Category Archives: Video Games

Your BattleTech News Roundup For January, 2023

2023/01/29

Welcome to 2023, and damn, we’re starting this year off with a bang. I’ve been working non-stop this month collating everything that’s going on, all the fantastic new art, and charting the movements of BattleTech‘s celestial bodies. My oracles have all come home to roost, so before I mix enough metaphors to make a pretty solid gumbo, let’s get to all the BattleTech news that happened this month.

Catalyst Kicks Off 2023 With Pre-Launch Mercenaries BackerKit

Battletech Launch page Clip V2 30 Sec
Watch this video on YouTube.

We’re starting the month off with some big Catalyst news. The pre-launch Mercenaries BackerKit is live and offers a look at what’s in the coming Kickstarter. This includes a list of all the ForcePacks, the new four-inch Timber Wolf figure, and the new Salvage Box containing the Visigoth AeroSpace fighter. There’s also a preview of all the merch coming with the campaign, including mercenary unit badges and pins, new t-shirts, and new short stories. The t-shirts will be available on the Catalyst store page so you won’t have to wait for the Kickstarter to purchase some new threads. 

Sign-ups are available now, and if you do, you’ll also gain access to the Battlefield Support Open Beta, which will test the new tabletop rules. These rules will appear in the Mercenaries box unlocked through Kickstarter. The BackerKit page also promises regional Mercenaries launch parties to be held in conjunction with the larger celebration at AdeptiCon, which will include plastic minis that stores can give away as part of prizes for the event and funding for food and drinks. 

Over 10,000 people have already signed up on the BackerKit page, so it’s already off to a good start. I suspect we’ll have another Clan Invasion on our hands when Mercenaries goes live on March 23. 

We’re going to throw in a couple of new products that are also available this month. There are three new Mercenary ForcePacks available, covering Hansen’s Roughriders, Northwind Highlanders, and the Kell Hounds. New ‘Mechs include the Penetrator, the Gunslinger, and the Nightsky, alongside re-posed existing ‘Mechs and new variants of classics like the Warhammer, Grasshopper, and Enforcer. Pre-orders for all three packs are available now. There’s also a new sourcebook, Dominions Divided, which tells the story of the Federated Suns, Draconis Combine, and Rasalhague Dominion from 3151 to mid-3152. Check that out on the Catalyst store.

A Shadow Cat Waits

Waiting, 2022
by u/Remmor in OutreachHPG

This Shadow Cat piece from RJF Faut (or Faul? I can’t quite tell from the signature) was already pretty enough to catch my eye, but it’s the tagline from the peanut gallery at OutreachHPG that made me guffaw. “Somewhere just outside HPG Manifold, a Shadow Cat patiently runs the match clock down,” wrote Reddit user DAFFP. “A tale as old as MWO.”

BattleTech Plans To Sell Over 9 Million Minis By The Summer

BattleTech New Sculpts Shimmering Sword

Polygon recently did a write-up on BattleTech where the publication called it “one of the biggest names in tabletop gaming.” That’s cool of them to say, and probably even true too. Especially since Catalyst gave a nifty little figure to back up the claim. Since the new sculpts started appearing with the redesigned BattleTech Box Set and the Clan Invasion Kickstarter (and will be continued in the upcoming Mercenaries Kickstarter), Catalyst has sold many millions of minifigures and expects that number to reach 9 million by the middle of summer. 

Now, that number might include estimates for the Mercenaries Kickstarter as that’s going live in March, but it’s still a pretty big number for a game that doesn’t necessarily want its players to be fielding armies of dozens or even hundreds of figures (although, you certainly still can if you want to). 

The article also notes how MechWarrior 5 and MechWarrior Online developer PGI, Catalyst, and Harebrained Schemes are sharing resources to help build the franchise. “By any metric, BattleTech is now more successful and more popular than ever before,” Catalyst told Polygon. “With the coming Mercenaries Kickstarter and the lead-up to BattleTech’s 40th anniversary, there’s an excellent chance our current staggering success will be eclipsed as BattleTech reaches even more fans.”

Opinion Piece: “BattleTech Has Always Been Woke”

Sarna Complaints Department

Welcome to Sarna’s new editorial column. I’ve noticed that a lot of you seem to dislike the idea of me throwing in some opinions throughout our monthly news round-ups, so I thought to break off the majority of that opinionated writing and throw it into a new column that you can easily skip if you’d prefer to stick to the news. 

Our inaugural editorial comes courtesy of esteemed novelist and BattleTech writer Michael A. Stackpole, who declared on Twitter that “BattleTech has always been woke” following a post from Catalyst outlining the success BattleTech has achieved in recent years which counters the right-wing battle cry of “go woke, go broke.” 

We’re going to set aside the saying, for which you can find plenty of examples for and against, and instead focus on Stackpole’s comment of BattleTech always having been woke. For those unaware, “woke” is defined as “alert to racial prejudice and discrimination.” Stackpole’s example is naturally his own work in the Warrior Trilogy. “The anti-prejudice/anti-racism theme roars through it all,” stated Stackpole, and it’s hard to disagree there. One could argue the only reason why Justin Xiang Allard was able to infiltrate the Liao government so thoroughly was because of racial prejudice.  

But has BattleTech always been woke? A certain tank that will no longer be reprinted seems evidence to the contrary. And the fact that both House Kurita and House Liao are still largely ethnically and racially defined, would beg to differ

Things got a lot better with the introduction of the Clans, with its egalitarian society that cared little for race or gender, only whether you were born in a test tube with combat-capable genes. And the problematic similarities between the freebirth/trueborn argument and racist ideology steeped in geneticism get addressed in books like Freebirth and characters like Phelan Kell and Alaric Ward (although Alaric has his own problems, that’s a topic for another editorial).

So I think it might be more accurate to say that BattleTech didn’t arrive woke, but it’s been moving in that direction for decades. And with recent stories even venturing into LGBTQ+ characters, it certainly isn’t slowing down. 

A ‘Mech By Any Other Name

I commissioned art of a situation that happened in my game.
by u/CupofLiberTea in Battletechgame

I know there are a lot of Awesome fans out there, so I had to share this piece commissioned by CupofLiberTea over on Reddit. They even have a great story to go along with it, too. 

“Years ago I had a BTA3062 game, and during a mission, my Assassin was legged by an unlucky Gauss shot. There were still many enemies left in the turn order and my Assassin was in serious danger. My only hope was to plant my Awesome‘s chunky frame between the Assassin and the enemy. With an assault mech blocking their view, the enemy took shots at it instead. The Awesome took a pummeling, but held the line long enough to let the crippled mech jump jet to safety.”

MechAssault’s Dragoon Suit, MechWarrior 4’s Hellhound Canonized In Latest IlClan Recognition Guides

https://twitter.com/BattletechCom/status/1615703065272754178?s=20

Big news for fans of some classic ‘Mech games. Both the battle armor from MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf and MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries take on the Hellhound have been canonized in the latest releases of the IlClan Recognition Guides.

We’ll start with the Dragoon Suit, which was the star of MechAssault 2. This little guy, simply referred to as “battle armor” in-game, has been given a name and backstory in IlClan Recognition Guide 29. Equipped with a Light Mortar and either a Flamer or Micro Pulse Paser, the Dragoon mirrors the capabilities of MechAssault‘s armor but for the highly advanced neuro-hacking, which allowed it to force-eject an enemy MechWarrior from their ride. 

But what’s really cool is Guide 29 canonizes “The MechWarrior” and many of the events that occur in MechAssault 1 & 2--specifically the invasion of Helios and operations against the Word of Blake during the Jihad. 

Next, we have MechWarrior 4’s Hellhound, which has been renamed the Hellcat and slightly redesigned from its debut in MW4: Mercenaries. The standard loadout of twin ER Large Lasers, LB 10-X AC, and SRM-6 remains, but the visual design of the Hellhound--sorry, Hellcat--has been modified to more accurately reflect its loadout. And rather than being introduced at the end of the Refusal War as suggested in MW4: Mercs, the Hellcat arrived in the 3130s when it became freely available through Clan Sea Fox. 

IlClan Recognition Guide 30 provides us with the Hellcat and the Onuris Attack VTOL, which sure looks a lot like the Igor VTOL from MechWarrior 5. It’s not quite the same, but it’s possibly yet more evidence of how PGI and Catalyst are collaborating on the future of BattleTech.

This Metal Remix Of The BattleTech Theme Will Take Back The Galaxy

Battletech Animated Series Metal Cover 2022
Watch this video on YouTube.

Do I like metal remixes of classic cartoon intro themes? Of course I do. So here’s andrewlik belting out the one-minute intro to BattleTech: The Animated Series. I’ll let those two guitars do the rest of the talking.

Tex Talks BattleTech Back Online After Black Pants Legion Gets Hacked By Tesla Fans

If you were wondering where Tex’s latest video on the Charger went soon after the beginning of the new year, it was taken offline after the Black Pants Legion got hacked by Tesla fans. Apparently, Elon Musk’s personal army of internet trolls has nothing better to do than take on a small group of independent content creators and BattleTech fans. 

I’m not even going to guess at their motivations. Internet vandals are just a fact of life in the cyberpunk dystopia we all find ourselves in. The good news is that Tex and the Black Pants Legion managed to regain access to their channel and get all that wonderful content back online. From what Tex described in his recent podcast, it was quite the ordeal.

Things are alright now, but folks who were previously subscribed to the Black Pants Legion will want to verify that their subscription remains intact. 

Renegage HPG Is Looking To Revive The BattleTech Trading Card Game

You’ll all remember Renegade HPG as the owner of a fabulous YouTube channel where he interviews BattleTech creatives, and also the owner and operator of Gallery 3025, a Patreon which creates beautiful new BattleTech art. Fans of Tracis’ channel will know that he’s a die-hard BattleTech TCG fan, and now he’s aiming to revive the game.

And when I say revive, I mean bring back from the dead and turn it into a living game. That means new cards (unofficial, of course), revised and new mechanics, monthly tournaments, and an open and active community of folks who want to contribute and play BattleTech in card form. There are already a bunch of new cards posted on the Facebook Group, along with an experimental format to playtest all these new cards.

For those looking to play along, you’ll want to download LackeyCCG and the BattleTech plugin, instructions for which can be found in this post here. League games are already underway, but newcomers are always welcome. 

Highlander Posts Up For The Dunk

What do you get when you have an undying love for NBA Jam and the Highlander? This. At least, I assume. Big thanks to BigRock! On Twitter for creating this unusual but timeless piece. My heart goes out to that Elemental’s sibkin.

A New MechWarrior Game Is Coming

Podcast 230 - Mechwarrior's Future w/ Russ Bullock
Watch this video on YouTube.

It’s confirmed: a new MechWarrior game is in development at PGI. That’s according to Piranha Games president Russ Bullock, who finally confirmed what we kinda suspected for a while in the latest No Guts No Galaxy podcast.

“We’re still working on MechWarrior, which has been somewhat surprising to me, that we’ve been able to work on it this long, which is great,” Bullock told Sean Lang. “Everyone knows we have DLC four coming out for MechWarrior 5, and there is another MechWarrior game in development at Piranha.”

Before anyone gets too up in arms, it won’t be MechWarrior Online 2. It’ll be a single-player game “in line with MechWarrior 5,” and it’ll be a “standalone game.” As for when we’ll hear more, that might not be for a while.

“It’ll be announced later – don’t know, if I had to guess it may even be until… oh, who knows,” added Bullock. “Somewhere in 2023. Maybe even as late as the fall, like September or something. So it’ll be a while, you’ll have to wait around to see what that is. But yeah, more in-line with a MechWarrior 5 type of experience, meaning it’ll be a game that comes out on all the platforms, PC and console.”

Bullock said that this new MechWarrior game will build on the technology already created in MechWarrior 5, which sounds great to me. There’s a lot of good tech in MechWarrior 5, from procedurally-generated maps to the co-op gameplay mechanics, but what has always held MechWarrior 5 back in the eyes of most fans was the lack of a hand-crafted campaign. With this presumed MechWarrior 6 using all the tech already built in MechWarrior 5, hopefully, more resources can be spent focusing on missions with scripted events and cut scenes, and more intricate mission mechanics. 

And what about MechWarrior Online? Bullock confirmed PGI has the MechWarrior license until 2025, but creating a sequel to the PvP game would need “more runway than that.” 

“You’re not going to make a MechWarrior Online 2 if your license is maybe over in 2025,” Bullock said. “We’d have to know that we have a minimum of five years once the game is done, so we probably need an extension to 2030.”

Could that mean PGI is going to shoot for a license extension? I suppose we’ll have to see how well MechWarrior 6 performs first.

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries – Rise Of Rasalhague Drops On All Platforms Alongside Free Update

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries - DLC 4 - Rise of Rasalhague Launch Trailer
Watch this video on YouTube.

But before we get too excited about a new MechWarrior game, I’m here to remind you that MechWarrior 5 just received its new Rise of Rasalhague DLC. As previously discussed, this DLC features a new 12-mission quest line, 11 variants of the Crusader ‘Mech, and the all-new Rival Mercenaries feature that will pit you against well-known Merc outfits from throughout the Inner Sphere. 

MechWarrior 5 is also receiving a free update along with Rise of Rasalhague, so even if you don’t have the cash to buy the new DLC right this second, you’ll still benefit from various improvements outlined on this page here. In my eyes, the biggest QOL changes here will be the improved lancemate AI that makes them fire more often, get stuck in dropships less often, and will entirely stop them from Kool-Aid-Maning their way through buildings you’re trying to defend. Additionally, PGI has updated the ‘Mech hangar to allow up to 40 active ‘Mechs instead of just 12. Those additional ‘Mechbays need to be leased for a quarterly fee, but I know I have over 100 million C-bills by the end of the main campaign, so a few more active ‘Mechs will be a godsend. 

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries – Rise of Rasalhague is available now on all platforms.

MechWarrior Online’s Plans For 2023 Include New Maps, A Battlepass, And A New ‘Mech

MechWarrior Online 2023 Plans Devlog
Watch this video on YouTube.

The other existing MechWarrior game that we have yet to discuss is MechWarrior Online. Matt and Daeron over at PGI recently sat down to talk about the future of MechWarrior Online, where they laid out what fans can expect in 2023. The big takeaway here is that PGI isn’t done with MechWarrior Online yet and plans to update the venerable PvP game with yet more content.

That content includes four “new” maps, where some will be entirely new and others will be revamped versions of existing maps that could use a little love. There’s also an entirely new ‘Mech chassis that will come sometime this year. The Crusader and Hatchetman were apparently very successful for PGI, so making a new ‘Mech is still profitable. No idea what the ‘Mech will be, but Matt said that we’ll likely guess it just as soon as the first teaser goes live. 

Additionally, MechWarrior Online might be rebranding itself to MechWarrior Online Legends. The new name would follow a new monthly battle pass that would feature an all-new Legendary ‘Mech with unique quirks to make it stand out from existing Hero ‘Mechs. Legendary ‘Mechs will have unique skins and Champion-style loadouts that might be playable straight out of the box. Nothing is finalized as of yet, but it’s certainly in line with what other live-service games have done to monetize themselves. Expect the battlepass to include other items like C-Bills, GSP, Bolt-ons, Cockpit items, MC, engines, and more. 

