Battletech Fans sound off.. [Archive]

SJBenoist

07-30-2003, 09:49 PM

Originally posted by Mr_Pleasington
Count me as one gigantic Btech fan.

I actually just started playing again and converting others...

I'm trying to get some regular gatherings, maybe a campaign or league, going here in St. Louis...but it's slow going right now.

On another note, I think FanPro is doing an excellent job with the game! I hope they keep it up.

Are your initials DJB? Do I know you?

Space Cowboy

07-30-2003, 09:53 PM

Hey all,

I was a fan of the game back in the 80s (still have the original House Steiner and House Davion books, don't know what happened to my 3025 and 3026 Technical Readouts, though). My interest really dropped off after that, though I still occasionally bought a novel every once in a while.

To those who have kept up with Btech, if you don't mind, have you noticed a drop off in support for the product line since WizKids took over FASA and FanPro took over Btech?

Many thanks in advance!

Imaginos

07-30-2003, 09:54 PM

I enjoy the game, and it is one of the games my group plays in regular rotation.

Mortaneus

07-30-2003, 09:56 PM

As a side note....the original Crimson Skies boardgames utterly ruled.

I always thought that the damage system it used would work very well for Battletech. Draw up a mech diagram similar to the plane diagrams in CS. Have templates for the various weapons...

I once heard a rumor that FASA was working on doing a new edition of battletech using that sustem...don't know if it was true or not.

Mr_Pleasington

07-30-2003, 09:59 PM

Yes, indeed, the original Crimson Skies did indeed rock. I was actually designing a car wars type game using the damage system, but gave it up after a while. Haven't tried the new version yet, doubt I will.

As for support, while Fanpro has had several released dates pushed back, ever since they released the new boxed set a few months back they've given us a pretty steady stream of releases. I'm really looking forward to the Combat Operations book, myself.

Iron Wind has been cranking out the minis too. Let it be known, Btech is far from dead!

Mr_Pleasington

07-30-2003, 10:03 PM

Originally posted by SJBenoist
Are your initials DJB? Do I know you?

Nope, those are definitely not my initials.

Who knows, though, you might know me :)

Seroster

07-30-2003, 10:04 PM

Originally posted by Mortaneus

I always thought that the damage system it used would work very well for Battletech. Draw up a mech diagram similar to the plane diagrams in CS. Have templates for the various weapons...

*cough cough* Centurion *cough cough*

Admittedly, it was grav tanks, not mechs. :)

I was kind of a fan of the original Battletech waaay back when. Like, before/without any minis or add-on books. Played that a fair amount in high school.

Imaginos

07-30-2003, 10:12 PM

Originally posted by Mortaneus
As a side note....the original Crimson Skies boardgames utterly ruled.

I always thought that the damage system it used would work very well for Battletech. Draw up a mech diagram similar to the plane diagrams in CS. Have templates for the various weapons...

I once heard a rumor that FASA was working on doing a new edition of battletech using that sustem...don't know if it was true or not.

I don't think FASA ever did, but you might be interested in checking out this website. A chap in England did what you are asking about. He calls it Renegade Tech.

http://staff.bus.bton.ac.uk/fesg/rtech/

Catharsis

07-30-2003, 10:13 PM

I used to love Battletech, I still have a god-awful amount of novels too. I had one of the old editions of the tactical games, pre-Clans. I played 2nd ed rpg rules and own the third ed, but have never played with the latter. Actually, the Battletech rpg was the second rpg I ever played.

Beri

07-30-2003, 10:36 PM

I never had a chance to play Battletech. A friend of mine from my home state is a big fan of the world, but I don't think he's ever actually played it, for lack of anyone to play with. I only go back like 6 weeks out of the year. (I am considering setting up some long-standing game with him...lay out a battle, take a few turns when I go home, let it collect dust for a few months, take some more turns...)

