Talk:BattleTech Boxed Set

Need Help

I've run into something of a brick wall with this article between CGL 35000 and the 25th Anniversary set. Up to that point the information in the article should be reliably accurate, as I either own the boxed set in question or researched what I believe to be reliable information. This allowed me to narrate something of an evolution history of the boxed set. This was initially unplanned, but was a natural result of the subject matter when you think about it.

I got parts of the CGL 35000 set through ebay but it's incomplete, and couldn't find sufficiently reliable or detailed information to continue. (The next set I actually bought is the Beginner's Box Set.) Btw there's also the German Starterbox edition from 2017 which was an original product from Ulisses, with two all-new maps, but which I've only seen online so far.

If someone who owns the 35000 set could kindly step up and provide the next step(s), using the template for individual box coverage established within the article, I'd be thankful. :) Frabby (talk) 02:21, 1 May 2021 (EDT)

Type And Series Classifications

I have noticed that the Type and Series info for each of the boxed sets is not currently uniform. Some boxed sets have their type listed as "Board Game", some as "Boxed Set", and at least one as "Rule Book". I plan to go through and update all their types simply to "Boxed Set". However, I was then thinking of wikilinking that back to BattleTech boxed set, but then I noticed that for many (but not all) this was done for the Series entry.

This also raises the question about the series designation for boxed sets. I think that something like "Base Boxed Set" or "Boxed Set (Base Game)" would work for all but both editions of CityTech and the forthcoming Clan Invasion Boxed sets. (CityTech (both editions) and Clan Invasion in a sense form their own series.) I am still thinking through series nomenclature for that latter group of three. Some designation based on era (Clan Invasion) or the fact it is functionally a type of rules expansion are the two possible ways to distinguish such, e.g. "Boxed Set (Clan Warfare)" or "Boxed Set (Clan Invasion)" might work. I am processing. Please feel free to share suggestions. --Dude RB (talk) 19:37, 25 June 2021 (EDT)

"Type" in the InfoBoxProduct simply denotes what kind of product this is - in this case, a boxed set. Other sample types would be things like "game supplement", "novel", "sourcebook". I'm not sure off-hand if the physical/electronic product dichotomy is shown here. It probably should, by highlighting electronic-only products as such.

"Series", on the other hand, is arguably not applicable for the boxed sets. They're not a series in the sense of being individual parts of a greater whole. Instead, they are standalone products and serialized only in the sense that newer boxed sets functionally replace their predecessors; they're not supposed to stack up. I believe the "series" part was thought for serialized stories, or connected novels like the Gray Death stories, the Blood of Kerensky trilogy, or maybe the initial set of Record Sheets books. Frabby (talk) 05:56, 26 June 2021 (EDT)

Hmmm. interesting thoughts. It is correct that these don't function as a series, but rather as different editions within the same niche. Some pairs of these do possess some form of purposeful continuity (like BattleTech 3e and CityTech 2e or BattleTech Beginner Box and BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat) but BattleTech 2e and BattleTech 3e (and most other pairs) do not have that same type of continuity. So you are right, this is not a series. Note: Some other examples of a series (outside of literature) would include the Alpha Strike Lance Packs, the HexPacks, and the MapPacks. Those were definitely formed to work together. However, the whole set of boxed sets do not have that same complementarity and purposeful design as a group. So it would seem best to simply remove the series entry from most of the box sets.

Interesting Follow-up Question: The most recent three (the two 2019 boxed sets and the Clan Invasion Boxed Set) do have a purposeful design and progression. Is that sufficient to consider those three as a series? [Addendum: Upon reflection, this example seems to be too much of a stretch to consider as a series. The term "expansion" would seem to be the appropriate descriptor of this example. (--Dude RB (talk) 22:35, 26 June 2021 (EDT))]

Side Note: In some cases, the type is independent of whether it is physical or electronic. For example, a rule book or sourcebook could be physical or electronic. Also a board game can in some minds be physical or electronic (think Tabletop Simulator). Also some products that started physical ended up having an electronic release. However, the term "boxed set" would seem to denote the inclusion of some physical game components such as dice, tokens, miniatures, etc (all in one box) along with the rules. I think I have a definition of a boxed set that I will add to the Category Boxed Set index page, but how to define the type/category "Board Game" may still be an open question. --Dude RB (talk) 16:45, 26 June 2021 (EDT)