Questions on the new BT books

[-Ice]

Hello!

I've been doing a little bit of organizing in my games room and dusted off my BattleTech intro boxes and suddenly got the yearning to play some good old BattleTech again.  I come to the website and see it's got a new look again but more important, new books are out!  My last post here was just over 2 years ago (wow! how time flies!!) and IIRC, I just got the Alpha Strike book at that time.  I've since also purchased the AS Companion book, but sadly, neither have seen much use.

Anyway, back to my main concern: the new books.  I've read what I can from the website's blurbs, but they don't really say very much so I was hoping someone here can give a little more insight.


Campaign Companion
What exactly does it do with regards to generating BT forces?  I am mainly interested in making mercenary forces, but only 1-2 lances in size and only for a start of a game.  Maybe make up some planetary defence forces, but IIRC there were random tables for such things.

What "rules" does it give regarding running campaigns?  Again, I'm interested in what will help mercenary forces.  Does this replace/supplement FM:Mercs Revised?

Chaos Campaign system --- what is this again?  Is this the warchest system?


Campaign Operations
I guess this is the "first" book and Campaign Companion is the "second" book?  Again, it speaks of creating and running forces and specifically states "down-on-their-luck mercenary battalion."  This gets me interested... can it help run a donw-on-their-luck mercenary company?  Or even half-company?

Again, does this book supplement/replace FM:Mercs Revised (which IIRC is the latest FM for mercenaries)?


Combat Manual: Mercenaries
So it's "Combat Manual" now and not "Field Manual"??  Is this the new FM:Mercs?  The blurb states stuff for Alpha Strike; as a non-AS player, does this book have anything for classic BattleTech play?  Does it have anything for classic BT mercenaries?  Or is this aimed more as a Alpha Strike: Mercenaries book?



Are there any other books that would be useful for a returning player/GM?  Or for a mercenary-centered game/campaign?  Coming back to the game now, what programs are there for generating/printing out Mech record sheets?  Or maybe even Alpha Strike sheets?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Lorcan Nagle]

Campaign Companion was renamed Campaign Operations, so there's only one book there.  Campaign Ops contains what wouldn't fit into Interstellar Operations: Solar System creation, unit creation and maintenance, and various narrative campaign options, including the Track system as seen in the Starterbooks, Turning Points and Total Chaos.

Combat Manual: Mercenaries is primarily an Alpha Strike sourcebook, but Campaign Operations contains BattleTech scale rules for themed lances and force special rules along the lines of the Alpha Strike Companion and Combat Manuals

[nckestrel]

Campaign Companion
What exactly does it do with regards to generating BT forces?  I am mainly interested in making mercenary forces, but only 1-2 lances in size and only for a start of a game.  Maybe make up some planetary defence forces, but IIRC there were random tables for such things.

What "rules" does it give regarding running campaigns?  Again, I'm interested in what will help mercenary forces.  Does this replace/supplement FM:Mercs Revised?

The first two chapters of Campaign Operations are basically an update of the FM: Mercs revised system.

Chaos Campaign system --- what is this again?  Is this the warchest system?

Exactly.  It's also expanded upon.

Combat Manual: Mercenaries
So it's "Combat Manual" now and not "Field Manual"??  Is this the new FM:Mercs?  The blurb states stuff for Alpha Strike; as a non-AS player, does this book have anything for classic BattleTech play?  Does it have anything for classic BT mercenaries?  Or is this aimed more as a Alpha Strike: Mercenaries book?

The name was changed to note that they work differently (no RATs, a new system for determining what units are available). 
Most of the once Alpha Strike specific rules in the Combat Manuals have Total Warfare/Classic BT rules in Campaign Operations now.  (Special Command Abilities, Special Pilot Abilities, Formations).  About the only thing that remains "exclusive" to AS is that unique/custom units in the Combat Manuals don't have Record Sheets. 

[-Ice]

I'm sorry, I'm confused now.  There is no Campaign Companion?  On the New Releases page, Campaign Companion is the second item on the list with Campaign Operations much further down!

So what's in Interstellar Operations?  Is it for players that want to run/simulate a House army?  Anything in it for mercs?  I think the only thing interesting for me would be sorting out weapons and equipment by era, but I suspect that information is easily obtained elsewhere.

