ScrapYard Armory

A BattleTech weblog

Archive for February, 2011

Feb-8-2011

Spreading the Good Word

The Introductory Box Set is in sight.

For those who have not seen the news, Randall has posted a number of pictures of the final proofs for the 25th Anniversary Box Set.  This has been a long time coming and I am ecstatic at the opportunity to be able to point new players to this product.

A Second Renaissance

The first renaissance of BattleTech occurred under the aegis of FanPro with the re-branding of the BattleTech line.  The re-branding campaign launched the core rule book series and shortly thereafter, Catalyst Game Labs.

With the re-launch of the box set comes new chances to point prospective players to a proper introduction and help to steady a shaken foundation.  BattleTech needs some good news and this new information, released in spite of a well exercised policy not to divulge information on unreleased products, is very well received.  Thanks to Randall for bucking the status quo and giving the community a glimpse of this gem on the horizon.

Challenges Loom

And now the most important part and potentially the hardest, this box set must remain in print.  The box set is a treasure for collectors and faithful gamers looking for cheap miniatures.  From the old guard to the newly initiated, there are plenty of prospective buyers out there.  It is imperative that this set remain in print and available.

Without a keystone product for BattleTech the game will be hard to impress upon the masses.  From local gaming groups to crowded conventions, the box set is the product pitch we have been waiting for.

Strike the right tone with a prospective gamer and you may very well capture that person’s imagination for life.  Those are the moments that this box set will help create alongside the efforts of the Demo Team.  Hopefully Catalyst has wrung out the kinks and can keep this fantastic product in steady supply.

BattleTech is a game that gets better the more people play.  Ultimately it is up to the players to make that happen, so get out there and play.  Start a campaign, relive an epic battle, or settle a grudge in the arenas.  BattleTech has plenty of sandboxes to play in.  Time to kick it into high gear and enjoy the game.  It’s worth it.

Posted under News
Feb-3-2011

Chaos Campaign Warchest Calculators

Fresh from the new forums, we have some new tools for Chaos Campaign enthusiasts.  One of the strengths of the Chaos Campaign system is the streamlined calculations that get into and out of tracks.  Still, given opportunity and ample free time, we have found a way to make life even easier.

Bedwyr has done some great work crafting an online javascript calculator to convert between Warchest Points, Support Points, and CBills.

Inspired by such efforts, I took it upon myself to cook up an offline version in Java.  This app should work on any machine running Java in the event that you are caught without an internet connection.

Please leave some comments if you can find some improvements or bugs.  Links are provided below.

Posted under Articles