22 replies to this topic

[Canniballistic]

As the title says but specificly, would someone explain what the BattleTech books are used/needed for in the game, ie. Source Books, Technical Read-Outs, Record Sheets, etc. and what the core essentials you need to have in order to play a game are.

From what I can gather and what I know of 40k, I see that aside from models and a hex-map, one needs the BattleTech: Total Warfare and BattleTech: Tech Manual books.

Are there any other core necessities?



Note: Please leave out any abbreviations and make no assumtions, that way the thread can be clear enough for others who may not have any underlying knowledge of table-top games or BattleTech to get into the game aswell.

[Tuhalu]

The Tech Manual is an optional book. It has some lore and it has the rules for creating your own mechs from scratch. To play, this is not necessary. Most players use the battlemechs in the Technical Readouts and Record Sheet Books instead.

Catalyst (who sell the books) seems to agree and they have a guide to which products to get to start on their website.

Have fun!

[Randal Waide]

The boxed set is great for new players to learn. Has 24 decent plastic mechs. (2 companies) Inner Sphere only.

[CPUuser123]

Yea all you need is the boxed set. I was just able to get a 25th anniverary intro box and its loaded with everything you need. Catalyst is transforming the game to a digital format. So if you want to expand your horizons beyond the box set, youll need the total warfare rule book which is hardcopy, then can download the technical readouts, and now their corresponding pre-made mech sheets, in PDF form for cheap.

[Munkerz]

You can also buy Total Warfare in PDF format from either drivethrustuff.com or battlecorps.com
Though, it is over 300 pages with a heavy imaging, so printing won't be a friendly experience.

[Canniballistic]

Randal Waide, on 03 March 2012 - 08:12 PM, said:

The boxed set is great for new players to learn. Has 24 decent plastic mechs. (2 companies) Inner Sphere only.

From what I've heard the minis in the box set aren't very good.
Most people who speak on the matter seem to agree its simply better to buy what you want in pewter models from Iron Winds.

CPUuser123, on 04 March 2012 - 11:03 AM, said:

Yea all you need is the boxed set. I was just able to get a 25th anniverary intro box and its loaded with everything you need. Catalyst is transforming the game to a digital format. So if you want to expand your horizons beyond the box set, youll need the total warfare rule book which is hardcopy, then can download the technical readouts, and now their corresponding pre-made mech sheets, in PDF form for cheap.

The box set if I'm not mistaken only contains the record sheets for the mechs that come with it and the rules that come with it don't seem to be the full rules (from what I know the Total Warfare book is the complete, unabridged rules) judging by the apparent sizes.

One of the things I'm having trouble understanding is, with technical read-outs, if you get a later year book like for example "Technical Readout: 3085" does it act as simply an updated book and still list the previous mechs and their variants from the older books or is each book unique or do they update variants and add new mechs while removing variants/mechs that no longer fit with the timeline?
Also on the note of the Technical Readouts; do they contain record sheets in order to use the mechs therein or would you need to buy the corresponding Record Sheet book for the same year as the Technical Readout you purchase?

Munkerz, on 04 March 2012 - 11:14 AM, said:

You can also buy Total Warfare in PDF format from either drivethrustuff.com or battlecorps.com
Though, it is over 300 pages with a heavy imaging, so printing won't be a friendly experience.

Personally I find PDF's more convienient and I dont feel the need to pay twice as much + shipping just to have a physical object so its not an issue for me and its great that they give you the option.

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Thanks to everyone for the replies and keep the great info coming. =)

[Sidney]

For Battletech you need:

- A map sheet. These can be found in the box set, map packs that you can purchase, made (Purchase an empty third party hex sheet and fill it in yourself) or printed using 'Heavy Metal Map', a software program you can buy (There's probably third party free software you can get as well)

- Counters to represent the 'mech. While most pictures of the game have people using minis, anything that fits in a hex and can show which direction the 'mech is facing- I've run games with pocket change. The box set comes with minis, while the older sets come with cardboard cutouts. You can also get free cutouts from the 'Quick start rules' for free off the Battletech website.