As for Combat Manual: Mercenaries, I take it as this is Alpha Strike whereas Campaign Operations is Classic BattleTech...

So what's "updated FM: Mercs" that is in Campaign Operations?  What parts are updated?


Are there any other new books that deal with campaigns and mercenaries that I should take a look at?

Again, thanks for any help!

[Lorcan Nagle]

I'm sorry, I'm confused now.  There is no Campaign Companion?  On the New Releases page, Campaign Companion is the second item on the list with Campaign Operations much further down!

That would be an error on the page, sadly.

So what's in Interstellar Operations?  Is it for players that want to run/simulate a House army?  Anything in it for mercs?  I think the only thing interesting for me would be sorting out weapons and equipment by era, but I suspect that information is easily obtained elsewhere.

There's rules for weapons and equipment for alternate eras - such as age or war "primitive" units, Manei Domini, new Dark Age tech, LAMs, the Society, and probably other things  I forget.

Beyond that, most of the book is strategic level games - Strategic BattleForce is company level and still uses a normal hex map, Abstract Combat system is Batallion level and is meant for planetary combat, and then Inner Sphere in Flames is controlling a full interstellar nation.

and I might be forgetting an intermediate level in there?

As for Combat Manual: Mercenaries, I take it as this is Alpha Strike whereas Campaign Operations is Classic BattleTech...

Combat Manual: Mercenaries is an Alpha Strike sourcebook, but is also compatible with the the formation rules in Campaign Operations

So what's "updated FM: Mercs" that is in Campaign Operations?  What parts are updated?

The unit creation and maintenance rules

Are there any other new books that deal with campaigns and mercenaries that I should take a look at?

Again, thanks for any help!
[/quote]

[-Ice]

Thanks!  At least I know I am getting Campaign Operations.  Considering what I like to run (3025-3050 era, merc campaigns), would I get much use of Interstellar Operations?

I guess I'll be getting CM:Mercs if nothing but because it has the "Mercs" line in it and I really want to see what it contains and maybe I'll want to try an Alpha Strike-based game.

Are there any new books that deal with campaigns and mercenaries that I should take a look at?

[bobthecoward]

Thanks!  At least I know I am getting Campaign Operations.  Considering what I like to run (3025-3050 era, merc campaigns), would I get much use of Interstellar Operations?

I guess I'll be getting CM:Mercs if nothing but because it has the "Mercs" line in it and I really want to see what it contains and maybe I'll want to try an Alpha Strike-based game.

Are there any new books that deal with campaigns and mercenaries that I should take a look at?

Good question on interstellar ops. I tend to overtell people to avoid products. I love everything catalyst puts out, but I have been really conscious of people's budgets and I want people to be happy with their dollar. Interstellar operations is amazing.

Alternate eras and alternate equipment makes up 200 pages and includes all the equipment not previously addressed. My favorite table is the master table of all I tro, extinct, prototype, and recovery dates for every piece of tech. That can be useful for 3025-3050 if you like to be super serious about when new tech was introduced. Also, if you don't like going forward in eras, there is a lot also for eras back in time. It also has LAM rules.

Do you like battleforce? If so, the 70 pages on strategic battleforce is the next size up.

Also, I like to defend alpha strike. Some see it as an alternate system. It is really the abstraction between total warfare and battleforce. What you will find in CM mercs are formation specific rules that provide thematic bonuses for groups of units (an all recon lance gives a reason to bring them). Campaign ops gives methods to use those in total warfare.

[-Ice]

Thanks for the reply!

What exactly do yo mean by "alternate eras and alternate equipment"??  How about the table for tech, is that not available elsewhere?  Finally, why do you ask about "battleforce"??  I thought it is called "Alpha Strike" now?  Is battleforce different in today's context of the game?

[Lorcan Nagle]

Alpha Strike is a tabletop wargame that uses a system very close to BattleForce as presented in Strategic Operations.  Strategic BattleForce is a new game, the rules for which are in Interstellar Operations where the playing pieces represent companies instead of lances as in regular BattleForce

[Weirdo]

Alpha Strike is the fast-play version of regular Battletech, but you still control individual mechs, tanks, etc. Imagine being able to finish a company vs company fight in the time it would take you to finish a lance-level fight in Total War.

