Author Topic: Where to start  (Read 1628 times)

havoc747

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Where to start
« on: 27 December 2017, 04:32:01 »
Hello everyone.

I'm really interested in playing battletech as a board, miniature game.
I know there use to be starter box for new players but now it's only purchasable on eBay and such places for very high prices.
Because of that i have a question: how can i start in different way. What i have to buy (rulebooks, miniatures etc.)?
If possible I'm more interested in classic board game not alpha strike.

Thanks for help

Phobos101

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Re: Where to start
« Reply #1 on: 27 December 2017, 06:32:30 »
Hi havoc, and welcome to the forum. At the moment, the best place for getting a few miniatures cheaply is the plastic lance packs. They are labelled alpha strike, but are fully compatible with battletech. Iron wind metals also carry a full range of metal miniatures for battletech.
 As far as rules are concerned, the introductory rules are available for free from the downloads section of bg.battletech.com , and when you are ready to go further, you can purchase the battlemech manual, either as a PDF or physical copy. For PDF I reccomend either store.catalystgamelabs.com, or drivethru RPG. The catalyst store can also supply maps which you can print to play on, for very little cost.
 This is everything you need to get up and running playing a game, and if it seems a little scattered, that’s because at some stage in the next few months, we’re due for new intro products, including rules, maps, record sheets and some awesome looking new miniatures. So keep your ear to the ground, because the new stuff looks great. Having said that, the lance packs are awesome value, and I reccomend you pick up a couple while the getting’s good.
 Hope this helps, feel free to ask if I’ve left anything out or you need further info.

havoc747

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Re: Where to start
« Reply #2 on: 27 December 2017, 07:08:23 »
Thanks for your answer. That's exactly what i hoped for. It's a little overwhelming because, as you said, everything is so scattered. But now I know where to look for everything. I'm especially happy to see that there will be some new stuff in quite short time so it's good time to start.
Again, thanks for your help!

Phobos101

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Re: Where to start
« Reply #3 on: 27 December 2017, 07:50:00 »
Not a problem. If you want a sneaky preview of the new maps and miniatures in the upcoming boxed sets, have a dig back through this thread: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=58071.1110

Iceweb

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Re: Where to start
« Reply #4 on: 27 December 2017, 17:51:16 »
Hello everyone.

I'm really interested in playing battletech as a board, miniature game.
how can i start in different way. What i have to buy (rulebooks, miniatures etc.)?

 

If you are looking for a cheep way to try before you buy the minatures you can head over the the computer games part of the forum and get the link to download megamek. 
Sure its not the same but you cant beat the cost for seeing if you like the game. 
You will probably need to buy the basic rulebook to understand what you are doing since it is as faithful to the boardgame as possible and obviously cant include the rules due to copyright alone. 
But if you just want to have some robot stompy action it includes a (dumb) bot you can play against .

havoc747

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Re: Where to start
« Reply #5 on: 28 December 2017, 15:43:53 »
If you are looking for a cheep way to try before you buy the miniatures you can head over the the computer games part of the forum and get the link to download megamek. 
Sure its not the same but you cant beat the cost for seeing if you like the game. 
You will probably need to buy the basic rulebook to understand what you are doing since it is as faithful to the boardgame as possible and obviously cant include the rules due to copyright alone. 
But if you just want to have some robot stompy action it includes a (dumb) bot you can play against .

Many thanks for that info! I didn't know about such game. I will surely check it out. I believe it won't replace feeling of real figures in hand (especially personally painted) but surely it's giving a great opportunity to learn rules and train at least a little before first purchase. I'm rather certain about liking the (Battletech) game, I'm fan of board games, and as my hobby I collect and assembly models and figures, so Battletech is everything I could wish for.

jackpot4

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Re: Where to start
« Reply #6 on: 11 January 2018, 01:22:58 »
Welcome to Battletech!  This universe is massive and full of awesome fiction, designs, books, minis, and more!

To get started typically the Intro box set is your best bet but, that is Out of production and the new one isn't due until roughly 2nd quarter 2018 from what I've heard.  Even if you get everything by then, like many of us, you might just be the intro box set at that time anyway for the minis. 

