ISSUU - SA Computer Magazine April 2010 by Combustion Publishing
SA Computer Magazine April 2010
SA Computer Magazine April 2010
South Africa's longest-running PC magazine, now available for free online.我们致力于为你遇到的问题而努力提供有效的答案。
你好，可以帮我下载这篇From Our Roving Reporters外文文献吗，万分感谢。ISSUU - July 2013—Employee Appreciation by RetailerNOW
July 2013—Employee Appreciation
July 2013—Employee Appreciation
A business is only as good as the staff it employs. You could sell the best product in the world, but if your workers are not engaged and enthusiastic, the company may not last. So take this opportunity right now to thank your employees. Show them a little value and appreciation. And then read through this issue and learn even more ways to show them how much they’re worth. After all, happy employees make a happy business.A BattleTech weblog
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Deep within the snow banks of the North East,
2015 stumbles forward to provide good games and good times for all.
TotalCon 2015 was held in Mansfield Massachusetts and marks a return to the convention scene for myself after a bit of a hiatus.
There was a lot of BattleTech on the agenda with lots of different people running events.
Lets take a look at all that TotalCon had to offer.
BattleTech Games Galore
I was impressed with the volume of games offered.
As I remember I think there were at least four different people running games ranging from scenario driven big battles to lighter grinders.
All of the events were well attended.
It was not uncommon to see upwards of twelve players surrounding a table throwing dice and marking record sheets all convention long.
Battle of the Clans
The Inner Sphere makes a stand against the technologically superior Clan invaders.
Can they stop the tide of war sweeping the Inner Sphere or will they be swept away by the might of the Clans?
This battle put on by James Kirtley saw an Inner Sphere company fighting against a Heavy-Assault Clan Nova against the back drop of a hydro electric dam.
I will feature a full after action report on this battle in the near future.
More Snow More Problems
One of the more annoying and disturbing elements of this convention was the abysmal condition of the parking lots at the venue.
The snow that had piled up over the last several weeks was obviously still quite present and made a mess of all attempts to find legal parking.
It was bad.
Really bad.
For Saturday I had to find parking at an adjacent building (worrying the entire time if I would be the target of the tow trucks searching the area) and hoofed it over in the wind and cold.
The venue just seemed to strain from the volume of humanity it tried to contain.
Even inside and aside from the BattleTech events I overheard frequent complaints about scheduling errors, wrong tables, incorrect time slots and more.
Lots of frustration all around.
Just the full gamut of errors and calamities was on display.
It felt from the outside-in that this convention was at a tipping point.
From my perspective a venue change may be warranted to properly service the convention goers in the years to come.
Sometimes conventions can be the victim of their own success.
All the Rest
While I spent one really good game recording the action for the blog I tended to stray from my usual fare of BattleTech games.
I ventured out and tried a variety of board games and wandered the halls taking in the convention as a whole.
Not quite the same as my normal schedule of dedicated Heavy Metal Mayhem but enjoyable none the less.
Gaming is a diverse hobby and it is nice to try out new things from time to time.
One thing I noticed right off the bat was the volume of podcast celebrities that were in attendance.
With them they brought demo copies of several games that were not yet available for retail purchase.
I had a chance to see Trickerion (which is still finishing up its Kickstarter campaign) as well as a quick chat with the designer of Specter Ops (a very nice guy) which is available for preorder from
as it makes its way across the Pacific.
All together a nice selection of games to be had for the enterprising gamer.
The dealer room had absolutely nothing related to BattleTech.
A bit disappointing.
Board game were the deal of the day as well as the odd vendor hawking copies of Dead of Winter for $20 over retail.
I decided to save my money for another time.
I think my past trips to conventions like Historicon and Cold Wars run by the
and attended by Iron Wind Metals have spoiled me rotten.
I took in a brief demo of a Mech inspired game with 3D printed components called Mech Deck.
It seemed like an interesting concept not entirely different from a game like BattleTech.
I’ll keep an eye on it for the future.
Details can be found at
I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and get some gaming in during 2015.
Heres hoping to a great year!
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GenCon 2012 is in the books and we the gamers begin the slow stumble back to our normal lives.
GenCon was great as always.
Due to my late registration I was at no risk of being over scheduled.
That gave me more time to search the exhibit hall for all things news and notable.
