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Star League Command ForcePack has been on the ship for two or three weeks, with a late March release date planned.

Randall just mentioned a surprise Salvage Pack at AdeptiCon that should be in stores around the same time.

Nomeny wrote:

 Stormonu wrote:

Rosebuddy wrote:

 Ghaz wrote:

 Wargames Atlantic wrote:
HIPS for the existing scale would result in a lot of small, fiddly pieces. Making 28mm-figure sized Battlemechs in HIPS is the way to go.

Catalyst is not going to ditch their current PVC molds just to remake them in HIPS. The waste of money to do so would be phenomenal.

Oh no, they're likely to keep doing what they're doing. It seems to make sense for them. I just like modelling and wish that the plastic ones were at least not pre-assembled.

Well, if you're more into modeling, I'd go look at the likes of Max Factory (Fang of the Sun Dougram), Hasegawa (Macross), and Bandai (Gundam) and so on for models. 28mm Battletech is too big for play. Catalyst is making this scale for gaming, not for modeling.

They might make more producing models for modeling, given that nobody is going to use that many mechs for BT unless it's Alpha Strike and even then it's less than a GW squad. There's no limit to the number of mechs people will buy to paint and make dioramas and stuff. It makes the product consumable.

I don’t think they would. People play Classic still, but these days AS is much more popular (despite Catalyst pushing Classic as their primary game). I live in one of the three biggest hubs of BT play in the USA and we have a huge Alpha Strike community and a large Classic one (by comparison to the rest of the country, though still tiny compared to the AS community). Further, one of the guys in the group runs the largest competitive circuit for Alpha Strike in country, and Alpha Strike events sellout way faster than Classic events at conventions (if the Classic ones sell out). The Alpha Strike players buy lots of Mechs. I mean look at how much money the last Kickstarter made.

Also a lot of Battletech players (particularly Classic players, but some Alpha Strike players too), don’t like painting.

Not saying that there isn’t a market for Battletech models (I would probably pick up a few), but it would definitely be smaller than the one for miniatures.

I'm kind of disappointed that in my area, I am the only sole BT gamer that likes Alpha Strike.

Like in many BT groups, it's seen as the "dumbed-down, lesser game for people who can't handle Classic". Which is a bummer. I like both for what they each bring to the table. Classic is for intimate skirmishes where losing a hand actuator might actually matter, Alpha Strike (to me) is for Company or larger battles for when you want a big combined-arms spectacle on a big table. It's my new way to turn back the clock and experience a bit of that Epic 40K feel.

You'll tend to see more Alpha Strike in the wild as it's a lot easier to play in a store/convention situation than classic,

I suspect a fair amount more classic is played with groups of friends who don't play elsewhere so it's going to be tricky to say which is the most popular mode

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
You'll tend to see more Alpha Strike in the wild as it's a lot easier to play in a store/convention situation than classic,

I suspect a fair amount more classic is played with groups of friends who don't play elsewhere so it's going to be tricky to say which is the most popular mode

While that definitely is true about Classic, Alpha Strike definitely has a bigger "presence" and attracts a lot more players from other Wargames, where Classic is an entire different animal. On my State's Battletech Facebook page probably the most common thing we see from new players is "Hi, I'm looking to get into BT, I'm coming from playing (insert X Wargame) for (insert X amount of time), how do I get started?" Those people almost always prefer Alpha Strike, as Classic is more of a simulation/RPG than a wargame. Almost all of the Classic players in my region (that I'm aware of at least) have been playing Classic for 25+ years, and there are a mere handful that have been playing less than 5 years. Alpha Strike on the other hand has new players every month.

Without question though, Alpha Strike sells a TON more mechs for Catalyst.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 AegisGrimm wrote:
I'm kind of disappointed that in my area, I am the only sole BT gamer that likes Alpha Strike.

Like in many BT groups, it's seen as the "dumbed-down, lesser game for people who can't handle Classic". Which is a bummer. I like both for what they each bring to the table. Classic is for intimate skirmishes where losing a hand actuator might actually matter, Alpha Strike (to me) is for Company or larger battles for when you want a big combined-arms spectacle on a big table. It's my new way to turn back the clock and experience a bit of that Epic 40K feel.

Sorry to hear that. Most of our Classic players in the are are pretty similar, and are vehemently against Alpha Strike (there are a couple that play both). Most of the Alpha Strike guys will play a Classic game if invited to an event or something, but don't go out of their way to play it. I don't mind playing a Classic game a couple times a year if it's with good friends and beers and what not, but it's not something I'd want to do regularly. They are definitely different games for different experiences, and I can see why people prefer one over the other.

 Ghaz wrote:


Star League Command ForcePack has been on the ship for two or three weeks, with a late March release date planned.

Randall just mentioned a surprise Salvage Pack at AdeptiCon that should be in stores around the same time.