Every player typically winds up with at least these basics:  Minis, The base rulebook, hexboards/mats, and a record sheet program.

To start you will do best with Total Warfare, you are looking for the CGL copy as that will find you one of the most recent editions.  It'll be in green print on the cover.  This book includes all your basic mech rules and sets you up in the future IF you want to add armor, infantry, VTOLs, etc. to your game.  A book has been/will be released called Battlemech manual that supposedly has all the Mech specific rules and that is it.  You will have to compare prices and info vs value for yourself.

Next up are the actual minis.  Ironwind Metals is the place to go for pewter minis.  They look fantastic with minimal shaving of mold lines and sprues.  Remember, Battlemechs are a representation of a mech controlling a hex, they are not all to scale, even though many are pretty close.  Don't forget to get hex bases for your pewter minis!  I would recommend using Loktite gel superglue (gray or black and blue squeeze bottle at any big store).  You want to cut them all out, shave any excess pewter, score the joints with a utility knife, wash them with soap and warm water (removes mold release), then add a primer and paint.  The next cool option is CGL's Lance packs.  You get a full lance in each one and each one has at least 2 mechs that were in the out of production intro box.  It's roughly 10 bucks for 4 plastic minis and they look pretty good. 

This may be the most difficult to decide on.  What to play on.  You can find hexboards for sale on ebay and sometimes you will even find the mountains and canyons or cities and roads hexpacks for sale online.  (The lakes and rivers is a unicorn find, I barely have the one i found).  There are multiple sellers of hexmats you can unroll.  As for terrain, hexpack terrain cutouts are fantastic but if you like 3D better, there are a few people that have good 3D terrain for sale, you can check out Battletech International on Facebook and find them a lot. 

Finally, for a record sheet program, I highly recommend Solaris Skunk Werks.  You will need java to run it.  It already has most designs through 3085 and everything to build most mechs up to the current year in 3150.  There is also a vehicle builder through them, soalris armor werks.

I am not sure how caught up you are to the fiction but the current year is 3150 starting from way back before the year 3000.  There is a lot of cool stuff you can use in the current era that can play just as well with mechs from before the clan invasion in 3050.  I would recommend looking at some cool mechs like the Gunsmith, Lament, Prefect, Malice from the current era.  (There are minis for these 4). 

You have a mountain of fiction you can read through as well.  There are Mechwarrior, Battletech, and Mechwarrior: Dark Age novel series.  Sourcebooks about factions and eras.  Technical readouts (TROs) for every decade nearly.  Sarna.net is the wiki of Battletech as well.  If you have never played through a game I have a video series on Facebook called How to Play Battletech that breaks down the basics of using mechs, imperfect, but the only ones in detail like that.

If you have more questions, ask away!
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havoc747

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Re: Where to start
« Reply #7 on: 11 January 2018, 05:42:43 »
>jackpot4

That's a huge and helpful info.

Many thanks for that. It should be placed somewhere on main site for everyone new in battletech to read :). I read basic rules, and in this or next week i plan to buy first minis alpha strike lance for the beginning)

I will surely buy "total warfare" because option to field not only mechs per se but also tanks, infantry and other is something really interesting for me.

I seen videos from classic hex battletech and from alpha strike. I admit It's seems nice to have bigger battles in alpha strike. But i found really interesting those additional rules from classic hex, It's give more tactical options i think.

I will check out other things your mention. Those mountains of novels and books was exactly reason for me to ask about where to start, but slowly I will understand everything.

Again, thanks for your help.

mbear

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Re: Where to start
« Reply #8 on: 11 January 2018, 08:43:26 »
One other thing to remember is that you don't need to use miniatures to play. If you want to deploy a unit on the board and you don't have a mini of it, use a different mini. Just be sure your opponent knows what unit the mini represents. You need something that has a recognizable front and back. I've used LEGO minifigs in games before. (It's often referred to as "proxying" on the boards.)

In fact, if you download the BattleTech Quick Start Rules from the Downloads page you'll get some printable stand-ups that you can use for your games, as well as a couple mapsheets.

