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Classic Battletech Reborn!

2447 Views 25 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  Montford981
Just found this posted on the Web. Looks like Fan Pro is pulling out all the stops and investing in a tried and true game. The old lead mechs are back to stay. :)

First product is supposed to hit the shelves in August.

Classic BattleTech: Back with a Vengeance!
on: Today at 04:36:04 PM Quote


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YOU’VE NEVER SEEN BATTLETECH LIKE THIS!

August of 2006 sees the unveiling of a whole new look and presentation for Classic BattleTech.
The basic rules and concepts of the game have not changed: thirty-foot tall metal titans of doom—piloted by feudal MechWarrior knights—firing lightning bolts, coherent lasers and autocannons in an orgy of destruction across a futuristic landscape of thousands of worlds.

These concepts have made Classic BattleTech/MechWarrior® one of the most successful science fiction lines ever created, spawning millions of sold MechWarrior PC games, almost a hundred full-length novels, more than ten million sold MechWarrior: Dark Age Collectable Miniatures Game figures, comic books, toys, a cartoon, virtual reality centers, over five-thousand fan-based websites and more.
Yet it all began with the original board game, which still conveys all the best the universe has to offer, presented in a whole new way:

• All the disparate game systems from BattleMechs® to vehicles, battle armor to aerospace units: all are fully integrated into a single, unified rules set.
• The new series of six core rulebooks are organized and presented to provide a foundation of game play (and the universe), for the various aspects of Classic BattleTech. Knowing which core products to stock or purchase for Classic BattleTech will be simple and easy, allowing for a smooth transition from one core rulebook to the next.
• The core line of Classic BattleTech rulebooks will be published in full-color, hard back.

THE FIRST PRODUCTS IN THE RETURN OF CLASSIC BATTLETECH

Total Warfare™

The product of over twenty years of gaming experience, Total Warfare presents the rules of the BattleTech game system as never before. Fully integrated and meticulously updated, Total Warfare provides the most detailed and comprehensive rules set published to date for BattleTech; the perfect companion for standard tournament play.

Starterbook: Sword and Dragon™

The Starterbooks are a perfect way to jump into the further excitement of the Classic BattleTech universe once players have tried their hands at BattleTech. Starterbook: Sword and Dragon provides a short synopsis of the conflicts between the ancient enemies of House Davion and House Kurita, as conveyed through the infamous Fox’s Teeth and Sorenson’s Sabres.

Includes record sheets for everyone in both commands, including eight, never-before-seen ’Mech variants!

Sword and Dragon ’MechPacks

Iron Wind Metals (www.IronWindMetals.com) will be simultaneously releasing Sword and Dragon ’MechPack Davion and Sword and Dragon ’MechPack Kurita to support Starterbook: Sword and Dragon. Each ’MechPack contains four unique ’Mech variants, to be used in conjunction with the new variant record sheets found in the Starterbook.

TechManual™

A companion volume to Total Warfare, Classic BattleTech TechManual combines all the construction rules for the various units presented in that core rules set. More than just a rulebook, the TechManual presents numerous sourcebook-style treatises, providing the in-universe context for these units and the technologies of their development.

Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set™

For the first time in over a decade, plastic miniatures are back in the base box set! As ever, the introductory box is the starting point for any player, containing everything needed to play. But now players can have the thrill of 3-dimensional figures to bring excitement to their games from the moment they open the lid.

FROM HERE TO PUBLICATION

FanPro LLC has big plans afoot to support the re-branding of Classic BattleTech.

• Issue #8 of Games Quarterly (shipping February 10th) contains an interview covering some of the behind-the-scenes decisions for this re-branding and the launching of the new core line of Classic BattleTech rulebooks.
• An extensive marketing campaign leading up to August’s release will launch in March.
• Kicking off the launch will be a great new look to the www.ClassicBattleTech.com website. Fully integrating the new branding look of Classic BattleTech, the site will be streamlined, while retaining the depth of information of the current site, including the ever popular forums.
• A new weekly BattleBlog will be featured on the front page that will have insights and information direct from the Line Developer, Randall Bills, on a whole range of topics pertaining to all aspects of this new and exciting time. Topics include everything from what this re-branding means for fans and retailers to what rules will be improved upon and how they will be presented.
• Starting on March 18th (and running the third Saturday of every month through August) an open-to-the-public Live BattleChat will be hosted by www.BattleCorps.com, at 10AM Pacific Standard Time. Randall Bills will be answering questions posted by those in attendance; look to both www.BattleCorps.com and www.ClassicBattleTech.com as we near March 18th for details on how to attend.

Feel free to use the attached PDF, containing most of this information, as you deem appropriate and make sure to keep watch at www.ClassicBattletech.com (and www.FanproGames.com) for updates, sneak previews, and more!

