BattleTech: Clan Invasion Kickstarter Discussion, Vol. 1

[Sartris]

(whoever made the decision not to allow as a valid answer to "Are you a human?" sentence "No, I am a meat popsicle" needs to get their humanity checked)

This is a hall of fame level introductory statement and you’re going to fit in just fine here

[carlisimo]

So we're back to a list of names in a book?  I guess at least for galaxy commanders it'll be more like a year book page. ;D

“He ran his finger down the phone book --
‘Toshio Andersen, no…
Muna Andrei, no...
Maria Andretti, no…
Sam Androgyny, no… where the hell did she run off to?’”

[marauder648]

Oh there's a European distribution centre too? Awesome! That'll hopefully not mean I get too badly mauled with shipping to Ireland :D

[Doom]

Glad to see all the Combat Manual supporters in the Kickstarter comments thread!

[Sartris]

They are fine books and deserve our love and support

The full color books like the CMs and even Masters and Minions aren’t done justice as a pdf.

[Silverline]

Glad to see all the Combat Manual supporters in the Kickstarter comments thread!

Combat Manuals and plastic vehicle boxes seem to be the two big things that people are in support of, both of which are things I am super keen on! I've been eyeing off some of the Reaper CAV tanks in lieu of official plastic miniatures, but I would vastly prefer non-proxies. Mmm, plastic Myrmidons...

[Sartris]

Unless the funding goes completely through the roof I don’t see vehicles. But hey, they did Elementals so anything is possible

[kinwolf]

Combat Manuals and plastic vehicle boxes seem to be the two big things that people are in support of, both of which are things I am super keen on! I've been eyeing off some of the Reaper CAV tanks in lieu of official plastic miniatures, but I would vastly prefer non-proxies. Mmm, plastic Myrmidons...

And those 2 things are stuff that CGL and IWM say there isn't enough support to warrant continued production.(meaning, not enough sales)  Looks like money sinkers to me and CGL should stay away from them.(even though I admit CM Kurita is one of my favorite sourcebook I read)

[Colt Ward]

I keep wondering if we are going to see IS Std BA . . . though they and vehicles might be stretch goals for KS FedCom Civil War Expansion box.

[MarauderD]

I keep wondering if we are going to see IS Std BA . . . though they and vehicles might be stretch goals for KS FedCom Civil War Expansion box.

Hopefully that one is more than a couple years down the road, or my Kid's college fund is going to start shrinking.

[nckestrel]

And those 2 things are stuff that CGL and IWM say there isn't enough support to warrant continued production.(meaning, not enough sales)  Looks like money sinkers to me and CGL should stay away from them.(even though I admit CM Kurita is one of my favorite sourcebook I read)

The Combat Manuals were expensive to make.  They had enough sales, they didn't lose money.  But there's always an opportunity cost.  If the Box Set can't get reprinted because of a Combat Manual printing, that's a bad choice of priorities, the Box Set is needed more. 1. They make more money and 2. The Box Sets are priority in expanding the player base.
But that's why now is a good time to bring them up. At this point, the sculptors are the ones now with the next who knows who long tied up with the work they are commited to. Meanwhile the Combat Manual team is ready to go to work...  We have a lot of new/returning players that might want to have some guidelines on how to make a force with all their pretty, giant, stompy robots.

[MarauderD]

The Combat Manuals were expensive to make.  They had enough sales, they didn't lose money.  But there's always an opportunity cost.  If the Box Set can't get reprinted because of a Combat Manual printing, that's a bad choice of priorities, the Box Set is needed more. 1. They make more money and 2. The Box Sets are priority in expanding the player base.
But that's why now is a good time to bring them up. At this point, the sculptors are the ones now with the next who knows who long tied up with the work they are commited to. Meanwhile the Combat Manual team is ready to go to work...  We have a lot of new/returning players that might want to have some guidelines on how to make a force with all their pretty, giant, stompy robots.

As a guy who is going to get 5 inner sphere lance packs doubled at some time in 2020, there has never been a better time for Combat Manual: Davion!!!

 ;)

[DarkSpade]

I'm generally wary of any stretch goal in any KS that amounts to "If we reach this level we'll unlock these things you then have to purchase!".