One thing I'd point out is that BattleTech is a big, multi-course meal. Start with an appetizer like the Quick Start rules or BattleMech Manual, then move on to the main course (Total Warfare/Alpha Strike), before you start getting the soup course (Tactical/Strategic/Interstellar Operations). BattleForce, Strategic BattleForce, and Inner Sphere At War really aren't the same meal. They cover planetary invasions, massive battles, and strategic invasions; This makes them more like banquet planning in my now-tortured meal metaphor.

But whatever else you do, please come back and ask questions. We're all happy to answer them. (Sometimes at great length, like an old geezer who just wants to tell you about the time he tied an onion to his belt...;) )

Edit: Oh, and you may want to read this forum thread if you haven't already: How do I get into BattleTech?
« Last Edit: 11 January 2018, 08:45:06 by mbear »
Be the Loremaster:

Battletech transport rules take a very feline approach to moving troops in a combat zone: If they fits, they ships.

You bought the box set and are ready to expand your BT experience. Now what? (Thanks Sartis!)

jackpot4

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Re: Where to start
« Reply #9 on: 11 January 2018, 11:37:58 »
>jackpot4

That's a huge and helpful info.

Many thanks for that. It should be placed somewhere on main site for everyone new in battletech to read :). I read basic rules, and in this or next week i plan to buy first minis alpha strike lance for the beginning)

I will surely buy "total warfare" because option to field not only mechs per se but also tanks, infantry and other is something really interesting for me.

I seen videos from classic hex battletech and from alpha strike. I admit It's seems nice to have bigger battles in alpha strike. But i found really interesting those additional rules from classic hex, It's give more tactical options i think.

I will check out other things your mention. Those mountains of novels and books was exactly reason for me to ask about where to start, but slowly I will understand everything.

Again, thanks for your help.

Definitely, glad I could help!  Since you specifically mentioned the books the Mechwarrior and Battletech novel series are going to be in the eras before the Jihad.  The basic storyline goes:
Star league Era
Exodus
Succession Wars
Clan Invasion
Word of Blake Jihad
Dark Age

Those are the major events that are common knowledge.  You'll see each TRO labelled by its year, so the most recent release is TRO 3150.  The following link is the Sarna.net book link, lots of books to look through.  Use the subcategory section to search by book type.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Category:Books

For rulebooks, after Total Warfare, a great expansion on the rules is Tactical Operations.  The thing you dont want to do is bog yourself down in the rules too much though.  Get a few basic mechs from before 3050 with your basic weapons. then move forward.  Weapons like the large laser have the simple heat/damage/range.  When you get to the newer and newer stuff some weapons have increased modifiers to hit at different ranges and other adjustments.  In the Total Warfare book though there is a chart in the back with the basic numbers for most of the weapons.

There are multiple tech levels within Battletech.  Introductory, Tournament Legal, Advanced, and Experimental.  You have to get into some crazy stuff to get to the Advanced and Experimental stages so that shouldn't be a concern.  Mechs before 3050 tend to be introductory level rules with simple weapons.  Mechs after that year will more often be at the Tournament legal level.  If you go with Solaris Skunk Werks you can divide up the prebuilt mechs by these levels.
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Daryk

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Re: Where to start
« Reply #10 on: 11 January 2018, 18:16:13 »
Also, a number of "experimental" or "advanced" weapons fit seamlessly with the "introductory" (3025) level.  Blazer Cannons, Artillery Cannons, and Rocket Launchers are in this category.

mbear

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Re: Where to start
« Reply #11 on: 12 January 2018, 09:37:08 »
Also, a number of "experimental" or "advanced" weapons fit seamlessly with the "introductory" (3025) level.  Blazer Cannons, Artillery Cannons, and Rocket Launchers are in this category.

Some of these weapons are, I think, included in the BattleMech Manual.
Be the Loremaster:

Battletech transport rules take a very feline approach to moving troops in a combat zone: If they fits, they ships.

You bought the box set and are ready to expand your BT experience. Now what? (Thanks Sartis!)