chaos0xomega wrote:
Id offer to sell you mine but i have to imagine the cost of shipping to japan is brutal

Episode 55



15th July, 2025
Guest: Michael J. Ciaravella. Catalyst Demo Team head

News:
New releases
-The Audiobook of Land of Dreams has been submitted to Amazon, should be out as soon as they approve it
-At Gencon
--3rd Star League Battle Group
--Battlefield Support: Emplacements
--Gothic
--TRO: 3025 Commemorative Edition
--Maybe some little surprises
-Gencon stuff
--CGL will be live-streaming, they’re going to have a stage set up in a hallway at the con centre.
--CGL will have their biggest footprint ever at Gencon, they have five main areas: The core booth, Wishes, and board games in the main hall, demo areas for BattleTech including the VWE pods, and an RPG room.
--author signings
--Portfolio reviews
--Collaborations with partners
--Paint and takes/painting classes. The teachers will include CSO painters
--Other events may be added to the schedule
--MechWarrior Destiny
--A Time of War
--Masters and Minions on Saturday night, where players get to play BattleTech with people who work on the game. You can chat about the industry and the process of creating the game and universe as you play
---This year they’ll do BattleTech and Alpha Strike
--Grinder
--BattleTech Open
--Grand Melee
--Trial of Bloodright
--Gothic Demos
--Maybe Aces demos
--Aces won’t be for sale
-Grinder kits are getting sent out to agents soon
-The Demo Team has about 5,000 agents, covering nearly every continent and country
-They’ve been working hard to bring back the big events and prize support
-They’ve been working with new partners for logistical support, like at Origins they used XP Network for computerised event management
-They’ve taken down the secure demo team website in order to put up a new, modern site that properly protects agent privacy for the modern age.
-Staff agents are being recruited right now to assist with managing the team
-Mike mentioned what he calls “the LaMancha division”, agents who’ve become freelancers, mentioned how being a demo agent is a good way to get deeper into working with CGL
-The World Wide Events are coming back. Two are ready to go, no set date for launch yet. The upcoming events are being worked on with the BattleTech developers and will be canon events. The next event was written by the Hot Spots Hinterlands team
-BattleTech Contracts, a living game similar to Shadowrun Missions is almost ready to go, the first game will debut at Gencon
-Prize Support and the Firebase system is returning.
-The Demo Team will be launching an affiliate program to recognise notable non-CDT fan groups that do a lot for the community, especially where the groups are made at least partially of Demo Agents. WolfNet and Focht’s Network were called out by name.
Alpha Strike 350 will become an official tournament format

Q&A
-What books are Mike working on and when will the Snow Raven novel be out? The latest draft was meant to going to John this week, but because it’s almost Gencon it’s been pushed back so he’s planning to hand it in after they get set up at the con. He’s hoping for a December release.
-What’s the best source to learn more about upcoming Demo Team events? They’re trying to work more with CGL’s social media and Tuesday Newsday. They’re hoping to have the new dedicated website up in a few months
-Are we doing TND live from the Gencon floor? Rem would like to, but she needs to figure out if their on-site tech will be free, will there be mods, can Rem just do it form her phone… TBD
-What is the plan for fixes and refunds for the Mercs Kickstater? A backer update went out earlier today, if you have a missing or damaged item and haven’t reported it mail store@catalystgamelabs.com, they’re going to be working through the shortage list very soon.
-Any word on the outstanding Kickstarter fiction? Loren is apparently very close to done for his share of Den of Wolves. Mike has read the first few chapters so he can attest it does exist. Rem will follow up on Tales of the Bounty Hunter. Mike says all stories are in and it’s being edited.
-Are there plans for map-scale Leopard/Leopard CV DropShips? Mike says he thinks Ray has it on the docket, but he’s not sure where.
-Do we have an estimated release date for Aces: Scouring Sands? Hoping for November/December, pending shipping issues, tariffs etc
-Any word on the Wars of Reaving novels? Mike thinks they’re in editing, possibly for late 2025/2026 release
-Any word on the Brush Wars PDFs? Mike says Ray was talking about it a while back, but no update recently.
-Retailers report delays in getting things recently, and chance of an update? The state of the world has caused major issues. Products they planned to have in production early in the year haven’t been able to happen because of the shipping and tariff issues, also the Diamond/Alliance issues are causing a lot of uncertainty. They’re still working on launching a direct to retail program this year though.
-Any word on the comic? Script is complete, Eldon will be starting work on the art soon.
-When will BattleTech patches and pins be available on the webstore? There was a warehousing change and the new one doesn’t have capacity for them yet. No timeline right now.
-What about the parts of the Demo Team Op Guide that says agents can’t make money from their activities? How does that work with the new affiliates? The Affiliates aren’t getting paid for any official activities. Similarly freelancers and employees who are also demo agents aren’t getting paid for demo team activities even if they get paid for other duties.
-Will there be a guide for Agents to run their own Wolfnet events? Yes, there’ll be a CDT-branded rules pack up soon, if it’s not up
-When will Star Colonel Raus show up again and what mech does he pilot? Not sure when he’ll be back, and Mike says if you ask him at a con, he might tell you what was on the piece of paper.
-Is CGL’s direct to retail program live? Any ETA? No, Rem thinks they can get it done before the end of the year.
-Is MechCommander’s handbook on the way soon? That’s a Ray question
-When will the Kurita Forcepacks be out? They’ve been delayed, no longer a summer release
-Will Gothic be released on August 15th as retailers are announcing? That’s the current street date, pending no delays with ship arrival and so on
-Will Europe be included in the new Prize support program? They already have a European partner in place, the affiliate program is part of this, it’s the first step to getting Grinder kits out, supporting game stores and cons outside the US.

Catoblepas wrote:
The melee weapons and blazers certainly give the new mechs a unique 'feel' for the alternate setting. I'm trying to visualize what a marauder with a mace would look like- a big spiky bulb on the end of one of its guns? Some crenelated flanges?

What I'm most curious about is if these mechs are going to be official for the mainline b-tech universe as well, and if so, who makes/fields them for their forces.