ScrapYard Armory

Preliminary Update with Pictures of the Diorama – Full update likely in the AM on Friday

We are here in Indy for GenCon 2009.  We are excited as ever to get in some great games and have a glance at what Catalyst has to offer the many BattleTech denizens in attendance.

What Would You Like To See?

With the official opening in sight, I want to know from you, the readers who cannot be here, what you want to see and hear from GenCon.  What pictures are you dying to see?  What questions would you like to have asked?  I’m open to any and all suggestions and will have camera in tow to capture all the best that GenCon has to offer.

Before there was GenCon there was Urbie-Lord 3

Before the official start of GenCon madness, we made a trip out to the Game Preserve just north of downtown for a free for all battle with nothing but UrbanMechs.  This is the third time Catalyst Demo Agent “Mattlov” has hosted the event on the day before GenCon.  I was impressed with the setup and the many well painted UrbanMechs that graced the tabletop.

So what exactly happens when you put 17 identical custom built UrbanMechs with Mechanical Jump Boosters, Retractable Blades, a Snub Nose PPC, four Magshot Gauss Rifles, far too few heat sinks to use it all, Triple Strength Myomer, and Tac Ops power-ups?  Absolute hilarity.

At the end of the game, there were ten confirmed kills by actual players.  Gravity came out on top, being responsible for three deaths alone and even a dreaded Stackpole.  However, even when going super critical, a mighty 60XL engine can barely spook nearby squirrels.

Three DFAs were attempted with only a single success. (house rules were in effect to allow DFAs with Mechanical Jump Boosters because we could)

Final honors would go to “Vax Davion” for his impressive performance (being one of only a few players who lived the entire game, had at least one kill, and managed to wow the crowd with style points to boot).

GenCon 2009 is almost upon us.  For those of you going, I’ll be seeing you in Indy.  For those of you not able to make it, I’ll be posting plenty of pictures and stories.

For those on your way, I’ve compiled a list of BattleTech related vendors who you have to pay a visit to in the dealer room.  The next best thing to do in Indy besides the games has always been the sprawling dealer room with every possible type of merchandise available for you to buy.

Catalyst Game Labs / Iron Wind Metals (803 & 911)

Obvious right?  It makes the list by default.  Watch for whatever Catalyst pushes out for the Con, including dead tree Strategic Operations, 25 Years of Art and Fiction and possibly some other super secret releases.  Visit the Iron Wind booth for your metal crack needs.  Keep your eyes peeled for archived ‘Mechs, vehicles, battlearmor and protomechs that you would not otherwise be able to buy so easily.  They also usually have a hearty stack of Fighting Pirrahna Graphics decals available.

Acheson Creations (1735)

Look for their $0.50 bucket of resin cast terrain.  There are several that are highly suitable for BattleTech games.  And for $0.50 everyone can afford to add a few to their collections.

Armorcast (313)

Armorcast offers many fine terrain pieces suitable for BattleTech.  The real reason I’m going is to pick up some cinematic effects.  Their muzzle flash series would be perfect for BattleTech miniatures.  Many CamoSpecs artists are confirmed customers of this innovative and well detailed accessory.

Chessex (117, 1015, & 1621)

Every die you could ever need offered à la carte.  Every BattleTech player worth his salt should be able to determine all 6 locations for a Streak SRM-6 in one throw.  Make it reality without having to buy bricks upon bricks to get all the different colors you need.

Fat Dragon Games (1404)

Makers of fine paper terrain.  I’m going to pay them a visit just to see the quality of their Mecha Terrain set.  If it is everything I’ve heard I may end up picking up the pack.

Crazy Egor (1722)

A legend in the gaming world (at least in mine), Crazy Egor’s is a great place to dig for old out of print games.  Every Con has a different selection so it’s always good to check them out for a gem in the rough.

Opening Fiction

“Heaven’s Door” continues the Turning Point theme of desperation against all odds.  Death is knocking at the door and despite knowing that the end is very near you can’t help but root for them.  At least there is a little satisfaction in knowing some Blakist bastards kicked the bucket alongside the damned.

