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I'd also like to point out that one of my greatest loves in BTech is the hex map.

What? Why?

Well, not just because I love map sheets and tiles, but because it's so defined, so binary, so digital. Are you in range? Yes or no. Are you in LOS? Yes or no. There are no maybe's in this game, unlike games where you have to use TLOS to check, or use a tape measure to check. Everything either is, or isn't. There's no middle ground.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I'd also like to point out that one of my greatest loves in BTech is the hex map.

What? Why?

Well, not just because I love map sheets and tiles, but because it's so defined, so binary, so digital. Are you in range? Yes or no. Are you in LOS? Yes or no. There are no maybe's in this game, unlike games where you have to use TLOS to check, or use a tape measure to check. Everything either is, or isn't. There's no middle ground.

agreed. it's definatly got it's advantages.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I'd also like to point out that one of my greatest loves in BTech is the hex map.

What? Why?

Well, not just because I love map sheets and tiles, but because it's so defined, so binary, so digital. Are you in range? Yes or no. Are you in LOS? Yes or no. There are no maybe's in this game, unlike games where you have to use TLOS to check, or use a tape measure to check. Everything either is, or isn't. There's no middle ground.

That's very Mechanicum of you!

 warboss wrote:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I'd also like to point out that one of my greatest loves in BTech is the hex map.

What? Why?

Well, not just because I love map sheets and tiles, but because it's so defined, so binary, so digital. Are you in range? Yes or no. Are you in LOS? Yes or no. There are no maybe's in this game, unlike games where you have to use TLOS to check, or use a tape measure to check. Everything either is, or isn't. There's no middle ground.

That's very Mechanicum of you!

having a black and white yes or no answer in a game is handy, you hear a LOT less stories about "that guys" in Battletech

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I'd also like to point out that one of my greatest loves in BTech is the hex map.

What? Why?

Well, not just because I love map sheets and tiles, but because it's so defined, so binary, so digital. Are you in range? Yes or no. Are you in LOS? Yes or no. There are no maybe's in this game, unlike games where you have to use TLOS to check, or use a tape measure to check. Everything either is, or isn't. There's no middle ground.

I dug one of my maps yesterday and got a copy so I can cut out the terrain elements, glue them on some foamboard,and use the to change the classic maps a bit while giving a bit of 3D to the map.
M.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I'd also like to point out that one of my greatest loves in BTech is the hex map.

What? Why?

Well, not just because I love map sheets and tiles, but because it's so defined, so binary, so digital. Are you in range? Yes or no. Are you in LOS? Yes or no. There are no maybe's in this game, unlike games where you have to use TLOS to check, or use a tape measure to check. Everything either is, or isn't. There's no middle ground.

So very much this. There are no varying interpretations on the hexmap. It's so refreshing compared with regular minis...

Some people have made great 3D maps out of foam that are all in hexes.

*edit*

Can't copy a pic but here is a link. Awesome stuff. https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=12806.0

I have a lot of old Heroscape terrain that could be repurposed really well.

I'll definitely be using the Heroscape tiles at some point. I think it just makes for a great visual.

So, a Gencon friend picked me up the new Total Warfare book (with retro-cover so its the "new" edition), and while I don't have it in hand yet, I noticed the product description goes out of its way to say it is an "advanced rulebook" and should not be used by starting players.

Ok... fine... so is there already a similar "new" edition of the full core rules, or is that literally a captive of the new starter box, until it reaches a wider release?

Yes.

Total Warfare is an advanced rulebook because it contains the rules for 'Mechs, vehicles (hover, tracked, whelled, VToL WiGE), infantry, power armour, ProtoMechs and a few other things.

The BattleMech Manual is just the rules for using 'Mechs. The rules in the starterbox are just that, less all the additional weapons/equipment/optional rules.

As a child of the 80s, who hasn't bothered to pick up any of the minis since the 90s, I'm looking forward to this.

I think I saw it mentioned earlier ITT that the "older" Alpha Strike Lance boxes will still be usable, is that correct?

 ancientsociety wrote:
the "older" Alpha Strike Lance boxes will still be usable, is that correct?

Yep! You are good.

Funny, looks like Adeptus Titanicus and the new Battletech boxed set will be hitting the streets about the same time.

Curious to see how each holds up after about 6 months to a year being available.

A better comparison will be to check 5 years from now. When AT will be playing AT 3rd edition with their new $75 rule books and all new extra shiny $160 titans which just happen to be better than your old busted 5yo $100 Titans.

 Stormonu wrote:
Funny, looks like Adeptus Titanicus and the new Battletech boxed set will be hitting the streets about the same time.

Curious to see how each holds up after about 6 months to a year being available.

Knowing Catalyst, it will have sold really well and stores will just be running out of stock, marking the start of a three year period where it will be out of print. Being out of print will have no real effect on the popularity of the game.

