it was it used Alpha Strike simplification/condensation of the attack and damage rules on a hex map.

No way I'll get Alpha Strike if I get battle tech. I heard vanilla battletech takes way too long and was made for people with longer attention spans in the 80s lol.

 Manchu wrote:



Automatically Appended Next Post:

 VensersRevenge wrote:
There are rumours of a new Alpha Strike box, but that is just a rumour for now.

MM has certainly heard that "rumor" ...

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/cat35610.html

Not the first time preorders for things that either don't exist or didn't come out for years have shown up for Battletech.


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DorianGray wrote:
No way I'll get Alpha Strike if I get battle tech. I heard vanilla battletech takes way too long and was made for people with longer attention spans in the 80s lol.

The length of a Battletech game is pretty exaggerated, and mostly comes from the large number of charts. A lance vs lance (4 vs 4) game is around 2-1/2 hours. What Alpha Strike is good for is company vs company (12 vs 12) or larger matches where Battletech starts to take weekends.

 VensersRevenge wrote:

 Manchu wrote:



Automatically Appended Next Post:

 VensersRevenge wrote:
There are rumours of a new Alpha Strike box, but that is just a rumour for now.

MM has certainly heard that "rumor" ...

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/cat35610.html

Not the first time preorders for things that either don't exist or didn't come out for years have shown up for Battletech.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

DorianGray wrote:
No way I'll get Alpha Strike if I get battle tech. I heard vanilla battletech takes way too long and was made for people with longer attention spans in the 80s lol.

The length of a Battletech game is pretty exaggerated, and mostly comes from the large number of charts. A lance vs lance (4 vs 4) game is around 2-1/2 hours. What Alpha Strike is good for is company vs company (12 vs 12) or larger matches where Battletech starts to take weekends.

Games with multiple players, can be a little cumbersome. The experience of the players involved also impacts time. Played a game today, took about 4 hours. That is including set up, and teaching 1 player from scratch(around 8 years old) and refreshing the other players knowledge, plus the minor changes involved since he last played. It a was a 2 versus 1 game with them against me. The ADD qualities of the younger player made it take a bit longer, but he got the basics in about 10 minutes, the strategy/tactics however........ We used an oversized map for the 3 units involved which also increased play time, more places to duck/cover/run/hide. The returning player was back, with only the altered rules throwing him, in a turn.

Once you get the rules down, and start remembering the charts, it goes a lot faster. Especially if you use the recommended battlefield size.


Crap, quoted the wrong guy.

Very true. Battletech's length is mostly learning if you don't go crazy. And multiplayer does slow things down alot.

Seems to be Battletech is the choice. Then you are basically buying two games, and any miniatures work for both of them. You could buy a Starter Box, Total Warfare, and Alpha Strike and be good for YEARS playing Battletech.

Many years ago I decided buying a thousand 'Mechs and vehicles was a better plan.

Also, check out http://www.catalystdemos.com/ to find local demo agents (like me!) who run games and try it out. We don't bite, and we are quite used to teaching people how to play.

This is the weirdest question yet. You can't find two games more different.

Battletech is a highly, highly detailed game with a lot of tracking, options and very methodical rules, varying between solid to overly detailed. Average size for HUMAN PLAYABLE within a reasonable timeframe is like, 4 mechs. At 8, you're really pushing it.

Dystopian Wars is a fairly beer and pretzelsish take on the standard fleet 'age of sail type mechanics' of lining up shots and battering each other, but with some gimmicks and a larger scale.

They're really completely different games. It's like asking, 'What's better? Starcraft, or Zelda?'

How long does usually a game of Dyspotian wars take?

I love the larger epic scale and the steampunk universe. Also the fact its cheapish and easy to store.

Battletech Alpha Strike probably bears more similarity to DT.

At this point, I think DT will be abandoned or indefinitely shelved by Spartan much like it has its other games in favor of the Halo games, at least until the license runs out.

I play Dystopian Wars every week. What kind of questions do you have? It's a great game, well supported by Spartan Games and games can take as long or short as you want. Just depends on how high the points and if you want to go fun and have land, sea and air all in the same battle.


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This is my newest painting project for Dystopian Wars. Russian Coalition Kostroma Fleet Carrier. About 25% done.