Sign up for the Splashdown Kickstarter


A Lion Class ASHUR rig


We’re pleased to announce that our Kickstarter will be launching this fall for our new gaming and fiction franchise, Land & Sea. We are rolling it out with the intro trilogy of books, starting with the first novel – Splashdown. Once we get the novels out we will then be moving on to the tabletop and roleplaying games.

The image is the cover of Splashdown. What you see is an ASHUR rig – named for the Assyrian god of war. Twenty-five years from now, ASHUR’s dominate the battlefield. The battlespace of combat is mix of armor, GRD’s (Ground Robotic Drones), infantry, and ASHUR’s. It is warfare evolved, and Land & Sea is a military sci-fi series that will grab your attention and hold it tight.

We will be exploring the universe more in future posts. For now, if you want to be informed of the Kickstarter – click on this link: Splashdown Kickstarter and sign up.

Gen Con wrote:In BattleTech: Alpha Strike, you take command of large-scale engagements with tabletop-miniatures gameplay designed for the modern wargamer. The highly anticipated Alpha Strike box set bursts with action, including thirteen high-quality, ready-to-play miniatures and a cohort of terrain and tokens. Grab your advance copy at booth #1611!

#partnerpost with BattleTech Catalyst Game Labs

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I very much hope those minis are an add-on for the upcoming KS.

Cubby wrote:

I'd guess Alpha Strike is going to be $79.99 minimum and $89.99 wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Good guess. MSRP is $79.99 for the box. Same "bookshelf" size as past boxes. (Though maybe a bit thicker, I'm not sure.)

chaos0xomega wrote:
Holy hell that seems steep for a starter product, but then again theres what, 13 mechs in the box?

 Ghaz wrote:

chaos0xomega wrote:
Holy hell that seems steep for a starter product, but then again theres what, 13 mechs in the box?

The Alpha Strike box is totally optional and is not needed to play the game. To play Alpha Strike all you would need is the Alpha Strike: Commander's Edition rulebook, what miniatures you're using (if you're using miniatures, that is) and http://www.masterunitlist.info/ for the stats of your units.

The box contents are in the pic up above and by comparison, the A Game of Armored Combat box only came with 8 'Mechs and retails for $59.99.

 Ghaz wrote:
I believe the Alpha Strike: Commander's Edition is currently the only Alpha Strike rulebook available. Plus, unless everyone in the group is using the Quick Start rules then it makes sense to have your own rules and $39.99 hardly breaks the bank (or you could get the PDF for only $19.99 if you have a tablet you can use).

BattleTech wrote:Did your copy of the Hammerhead premium miniature have an issue with the torso piece? We're ready to make it right! Details: https://bg.battletech.com/news/update-on-hammerhead-miniature-issue/

Update on Hammerhead Miniature Issue


Recently, production quality issues accidentally slipped into the release of the Hammerhead. As a result, approximately one-quarter of the initial run of the miniature have too-thick layer lines from a draft 3D printed top of the torso.

After Catalyst acquired enough data to verify there were significant issues, the miniature’s producer, Monster Fight Club, responded to us less than twenty-four hours after being notified of the problems. Our partners walked us through exactly how the error occurred, how they’ll ensure it doesn’t occur again (going so far as to destroy the molds associated with the issue!), and then presenting the following plan to absolutely make this right. It is important both to Catalyst and to MFC that BattleTech customers can trust in the continued quality of the Premium Miniatures line.

The next Premium Miniature, the Eris (from Recognition Guide: ilClan, Vol. 18), is in final production now. All Eris miniature packs will also include a corrected Hammerhead torso part. So if you are planning on purchasing the Eris, you’ll simply receive the corrected part for the Hammerhead for free. We expect the Eris to go on sale in August.
Next, Monster Fight Club has already begun a second print run of the Hammerhead. They are verifying that all parts produced in this second run are free of defects. Also, this reprint will include an additional arm and leg, expanding poseable options.
Finally, anyone who simply wants to receive a replacement Hammerhead torso piece may email info@monstefightclub.com, and a replacement torso will be mailed to you. (This will not ship out until after Gen Con, but if you are attending Gen Con, while supplies last, there will be replacements available at the Catalyst Booth, #1611.)
Thanks for your patience as we sort out this issue. And thanks to Monster Fight Club for so quickly and thoroughly stepping up to make this right.