AT will make a gazillion times more (while selling fewer copies no doubt) and the popularity will just be tailing off as people scan the pages of White Dwarf in the hope of seeing something new.

The real test will be in 12 - 18 months when the popularity of AT (measured in sales and people playing) drops below Battletech (It is hard to overlook the fact that if you pick up the new BT set today, there are hundreds of plastic and metal mechs you can buy right now if you enjoy the experience). Then we will all be facepalming at how Catalyst has somehow failed - again - to capitalise on an IP that is far more popular than it has any right to be.. and we will keep on playing Battletech regardless

 Siygess wrote:

 Stormonu wrote:
Funny, looks like Adeptus Titanicus and the new Battletech boxed set will be hitting the streets about the same time.

Curious to see how each holds up after about 6 months to a year being available.

Knowing Catalyst, it will have sold really well and stores will just be running out of stock, marking the start of a three year period where it will be out of print. Being out of print will have no real effect on the popularity of the game.

AT will make a gazillion times more (while selling fewer copies no doubt) and the popularity will just be tailing off as people scan the pages of White Dwarf in the hope of seeing something new.

The real test will be in 12 - 18 months when the popularity of AT (measured in sales and people playing) drops below Battletech (It is hard to overlook the fact that if you pick up the new BT set today, there are hundreds of plastic and metal mechs you can buy right now if you enjoy the experience). Then we will all be facepalming at how Catalyst has somehow failed - again - to capitalise on an IP that is far more popular than it has any right to be.. and we will keep on playing Battletech regardless

Siygess Battletechs!

Maybe added clan stuff and the added rewrites of the old stuff that came out 3d and 4th edition.

Trust me, BT has been around for years, it isn't going anywhere. Compared to 40K/ GW, who sees it fit to continue to reinvent the wheel every year or so.

Siygess has the right of it. Battletech has a remarkable ability to succeed in spite of itself. I love that you can find variants to run a Stinger, a mech that measures its combat life in seconds, from the Star league on through the Clan Invasion and into the Dark Ages.

Everything is backwards compatible- it just may be a few hundred years out of date.

 Grot 6 wrote:
Maybe added clan stuff and the added rewrites of the old stuff that came out 3d and 4th edition.

Trust me, BT has been around for years, it isn't going anywhere. Compared to 40K/ GW, who sees it fit to continue to reinvent the wheel every year or so.

it's hard to comapre the two things, for one thing Battletech despite having minis isn't really a miniature game. when a new TRO comes out they don;'t worry about having all the minis. it's not important. that said Battletech rather then reinvent the rules has a always expanding fluff situation, which can be hard to keep up with


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Gitzbitah wrote:
Siygess has the right of it. Battletech has a remarkable ability to succeed in spite of itself. I love that you can find variants to run a Stinger, a mech that measures its combat life in seconds, from the Star league on through the Clan Invasion and into the Dark Ages.

Everything is backwards compatible- it just may be a few hundred years out of date.

pfft the stinger's a perfectly fine and survivable mech. So long as you don't rush an assault lance with it

I love the Stinger! When I drag my kids and wife to the table to play BT, I give them all the cool mechs while I run recon in my unseen (except by the enemy) STG-3R.

So question. If you were doing alpha strike company on company+ action (I'm thinking about doing a merc campaign) would a 4'x4' field be big enough?

Krugerannd wrote:
So question. If you were doing alpha strike company on company+ action (I'm thinking about doing a merc campaign) would a 4'x4' field be big enough?

4'x4' should work. When my old group would run games that large we'd usually lay down 4-6 map sheets in either a 2x2 pattern or a 3x2 pattern.

A map sheet is 22" long and 18" wide, so going with the 2x2 layout you'd be looking at 44"x 36" which isn't too far off from 48"x 48".

As long as you aren't playing on open terrain that should be a pretty big battlefield for your companies to maneuver around.

This was pre-Alpha Strike, so those games would take an entire weekend. It was a lot of fun!

Justyn wrote:
A better comparison will be to check 5 years from now. When AT will be playing AT 3rd edition with their new $75 rule books and all new extra shiny $160 titans which just happen to be better than your old busted 5yo $100 Titans.

Huh, my Adeptus Titanicus Warlord titans have been usable for 30 years so far.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Stormonu wrote:
Funny, looks like Adeptus Titanicus and the new Battletech boxed set will be hitting the streets about the same time.

Curious to see how each holds up after about 6 months to a year being available.

What do you mean by "holds up"? With Adeptus Titanicus 2 have been designed by James Hewitt, I have no doubt in my mind that it'll be fun forever.

Krugerannd wrote:
So question. If you were doing alpha strike company on company+ action (I'm thinking about doing a merc campaign) would a 4'x4' field be big enough?

