Author Topic: Hello from a New Player  (Read 1232 times)

Vorpalstar

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Hello from a New Player
« on: 20 August 2017, 14:17:42 »
Hello All! New player here. My son (almost 10) and I just got started with both BattleTech Total Warfare and Alpha Strike at the beginning of the summer, and although it took us a bit to get going we are having a blast so far.

With the Introductory Box Set being out of print. We managed to get started with an older WizKid / FanPro box set with cardboard minis and some extra hex map sheets besides what came in that box.
Once we understood the basics, I managed to secure a hard copy of Total Warfare, some Lance Packs, Alpha Strike, and recently the new BattleMech Manual; which alone really helped with making Total Warfare a bit easier to understand. Plus some of the optional rules in that PDF have already been added to our game.

As for non-BattleMech units, we are using some small Lego creativity to represent our ground vehicles, VTOL's, and Battle Armor. Haven't moved into AeroSpace yet as we still often have to reference the rules for what we do use.

Awesome game, I'm having fun, my son is having fun, and we are looking forward to the future release of the next Intro Box, and hopefully finding some more BattleTech players in our area.

Sentinel4

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Re: Hello from a New Player
« Reply #1 on: 20 August 2017, 14:46:35 »
Welcome aboard!

I have to say I've been playing Table Top Battletech since 1984 and stopped playing around 1997.  Now I'm back into it and am glad to be back.

I have found this forum to be very helpful to get up to speed on recent events (in universe).

What is your general area?  My buddy and I plus his three sons play when we have time, but have talked about doing it more regularly.  Always open to new blood.  We're in the Des Moines Iowa area.
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JadeHellbringer

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Re: Hello from a New Player
« Reply #2 on: 20 August 2017, 15:06:55 »
Welcome!

A few tips for moving forward as you and your son expand your games:

+Consider picking up Tactical Operations as a PDF (hard copy seems to be a bit tricky to find right now). This book is chock-full of optional rules to enhance things, ranging from new weapons to new terrain types to whole new game concepts like artillery. Nothing in it is required for your games, but some of it can be very, very fun as a change of pace- for example, ever wondered what a battle looks like on a world with greater gravity than normal? Or on an ice field? Or in a swarm of locusts? Maybe all three at once? Welcome to TacOps. ;)

+Map sets. Up front, again, these are kind of hard to come by right now, but variety is the spice of life, as the old saying goes. The right map sets can give you terrain like giant mountaintops, dense urban morass, swamplands, spaceports, or even gladiatorial arenas! Worth hunting down and trying them out.

+I'm avoiding suggestions that move into the Battletech Universe's fiction and such, for now, because it sounds like you're enjoying what's going on in the tabletop for now, but a good bridge between the two are the Technical Readouts. They're the game's toy chest- each one is full of new units, refits of older units, etc.- I in particular would suggest TRO:3050 as a good starting point, because the stuff in it are popular, longtime favorite units refitted for a modern era... sometimes in a good way, sometimes hilariously flawed (which is FUN!). With the stats to use these units, background on them in the universe, and art showing them, they're a great gateway book. (Record Sheet volumes are best sought via PDF, and give you the actual record sheets for these units)

And of course, anything beyond that we can help with, we're happy to do so. You stand in the presence of some of the worlds' best Battletech players- and me too!- and we're always happy to answer questions.

Oh- and if it all feels overwhelming, well, there's 30-odd years of product behind this, and it can be overwhelming to even veteran players sometimes. Ask questions, we're here to help.  :)
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pheonixstorm

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Re: Hello from a New Player
« Reply #3 on: 20 August 2017, 18:59:36 »
CGLstated at GenCon the new box set are coming, minimum of 6 months. Maybe by March you will be able to buy a few ;)
Though I am thinking even if it does take 6 months they might not start offering it until June during Origins.

YingJanshi

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Re: Hello from a New Player
« Reply #4 on: 20 August 2017, 19:07:40 »
Hey, welcome to the game and to the sanest (I use that word very loosely) forum on the internet!