- A pair of six sided dice (Like Monopoly includes)

- Record sheets. Official ones can be bought in books (or PDFs of the books) from the site. You can also buy Heavy Metal Pro, or use the free Solaris Skunk Werks

- A knowledge of the rules you're playing by.

* Quickstart Rules: These are free to get a taste of the game. They cut out things like heat and critical hits (two staples of the game in my opinion) to speed up gameplay and make things easier to learn if you've never played the game before.

* Introduction Rules: These are included with the box sets. It's the old 'Level 1' rules, which are essentially the 'basic' rules from when the game was first released. No advanced technologies- and much less focus on vehicles and infantry

* Tournament Rules: These rules are completely covered in the 'Total Warfare' book. Includes things like Urban combat (buildings), vehicles (VTOLs, tanks, cars, hovercraft etc.), Aerospace fighters (Originally a separate game called 'Aerotech'), infantry (Both unarmoured and battle armours), Protomechs, etc. Technology goes from Introduction all the way up to the modern era

* Advanced Rules: Artillery, fire, smoke, advanced and experimental technologies, unique planetary conditions (Extreme temperatures, weather, acid, lava, snow, quicksand etc.) as well as things such as glancing hits, expanded critical hit rules, unique pilot quirks, moral etc. etc. Most of these rules are covered in "Tactical Operations"

The "Techmanual" is a book solely dedicated to creating your own units, and is not needed to play whatsover.

If you have a printer, a pair of dice, and scissors everything you'll need to play the game with the 'Quickstart Rules' can be found in the PDF on their website here

[Randal Waide]

Canniballistic, on 04 March 2012 - 01:03 PM, said:

From what I've heard the minis in the box set aren't very good.
Most people who speak on the matter seem to agree its simply better to buy what you want in pewter models from Iron Winds.


The box set if I'm not mistaken only contains the record sheets for the mechs that come with it and the rules that come with it don't seem to be the full rules (from what I know the Total Warfare book is the complete, unabridged rules) judging by the apparent sizes.

One of the things I'm having trouble understanding is, with technical read-outs, if you get a later year book like for example "Technical Readout: 3085" does it act as simply an updated book and still list the previous mechs and their variants from the older books or is each book unique or do they update variants and add new mechs while removing variants/mechs that no longer fit with the timeline?
Also on the note of the Technical Readouts; do they contain record sheets in order to use the mechs therein or would you need to buy the corresponding Record Sheet book for the same year as the Technical Readout you purchase?



Personally I find PDF's more convienient and I dont feel the need to pay twice as much + shipping just to have a physical object so its not an issue for me and its great that they give you the option.

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Thanks to everyone for the replies and keep the great info coming. =)

No they aren't the quality of the pewter, but are good for learning, and will save some change until you cand get the pewter. I painted up both of mine and mixed them in with a couple of my companies. They are passable.

[Munkerz]

Canniballistic, on 04 March 2012 - 01:03 PM, said:

Personally I find PDF's more convienient and I dont feel the need to pay twice as much + shipping just to have a physical object so its not an issue for me and its great that they give you the option.

Oh I definitely agree, actually obtaining the rules in PDF format is so much easier and cheaper. But I don't have a tablet, nor do I play near my computer, so the best I can do is run it on my android (a little too small for my liking); I bought the hardback a few days later. But this is just me.

[SMDMadCow]

Canniballistic, on 04 March 2012 - 01:03 PM, said:

One of the things I'm having trouble understanding is, with technical read-outs, if you get a later year book like for example "Technical Readout: 3085" does it act as simply an updated book and still list the previous mechs and their variants from the older books or is each book unique or do they update variants and add new mechs while removing variants/mechs that no longer fit with the timeline?
Also on the note of the Technical Readouts; do they contain record sheets in order to use the mechs therein or would you need to buy the corresponding Record Sheet book for the same year as the Technical Readout you purchase?

The TROs are their own separate animals, each having different mechs for the in game years around their "publication". They dont include record sheets per se, but include all the information for the main variant of the mech for you to write into a blank record sheet.