Sian

Sian is pictured as a lush jungle environment with carefully regulated industry, farming, and social castes to boot.  The tables and maps follow prior Turning Point releases and are fantastic.  I am currently having trouble with cramped text on the map using OSX but not on Windows XP.  Any Apple fans out there have a solution? [edit: see comments for solution]

Combatants

As I assume some would expect, the Liao combatants section is a frustrating two page read.  Exactly who is on what side?  There is friendly fire, betrayal, and suicidal headhunter missions galore.  Could there be any more fitting way to fight on Sian?

Death Commandos have an odd way of showing up unannounced to the horror of Word employed mercenaries.  The commandos have been given some absurd special abilities for tabletop play.  Very cool to see this mysterious unit fleshed out with abilities.

The Tracks

My favorite section in the series of a campaign system I love and support.  Will Sian uplift or disappoint?

There are five tracks included in Sian; on target with New Avalon but not up to the bar set by Luthien and Tharkad.  Each track is also very expensive.  Not a single track is under 600 Warchest points.  The majority push 1,000 points to enter, similar to Tharkad.  These tracks are decidedly for the more experienced commands out there.

While the objectives and most optional bonuses at first blush seem mundane, the tracks are saved by the unique and quirky special rules (as well as a few bonuses) that accompany each track.  Optional bonuses like Artillery strike Live Fire Training, and Command Posts breath life into the mission and make my mind wander thinking of ways for a force to take on the challenges.  I am impressed with the quality of the tracks, by far the best of the Turning Points so far.

Record Sheets

The Battlemech record sheets feature three new unique variants featured in the tracks and combatants fiction.  Cataphract Naomi is a utility heavy ‘Mech that reminds me of other Battlemechs that try to do too much and thus nothing well.  Jinggau Rush is a beast of a machine bristling with experimental tech including a Sniper Artillery Cannon.  Someone will be having fun with this design on the battlefield!  Finishing up the ‘Mechs is a Blakist Seraph that carries a massive Thunderbolt 20 and assorted energy weapons for backup.  A scary design considering the massive armor loadout and C3i.

Sian is another Aerospace lovers wet dream.  Updated record sheets for no less than five warships are included.

Planetary Assault Map

We are still waiting for assault rules but when they come, there will be invasion a plenty using these maps.  Very good work as we have come to expect in the Turning Points series.

For the excellent tracks this is a must buy.  Also a must buy if you are a Warship aficionado.  For others who may only be looking for the fiction and the nuggets of factual Jihad information in the sea of Jihad Hot Spot innuendo and propaganda you might as well.  It’s only $5 right?

The 68th Royals are a fan faction created by HaasWerks, a local artist and miniature war gamer.  I had the pleasure of taking these miniatures under my brush to add a bit of flare and highlights to them.  I hope that their owner is pleased with my end result even though I do not believe my highlights came out exactly as I would have liked.  It’s a hard thing to do when you did not put down the base coats yourself.  Color matching is a tricky business.

The picture above is the old 68th Royals as I received them.  Below are the improved paint jobs.

The additional (and subtle) highlights are a mix of Liche Purple and Bone White. I added a bit of extra Blood Red highlights as well.  The cockpits are done in a fade of Stormy Blue to Magic Blue to Electric Blue with the usual white dots in the right places.

I have at least one more item from HassWerks that I plan on showing soon.  All I’m saying for now is that HaasWerks is also an excellent sculptor.  Stay tuned!

Posted under Minis

Big news for miniature lovers within the BattleTech faithful.  Iron Wind Metals for the first time will be sponsoring a BattleTech Miniature Painting Contest at GenCon this year.  Special prizes will be given to first through third best miniatures.

This Makes Sense on So Many Levels

How so?  In the machines of war category last year, the top two spots were taken by CamoSpecs artist B1BFlyer.  That was an impressive feat at such a prestigious convention.  It makes so much sense for Iron Wind Metals to step up to the plate in terms of recognition and stature by making this contest happen.  We all know that the CamoSpecs artists and others are fabulous painters.  The sculpts produced by IWM are (often) great and in the hands of a skilled painter, BattleTech can not only stand toe to toe with the big boys, but damn near sweep the podium.

Who’s In?

