"Getting into Battletech...this is a mess." Topic

OK, having some vaguely fond memories of Battletech from back when I was 12 I decided to buy the basic set. Cool box full of stuff. But now, my major complains/gripes began

OK, I got the ruleset..its detailed like the one I remember from the 90.

My complaints..lets see if someone can help me with this issues

There are absolutely no scenario building rules. How am I suppose to make your usual scenario a little bit even? I read that matching the tonnages is the average system…but I find it kind of flukey.

I also bought some technical readouts but I see the mechs come there with plenty of technology I have no rules for. Which manual has them?

Also is someone know of other cool rulesets Ill gladly look them.

Im looking for

-hex based (so I can take profit of BT hex maps)

-small skirmish (each player controls 1 mech)

I believe BattleTech: Total Warfare has the full rules for most stuff. It might not have the absolute latest cutting edge stuff from the ~3140s but it has the classic clan gear.

For less tedious rules have a look at BattleTech: Alpha strike, which is a fast play variant (intended for playing on miniature terrain, but also has conversions for use on hexes).

Yes, thanks for pointing out Alpha Strike..Im looking forward playing it but for now I dont have enough miniatures yet.

Will buy Total Warfare then!

How am I suppose to make your usual scenario a little bit even? I read that matching the tonnages is the average system…but I find it kind of flukey.

You need the TechManual book. As well as the mech construction rules it has the current "Battle Value" ratings and formula.

sarna.net/wiki/Battle_Value

:o Seriously, this is sooo disappointing. Looks like I need a friggin PHD to play this game, and spend how many euros?

I decided to stick with my old boxed version from FASA, pre clan nonsense

Xolsco-
Save your money/tuition credits. A PHD in Frigging will be of no use whatsoever.

Catalyst should have led off with an intro Alpha Strike box first. Over two years in, and where is it?

No holder of the BT license has ever known how to market ANYTHING to a broader market. AS is that gateway game, and Catalyst have failed to realize that. The book is a typically Byzantine mess, and is geared toward the already initiated BT player. A disturbing proportion of the AS Companion is errata. Seriously, most of this existed for years as Quickstrike/whatever, have we not ironed this out yet?

I have played BT a fair amount in the past, and have witnessed many game sessions over the years. I could just abut count on one hand the number of times I have seen NON-MECHS used in games, and yet the rules insist in throwing most all of the dozens of different unit types in you face at once.

So, yes, it's intimidating.

Battletech suffers from what I call the Star Fleet Battles Syndrome. Starfleet Battles along with the original Battletech were some of the first war games I cut my teeth on. The initial game mechanics were complex but not so much that you could not understand the rules and could have an enjoyable game. Over time the supplements started rolling in and before you knew it you had to have a master's degree just to play the game and hours if not days required to complete a game. Also Star Fleet Battles and Battletech suffered from the lack of game balance as the latest and greatest new race or ship or in the case of Battletech the Clan Mechs tossed everything out the window. In fact I think the addition of the Clan Mechs ruined the game of Battletech for me. I understand that Flames of War now suffers from the Star Fleet Battles Syndrome.

I have now come to like miniature games that use simple yet elegant game mechanics, your cheat sheet can be on one or two sided sheet of paper, and no matter how many supplements there might be it does not break the game.

RavenscraftCybernetics wrote, "Save your money/tuition credits. A PHD in Frigging will be of no use whatsoever."

"Don't try this at home, kids. I'm a trained professional."

:-)

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I'll second kallman's yearning for elegance.

One thing to do to balance games is to use Battle Value. This came out in later books, but there is a webpage here masterunitlist.info that will get you the info you need. Like many other wargames, you decide on a points value total, and then plug in the units you want until you hit that level.

As others have said, there has been a lot of bloat in the BT game, some of which is cool, some of which I agree can be confusing for a beginner. The boxed set gives the most basic form of the game, and the Total War book gives all the advanced rules, such as aerospace, vehicles, infantry, etc. You don't need Total War if all you want to do it pit mechs against each other, but if you become increasingly immersed in the universe and game, it is well worth picking up.

Damon.

