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Super fast Steiner and Kurita test models... Definitely looked less sloppy from a distance. 
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Dec 2, 2023 18:09
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PAX news. https://hpgstation.de/2023/12/02/ba...kdu7IeLvsDggJ5Y New minis sets: 4 new Force Packs in, 1 per Quarter Star League Command Lance Atlas II, Phoenix Hawk Special, Orion, Thunder Hawk 2nd Star League Pack Pre painted minis Thunder Hawk Pre Painted Dire Wolf Prometheus in 1 pack. Pre painted [Guess: 2nd Star League Force Pack]
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Dec 2, 2023 20:42
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One thing I never understood- why was Germany the one country that really took to Battletech? (Aside from the obvious jokes) Did FASA have a really good international partner back in the day?
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Dec 2, 2023 20:50
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FORCE MANUALS, FINALLY GODDAMMIT Ooh, hot spots Hinterlands. More developments out of the Tamar Pact?
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Dec 2, 2023 21:06
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Owlbear Camus posted:PAX news. I don't think the Thunder Hawk is prepainted. I wouldn't object if it was, what with it being Donegal Guards, but the box photo shows four unpainted minis. Defiance Industries fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Dec 2, 2023 |
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Dec 2, 2023 21:13
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Sidesaddle Cavalry posted:hopefully with that and the federated suns finally done with literally taking it in both ends we can be done talking about "fiat" in general Fed Suns at least can be argued as correcting after a lot of "fiat" in their favor, though ironically it feels like the Dracs got a little too much BS luck on their behalf as part of that. Though that too looks like it's coming to an end shortly given the DC is almost certainly next on the block to get mangled by war. PoptartsNinja posted:There was roughly a five year stretch between the game being first made (Battledroids, 1984) and the Clans being introduced in 1989. Yeah, I kind drifted into trying Battletech as a kid right as the 3050 tech manual was the new hotness, so I remember some of the grog complaining around then. Cool, more Star League stuff; I rather like that they're stretching out to allow for play in earlier eras more in the last couple of years. It'd be kind of amusing if the BT era wars added Age of War and Star League era fanatics to the mix as a result though  .
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Dec 3, 2023 00:12
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Like I've said before, it's a very ambitious goal to try and push two separate eras as primetime play settings, but if it works it'll help keep more of the community engaged at the same time. Good luck to CGL and the demo team on that
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Dec 3, 2023 00:22
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I really wish my son would be more open-minded to trying Alpha Strike ("it's for babies") so that I could get more mechs on the table, but he just really loves CBT and he's done a pretty good job learning the rules considering he's not even 8 yet. Today, I let him take a Shadow Cat and a Koshi against a lone Highlander. I wanted him to see the power of forcing me to expose my rear to one of them and it went exactly as planned. That Highlander got absolutely wrecked.  The Koshi's base is slightly fancier because I had to high the integrated base on the IWM sculpt.
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Dec 3, 2023 05:10
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You can remove the moulded bases from IWM/RP minis, but it's often not worth the hassle. Or the ambulance ride after it goes wrong... Fun time, that. GD_American posted:One thing I never understood- why was Germany the one country that really took to Battletech? (Aside from the obvious jokes)
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Dec 3, 2023 05:30
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Yeah, there's limited pockets of fandom in Europe and Australia/NZ, where English comes easily and lifestyles are similar and the uh, cultural perspectives are easier to associate with. It'd be cool to see BattleTech take off in...anywhere where mecha fandom is a thing! But again, players having the spare time + space to enjoy a tabletop slow robot simulator is a difficult hurdle to overcome for a business case. Atlas Hugged posted:I really wish my son would be more open-minded to trying Alpha Strike ("it's for babies") so that I could get more mechs on the table, but he just really loves CBT and he's done a pretty good job learning the rules considering he's not even 8 yet.
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Dec 3, 2023 06:18
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I can say that Battletech sells well in Bangkok, but I'm the only person at the FLGS ever putting it on the table. There are a lot of games like that in Thailand though, where people back the Kickstarters and buy up new releases, but you never actually see photos of painted models in the local miniature groups or the games actually being played. I remember when Warlord put out Test of Honour and it was sold out in minutes here, but I am the only person to have actually painted the samurai (pain in the rear end to assemble) and get the game on the table. Test of Honour was dropped by Warlord and evaporated from store shelves since there weren't new releases, but Battletech is going strong. I just wish I knew how to translate the sales to players. Arquinsiel posted:You can remove the moulded bases from IWM/RP minis, but it's often not worth the hassle. Or the ambulance ride after it goes wrong... Yeah I tend to stay away from clipping chunks of metal off if there's a chance I could miss or send shrapnel flying into my eye. Atlas Hugged fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Dec 3, 2023 |
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Dec 3, 2023 06:24
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Finished up a Steiner lance and Kurita lance today. I think they're both about as thematic as each house can get. 
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Dec 3, 2023 07:09
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Atlas Hugged posted:I can say that Battletech sells well in Bangkok, but I'm the only person at the FLGS ever putting it on the table. There are a lot of games like that in Thailand though, where people back the Kickstarters and buy up new releases, but you never actually see photos of painted models in the local miniature groups or the games actually being played.