That being said, I really like the Battletech universe I've experienced through the computer games. And I don't mean just the excellent Mechwarrior series, I'm going all the way back to Infocom's The Crescent Hawk's Inception and The Crescent Hawk's Revenge. Sigh...Inception was a damn good game.

In a way, the games almost turn me away from the tabletop - with all of the action and explosions rendered in realtime and 3D, why do I need slow, clunky rules?

Hmm, there's an idea...do a Battletech RPG tabletop style, but do combat in LAN-linked Mechwarrior...need a good map editor and several good computers, though.

I'm rambling ^_^ Whee!

Kenshiro

07-30-2003, 11:49 PM

I love Battletech, but then...

1) The fact that they used mech designs from other sources (*cough* Robotech *cough*) annoyed me.

2) The metaplot annoyed me.

3) FASA and the players REALLY annoyed me.

So I went to play Mekton.

BlackSheep

07-31-2003, 02:13 AM

I've got the CBT boxed set. And one day I plan to play it.

Richard Persky

07-31-2003, 11:06 AM

As I keep finding excuses to mention, I'm deeply fond of 3025-era BT. You can do really cool things with the 2nd edition boxed set and 1st edition Mechwarrior.

(You could probably do cooler things with the 3rd edition boxed set, since that's the one that came with plastic minis, but I missed my chance to get one new and they sell for just a bit too much these days.)

Catharsis

07-31-2003, 11:09 AM

Originally posted by Richard Persky

(You could probably do cooler things with the 3rd edition boxed set, since that's the one that came with plastic minis, but I missed my chance to get one new and they sell for just a bit too much these days.)

How much does it sell for? I'm pretty sure that's the one I used to play and still have sitting around somewhere.

Garrett R. Henke

07-31-2003, 12:09 PM

I ran a very successful MechWarrior Academy game using the MechWarrior RPG 2nd Edition rules. Basically, it was Harry Potter meets giant robots. Each of the characters were Lyran nobles, (although a couple were brand-new nobility) attending a high-profile MechWarrior Academy on the planet Arcadia. Throughtout the game, we dealt with class issues, gender roles, coming of age, family pressures, all sorts of fun stuff. Plus, I threw in a nice plot to invade the world by the Draconis Combine to get a hidden Star League cache. (The game was in the 3025 era) Overall, it was really fun. <p> My problems were primarily systematic in nature. MechWarrion 2nd Edition works, but not well. Plus, the actual Mech combats we had seemed to just interrupt the role-playing so no one really looked forward to them. Most of my players just saw BattleTech as too complicated. Still, I love the universe and I'm planning on picking it up again with the BESM d20 rules once d20 Mecha comes out. Should be cool. <p> Garrett

Ghola

07-31-2003, 12:35 PM

3025 - now there's a manly game! No E.R. anything, no double heat sinks, no Clan monstrosities to deal with. If you ain't ComStar you ain't got squat (for the most part). Plus we have the Houses at each others' throats; just on the edge of disaster. I loves me some 3025!

I was part of a group who played a homebrew PBM game. Each player controlled a House (or fringe state) and directed that state's political/military affairs. When someone raided somebody else - or actually declared war - we got out the boards and threw down.

Good times!

theshoveller

07-31-2003, 01:15 PM

3025 is a great setting, but battles are so slow without Double Heat Sinks. I like the Clans, but I'm not up on the metaplot either - I got lost somewhere in the middle of the big leap from 3061 to 3067.

vitus979

07-31-2003, 01:20 PM

Originally posted by VisionaryEntertainment
Who here is a fan of the Battletech game?

I'm a fan of the old game, but I have to say the coolest thing that ever came out for BTech is the dropship that Wizkids gave away to stores that held MechClix games. That thing is the sh*t.

Bobaloo

07-31-2003, 01:20 PM

We used to play a lot in the late 80s/early 90s. I even read alot of the Stackpole novels. I just don't go for wargaming much anymore. But it's something I've always remained mildly interested in. If a slam-dunk Mechwarrior RPG came out me and my group might go for it.