There’s lots more discussed, like retiring old ‘Mech bundles, reworking faction play, adding new weapons, and more events for the event queue, but you can hear all that straight from Matt and Daeron’s mouths in the video linked above. 

In the near term, there’s still a Dire Wolf DWF-C up for grabs as January’s free ‘Mech, and the most recent patch has made quite a few adjustments to existing maps and ‘Mechs. The Raven, Incubus, Panther, Mist Lynx, Timber Wolf, and Marauder IIC have all seen their armor adjusted, while two variants of the Crab now have additional heat quirks to enhance their gameplay. Standard AC/10s and 20s have seen their cooldown decrease, and 13 maps have received adjustments and fixes. You can check out the full patch notes here. 

Gallery 3025 Brings Us A “Wetlands Skirmish”

Wetlands Skirmish by Jayden Morris and Bruce Patnaude

Wetlands Skirmish by Jayden Morris and Bruce Patnaude

This stunning piece from Gallery 3025 contributors Bruce Patnaude and Jayden Morris depicts a Marauder taking part in some combined arms combat with unmounted infantry in a swamp. Perhaps this is the Eridani Light Horse on Huntress in the very middle of eliminating the Smoke Jaguar Clan. Or maybe they’re just on a nameless rock in the deep periphery fighting for the highest bidder. Either way, this is just another example of why Gallery 3025 deserves your support.

Some Say Kerensky Never Smiled Again After The Civil War

People tend to focus on the ‘Mechs in BattleTech, as they rightly should, but let’s not entirely forget the people. It doesn’t get more iconic than Alekandr Kerensky taking down the Amaris Empire in his Orion. I suspect he maintained that exact expression for the two decades it took him, too. 

More Art, But Faster This Time

My best so far.
by u/meltdonw14 in battletech

This thing is already pushing 3,500 words, and I just don’t have the space to give every artist their due, so we’re going to speedrun through the rest of ‘em. Meltdonw14, you got two great pieces this month--keep up the good work. Matt Plog gives us this phenomenal Guillotine IIC, one of my favorite weird-ass ‘Mechs. I know this is mostly a trace and recolor of the Recognition Guide redesign, but I don’t care, this is a great Griffin. And Michael Long provides us with a hot-wheels take on the classic Timber Wolf from his MechWarrior 5 mod. 

BattleMercs, The Crescent Hawks-Like Fan Game, Releases Into Open Beta

BattleMercs Beta | New Missions, New Sprites, and More!
Watch this video on YouTube.

You might recall Battle Mercs, the Crescent Hawks’ Inception-like game coming from a die-hard fan? Gaming Jay has informed me that Battle Mercs has just released into open beta, meaning everyone can download the game to give it a try. 

Jay tells me this is the most stable version of the game yet, and the most recent patch notes reveal a whole bunch of improvements, from long-term campaign-style missions to DropShip animations to the inclusion of vehicles like the Pegasus, Galleon, and even the Rommel. 

The neat part about Battle Mercs is that the game has been made with modding in mind. Jay has hosted a few livestreams where he basically provides a tutorial on how to make your own maps and missions. As we discussed in our previous interview, the dream is for Jay to make the tech and for someone else to come along and create a massive story-based campaign along the same lines as the Crescent Hawks games.

That’s not me, though. I don’t have the patience to learn how to do any amount of coding, and besides, I’m playing through the new Rise of Rasalhague DLC in MechWarrior 5. But that could be you! So if it is, head on over to the Battle Mercs Discord to learn more and to download the beta client. You’ll also be able to download Battle Mercs directly from Sarna at some point, but we’re still getting that worked out. I’ll be sure to get that posted next month once the link goes live. 

By Blake’s holy word, we made it. January kicks off 2023 with a bang, and we’re not even at the Mercenaries Kickstarter yet. Join us next month when I hopefully don’t have to pull an all-nighter just to get this thing out before February ends.

And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy. 

stay syrupy

Your BattleTech News Roundup For December, 2022

2022/12/31

I’m in that middle slump between the holidays. I don’t actually get the full week off, so I’m in for a few days before heading out for another alcohol-fueled adventure celebrating the renewal of the Julian calendar. It’s just long enough for me to forget that wine really shouldn’t be combined with the vast quantity of beer I received for Christmas. The good news is I managed to get my covid booster just before the holidays, so I’m reasonably sure all this cavorting isn’t going to get me sick. Reasonably.

Anyway, welcome to the end of 2022. It’s been a banger year, and to close it out, we got some more BattleTech news for you. ‘Cause that’s what we do around these parts. Strap on your neurohelmet with antlers, because it’s that time of year again.

More BattleTech Comics, Please

What I’ve been up to. from battletech

Last we saw meltdonw14, they were busy creating a scene from Close Quarters featuring a Crusader punching the head off an Atlas. Now, meltdonw14 returns with an even more extensive four-panel comic of a Shadow Hawk infiltrating an enemy base.

The comic is based on the short story included in the BattleTech Beginner Box Set, “The Golden Rule.” Note the Whitworth that’s standing in the gantry with its unmistakable helmet and handless arms. If we’re lucky, we might even get more than one page of this short story, although fleshing the whole thing out as a comic might be more work than we can reasonably expect. Somebody pay this person to keep making BattleTech comics!

Fusion Now Generates More Power Than It Uses

Fusion Reactor

There are a few ways you can do giant robots in sci-fi. First, there’s massive batteries that hold enough charge for said robots to engage in combat, although usually without using energy projection weapons like lasers and particle accelerators. And then there’s fusion power, something that just got one step closer to becoming reality.

Researchers at the Energy Department’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have created a new magnetic field setup that tripled the power created by a fusion reaction in a lab. You can read all the science-y stuff in the full report, but the key takeaway is that this is the first-ever fusion reaction that actually generated more power than it took to initiate fusion--the key requirement for actually generating power.

The whole thing involves almost 200 lasers blasting a couple of hydrogen isotopes until they produce x-rays and implode, causing the extreme pressure and heat required for those isotopes to fuse. This new setup resulted in more power than ever before, but it’s still not enough for a sustained fusion reaction, which is what we’d need for an actual fusion power plant. 

Science sometimes happens in baby steps, but it really looks like we’re going to crack fusion power in most of our lifetimes. Give it a decade or two and we might actually have a running reactor powering a commercial grid--or at least, providing some of the grid’s power. Even if this technology doesn’t become small enough to power a six-story robot, it’s still going to be a big win for humanity and our search for energy sources that don’t require fossil fuels or traditional nuclear fission (not that there’s anything wrong with fission, but people still seem a bit too squeamish over splitting a few atoms to power a grid).

MechWarrior 2 On The Steam Deck

https://twitter.com/TimerasReborn/status/1599394589454258176

Some of you might have heard of the Steam Deck, a handheld PC that sort of takes the Nintendo Switch form factor and turns it into something a bit more powerful and much more useful. Not every game on Steam can run on the Deck, but a lot of them can, and besides Steam, the Deck can also run some interesting software. This apparently includes a PlayStation emulator, which means you can play the PlayStation version of MechWarrior 2. 

I know this for a fact because German Twitch streamer Timeras proved it with his Deck earlier in the month. Yes, the PlayStation version certainly isn’t the best version of MechWarrior 2, but outside of MechWarrior 5, it’s probably the best MechWarrior game that actually has controller support. Anyway, just an idea for those of you who have a Steam Deck. 

Who Says Banshees Are Bad?

Fed0t Banshee

I did. I said Banshees are bad. But I also admit that the BNC-3S is actually a fantastic ‘Mech and in no way deserving of the term “bad.” It also looks badass, which is the exact opposite of bad. English is weird.

Kudos to fed0tich for this one. You can see their work in a few other past posts with unique spins on classic ‘Mechs, and I appreciate ’em every time. Especially when they’re of favorites like the Banshee.

Kell Brothers Come To Gallery 3025

Morgan_nobackground

While it’s important to recognize the ‘Mechs and many other machines of BattleTech, it’s also important to recognize the many people too. It doesn’t get more iconic than the Kell brothers, who are both featured in Gallery 3025’s recent post by Bruce Patnaude. I especially like how Bruce gave Patrick a bit of a makeover compared to the image that Sarna has in its database, which is… yeesh. 

Usual pitch for Gallery 3025, a community-supported Patreon that pays artists to keep creating BattleTech art. Sign up for less than a coffee a day over on the Gallery 3025 Patreon here.

The Magistracy Has A Fan-Made 3160 TRO Now

Canopus Technical Readout 3160

Y’all want some more fan-created content? Of course you do. Magestrix Riley of the Magistracy of Canopus has informed me of a new fan-made technical readout available now over on her Patreon. The Magistracy Intelligence Report: Technical Readout 3160 contains over 120 units and more than 200 pages of BattleMechs, OmniMechs, IndustrialMechs, and combat vehicles right up to the year 3160. And because this is the periphery we’re talkin’ about, they all have their own very unique style.

The great thing about the periphery is there’s a lot of room for storytelling. That’s why HBS placed BATTLETECH way out in the periphery, and while it means having clean access to replacement parts can be hard to come by, the Periphery offers that 3025-ish nostalgia even when it’s 3160. All you gotta say is that it’s some periphery merc unit running around doing what they can with what they have. 

Although I should note that this fan-made TRO assumes (probably correctly) that the Magistracy has kept up with the advances of defense technology in the rest of the Inner Sphere. Some of these ‘Mechs are real fighters and not just nostalgia trips. Be warned.

MechWarrior Online Has Tons Of Holiday Stuff Up For Grabs

MWO Happy Holidays

It’s the holiday season, and like many live-service titles, MechWarrior Online is giving away a DropShip-load of free loot in the spirit of the season. We’ll get to that free stuff in a minute, but first, some patch notes.

December’s patch brought the Hatchetman for those who purchased it. Expect the C-bill versions to be available later on. There are also a few new Platinum Collections to grab in both Inner Sphere and Clan flavors. Nothing too ground-breaking to report on new ‘Mech Quirks, except for the Zeus getting a built-in speed tweak for the ZEU-6S, ZEU-5S, and the ZEU-92S. The Cyclops has also finally received a quirk pass, although it mostly seems to be about removing weapon-specific quirks for more general quirks, which should help improve build variety.

Alright, time for the loot. MechWarrior Online‘s Stocking Stuffers Lootbag event started a few weeks ago, but you still have until Jan 2 to earn as much free stuff as you can just for playing the game. Mech Bays, general skill points, C-bills, and MC are all up for grabs alongside some festive cockpit decorations. Now is the best time to stock yourself for the new year, so head into MWO and shoot your friends.

And that’s not all. There are seven free Premium Days up for grabs just for redeeming the code “happyholidays2022” (without the quotes). Redeem that code before January 5 at midnight. Also available until January 5 are sales on MechWarrior Online bundles and ‘Mech packs as well as half-off MechWarrior 5 and all DLC except for Call to Arms, which is just 33 percent off. 

Catalyst Issues Mercenaries Kickstarter Preview And The Most Colorful Arcade Operations Yet

Mercenaries Kickstarter Box

As reported last month, the Mercenaries Kickstarter is coming March 23, 2023. We already have a pretty good idea of what we’re in for, but Catalyst’s new preview document gives us an excellent sneak peek at two of my favorite bad ‘Mechs, the Quickdraw and the Assassin. We also have a great look at the Mercenaries box which reveals the Starslayer and the Devastator as two more ‘Mechs likely to appear in the box, otherwise it’d be sort of weird to have them so prominently featured. 

Arcade Operations UbranFest

I’ve already spoken at length on the flaws of both the Quickdraw and the Assassin, so I’m just going to say that these new sculpts make it appear as though neither ‘Mech is an absolute dumpster fire. These are great, and I will definitely be getting the Mercenaries box set just so I can have my beloved Quickdraw sitting on my shelf. And might I add, kudos to Catalyst for giving the Starslayer a center-stage position in the coming Kickstarter. The Starslayer kicks ass and it’s an absolute crime that it was only featured in MechCommander 2.

The other big beat for December is Arcade Operations: UrbanFest, a new entry to the PseudoTech sub-brand that reimagines BattleTech in fun and hilarious ways. As the cover and title suggest, UrbanFest brings the sort of “power and excitement that can only come from thirty tons of slow-moving metal, and limited firepower!” Expect to read “tales of heroism and adventure that only the most unassuming of BattleMechs can deliver,” as well as new sim-game rules for UrbanMech-centric scenarios. There are also a few new UrbanMech variants and “never-before-seen technologies,” which make UrbanFest an absolutely essential read for any UrbanMech aficionado. 

An update on the ilClan Recognition Guides before we move on. Volume 28 is available now, while Volume 29 arrives on January 6, Volume 30 on January 30, Volume 31 on February 3, and Volume 32 on February 17. Mark your calendars.

Bring The Classic Marauder Home For The Holidays

The Marauder (classic) mod in action from Mechwarrior5

Courtesy of the same modder that brought you the Timber Wolf, Mad Dog, Summoner, and Hellbringer mods for MechWarrior 5 comes this new mod that would almost certainly get everyone sued if the Unseen was still a thing. It’s a mod that replaces the MechWarrior 5 Marauder model with something loosely based on the original Duane Loose sketch, itself based on the Zentradi Tactical Pods from the Macross anime. It looks gangly and bizarre--like some sort of alien craft stomping around on feet that look too big for its spindly legs to lift. The model itself looks fantastic, with textures and fine elements that identify this thing as a ‘Mech and not an alien creature, but it really shows the vast shift in design BattleTech has taken over the years.

You can download the Classic Marauder mod on Nexus Mods or MechWarrior 5’s Steam Workshop.

Tex Talks Charger

Battletech/Mechwarrior Lore - Tex Talks Battletech : The Charger
Watch this video on YouTube.

Exactly one year after the Charger was inducted into the storied library of Bad’ Mechs, Tex offers his rebuttal in Tex Talks BattleTech: The Charger. As with every Tex Talks BattleTech, Tex offers an hour of context and thorough analysis that I’m just not able to produce on my own. Tex also offers a wildly entertaining explanation and defense of the Charger, such that even I might consider this horrible, horrible machine when choosing my next Kuritan assault ‘Mech.

As far as I’m aware, the Charger didn’t survive into the ilClan era, so it seems unlikely for the Charger to make it into the Mercenaries Kickstarter. But I sincerely hope that it does. Like the UrbanMech, the Charger is so colossally terrible, but in the completely opposite way--where one is all speed and no guns, the other is no speed and all guns. The two belong together like yin and yang. If the original Kickstarter had UrbanMechs as add-ons, let’s hope the Mercenaries Kickstarter chooses the Charger as its dilapidated mascot. 

Incoming Holiday HPG Message: Merry Christmas

Although attributed to BattleTech short story writer John Helfers, Helfers himself clarified that “this little ditty was written by Mike Ritchie at Rather Dashing Games!” 

  • Twas the night before Christmas, and throughout the Inner Sphere
  • Dropships were swarming, while escorts flew near.
  • Tactics were formed, ammo loaded with care,
  • In hope that their enemy soon would be there.
  • The ‘Mechs were poised to bring death from afar,
  • With pilots in coolant vests and old battle scars.
  • With Mama in her Atlas and I in my Mad Cat,
  • In anticipation of glorious battle and danger we sat.
  • When what from the glow of my HUD I could tell,
  • Was a miniature Urbie and eight tiny Elementals,
  • With a little old pilot whose maniacal glee, 
  • Led me to know it must be Kerensky.
  • More rapid than LRMs his courses they sped,
  • Firing plasma and lasers to make many dead.
  • As rapid he came, he jumped out of sight,
  • Exclaiming to all, “Have a great Christmas fright!”

