Payn;s Ponderings@ Battletech General Discussions

[payn]

Greetings,

I don’t see a ton of Battletech/Mechwarrior postings going on around EN World. I wanted to kick start a general discussion thread to see if folks enjoy the genre as much as I do. I plan to keep this OP generic and just say everything goes and the conversation will follow. I cant wait to hear about your experiences and love for Battletech!

Battletech/Mechwarrior discussion topics;

Battletech General info

Battletech Setting

Classic Battletech

Catalyst Battletech

List o’ video games in Battletech

List o’ fiction novels in Battletech

 

[payn]

I just finished my first Battletech novels; The Warrior trilogy. I’ll start by saying I have played numerous video games and have more of an understanding of the setting from that than the TTRPG/Wargame. I think a new reader would definitely be benefited from reading the wiki (pretty expansive and a big chore) or the campaign primer included in the new Armored Combat box set by Catalyst for a quick overview.

This trilogy was written by Michael A. Stackpole who seems to have a lot of genre fiction under his belt. As far as I could tell, this was my first experience with his writing. I liked the attempts at showing the cultural differences between the factions. At times, it seemed a little surface level and not to have as much depth as I would like. However, looking at the sheer number of themes the author was working with here, the page count could be pushed to very high levels for what works out to be a genre light read.

At the heart of this story is political intrigue, as the factions battle it out for territory and power. As mentioned, the themes are numerous so you only get a good sense of a handful of characters. Two factions clearly play out the white hat and black hat of this adventure story. All the other factions and merc groups just serve to play ally or foil to plans as they unfold in the story. Characters are at times developed, and other times are a bit of a caricature. The surface level detail seems to be an ongoing theme here.

The mech battle sequences are not as common as you might think. There are several battles but they are usually reserved for plot critical points, which makes total sense. I have a myriad of images and experiences with mechs which makes picturing the combat rather vivid. Without that experience, I feel a reader might be a bit at a loss of exactly what is happening. Like the cultural and character details, this is a light read and is not a technical readout like you might expect from a Tom Clancy novel.

Overall, it was a good read for a fan of the genre. As a fan of general literature perhaps much less. There is enough coverage for this story to make sense, but the details of the plots, mech battles, and character motivations are slim. I would recommend them to fans of the franchise, but not good enough to rise above the level of genre fiction and into generally great fiction.

I would love to see the authors of The Expanse get ahold of this franchise and do a write for a series in the BattleTech universe! I think they could do wonders with the available material which is quite expansive itself.

What experiences do you have with Battletech fiction? Any particular novels you would recommend?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Good game! Never won, but always had a blast. Had my share of epic highs & lows.

For example:

1) played one scenario where all the Mechs had to be dropped into the battlefield, so there was a chance for damage right at the beginning. I failed catastrophically, destroying a leg. I was put out of my misery by the end of the first round of combat.

2) Another game, the very first attack I landed was a head shot on the biggest enemy mech on the board. Essentially, one shot, one kill.

 

[payn]

Good game! Never won, but always had a blast. Had my share of epic highs & lows.

For example:

1) played one scenario where all the Mechs had to be dropped into the battlefield, so there was a chance for damage right at the beginning. I failed catastrophically, destroying a leg. I was put out of my misery by the end of the first round of combat.

yikes.

2) Another game, the very first attack I landed was a head shot on the biggest enemy mech on the board. Essentially, one shot, one kill.

nice.

I have always wanted to get a steady game going. My experiences have mostly been with a local pick up group (none of my friends play or seem interested.) By the time we agree on a secenario, set up, start playing its already time to tear down. Also, the guys at the shop play all ages of battletech (there are many) so they have weird calcs to make the fight seem balanced. I'd prefer to play in the same era.

I do have lots of stuff now from kickstarters I backed. I am thinking of developing a campaign where the players run a merc group, and I run their opposition. In between missions, they can find ways to improve mechs, pick missions, etc..

 

[Mezuka]

I never played Battletech. But a few years ago Catalyst did new plastic miniatures that look much better than the old Iron Wind models. I invested in the starter box and a few extra units from the Kickstarter.

I prefer the Alpha Strike version with the simplified mech cards to the full game with all the 'bubbles' to cross-off. Feels to much like 90s to me (I played Cars Wars). It's more dynamic and the games are shorter. You can have 5 against 5 in 90 minutes or less.

 

[schneeland]

I have no experience with the Battletech RPGs so far, only with the video games (I have especially fond memories of Mechwarrior 2 in the special Matrox Mystique edition on one of my first computers) and, to a certain extent, with the novels. I don't remember much of what I read when I was young, but I have read the Gray Death trilogy and found that I actually still like (classic) Battletech. Yes, the characters and their motives are as shallow as puddles in summer, but the "hardish" SciFi touch combined with pseudo-medieval feuds still works quite well for me. The writing is a mixed bag, thus I'm taking a break from the series at the moment (currently reading old Shadowrun novels, which, on average, have better writing so far). I haven't abandoned the plan to read the books up to until #15/Falcon Guard, though.

 

[Nikosandros]

Back in the 80's I played Battletech (the FASA version) all the time. I really loved the game, but I haven't played it in a long, long time. Back then I tried starting a Mechwarrior TTRPG campaign, but it quickly floundered due to external issues.

I also played for a while Succession Wars, the board game.

 

[Cruentus]

Love Battletech, and still play it when I can in our game circle.

There is a ton of lore and timeline advancement, most of which I completely ignore. As a grognard who bought and still has the original FASA Battletech and Citytech boxes, along with the cardboard cutouts, I stick to 3025-3050. Though I have picked up some of the rules compilations and such over the years, and the new, really nice plastics and the resins from Kidslogic (under their Minitech line for Robotech - all the unseen).

I find, though, that the games can take an age to play, even if just a lance on lance (4 on 4) due to the vagaries of dice rolling, hit boxes, etc. Now I prefer to play to a scenario, or a time limit, or whatever, unless I have literally all day to play.

So many great moments over the years...

 

[payn]

I stick to 3025-3050.

Me too; Best era.

 

[thullgrim]

I’m a Third Succession Wars guy myself. My inner grognard say take your Clans the get out of my Inner Sphere.

I’d like to get a regular game together but just don’t have the time right now. I think you can play outline somewhere. Last time I looked it was sprite based but it’s been years.

My first real game with my dad so the game Carrie’s a heavy dose of nostalgia for me.