BattleTech: Clan invasion Kickstarter live.

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**chaos0xomega**

RazorEdge wrote:
What is this "Reinforcements Clan Invasion" Box?

?? Where did you see that?

**RazorEdge**

chaos0xomega wrote:
RazorEdge wrote:
What is this "Reinforcements Clan Invasion" Box?

?? Where did you see that?

Beast_gts's Posted Link about arrival of the first Boxes from Wave Two in Germany.

**Orlanth**

beast_gts wrote:
Orlanth wrote:
missing the Kit Fox
It's in the Wave 2 Fire Star box.

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.

**Ghaz**

Orlanth wrote:
beast_gts wrote:
Orlanth wrote:
missing the Kit Fox
It's in the Wave 2 Fire Star box.

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.

**Orlanth**

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**

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.

**H.B.M.C.**

Hopefully Fortress will get some of those "Reinforcements Clan Invasion" things. I need that map sheet!

**Stormonu**

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**

Stormonu wrote:
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.

Those 'original' Technical Readouts are being replaced with books such as Technical Readout: Succession Wars, Technical Readout: Clan Invasion and Technical Readout: Jihad. The Kickstarter was the 'Clan Invasion Kickstarter', not the 'Technical Readout: 3050 Kickstarter'.

**BrianDavion**

Stormonu wrote:
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**

What's a Shadow Cat? What's a Kit Fox?

M.

Edit: Actually Sarna says that the Shadow Cat is the only omni that lacks an IS name with both sides using the same designation.

**H.B.M.C.**

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.

**BrianDavion**

H.B.M.C. wrote:
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

**H.B.M.C.**

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!

**beast_gts**

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.

**BrianDavion**

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.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/20/topps-spac-merger-with-mudrick-is-dead-because-of-mlb-trading-card-deal.html?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=Main&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1629463204

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)

**Miguelsan**

I do find it worrisome. Instability is not good for a company and its product lines.

M.

**H.B.M.C.**

There was a BTech AMA recently:

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

**Miguelsan**

Succession Wars boardgame sounds lovely.

M.

**BrianDavion**

Miguelsan wrote:
Succession Wars boardgame sounds lovely.

M.

I've got the original game, it's intreasting,

**beast_gts**

Updates on Origins 2021, Final Cycle of Recognition Guide, and More

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!

**H.B.M.C.**

Delayed Recognition Guides? *grumble grumble grumble*

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.

**chaos0xomega**

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.

**Platuan4th**

Got my shipping notification yesterday, got my stuff today. At least that's one benefit of moving to Tampa recently.

**BrianDavion**

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.

**Prometheum5**

BrianDavion wrote:

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.

**darkkis**

Prometheum5 wrote:

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.

**chaos0xomega**

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.

**Albertorius**

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.

**Mr Morden**

Got my Shilone and BattleTech Legends today - really enjoyed reading through the latter