Clearly that’s a Ghost of Christmas Past because there’s no UrbanMech in existence that can rapidly do anything, let alone carry eight Elementals.

Wishing You A Safe And Happy Holidays

Merry Mech-mas! from battletech

That’s it for December, and 2023 is right around the corner. The new year has lots for us to look BattleTech fans to look forward to, from a new BattleTech Kickstarter full of new mini designs to a brand-new MechWarrior 5 expansion centered on the Free Rasalhague Republic. There were plenty of surprises to excite us throughout 2022, and I don’t expect 2023 to be any different. 

And as always, MechWarriors: Merry Christmas.

stay syrupy

6 Replies

Your BattleTech News Roundup For November, 2022

2022/11/30

Literally nobody has asked me, “Sean, how have you avoided COVID for so long?” And if someone were to actually ask I’d reply that I’ve cloistered myself in my basement apartment where I only go out for food and hiss at everyone who knocks on my door, thus also providing me with a steady stream of “free” takeout food from restaurants that don’t ask me to pay in advance. However, today my streak might have been broken by a wave of malaise and mild congestion that appears to have come from nowhere. We’ll see what the swab says by the time I’m done writing this article.

Anyway, there’s a surprising amount of BattleTech news leading into the holiday season, so let’s not mince too many words getting to all these big surprises. It’s time for all the best BattleTech the world has to offer, courtesy of Sarna.

More Deets On Mercenaries Kickstarter Announced For March 2023

Mercenaries Kickstarter Kodiak Diorama via Catalyst

Catalyst has gotten some specifics with the coming Mercenaries Kickstarter. The new crowdfunding campaign, which brings over 50 new miniature designs, arrives on March 23, 2023 at 11 AM ET--the first day of AdeptiCon, where Catalyst will also be present.

“I’m an equal-opportunity gamer and enjoy playing nearly any type of game,” said managing developer Randall N. Bills in a statement. “But walking past endless tables of amazing terrain and fantastically painted miniatures is an incredible experience unto itself. If you love miniatures games, AdeptiCon is the place to be. And we couldn’t imagine a more perfect venue for launching our Mercenaries Kickstarter.”

Although primarily focused on Warhammer, BattleTech has been around for almost as long, and in recent times has even snagged a few former Warhammer players fed up with Games Workshop’s policies. Announcing what will surely become a multi-million dollar campaign at AdeptiCon is probably a big get for the convention. 

In other Catalyst news, a brand new anthology just got released on Amazon and your favorite e-publications. Fox Tales collects all five Fox Patrol short stories into a single book and includes an entirely new Fox Patrol story that’s never been published. Set at the tale-end of the Dark Age era, Fox Patrol was an independent mercenary unit that had basically three members for the bulk of its history: Captain Katie Ferraro in her restored Kit Fox, Evan Huxlet in his Locust, and Arkee Colorado in his Quickdraw.

I gotta say, I’m intrigued by Fox Tales. Not because Evan and Arkee are boyfriends, which is still a nice bit of inclusion for the 32nd century, but because the gal in charge drives a ‘Mech I’ve always loved. The Kit Fox isn’t quite bad enough to truly be a Bad ‘Mech, at least in my eyes, but it’s close. All firepower and barely enough armor and mobility, the Kit Fox defines what I like to call the “spunky” light ‘Mech. You can never write off a Kit Fox, and making the Kit Fox the star of its own novel series alongside another favorite of mine, the Quickdraw, just demands that I dust off that Kindle app and type in my new credit card info.

There’s also a new digital box version of the Jade Phoenix Trilogy, a series of novels I’ve read three times already so I don’t really need ‘em again, but you can never go wrong with the classics. And finally, the Alpha Strike Box Set is now available for purchase on Catalyst’s website. Ever wish BattleTech tabletop didn’t take multiple days to complete a game? Alpha Strike might be for you. 

No New Rommel Models As Tank Gets Axed From Future Development

Rommel Tank

Even before the official announcement of the Mercenaries Kickstarter campaign, Catalyst teased out a bunch of new model designs for tanks and VTOLs that had BattleTech miniature painters all aflutter on the BattleTech forums. Somebody asked if we’ll see the Patton and the Rommel redesigned, to which BattleTech line developer Ray Arrastia responded, “no Rommel. You won’t be seeing that again.” The scuttlebutt about town is that the Rommel is unofficially dead, potentially due to someone at Fanatics having a problem with one of their IPs being associated with a Nazi general. 

And fair enough. Rommel has often been too hyped for being the Desert Fox that folks often overlook the fact he was a card-carrying Nazi. Historians are divided on whether Rommel was merely complicit or an enthusiastic supporter of the holocaust, but the bottom line is he wasn’t a nice dude, and I’m not upset that his name won’t be used to represent a fictional tank in the future.

Plus, the Patton is basically the same damn tank anyway, so there’s no need for the Rommel to exist. The Patton/Rommel thing was a joke on the M3 Grant/Lee tanks of World War 2, and while that’s probably funny to a significant portion of BattleTech’s players, I don’t think that humor outweighs the cost of honoring a general best left forgotten.

Anyway, the Rommel will still be listed on Sarna and you can still get older models from places like Iron Wind Metals if you desperately need one for your collection. 

Crusader Callback To Comachos Caballeros

And now in Brilliant color! from battletech

I kinda wish there were more BattleTech comic strips. I know comics are way more difficult to produce than novels, but if BattleTech comics were more of a thing, we could have something like this piece from Reddit user meltdonw14. 

I’m pretty sure this scene was taken from the novel Close Quarters, where Father Roberto “Call me Bob” Garcia takes a swing at an Atlas in his Crusader. But it’s been years on this one for me, so maybe it was Hearts of Chaos? Definitely one of the Comacho’s Caballeros novels, that’s for sure.

Art of BattleTech Brings The Summoner To MechWarrior 5 (With A Little Help)

Summoner / Thor Classic mod for Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries - Wolf Trailer
Watch this video on YouTube.

After bringing us the Timber Wolf and Vulture Classic mods, The Art Of BattleTech (aka SankaraSamsara on Nexus Mods) has returned with yet another Clan ‘Mech. The Summoner is at least as famous as the Timber Wolf and Vulture, having been the personal ride of Aiden and Marthe Pryde for most of their respective careers. Ugly and imposing thanks to its asymmetrical layout, the Summoner is a feared design, and now you can pilot one in MechWarrior 5.

Like the previous mods, the Summoner is based on the original Clan design from Steve Venters. The model was done by Alan Yeoh, and Art of BattleTech has a laundry list of folks to thank for helping him figure out the animations, which you can read over on Nexus Mods. You can also download the mod there too, or just search for the mod on MechWarrior 5‘s Steam Workshop. That’s what I usually do for my mods. 

And if the Summoner is here, then you just know it wouldn’t be too long before the Hellbringer showed up. Following Steve Venters’s design meant that half the work on the Hellbringer was already done, with the legs, lower torso, and right arms shared between the two designs. Same deal with the Summoner, find the Hellbringer on Nexus Mods and Steam Workshop.

MechWarrior Online Offers Free Shadow Cat For November

Shadow Cat D MechWarrior Online Event

MechWarrior Online is giving away a couple of ‘Mechs. First, for the month of November, players can take part in the ongoing freebie event which can net them a Shadow Cat SHC-D. That’s the one with the ER large laser, twin medium pulse lasers, a Streak SRM-6, and some machine guns. And an ER small sort of as an afterthought. Honestly, you’re going to want to double up on those ER larges or lean into a medium pulse laser strategy. But first you’ll need to accumulate 9,000 total match score throughout the event. You got a few weeks left as the event goes until early December.

Next is the MechWarrior Online Annual Reward, which actually already arrived on November 22. Those that were active players during the year received 6.5 million C-bills, a free ‘Mech bay, 100 general skill points, and a year 9 cupcake cockpit item. Those that bought MC at any point throughout the year got their choice of any previous year’s light or medium Loyalty ‘Mech and 100 GSP, while anyone who purchases one of this year’s ‘Mech packs (excluding the Platinum or Booster Packs) get their choice of any light or medium Hero ‘Mech and 100 GSP. Those that purchased any of the Booster or Platinum packs will generally get a Hero ‘Mech of their choice, although the rules get evermore specific depending on the precise nature of the purchase. For more details, head on over to the annual rewards page. Note that selections must be made before January 31, 2023, so don’t expect those free ‘Mechs to arrive before then.

And finally, we got a patch with some big changes for MechWarrior Online‘s maps. Terra Therma Classic is now Terra Therma Crucible, with the second floor of the map eliminated in favor of a first floor covered in lava with much more open lines of sight. The capture point on Domination will be right in the center of that lava pool, which sounds pretty dangerous. Emerald Vale and Grim Plexus have had their terrain cleaned up, Hibernal Rift will now prevent people from sniping atop the glacier, and HPG  and Polar Highlands should now have fewer stuck ‘Mechs, and Vitric Station has received a number of smaller adjustments. There’s a few more, but you’ll need to experience those changes for yourself in-game. 

Not too many ‘Mech quirks to talk about so I’m going to skip ’em. As always, the full patch notes are available on the MechWarrior Online site. 

A Lego Catapult Is Here To Offer Long-Range Fire Support, One Brick At A Time

Hansen Bricks Catapult

You might remember Kevin Hansen of HansenBricks.com as the talented modeler who created this Uziel or the even more impressive King Crab. After more than two years, he’s back with a new Lego build: the Catapult. 

Hansen based his design on the MechWarrior Online/MechWarrior 5 version “as it was personally my favorite.” The final model is about a foot tall and uses 2,200 pieces, which you can view along with the model’s instructions over on the HansenBricks site. It’s big enough to fit a minifigure in case you wanted something that’s to scale with Lego’s itty-bitty plastic people.

Catalyst Partners With Humble Bundle To Offer The Perfect Introduction To BattleTech 

Humble BattleTech Bundle

Humble Bundle is usually where I turn to if I want lots of games on the cheap--usually from specific publishers, but sometimes it’s whatever Humble gets its hands on. This time, Humble has gotten its hands on a bunch of BattleTech stuff to offer an “Introduction To BattleTech Book Bundle” just in time for the holidays.

From now until December 16, you can get up to $350ish value in BattleTech books for the low price of $30.00. This being Humble, the idea is to encourage people to pay more for the proceeds to go to charity--in this case, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, which offers financial and other assistance to US Naval and Marine Service members and their families. 

The 28 items offered are all digital except for the BattleTech Beginner Box Set, which won’t be shipped until January. And if you can’t afford the full $30, you can still pay to receive a smaller number of digital items, which Reddit user honicthesedgehog has kindly broken down for me. All items are listed cumulatively, so paying for a higher bundle gives you everything in the cheaper bundles too.

$1+ gives you:

  • Alpha Strike Commanders Edition
  • BattleMech Manual
  • BattleTech Primer V2
  • Recognition Guide ilClan v1

$10+ gives you: 

  • Chaos Campaign: Succession Wars
  • Combat Manual: Mercenaries
  • House Arano: The Aurigan Coalition
  • Legends
  • Technical Readout: Clan Invasion
  • Technical Readout: Succession Wars
  • Total Warfare
  • Touring the Stars: Tyrfing

$18+ gives you:

  • Battle of Tukayyid
  • Battle of Tukayyid Supplemental
  • Combat Manual: Kurita
  • Empire Alone
  • Era Report 3145
  • Field Manual: 3145
  • IlClan
  • Pesudotech: Arcade Operations
  • Shattered Fortress
  • Spotlight On: Crescent Hawks
  • Tamar Rising
  • Total Chaos
  • Turning Points: Irian
  • Turning Points: Misery
  • Turning Points: Tyrfing

$30+ gives you:

  • BattleTech: Beginner Box (promo code for the Catalyst store, doesn’t include shipping)

“There are MechWarriors like you in every generation. And I have felled every last one of them.”

Nightstar Mihaly Ace Combat 7

Courtesy of ValkyrieRaptor

I see a lot of great minis being painted online, so I can’t really give them all a shoutout otherwise I’d just be gushing over minis every month. But ValkyrieRaptor made this Ace Combat 7 crossover and I simply have to gush over it because Ace Combat 7 is perhaps one of my favoritist games, ever.

Ace Combat has been around for a while, and it’s always generally the same sort of game: a flight-combat action game with an anime-inspired plot that’s about as ludicrous as you can imagine. Ace Combat 7‘s plot involved the silent protagonist being accused of murdering a former president that was inspecting a space elevator, being relegated to a penal colony of fighter pilots, and then saving the world from an army of AI-controlled drones. 

It is all bonkers nonsense, but it’s so off the wall that it’s wildly entertaining. Plus, the game really makes you feel like a fighter pilot, adding just enough real-world fighter concepts to trick you into thinking you’re the greatest ace pilot in the world without needing to have the actual knowledge necessary for a real flight simulator like DCS. 

Anyway, one of the characters in Ace Combat 7 is an older gentleman named Mihaly Dumitru Margareta Corneliu Leopold Blanca Karol Aeon Ignatius Raphael Maria Niketas A. Shilage, or just Milhaly for short. He’s sort of the game’s recurring antagonist and an absolute maniac at the controls of his Sukhoi SU-30, which can perform maneuvers that even the cocaine-fueled and G force-immune protagonist can’t. His line is that he’s seen “pilots like you in every generation,” and he’s “felled every last one of them.” It’s the sort of writing that I wish we could see more of in a MechWarrior game, but I think BattleTech fans have historically been a little too grounded for that sort of thing.

Mihaly’s SU-30 is a thing of beauty, and when applied to a new-sculpt Nightstar, it’s sublime. According to ValkyrieRaptor in his Clan Invasion campaign, this MechWarrior plays the antagonist in his experimental Nightstar. Let’s just hope he’s not also programming a drone army, or whoever’s playing that campaign is in for a rough time.

How Would A Goliath Wear Pants?

Goliath Pants

Courtesy of CorneliusBreadington

We’ve all wondered how a centaur would wear pants (or if it would wear pants at all), so it only seems natural to ask the same question of the Goliath. CorneliusBreadington also provides us with several additional options for the Goliath, including short short shorts. They’re like short shorts, only they somehow hide less of that booty than if you wore nothing at all.

I am very much hoping this goes on sale somewhere before Christmas. 

Stand And Deliver

Last Stand, me, 3D Studio Max + Arnold + Photoshop, 2022 from mechwarrior

I’m pretty sure this is a Warhammer IIC, one of the greatest ‘Mechs ever made and one of the deadliest combatants anyone can ever hope to face on the battlefield of the 31st century. French artist Guilhem Bedos kindly shared their work on Reddit, which is where it caught my eye. Note the almost dazzling urban camo paint scheme that really lights up with those twin PPCs. Just the thing to warm the heart with old man winter bearing down on us.

MechWarrior Online Announces Hatchetman ‘Mech That Can’t Use Iconic Hatchet

MechWarrior Online Hatchetman

I’m about as surprised as anyone on this one. After years of denying us any melee-wielding ‘Mechs, PGI just announced the Hatchetman will be coming to MechWarrior Online. However, melee weapons still won’t be usable in MechWarrior Online. They are in MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, but melee weapons are just cosmetic in the online PvP of MechWarrior Online.

