Archive through December 03, 2022
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Games and Science Fiction: Other Wargames (for SFUers who like to play them):
Archive through December 03, 2022
The IlClan has landed.
In terms of production quality, it's a step up from the likes of Shattered Fortress: it's a full-colour hardback volume (minus the Record Sheets, which remain in black-and-white). It's definitely more of a "plot sourcebook" than a "setting sourcebook", though; while it does include a relatively brief portion covering concurrent events elsewhere in the Inner Sphere (as noted in this potentially spoiler-ey table of contents), the book acts as more of a bridge between the Dark Age and IlClan eras rather than as a formal introduction to the new era in and of itself.
Going forward, this preview image of Tamar Rising - I'd avoid reading the blurb if you don't want to be spoiled for IlClan - not only shows a glimpse of the book itself, but also of the campaign map covering the portion of the Inner Sphere the events of the book are to take place in. (It looks like there are light-year distances marked along various jump routes, as well as what might perhaps be the average recharge times listed for each star system.)
I really loved BattleTech back in the day. But I feel that the Clan stuff really ruined a good thing. Even the creator of BT admitted that he went to far with the tech he gave to the Clan and kind of broke the game.
I should point out that Catalyst Game Labs have been careful to split the BattleTech timeline into a series of distinct eras, with a variety of sourcebooks and other materials supporting each one.
For example, there are a number of sourcebooks set during the Star League era, to include one covering the Reunification War and a two-part series covering the Amaris Coup. There's even a PDF file going as far back as the Age of War, plus rules for the "Primitive" BattleMechs which served the star-nations of the Inner Sphere prior to the onset of "standard" BattleTechnology.
The early Succession Wars have not been ignored, ether; both the First and Second Succession Wars have been given their own sourcebooks in recent years. There's even a (non-canon) PDF called Empires Aflame, which looks at an alternate "what-if" timeline in which the Succession Wars go in a very different direction to that seen in the standard timeline...
So, just as the Venn diagram for eras and settings supported in the Star Fleet Universe is (I hope) large enough to cater to a variety of interests, so too would there be plenty of room for different BattleTech eras and play styles to co-exist.
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All that said, I should also point out that there has been a lot of work done in order to provide more nuance to the Clans themselves.
For one, there is a soucrebook looking at Operation KLONDIKE, which was fought during the founding era of the Clans - before any of the more advanced OmniMechs of the Invasion era were invented. There are other "pre-REVIVAL" files in PDF form, to include a look at the Clan Golden Century.
For another, there is The Wars of Reaving, a sourcebook which outlines the tragedy that unfolded in the Clan Homeworlds when the forces left simmering since the onset of the invasion finally reached a boiling point.
Even now, at the onset of the IlClan era, there are still plenty of things going on away from the various Clan front lines. Although, how many of those things might be impacted in the medium or long term by the recent events on Terra remains to be seen.
Next April, CGL is set to release a BattleTech Universe sourcebook, set to provide a broad overview of the setting and historical writeups for a host of BT factions through to 3150. With things kicking off in the new IlClan Era, this file looks set to provide a useful way to catch up to the "current" state of affairs.
Speaking of which, another "post-IlClan" sourcebook, Empire Alone, was also announced. (Again, watch out for potential spoilers for IlClan in their respective blurbs.) Whereas Tamar Rising covers the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone which was practically abandoned during that Clan's rush towards Terra, Empire Alone looks at the worlds of the Wolf Empire which were themselves left virtually defenseless when the bulk of Clan Wolf made its own dramatic jump to Terra.
The events of both sourcebooks are set to take place in parallel; two more yet-to-be-announced volumes shall look at the same window of time (approximately through to mid-3152) in different areas of the Inner Sphere and/or the near Periphery.
Nice to see some interest in BattleTech in here 
I have to say I'm thrilled with what's come out of the Kickstarter. The Game of Armored Combat box set is the finest introductory box the game has ever seen, but we knew that already; I'm happy to see the Clan Invasion box keeps up that level of quality. The new 'Mech redesigns and minis are really nice.
CGL is also doing well when it comes to digital products; every physical rulebook comes with a PDF, and PDF products are substantially cheaper than physical ones. The record sheets are cheap, with the Clan Invasion record sheet pack coming with 493 mechs for $9.99. This really helps new players dive in and have tons of options right from the start.
I feel like the game's in a better place now than it's ever been, at least since I've been playing (started in the mid-90s). The setting and history is still pretty intimidating for new players, but the BattleTech Universe book looks like it may address that. Plus, with jilted Games Workshop fans now migrating to BT due to recent events, the community seems set to grow even more.