[TheRulesLawyer]

Munkerz, on 05 March 2012 - 09:43 AM, said:

Oh I definitely agree, actually obtaining the rules in PDF format is so much easier and cheaper. But I don't have a tablet, nor do I play near my computer, so the best I can do is run it on my android (a little too small for my liking); I bought the hardback a few days later. But this is just me.

I can't wait for the day a good color e-ink reader comes out. I love the ease of buying and storing PDF books. I love that they are searchable. I don't like being tethered to a device that can't only live a couple hours away from an outlet. However we're getting closer to these being available.

[Canniballistic]

SMDMadCow, on 05 March 2012 - 12:11 PM, said:

The TROs are their own separate animals, each having different mechs for the in game years around their "publication". They dont include record sheets per se, but include all the information for the main variant of the mech for you to write into a blank record sheet.

I ended up buying Total Warfare and the 3085 Technical Readout and after looking through the Readout and back at what else is available, I understand now that the read out (at least for this one) is seperated into sections with all the background and technical info but nothing you can use to play, but those sections each have purchasable record sheets.

The game looks realy great and with the extra rule books its obvious how epic the game could become.

So it seems its "mystery solved" $40 later.

[Youngblood]

Definitely see if you can find a few BattleTech veterans to play with in your area. I know there are more than a few minor communities of those guys down under. They most certainly can help you apply the products you've bought into actual tabletop gameplay.

[wwiiogre]

25th anniversary introductory box, 26 models, rules, maps around $50 US. Then if you want to get into the game then spend money on other stuff like the new hardbound books, nice but not necessary. Buy some map packs, I have the two that have been released and they are nice but not necessary. I have been buying up metal mechs that fit the timeline we use, mostly 3025 to 3049. No clan yet, my campaign amazingly started in 3048. The one I play in started in 3039 with real time of one week equaling one month of game time. So we are cruising towards clan time as well in that one.

chris

Edited by wwiiogre, 09 March 2012 - 06:23 PM.

[JackCrow]

Canniballistic, on 06 March 2012 - 01:43 AM, said:

I ended up buying Total Warfare and the 3085 Technical Readout and after looking through the Readout and back at what else is available, I understand now that the read out (at least for this one) is seperated into sections with all the background and technical info but nothing you can use to play, but those sections each have purchasable record sheets.

The game looks realy great and with the extra rule books its obvious how epic the game could become.

So it seems its "mystery solved" $40 later.

I'll put another plug in for the introductory box set. I am also very new to tabletop bt, but not new to the universe. At first I though the plastic minis were a joke, but once I get into the thick of a battle it isn't a concern. I think that the selection of mechs they offer are great, they ar vanilla but at the same time they seem to be a great place to start. In my very uninformed opinion, it seems like you need to learn the basics of each weapon type. And the box has everything you need to do that.

The maps are great, and the quick reference cards that come with are great as well. For fifty bucks, it is an incredible value.

I also bought Total Warfare and Heavy Metal Pro, but I haven't needed either yet. Myself and three friends that have all been hooked this have played every weekend and we haven't yet exhausted the scenarios in the box. Yeah, we are noobs, but we are having a ton of fun. We're at the point now where we are talking about taking the next step.

[Pht]

These days, I would reccomend that people start by using Megamek ... it will give people a good taste for how the game plays, and if you pay attention to the rolls and readouts between turns, you can learn a lot.

Best of all, it's free, so you can be using it while you order the Box set, which is what I would start with, and probably it's best to use the quick start rules included in the box set right at the beginning... also, get the Record Sheets for the Technical readout 3039. Than, get Total Warfare... yes, it's huge, no, you don't have to digest and memorize it all, just start into it slowly; after a while you should have a pretty good grasp of the base system by reading and re-reading it.

After you feel comfortable and know your way around this stuff, I'd personally say, get the rest of the core rule books - techmanual, tactical operations, strategic operations. Than... I'd say, get into the Technical Readouts and the Record sheets.