This obviously begs the question of just what the heck that Hatchetman will do with what amounts to a four-ton paperweight in its right arm. Judging by the pre-release specs, the weight of the hatchet is being replaced by some extra heat sinks and armor on the standard 3F-model, with similar swaps being done on the other five variants to be introduced. Early adopters can pre-order the Hatchatman Package for $40, with deliveries expected in-game on January 3.

In game terms, that hatchet will likely just extend the hit-box of the right arm to make it more like a shield rather than a weapon, thus making it advantageous for MechWarriors to place everything on the left side of the ‘Mech. That might prove effective, but there are plenty of ‘Mechs that can dead-side effectively. The real draw of the Hatchetman has and should be the hatchet, and being unable to use it makes me question why the Hatchetman is being brought to MechWarrior Online at all.

MechWarrior 5 To Receive Rise Of Rasalhague DLC In January

As hinted at last week, PGI has surprised us with more MechWarrior 5 DLC. Rumors were that PGI was done with MechWarrior 5 after Call to Arms and that it was now working on MechWarrior 6, but apparently, those rumors were false because MechWarrior 5 is heading to Rasalhague in January.

Rise of Rasalhague will bring an all-new 12-mission quest line for mercenaries to follow in their campaigns. It will also add the Crusader ‘Mech that was recently added to MechWarrior Online and a whopping 11 variants for it. It’ll also bring a new Rival Mercenaries feature, “allowing you to interact with numerous other mercenary companies and the infamous Bounty Hunter.” Working in areas garrisoned by other mercenary groups can result in hostile invasions or friendly assistance, depending on your relationship with that merc group. And doing bounties for the Bounty Hunter can result in some sweet loot.

One of the images on the Rise of Rasalhague page is for a new mission type called “Infiltration,” and I want to point out that the screen capture shows an Atlas sneaking into an enemy base to destroy several ‘Mechs before the general alarm sounds. I’m guessing the Steiner Scout Squad was called in for that particular contract.

In addition to the new expansion, a free game update will be sent to everyone who owns MechWarrior 5 with an improved AI, QOL enhancements, and an expanded ‘Mech hanger. Thank the ‘Mech gods for that last one because I was simply exhausted with swapping out ‘Mechs when I suddenly found myself on a mission with a vastly different weight limit to the one I’d just completed.

Rise of Rasalhague and the free update both arrive on January 26. And, according to PGI president Russ Bullock, there’s “more stuff in development.”

And that’s it for November! Join us next month as we celebrate the holiday season with whatever stuff you got for Christmas.

And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.

Update: The test was negative, so I suspect the true culprit was those tacos I had last night.

stay syrupy

79 Replies

Your BattleTech News Roundup For October, 2022

2022/10/31

I normally start these news blasts with complaints about the weather or how everything that could have gone wrong in my new condo has, but instead I’m going to focus on the positives and pose a question to everyone. I’ve been replaying MechWarrior 5 now that I’ve got all the DLC, and it’s really made me fall back in love with perhaps my favorite bad ‘Mech, the Quickdraw. However, I’ve sort of accidentally made the Hunchback my signature ‘Mech thanks to the icon I end every article with. I certainly don’t hate the Hunchback, but I think it’s a little too effective for me. Amusing jank above showstopping power, as I always say.

My question to you: is the Hunchback forever the Sarna ‘Mech now or can I swap to a Quickdraw sometime without people getting too confused (or even noticing)? Maybe I’m just overthinking this. Anyway, on to the news for October.

Duncan Fisher Says Trans Rights

Just in case you were wondering. I never had any doubt, since I’m sure humanity has evolved far beyond petty squabbles over gender identity in the 31st century, but we could certainly use a bit of that forward-thinking right now. 

Wolves Featured In Halo Mod Showcase Alongside 343 Industries

Halo Modding Community Showcase (2022)
Watch this video on YouTube.

It’s rare to go a month or two without talking about Wolves, the fan-made MechAssault game in development from New Day Fiction. Wolves was recently featured in the VKMT Showcase, a YouTube community that nominally shows off Halo mods, but apparently, they let in Wolves simply due to MechAssault‘s adjacency to Halo on the original Xbox. The trailer is a lot of in-game footage of actual combat, real music that you’ll hear in the game, and even Wolves‘ first cinematic that shows the ending of MechAssault 2 from a totally new perspective (and largely redacted by ComStar). 

This is a pretty big deal for Wolves. This showcase even had a few folks from 343 Industries showing off a mod called Digsite. And despite being a Halo mod showcase, the comments from the live chat replay are all universally positive, with Halo fans all demanding the return of MechAssault. 

“It’s evident that the strategy of bringing in new players with MechAssault is working,” said New Day’s Pajama Boy. “I believe that using MechAssault to provide casual players with a laid-back social experience can help, even save the Mechwarrior IP. It’s an answer to a question we’ve been asking ourselves for a really long time.”

Pajama tells me he’ll be asking MechWarrior: Living Legends next time this showcase airs for a potential joint presentation. Oh, and Wolves is also releasing its soundtrack, so be sure to give it a listen if you like bangin’ tunes. 

Solaris: Tranquil Brings The Solaris Games To A Former Smoke Jaguar World

Commando Cup Mission 1
Watch this video on YouTube.

In our second instance of Duncan Fisher appearing in Sarna’s monthly newsletter, Duncan will appear in the upcoming MechWarrior 3 mod Solaris: Tranquil Games, a new single-player mod that finally brings Solaris to MechWarrior 3. Solaris has been a big part of the MechWarrior universe ever since MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries, where commanders would occasionally ignore their more militant trade for a while in order to become gladiators in the Solaris arenas. That’s been the case for every game that’s featured the “Mercenaries” subtitle until MechWarrior 5, but there’s still time for PGI to get a Solaris expansion out for the latest game.

MechWarrior 3‘s restricted narrative made it impossible for the player’s character to just stop their behind-the-lines commando raid of Smoke Jaguar’s occupied territory to go fight on Solaris, but that hasn’t stopped AncientxFreako from bringing Solaris to the planet Tranquil.

I reached out to AncientxFreako to get more details on Solaris: Tranquil, and it turns out that this is but one module of a larger upcoming MechWarrior 3 mod. Others will improve the enemy AI and instant action scenarios, while Solaris: Tranquil will focus on “arena-style free-for-alls.”. AncientxFreako described it sort of like how the NHL will put on the Winter Classic at famous locations, but for the BattleTech universe. Duncan Fisher explains the “Commando Cup” is a re-enactment of the commando-style raid during Operation Damocles, only instead of Smoke Jaguars fighting a single Eridani Light Horse MechWarrior it’s a whole bunch of Solaris gladiators sent out to Tranquil to blast the snot out of each other.

AncientxFreako also told me that the same group working on Solaris: Tranquil, called the MechWarrior 3 Community Project, is also hard at work remaking MechWarrior 3 in Unity. Called Unmech3, the project is reportedly “coming along very well,” with AncientxFreako toiling away since 2003. They’d love to hear more from the community and are especially helpful with getting MechWarrior 3 and the expansion of Pirate’s Moon to work on modern computer hardware. They also host multiplayer games on the weekends too.

You can find out more and receive up-to-the-minute updates by joining the MechWarrior 3 Community Project Discord here.

Catalyst Confirms Mercenaries Kickstarter Is Coming March 2023

BattleTech Mercenaries Kickstarter

After the wildly successful Clan Invasion Kickstarter, Catalyst announced the Mercenaries expansion was on the way. Originally set to arrive Q4 2022, Catalyst had to delay the Kickstarter slightly due to the “overwhelming” success BattleTech has enjoyed following the Clan Invasion‘s release. Methinks they had so much trouble keeping up with demand for the Clan Invasion that Catalyst wants to ensure all their manufacturing ducks are in a row before it pulls the trigger on Mercenaries.

“We simply can’t make new products quickly enough,” said Catalyst president Loren Coleman in an update from October 12. “We’ve created more than a half-dozen new BattleTech products in the past year, including the new Alpha Strike box set. Our miniature sculptors need more time to complete the designs required to launch the Mercenaries Kickstarter.”

Hey, perfection takes time, and that’s fine by me. Mercenaries promises to add over 50 new designs, from ‘Mechs to tanks and VTOLs. Examples include the Demolisher, Galleon, and Maxim tanks, as well as the Goliath, Hermes II, and Rifleman IIC ‘Mechs. There are of course going to be lots more, and you can see a few of those new sculpts in previous months’ news blasts.

In other Catalyst news, we’ve got more ilClan Recongition Guides on the way! Covering the upcoming Mercenaries Kickstarter, Volume 25 will arrive Friday, October 28, while Volume 26 was confirmed to feature something I honestly can’t identify. Is that a new variant of the Avatar? A new and improved Daikyu? Or is it something we’ve never seen before? These two new volumes will be joined by six more (that’s eight total, bringing us to 32 volumes of ilClan Recognition Guides) which will be out by early next year. These new guides will include combat vehicles and battle armor too.

On top of that, Catalyst confirmed they will produce two printed versions of the Recognition Guides in 2023. The first will include all the “classic” designs that have been refitted for the ilClan era and is due early next year, while the second is scheduled for the middle of 2023 and will include all the new BattleMechs, new OmniMech variants, vehicles, and battle armors previous released in the Recognition Guides.

MechWarrior Online Puts The Party Back In The Partyback And Also Overhauls The Osiris

MWO Oct 18 2022 Patch Notes

Those of you who don’t play MechWarrior Online might be wondering what the heck is a “Partyback.” It’s the Hunchback HBK-4P, where the “P” stands for “Party” thanks to all those medium lasers making it a walking rave. I did not coin this ‘Mech’s unofficial name, but I will publish it in Sarna to ensure it remains on the public record.

The Partyback is getting some ludicrous buffs, including a -5% heat quirk and an additional STD/ER or Pulse Medium Laser before suffering from dreaded ghost heat. This will hopefully make the HBK-4P a force to be reckoned with and worth picking up over the Hunchback IIC. 

Meanwhile, the Osiris will enjoy quite a few new quirks over its assorted variants, with all of them receiving structure bonuses to the arms and most receiving fun new sensor, targeting, or consumable-enhancing quirks. 

Snub-nose PPCs have once again been nerfed with a reduction in maximum range, and medium pulse lasers have had their range increased. For more, check out the patch notes on the official MechWarrior Online website.

The Battle Between Warhammer And BattleTech Described In A Single Image

That’s a cute little bolter you have there from battletech

I heard a little while ago that a bunch of Warhammer folks had converted to BattleTech in order to escape Games Workshop. I don’t have any statistics about this or anything, but I can at least welcome our new Warhammer converts with the gift of a Rifleman, as is BattleTech tradition.

Personally, I don’t think there’s really any way to reasonably argue for one universe over the other. Yes, BattleTech has big stompy robots, but so does Warhammer, plus all those weird psychic powers and demonic nonsense that just doesn’t clean my coolant tubes, if you catch my meaning. But hand me a neurohelmet and a Quickdraw with a busted ankle actuator and I’ll show you some real space magic.

Duncan Fisher’s Writer Has Tragically Passed

The last time we hear from George Ledoux today is unfortunately for a eulogy. Ferret Boudoin (born Eric Boudoin) died earlier this month due to complications from cancer surgery. Boudoin was perhaps best known as the lead designer for Fallout 76 and the Dragon Age series, but he was also one of the designers that worked on MechWarrior 4: Black Knight and Mercenaries. Although credited as a designer, Ledoux confirmed that he actually wrote every line of dialogue for Duncan Fisher in MW4: Mercenaries.

“It was an honor to help you flesh out the iconic character by providing the voice for the role,” wrote Ledoux on Twitter. “I’ll never forget you.” And neither should we.

Fochts News Network Announces BattleTech Events for 2023

Are you in the Toronto area and not sure where to play some good old-fashioned tabletop BattleTech? The Focht’s News Network just updated its Facebook page with a bunch of events it’ll be attending for 2023. This includes Anime North’s Halloween Event on Friday followed by Toronto Comicon later in March. Both of those are in Toronto, but Focht’s News Network is also heading to Columbus Ohio in June for the Origins convention.

Did I shout out these folks for being near my hometown or for having a great name? Yes. Moving on.

Xbox Live Returns To OG Xbox Thanks To Fan Project

MechAssault

Back in 2010, Microsoft ended Xbox Live support for the original Xbox console. This meant games like Phantasy Star Online became entirely unplayable, but it also meant games like MechAssault lost their online multiplayer functionality. For over a decade, OG Xboxes have been unable to connect to one another to experience the pure joy of violent giant robots blasting each other with high-explosive ordinance. But that’s soon about to change.

Insignia is a fan-led initiative that essentially replaces Xbox Live’s servers with ones that are run by fans. This will reconnect all those old games and restore game modes that had been previously lost. Yes, that means multiplayer will soon return to MechAssault as well as Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, another beloved FASA title that never got the due it deserved. Insignia will launch with 17 games supported but the group plans to restore more games in the future.

The closed beta for Insignia begins November 15 with signups on the official site here. You’ll need an Xbox or an Xbox emulator like Xemu to join up.

That’s it for October! Join us next month for another roundup of all the BattleTech news that’s fit for human consumption.

And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.

stay syrupy

24 Replies

Your BattleTech News Roundup For September, 2022

2022/09/30

It’s September, and thanks to hurricane Fiona, an unusually wet and dismal one. I’ve also recently moved, and that wet and wild weather is making it exceptionally difficult to convince myself that I should fill my new fridge with foodstuffs. If there’s no October news blast, you’ll know I’ve starved.

But at least we’re never starving for BattleTech news here at Sarna. Here’s what I’ve managed to rustle up for September. Hope you’ve brought your appetite because this month is a doozy.

Dall-E Makes MechWarriors

Dall-E BattleTech

Courtesy of Reddit user JoseLunaArts

A lot of you have probably already heard about Dall-E, the artificial intelligence that can take text prompts and turn them into actual pictures. Depending on the prompt they can look more than a little janky, but some prompts have generated some really beautiful images. Take anything from the DnD Dall-E Twitter account and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

Dall-E 2 is currently in an invite-only beta, so not everyone will have access to this AI, but Reddit user JoseLunaArts used their access to generate some BattleTech-themed images. And apparently, one of their text prompts was “Sandra Bullock as a MechWarrior,” because that’s the first of nineteen images that Dall-E 2 spat out. There’s also a lot of Milla Jovovich doing her best Natasha Kerensky impression. 

As cool as I think this technology is, it probably won’t have a lot of application in BattleTech--at least, for the time being. Dall-E needs a large database of images to draw from in order to create its pictures, and while there’s a lot of BattleTech art out there, it’s nothing compared to the vast quantity of photos of Sandra Bullock. On top of that, BattleTech‘s ‘Mechs are extremely nuanced, and Dall-E doesn’t do particularly well with fine details. Just look at the picture above to get a sense of the mishmash of machines Dall-E comes up with.

However, there are a lot of concept artists out there concerned that something like Dall-E is going to put them out of work. It’s not hard to see why; if I can just ask Dall-E to generate convincing fantasy pictures for a D&D setting, then I don’t have to pay someone to draw art for my homebrew expansion. Maybe one day it’ll do the same for ‘Mechs. 