BYE

I've never been involved with a kickstarter where that wasn't the case.  It's  very common.

[Sartris]

Yeah. Physical product goals cover some or all of the development costs, not the production costs. That’s what you pay for in the add on price

[sadlerbw]

As this point, I MIGHT go up to Khan, depending on how many lances we end up unlocking, but I'm glad someone took the last Full Kerensky. It was tempting me...it was tempting me mightily, and I'm not sure I could have held out for 30 days with it staring at me, despite my best efforts! The biggest thing holding me back was who I would take with me. My wife, though she is a gamer, isn't into BattleTech like I am. My son is a fan, but isn't old enough that I'd take him on a trip like that yet. I could go stag, but that seems like a waste. So, to whomever DID pony up for that reward, thanks for making the decision for me, and I hope you all have a great time.

[Vandervecken]

I'm generally wary of any stretch goal in any KS that amounts to "If we reach this level we'll unlock these things you then have to purchase!".

BYE

Why? Doing it the other way is a great way to lose a lot of money.

[Tangoforone]

I have sent this to Catalyst via Kickstarter, and posted on the Kickstarter page, but I have not been answered as of yet and would like to pose the question here in case someone who knows the answer is on the thread.

Catalyst has stated that they will be shipping the clan box in March 2020, and will have to ship other products after that date. 

What is their plan for address verification after the INITIAL clan box set shipment (star / lance packs)?  Will they send out an email requesting address verification before every shipment?  Or will I need to email Catalyst if my address changes after March 2020 (which it is guaranteed to do so, hence the question)?

[marauder648]

Hopefully that one is more than a couple years down the road, or my Kid's college fund is going to start shrinking.

They don't need it, give 'em sticks, a book on wilderness survival. Hunter gatherer is where its at!

[Sartris]

I have sent this to Catalyst via Kickstarter, and posted on the Kickstarter page, but I have not been answered as of yet and would like to pose the question here in case someone who knows the answer is on the thread.

Catalyst has stated that they will be shipping the clan box in March 2020, and will have to ship other products after that date. 

What is their plan for address verification after the INITIAL clan box set shipment (star / lance packs)?  Will they send out an email requesting address verification before every shipment?  Or will I need to email Catalyst if my address changes after March 2020 (which it is guaranteed to do so, hence the question)?

All we know is that they’re “looking into it”

It’s a question worth asking until it’s answered

They don't need it, give 'em sticks, a book on wilderness survival. Hunter gatherer is where its at!

Work study. Dad needed minis. As a consequence you work for campus sanitation. Thems the breaks

[kinwolf]

The Combat Manuals were expensive to make.  They had enough sales, they didn't lose money.  But there's always an opportunity cost.  If the Box Set can't get reprinted because of a Combat Manual printing, that's a bad choice of priorities, the Box Set is needed more. 1. They make more money and 2. The Box Sets are priority in expanding the player base.
But that's why now is a good time to bring them up. At this point, the sculptors are the ones now with the next who knows who long tied up with the work they are commited to. Meanwhile the Combat Manual team is ready to go to work...  We have a lot of new/returning players that might want to have some guidelines on how to make a force with all their pretty, giant, stompy robots.

It make sense now.  Thanks for the insight  :)

[Lyran Wolf]

Well finally got home so I could join the party. Some of those higher tiers are tempting me something fierce, but at this point I think I will wait to expand the collection through the FLGS. Made sure to pledge enough for the ones I absolutely "must" have, then we can go from there over the next few years.

Hopefully when these are sent out for full release they can stay stocked on a regular basis.

On a side note can we have a stretch goal that speeds up the release of IlClan  ;) 
Edit: I know it's a bit beyond the clan invasion timeframe, but I can hope right?

[nckestrel]

It make sense now.  Thanks for the insight  :)

I should include a disclaimer.  I was on the Combat Manual development team, but I'm not in the discussion with the people when decisions are made on which books to make/not make.  I just hear the answer afterwards and sometimes get a bit of explanation.  So I have not seen the amounts sold/costs to make. 
But it's definitely not purely a "they lost money", while the amount of money was clearly an issue.