After that? Whatever you want! Though I'll point out that the house and clan sourecbooks are full of universe info/backdrop, if you're into that kind of stuff. Field manual:Updates would also be desireable, it's full of info.

And don't forget solaris skunk werks, if you're interested in the nuts and bolts of customizing/building mechs for the tabletop.

Edited by Pht, 11 March 2012 - 12:35 PM.

[ice trey]

Well, for anyone just getting their toes wet for this game, I ALWAYS recommend the Battletech Introductory Box Set. You get all of the basics. Maps, Abridged rules, a bunch of 3025 'mechs, Dice... Most everything you'll need to just pick up and go. Besides that, it makes a good starting point, allowing the other products you buy expand off of your core base of gear.
The newest version - 25th anniversary box set.


And the prior version. The rules are the same, the quality of the maps are just a little worse and it doesn't come with the premium figures. Still more than enough to get you going.





ONCE YOU'VE ALREADY GOT THAT BOXED SET AND WANT TO GET INTO THE FULL RULES
You will need to pick up a few other things. Some things are mandatory, others optional.

Mandatory: Total Warfare (Core book)

This is the book with the rules of play. You'll need this to play with the full rules of the game. Some people prefer PDF format on a laptop or tablet, some people prefer the dead tree format. Either way, this is the rulebook you'll need to play. You'll notice it looks very similar to the Introductory boxed set. There will be a few changes from the rules in the introbox to the tournament rules, but these are very minor (Ex: You CAN shoot underwater in tournament rules under certain conditions, whereas the introbox doesn't support it at all).



Assuming that you've got the intro box, you will not need these per say, but they will make a great expansion on your games:

Mapsheets and/or Hexpacks

These give you new landscapes to fight on, such as deserts, mountains, cities, forests, and lunar areas. Certain mapsheets even come with arenas to fight in. The differences between the two are that with Mapsheets, you get many maps of different kinds (I suggest to any new player to look for "Mapsheet Compilation 1", which contains many staple maps that any new player should have. HOWEVER, Mapsheets are no longer in print, but they can still be easily found circulating with distributors, the internet, and some conventions. What is in print are the Hexpacks. These come with only one double-sided map (With different maps on each side), but also contain many hexagon tiles for use with maps (Mapsheets and the cardboard maps in Hexpacks are compatible in scale) which allow you to expand on existing maps. I highly recommend the Cities and Roads packs, and the soon to arrive Mountains and Valleys should be good as well. Just note that lakes and rivers can (forgive the pun) bog the game down. Trudging through lakes can be risky and many players tend to avoid the wet.


Record Sheets: I *HIGHLY* suggest the PDF versions, especially the "Unabridged" series, over buying the in-print version. Buying them in PDF format means that you can print off record sheets from the comfort of your house. Print versions of the product require photocopying or destroying your books. Hardly worth it.
Many people prefer using 'mech maker programs available online, like the official (but horribly outdated) Heavy Metal Pro, or the more popular Freeware Solaris Skunk Werks. The only downside to the latter being that, while most if not all 'mechs are already available for it, it doesn't support vehicles or Battle Armor. That's where I find the Unabridged Record Sheets PDF files shine - they contain every 'mech variant, vehicle variant, and whatever else can be found in the given Technical Readout booklet.


Miniatures

While you don't need these per say, they are nice to have. Iron WInd Metals makes them, but you can also find some 3rd party distributors carrying miniatures, and often at a better price. Some folks don't like to have to pay for miniatures, and use proxies or paper cut-outs instead. That's fine, but just make sure that there is a clearly defined facing on the proxies. Battletech logs the facing of units, so any disputable facing on a playing piece is a bad idea.


Lastly, while it's not required at all for the game, I would suggest you look at the Technical Readouts series of books.