In World Where BattleTech Was Sold At Walmart

Detocroix, who knows exactly how to get my attention, created this fan mockup of a BattleMech singles box while I was away on vacation. Apologies for not getting to this until September’s news blast!

You know how a lot of D&D, Star Wars, and various other game minis can come in little single packs? Well, what if Catalyst did the same thing, but for ‘Mechs? And what if those packs also contained other components so that you technically got four ‘Mechs in one plastic package? Sounds like a fun idea, although I know a few plasti-crack heads who would probably go bankrupt if they had to pay for each ‘Mech individually like this. So long as you can still buy box sets in bulk, I’m all for this idea. Bonus points for using Eldon’s Urbex design on the packaging.

This Is Exactly What The MechWarrior 3 Into Looked Like And You Can’t Convince Me Otherwise

Punakettu MechWarrior 3

Courtesy of Punakettu

Speaking of images that Dall-E can’t generate, this image inspired by MechWarrior 3 was recently posted to the BattleTech subreddit by Travis of the Gallery 3025 Patreon (which you should subscribe to). It was done by Punakettu, and it’s definitely how I remember the intro of MechWarrior 3. Nevermind the fact there’s another image of the true  MechWarrior 3 intro in the gallery; that second image is a fake. Punakettu’s pic is just how I remember it. 

Space Port City Biome Mod Now In Beta For MechWarrior 5

Quick MW5 Mod News Update: vonBiomes SpacePortCity! Polishing the new biome & getting things ready!
Watch this video on YouTube.

As far as I know, there’s no new content on the way for MechWarrior 5. At least, not from official sources. The good news is that means there’s plenty of opportunity for modders to expand on the latest MechWarrior title with their own little spin.

One of those modders is vonSeiten, the guy behind the vonBiomes series of mods as well as the vonHUD mod. His latest mod is Space Port City, a massive biome that turns MechWarrior 5‘s procedurally-generated maps into an enormous urban environment filled with glass-covered skyscrapers and towering satellite dishes. According to vonSeiten’s latest video, there are over 90 randomized tiles in Space Port City, which can make procedural generation difficult. That said, things seem to be coming along pretty well, with DropShips coming and going in the background. 

You can request access to the beta test of Space Port City by heading to vonSeiten’s Discord. The beta is expected to run until sometime next month before it goes live on vonSeiten’s mod page.

The Vindicator Is A Fantabulous Beginner ‘Mech

Catalyst announced the new BattleTech Beginner Box Vindicator Edition earlier this month, largely because it contains the new Vindicator miniature. For some reason, Catalyst decided to pair the Vindicator against the Griffin, which doesn’t seem like a particularly fair fight. The Griffin has the mobility advantage while the two are largely matched for armor and firepower. Hopefully, the Vindicator‘s pilot skills equalize things.

The new Beginner Box set includes a simplified 12-page rulebook, eight erasable Record Sheets, four pilot cards, one double-sided map, two plastic minis, and a 24-page novella. You can order the new box set on Catalyst’s site for $24.99.

Shrapnel issue 10 is also out, which I don’t normally consider newsworthy, but I’m making an exception here. First, it’s twice as big as usual, so if you’re looking for good value, this is the issue worth snagging. And also, there’s a certain new mini design on the front cover that happens to be a personal favorite of mine.

Clan Protectorate Heckin’ Protecc

Latest commission from u/Amenton37 finished. Sea Fox and Spirit Cat Protectorate mechs at their mountain stronghold. from battletech

SU-SMD’s latest commission (courtesy of Reddit user Amenton37) is from an era and faction we don’t normally see a lot of. Here we have a Sea Fox Regent alongside a Spirit Cat Protectorate Amarok out on maneuvers at a mountain stronghold. I was devastated to hear that the Nova Cats had been wiped out in the Dark Age, but it warms me to know that at least some of these Clanner hippies have survived to go on spirit quests in the ilClan era.

Natasha Sleeps With An Uzi Confirmed

Eldonious, our lovely resident artist who does the covers of each and every Bad ‘Mechs article, also takes commissions. One of his more recent pieces was for @AdventuringZone over on Twitter. It showcases Natasha Kerensky at two points in her career, first as the commander of the Black Window Company, and second as Khan of Clan Wolf.

I don’t know a whole lot about Clan Wolf ceremonial garb, so I can’t really comment on whether Natasha’s scantily-clad barbarian huntress look is accurate. However, I’m pretty sure that young Natasha is holding an Uzi in her left hand, which is an Israeli submachine gun that’s about as bonkers as most weapons Israel has ever produced. So now I have to look up whether the Uzi survived into the 31st century or if Natasha just had a penchant for antique firearms. 

Introducing Mech Ball. It’s like Football, But Bigger And Only Slightly Less Violent.

Mech Ball

Courtesy of Slartibrtfast

Reddit user Slartibrtfast shared several images of a custom map they’ve described as ‘Mech Ball. The map looks suspiciously like a football field, only scaled up to ‘Mech size and covered in hexagons. Slartibrtfast describes the game as two teams trying of ‘Mechs that each has their own ball and are trying to deposit it at the opponent’s goal. The first to do so wins.

Is ‘Mech Ball limited to just physical combat or are weapons allowed? Are there weight restrictions so a star of Fire Moths can’t just zip to the endzone in two turns? Can you mine your end of the field so that crossing into the goal results in the loss of a leg? I don’t have the answers to these questions. But I do know that Slartibrtfast is debating selling this map on their Etsy store page. Please do message them for additional info, and then tell me what you find out since this could be the next big thing in BattleTech.

GridlockCosplay Destroys Halloween For Every ‘Mech Dad, Ever

Battlemech/Mechwarrior Mk2, Extreme Cosplay Costume
Watch this video on YouTube.

A couple of years ago, some of you might have seen this video rolling around the internet of the world’s best dad. That’s because he’d created a ‘Mech costume where he’d carry around his daughter in a strap-on seat while he played the role of a walking death machine. The suit had a working cockpit door, a rotating radar array, a buzzing Gatling gun, and a yoke that could order daddy to pick up the pace in order to acquire Halloween candy faster. 

Now, Jack “@GridlockCosplay” Thomson is back with his ultimate creation: a fully-functional Catapult cosplay. 

This thing is incredible. First, it’s got a powered cockpit hatch and motorized torso allowing the Catapult a full 360 degrees of motion (far more than the actual Catapult is capable of). It also has articulated arms allowing the wearer/pilot to aim their payload with deadly precision. The legs aren’t articulated in the same way as the Catapult, but that’d be hard to do when the ‘Mech’s locomotion is entirely human-powered.

According to Thomson himself, this behemoth took two years to create and $1,000 CAD in materials. It even includes multiple two-way cameras so the wearer can actually see where they’re going. This thing is almost as high-tech as a real ‘Mech.

I have yet to ascertain whether or not you can actually put a small child in the cockpit seat. I’ll be sure to report back after I’ve found out. This thing has clearly nuked every other ‘Mech cosplay from orbit, and I’m excited to see what happens when this thing strolls down the street for Halloween.

A Marauder And A Raven Set Forth At Dawn

Dawn Patrol from battletech

1001WingedHussars gives us this painted piece featuring a Marauder and a Raven going on a “Dawn Patrol.” It looks like the Raven has gotten a head start, which is just typical of those little scout ‘Mechs. Always running off and getting into trouble. 

KerenskyCon II Teases New Minis, Vehicles, And A Strategic BattleTech Board Game

KerenskyCon II recently wrapped and we have a lot to discuss. First, hats off to the BattleTech Community Twitter account for throwing a whole bunch of pictures together from various sources to showcase what we missed.

First, there’s a BattleTech strategy game. I see cards, colored plastic minis, and boards with faces likely representing various personalities from the Inner Sphere around the year 3025. I also see a whole bunch of d12s and counters ranging from poker chips to clear plastic cubes. My guess? BattleTech Risk, but better because it’s in the future. 

Moving on, we’ve got alternate mini configurations for the UrbanMech, the ‘Mech that’s quickly becoming BattleTech‘s mascot. Next we got the BattleTech Mercenaries box sets that have already been previewed a few months ago, but I will never get tired of seeing the Nightsky, Gunslinger, Penetrator, and Sagittaire.

Elsewhere we get to see the various ‘Mech packs, such as the Inner sphere Pursuit Lance (comprised of the Cicada, Hermes II, Clint, and Dervish), the Inner Sphere Recon Lance (Firestarter, Spider, Javelin, and what could be a Spector but I’m honestly not sure), and the Inner Sphere Security Lance which consists solely of Scorpions.

I kid. There will probably be three additional ‘Mechs planned for the Security Lance, but they likely haven’t been made/decided yet (really hoping to see the new Assassin in here). Ditto the Inner Sphere Battle Armor Lance. 

Last, there’s something called BattleTech Command, which also looks like a strategic BattleTech board game, only much smaller in scale. I suspect this is going to be a unit-based strategy game, but I’m just speculating here.

All these are coming with the Mercenaries Kickstarter, which is expected to launch any day now. A good thing too as I’m pretty sure I saw a Quickdraw in there, and I needs me my favorite bad ‘Mech.

And that’ll do for September! Join us next time as we discover what fresh hell awaits us in October.

And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.

stay syrupy

11 Replies

Your BattleTech News Roundup For August, 2022

2022/08/26

August has been blissfully warm. Which is nice, since renovations have been a months-long string of disasters that have left me a husk of a man. The situation has convinced that perhaps the best life path for me is to actually quit writing entirely to focus on learning how to build kitchen cabinets and standing showers without having to pay anyone else.

While I contemplate the many wrong life choices that have brought me here, I will at least provide you all with your BattleTech news for August.

Catalyst Cuts Ties With Long-Time Author, Blaine Lee Pardoe

This technically happened at the end of July but it was basically right after we’d already published last month’s roundup. And man, this blew up my timeline along with everyone else’s. 

We’ll start with Catalyst’s statement, which simply stated it had “suspended publishing new works by long-time BattleTech author Blaine Lee Pardoe, primarily due to Mr. Pardoe’s online activities which do not align with Catalyst’s publishing vision.” Those of you who don’t follow Pardoe’s Twitter account might wonder just what those “online activities” might be and how they could be so bad as to cause a rift in a business relationship that had lasted 36 years. 

BlainePardoe

For an explanation, we’ll turn to Blaine Lee Pardoe himself, who published his side of the story in American Greatness, a news site that even its own Twitter account describes as “a hotbed of far-right Trumpist nationalism.” Blaine provides his account of what happened in an article titled “My Publisher Canceled Me in Favor of an Activist Who Threatened My Life,” where he accused Catalyst and BattleTech license holder Fanatic of caving to the demands of a “woke mob” that increasingly saw Pardoe’s political discussions online as… concerning.

I’m not even going to get into the bizarre odyssey of Pardoe’s alleged stalker, mostly because it seems like a he-said she-said that Pardoe plays up to rile his conservative supporters. 

Pardoe then posts an update to his personal blog where he goes into the call he received from Catalyst president Loren Coleman (another longtime author of the BattleTech franchise) as well as an email where executive editor John Helfers called Pardoe’s non-BattleTech work “drivel.” In case you were wondering, that “drivel” was book two of Pardoe’s Blue Dawn series of novels that describe an alternate reality where neoliberals overthrow the American government and replace it with a progressive/socialist one. 

Some of you might think that sounds great, but the blurb really makes it clear that the novel is targeting the kind of conservative audience who confuse “socialism” with “bad.” 

Helfers later apologized for what was apparently an accidental email CC, but it’s clear here that Catalyst had a real problem with Pardoe’s non-BattleTech career. Statements from both Catalyst and Coleman confirmed that this separation has nothing to do with Pardoe’s BattleTech works or novels, many of which remain the universe’s narrative cornerstones. 

There’s been a ton of community drama, some siding with Pardoe, some with Catalyst, but all of it just highlights how American politics has become so pervasively polarized. And that’s coming from a Canadian, a country which desperately tries to keep its nose out of American politics (barring softwood lumber or electric cars). 

Also, kudos to Insaniac99 on the BattleTech Reddit for providing links to those Facebook blurbs, since I have a general policy of staying away from Facebook as much as possible even without a category four shitstorm raging. 

Tex Talks About The Inner Sphere’s Great Houses

BattleTech 101: The Great Houses of the Inner Sphere
Watch this video on YouTube.

Another quick hit for July that I totally missed because YouTube’s algorithm is garbage. Tex and the Black Pants Legion did a new video describing the major Houses of the Inner Sphere. It’s a much quicker hit that Tex’s usual Tex Talks BattleTech fair, and is a great primer for anyone looking for a relatively quick explanation of the BattleTech universe. There’s also some new art in here too, so I’m even going to encourage BattleTech veterans to check it out. 

MechAssault 2 Mod Adds Wave Survival Mode

MechAssault 2 | Grinder Enhanced 2 (Dev Update) | Last Resort
Watch this video on YouTube.

I’ll admit it, I’ve never played MechAssault 2. But from the looks of this mod (and Wolves, the fan-made MechAssault game) I missed out on something pretty cool. But if you own a copy of MechAssault 2, you don’t have to miss out on what looks like a pretty cool mod.

Grinder Enhanced 2 comes courtesy of EliteAssault over on YouTube. It adds a new survival-based map where you get to take on waves of Word of Blake ‘Mechs using your choice of BattleMech and with the help of a few friends. Things keep getting progressively more difficult, with more enemy ‘Mechs dropping in until finally the player is overwhelmed. The objective is to last as long as possible and rack up as many kills before your reactor goes nova.

Check out EliteAssault’s Discord for directions on where to download the mod.

Catalyst Brings A Massive UrbanMech To Gen Con (And Previews Some New Stuff Too)

GenCon 2022: Catalyst Game Labs Battletech Alpha Strike
Watch this video on YouTube.

Finally getting to true August news, Catalyst was in full force at Gen Con 2022. And to prove it, they even brought a life-size UrbanMech with them. Sadly, it’s not a real UrbanMech, but a mere inflatable copy. Still, this is the closest we’ve come yet to seeing a real-life BattleMech walking around. Or waving its inflatable autocannon at us. 

Inside Gen Con, Catalyst showed off a bunch of new products, starting with the new Alpha Strike Box Set. Inside you’ll find a quick rules book, a bunch of Alpha Strike cards, some pilot cards, and 13 ‘Mechs, several of which have brand-new designs. There’s the Pouncer, a ‘Mech that proves all you need is Clan tech to make a 40-ton chassis workable, and the Wraith, a 55-ton Inner Sphere ‘Mech that proves all you need are pulse lasers and jump jets to take on almost anything. 

There were also copies of Empire Alone on sale, as well as the BattleTech Beginner Box set, a new T-shirt with a Banshee on it, and a selection of BattleTech‘s latest novels including A Question of Survival by Bryan Young and Land of Dreams by Randall N. Bills.

Elsewhere at Gen Con, Catalyst treated to a bunch of teasers for even more new models. Courtesy of the BattleTech Community Twitter account, we got to see teasers for some new sculpts. I spot a Javelin, a Clint, a Dervish, and a Scorpion, as well as Warrior VTOL and what might be the Behemoth tank. I’m sure there’s way more that I’ve missed, so please do share your best Gen Con reveals in the comments below. 