[Maingunnery]

No. We will see a few more, but not all, no.

Please, I feel that the last few packs should really be used for Mechs that are very iconic for the era (having been in PC games), such as:
Clan: Stone Rhino, Grizzly, Jenner IIC, Clint IIC, Rifleman IIC, Phantom, Linebacker, Hellhound
IS: Bushwacker, Mauler, Raven, Hollander, Owens, Strider, Avatar, Sunder



ps. Concerning the massive list of names, an relatively simple solution (for the low canon levels) would be to use those names for an complete TO&E of all the Clans in 3049, this would also be a good campaign resource.

ps2. If the combat manuals are completed, then I would rather see it as one big document instead of having it divided between the houses.

[Scotty]

Phonebook are incredibly limiting and I'm not at all sad TPTB stopped putting out definitive lists of who had what.  The number of "Jade Falcon didn't have any of X or Y design during Z era so you can't use them" arguments dropped precipitously once we were past their specific timestamp.

Don't bring that back.

[Maingunnery]

Phonebook are incredibly limiting and I'm not at all sad TPTB stopped putting out definitive lists of who had what.  The number of "Jade Falcon didn't have any of X or Y design during Z era so you can't use them" arguments dropped precipitously once we were past their specific timestamp.

Don't bring that back.

An misunderstanding, I meant just Mechwarriors, not defining their 'Mechs at that time. 

[Talen5000]

FIRST - This is Me as NeonKnight, a Player, not NeonKnight the Demo Agent BEAMER!


If we look at the current levels:

Star Colonel Canon
Galaxy level Canon
Khan Level Canon
Kerensky Level Canon



That's 4 different levels of canonicity. The Star Colonel level is the lowest, and you get to name a Canon Character who will appear in a source book or fiction. I.E.:

Kerensky strode across the tarmac where he saw two mech tech's; Backer 1 and Backer 2 arguing over how many rounds Backer 3 wanted mounted in their mech. He shook his head as he continued past, knowing the two would never reach a concensus.

There...that's 3 of the Star Colonels done

At Galaxy level, you get a picture as well, so maybe one of the new pilot cards? Maybe a noted pilot in a future TRO?

At Khan and Kerensky level, even more defined and I can't even begin to speculate.

But again, these are my guesses. AdrianGideon could come in here and slap me down with a big ol -NOPE!

Won't know until it is fully spelled out.

Interesting...
I was thinking a Character Compendium book; so long as the bios were of sufficient quality and of limited in game impact, your character would be canonised via a page in a 64 page (more? less?) e-book, where Galaxy Commanders and/or Khans were canonised with their picture and bio. Khans woud get a page, GCs -  half a page.

Probably not workable though.

Your idea seems viable though. Problem is - doesn't the pilot cards have some sort of small bio?

[Sartris]

they would have to do a premium type with a back side rather than a second pilot card. not out of the realm of possibility, but not as efficient as their current setup.

[Papabees]

I'd like to see some stretch goals that increase the number of mechs received of those already unlocked. Pleases the backers but costs CGL less money than creating new ones. FREX, double the 5 starter mechs in the Clan boxed set. Not for retail boxes but just backers. Gives incentive for people to pledge now.

[Doom]

The Combat Manuals were expensive to make.  They had enough sales, they didn't lose money.  But there's always an opportunity cost.  If the Box Set can't get reprinted because of a Combat Manual printing, that's a bad choice of priorities, the Box Set is needed more. 1. They make more money and 2. The Box Sets are priority in expanding the player base.
But that's why now is a good time to bring them up. At this point, the sculptors are the ones now with the next who knows who long tied up with the work they are commited to. Meanwhile the Combat Manual team is ready to go to work...  We have a lot of new/returning players that might want to have some guidelines on how to make a force with all their pretty, giant, stompy robots.

Using all the new names from this Kickstarter as the notable pilots in the Combat Manuals would be a simple way to take care of a lot of players while they wait for their minis and box sets to arrive. :)

[PyreLight]

How much will the Mechwarrior: Legends hardback cost? The add-on picture needs to be updated