Catalyst and Iron Wind Metals put on a great show and I’m already looking forward to next year.
Catalyst Game Labs
The best and most important news item I gathered from GenCon was the fact that Interstellar Operations was going to get a lot of playtest time before it’s release.
Straight from Randall Bills himself, he promised everything would be released in some form before the book went to print in order to receive feedback from the fans.
And he emphasized the word everything.
That includes the new edition of the Inner Sphere in Flames that I am most excited about.
Getting a chance to kick the tires is going to be awesome.
Hopefully we will all take full advantage of the opportunity.
Catalyst isn’t just about BattleTech and Shadowrun and hasn’t been for some time now.
Catalyst had multiple games to show off for the first time in print.
The biggest news was Leviathans, but other games were also available under the Catalyst brand including Hex-a-gon, Balance of Power, and Merchants.
In addition, multiple new games were available for demonstration to show what was in the pipeline for later release including Linear and The Duke.
Those who took up a Duke demo were treated with a cut and play version to take home.
I liked the Linear demo, which plays fast and seems like it’s a great game for 5-6 players.
Iron Wind Metals
Iron Wind Metals is always a delight to see at a convention.
There is just so much available from them that it is hard to not find something to like.
They were packed with convention LEs, battle armor, terrain, Fighting Piranha Graphics decals and more.
With all of the new releases there were a few items that were brand new and unannounced.
We all knew about the
but few knew about the smaller and much more economical ‘Mech repair bay for sale at GenCon.
I plan on posting detailed pictures of this sub $25 terrain piece when I get a chance to build and paint it up.
Battle Armor in every form were available at the booth.
From the new 28mm Hauberk and the Nighthawk to the old Clan Elemental they had you covered.
Like the original scale?
Take a gander at their sorted bins of their entire battle armor and infantry selection (and also microfighters for the aero buffs).
All of which were ala carte so you can buy only the minis you want and not a pack of 30 you may not be able to use.
Nothing is better than being able to shell out just a few bucks to get a horde of unique infantry to spice up your armies.
The convention racks were stocked full of the usual fare but also included many archived units that you would have to pay high fees to get otherwise.
If you have a hard to find item in mind, you have a good chance of seeing it at a convention IWM attends.
The best part is the opportunity to talk with the owners and their minions.
These people love what they do.
They will talk your ear off about what games they would like to see run at the convention and what new miniatures they would love to see sculpted.
They have a fan mentality to their business and are as excited to see new releases as any BattleTech player I know.
State of the Games
I was not impressed with everything at the convention this year.
There is always room for improvement and Catalyst slipped in a few key areas.
GenCon is the premier convention in North America and it should show in the presentation and quality of the games being played.
Here are a few ways Catalyst could raise the bar.
The games that I played from Catalyst could have been better organized.
I tried out the Flight School and the Grinder and both had rough edges.
The Flight School in particular.
There were eight players involved who were chomping at the bit to start rolling dice.
The explanation of the rules was rough.
The Demo Agent running the event didn’t have a mastery of the rules in use and spent lots of time checking things in Total Warfare and second guessing himself.
Gameplay was slow and the game was unfulfilling.
We started the game late trying to setup but were promptly kicked out when our two hour slot was up to make room for the next event.
All told we played three turns in two hours.
I don’t feel that I got my moneys worth for my $6 of tickets.
The Grinder was loosely monitored by a Demo Agent which led to myself and a few other players guiding the action and keeping the game moving.
I don’t mind helping younger players play the game.
I would have done so anyways.
I just feel that the Demo Agent could have guided the action better and helped to make the experience great for everyone.
The game terrain used in many games left much to be desired.
GenCon is the epicenter of gaming.
It is the pantheon of gaming excess and epic games.
Why then must we be forced to play on bland mapsheets or lackluster hex terrain with sparely arranged heroscape hexes?
Catalyst had their moments for sure.
The game with the lance plus of Omegas was a sight to see.
But can’t we do better with the terrain?
To contrast, the guys at Wild Child Gaming held a few games over the convention that were gorgeous to look at.
Just by looks alone, I would much rather play in WCG’s games than Catalyst.
They had dropships and buildings and gorgeous 3D terrain that wasn’t prepainted heroscape.
Catalyst has been taking the easy route to put on games and it shows.