I’m already looking through my collection of blisters for the perfect sculpt to put under the brush in time for the Con.  I don’t have high hopes for placing, but that doesn’t matter.  It’s all about getting out there and being in front of the masses.  BattleTech deserves to be among the very best in Sci-Fi war games in all categories,  miniatures and painting included.

York was supposed to be a quiet base for Victor Davion and his Allied forces during the Fed Com Civil War, but to their surprise General Esteban had set a trap for them.  Within a few short hours of their landings, the Loyalist had divided the Allied forces and was close to capturing Victor Davion.  Join the fight to either save Victor Davion’s Allied forces or destroy them.

This battle was fought at Historicon 2009 and was prepared and hosted by Catalyst Demo Agent “Speck”.  The Davions are caught on York and need to escape off the left edge of the overall camera shots.  The Lyrans are ready to pounce and need to do as much damage as possible before the Davions make their escape.

Lyran Alliance

• GRF-6S Griffin
• ZEU-9S Zeus
• AWS-8Q Awesome
• HBK-5S Hunchback
• MAD-5S Marauder
• BNC-6S Banshee
• AS7-S2 Atlas
• NGS-5S Nighsky

Federated Suns

• DVS-2 Devastator
• AGS-4D Argus
• MAD-5S Marauder
• CN10-B Centurion
• STK-7D Stalker
• WHM-9D Warhammer
• ARC-8M Archer
• STY-3D Starslayer

The Setup

In the picture above, the Davion forces are located dead center of the battlefield.  The Lyran Alliance forces are broken up into two lances at the near and far left corners of the map.

Turn 1 – Davions win Initiative

The Davions split the center mountain and stay low.  Only the Marauder takes any kind of high ground. The Lyrans meanwhile converge towards the middle.

The Davion Stalker and Devastator are picked out from the crowd of ‘Mechs and receive fire from one lance a piece.  The Stalker almost has it’s right torso armor cleared by concentrated weapons fire while the Devastator shrugs off damage without so much as a few paint scratches.

The Davions split their fire across three Lyran targets scoring an internal damage to a Marauder’s left torso but no critical damage.

Turn 2 – Davions win Initiative

The Devastator and Stalker lead the Davion rush to the objective edge.  Faster Battlemechs begin to get close but turn to offer fire support for the slower units left behind.  The Lyrans now pick their ranges and line up as many Heavy Gauss Rifles on the two previously damaged Davions.  In a daring run, the Lyran Nightsky (painted red) gets behind the Davion Devastator for a chance to hit the rear armor.

The Davion Stalker once again takes the lions share of damage but this time it’s left torso takes the most.  A Heavy Guass Rifle, LB-10X and LB20-X all hit solidly.  The armor in the section is ripped apart and a medium pulse laser is blasted into scrap.  The Devastator takes an equal beating but the damage is nicely spread around, pot marking the massive armor loadout but avoiding any serious threats.

The Davions spread damage across the easiest targets available but concentrate three ‘Mechs on the Lyran Hunchback with the dangerous LB-20X.  Damage is light except for the Hunchback.  The combined fire pays off as the Hunchback loses his LB-20X to critical damage.

Turn 3 – Lyrans win Initiative

The Lyran Zeus and Griffin move to block the Devastator and Stalker from leaving so soon.  The Nightsky again maneuvers behind the Devastator.  The Davions counter the Zeus by moving the speedy Starslayer directly behind.  The remaining Davion forces rally around the likely exit points and a large furball of destruction ensues.

The Davion Stalker already has two head hits from earlier turns’ LB-X cluster fire.  Another turn of concentrated fire lands several key blows, including an ER Large Laser to the head and a disastrous Heavy Gauss Rifle to the right torso which hits the SRM ammo stores.  As the ammo erupts the pilot takes his fifth pilot hit and falls unconscious.  Unable to make his pilot roll to avoid falling or the ensuing seat belt check the MechWarrior cannot avoid his final pilot hit.

The Davion Starslayer hits with most of its lasers to the Zeus’ rear armor scoring three critical hits, all of which hit engine criticals.  The path is now clear for the Devastator to escape.