Battleforce use the same stats as Alpha Strike, but also consolidates things just a little bit further. Instead of individual mechs like Total War or Alpha Strike, in Battleforce each playing piece on the table represents an entire Lance or Star, so you can fight out a clash between entire battalions or regiments in the same time it takes to play out a much smaller fight in Total War or Alpha Strike. Battleforce is found in the Strategic Operations rulebook.

In IntOps you can find Strategic Battleforce, where the scale zooms out even more and each piece is an entire company, Abstract Combat System, where you move battalions at a time and are playing out an entire planetary campaign, and Inner Sphere at War, where you're a House Lord moving regiments around as you try to conquer the entire Inner Sphere.

[bobthecoward]

Thanks for the reply!

What exactly do yo mean by "alternate eras and alternate equipment"??  How about the table for tech, is that not available elsewhere?  Finally, why do you ask about "battleforce"??  I thought it is called "Alpha Strike" now?  Is battleforce different in today's context of the game?

It is not so much alternate eras as different eras wirh advanced rules. So for 3025 it has the latest version of pre existing damage rules. Obviously, it has all the eras going forward through the dark age. But it also goes back if you want to do early succession wars and age of war.

The alternate equipment that is here is all the stuff not in a hardcover before. It added the experimental RISC from the dark age. But it also has the prototype weapons from the reunification war and the clan prototypes from Klondike that bridged the star league level equipment and the final clan versions.

This is the full, complete table in one place. Yea, if you own everything and have a great memory of where everything is, you can probably find most of it.

Alpha strike took the battleforce aggregation, applied it as single units rather than groups of four, tweaked it, and made it hexless (can still use hexes). Battleforce is still there.

Total warfare 4v4 is easy
Alpha strike 12 v 12 is easy
Battleforce 24 v 24 (each set of four grouped as one piece) is easy.

[-Ice]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I knew about the old BattleForce system but never really played it, then I thought that it evolved into Quick Strike or Alpha Strike.  Nice to see that we now have TW for old-school BT, Alpha Strike for faster, abstract BT, but we also have BattleForce.... I'm assuming (not read the rules yet) that this BattleForce is very close to the "BattleForce" of old?

Regarding the tables for tech, it's not that I have everything but rather I seem to recall this "resource" being available on the internet, ie, compiled by some diligent fans in an Excel sheet.  Anyway, the point is moot, I'll be getting Interstellar Ops.

So... Campaign Operations, Interstellar Operations, and Combat Manual: Mercenaries.  Can you guys confirm these are all available in dead-tree versions?  I seem to be having problems sourcing them here in the UK.  I can see Interstellar Operations, then there's a Campaign Operaions that I'll need to verify whether it's BETA or final version, but nothing is coming up for Campaign Operations (but I see one available from Germany).

[Adrian Gideon]

"BattleForce of old" was BattleForce and BattleForce 2, which were very different from each other. Current BattleForce, found in Strategic Operations, is heavily based on BattleForce 2.

[Adrian Gideon]

Here's a breakdown of the scales and where to find them.

• Tactical Combat, A Time of War (Personal scale)
• Total Warfare (TW), Total Warfare, Tactical Operations, etc. ('Mech-centric, single unit-company scale)
• Alpha Strike (AS), Alpha Strike, Alpha Strike Companion, etc.('Mech-centric, lance-company+ scale)
• BattleForce (BF), Strategic Operations (Lance-centric, company-battalion+ scale,
• Strategic BattleForce (SBF), Interstellar Operations (Company-centric, battalion-regiment+ scale)
• Abstract Combat System (ACS), Interstellar Operations (Battalion-centric, regimental-planetary scale)
• Inner Sphere at War (ISaW), Interstellar Operations(Faction-centric, multi-planet to Inner Sphere wide)

[-Ice]

Thanks for clearing that up!

Can you guys confirm if all of these are available in physical print form?  Or just PDF for now?

[Weirdo]

Most are, yes. I'm not 100% sure about Campaign Operations.

[Lorcan Nagle]

Campaign Ops is out in print, I picked up my copy on Wednesday.

[Bosefius]

Thanks for clearing that up!

Can you guys confirm if all of these are available in physical print form?  Or just PDF for now?

Campaign Operations is definitely in print, received mine last week

[Adrian Gideon]

The books I listed above are in print.

[-Ice]

Yay!!  Now to see if my FLGS can source them here in the UK.  >:D