Awesome clip from SpreadingtheMuse on YouTube. He has a number of other clips on the scientific fact behind the starship battles we know and love.
Even if you are not an aerospace fan it is worth the view.
SpreadingtheMuse YouTube channel.
Posted under MiscThe painting competition I entered on the Classic Battletech forums has finally begun the voting process. The first round is to determine among submitters with multiple entrants which will be used in the final painting showdown.
Both my entries are represented. I hope you have the opportunity to cast a vote. Just looking at the double entries so far there is a lot of great competition. I’m looking forward to seeing the full field.
Can anyone guess which ones are mine? ScrapYard contributors and NJ residents need not apply!
Posted under Misc, NewsTotally politically incorrect but absolutely hilarious. I had to share.
Courtesy of Fear the Boot RPG Podcast.
Posted under MiscUPDATE: January 27, 2009
From information gathered from the Classic Battletech forums it seems that I was a bit lucky when I made my first order. An order from Hotz may take anywhere from two weeks to three months based on the experiences of other forum goers. I’ll be sure to post when I do receive my new mat.
I’m glad he didn’t go walkabout with our money, but it is a bit distressing that Eric is not making every effort to keep in touch with his customers.
Bottom line, if you can afford the wait, Hotz Mats are a great gaming investment. I love my current mat. I wish it were possible to buy them without the hassle.
UPDATE: January 26th, 2009
I made contact with Eric and he is simply running behind due to the high volume of snow and extreme cold in his part of Canada. Here are a few ways to get in touch with Eric if you are having difficulty reaching him.
Email:
whitewash.city@gmail.com
erichotz@shaw.ca
erichotz@direct.ca
Phone:
(604) 619 – 6925
ORIGINAL POST:
I ordered a new mat from Hotz Artworks around December. It has been over a month now and I haven’t been able to make contact with Eric over email.
I have called his listed number (left a voice mail) and sent additional emails to two known email addresses.
I am not about to jump to the conclusion that he is ripping anyone off just yet. There is the chance that something could have happened to him and he is unable to make good on his current game mat orders. I know of at least one other person from the Classic Battletech forums who has an order in limbo.
Until I can confirm just what is happening with Hotz Artworks, DO NOT PLACE AN ORDER ON HIS WEBSITE.
I will keep this post updated with the latest and greatest as information becomes available. I love my current mat from Hotz. I hope that everything is well and this is all just a misunderstanding.
Posted under Misc, NewsJTP: New Avalon is the second in a new series of PDF only releases by Catalyst Game Labs. This product is affordable and jam packed. For those who already know and love the Chaos Campaign system, this is an invaluable tool to add to your collection. Not a fan of the Jihad? There is still some value to it when it comes to the planetary assault maps and terrain descriptions. You can use this PDF to fight campaigns from any era including the prominent Federated Commonwealth Civil War. If you are still not convinced skip it for now and wait for a Succession War era release if there is one in the future. I’m hoping for one myself.
If you are on the fence here is my rundown on this newest release. I also have a review of JTP: Luthien.
Opening Fiction
A great piece of work that demonstrates the desperate plight of the Inner Sphere forces trying to repel the Word of Blake. Even when you have the home field advantage the battle doesn’t get any easier. Sometimes you have to pull out all the stops and get down and dirty to get the job done. Here we are introduced to Sparky 2.0 who we will see more of later.
Great short fiction to open up this PDF, worthy of what I have read in the Battlecorps Anthologies.
Atlas
The atlas section follows the formula laid out by JTP: Luthien. A brief history writeup is included alongside a large mapsheet table. The FedCom civil war is touched upon as a major contributor of damage to the city prior to the Blakist invasion. Perhaps the robes aren’t completely to blame for the sorry state of the FedSuns capital? Regardless, I’m sure they will be blamed for it all anyways.
Great section for those of us who are either avid roleplayers or perfectionists. You have all the details you need terrain wise to make an authentic New Avalon campaign during the Jihad or ANY other era.
Combatants
All coherent forces involved in the New Avalon campaign are detailed briefly including unit logo, commanding officer, average experience, appropriate RATs, force abilities (some of them we have seen before like Overrun and Off-Map movement, some are brand new), and Notes.
The Notes section for each unit consists of a few sentences describing a snippet of a larger story. This is important because when you read them through from start to finish (the units are described in chronological order of arrival), you get a bigger picture of the whole battle. There are nuggets buried in these unit descriptions.
Notable Notables
Tracks
While Luthien contained six Warchest tracks, New Avalon contains only five. After reading through, I wasn’t inspired by the choice of objectives or optional bonuses. While they did not feature as many of the irregularities I found in Luthien, they tended to be a bit bland and lacking in character. I’ve definitely read and played better tracks in the Jihad Hot Spots source books.
Regardless, the Aftermath sections continue the process of piecing together the overall story of New Avalon.
Annex
We are treated to custom variants of the Atlas, Griffin, and Grim Reaper. The Griffin is the highlight of the Annex section. Combined with the opening fiction and the throwback flavor to the knights errant Succession Wars era, Sparky 2.0 is a fearsome upgrade to the venerable Griffin platform that has character to spare.
The ‘Mechs are followed up by three warship record sheets, using the new Strategic Operations record sheet design. Included are the Eagle frigate, Essex destroyer, and Riga frigate.
Last But Not Least
A large multi-page planetary assault map of New Avalon rounds out this PDF offering. Now if only we had rules to use them. There is always Interstellar Operations. Keep your fingers crossed.
Posted under Articles, Misc
Most CBT games have miniatures and unless you like broken minis in your collection, you probably have invested in a figure carrier.
There are more than a few good brands out there. I personally use Army Transport for my ‘Mech carrying needs.
Lest onlookers be confused as to what game I roll with, I added a Classic Battletech patch to make it obvious. I picked mine up at GenCon, but you can get yours at the Battle Shop for $10 each. They have available a Classic Battletech logo as well as a BattleCorps patch.
It isn’t the biggest development out there but it is nice to have to opportunity to customize your gear. If you are planning to make a purchase from the Battle Shop anyways, it’s a nice item to throw in for the hell of it.
In order to attach the patch without getting too crazy, go out and pick up a bottle of fabric glue at any reputable craft or hobby store. Fabric glue is able to move and stretch without cracking. That is important when you conscider how much jostling your typical hobby bag can take under normal conditions.
Make sure you don’t apply too much. You will need to wipe away any excess that ends up leaking out the sides. It will show when it dries even if the bottle says it “dries clear”.
Posted under MiscCatalyst had these two promotional handouts that made the rounds during Gencon.
The first is a simple Jihad teaser that was passed out by Word of Blake representatives Thursday and Friday as a leadup to the big reveal on Saturday. Watch out, these are rather large files.
The second, was available at the CGL booth all convention long. It is a short but sweet mini catalog to get people interested in the game. Great artwork to show off the Battletech world.
I saw this website and just couldn’t resist.
In a nutshell, there is this web artist who will draw anything you want for a paltry $2. It is only a five min or so sketch but I figured, what the hell, why not? Here is my request in all it’s glory.
Posted under Misc