However, the Devastator is mauled by another full lance of firepower.  The Nightstalker gets a critical hit on the engine by chopping through the rear armor weakened by the Marauder’s lasers.  Coupled with the loss of a double heat sink, the Devastaor’s heat spikes just enough to decrease his movement for the next turn, preventing an otherwise easy exit.

The Lyran Marauder takes serious fire from the Davion Marauder now closing in and the Argus.  Already heating up from pouring fire into the Devastator, the Mech takes an engine hit and a heat sink critical hit and is in serious trouble.  He needs to cool down next turn.

Turn 4 – Lyrans win Initiative

The Davions begin to make their escape, leaving some of their slower brethren behind.  The Centurion, Warhammer, Starslayer and Archer all exit this turn.  The Lyrans sprint towards the remaining Davion Mechs lining up several back shots.

Four Lyrans complete the destruction of the Devastator and spread remaining fire power across available targets of opportunity.  The final shot on the Devastator came from the Lyran Griffin ER Medium Laser that delivered the third engine hit.  The Lyran Awesome has it’s leg blown off by the Davion Marauder who only fired a single PPC to stay cool this turn.  The Argus jams his RAC/5 this turn and fails to do significant damage.

Turn 5 – Davions win Initiative

The Lyran Marauder and Nightsky move to positions around the woods anticipating the Argus’ move.  The Argus surprises everyone by splitting the woods and while not making it far, manages to obtain very good cover from enemy fire.

The Argus does not disappoint during weapons fire, a volley of LRMs hit the Lyran Awesome in the head.  The consciousness roll is snake eyes and the pilot drifts to sleep.  The Davion Marauder would finish the job with a gauss rifle to the center torso which is enough to core the ‘Mech.

While covered from most incoming fire, the Argus was not immune to two elevens and a twelve rolled by the Atlas pilot.  While not doing much critical damage, precious armor is slagged off the Heavy ‘Mech.

Turn 6 – Lyrans win Initiative

The Argus makes a mad dash to the objective edge, falling just short of the goal.  The Marauder stays on board to support.

Sensing the end, all Lyran Mechs pile firepower into the wounded Argus.  The Atlas once again is the deadliest of the bunch and punches a hole deep into the left torso.  A missile critical finds an ammo bin causing the Argus and it’s XL engine to go up in smoke.

In a final bid for revenge, both Davion ‘Mechs fire on the terribly damaged Marauder.  A gauss rifle slug rips off the right arm and burrows into the side torso for good measure.  The XL engine is silenced and the ‘Mech drops.

The next turn, the last Davion ‘Mech, the Marauder, exits to meet his fellow warriors to the evacuation waypoint.

Mission Recap

While there were no official victory points for this scenario, I’d like to know who you the readers feel won this battle. The objective for the Davions was to exit as much personnel off the map as possible while the Lyrans did everything in their power to stop them.  The Davions lost three mechs, two assault and one heavy while the Lyrans lost three, two assault and one heavy.

Leave a comment and let me know who made the better moves in the end turns?  Who deserves the victory?

If you have been living under a rock for the last few months, you may be surprised to hear that Catalyst Game Labs secured the authority they needed to use all of the old unseen artwork in future publications.  We have already seen some old and new material coming together on CamoSpecs and the new 25 Years of Art and Fiction coffee table book.

But what about the miniatures?

Any self respecting BattleTech player would love to get their hands on a few of their favorite pieces at reasonable prices (eBay be damned!).  At Historicon this year I had the opportunity to ask Jim Fox what the situation was.

The quick and dirty answer is…  If Iron Wind had been given a clear Green Light from the property holders, we would be already playing with shiny new recently cast Unseens.  They are insanely excited about the prospect of getting these miniatures into player’s hands.

The bombshell that Catalyst dropped was apparently a big surprise to Iron Wind as well as the fans.  They started a dialog with Catalyst asking what the deal was and the answer they received was a nebulous, “We don’t know, but here is an email address you can get a real answer from.”

For the moment, Iron Wind is in limbo waiting to receive a clear legal go-ahead before revving up the spin-casters.  They wanted to get things ready and done before Origins and would love to do something for GenCon this year.  However it is out of their hands until someone gives that ever elusive thumbs up.

When it does happen, Iron Wind has some big plans for a new line devoted to the Unseens.