The BattleTech Universe book should, I hope, be a key product for would-be Alpha Strike players, as well.
Currently, Alpha Strike: Commander's Edition includes almost all of the rules needed to use certain unit types to be found only in certain eras and factions, such as Land-Air 'Mechs and QuadVees. Plus, almost all of those have low-toner Unit Cards freely available on the Master Unit List website.
So, in principle, a combination of AS:CE, the MUL website, and the forthcoming BTU sourcebook could be a relatively cost-effective means of enabling a new (or at least new to AS) player to begin to find their footing in whichever era or setting they so wish - or indeed to be able to hit the ground running in the new IlClan Era.
In practice, of course, we'll have to wait and see exactly what the BTU sourcebook has to offer before that can be said for certain...
I'll be honest, I haven't touched Alpha Strike and don't plan to, so I've no idea what's going on with it But it certainly would be great if the AS people get what they want out of BTU too!
What I hope to see from CGL long-term is a revisit of the core rules to follow the new standard set by the BattleMech Manual. BMM is a great book that can actually be used to learn and play the game, whereas Total War and friends are only useful as a reference. Bringing more coherence and structure to the other books could really help new BT folks jump into combined arms and campaign stuff, since they could just jump in without needing an old hand to teach them the ropes.
In a sense, a reorganization of the "spine" rulebooks is already underway.
The most recent iteration of Strategic Operations had the BattleForce material removed, while the next iteration of Interstellar Operations is said to be split in a similar manner.
In other words, the alternate era material in the current version of IO will be (re-)released as a separate volume, while the Strategic BattleForce-related material from IO is set to be combined with the BF portion of SO and (re-)released as a dedicated BattleForce volume.
Actually, while the focus of both game systems remains quite distinct, I could only imagine that BattleForce can benefit from the sheer number of Alpha Strike Unit Cards which have been worked up for the MUL.
That all sounds really sensible, but rather than moving things around I was thinking about a pretty significant rewrite. BMM is a book someone can pick up, read and use to learn the game, plus it contains basically everything needed to run Mechs in one place. Total War looks great and works well enough if you already know how to play, but for new players it's a chaotic mess of rules scattered every which way.
The thing is, BT has an excellent set of starter products in the beautiful box sets, and now BMM for comprehensive coverage of Mech-centred play.
But if a player wants to take the next step and use vehicles, run campaigns, etc., there's a pretty harsh transition to Total War and TechManual and such, which are really not very usable for learning the rules. Improving that aspect requires reorganisation for sure, but also a pretty fundamental re-think about how rules are presented and explained throughout the books.
Side note: got a shipping notice today for my Wave 2 Clan Invasion stuff. Exciting!
plus it contains basically everything needed to run Mechs in one place.
The technical part anyways...
Seen a number of people that could recite the rules backwards and forwards....
Though, once the action started, they were more likely to trip over their own feet (couldn't chew gum and walk at the same time).....
I've always been a hover tanker in BT. Speed and firepower are my specialty.
I read yesterday at The Miniatures Page that Winchell Chung has a terminal diagnosis. Winchell Chung is the gentleman that did the artwork for the first addition of Steve Jackson's Ogre game.
Mark Hoyle -- that kind of thing happens with any complex tactical game, doesn't it? That problem isn't confined just to BT, otherwise SFB and FC wouldn't have a need to publish tactical manuals. Heck, plenty of people know how to play Chess but play it extremely badly
On another topic... has anyone here spent much time with the old Agents of Gaming Babylon 5 game Fleet Action?
I haven't played Fleet Action before, but have been reading the rules for FA 1 and 2 recently (thanks to them being archived on the B5Wars Vault, along with the B5 ship record sheets). Fleet Action is the fleet-scale counterpart of Babylon 5 Wars, whereas Fleet Action 2 was generic. FA2 is slightly more to my taste, in that there's a bit more detail to the action than FA1. FA2 avoids the two pitfalls of ACTA and Starmada that bug me, namely that weapon behaviours in ACTA aren't that interesting, and in Starmada defence systems aren't that interesting. FA2 has interesting weapon behaviours and several types of shields, which behave differently from armour.
However, reading the rules is very different from playing, so I'm wondering if anyone has tried FA before and has any opinions? I've yet to find a fleet-scale game that I really like. FA seems promising, because keeping formations together is actually important, command and morale are relevant, and yet moment-to-moment combat still has detail to it, but I don't know how well it works out in practice.