There's a bit of crunch in there, but most of all, it gives images and flavor text for all the 'mechs, tanks, and whatever else that becomes available in a given era of the canon. For example, since the game starts around 3025-3039, you can expect most of what you find therein to be available in the canon during that time period. As you move up (3050; 3055; 3058; so on and forth), more new technologies and designs become available to the different factions, and these books let you read up on their history, their uses, and who uses them. If you are starting from scratch, TRO 3039 (image) is a GREAT deal. The artwork is really dated, but you get a *LOT* of stuff in there. They pretty much compiled two technical readouts worth of materials (TRO 3025, 3026) and shoved them all into one big book. I highly recommend it to any new player getting their toes wet with the universe. Don't forget that even further down in the canon, many of these older designs are still being used, and some are even better than their later counterparts.

Some people like to tinker with the game and make their own units. Even if you don't plan to, it's good to have this, if only for the table in the back that shows you how to adjust your Battle Value for your 'mechs by tweaking the pilot skills - allowing you to balance forces differently. In which case, you'll want Techmanual.

HOWEVER - keep in mind that especially when it comes to pickup games, be careful about bringing custom-made designs to the table. Many of us are skeptics about this. Canon 'mechs are not optimized. They're not bad, but they're not great either. Many players who get into the 'mech customization try to win before they come to the table, crunching out 'mechs with the best gear possible, placed in the perfect way, so that they have a huge advantage over the other player if the other guy brought canon designs (especially if the other player is random-rolling his stuff). If you want to use custom designs, please talk to the other player well in advance and discuss whether or not they're alright with custom 'mechs - otherwise it would be like fishing with dynamite, and a game of battletech is supposed to be mutually fun for both players, and spending four hours getting your rump handed to you for four hours only because the guy came with optimized gear to face your run-of-the-mill gear is not something that is fun.

Edited by ice trey, 11 March 2012 - 03:08 PM.

[stabwest]

Don't get me wrong, all of suggestions made so far are great, but technically all you "need" to play is some paper, pencils, 2 6-sided dice, and a great imagination, everything else is optional. All of the rules and resources can be found online, usually for free. Having a good quality printer might help also unless you enjoy handdrawing hex maps and hand writing out all your mech spec sheets.

Edited by stabwest, 11 March 2012 - 03:41 PM.

[ice trey]

stabwest, on 11 March 2012 - 03:40 PM, said:

Don't get me wrong, all of suggestions made so far are great, but technically all you "need" to play is some paper, pencils, 2 6-sided dice, and a great imagination, everything else is optional. All of the rules and resources can be found online, usually for free. Having a good quality printer might help also unless you enjoy handdrawing hex maps and hand writing out all your mech spec sheets.

I suppose.

But most people that hear that usually scrunch up their noses at the thought of not having professional grade stuff. While some people like being able to play for free, most just want to play with published materials, but without breaking the bank to do so. I started with the minimum at one time - the introbox wasn't in print or readily available when I first got into the game. Still, I noticed something.

Using the free Quickstart rules and paper standies printed in Black and White, very few people would ever want to try it.

Later, I got mapsheets, but still used paper standies, nobody beyond my one friend that I played the quickstart rules with wanted to give it a chance.

Further on, I got the unpainted plastics from the introbox and tried running the game with those. Many people turned their noses up at it, but some gave it a chance.

I ended up caving and painting my miniatures up. Suddenly, people would stop and watch me play the game. They picked up my miniatures. They let me teach them the game or talk to them a bit about it.

Last month, I ran a demo game to demonstrate the boxed set with it's contents. Meanwhile, other demo team members demonstrated a custom made photoshopped 4X6' map with pewter miniatures from all eras in a demo game. While some people stopped and played my game, the other guys stole the show, with people being wowed by that custom made map.

While there are a handful of people that want to play a game for absolutely free and not go to the store, I think a lot of us just want to know that we can buy the game, but don't have to give up our life savings to buy in or to be competitive.

The desire for a "Free" is very popular with RPGs, I find (as GMs do the buying, and players are often just there to kill things and eat snacks), but with boardgames and wargames, players tend to expect and want to buy something that they can make their own, and have things that look like they're good quality. Even if the game is spectacular, if people think it looks bad, they'll often ignore it.

Edited by ice trey, 11 March 2012 - 03:54 PM.

[Czechu_NS]

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Czechu NS, on 14 August 2012 - 11:06 AM, said:

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