Arbiter

07-31-2003, 01:33 PM

I am a big fan of the BT universe. But I don´t care much about the TT. FASA lost me somewhat when Davion started to overcome ludicrous odds (especially that shrimp-boy). That means: Since the Warrior Trilogy.

I liked to play in 3026 and I even liked the Clans. But I definitely didn´t like the technological renaissance of the IS. And what followed after Tukayyid was one big pile of bovine manure. Though now and then I run some short RPG sessions. I prefer games where the background is more detailed with respect to the less militaristic aspects of an adventurer´s life. Like Traveller :)

Enough ranting

Arbiter

SwordofLux

07-31-2003, 01:42 PM

I love Battletech. The rules just make sense to me on a fundamental level. I'm introducing a guy to the game tomorrow, in fact. He's played some of the computer games, I believe, but never a wargame. Should be fun.

Matt

Nobody

07-31-2003, 01:47 PM

I liked the OS version of it.

Unregistered

07-31-2003, 02:30 PM

Although the very concept of godzilla sized walking war machines is WAY over-the-top, the Battletech universe is -or was- uncompromisingly gritty. Mechwarriors shared the grandeur of the ancient mountend knight or samurai, because they and their rare and vanishing skills commanded these machines, and that comand made them powerful . . .but the 'Mechs themselves were just big, rusty walking tanks. 'Mechs were often centuried old: they had patched and mismatched armor, they leaked coolant, their massive and inefficient powerplants made the cockpit a human pressure cooker . . .

In contrast, most anime Mecha are flawless, graceful . . .they transform, they fly, they jump around and crouch and dodge and swordfight. This is the myth of a machine made in the image of Man all over again. It has absolutely dick to do with a mass-produced engine of war. It's simply yet another means to exploit the Japanese fascination with the transcendence of humanity through technology. It's a great theme, but anime's already ridden into the ground in half a hundred different settings.

Battletech was mud and blood and and old decaying machines that almost no one really understood anymore. It was the Mad Max of Mecha. That's why I loved it, that's what made the setting unique . . .and that's why the technological renaissance metaplot was the equivalent of FASA grabbing a Sternascht with a big happy grin on its face and blowing its own foot off.

Lesack

07-31-2003, 02:31 PM

I bought it when it was still called "Battledroids" and came packaged with some plastic anime mechs.

I didn't like it then, because I found the concept of shutting down because of overheating completely ridiculous.

I'm quite fond of Heavy Gear, though.

Mitchifer

07-31-2003, 02:59 PM

Battletech rocks...
Although I haven't really paid much attention to it since Fanpro took over, I still love the game, and the mechwarrior RPG was what brought me into RPGs in the first place.

I still remember my first character...my "house regular" turned elite mercenary with a mad cat equipped with medium pulse lasers and targeting computer (i.e. munchkinized)

Those were the days...

Ghola

07-31-2003, 03:03 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered
Although the very concept of godzilla sized walking war machines is WAY over-the-top, the Battletech universe is -or was- uncompromisingly gritty. Mechwarriors shared the grandeur of the ancient mountend knight or samurai, because they and their rare and vanishing skills commanded these machines, and that comand made them powerful . . .but the 'Mechs themselves were just big, rusty walking tanks. 'Mechs were often centuried old: they had patched and mismatched armor, they leaked coolant, their massive and inefficient powerplants made the cockpit a human pressure cooker . . .

In contrast, most anime Mecha are flawless, graceful . . .they transform, they fly, they jump around and crouch and dodge and swordfight. This is the myth of a machine made in the image of Man all over again. It has absolutely dick to do with a mass-produced engine of war. It's simply yet another means to exploit the Japanese fascination with the transcendence of humanity through technology. It's a great theme, but anime's already ridden into the ground in half a hundred different settings.

Battletech was mud and blood and and old decaying machines that almost no one really understood anymore. It was the Mad Max of Mecha. That's why I loved it, that's what made the setting unique . . .and that's why the technological renaissance metaplot was the equivalent of FASA grabbing a Sternascht with a big happy grin on its face and blowing its own foot off.