The Urbie Has The Spirit

Besides getting to see his beautiful UrbanMech design immortalized as an inflatable, Bishop Steiner also gave us… this. I’m not exactly sure what denomination this UrbanMech belongs to, but I understand that communication is the key to a successful religion, and it looks like this UrbanMech understands that too.

What If The King Crab Was In MechWarrior 3?

King crab in style of Mechwarrior 3 from mechwarrior

Honestly, this model seems like it could be good enough for MechWarrior 4. Thankfully, we never had to deal with the twin AC/20s hidden inside the King Crab‘s claws in either game, but TedwinK66’s animation does make you wonder. 

BattleMech Plush Prototypes Spotted

Archer Atlas Plushies

It’s been a while since we’ve seen the teaser of those BattleMech plushies, so it’s about time we checked in. And guess what? We got a set of pics for each of the new plushies coming. 

Courtesy of Reddit user Beskaryc117, who grabbed these pics off Twitter, we get to see what we’re in for. In the first image, we have two Archers and an Atlas. And in the second, a Phoenix Hawk. It doesn’t look like the Hatchetman is part of this set, which is a shame, but you can’t expect Catalyst to bring an entire roster of iconic ‘Mechs in a single go.

But a Hatchetman would have been nice. Outside of a Whitworth of course. 

No New ‘Mechs Planed For MechWarrior Online, But Updates Continue

Podcast 229 - Developer Chat - Q3 - 2022 Roadmap - Mechwarrior Online
Watch this video on YouTube.

And now we move on to MechWarrior Online news. And the news for MechWarrior Online is there is no news. Or there’s at least very little news. 

A new interview with No Guts No Galaxy’s Sean Lang and Matt and Daeron at PGI revealed there’s not a whole lot is going on with MechWarrior Online. New mapmaker Francois has left the company and the MWO team doesn’t have the resources to create new ‘Mechs or maps. Hence why the roadmap has been updated to not include any map after the Terra Therma rework which is still scheduled for October, and why there are no new ‘Mechs on the horizon.

Which is a shame, since apparently, the Crusader was both successful financially for PGI and a big hit with fans. The Crusader was one of the few remaining Unseen ‘Mechs that have never really been in a MechWarrior game, and it’s so nice to see that old battlewagon make its virtual debut. 

That’s not to say that things will remain this way forever. Matt and Daeron are still negotiating with the higher-ups at PGI to get the staff they need for new content whenever they become available. It might just take a little while. And we should keep in mind that staff not working on MechWarrior Online means they’re working on something else. Wonder what that might be?

Support for MechWarrior Online continues with balance updates and bug fixes. The Commando and the Cougar are the big winners in this month’s quirk pass, but there was also some fine-tuning performed on some Phoenix Hawk, Warhammer IIC, and Marauder II variants. Light machine guns were buffed, and Snub PPCs--which have dominated the meta ever since their buff in July--have been nerfed with additional heat and heat scaling. Whether that’ll be enough to stop the Snub-pocalypse in MechWarrior Online remains to be seen, but I’m at least confident that the Cauldron is keeping an eye on things and will take even more drastic steps if necessary.

And that’s it for August! Join me next time where I’ll hopefully have moved successfully and it will still be warm enough for me to call it summer in September.

And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.

stay syrupy

Your BattleTech News Roundup For July 2022

2022/07/29

Where British Columbia and Europe both suffer record high temperatures, it’s been uncharacteristically cool in Southern Ontario, and I feel like I’m being cheated out of my hot-hot summer. I haven’t needed to turn on the air conditioning, and I’ve even been writing these articles in sweatpants when I should be down to my skivvies. That’s just in case you were wondering what “business casual” is around here.

As always, we’ve got a Leopard DropShip’s-worth of news, so we don’t have time for me to complain about global warming tacitly avoiding my hometown just to force me to wear more clothes that I’d expect in July. Here’s what’s going on in the BattleTech world for July, 2022.

Catalyst Releases Third Founding Of The Clan Novels And Announces Store Credit For Missing Kickstarter Dice And Decks

Apparently Catalyst has had some trouble with the Clan Invasion Kickstarter’s insignia dice and pilot decks. For some backers, the dice weren’t of the expected quality while others were outright missing decks of pilots. Catalyst did say that they had a 96% successful fulfillment rate, which is pretty great considering this all happened during the whirlwind of the pandemic, but the company wants to make sure every backer is a satisfied customer.

Land of Dreams

To that end, Catalyst is now offering store credit for backers who pledged for either dice or decks. Those who had pledge rewards including insignia dice will receive at least $5 credit at the Catalyst store per pair of dice, and an additional $5 per order for the conversion to store credit. For missing decks, CGL has created the “Heroes of the Inner Sphere” deck, which will be received in addition to $15 store credit per missing deck. Those credits will be mailed out in the next few weeks. Give it a bit of time as there are 12,000 credits to be sent.

Catalyst also had some trouble getting the third Founding of the Clans book to backers as well. You can read the update on Kickstarter for the full story, but the climax is a Dropbox link that will provide backers with Land of Dreams and Jaguar’s Leap by Reed Bishop. I gotta say, putting the Starslayer on the cover of a BattleTech book is a gutsy move, but I’m all for it. 

Something Weird Is Going On With Everything BattleTech

Something is up with the Everything BattleTech group. Folks might have noticed an abrupt rebranding to “Everything Sci-Fi,” followed by this statement from Catalyst Games earlier this month. It seems that the BattleTech license holder, Fanatic (which acquired Topps earlier this year), had issues “regarding potential violations of the BattleTech rights and license.” Catalyst was contacted to discuss those issues with Everything BattleTech founder David Vivas, sending Line Developer Ray Arrastia to spearhead a “series of dialogues” with Vivas as well as other BattleTech communities.

Apparently things didn’t go well. Vivas rebranded the Everything BattleTech Facebook page to “Everything Sci-fi” and then again to just “EBT.” The Everything BattleTech Discord is currently voting on a more permanent solution, which includes fantastic suggestions like “OnlyMechs,” “Mecha Fight Club,” and “Republic of Mechs.” I’m a fan of OnlyMechs, personally.

Everything BattleTech

Catalyst’s statement doesn’t go into details, but it seems like the issue was largely surrounding the use of the name BattleTech specifically, especially on what was formerly known as the Everything BattleTech Patreon (which has now been renamed the David Vivas Patreon). The Everything BattleTech Discord server seems mostly unchanged outside of a few new channels that are helping with the rebranding effort.

The statement went on to explain Ray never made “any requirement for a comprehensive rebranding or retreat from the BattleTech fan space,” and the sudden rebranding came as a complete surprise. I reached out to Vivas for his side of the story, but he declined to comment. 

BattleTech has a long and complicated history when it comes to fan works and fan communities. Without knowing both sides of this story I won’t say whether this is just another case of an overly aggressive copyright holder or a group trying to cash in on the resurgence BattleTech has enjoyed over the past few years. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

Empire Alone Reveals First Conflicts Of The ilClan Era

In somewhat more exciting news from Catalyst, we’ve got a new sourcebook to talk about. Empire Alone is the second sourcebook of the ilClan era, telling the tale of what happens in the Wolf Empire while Alaric Ward is off conquering Terra and the year following his victory. The Free Worlds League sees an opportunity to recapture worlds lost to the Wolves, which risks putting Nikol Marik in a war against Clan Wolf and potentially every Clan that acknowledges Alaric as the leader of a new Star League. And then there’s Wolf’s Dragoons, weakened after assisting Clan Wolf in defeating the Jade Falcons and then snubbed by the new ilKhan. They might be licking their wounds, but an opportunity for revenge can’t be ignored.

Empire Alone runs from the year 3151 to mid-3152 and centers around the major events between the Free Worlds League and the Wolf Empire. It’s available now at retailers and on Catalyst’s store along with the new CountersPack: BattleForce, the perfect solution to large-scale engagements.

And finally, there’s a new mini. The Timber Wolf TC (“temporary configuration”) was designed to counter ComStar ambushes during the Battle of Tukayyid. It comes armed with two large pulse lasers, two ER medium lasers, two Streak SRM-6s, and a smaller ER laser in the left torso. It also has five jump jets to escape whatever trap ComStar lays. It worked pretty well, and the mini is now available on the Catalyst web store.

Oh, and I almost forgot: there’s a new novel out for you fiction lovers. A Question of Survival reveals how Clan Jade Falcon plans to repopulate its depleted warrior caste following their defeat at the hands of Clan Wolf. The Rasalhague Dominion falls squarely in the sights of Jiyi Chistu‘s forces, and several sibkos may suddenly find themselves growing up Falcons rather than as proud Ghost Bears. 

An Outdoor Market For The Best Cheapest ‘Mechs In The Inner sphere

Speaking of Empire Alone, our very own Eldoniousrex created some cool-ass art for the sourcebook. Not only did he do the cover, but he also did this great landscape of a Clan Sea Fox market. Note the Griffin IIC, a ‘Mech that proves the Clans can make a better Griffin that’s lighter, faster, more powerful, and even cheaper than the original. Now that’s a ‘Mech that’s worth every C-bill. He also has an absolutely incredible new t-shirt design that y’all should definitely buy.

The Perfect ‘Mech Might Just Be The Whitworth

Whitworth via fed0tich

Some of you might be wondering why I haven’t discussed the Whitworth in a Bad ‘Mechs article. That’s because I don’t think the Whitworth is actually bad. Sure it’s a little slow for a 40-ton ‘Mech, but it can still keep up with most regiments and fulfill its role as a rapid response fire support ‘Mech. It can help lay ambushes and leap away before the enemy can return fire. And when it gets caught by faster light ‘Mechs, its heavier armor and three medium lasers are just enough to defend itself. It’s actually really good.

So it warms my heart to see someone giving the Whitworth the attention it deserves with art courtesy of fed0tich. Catalyst still hasn’t deigned to officially redesign the Whitworth, but when they do, I sincerely hope it looks something like this. 

July’s MechWarrior Online Patch Adjusts Armor Skills And Enforces Group Maximums In Quick Play

MWO July 2022 Patch Notes

A small patch for MechWarrior Online in July. No big new map or new ‘Mechs, but there’s another quirk pass, some adjustments to skill nods, and a fix for the group play restrictions in Quick Play.

Let’s talk ‘Mechs. Wolfhounds, Javelins, Hunchbacks, and King Crabs have all had their quirks adjusted, with a few tweaks made to specific variants of the Jenner IIC, Phoenix Hawk, Trebuchet, Vapor Eagle, Mad Dog, Banshee, and Sun Spider. Inner Sphere Gauss Rifles have also had their cooldown reduced to make them a little more competitive against their Clan counterparts.

Several skills have been adjusted. Hill Climb skills now actually work and make it easier to climb hills (whereas before this skill did absolutely nothing). Reinforced Casing, Torso Pitch, and Torso Yaw have all been increased, and both Armor Hardening and Skeletal Density skill nodes have been buffed across the board for ‘Mechs larger than 60 tons. There’s a specific chart in the patch notes that describes how each node changes depending on your ‘Mech’s tonnage.

Another big fix deals with Quick Play, by far the most common way to play MechWarrior Online. Group maximums have once again been brought back, meaning no team can have more than a single four-stack or a two-stack and three-stack. Previously, games were a little wonky as solo players were being matched against multiple teams, which often resulted in some terribly one-sided matches. Hopefully your matches will fare a little better.

There’s still a free giveaway going on in MechWarrior Online where you can grab a free Hero ‘Mech for earning 250 loot bags. You can easily get 10-12 loot bags in a single match, so it’s not too hard to get a free Hero ‘Mech, plus all the ‘Mech credits, C-bills, consumables, skill points, and more being given away in each loot bag. The loot bag event is on until August 4.

MechWarrior 5 Makes It Easier To Find A Yen Lo Wang

Yen-Lo-Wang MW5

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries has also received a new patch. This one is mostly game fixes, but there’s at least an adjustment being made to the spawn rates of the CN9-YLW2 Yen-Lo-Wang and BL-P-KNT2 Black Knight to make them a little more commonplace in your next playthrough. There’s also memory optimizations for both Xbox and PlayStation, and some helpful mod updates for tagging assets and tweaking player aim assist. You can check out the patch notes here to see what annoying bug you hated most just got squashed.

Explain To Me How This Even Works

Boombox Atlas via HighlighterFTW

Nevermind all the incredible talent that goes into creating a kitbash like this--I just wanna know how the hell an Atlas is supposed to fire what appears to be the LRM-15 packs of a Catapult that were unceremoniously ripped from the 65-ton ‘Mech’s body and are now being used as a giant external launcher. Does it press a ‘Mech-sized button on the side that says “FIRE ZE MISSILES” or does it just kick out the jams and beatbox its way to a swarm of fiery death? Explain this to me, Reddit user HighlighterFTW. I’m dying to know.

Renegade HPG Talks To Bruce Patnaude

Comic Artist BRUCE PATNAUDE Talks BattleTech | Gallery 3025 LIVE Q&A
Watch this video on YouTube.

Those who follow Gallery 3025 on Patreon (and you really should be) might have noticed a few recent pieces courtesy of Bruce Patnaude, a comic artist with a style very reminiscent of some of BattleTech’s earliest source books. You can see all of Patnaude’s pieces over on Gallery 3025, but we showcased two of them in last month’s news roundup.

To get an idea for Patnaude’s creative process, Renegade HPG’s Travis Gardner (who also runs Gallery 3025) sat down with him to talk about some of the fine work he’s been doing for the gallery. You should definitely check out the video above, and we hope to see more of Patnaude’s fabulous work in the future.

And that’s it for July! Join us again next month where Sarna provides you with all the BattleTech news that’s safe for human consumption.

And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.

stay syrupy

19 Replies

Your BattleTech News Roundup For June, 2022

2022/06/30

June is the best month. The start of summer brings the heat, while the month of Pride brings back the festival atmosphere that has been missing from Toronto for the past two years. Not that I’m willing to bake myself in the sun for hours just to watch a bunch of scantily-clad dudes walk down Yonge Street, but it’s still a nice return to normalcy.

Speaking of normalcy, it’s the end of the month, and that means it’s time for your regularly schedule BattleTech update! Let’s get started!

Call To Arms Hits MechWarrior 5 Like A Hatchet

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries DLC 3 Call to Arms Launch Trailer
Watch this video on YouTube.

We’ll start off with something that you likely already know from our previous reporting, but MechWarrior 5‘s third (and possibly last) DLC is available now. Building on the melee combat added in Legend of the Kestrel Lancers, Call to Arms adds a whole armory’s worth of melee weapons to MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. Quickdraws are a lot scarier when they’re comin’ at you with a giant sword instead of an LRM-10.

In addition, Call to Arms adds several new biomes, 23 new “weapon-focused” ‘Mech variants, five new weapon-focused Hero ‘Mechs, and a small quest to retrieve the Hatchetman on behalf of some Lyran rebels. Contract tonnage is also a lot more flexible, and dying will just mean swapping to another MechWarrior in your lance. 

As for what’s coming next, I have no idea and everything is pure speculation at this point. But if this is truly the last MechWarrior 5 expansion, the modders are finally free to go buckwild with this game, and that’s pretty exciting on its own. 