©2006 WizKids, Inc. All rights reserved. Classic BattleTech and WK Games are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of WizKids, Inc. Used under license.
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Oooh... That looks cool... Unfortunately no stores around me sell battletech :(
No WAY dude! Classic Battletech is coming back?! :w00t:
Ebon Hand said:
No WAY dude! Classic Battletech is coming back?! :w00t:
Check out Ironwindmetals.com for the figs, and ClassicBattletech.com for everything else. (links in earlier post)

-981
Wait a second... Do those metal models come prepainted like the regular BT models do? Or are they more like GW metals, where they have to be painted?
If they're like the originals, then they have to be assembled and painted, just like GW models. Here's a bad photo of my unpainted Timberwolf and Jenner IIC. . .

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it can be much easier to paint mechs up though. Since they are really big machines, made really small, drybrushing works really well to give a wartorn look.
here's a few mechs I painted a while ago (the pics are pretty big, so I've linked them)
Commando Mech (my favourite of the lot, it's had a little bit of conversion work done to it)
Lao Hu Mech (another one I'm proud of)
Goliath Mech (sometimes you just want to paint brown)
Wasp Mech (contest entry, didn't win, but did well)
Stinger Mech (same contest, same result)
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gamesondemand said:
Wait a second... Do those metal models come prepainted like the regular BT models do? Or are they more like GW metals, where they have to be painted?

They come as unpainted pewter miniatures just like GW models do.

There are 100+ different models, some are one peice, some come in two or three peices and some have many peices to assemble.

Camo Specs Online has a massive gallery of the Battletech miniatures in all manner of paint schemes. www.camospecs.com

Here's a few I've linked to:

http://www.camospecs.com/Miniature.asp?ID=999

http://www.camospecs.com/Miniature.asp?ID=533

http://www.camospecs.com/Miniature.asp?ID=2144

http://www.camospecs.com/Miniature.asp?ID=1444

The scale if different than 40K: each of these models represents an 8 to 10 meter high walking tank. You have lasers, cannons, missiles, jump jets, flamers, etc. There are also vehicles in the game (helicopters, tanks), inafntry, and aerospace fighters. :)

-981
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Cool. Thanks for the info everyone.

@Ostol: That pic wasn't so bad, just a bit flashed.

@mpdscott: Those mechs look really good. Nice job :yes:
That's great news - I miss Classic Battletech. Pity about what happened to FASA.

For those that simply can't wait however, and have a few people online they like to play with, here is someting that you should look into. I have the Dev version, and it is amazing at how accurate they replicated the game.

Click Me
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Caluin said:
Pity about what happened to FASA
I haven't been on the up and up with Mechwarrior for a while, so what happened to FASA?

Oh and nice link ^_^
FASA went under about five(?) years ago.
Fan Pro bought the Classic Battletech line (as oppposed to the Dark Age Mechwarrior stuff Wiz Kids is putting out with those Mage Knight style click bases) and has been redeveloping Battletech over the last few years. They republished many of the sourcebooks, revised the core rulebook, printed some new ones such as the Federated Commonwealth Civil War Sourcebook, and contracted a manufacturer (Iron Winds Metals) to make the models.
Since that time Battletech has seen a large resurgence. It first came out in the early / mid 80's and has basically remain unchanged so there are a LOT of gamers who have played it and enjoyed it.
In 2004 Battletech outdrew 40K at Origins. (Second largest Con in the US behind Gen Con).
Its been growing since. Now Fan Pro, I think, has seen there is a large fan base currently, so they are commiting to making new and better product. For those of us who are BT fans it is wonderful news.

-981
It's a shame about FASA, but it's great that the original rules are still getting some loving. :) I used to play every week for a couple years back in high school.
Montford981 said:
FASA went under about five(?) years ago.
Are you sure? I checked their website and their updates stopped around 2004... No wonder I haven't been hearing of any new Mechwarrior games... What a shame...
gamesondemand said:
Are you sure? I checked their website and their updates stopped around 2004... No wonder I haven't been hearing of any new Mechwarrior games... What a shame...
Fan Pro picked up the liscense in 2001 or 2002 IIRC: their first sponsored world wide events were in 2002. (Battle of Monte Diable and the Martial Olympiad 2002)

-981
Hrm. Well at least they went out with a bang... Their last few games they produced were awesome! Hopefully some other company just as good, or better, can pick up where they left off in the MechWarrior series.
Actually, FanPro doesn't own the rights to the MechWarrior computer games, they were bought by (the evil maniacal antichrist) Microsoft. There were rumours a couple of years ago about a release of MechWarrior 5, but instead they released MechAssault on the XBox, and so that's the end of the MechWarrior series. Not good for people who don't like Microsoft but like BattleTech
speaking of MW videogames. what did you think of that mechcommander game for those of you who have played it.
kuijibo said:
speaking of MW videogames. what did you think of that mechcommander game for those of you who have played it.
I give it a thumbs down. The developers had a great opportunity to recapture all of the detailed gameplay of Battletech and put it into a real-time tactical combat game, but they ultimately failed.
MC2 was so-so. IMO don't waste your money (or time to download ;) ) I'd rather play MW4 and the expansions.
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