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Dec 3, 2023 17:04
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CGL needs an international demo team that's paid and held up to high standards. Hell, CGL needs a *domestic* demo team that's paid and held up to high standards. We're still a long ways off from having stores that are Catalyst Game Labs products only, and having BattleTech gaming turning into a generic word for miniatures gaming. That's where Games Workshop was at one point, and that's where CGL needs to be allocating much of that fat Kickstarter revenue. I really, really hope the Force Manuals spell out specific forces to compose with the Force Packs on the market now. Sorry not sorry for the soapboxing.
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Dec 3, 2023 18:00
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I would be happy with them just hiring someone to keep the news on their website up to date, Announcements are made in like 20 different places and trying to figure out what products are on the way is a nightmare.
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Dec 3, 2023 19:03
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Speaking of which, here's a preview of the upcoming MechCommander's Handbook: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,83361.0.html
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Dec 3, 2023 23:41
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Indeed. Not sure why the landing for the entire game & setting is straddling three different URLs. https://www.battletech.com seems newer, but remains a single page that doesn't look all that great. Tabs redirect to other hostnames and the drop-down menu displays a measly few wordpress posts fs.battletech.com blows everything else out of the water in terms of splash appeal, but is for the fiction only and is maybe not the best organized bg.battletech.com hosts the forums, still has a ton of orphaned web pages from the Jihad & early Republic eras, and has seemed to hit a long lull in news updates despite everything that's going on
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Dec 3, 2023 23:56
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Xotl posted:Speaking of which, here's a preview of the upcoming MechCommander's Handbook:  thank you
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Dec 4, 2023 00:00
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Sidesaddle Cavalry posted:
Alpha strike is fun and for when you want to play with an entire trinary or a company. Trying to use anything more than like 4 mechs a side in classic takes way too drat long, especially when playing with newer people.
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Dec 4, 2023 02:21
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Use lance initiative. You're only moving three things that way. Then you get to use Alpha Strike for Battalion level games!  Sidesaddle Cavalry posted:CGL needs an international demo team that's paid and held up to high standards.
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Dec 4, 2023 02:46
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I don't think I want "Battletech" to become "the hobby" the way 40k was/is. I don't think that's indicative of a healthy hobby space. I'd rather "the hobby" refer to any number of games/systems/companies/IPs and that there is no assumption that if you are in the hobby, you definitely play X.
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Dec 4, 2023 02:59
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Oh. I guess the rash financial decisions might not be the way to go.  except it's mystique solved.Also after doing some research it turns out my concerns about public facing stuff and running the show in an orderly fashion are slowly trying to get addressed, so, yeah.
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Dec 4, 2023 03:02
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Yeah, I should have said "The Hobby(TM)" to make it clear that I'm talking about GW's marketing strategy there, not the vague concept of shuffling around fight toys with a friend. Their wholesale colonisation of the concept has not been great for the space long-term.
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Dec 4, 2023 03:06
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Xotl posted:Speaking of which, here's a preview of the upcoming MechCommander's Handbook: could someone who has an account there post the preview here? Xotl says "Feel free to spread the preview around" so no  worries there
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Dec 4, 2023 11:08
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Owlbear Camus posted:PAX news. Pics for those forcepacks (Well, the first one and the Prometheus. And some pics of new force packs coming Q3 next year.         The Prometheus looks cool, although I'm sad the Orion is pre-painted. Should be more welcoming for folks who can't paint or are intimidated.Also, look at all those REPUBLICmechs in Forcepacks 3+4! Too bad they're Clan salvage now... Crazy Joe Wilson fucked around with this message at 15:33 on Dec 4, 2023 |
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Dec 4, 2023 15:23
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Xotl posted:Speaking of which, here's a preview of the upcoming MechCommander's Handbook: Is this a third canon reference to MechCommanders!?
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Dec 4, 2023 15:38
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biosterous posted:could someone who has an account there post the preview here? Xotl says "Feel free to spread the preview around" so no Sure. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/q4904kfem4ijzvhh66nbf/0X-Force-Building-03-Wayward-Sons-Preview-v2.pdf?rlkey=26rnq9h3vz26h7q0yq7soc4fi&dl=0 EDIT: link updated with fresh draft General Battuta posted:Is this a third canon reference to MechCommanders!? I can only think of two myself, if you include this. What are they all? Xotl fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Dec 5, 2023 |
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Dec 4, 2023 15:53
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That assault lance is already worth it for the Emperor and Argus alone. Both are good robots, though the Helios is not bad either. Very curious to see what they look like as new renders, though I don't expect much change for the Argus
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Dec 4, 2023 16:23
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GD_American posted:I was one of those grogs. Same here. The initial launch of the Clans threw game balance out the window. As introduced, Clan pulse lasers with a targeting computer could make called shots. Clanners could just insta-delete a torso, leg, whatever at long-range. They fixed that later. Throw in munchkins who ignored the in-game Clan rules of engagement and it just sucked for a while.