It's small. With long range reaching out to 42 inches, you will have 1st turn firing and little area to maneuver out of range. It could work, but you'll probably have casualties a lot sooner than a 6x4 table. If you enjoy the mobility game and strike and fade, 4x4 will definitely not be enough unless you use a lot of terrain.

 Mattlov wrote:

Krugerannd wrote:
So question. If you were doing alpha strike company on company+ action (I'm thinking about doing a merc campaign) would a 4'x4' field be big enough?

It's small. With long range reaching out to 42 inches, you will have 1st turn firing and little area to maneuver out of range. It could work, but you'll probably have casualties a lot sooner than a 6x4 table. If you enjoy the mobility game and strike and fade, 4x4 will definitely not be enough unless you use a lot of terrain.

Does terrain work the same in Alpha Strike as it does in regular Battletech? Is LoS blocked by 3 intervening patches of woods, for example? And buildings/mountains over 2 levels block LoS?

If so, then honestly, unless the 4x4 table is all flat, open fields then even a moderate amount of terrain will create enough dead zones for maneuvering.

Plus, long range shots, target movement modifiers and any terrain modifiers will make the initial salvos unlikely to hit unless there are a number of elite pilots on the field. And if there are elite pilots that is going to be a shorter game anyway.

The negative flip side to a larger table space is if the forces are too slow to engage one another in a timely manner. That gets boring pretty quickly.

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 Mattlov wrote:

Krugerannd wrote:
So question. If you were doing alpha strike company on company+ action (I'm thinking about doing a merc campaign) would a 4'x4' field be big enough?

It's small. With long range reaching out to 42 inches, you will have 1st turn firing and little area to maneuver out of range. It could work, but you'll probably have casualties a lot sooner than a 6x4 table. If you enjoy the mobility game and strike and fade, 4x4 will definitely not be enough unless you use a lot of terrain.

Does terrain work the same in Alpha Strike as it does in regular Battletech? Is LoS blocked by 3 intervening patches of woods, for example? And buildings/mountains over 2 levels block LoS?

If so, then honestly, unless the 4x4 table is all flat, open fields then even a moderate amount of terrain will create enough dead zones for maneuvering.

Plus, long range shots, target movement modifiers and any terrain modifiers will make the initial salvos unlikely to hit unless there are a number of elite pilots on the field. And if there are elite pilots that is going to be a shorter game anyway.

The negative flip side to a larger table space is if the forces are too slow to engage one another in a timely manner. That gets boring pretty quickly.

From page 14 of the Alpha Strike Quick Start Rules:

Line of sight (LOS) in Alpha Strike is determined by what a unit can “see” from its vantage point on the table. Units can usually be sighted by simply going to the eye level of the attacking unit and looking at the target miniature.

That's just the basics for line of sight. There are further rules and exceptions in the Quick Start rules.

Thanks, Ghaz.

Looks like 6" of woods block LoS in Alpha Strike. It would not be difficult to fill a 4'x4' with plenty of LoS blocking terrain to force maneuvering.

Waiting to pick up the "rest" of the core books until I can get a full set of the retro-covered, most-recent errata ones... But I did buy a mess of Heroscape hexes to supplement my own collection. I'm hoping I have enough to replicate a full-sized map now, with a little more aesthetic presence than a paper mat.

 judgedoug wrote:

 Stormonu wrote:
Funny, looks like Adeptus Titanicus and the new Battletech boxed set will be hitting the streets about the same time.

Curious to see how each holds up after about 6 months to a year being available.

What do you mean by "holds up"? With Adeptus Titanicus 2 have been designed by James Hewitt, I have no doubt in my mind that it'll be fun forever.

Sales & support, I guess. I too have my old AT mechs, but I hadn’t seen new models or rules from GW since the 90’s - nor played a game since that time.

 Stormonu wrote:

 judgedoug wrote:

 Stormonu wrote:
Funny, looks like Adeptus Titanicus and the new Battletech boxed set will be hitting the streets about the same time.

Curious to see how each holds up after about 6 months to a year being available.

What do you mean by "holds up"? With Adeptus Titanicus 2 have been designed by James Hewitt, I have no doubt in my mind that it'll be fun forever.

Sales & support, I guess. I too have my old AT mechs, but I hadn’t seen new models or rules from GW since the 90’s - nor played a game since that time.

well in that case it's hard to say, sure AT could die by then, but so could Battletech TBH, CGL is a pretty small company, if they ran into finanical issues and went under, Btech could die pretty fast if no one else wants to pick up the lisence from Topps.
seems like it's not worth worrying about honestly, plenty of games out last their "demise" now from a "finding people to play with" prespective, that's a differant story, GW has a MUCH higher profile, so people know more about it etc. finding GW gamers in a gaming community is usally pretty easy, whereas Battletech well... a lotta people think it died with FASA, and due to their issues keeping a boxed starter on the shelves it's hard to just pick up at a hobby shop. but does have a cheaper buy in, so I suspect it'll vary from location to location