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pheonixstorm

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Re: Hello from a New Player
« Reply #5 on: 20 August 2017, 19:15:38 »
We are sane?? You HAVE read some of the posts by weirdo haven't you?? :D

Red Pins

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Re: Hello from a New Player
« Reply #6 on: 20 August 2017, 19:17:39 »
We are sane?? You HAVE read some of the posts by weirdo haven't you?? :D

You're scaring the newbies, be cool.

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Jaim Magnus

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Re: Hello from a New Player
« Reply #7 on: 20 August 2017, 19:19:05 »
They let me out, I have paperwork, so I know I'm sane at least. Not so sure about the rest of you ;)
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Phobos101

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Re: Hello from a New Player
« Reply #8 on: 21 August 2017, 06:44:00 »
Hi Vorpalstar, and welcome! It's good to hear of new blood, especially the younger generations. I can say from my own experience as a recent addition to this forum that there is a depth of knowledge and experience here that you won't see in a fan community very often. So may I ask how you got into BTech? personally I had played all the video games since Mechwarrior 2 was fresh, and was aware of the board game but never played it, until around 2 years ago I picked up an intro box from a friend who wasn't getting any use out of it(ironically, now that he has someone to play with, he does get to use it  :))).
Look forward to hearing more from you!

marauder648

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Re: Hello from a New Player
« Reply #9 on: 21 August 2017, 07:53:13 »
Hey there and welcome aboard!  Always good to see new faces around here :)

I got into Btech back when I was a wee young lad, me and a friend saw one of the boxes in a local game store so we pooled our pocket money and bought it between us.  This was at the time of Mechwarrior 2 and Robot Jox had recently been on TV, so we saved up and bought it and have never really looked back.

The wonderful thing about Battletech is that, unlike say 40k its a cheap hobby to get into.  Once you have some maps and the rule book then you just need a TRO or two which you can get digitally now.  Modular representation is a wonderful thing :)
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mbear

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Re: Hello from a New Player
« Reply #10 on: 21 August 2017, 08:20:48 »
They let me out, I have paperwork, so I know I'm sane at least. Not so sure about the rest of you ;)

I thought your mother had you tested. Oh well. ;)

Vorpalstar, remember that BT isn't a WYSIWYG game. If you don't have the minis, no big deal. use another mini to represent it. Heck I've even used LEGO minifigs to represent units. (And there are a huge variety of those around now. Captain America and Iron Man vs Ghost Rider and Hobgoblin is one of my favorites.)

And for what it's worth if you can't find the mapsheets, you might want to use the rules from Alpha Strike. Each Hex is represented by 2" on a terrain board. Which can be your living room floor. Each inch of stacked books/magazines is a level of height. 1 MP = 2" of movement, so a 4/6/4 mech moves 8"/12"/8".

Just a thought.

Oh and because I forgot it, Welcome aboard! Have fun!
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!)

Vorpalstar

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Re: Hello from a New Player
« Reply #11 on: 22 August 2017, 22:12:17 »
Thanks for all the welcomes, and sorry for the slow response. Sometimes that pesky thing called life calls.

What is your general area?  My buddy and I plus his three sons play when we have time, but have talked about doing it more regularly.  Always open to new blood.  We're in the Des Moines Iowa area.

I live in the Fort Bragg / Fayetteville, NC area. So I'm a little off from Iowa. Most wargamers here seem to play 40K.

Welcome!

A few tips for moving forward as you and your son expand your games:

+Consider picking up Tactical Operations as a PDF (hard copy seems to be a bit tricky to find right now). This book is chock-full of optional rules to enhance things, ranging from new weapons to new terrain types to whole new game concepts like artillery. Nothing in it is required for your games, but some of it can be very, very fun as a change of pace- for example, ever wondered what a battle looks like on a world with greater gravity than normal? Or on an ice field? Or in a swarm of locusts? Maybe all three at once? Welcome to TacOps. ;)

+Map sets. Up front, again, these are kind of hard to come by right now, but variety is the spice of life, as the old saying goes. The right map sets can give you terrain like giant mountaintops, dense urban morass, swamplands, spaceports, or even gladiatorial arenas! Worth hunting down and trying them out.

