ScrapYard Armory

Day two is in the books and it was a busy one.  I started the day at the two BattleTech seminars in the Marriott before spending more time in the exhibitor hall taking in the sights and getting demos when my curiosity was properly piqued.

I spoke with the Iron Wind Metals guys for a bit.  The smaller BattleForce Mechs are indeed going to be for sale sometime in 2011.  There are a few more sculpts being made to fill out the line before being offered up.

What’s Up with Catalyst and BattleTech

First up, Loren Colman took the floor and dealt with the elephant in the room.  There are lots of rumors flying around but it is not the intent of these seminars to confirm or deny rumors or missinformation.  Yes the company is having problems.  Problems they are dealing with.  They would much rather spend their time focusing on what is important, the fans and the game.

Topps is in fact flying in to GenCon to spend time with Catalyst and is in talks for a long term licensing deal.

On BattleTech:

The box set missed GenCon but as Brent the Art Director pointed out, “For what is worth, it’s not our fault.”  To which Randall had to add.

I’ve never wanted to punch a baby seal doll more in my life. -RB

That said, the box set is due in the fall.  A Time if War is due in the winter (December).  Era Report 3052 will be a sourcebook with roleplay support.  Moving into 2011 we are looking at two Jihad books, Reckoning and field manual 3085.  Reckoning will cover the founding of the Republic as well as Word of Blake weapons and systems that were not widely deployed and/or kept under wraps after the war.

2011 will also see the Liao Handbook, Interstellar Ops, the Clan Box Set, and Historical: Reunification War.

There was little revealed about the War of Reaving or the Ares class BattleMech.  That said, there was ample innuendo that after the Jihad wraps up, the Clan Homeworlds would be due for some attention.

One interesting note is the fact that the Starterbook line did not do as well as was hoped.  Future releases if any would most likely be a PDF release only.

On Leviathans:

It’s a cool game and Catalyst wants to be a cool company that makes cool stuff.  There is no release date yet.  Catalyst wants to make the box set the biggest and baddest box set they have ever produced.  That would make for a price point around $80-100 which is roughly on par with the biggest from companies like Fantasy Flight Games.

That could all fall through if they can’t make it all fit in that price package but they are striving for it.

Here are some fun quotes, paraphrased of course.

Herb is the Line Developer for BattleTech when I let him. – RB

Ergo, it’s like a BattleTech rules debate. -HB

Painting Contest

Here are the BattleTech entries I saw in the painting display yesterday.  No doubt they are from some of the best at CamoSpecs.  Lets wish them the best as the compete against the field in the Machines of War category.

Late Night Quick Strike

Late at night what else is there to do but bash ‘Mechs in an impromptu Quick Strike battle with the Camo Specs artists and a few battalions of our nearest and dearest ‘Mechs.  We were looking at around 50% casualties after the second turn and at the end there were far more broken ‘Mech carcasses than there were active.  It was a lot of fun and I hope that QuickStrike makes it into the official schedule next year.

Other Games

I can’t write about everything I do and see in the exhibitor hall but here are a few highlights.  I wanted to get into a few others but crowds made it impossible to squeeze into a demo.  I have two more days to get those in and I expect I’ll get my chance eventually.

AE-WWII

I took a quick demo to try out this game.  It features a D6 system similar to WH40K. Roll to hit, roll to save.  The miniatures look great and stat cards are not official but fans have found ways to make their own.  Not a bad game but I felt it lacked a hook to make it unique and interesting.

Castle Panic

Not every game has to be a dark and scary theme.  This light hearted co-op board game has you protecting the castle from a swarm of orcs, goblins and other monsters intent on sacking and pillaging.  The board is divided into rings and colors.  The players will take their turns using their hand to attack specific locations on the board to keep the monsters away.  You can also repair walls and fortify defenses if you fall behind.  A very interesting game and fun too.  Not for everyone but this is one you can bring home for younger children.

Balance of Power

Balance of Power has super simple rules with very complex strategy.  There are three kinds of pieces; bankers, generals, and kings.  On your turn you can move or duplicate.  You gain points for taking over territories.  But you can only move one of each type of piece and you can’t have more than three units per territory.  My brain is spinning at the possibilities of this game.  When it comes out, it is sure to win over some fans.

Last Night on Earth

This zombie board game has been out for a while but I’ve never played it before.  They also had a martian invader themed addition which will be compatible with the original.  Long story short the zombies ate us in short order but we had fun splattering what brains we could.  A fun game and a worthy addition to a zombie fans board game library.

M.E.R.C.S Take Two

I did another game of M.E.R.C.S because I enjoyed it so much the first time.  We incorporated some advanced rules like bounding (coordinated move-fire actions to cover more ground than normal) and played two complete games in the time allowed.  Each faction won one game which I think is good news for game balance.

One of the most important features I saw was that an individual initiative system with over 10 figures on the board will work.

All The Rest

Conventions are awesome…