What makes Mechwarrior "Age of Destruction" so much fun?

[Legendmaker]

 So here is a set of questions.

1. What makes Age of Destruction fun?

2. Why are factions a good thing and how do they work with alliances?

3. What are good sites to go too that are good fan supported ones?

[truegrit]

I'm too novice to answer all but the first one.

In my limited MechWarrior experience I would say that the parts that I enjoy in playing are:

a) Formations - it's rare in BattleTech that you're moving units in lockstep, but there's something about pushing vehicles in formation and having them work in concert that is appealing just from a visceral standpoint.

b) As much as I like the complexity of BattleTech, it's great having all the stats on the dial. That definitely appeals to my 'nifty-o-meter'. Also when I play QuickStrike, I'm acutely aware that I'm playing BattleTech-lite. MW is built with more straightforward mechanics in mind, so I don't feel like I'm missing anything.

And separate from the gameplay - and it's not for everyone - but looking at unit stats and building up a competitive army is alluring. Plus, when people do have pre-made armies, it's much easier to just sit down and have a pick-up game.

[gunney]

1. Dark Age/ Age of Destructions biggest draws are...
1) The simplicity and clarity of the rules, there are few rules that are ambiguous(sp?) but for the most part they are straight foreward and clear. 
2) Speed, this game was played to 50mins in weekly tournaments and this allowed players to play several games in an evening.
3) What drew me in the most was the you did not get to activated EVERYTHING at once. Many game systems let Player 1 activate/use everything they have and just destroy the other guy before he even has a chance to go.

2. Factions were great because it allowed there to be some variety in the units, if every Atlas was the same it would get boring fast.  Also it catered more to the 'collectiable' part of the game.  Alliances allowed friendly units of allied factions to create formations with each other and be more effective.

3. Warrenborn is about it for resources, it has all the info on the game.  Other than that I really cannot think of any that are very active.

[Deadborder]

The game tends to have a lot more "personality" to its units then even CBT in some cases. AoD's unique pilots and mechs are very much their own people, rather then just one mech with a Piloting/Gunnery skill.

[Prince of Darkness]

So here is a set of questions.

1. What makes Age of Destruction fun?

The speed and individuality, most likely.  If there are two issues with Battletech, the game can be slow and has many units that are spread across several RAT's.  In AoD, the dials ensure that while two factions might have the same piece, they won't have much in common.

2. Why are factions a good thing and how do they work with alliances?

Game balance, and they open up new possibilities that won't make your player's tell you to leave  ;)

Alliances (grand or otherwise) are pretty simple.  If you spend the points to buy the situational alliance card, then you can substitute units on the field for another faction's pieces.  For instance, the well-known Clan Nova Cat/Dragon's Fury (or Clan Spirit Cat/Draconis Combine) SitAll card makes some of the best one-two punches in the game- a horde of Dragon's Fury Di Schmitts, and several Clan TSEMP Nova Cats.

3. What are good sites to go too that are good fan supported ones?

This board and warrenborn.com are pretty much all that's left.  Even by 2007 fan-sites began to disappear, and with the closing of GeoCities it only doomed more.

[SpaceCowboy1701]

1. What makes Age of Destruction fun?

Depends on the player. I was drawn in to the first incarnation ("Dark Age") by the slick sculpts
(in retrospect, they're not scaled well, but the detail was amazing to me). I liked that it was a
relatively fast game to play, since I had/have less time. I was also blessed with some good locals
to play with. Over time, I enjoyed being able to put together a full-sized military unit, though it's
unlikely I'll ever actually use the whole thing (3 heavily-reinforced combined arms regiments of
Northwind Highlander troops and equipment).  Now that the game's out of print, I've taken to
experimenting more with repainting, too.


2. Why are factions a good thing and how do they work with alliances?

From a gameplay standpoint, factions can be good in that they tend to have certain specialties that
can cater to your playing style, or help in certain scenarios. Usually the Situational Alliance cards
either enhance the faction's natural characteristics or help them in an area where they might be
deficient. The problem I always faced was the point cost ... it really has to be worth it to not invest
those points in equipment or infantry.