Someone Is Making A BattleTech Player-Finder App

BattleSpots

As we emerge from the COVID pandemic, people are naturally looking to be more social. And what better way to be more social than to find a bunch of like-minded BattleTech fans to play the hit tabletop game? I’ve been seeing a lot of folks posting pictures of all those fancy new minis and complaining about not having anyone to play with, but a new app might soon eliminate that problem.

Reddit user vonseiten posted to the BattleTech subreddit their idea for a BattleTech Player-Finder and Battlereport app. Called “BattleSpots,” the app seems to be powered by another app called Spotteron, which basically just lets you geolocate other people using the app under certain categories. There’s a Discord up for those lookin’ to sign up, provide feedback, or to answer any questions you have with how the whole thing works. 

BattleSpots is available now on Google and iOS. The official site will link you to the Google Play and App Store pages.

Myomer Muscles Inch Closer To Reality

Myomer

We’ve seen a few stories about technological breakthroughs in material science that made Myomer Muscle-like fibers, but this most recent paper published in Nature Nano seems the closest yet to commercial applications. 

Researchers at Texas U. at Austin and Penn State University have created a block copolymer (fiber material) that assembles itself in water, making it easier to create than previous fibers. These fibers are also 75% more efficient than current electrical actuators, and up to 900% tougher too. Best of all, the fibers are recyclable, meaning it’s easy to reverse their water-born assembly to be used in other applications. Apparently, the researchers were initially looking for a new material to make water filtration membranes, but instead they discovered a material that could have massive applications in both robotics and medicine. 

As usual, this is all still in the research stages and hasn’t actually seen any real-world applications. But I’m hopeful for some cool bionics by the time I need my hip replaced. You can read more about these fibers over at the University of Texas’s website.

Aerospace Hangar Bay By Bruce Patnaude

Aerospace Hangar Bay By Bruce Patnaude

We’ve got two pieces from Gallery 3025 to share this month, and both of them are by artist Bruce Patnaude. The first, shown above, depicts a busy hangar bay full of Aerospace pilots undergoing preflight checks. These fighters appear to be Sholagars, but my knowledge of Drac spacers is not particularly extensive. Correct me on this one if I’m wrong. 

If you want to see more, be sure to visit the Gallery 3025 Patreon and sign up for as little as $2 a month. 

DOS Game Club Dives Deep Into MechWarrior 2 In Latest Podcast

mechwarrior_2_cover

Emil from The Art of BattleTech recently guest starred on the DOS Game Club podcast where the subject of the episode was MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat. The game that truly catapulted the series to its legendary status and cemented ‘Mech combat as its own video game genre, DOS Game Club spent just over three hours discussing the development, gameplay, and legacy of MechWarrior 2. It also started with the audio of the intro cinematic, which brings back so many memories even without the visuals. 

I knew quite a bit of the development of MechWarrior 2 from a deep dive into the 1995 classic from a few years ago, some of which was discussed during the podcast, but a lot of it was MechWarrior 2’s overall gameplay and its contribution to gaming history. No spoilers, just listen to the podcast. And of course, check out The Art of BattleTech on Twitter for even more tidbits (and some great art) from your favorite BattleTech games.

More LAMs For The LAM God

Phoenix Hawk LAM commission from battletech

We recently discussed the Phoenix Hawk LAM in a recent Bad ‘Mechs article, although the Phoenix Hawk was probably the best LAM ever produced. It never quite looked as well as it performed, which is why we can thank Reddit user fedOtich for giving the Phoenix Hawk LAM a well-deserved makeover.

Despite the quality of the image, it doesn’t seem to have created any LAM converts, judging by the comments. I’m still of the mind that LAMs should stick with their anime roots, but maybe if they had designs like this one I’d change my mind. 

UrbanMech, UrbanMech, Doing Exactly What An UrbanMech Does

UrbanMech Thumper Gallery 3025

Our second Bruce Patnaude piece showcases the venerable UrbanMech in its natural environment. It occurs to me we still haven’t discussed the severe restrictions placed on the UrbanMech due to its awful performance in several key BattleMech metrics, but I’m sure we’ll get to it eventually. It’s gotta be special for this little trashcan. 

MechWarrior Online Adds The Crusader In Latest Update

MechWarrior Online Crusader

Ever since the Unseen drama ended with the designs returning to BattleTech, fans have asked for the Crusader to be added to MechWarrior Online almost as much as they did the Rifleman, Marauder, and Warhammer. For some reason, those requests were… I don’t want to say “ignored,” but definitely filed for later consideration, which has taken years for those requests to finally be considered. And now, the Crusader is finally in MechWarrior Online.

Added in the latest patch, the Crusader comes in four different variants (the CRD-3R, 5K, 5M, and 7L) as well as the “Crael” Hero variant. All variants get +10 armor to the torso and legs as well as +15 armor for each arm, bringing it to rough parity with other Inner Sphere heavy ‘Mechs in terms of toughness. I’m no ‘Mech guru so I couldn’t tell you what the meta variants will be, but I’m lookin’ at the 3R for that extra top speed. 

June’s update also brings an all-new map to MechWarrior Online. Vitric Station is based on the Vitric Forge Faction Play map, which is a high-tech installation located on a red planet. High ground snipe lines are interrupted by larger structures in the middle along with ramps to bridges that will provide light ‘Mechs with quick access to enemy positions. It looks like teams will spawn on either end of the map and then clash in either the dense urban environment of the upper section or fire across chasms in the lower area. The shimmering blue sun is a nice touch. 

Snub Nose PPCs, Heavy Gauss Rifles, and Light Machine Guns have all been buffed, while ER PPCs have been nerfed. For the rest of the balance changes and the few ‘Mechs that have received slight quirk adjustments, check out the patch notes here. 

Zeus. Just Zeus.

One more before bed. Here is a Zeus. from battletech

I love the Zeus. It’s not not quite a bad ‘Mech, but having that AC/5 on the 6S model gives it a hint of that bad ‘Mech flavor. But the design just oozes charm, from those massive shoulders to the distinctive cockpit to that iconic arm-mounted missile launcher. There’s a reason why the Zeus is a classic that’s withstood the test of time. 

Here’s a Zeus courtesy of meltdonw14 on the BattleTech subreddit. It gives me the vibe of something you’d see in the middle pages of one of the earlier BattleTech novels back when they still had a few illustrations in them.

Lego Cicada Go Brrrr

Just a personal render this time, for one of the heroes in my Current Battletech (2018) run, so here, enjoy my best Melee/Flank alpha striker. The Cicada :D from battletech

We haven’t heard from the Lego BattleTech fans in a little while, so here’s a Lego Cicada from Shotgunfrenzy. The Cicada is just one of those ‘Mechs that can’t stay down despite being an objectively terrible design. I’m not sure why I haven’t covered it in a Bad ‘Mechs piece, but I’m sure the Cicada‘s day is coming. 

But you can’t deny that the Cicada is a ‘Mech with an unmistakable style. You know when you’re fighting a Cicada that it’s probably just going to run away until it can lull you into a false sense of security and then stab you in the back with it’s two medium lasers. Plus, you can never really tell if the lasers are coming from the arms or the side torsos. A mysterious ‘Mech, the Cicada.

Gaming Jay’s Crescent Hawk’s-Inspired Retro BattleTech Game Is Now Available For Download

Battle Mercs Public Alpha Release Stream – Crescent Hawks Fan Game
Watch this video on YouTube.

Earlier this month, we sat down with Gaming Jay to discuss his personal fan project creating a new version of the classic Crescent Hawk’s games. Called Battle Mercs, the game combines the metagame features of the Crescent Hawk’s games with an updated real-time combat engine that’s been compared favorably to Faster Than Light’s. Gaming Jay had been looking for private alpha testers earlier in the month, but now he’ll be looking to gather more data thanks to Battle Merc’s first public release. 

Head on over to Gaming Jay’s Google Drive to pick up your free public alpha. Keep in mind that this is still an alpha version of Battle Mercs, so it likely won’t be entirely feature complete and there might be a few bugs to contend with. Jay is looking for feedback, so be sure to join the Battle Mercs Discord to discuss the game.

Well-Equipped Mercenaries Choose The Bombardier For All Their Fire Support Needs

Double Trouble from battletech

I mostly wanted to bring attention to this piece by SU-SMD of Reddit user SupriseFormer’s merc company due to the Bombardier in the background. In an era where Archers are literally a dime a dozen, it’s nice to see the Bombardier strut its stuff. There’s also a Valkyrie, a ‘Mech that deserves more credit than it’s given, and a Marauder but for me, it’s the Bombardier the show. 

Yes, This Is A Hammerhead Miniature You Need To Buy 

Hammerhead Model

And just in the nick of time, Catalyst comes in with some great new products for June. The Hammerhead just got its first ever miniature design and that’s something worth celebrating. A 45-ton ‘Mech made by Clan Sea Fox during the Dark Age, the Hammerhead was a workhorse design that was sold far and wide. It’s Hardened Armor made it tougher than any sub-50-ton design ought to be, and its spread of energy weapons and Streak SRMs made it a threat to nearly anything at long range.

All profit from Hammerhead sales are being directed to cover the healthcare costs of one of the owners of Iron Wind Metals who has sadly been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Catalyst has also brought back the Warrior Trilogy in both hardcover and leatherback cover forms, and there’s a new novel from Bryan Young on the horizon. A Question of Survival will focus on Clan Jade Falcon’s efforts to rebuild after their loss on Terra, with the easiest way to replacing dead MechWarriors is to simply take them from a neighboring Clan. Expect A Question of Survival to receive a release date soon.

And that’s it for June! Join us next month for all the BattleTech news that’s fit for human consumption (and some that’s only been rated for dogs and cats).

And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.

stay syrupy

1 Reply

Community Outreach – Gaming Jay And His Crescent Hawk’s Style Remake

2022/06/05

Battle Mercs Green world

Welcome back to Community Outreach, the ongoing series where Sarna reaches out to the BattleTech community to see what makes it such a vibrant and evolving place. Last month, I found out about Gaming Jay’s personal project to remake The Crescent Hawks’ games for modern audiences, so I decided to sit down with Gaming Jay to find out more about Battle Mercs and what fans can expect from this retro-inspired BattleTech game. Enjoy. 

Sarna (Sean): I’ve played Crescent Hawks’ Inception, so I know a bit about what this game is likely about. What made you want to make a Crescent Hawks’-style game? And just how much is it like Crescent Hawks’ Inception/Revenge in terms of gameplay?

Gaming Jay: So the Crescent Hawks’ Inception was my first exposure to BattleTech as a kid. When I was little my uncle had a computer in the basement with a tray of disks and I would just leaf through and try random games. One day, I discovered The Crescent Hawks’ Inception and I was blown away. I loved the mix of RPG and tactical elements, the graphics were amazing for the time, and there was so much to explore. For years I played the game and wished, just wished that there was a sequel. A few years later I was on vacation with my parents and I walked into a random computer store and on the shelf, I saw something called the BattleTech Powerhits. I picked up the box and was shocked to find there was a sequel: The Crescent Hawks’ Revenge (also MechWarrior 1). I begged my parents to buy the game for me and they did. I spent the rest of that vacation reading the instruction manuals and plotting how I was going to actually install the game on my computer when I got home since it came on CD and I didn’t own a CD drive. Anyway, The Crescent Hawks’ Revenge quickly became one of my all-time favorite games. I played it over and over and especially loved the free battle Training Field they give you at the end of the game. My only gripe was that I wish the open gameplay at the end allowed different maps and maybe incorporated some of the mercenary system from MechWarrior 1 (which I also played to death).

Years and years later, my love for these three games never went away, and I always dreamed that a sequel existed to Crescent Hawks’ Inception that combined the best elements of CHR and MW1. In high school, I actually did program a game that played a lot like CHR, however, I never fully finished it. A while ago I found the old game and showed it on my YouTube channel and people really were blown away at the time. The bug got planted in my mind after that, and shortly thereafter I started work on a prototype. That prototype became a CHR combat engine. I expanded that with a CHI RPG engine, and then eventually a MW1 style contract and Inner-Sphere-travel system, and before you knew it, I had started to make my dream game.

Battle Mercs Beach Fight

In terms of how much CHI is in the game; a lot! The game recreates everything from CHI except for the RPG combat (although that may come down the line). But yes, people can design full RPG adventures, create interesting scenarios or unique planets or environments, and using some basic .json scripts just go nuts in creating whatever they want. Once you jump into actual ‘Mech combat the game plays like an updated version of CHR. It is a real-time combat game but you’re supposed to pause frequently and micro-manage (think Faster Than Light). Lastly, you can travel the Inner Sphere, and take contracts from any major house, live through years 3025 to 3050, fight the Clans, find Star League ‘Mechs, and even fight in arenas on Solaris VII or less reputable arenas on Dustball or other planets.

The other cool thing about the game is that it’s fully customizable. The game is intentionally designed such that all the gameplay mechanics draw from .json files. People can make their own campaigns with their own .json files that can change everything from what kinds of weapons are in the game, to what kinds of units to how the RPG segments work, to what options you get when you select units in combat, to what planets or factions are available. Even though I wanted to make my dream game, I wanted my game to be something people could change and mod, and make their own unique visions within.

Sarna: So this is all pretty amazing. Is this a home-built engine, or is it based on some other game engine? The FTL enhancements are a great touch to bring this game up to more modern standards, and I love the 3025-3050 era personally. 

Battle Mercs Black Market

Gaming Jay: The engine is 100% home-built. It’s written in PyGame, which is a game add-on library for Python. And yes, FTL is one of my favorite modern games. I really love how that game handles combat. It’s all real-time but you can still micro-manage everything very well, yet it still feels frantic when a lot is happening. I have tried to bring other small improvements to the game to help it feel more modern in control yet retain its obvious retro charm.

Sarna: Are you planning to create your own campaign, or are you just going to throw this out into the world to let people build off of?

Gaming Jay: So what I’d like to do for the game is to produce a fairly elaborate campaign as a bit of a showcase, to both give the game a good starting campaign and also show off what the scripts are capable of doing. In this way, people can look at my scripts if they want to know how I made a certain special mission, and then use them as an example to build their own campaigns and ideas. As for the campaign I want to include, I’d like it to be a reimagining of the Crescent Hawks’ story, essentially retelling their tale in this modern engine

Sarna: With the 3050-era available, you could replace the Draconis Combine attack with a Clan invasion. This way you’d also give players access to Clan tech. Speakin’ of tech, how many ‘Mechs have you got in this game so far, and how many do you ultimately plan on having? 

Gaming Jay: So long story short, yes the Clan invasion is a playable part of the game even right now. It’s not very detailed at the moment but could easily become more detailed. 

As for mechs in the game, pretty much every Inner Sphere mech from 3025 and 3050 is in the game. The 2750 Star League era mechs are also in the game (though hidden right now since only ComStar has access to them). The Clan OmniMechs and IIC variants from the 3050 invasion are all also in the game. At the moment I probably am not planning to add any more myself, but as I mentioned, the game is moddable so other adventurous BattleTech fans could add more mechs themselves (and more eras!)

Battle Mercs Country Fight

Sarna: Did you take assets from the original game or did you recreate all these pixel images yourself? 