This is heart-warming in addition to being true. A wonderful summation! Makes me want to break out the 'Mechs again....

Richard Persky

07-31-2003, 04:24 PM

Originally posted by Catharsis
How much does it sell for? I'm pretty sure that's the one I used to play and still have sitting around somewhere.

When I last wanted to buy one, usually $40-50. I checked eBay, and it looks like the range is now $20-30. Were it not that my finances are an awful mess and I'm moving in two weeks, I'd be tempted.

Mytholder

07-31-2003, 05:40 PM

I was a big fan back in the day. I loved the 3025 era, but got heavily involved in the Politics of 3052-3060. I ended up as one of Katrina Steiner's main apologists. Fun times on Usenet.

theshoveller

08-01-2003, 04:49 AM

Bah! Damn Kraut-loving fool! ;)

Rev- still refusing to let her use her sainted Grandmother's name

Mytholder

08-01-2003, 07:02 AM

As I explained many, many times, 'Katrina' is nothing more than the Steiner form of Katherine. The Archon-Princess spent most of her childhood on New Avalon, hence she used the Davion form of the name. When she returned to Tharkad, she understandably began to use the local form. She was _always_ named for her beloved grandmother - it was simply not apparent to those ignorant of linguistic differences between the two sections of the Federated Commonwealth.

Anselm Markoff, former editor of the Tharkad Observer.

And we have always been at war with Oceania.

AikiGhost

08-01-2003, 07:47 AM

I used to be a big player of BT and Mechwarrior but like many have already said I kinda lost interest when the clans showed up.

Gleaming Terrier

08-01-2003, 10:29 AM

This was what got me hooked on gaming, no doubt. 3025-era was fun, but I fell in love with the post-Clan invasion politics. I'd have huge campaigns with a friend of mine, we each had our own pet mercenary unit, and the other would formulate a raid, invasion, etc., for the other to face. We'd play up to a dozen games, then switch to the other unit and their current contract. I lost touch with the friend, and I sold of most of my BT books, but every time I go into the FLGS and see something new for Classic BattleTech on the shelves, I'm sorely tempted...

Aurvandil

08-01-2003, 11:32 AM

BattleTech was great. 3025 all the way baby! When you fought inconclusive battles, knowing if you too internal damage, your tech might not be able to repair it.

When you fought over water as a prime resource!

When fusion engines didn't explode.

And no god damned Clans.

Aries

08-01-2003, 01:00 PM

I used to be a big fan of Battletech and play it all the time. But I have gotten bored of the game because it is so limited and havent played it in awhile.

Mr_Pleasington

08-01-2003, 01:18 PM

Could you elaborate a bit on the limitations?

I've always thought it had very, very broad limitations...lots of mechs, rules for designing new mechs, tons of hex maps to play on, the ability to use mini terrain instead of hex maps, rules for combined arms, etc... There's always been more than enough to feed my imagination.

I'm honestly curious as to how you feel its limited.

Alrik from Beilunk

08-01-2003, 02:21 PM

I played it a lot during the mid/late 90s.
Me and some pals ( 10 ? 12 ? 40 ? ) started a chapter in the old german mechforce ( Comstar- "Lost Boys", later Mercenarys- "Bad Company" and switch later to Nice Dice as 5 Defenders of Andurien F.A.R the only BT Chapter claiming to be a penalety Battalion ;) a sharp contrast to all the Elite Mechwarriors of the other chapters ) and a long time were driving around in germany to meet other chapters and fight against them.
From 1995 to 1998 I was using a good old 3025 Marauder ( 16 heat sinks, two PPCs & Med Lasers and an AC5, salvaged after a chapterfigth against a house Liao chapter named Mc Grimmons armored cavalery ) until a freaky PPC shoot in the right rear torso causes an ammunition explosion.