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Dec 4, 2023 16:55
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PhotoKirk posted:The initial launch of the Clans threw game balance out the window. BattleTech is an inherently unbalanced game. There's really nothing for it, it was designed before "game balance" was a consideration and a lot of its numbers were arbitrary (and the rest were just to make the math look pretty). In that regard, the Clans appearing when they did was actually fortunate. I think the power spike was a lot bigger than the OG devs expected; and they've been doing a pretty good job walking things back as the timeline has progressed. So BattleTech's sort-of gotten into a reverse of the typical power creep that a lot of other games suffer from and I like how the setting feels in 3150.
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Dec 4, 2023 17:19
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PoptartsNinja posted:BattleTech is an inherently unbalanced game. There's really nothing for it, it was designed before "game balance" was a consideration and a lot of its numbers were arbitrary (and the rest were just to make the math look pretty). Wasn't the original plan for the 3250 jump was to "wipe the slate clean" and create just 1 level of tech that was more balanced? I'm glad they're not jumping ahead for a lore perspective, but that does sound like one way to balance tech.
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Dec 4, 2023 17:43
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Xotl posted:Sure. I guess you’re right that the original game doesn’t count as a canon reference. So third reference to mechcommanders period, second canon after uhh Imminent Crisis?
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Dec 4, 2023 18:14
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There's a mention of them in the FedCom Civil War sourcebook where the AFFS was supposedly adding these guys so that Company Commanders could focus on fighting, which just seems really stupid to me.Crazy Joe Wilson posted:Wasn't the original plan for the 3250 jump was to "wipe the slate clean" and create just 1 level of tech that was more balanced? I'm glad they're not jumping ahead for a lore perspective, but that does sound like one way to balance tech. Supposedly. It also involved Clan Wolf winning and destroying all other factions so there would just be "Clan Wolf" and "rebels." Would have killed the game stone dead.
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Dec 4, 2023 18:45
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The prepaint looks pretty alright. Decent tabletop standard, about what I expected. Is that Kerensky's ride? I think the way the game is presented as unbox and play your new guys it's good for the non-hobbyists. I guess it's kind of weird that the retail box only has 1/4 as prepaints. I wonder how much that's going to raise MSRP.
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Dec 4, 2023 18:46
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Nvm
Sidesaddle Cavalry fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Dec 4, 2023 |
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Dec 4, 2023 18:52
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Crazy Joe Wilson posted:Wasn't the original plan for the 3250 jump was to "wipe the slate clean" and create just 1 level of tech that was more balanced? I'm glad they're not jumping ahead for a lore perspective, but that does sound like one way to balance tech. That was the rumor but I don't know if it was ever the actual plan. Edit: I'm not sure the force packs are offering anything pre-painted; it seems more likely they just painted some of the prototypes for display purposes. I may be wrong, they do have the capacity to pre-paint (Leviathans minis will all be pre-painted), but all the images of the force pack prototypes in their boxes have unpainted minis. PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Dec 4, 2023 |
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Dec 4, 2023 19:11
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PoptartsNinja posted:That was the rumor but I don't know if it was ever the actual plan. Gotcha. DefianceIndustries posted:Supposedly. It also involved Clan Wolf winning and destroying all other factions so there would just be "Clan Wolf" and "rebels." Yeah, doing all new factions after nearly 40 years of the same factions would've been a Bad Idea. Although I do like how the Lyran Commonwealth has fragmented into multiple smaller states, I hope they do that somewhere else in the Inner Sphere, maybe Draconis Combine space if the Ghost Bears capture the Black Pearl. Speaking of lore, here's what PaxUnplugged revealed is coming up quote:Battletech Fiction Updates: Ghost Knights sabotaging Alaric's Empire is a must-read for me, I really hope they get footage from Stone's hospital room and broadcast it everywhere on Terra so everyone knows Alaric and Chance murdered an old man in cold blood because he hurt their fee-fees. The Yori novel should be great too. Wonder what Den of Wolves is though.
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Dec 4, 2023 19:17
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Defiance Industries posted:There's a mention of them in the FedCom Civil War sourcebook where the AFFS was supposedly adding these guys so that Company Commanders could focus on fighting, which just seems really stupid to me. Keith is also one of the few authors to go "this planet's gravity is different and also their day is weird due to the spin so dates get fucky". He really does pay more attention to the low level stuff than anyone else.
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Dec 4, 2023 19:41
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Crazy Joe Wilson posted:Wonder what Den of Wolves is though. 100% it's a new Wolf's Dragoons novel. "Wolves on the Boarder" "Wolfpack" ... Think they'll be retaking Outreach?
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Dec 4, 2023 19:51
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PoptartsNinja posted:100% it's a new Wolf's Dragoons novel. Outreach is still an irradiated ruin, and much too close to Terra. They've got their secret base in FWL-space, guess it's just more Dragoon vs Wolf Empire. It could be a story about former Exiles and Crusader Wolves trying to integrate. If it's another Wolf Dragoon's novel... man, those suckers, with only one regiment to their name, have more novels than the Lyrans and Combine combined in the IlClan era.
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Dec 4, 2023 19:54
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