It’s Christmas time, except for those in Canada. Because of the mail strike (which for the record, I totally support), all our Catalyst and Iron Wind Metals orders aren’t going to be here until January at the earliest. So my Christmas isn’t going to be here until next month, but oh boy, it’ll be a […]
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For as long as there has been BattleTech, there’ve been people painting minis. In the earliest days, a well-painted miniature was sometimes the most realistic-looking image of a BattleMech you could get. These days, digital art has caught up with the real thing, but miniature painting has only gotten better as techniques and technologies improve […]
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One of the Clans we’re going to see a lot more of in the ilClan era is Clan Sea Fox. These industrious spacefarers have seemingly taken over the Inner Sphere, replacing ComStar as the de-facto communications web thanks to their numerous interstellar dealings and have even replaced the telecommunications company’s common currency. That said, we […]
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Back when I was but a wee MechWarrior, I remember seeing ads for what seemed like a heavenly place in Chicago where I could hop into a simulator to truly experience what it would be like inside the cockpit of a multi-ton death machine (or at least, the closest approximation to what that could be […]
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BattleTech is a massive universe spanning hundreds of planets with larger-than-life characters, but at the center of it all are the massive walking war machines we know and love. ‘Mechs make the BattleTech world go ’round, and there’s nobody at Catalyst with more passion for ‘Mechs than Johannes Heidler, Associate Developer for ‘Mech Design. They […]
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Earlier this year, Sarna reached out to Catalyst Game Labs to see if we could interview Creative Director Randall N. Bills. Then Randall decided to jet-set around the globe on a BattleTech world tour, and it’s been really hard to get our schedules aligned. Thankfully, Randall was able to spare an hour just before heading […]
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What’s great about the recent spat of BattleTech novels is many of them are pushing the boundaries of the universe’s fiction. That’s not to say there isn’t still plenty of big, stompy ‘Mech action, but a universe can’t run on giant robots. It’s the human stories that drive the narrative, and it doesn’t get more […]
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With the rising popularity of tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons and the desperation for players to continue their tabletop experience during years of COVID lockdowns, “virtual tabletop” is now a well-known term amongst most gamers. But before Roll20, Tabletop Simulator, and Foundry, a group of BattleTech fans began work on a project that would ensure […]
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Last month’s fan-made BattleTech Pride Anthology was bigger and better than ever, with a total of 13 stories and one technical readout all with decidedly queer quirks. There’s not a lot of queer representation in BattleTech, so when the first Pride Anthology hit the scene last year, I gobbled it up. The second one took […]
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We have a special treat for you this week! I’ve been in contact with Chris Lowrey, Narrative Director for the upcoming MechWarrior 5: Clans. He managed to escape PGI’s brutal internal security service for just long enough to send out an encoded message that shares new details on what we can expect to find in […]
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Hey guys. It’s June. That means several wonderful things. First, it was my birthday. Second, the Mercenaries Kickstarter is being shipped, which is a wonderful birthday gift. And third, it’s Pride month, which means the 2024 BattleTech Pride Anthology is here. It’s the month that keeps on giving. And it’s giving way more than just […]
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In terms of BattleTech writers, Bryan Young is relatively new, but he’s made a big impact in a short amount of time. He’s rehabilitated the hated Clan Jade Falcon into something a little more likable in A Question Of Survival and Without Question, the Fox Patrol is already a beloved mercenary unit, and VoidBreaker will […]
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Welcome back to Community Outreach, the Sarna series where we reach out to BattleTech creators and creatives to learn more about their work. This month we sat down with Big Red-40Tech, a YouTuber with a curious name who dives deep into the lore behind some of the most popular and not-so-popular ‘Mechs. I start us […]
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Did you know the Locust IIC is over 40 points in Alpha Strike? The Fire Moth Prime is close to 30, and there’s even a Kit Fox that’s 40 points. My point is, it’s hard to find a cheap Clan ‘Mech to round out a 200-point Star. Even Elementals are around the same point value […]
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Late last year, I spoke with Michael Todd about his efforts to preserve some of BattleTech‘s long-forgotten art. These classic pieces were produced before the digital age and, in some cases, had been forgotten in a basement for decades. But with BattleTech‘s ongoing renaissance, renewed interest brought these pieces out of the dark for fans […]
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A lot of what keeps BattleTech going is the fiction. I may have been introduced to the BattleTech universe through the MechWarrior video games, but what truly hooked me as a wee lad was reading my first BattleTech novel. My first book was Freebirth. With its intricate look at the inner workings of Clan society […]
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I’ve been writing for Sarna long enough to know that there’s a lot of stuff happening in the BattleTech world pretty much all the time. There’s also a lot of opinionated people that love to share their thoughts–sometimes more crassly than others. Trying to get the word out while also making sure everyone plays nice […]
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Normally this is when Southern Ontario enters its deep freeze, with heaps of snow up to my shoulders where the removal services can’t get to fast enough. But this year, it’s been relatively snow-free. In fact, we’ve had more above-freezing days this month than any other February on record. Yesterday it was 16 degrees C […]
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The year of BattleTech‘s 40th anniversary continues with yet another interview with brand stewards Catalyst Game Labs. This time we managed to snag Eric Salzman, a longtime fan who broke into writing and then ascended to become BattleTech‘s Fact-Check Director. This guy knows more about the universe than I ever will, which is why he’s […]
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We’re starting the year off with a bang here at Sarna. We’re asking the tough questions, getting the unexpected answers, and determining where BattleTech will go over the course of 2024. I recently sat down with BattleTech Line Developer Ray Arrastia and Assistant Line Developer Aaron Cahall for the lowdown on what’s coming to BattleTech […]
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Sarna is ringing in the new year with a bang. We’ve been working hard all year long to bring you this extravaganza celebrating 50,000 articles. That’s 50,000 articles on the finer points of Clan mating behavior all the way to demonic possession of Marauders, and everything in between. According to our own milestone tracker, Sarna […]
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As a bit of a treat for year’s end, we sat down with BattleTech Art Director Brent Evans to have a chat on a variety of subjects. We talk about redesigning classic ‘Mechs, where AI fits into your next BattleTech campaign, and why we haven’t seen more AeroSpace fighters get the redesign treatment (and why […]
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A few weeks ago, I mentioned Sven van der Plank and his eight-hour Star League Civil War video, which struck me as bizarrely long for YouTube content that didn’t involve repeating a single song over and over. And then I actually watched it front to back and realized there was some excellent content being presented […]
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Welcome to another episode of Community Outreach! This time we’ve got someone who’s made truly significant contributions to BattleTech, whether it be model-making, technical writing, or fiction. Matthew “Stinger” Cross has truly done it all, and he’s recently embarked on terrain and accessories for your next tabletop BattleTech game. Together, we go over his prodigious […]
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A little while ago, Tex suggested that I reach out to a group of BattleTech players in a faraway place doing some pretty amazing things under pretty difficult circumstances. Despite having no local distributor, Ukraine has a small but thriving BattleTech community, and they won’t let a little thing like an invading foreign power keep […]
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