Later I used to play a SRM armed withworth, with to much weapons for rear guard actions but to few armour for front line duty, and i like it.
Cutting a Quickdraw in two halfes with an alpha strike with 3 Med Lasers and 2 SRM6 and crushing a moongoose foot actuator by a kick in the same turn is fun ;)
( Agains a real cool Comstar Chapter from East Germany. They even wear a monkshood at the gaming table and prayed to Blake before the Initiative roll :) Was real fun to play against them. )

Nowadays it just stopped because no one wants to organized the chapter fights after some bad fights against munchkin chapters, but maybe someday we will start again.

Since 1998 im visiting each year the operation galahad Con, a one week BT mega szenario with two parties, a great strategic map for lance movement and lots of alkohol, food and strange ideas like asking a chinese fortune cookie orakle before each fight ;)

Technically Classic BT is not a good game. Gameplay works slowly with more than 8 units on each side, initiative is too powerful because there is no preplotting of movment and the 2d6 system cause a quick break to impossible rolls if the target runs around to get movement modifiers.

But it can still be fun if you play it with good players.

Nayrlethotep

08-03-2003, 02:06 AM

Originally posted by Alrik from Beilunk

( Agains a real cool Comstar Chapter from East Germany. They even wear a monkshood at the gaming table and prayed to Blake before the Initiative roll :) Was real fun to play against them. )

Nowadays it just stopped because no one wants to organized the chapter fights after some bad fights against munchkin chapters, but maybe someday we will start again.

I would like to make three points here.

1) I love all things BT, the classic, the old RPGs, even mechwarrior darkage(do NOT buy; it IS like crack cocaine). I agree with the unregistered guest's remarks above. I also believe wizkids is properly supporting thier product with fiction and related games without changing the background material *too* much.

2) The first quoted paragraph above is somewhat disturbing. I am a liberal thinker and believe people should be free to do as they please so long as they hurt no other. That being said, most people in society would NOT consider this normal or appropriate behavior, and some would find it outright offensive or blasphemous. All of this relates to the D&D scare in the Eighties propogated by right-wing christians. Threads discussing the industries inability to expand the market may take notice here.

3)The Munchkins. Doesn't this kill just about any game? Wizkids promotions award limited addition figures (of their *collectable* game) to tournement winners; many of these LE units unbalance gameplay, creating an elite class of players. Threads concerning power creep in D20 sups should look here.

Margrave Yuri

08-03-2003, 02:30 AM

I used to play a bit of Battletech, but I only ever had the 4th edition boxed set. I wasn't too keen on all the rules expansion, plus the setting was way cooler before the clans showed up. That whole neo-feudalistic dark age setting is the best thing about the game, and if Wizkids ever produced a Battletech RPG with a decent ruleset I'd probably buy it. Mechwarrior was crap.

Unregistered

08-03-2003, 10:10 AM

Originally posted by Nayrlethotep
That being said, most people in society would NOT consider this normal or appropriate behavior, and some would find it outright offensive or blasphemous. All of this relates to the D&D scare in the Eighties propogated by right-wing christians. Threads discussing the industries inability to expand the market may take notice here.[/B]
Right wing christians are a few and without political influence in germany.
More a problem are the left wing "War is not a game" good guys.
Most small Cons are located in public clubs for the youth, and 12 people wearing the same clothes with a house or unit patch and playing war games got strange looks from older youth club officials.
We might even get asked: " Are you from a militia ?"

3)The Munchkins. Doesn't this kill just about any game? Wizkids promotions award limited addition figures (of their *collectable* game) to tournement winners; many of these LE units unbalance gameplay, creating an elite class of players. Threads concerning power creep in D20 sups should look here.
Yeah, you can't win against munchkins in CBT. What was one of the reason that all the mechs in the roster of a chapter has been determinated with dice ruling.
But still some chapters have a very god roster ( 4 Javelin F ). You can't win agains them, but you can make em cry, whats also some kind of fun ;)