(on the left a Catalyst grinder, to the right Wild Child Gaming event)
Mapsheets are needed for games like the BattleTech Open.
But when it comes to a Grinder or Flight School or the canon events, they can do so much better.
GenCon should be the time t not slap together the mundane.
I can play on heroscape terrain at home.
I want the wow factor to come back to GenCon BattleTech.
It’s worth the extra effort.
Ticket Prices
For some reason, Catalyst decided that the standard price for a two hour gaming block was too low for BattleTech and ratcheted up the price to $6 per two hours.
The GenCon catalog clearly states that the normal price is $2 per two hours of games.
That is the way it’s been in the past and that is what other games from companies such as Alderac, Fantasy Flight Games, Wild Child Gaming and others were charging.
I asked around but nobody was able to provide a clear answer to explain the change.
I think it is imperative to get people playing the Grinders and Boot Camps.
Charging over the mandatory minimum after fans have already shelled out for an expensive badge, hotel and travel is insult to injury.
It shouldn’t be this way and Catalyst should bring prices back to normal for future cons.
Who Wasn’t There
One surprising thing I noticed this year wasn’t something I found but rather who I didn’t find.
Notable no shows include Crocodile Games, Armorcast, and Reaper.
All of these companies provide great products and are well known in the industry.
I’m sad to see them not attend.
I always enjoyed visiting their booths in the past.
Shame to see them not in attendance.
The Convention in Pictures
I take a bunch of pictures of the convention and not all of them make it into the first few reports on the blog.
Here are the rest of the best in pictures!
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The best four days of gaming continue on into the last and best evening of the convention.
I played in a huge variety of games in the exhibit hall and filled my evening with BattleTech goodness.
While I stayed mostly in the exhibit hall during the day, I made a point to swing by the BattleTech games to see how things were going.
Miniatures Competition
I saw a single BattleTech miniature in the Machines of War category this year and it managed to win third place.
Not a bad showing at all but a far cry from the near sweeps we have seen in years past.
The photos I was able to get are not the best and I was not able to find the time to follow up to find the painter who painted the mini.
Battle the Masters
I managed to sneak my way into the Battle the Masters game with generics and took my 13C Longbow against Paul Sjardijn and Lauren Coleman.
Next to me was Mr. and Mrs. Arbiter of Arbitration Studios facing off against Randall Bills and company.
My battle did not start well.
On the first turn I took a large laser to the face and suffered two criticals.
The first knocked out a laser while the second destroyed my sensors.
With damaged sensors on turn 1, I was always scrambling to try to make my shots count.
As the battle progressed I finally was able to start scoring some meaningful damage, including a revenge head shot.
But it was not my day and I was the first ‘Mech to be rendered to slag.
Not all was lost though.
Through a slightly confusing and ultimately enlightening rules question, the Masters lost one of their most powerful (if not annoying) assets when partial cover was taken away from Paul Sjardijn’s quad ‘Mech.
From there the match went back and forth evenly until the fan side of the battle began building up steam until the Master’s Mechs were ruined.
Despite being the first to fall in the battle the winning players split the spoils and each walked away with a ‘Mech from the Masters side.
All the Rest
I got in plenty of demos and mini games on Saturday.
Here are some of the highlights.
I played the new Gale Force 9 game Spartacus which pits players against each other as owners of gladiator houses per the popular Showtime series.
I was very impressed with the demo and the gameplay looked very good.
This is a great cutthroat game of deception and treachery.
Don’t play if you have thin skin.
An integral part of the game is to deal your influence and wealth to back stab your neighbors.
I played Linear at the Catalyst booth which is a very very quick game of line building strategy.
Each player takes turns building rows of beads on the play map with the intention of creating combining lines to score big points in all of the three possible directions on a hex map.
You also have to play carefully to disrupt your opposing player’s ability to complete their own rows.
A very quick game as I’ve said before.
This game hinges a lot on the price point and the quality of the game box organization.
For such a quick game it had better be super easy to setup and breakdown.
Level 7 is a new game from Privateer Press where you play the role of a test subject deep in a subterranean experimentation facility.
You use your wits, strength and speed to evade or defeat the guards and alien clones while you try to find a way out.
There are seven missions in the game each representing a floor of the test facility.