3. What are good sites to go too that are good fan supported ones?
[/quote]

I don't have any reccommendations to add to what others have said ...

[Legendmaker]

Thank you for the info and please keep it coming. Especially like to know also what are a the best Factions to start with?

Also what was the most part of the game ?

[truegrit]

Also what was the most part of the game ?

Er..most fun part? ;)

[AsburyGrad]

3. What are good sites to go too that are good fan supported ones?

Nothing beats Warrenborn, but everyone is welcome to the website for my Clan, the Mutant Sea Bass (playing group in Alabama):
http://clanmutantseabass.webs.com/

[LordNth]

So here is a set of questions.

1. What makes Age of Destruction fun?

The speed.  games done in 50 minutes (tournament) and home games that can be finished in a few short hours.  I was in a CBT game that lasted all 4 days of GenCon...  I don't recall if that game ever finished.

2. Why are factions a good thing and how do they work with alliances?

Factions?  I only play Highlanders.  Faction pure all the way!
That was the appeal of MW.  Finding units that could work together.  But this lead to getting only the best units out of very specific factions.  Some players took it to challenge themselves by building armies from a select pool of units.  While I did that as a enjoyed  a few select factions it was also space and size of my collection that had me sell or trade 75% of my collection.  Now factions are good to have a battle force that all looks the same.

3. What are good sites to go too that are good fan supported ones?

This site had a crash a while ago.  Lots of info was lost.  To learn from the past and get really good builds, reviews and opinions (oh yes the opinions   #P ) try www.MWRealms.com   Faction threads, unit reviews, discussion on meta game, and simple tactics are all covered in that cobweb filled site.

[Mecha82]

From my opinion it must be how fast AoD games are. You can play one game within 50 minutes without mentioning how fast you can build your army. 

[AsburyGrad]

As much fun as the game is to actually play in person, the endless hours of strategizing, figure collecting, trading, buying, selling, etc. - all of the game outside the game - are the things that have kept me passionate since 2002.

[Sigma]

As much fun as the game is to actually play in person, the endless hours of strategizing, figure collecting, trading, buying, selling, etc. - all of the game outside the game - are the things that have kept me passionate since 2002.

I have to admit that the whole "random booster" angle turned me off of the game when it was new, but now I revel in the challenge of tracking down certain minis I want. Regardless, I do admit a certain thought to grabbing a case of Falcon's Prey just to give in once to the mystery of the prize in the box.

It should be noted of course I use DA minis for my own nefarious purposes and not Mechwarrior AoD.

[Deadborder]

I know that feeling

I've been so tempted to buy cases just for the "ripping good fun" aspect of it, to find what may or may not be within.

[Legendmaker]

I also like to surprise factor. But also being able to find what you need is important too.

[Chervil]

I loved Battletech when I was younger.
But while creating the mech diagrams was fun, it was pretty tedious to have to account for damage, ammo, heat, etc.
Plus I wasn't too crazy about the little paper mechs, but didn't have enough cash flow or skill to try painting my own.

When I saw the Dark Age boosters, I loved them!
The detail was great, and I loved that everything was pretty much self-contained.
No sheets to keep track of, really not even any maps.
Any surface was playable and you just needed the figures, dice, flexible ruler and something to mark actions with.
It was pretty intuitive (well, having played BT anyway) and gameplay was fast and smooth.

One of the things that appealed to me about the original set was the storyline explaining why there was a "mech shortage".
I thought that the construction mechs were great ideas, and was actually a little disappointed when they were pretty well made obsolete in the later editions.
But definitely the heat dial and the click-damage counter were top on my impressed with list.

[wantec]

I also like to surprise factor. But also being able to find what you need is important too.

Two of my favorite events were the sealed booster and booster draft events. While it's possible you could end up with 3 boosters worth of unplayable stuff, it was a fun challenge to see who could play best outside of their preferred factions/figures.

[radiationexposed]

I also like to surprise factor. But also being able to find what you need is important too.