+I'm avoiding suggestions that move into the Battletech Universe's fiction and such, for now, because it sounds like you're enjoying what's going on in the tabletop for now, but a good bridge between the two are the Technical Readouts. They're the game's toy chest- each one is full of new units, refits of older units, etc.- I in particular would suggest TRO:3050 as a good starting point, because the stuff in it are popular, longtime favorite units refitted for a modern era... sometimes in a good way, sometimes hilariously flawed (which is FUN!). With the stats to use these units, background on them in the universe, and art showing them, they're a great gateway book. (Record Sheet volumes are best sought via PDF, and give you the actual record sheets for these units)

And of course, anything beyond that we can help with, we're happy to do so. You stand in the presence of some of the worlds' best Battletech players- and me too!- and we're always happy to answer questions.

Oh- and if it all feels overwhelming, well, there's 30-odd years of product behind this, and it can be overwhelming to even veteran players sometimes. Ask questions, we're here to help.  :)

I've been looking at the Tactical Operations book, as well as Campaign Operations. I know my local game store has copies of both. I am under the impression that some of the optional rules in the BattleMech PDF are from TacOps. Is this correct?

Map sets. I did manage to get several older paper hex maps with a nice variety of terrain. My understanding is the newer hex maps are on thicker material not paper.

I'm interested in the BattleTech fiction, so far having only read The Universe Guide, and the short fluff stories available in Total Warfare and the little bit of lore in the back of Alpha Strike. The deeper lore seems daunting, I have no idea where to start.

Hi Vorpalstar, and welcome! It's good to hear of new blood, especially the younger generations. I can say from my own experience as a recent addition to this forum that there is a depth of knowledge and experience here that you won't see in a fan community very often. So may I ask how you got into BTech? personally I had played all the video games since Mechwarrior 2 was fresh, and was aware of the board game but never played it, until around 2 years ago I picked up an intro box from a friend who wasn't getting any use out of it(ironically, now that he has someone to play with, he does get to use it  :))).
Look forward to hearing more from you!

I'm 37, almost 38, so I've been aware of BattleTech for a long time, it's always been one of those games I wanted to try, but never took the dive until now. All I can really say is, damn I've missed out on a lot of fun! I also had never played the MechWarrior games, until this summer I started the FreePlay on MWO, although I have to admit I enjoy the tabletop game much more, and only played MWO for a few days.

Hey there and welcome aboard!  Always good to see new faces around here :)

I got into Btech back when I was a wee young lad, me and a friend saw one of the boxes in a local game store so we pooled our pocket money and bought it between us.  This was at the time of Mechwarrior 2 and Robot Jox had recently been on TV, so we saved up and bought it and have never really looked back.

The wonderful thing about Battletech is that, unlike say 40k its a cheap hobby to get into.  Once you have some maps and the rule book then you just need a TRO or two which you can get digitally now.  Modular representation is a wonderful thing :)

You're absolutely right about cost. Most wargamers near me play 40K, but its entry point isn't very friendly to people with a family, and an average real life.

I thought your mother had you tested. Oh well. ;)

Vorpalstar, remember that BT isn't a WYSIWYG game. If you don't have the minis, no big deal. use another mini to represent it. Heck I've even used LEGO minifigs to represent units. (And there are a huge variety of those around now. Captain America and Iron Man vs Ghost Rider and Hobgoblin is one of my favorites.)

And for what it's worth if you can't find the mapsheets, you might want to use the rules from Alpha Strike. Each Hex is represented by 2" on a terrain board. Which can be your living room floor. Each inch of stacked books/magazines is a level of height. 1 MP = 2" of movement, so a 4/6/4 mech moves 8"/12"/8".

Just a thought.

Oh and because I forgot it, Welcome aboard! Have fun!

That's one thing I really like about BT, that it isn't WYSIWYG. As I mentioned above in my original post, I'm doing just that, using small lego models to represent ground vehicles, VTOLs, and BattleArmor. Mechs through lance packs and cardstock seems to be the easiest way to start there.

Thanks and I am definitely having fun!

Expect to see me around, most likely asking noob like questions.

 

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