Yes, thanks for pointing out Alpha Strike..Im looking forward playing it but for now I don't have enough miniatures yet.

If you have the starter set…

link

then you have plenty of models: 24 exactly which is six lances or two companies. If you don't have the boxed set then I would suggest you get it. It's a great product and an excellent price. Heck, it's only $4 USD more in 1986 dollars than the Second Edition boxed set…

link

and you get a whole lot more than the old Second Edition boxed set.

Also you now have the Alpha Strike lance sets for sale too! Roughly $20 USD (more or less, usually less if you're a good shopper) gets you 4 well detailed plastic mechs. You get two copies of mechs in the boxed set and two new castings as well as the necessary cards to play them in Alpha Strike.. and the cards a laminated! They're probably one of the best deals in miniature gaming IMO:

link

auction

Yes, the box says Alpha Strike, but these are basically the same mechs in the boxed set which are good detailed, single piece plastics.

Alpha Strike is a basic form of Battletech, but allows you to field larger formation. You can really field all 24 of your mechs in Alpha Strike- 4-8 is about all I can do myself in regular Battletech and that game would take days. But you can easily field them in Alpha Strike and have a decent game that lasts just the afternoon. You can down load the stat cards for the Basic Set for free at DriveThru RPG:

link

By the way, Quick Strike is basically Alpha Strike. Quick Strike was developed from Battleforce mass combat rules and then developed into Alpha Strike. These cards should work for Alpha Strike.

Heck, you can play it lance on lance and have a decent game done in an hour or so compared to the 3+ hours in regular BT for the same force.

There are absolutely no scenario building rules. How am I suppose to make your usual scenario a little bit even? I read that matching the tonnages is the average system…but I find it kind of flukey.

Well, you're mostly right. It's easy enough to sub mechs into the scenarios you get in the game, and you get at least five of them that build you into the game. Tonnages are a nice rule of thumb and give you roughly equivalent forces, at least for 3025 era mechs that is. Tonnage really isn't helpful once you go into the Star League tech or Clan tech.

One thing I did in my games was to use weight classes and tonnage. If the basic scenario had say a Stinger, Griffin, Marauder, and a Battlemaster I would take one mech from each of those categories (L, M, H, A) and make sure the lance's combined tonnage was equal to or less than what was in the scenario. That works pretty well for me.

Wow. I just gave all unseens… I'm old, old, old…

The main scenario building rules are in Total Warfare.

Will buy Total Warfare then!

I would play though the starter box first before making that plunge. It's a huge, not newbie friendly, tome that will overwhelm you in rule detail. Think ASL (Advanced Squad Leader) rulebook and you have the right idea. LOTS of chrome really. The basic boxed set really has all that you need. It even has basic infantry and vehicle rules! Play through all the scenarios before you move on and you'll have an easier time with Total Warfare.

That my opinion. YMMV.

Definitely begin with the box sets. The main rulebooks are gnarly to get through and the game is pretty dense with information as it is.

So when are we going to see WeaselTech? 8D

I have some notes on a mech game lying around, but it's not even close to being a playable draft, so I don't talk about it a lot.

Before the heat-death of the universe though, for sure :)

hanks for all your all replies, even the smartass ones about PHDs ;)

Glad to see that im not the only one to find BT daunting for a beginner. If I bought the starter box was because I had some fond memories of playing it as a kind and because the new box was way "cool". Damn graphic designers and their evil marketing skills!

I hadnt stopped to think that I could already play Alpha Strike with the plastic minis! Silly me! Lol

I know what to do now! Thanks folks :)

link

You can also ask questions on the standard BT forums, as well.

The basic starter box sets are a good place to start Alpha strike is a different rule system with the same minis.

It is quite good for fast play action. Also all the record sheets for it are available on line on the Mater unit list

masterunitlist.info

If you have question people will help.

good luck

There is also the Combat Manuals coming out for alpha strike. Each one will detail the forces one one faction of the battletech universe with the first covering mercenaries

Combat Manual: Mercenaries
Some soldiers fight for king and country, some for honor and glory, others for liberty or loved ones. We'll fight for that too, whatever your cause, as long as the check clears.