My kid brother is developing a board game / war game based on the Korean War. He is looking for images that he can insert into the rule-book, but they have to be public-domain / copyright free. For example, he has an image of an American F-86 making a strafing run ground attack that he found on a web site listing as public domain, but someone told him it's a photo of a copyrighted paining. Ergo, he wants to replace it just to avoid any possible interactions with unfriendly lawyers. Also, he's looking for images of North Korean planes / tanks, as most everything he's found seems to be American. If anyone can point me to a good library of said images, it would be very much appreciated.
And yeah, I know, at our age, it seems weird that I still call him my "kid brother"......
Garth L. Getgen
PICRYL is a public domain media search engine. Their search results are a bit random, but there should be some usable stuff in there.
Tamar Rising, the first "post-IlClan" sourcebook for BattleTech, was released recently: once again, be wary of IlClan-related spoilers.
The print volume includes a campaign map poster which includes details such as jump routes and recharge times for the region covered in this volume. The digital edition includes the sourcebook and campaign map as separate PDFs.
As noted above, a second "post-IlClan" sourcebook, Empire Alone, is set to cover a different part of the Inner Sphere in parallel to the events of Tamar Rising. Following that should be the recently-announced Dominions Divided - which reportedly takes a look at the Federated Suns, the Draconis Combine, and the Rasalhague Dominion - plus a fourth sourcebook which has yet to be name-dropped at this time of writing.
As noted in an earlier post, the Interstellar Operations sourcebook for BattleTech has been split into two volumes; both are available now.
Interstellar Operations: Alternate Eras covers most of the material needed to set a game in any of the BT game eras through to 3150. (The current IlClan Era is still too "new" to be covered in this manner, for the time being at least.)
Interstellar Operations: BattleForce includes the BattleForce-related material which had been extracted from prior editions of the Strategic Operations rulebook, as well as the relevant data from the original version of IO.
The "Quick-Strike" miniature rules which had also been in prior editions of SO have been removed - or rather, they have long since evolved into the stand-alone Alpha Strike game system.
CGL recently posted a look ahead at things for BattleTech over the next year or so.
Once again, there are IlClan-related spoilers for anyone who has yet to get caught up to this new BT era. But a few items of note are a new Alpha Strike box set; more IlClan-era novels; plus a new Kickstarter project in the works.
Wow, that is a LOT of new stuff for one year!
I was just about to finally pick up dead-tree copies of Tactical Operations; however, those new covers look fantastic so I may well wait until summer.
I'm excited to get my hands on BattleTech Universe, too. I'm not a follower of BT history so I've no idea what's going on in the timeline at this point. A one-volume primer will be a godsend for me.
I'll be keeping a keen eye out for the Kickstarter in the fall, as that will probably be the only way for me to get some of those retailer-exclusive force packs (given that I live in the UK). I hold out hope that someday they'll open up an EU/UK warehouse, because certainly there's a core of players over here and physical product seems to sell out quickly.
It's a fantastic time to be a BattleTech player, there's non-stop great stuff coming out these last couple of years.
Empire Alone, the second "post-IlClan" sourcebook for BattleTech, is now available in PDF form.
The time period covered is the same as in Tamar Rising - running through to mid-3152 - yet shifting the focus rimward: towards the Free Worlds League, the Wolf Empire, and their surrounding powers.
Once again, a separate PDF is included that presents a campaign map with jump routes and recharge times in this region of the Inner Sphere.
Note sure if this is the best topic or not...
It's SciFi which has become more Fictional RWM.
Has anyone viewed the Red Storm Rising 'Audio Readings' (with CGI video animation) on You Tube?
Just 'watched' Chapter 20 - the Dance of the Vampires, which is one of the bets chapters in the Book.
Audio voice does grate me a bit for some reason.... but I love the book.
For those who have watched it - are the other chapters any good?
The audio is a professional voice actor by the name of Micheal Pritchard and is the original commercial recording.
I remembered watching that, instantly recognizing the voice and wondered how they managed to tap dance around the rights.
Having listened to the audiobook, I didn’t seek out any of the other vids.
Thx Paul. I never knew of this before and I watched it and it's pretty cool!
"The computer had not been programmed to think about that."
--Mike
I watched "Operation Nordic hammer" the first US attack on Keflavik. I enjoyed it!
My brother is putting the final touches on a wargame for The Korean War that he's developing. He's looking for a few people to playtest it. If you're interested, please email me. And if you happen to live in the Omaha area, Matt Johnson and I have started trying the game.
Garth L. Getgen