I can do without some of the surprise factors.......   LIKE :   Surprise! we are retiring Sets... >:( -or-  Surprise! we will no longer be making new sets or supporting events   :(

[darkminstrel]

1. What makes Age of Destruction fun?

The fast game structure. Being able to use random stuff as terrain pieces. Not worrying if my 5 and 12 year olds will screw up the paint on my minis. The damage 'sheet' is included ON the mini!!

2. Why are factions a good thing and how do they work with alliances?

The factions were, to me, styles of play engineered into the figures themselves. People who were run n' gun were Bears or Wolves, Bypassers were SCs, etc.

3. What are good sites to go too that are good fan supported ones?

What has been said already covers what's left. Damnit. BTW: I capture all of Warrenborn once a month and can supply it as a rar/zip/7z file. If it ever goes down/crashes/gets hax0red I'll have an archive.

Also; I *STILL* buy cases instead of lots for the fun factor of getting a surprise.

[JAMES_PRYDE]

the figures were bigger :P

[Greywind]

They still are.

[Paint it Pink]

My first introduction to the game was abysmal. The guy explaining it to us really left me feeling hung out to dry. Then the first move by my opponent was to charge at me, and this seemed to make no sense to my BattleTech experience, so I walked away.

Several years later, when it had all collapsed I bought infantry for BattleTech, and by doing so ended up with a complete set of rules and some mechs. Add into this the opportunity to buy a couple dozen boosters at a couple of dollars (equivalent) and I ended up with armies toplay games with.

Gave a lot to my Godson, and friend's son, but I still have three full armies and a bunch of other stuff to play with.

What I like is the combined arms nature of the game. The dial is just so slick, much better than BattleForce, because it allows for more stages and no pen and paper record keeping, for quick games. Love the factions too; Highlanders and RoTS being my favourites, but my Jade Falcon force looks sweet too. Always play pure factions, just seems seems right to me, but I'm not into tourney games anymore.

[Captain of C-21]

So here is a set of questions.

1. What makes Age of Destruction fun?

Definitely the ease at playing a game.  All you need is your pieces, a place to play, and dice/ruler/order tokens.  No sheets to record on, no constant marking and erasing.  And of course, the games go by much faster.

2.  Why are factions a good thing and how do they work with alliances?

Factions were a neat idea that I think benefitted AoD more than it hindered it.  It made it easier to identify with a faction when you were new to the game.  Also, it kind of gave itself to unique playing styles depending on which faction players picked (In our group, almost every player identified and only collected one or two factions, the people who demanded to have pieces from every faction always were in a bind when it came trading time).  For instance, I was just playing a game with my one buddy who decided to pick up Clan Jade Falcon, and we kind of figured out after all this time that CJF does DFAs really, really well.  Prior to that he would just try to compete with my ranged Nova Cats and lose.  Now I'll have to watch out for mechs behind any blocking terrain that he puts down!

What are good sites to go too that are good fan supported ones?

MWrealms used to be the place to go, now its kind of died off.  I guess this is it for AoD folks.

[LordNth]

3. What are good sites to go too that are good fan supported ones?

Hunt down the Facebook group Clan Mutant Sea Bass.
They also have a forum to discuss games and invites.
They also have made some new Mechs.  I'm sure one of them will start posting the custom MW units soon.

[radiationexposed]

http://clanmutantseabass.webs.com/

[Legendmaker]

 There is groups stating to play games at "Card Addiction" in Fullerton on Thursday Nights.

[tbrminsanity]

So here is a set of questions.
1. What makes Age of Destruction fun?
2. Why are factions a good thing and how do they work with alliances?
3. What are good sites to go too that are good fan supported ones?

1. It was easy to learn, and hard to master.  It didn't punish me for not wanting to glue and paint my minis. It didn't require me to carry several books of reference material.
2. Factions are good because they give players a sense of belonging.  I know that my Clan Nova Cat and Spirit Cat forces are going to act a certain way and I can modify my tactics to take advantage of that.
3. Warrenborn.