For over forty centuries, mercenaries have plied their trade and been instrumental in toppling empires or holding the tides of war at bay. And as mankind expanded to the stars, soldiers of fortune rose to new heights of power. Business is booming, yet along with those riches comes a dangerous life and the scorn of many who see only filthy lucre-warriors. It's a dangerous life, but as long as you keep your 'Mech intact and your bottom line balanced, the universe is yours!

BattleTech Combat Manual: Mercenaries contains information on the soldier-for-hire trade and their place in the Inner Sphere. This manual takes a look at some of the most renowned mercenaries of the 31st century, detailing their histories, tactics, unit crests, paint schemes, and notable personnel. This Alpha Strike expansion includes special rules for unique character abilities, faction-specific rules, force-building, and a mini Technical Readout—everything you need to field your favorite mercenary command on the tabletop or create your own.

And even though nothing official has be said it looks like
a alpha Strike box set in in the works.

link

So, one last question..the mechs on the box are from the 3039 but im most interested on later era models..is it possible to jus mix different era mechs without weird effects in Aplha Strike?

The mechs of any era will always work. They just may not be as effective as later ones.

Also there are always upgrades of the mechs so you can use your model to represent a later era upgrades.

No problem with that.

Just look at all the variants of the Grasshopper mech.

link

You can use the mini you have to play any of those variants. No one should have issues with that.

Enjoy

You can also use them to proxy different mechs too. If you look at the bottom of each mech you'll see they are numbered from 1-24. Just pick a model that matches the class of mech you're fielding and jot that number on the mech's record sheet. That will help you keep track of what is what. Just make sure your foe is aware of mech is what.

Also, as has been pointed out, just about every mech in the box has variants that include better tech. So use them to stand in for more 'modern' versions of your mechs. For example, the Jaeger Mech has a very sweet variant that has Rotary AC/5s. That's the JM 7-F:

Another 70 ton variant, the F variation was introduced in 3062. It replaces the JM7-D's Ultra Autocannon and ER Large Lasers with a pair of Rotary Autocannon/5s with four tons of ammunition. Aiming assistance is provided by a Targeting Computer, and defense is improved by the addition of a Guardian ECM Suite. One double heat sink is removed. BV (1.0) = 1,562, BV (2.0) = 1,774[14]

sarna.net/wiki/JagerMech

Ouch!!

If you are looking for a print copy of Alpha Strike, there is a 2015 "corrected second printing" which incorporates some of the early errata items mentioned above. (Reportedly, the 2015 note will be on page 5 of the second printing.)

The PDF (available on the BattleShop and on DriveThruRPG) should be automatically updated to the current edition.

As also noted above, there has been talk of an AS box set being in the works – which, potentially, could include an Inner Sphere company's worth of the in-progress "classic" BattleMech re-designs, as well as a Binary of Clan Omnis. Of course, nothing is set in stone just yet, so we'll have to wait and see what the final selection might be (or even if the box ever does get made).

So far as the Combat Manuals go, four entries have been listed at this point – for Mercenaries, Davion, Kurita, and Steiner. Presumably other factions may get books of their own should the series fare as well as Catalyst hopes.

You guys are the best. Thanks a lot!

While neither are hex-based as they are, you could probably convert both Mech Attack and Samurai Robot Battle Royale to hexes. Mech Attack is probably easier to do, SRBR would require a bit more work.

Both are available on Wargame Vault if you want to check them out more.

FWIW I'm using both in different projects, my BT project will be with Mech Attack, but not using hexes. Others have had some good discussions here on TMP on converting BT to MA (also without hexes though).

Free pdf of all bv to build forces/scenarios.

link

We play with the box set and total warfare rulebook 3050 and earlier. Lots of fun.

A shot of 3d printed proofs of the upcoming warhammer models for Alpha Strike seen at Catalyst Labs meeting a some recent con or other this Summer.

I second using Armor Grid Mech Attack for a simpler set of rules that still have the feel of chipping away at armor. Seriously give it a look. The paper models are on hex bases do you'd be able to use your maps…