Gaming Jay: Currently the assets in the game are mostly from the Crescent Hawks’ games, yes. Though the mech models came from a free set I found online, a really amazing set actually. They are several years old and the creator encouraged people to use them in games. I tried to reach out to him to get in contact but all his contact info (at least that I could find) seemed to be out of date, so I wasn’t able to track him down. The in-game ‘Mech units are about half from The Crescent Hawks’ Revenge and half my creations based on CHR. I’m not a great pixel artist mind you, so they look a little rough and cobbled together. One thing I would love to happen at some point is to get a pixel artist (or a few) to help give the game a fresh graphical makeover. I don’t want to fully change the look of it or anything (I love the retro, pixelated charm of the graphics currently), but it would be nice if the game’s graphics were more original than just lifted from the CH games.

Sarna: And using something that’s not lifted from a super old game would be better for copyright issues, although Crescent Hawks’ Inception is so old that it might be public domain at this point. 

So there’s still the Clan Invasion campaign and MechWarrior campaign to finish, what else is still needed to get this game to what you’d consider a finished state?

Battle Mercs Ice World

Gaming Jay: Haha totally agree. That’s one reason why I still consider it an alpha, since it has so many graphics that I really think of as just stand-in. I mean truthfully BattleTech itself is owned by someone who’s not me so even with unique sprites there are still copyright issues! :)

Anyway, I’ve been working with a dedicated gang of testers to root out as many bugs as possible. So it’s reaching a stable point. At that point, the only major thing left would be to add in mission varieties. Right now it’s all search and destroy but I’d like guard missions, attack missions, recon missions, raid missions, the whole gamut. It shouldn’t always just be “go have a slugfest!”

At that point, I just need to finish the campaign so there’s at least one stock campaign with the game and it would be ready I think. I’m sure there may be more small changes along the way and even after this seeming final stage, but that’s always the way

I’d also like to establish some kind of wiki or make a few tutorials on things like making maps and making campaign levels, editing units or factions, or making star maps. As I’ve said, I want this to be something other people can add to with their own campaigns and stories and mods, so that would be one of the final steps. In my mind that would be the point where I’m giving the game over to the community to develop to their hearts’ content. I would look forward to sort of stepping back from the game a bit and just trying other people’s campaigns and maps at that point.

Sarna: What’s your favorite ‘Mech and why? The all-important question of course.

Battle Mercs Mech Market

Gaming Jay: Favorite ‘Mech is the Marauder. From the first time I saw it in a technical manual I just loved the look and load out of it. As a kid, I thought PPCs were just the ultimate weapon and this beast was rocking 2 with a totally unique frame and look. How can you go wrong?

Sarna: Have you played any other BattleTech games? And if so, would perhaps any of them be a good fit for a Crescent Hawks’-style translation into your project?

Gaming Jay:  And yes I played almost everything BattleTech I could get my hands on when I was younger. MechWarrior 1 and 2 (including all the add-ons like Ghost Bear’s Legacy and Mercs), MechCommander, and even the Xbox MechWarrior games which I’m blanking on the name of. Truthfully though, although I loved MechWarrior 1 and 2, I never loved that franchise as much as the tactical games. Since the gaming industry went heavily in the MechWarrior direction I stopped keeping up with BattleTech games after a while. That is until Harebrained Schemes launched their turn-based BATTLETECH game. I was a Kickstarter backer on that and boy, that game did not disappoint. I believe that game is probably the ultimate BattleTech game and when it launched I actually spent 36 hours straight playing it. I kept saying, one more mission, one more mission, until eventually night became morning and I could hear the birds outside. 

As for whether any of these past games could get a reimagining as a campaign in Battle Mercs, I suppose any could, but of course, something like MechCommander or MechWarrior 2 would be a bit of a demake. MechWarrior 1 could be possible, though it would shift genres from a first-person game into a tactical game in the process. So I’m not sure. The Crescent Hawks‘ games are the most obvious ones to translate. I’m sure others could be done, but no real plans to do any others for the time being.

Sarna: Anything else you’d like to add? Feel free to get shamelessly self-promoty. 

Gaming Jay: I don’t currently have a website for it but I run a YouTube channel and, though the main focus isn’t on game development, I will be doing a few videos on the game eventually over there. So folks can always connect with me that way. I’m hopeful that this summer I’ll be able to put out a public alpha on the BattleTech subreddit as well as on my channel. So yeah, those are the two best ways for folks to find me or see the project when it’s ready. I have a Discord for the alpha right now which I’ll probably make public when the public alpha does launch but I’ll mention that when the alpha does come out.

Battle Mercs Unit Setup

Thank you, Gaming Jay! I’ll be keeping an eye out for that public alpha when Battle Mercs goes live.

And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.

stay syrupy

 

7 Replies

Your BattleTech News Roundup For May, 2022

2022/05/30

May showers have brought both flowers and flies, which for some reason have all come out and are buzzing around in my room as I write this. I’d be upset if I didn’t consider this to be the sound of summer.

As always, we got a ton of BattleTech news to get through, so let’s dive right in before this fly finds my beer. Ah, fuck, he’s already in there! Stupid flies…

MechWarrior 5 DLC Call To Arms Gets Pricing And Release Date

Last month, we found out MechWarrior 5‘s third DLC will be called Call to Arms, mostly because it adds an arsenal of melee weapons as well as the iconic Hatchetman medium ‘Mech. We didn’t know when or how much Call to Arms would cost, but we do now. 

Unlike the Legend of the Kestrel Lancers and Heroes of the Inner Sphere, which debuted at $20, Call to Arms will be priced at $14.99 USD when it launches on June 8. Regional pricing means that’ll vary by platform and country, but US residents should expect to pay fifteen bucks. Canucks such as myself will have to pay something like $22.50. 

Being five dollars cheaper than the previous two DLC might be indicating that Call to Arms will be somewhat lighter in content than the previous expansions. Although Call to Arms will add 28 new ‘Mech variants, five Hero ‘Mechs, nine melee weapons, and three new biomes, there’s no mention of any new story-based campaigns or scripted missions that’ll be coming with Call to Arms [Ed. My bad! There’s actually going to be a five-mission campaign where players snag the Hatchetman from the Isle of Skye]. 

I do get the sense that this is MechWarrior 5’s swan song, a little parting gift as PGI gets started on its next project. Whatever that is, hopefully it’ll include melee weapons at launch rather than as paid DLC later on. Then we can pay for something else, like, oh I dunno, Aerospace assets?

Redemption Rites Continues The Story Of Wolf’s Dragoons In The IlClan Era

Redemption Rites

So, spoiler alert, but it’s been a few months since the release of Hour of the Wolf, so I think it’s fine for us to drop a few plot points for the current era of BattleTech. After Clan Wolf takes Terra and rises to the heady rank of ilClan, ilKhan Alric Ward makes perhaps the biggest mistake of his career. He snubs Wolf’s Dragoons after they made a terrible sacrifice to stop Malvina and Clan Jade Falcon. Even an ilClan isn’t invulnerable and even mauled, Wolf’s Dragoons is a terrible foe.

Jason Schmetzer tells the story of Wolf’s Dragoons in ilClan era, and it’s a story of revenge. Redemption Rites is available now on Amazon or wherever you buy books.

Water, Earth, Fire, Air

Salamander Sylth Gnome Undine from mechwarrior

Once, the four elements lived in harmony. But all that changed when the fire nation attacked. Or the Salamander, I guess.

Avatar references aside, it never really made a whole lot of sense to me why Elementals were called “elementals” without having any association to the actual elements. Well, now they do, and geergutz does a great job of showcasing all for Elemental variant armors. These include the Salamander, the Sylph, the Gnome, and the Undine. The Gnome is a bit of a stretch for earth, but it is probably the most earth-bound of the Elementals that I know of.

Evolution Of MechWarrior’s Mechs In One Image

It’s sometimes hard to remember how far MechWarrior has come, but this picture from Adam Kusiak puts the game’s evolution into stark relief. I still love MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries, but damn, I don’t remember the Commando being quite so goofy lookin. The Atlas too looks ridiculously blocky, but I guess we gotta give Activision some credit for getting more man-shaped ‘Mechs into the series using such primitive hardware. It really makes you wonder where MechWarrior will be in another 23 years.

Shrapnel’s Road To Tukayyid Anthology Now Available On Anchor.fm

Road to Tukayyid Shrapnel

If you’re not subscribed to Shrapnel, the monthly BattleTech magazine, then you’ve been missing out on the fantastic Road to Tukayyid anthology. However, now you can at least listen to these short stories over on Anchor.fm. This isn’t just some guy speaking text aloud either--there are some exciting music and sound effects in there too. Definitely something to snag for your next road trip or to take with you to the gym. 

Warhammer Or Cat Girl, Decisions Decisions… 

You’ve certainly seen Tex’s talk on the Warhammer by now (you’ve had a month, so there’s no excuse), and now it’s time for merch. Eldonious is promising an art pack containing many of the images seen in the Tex Talks BattleTech episode, including this one here. It’s great, Eldonious is great, and when the Warhammer pack eventually launches, I’m sure it’ll be great too.

And if you absolutely can’t wait, Eldonious already has a few of the Warhammer designs available on t-shirts. I’m not a huge Warhammer fan, but there are a bunch of other designs available too. I’m very much considering the Canopian Cat Girl Cataphract giveaway. For the ‘Mech, not the cat girl. Well, maybe a little for the cat girl. 

Mark Nicholson Leaves MechWarrior 5 Developer PGI

Mark Nicholson - PGI 3D Artist Exits - Mechwarrior Online
Watch this video on YouTube.

Mark Nicholson has left PGI, makers of MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries and MechWarrior Online. We spoke to Mark not too long ago where he offered some insight into how new ‘Mechs are designed and the incredible talent required to bring these giant walking death machines to life. PGI has sadly lost a fantastic artist. We wish Mark well in whatever comes next. 

PGI Is Not Working On Lord Of The Rings Online

Piranha Games isn't helping with Lord of the Rings Online
Watch this video on YouTube.

Another quick news bite courtesy of No Guts No Galaxy. It seems that PGI isn’t supporting Lord of the Rings Online after all. That comes directly from PGI’s Daeron Katz, so it’s most likely legit. 

PGI getting taken off of the MechWarrior license to work as a support studio was one of the more depressing rumors that sprung up following the studio’s sale to EG7. With this rumor laid to rest, we now have absolutely no idea what PGI is working on aside from support for MechWarrior Online and MechWarrior 5. Silence could mean MechWarrior 6 is on the table, but we’ll have to wait and see if either PGI or EG7 makes an announcement.

MW5 Mod Imports MechAssault 2’s Atlas And Timber Wolf

Serious Sam Fusion: NEW Mechassault 2 Atlas and Mad Cat Enemy Resource Showcase
Watch this video on YouTube.

Do you like MechAssault? Then you should check out Wolves, the free MechAssault fan game that’s getting better and better every day. But if you also happen to own Serious Sam Fusion, then you should check out this new mod courtesy of Andreiki. The mod adds both the Mad Cat and Atlas models from MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf. As you’d probably expect given Serious Sam is a game where you run around on foot with a machine gun, Andreiki is recommending that anyone who wants to use these models make them the boss of whatever custom map you’re trying to create.

Major BioMech, who first alerted me to this mod, has created a lovely video showcasing the Mad Cat and Atlas in action. Because it’s Serious Sam, you can equip yourself with a laser blaster and eventually take down this 75-ton monster, but BioMech wasn’t quite able to take down both a Mad Cat and an Atlas on the first try.

Retro BattleTech Fan Game Is Looking For Alpha Testers

Retro battletech game looking for a few more alpha testers — or interested map makers from battletech

A while back, I dove into The Crescent Hawk’s Inception, the world’s first BattleTech video game. Originally released in 1988, the game was largely a text-based adventure game with some turn-based combat that vaguely resembled the tabletop rules. It had not aged well, to put it mildly, but if I’m honest, few BattleTech games have. And if I’m further honest, that hasn’t stopped me from reminiscing about MechWarrior 2, so I can’t judge anyone for doing the same about Crescent Hawk’s Inception.

The only difference between me and GamingJay is that I don’t go ahead and remake MechWarrior 2 from scratch in my spare time. Which is exactly what Reddit user GamingJay has done with the old Crescent Hawk’s game.

GamingJay is already so far along with their personal project that they’re even asking for alpha testers. You can shoot ’em a message on Reddit to ask for an alpha build of GamingJay’s retro BattleTech game and then offer your feedback for future development.

I’ve actually reached out to GamingJay and was able to briefly play a bit of alpha. It’s certainly an upgrade over the original, which now has a sort of real-time combat system reminiscent of Faster Than Light‘s. It goes a long way to making this game more interactive than the original Crescent Hawk’s games, and I think there are a lot of folks out there that might be very interested to give this home-brewed Crescent Hawk’s remake a try.

Give Me More Flashman Art, Dammit!

New here! Just thought I would introduce myself! I’m a old battletech fan falling in love with it again because of the recent renaissance from battletech

The Flashman is a ‘Mech that doesn’t get nearly enough credit from BattleTech fans. I loved the Flashman back in MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries and I lament how the Black Knight seems to have taken the Flashman‘s place as the 75-ton all-energy Inner Sphere heavy ‘Mech. Give me my pop-can laser boat or give me death.

Thankfully, Reddit user Scouttherangerdog shares my love for the Flashman, so I get to live for another day. Be sure to welcome Scouttherangerdog back with open arms and leave a like on this fantastic piece.

How To Carry Around A Company Of Mechs In A Leopard

Mechwarrior 5 is a totally accurate Succession Wars game where you really have to scrounge for equipment, every mission is make-or-break from battletech

It always did bother me how a Leopard-class DropShip, which in the lore can only carry a single lance of ‘Mechs, somehow managed to carry an entire company’s worth plus however many I wanted in cold storage in MechWarrior 5. The answer is obvious when you think about it, but it took BipBeepBop123’s diagram for me to finally figure it out for myself. 

MechWarrior Online Ditches That Terrible Skill Tree In Latest Patch

Top 5 Things You should know about Skill Tree reconfigured
Watch this video on YouTube.

The latest MechWarrior Online patch, which actually topped a gigabyte, is easily the biggest to hit the game in years. That’s because one of the core systems in MechWarrior Online has finally been overhauled after years of complaints from all walks of MWO players. Casuals hated it because it was expensive and confusing, and pros hated how long it took to unlock the tree and how many builds wasted skill points due to the tree’s design.

Well, no more. The old skill trees are gone and now you can pick and choose what skills you want and click and drag to unlock as many as you can. It’s a lot simpler, faster, and cheaper than the old tree, and there’s no need for everyone to be refunded their skill points because they’re all still present in the new skill tree. All the same, PGI has gifted players five free skill points for every ‘Mech they own so MechWarriors can further customize their rides.

Besides that, the Rouchneck got a full quirk pass while the Flea and Timber Wolf had their quirks adjusted alongside several other designs. Clan ER Large Lasers had their duration extended to combat the blue line meta, and machine guns had their crit damage multipliers reduced to make light ‘Mechs slightly less deadly. Strangely enough, SRMs all had their heat reduced, so expect to see a lot of brawling splat-Cats in the very near future. There’s also a new Platinum Collection pack that includes variants of the Spider, Cicada, JagerMech, King Crab, Incubus, Vapor Eagle, Hellfire, and Kodiak.

And that’s it for May! Join us in June when I’ll have become a year older and the rest of you will be the exact same age. Unless your birthday is also in June, in which case, happy birthday!

And as always, MechWarriors, Stay Syrupy.

stay syrupy

4 Replies