Anything that might be of interest to me?

[DK5]

Hi, I haven't followed Battletech for a very long time now, but the new computer games announced have caught my eye, and I've just taken another look what's going on around here. There's so much stuff going on in fact, that it's actually a little confusing\overwhelming. I never played the board game or anything, as I don't think it was very big in my country, but I used to read some of the books and played the computer games. I think I've pretty much got all the computer going back to Mechwarrior 2, so I suppose it's a case of books. I don't know if there are any new novels out or anything? I actually missed a lot of the older ones before I think what was the Clan invasion, and I've seen a few ebook versions, but it seems a little haphazard as to what's available, so I don't know if it's just select republications or whether the whole back catalogue is available now?

I've tried to do some Googling, but there seems to be so many different things that it's a bit confusing for me, so I appreciate any little hints as to what might be good for me to look at. My knowledge base of it all pretty much stems from 1) my first introduction via that animated series as a kid (which I still have a soft spot for, despite hearing people saying it's so awful!) 2) the computer games, and 3) some of the later books before it got turned into Mechwarrior Dark Age.

Cheers.

[Southern Coyote]

First off, welcome to the boards.

Yeah, getting into Battletech can be disorienting.  The universe is pretty large, with lots of factions and a long time-line. 

You said you're familiar with the cartoon, so I would suggest you start with the Clan Invasion.  Some books to look at would TRO3050U, Era Report: 3052 which can be found here: http://www.battlecorps.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=27.

You're also going to want Total Warfare, the core rulebook: http://www.battlecorps.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=27_178.

As for the novels, there aren't any more in production.  The best thing I can suggest is looking at the ePubs on Battleshop and seeing what jumps out to you.  You could also check eBay.

As for minis, IWM has some great mech pack deals: http://ironwindmetals.com/store/index.php?cPath=16_44_260_339&osCsid=370434d1e143f81ba756d67f757ee2c9.  They were grouped according to Era Reports, so it might give you a good base to build on as well. 

Other, more experienced players will probably come along and give you much more in-depth and useful advice.  But I hope this helps some.  Good luck!

[martian]

You may look here:

http://bg.battletech.com/?page_id=400

Official website offering this:

Where Do I Jump In?

There are four primary ways in which people enjoy the BattleTech universe.

    1. As a board game (whether on hexes or 3D terrain)
    2. As a reader of fiction
    3. As a roleplaying game (RPG)
    4. As a computer game

[DK5]

Many thanks for your help, that's just what I need. That last link was staring me right in the face and I competely missed it.

[martian]

Many thanks for your help, that's just what I need. That last link was staring me right in the face and I competely missed it.

Any time you will need assistance, just ask here.