• Original sculpts as we remember them available for all
• Resculpts of deserving miniatures with some slight scale corrections (not a priority) but an emphasis on new dynamic poses and variants

It is refreshing to talk to the Iron Wind guys.  They are just oozing excitement over the possibility of Unseen miniatures and the renassaince of the game line.

This was the final year for Historicon in Lancaster Pa.  Next year, the convention will make a big move into bigger (and hopefully much better) digs in Baltimore MD.  While we’ve had a lot of good times here in Lancaster, I am personally looking forward to the change.  Baltimore will end up allowing Historicon to take on a much more national image.  The convention is clearly outgrowing its current home.

Demo Agent “Speck” was on hand once again with an impressive array of games, grinders, and boot camps to celebrate the 25th Battletech Anniversary.  There were literally several hundred people who came by and played a game or two.  Speck is a testament to what a great Catalyst Demo Agent should be.  Give me one-hundred “Speck”s made of lead, and I’d rule the world.

Happy Birthday BattleTech.  Lets Give Stuff Away!

25 years is quite a feat for any game in this business.  What better way to celebrate than by giving away lots of free stuff.  Raffle tickets were handed out during events for participation and kills with some fantastic prizes on the line.

IronWindMetals was offering 10% off coupons the entire event for all things BattleTech.  As I do every year I added more than a few miniatures to my collection, including one of the new LE Hatchetman.  The best part of IWM at a convention though is the bins of microfighters and battle armor.  Imagine ala carte battle armor with no shipping.  I picked up a few of at least half a dozen BA models including many that are online exclusives.

“Speck” also had some amazing CamoSpecs painted miniatures up for grabs.  Pictures are the only way I know how to do them justice.

Games, Games, and More Games

I was on hand Saturday for two games, The Battle for Galatea (Jihad Era) and Trapped on York (FedCom Civil War).  Expect to see some great after action reports on these battles in the very near future.

The Grinder was as always very well attended as a new generation learns to pilot their first Battlemech.  This year was the retiring of the Mechwarrior scale Grinder figures and the introduction of more than two battalions of Batlemechs from Iron Wind.  Resident paint slingers extraordinaire Dave Yingling and Scott Davis painted each and every one and they looked awesome (I’m kicking myself for not taking a few pictures of the lot).

There also were a lot of traditional historical games played during the con (not that I played any).  Some of them looked absolutely spectacular.  I snapped a few quick pictures of some of the best and brightest.

Special Thanks

Every convention has it’s special moments.  I’d like to thank a few individuals for their efforts to make this con awesome.

• “Speck” for pulling it all together and hosting another great convention.
• Skip for sharing some of his homemade brew.  Very tasty.
• Steve from Time Machine Hobby for helping to spring the Trap on York and kill some Davions.  I hope you enjoyed the game and get a chance to include some Battletech products and games at  your venue in Conneticut.
• Richard for his help in bringing down the Kraken in the Grand Melee.  Is it wrong for a Locust and an UrbanMech to team up to do 20 damage to an assault ‘Mech to force a pilot roll it is sure to fail?  I think not.

• News Link and Full Trailer.
• Interview Link.

Everything Old is New again as the Mechwarrior series goes back to the roots of the franchise in the year 3015.  Dust off your old favorites like the Warhammer, Atlas, Jenner, and Rifleman.  This is even better news then I had anticipated.  I love the new look and the new direction.  (That and any excuse to kill some Dracs is a good one.)

Development is still in the very early stages as Pirahna and Weisman search for the “right” publisher.  In fact, many times over the course of the interview Mr. Weisman talks about the potential budget and how that would effect the final product release.  So after much excitement, we are left to wait and see what is left when the dust settles.

The trailer we see was built on the Unreal 3 engine and is a working concept and not in-game footage.  I get the feeling that this two day publicity stunt while adored by the fans (this one included) was meant as an advertisement to capture the attention of publishers with deep pockets.

For the time being, too close to call.  I’ll be watching the news and taking notes as more develops.

Best Quote from the Interview

All of a sudden when the whole family is wiped out in the opening salvos of this war, he’s got to put the beer down and pick up the responsibility.