Weirdo wrote:Per the Leviathans AMA, the Spector is confirmed for the Kickstarter.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
If we can get some Urbie variants in the KS, that'd be nice.

 warboss wrote:
As someone who has typically watched Battletech from a distance for decades, has there ever been a "skirmish" version of the game/IP that focuses on the smaller units in the lore? A game variant where the light mech might be the king of the battlefield populated by combined arms vehicles, elemental power armor, and protomechs. I realize that I'm probably combining different eras and Clan/Inner Sphere units in the sentance above so apologies in advance. I also suspect that I'm inquiring about a round peg for a square hole but figured I'd ask just in case.

 warboss wrote:
As someone who has typically watched Battletech from a distance for decades, has there ever been a "skirmish" version of the game/IP that focuses on the smaller units in the lore? A game variant where the light mech might be the king of the battlefield populated by combined arms vehicles, elemental power armor, and protomechs. I realize that I'm probably combining different eras and Clan/Inner Sphere units in the sentance above so apologies in advance. I also suspect that I'm inquiring about a round peg for a square hole but figured I'd ask just in case.

beast_gts wrote:
Did BattleTroops ever scale up to include vehicles & Mechs?

 Pointman wrote:
But basic Battletech is skirmish, the basic game is lance vs lance that is 4 mechs a side. Battletech is the skirmishest of mech games.

 Pointman wrote:
Battletroop is good, it have some revolutionary game mechanics for its time, and integrates vehicles and mechs with infantry. I like it, I would like a remade, it just need a cosmetic make over if anything.

But basic Battletech is skirmish, the basic game is lance vs lance that is 4 mechs a side. Battletech is the skirmishest of mech games.

 Charistoph wrote:

If you're talking about where the Light Mech is a Monster on the field like in WarCry, I don't think there's anything official on that scale yet, though the very-outdated BattleTroops/Clan Troops might fit that bill. Unofficially, someone developed a variant of Alpha Strike they called Infantry Strike. Very interesting, but there are a few problems I personally have with it as it doesn't scale anything non-Infantry at all.

beast_gts wrote:
Did BattleTroops ever scale up to include vehicles & Mechs?

I remember hearing that from someone who played it, but I haven't read the books to know for certain.

Edit: Doing a quick perusal in an old PDF of BattleTroops, they do have Mech and Vehicle Templates. Clan Troops (1991) provides for Battle Armor. But nothing for ProtoMechs. I think because of a lack of interest, it just was never expanded on by the time ProtoMechs were introduced in 1997/1998. Maybe one or more of the RPG elements can do it, though likely with far more detail.

 warboss wrote:
The RPG might be the way to go and admittedly I didn't think about that option. Does it use the traditional hex grid like CBT or is it abstracted? I'm guessing the former but figured I'd ask.

 warboss wrote:
I included protomechs just for completeness as I remember them being smaller than light mechs (?) in my roughly at most once a leap year game of CBT/AS but don't recall exactly how they fit in with the rest chronologically or technologically. Same with elemental power armors. I assume the rough size comparison goes Light Mechs (urban?) > Protomechs > other vehicles like tanks/helicopters > Elementals but that's just a guess.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Isn't there an RPG equivalent to 'Alpha Strike' now, that being a far more cut-down version that doesn't involve receiving rebates and franking credits during the character creation process?


I only made up one of the above things...

Spoiler:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Isn't there an RPG equivalent to 'Alpha Strike' now, that being a far more cut-down version that doesn't involve receiving rebates and franking credits during the character creation process?


I only made up one of the above things...

 Charistoph wrote:

Spoiler:

Light Mechs range from 20 to 35 tons (though 10 and 15 have existed). All BattleMechs are considered "2 Levels Tall".

Combat Vehicle sizes depend on their movement type: VTOLs max is 30t, Hovercraft is 50t, Wheeled and WiGE (Wing-in-Ground-Effect) are 80t, Tracked is 100t. These are usually considered "1 Level Tall".

Protomechs originally massed from 2t up to 9t normally, but "Super-Heavy" Protomechs from 10-15t also exist. These are considered "1 Level Tall". The average human is probably just shorter than the average ProtoMech's Leg. In Warhammer terms, they're about halfway between a Wraith Lord and a Wraith Knight or an Ogre and a Giant. At the level of Battle Troops, they'd probably be deployed like a Space Marine Dreadnought, Wraith Lord, or a smaller monster like a Fomoroid, or Chimera.

Battle Armor runs about 500kg to about 2t, but as small as 80kg can be made. In Warhammer terms, their like Space Marines or the Stormcast Eternals, though some would be as small as Stormtroopers or almost big as a Dreadnought.

So, if you can fit in a Light Mech like a Locust or an UrbanMech, fitting a ProtoMech in to the game should be possible. They are also mostly patterned after monsters, too, so it could be possible to proxy monster models in to such a game. In a story mission, though, they are rather rare, due to so few using them on a regular basis.