I skimmed through a chunk of it, but didn’t catch the bit about salvage packs. Do you have a timestamp for that bit?

 AegisGrimm wrote:

Like in many BT groups, it's seen as the "dumbed-down, lesser game for people who can't handle Classic".

I don't find that description super unfair if we're talking about straight-out-of-the-book, default AS.

Once you layer in a bunch of the alternate and optional rules it really does start to sing, though.

 Flinty wrote:

 Ghaz wrote:


Star League Command ForcePack has been on the ship for two or three weeks, with a late March release date planned.

Randall just mentioned a surprise Salvage Pack at AdeptiCon that should be in stores around the same time.

I skimmed through a chunk of it, but didn’t catch the bit about salvage packs. Do you have a timestamp for that bit?

It's right at the end of the BattleTech news, after where Randall was caressing the BattleTech Universe Precentor Martial edition box (38:40 minute mark).

Cool, thanks. It’s about 36 minutes in. And has no more information than Ghaz’s post makes out

 Flinty wrote:
Cool, thanks. It’s about 36 minutes in. And has no more information than Ghaz’s post makes out

He does note that it has nothing to do with the Kickstarter and is nothing we've ever seen.

Cool. Any obvious candidates?

 Flinty wrote:
Cool. Any obvious candidates?

There's so many 'Mechs and other things it could be any guess would be a shot in the dark. We'll just have to wait three weeks for AdeptiCon.

In other news, the Clan Invasion Kickstarter just got a new update on the rewards that are still outstanding.

So from a picture on reddit seems we are getting an urbanmech LAMs box

No, i am quite sure that is a fake.

Chaoticus maximus wrote:
No, i am quite sure that is a fake.

No, it's quite REAL. Instead of giving us something like ARS-V1 Ares we're getting an UrbanMech LAM

You can see the box on the far right behind the other Salvage Boxes:

Heheheh, Randall said we were getting "a new force pack, no, a new salvage box," and now I see why. This should make the community pretty happy I bet.

 frankelee wrote:
This should make the community pretty happy I bet.

Opinions on this have been 'mixed' to say the least (I know I for one would have preferred something more useful in-game than an UrbanMech LAM).

Me too, I love the Urbie-meme but this might be a step too far.

M.

This only works if the LAM components are a kite that you can attach to other mechs.

I've already accepted that CGL isn't treating their 'Mech line like it's wartime rationing. They did just knock out a bunch of new, more legitimately important, 'Mechs with the Kickstarter too, so to stick this in now seems like a pretty reasonable ratio between serious products and unserious products. Not to mention every time this is debated on the subreddit you get 20 answers as to what they should have made instead. Like right now someone made a post about how it should have been a Hermit Crab, I don't have any interest in a Hermit Crab. I imagine from CGL's perspective, if you ask what should we do next and it's just a big crowd of people all yelling their own personal answer with no consensus, then they're keeping pace with the community's wants.

Battletech has always been a bit silly, so it makes sense that it should continue to be a bit silly. People who are super-serious about it have missed at least some of the point of the game in the first place.

I mean, the JagerMech? Back when Mick Jagger was still a big name? The UrbanMech itself? The very idea of big stompy robots as the supreme weapon on the battlefield? Machine gun ammo, of all things, exploding and destroying mechs from the inside out?

All a bit silly. That's part of the fun of the game.

 Vulcan wrote:
I mean, the JagerMech? Back when Mick Jagger was still a big name?

'Jager' is the German word for 'Hunter'. It has nothing to do with Mick Jagger.

 Ghaz wrote:

 Vulcan wrote:
I mean, the JagerMech? Back when Mick Jagger was still a big name?

'Jager' is the German word for 'Hunter'. It has nothing to do with Mick Jagger.

If that's what you choose to believe.

If you don't want the Urbanmech LAM, I'll take yours ... I'd certainly like to see all the old (and some new) LAMs return to Battletech.

Wonder if it will look somewhat like the Robotech/Southern Cross VF-8 Logan?

 Stormonu wrote:
If you don't want the Urbanmech LAM, I'll take yours ... I'd certainly like to see all the old (and some new) LAMs return to Battletech.

Wonder if it will look somewhat like the Robotech/Southern Cross VF-8 Logan?

Catalyst did the design as an April Fools a few years back.

 Stormonu wrote:
If you don't want the Urbanmech LAM, I'll take yours ...

It's not a freebee for those who pledged for the Mercenaries Kickstarter like the Savannah Master is. It will be available for purchase first at AdeptiCon and then shortly afterwards via retail.

well now I feel a little silly for having constructed my own urbie lam at the end of december.

I love it when an April fools product becomes a reality.

So I get "Urbie" as short for "Urbanmech" - what's the LAM bit all about?

 Dysartes wrote:
So I get "Urbie" as short for "Urbanmech" - what's the LAM bit all about?

Land-Air 'Mech. Basically, a Macross/Robotech valkyrie.