I liked the mechanics and the resources each player uses to survive.
However, while there will almost always be a player that first randomly finds the exit, there is still a way for others to lose.
In this way, you don’t play Level 7 to win, you play not to lose.
Nexus Ops is a risk like game of planetary conquest by Fantasy Flight Games.
This game is a reprint of a very old game with updated mechanics and a bunch of plastic miniatures.
I though the gameplay was a bit bland.
Without having been able to dive too far into the game, my first impression made me think that the game was a bit mundane and suffered from pile on situations much like in Risk when a player hits a critical troop threshold and rolls through the opposition.
Other games I tested out were Quarriors, the Mageknight board game, and a few other odds and ends.
It was a great day with lots to do.
All the same it will be good to get home and recharge the batteries.
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Day 2 was a furious day of gaming which ran way later than expected but was more fun than expected.
I played fewer demos today due to the Catalyst seminar and my own personel shopping at IWM, but still found a few gems.
Whats Up With BattleTech
The BattleTech seminar was split this year into talking about the tabletop game and the new Mechwarrior Tactics collectible online game.
I was a bit annoyed when Tactics took up the majority of the one hour time slot.
That said, the crowd seemed to enjoy the presentation (and the Beta keys that currently don’t work) and did not mind that there was only 20 min left for Q and A.
Most of the questions still ended up being MWT related anyways.
To be honest I’m not impressed.
It’s still very early in development but collectible nature of the game and the need to purchase in game booster packs makes me squeamish.
Bottom line is that it does not replace MegaMek and it is not a tabletop emulator.
It is its own game that borrows the universe and a few crunchy bits when it is convient.
Enough of computer games and back to BattleTech.
Here is a synopsis of what Herb had to say about the near future of the game.
The Jihad is finished! (cheers)
There are a few more Star League books to finish off the year.
Liberation of Terra will cap off the series.
Interstellar Expeditions will delve into the beginning of the Dark Age and cover questions from the Inner Sphere as they learn where the remains of the WoB went, what happened to the Clans, and the deep deep periphery.
Hand Book House Kurita is slated for the end of the year.
A Time of War Companion is due in PDF form after GenCon.
Into 2013 we enter the Dark Age which will have some fiction support in the form of the new Blitzkrieg series.
“Don’t worry there won’t be click dials.” -HB
Interstellar Operation will happen next year.
“If China will leave me alone.” -RB
At the end of 2013 the Dark Age should wrap up and we begin charting new territory in BattleTech canon.
Historicals will continue to be produced including another Brush Wars volume and the 3rd Succession Wars.
Expect more Total Chaos type material due to “positive feedback.”
TRO 3150 will cover all of the Dark Age Mechs that we currently don’t have stats for.
Plastics are still in the pipeline with the Clan Box Set.
Hero Lab is not planned for A Time of War at this time.
Battle Value is still planned to be killed.
I played a round in the Flight School and made a good effort of blowing up opposing planes as we raced across a low altitude map.
This event was a bit disappointing but still a good time.
I wish there had been more preparation for the event.
Perhaps a little better focus to make the event enjoyable and valuable.
The Grinder saved my 8PM slot.
I tried to wander the FFG and AEG tables to try out a new game but was turned away at every attempt.
Nobody seemed to be able to find a spot for me in the vast sea of gaming tables at their disposal.
Thank goodness for Catalyst and the Grinder.
Even with three plus tables going there always seems to be a chair available.
It was fun, fast and provided just the right amount of gaming to fill in my evening.
A group of Super Heavy Omega Mechs made it out for GenCon to punish convention goers.
I’m not sure of the mission or objectives but it looked awesome to see so many new Mechs out and about to stomp players.
More pictures cause its awesome.
All the Rest
I played the demo of Decent 2 at the Fantasy Flight booth and liked what I saw.
I only played the original a few times and I liked the new separate objectives.
It certainly would go on my short list of things to pick up in the future but would not knock off some of my top choices.
Also from FFG, I played Rune Wars a deck building game that borrows heavily from Dominion.
The rules were fun and builds off of Dominion’s core.
The theme is high fantasy and includes more resources to manage and objectives to make the game a little bit different depending on the wants of the players.
I liked the combos and it felt fun.
I’m not sure it would replace Dominion in my collection but I can’t say that I would not buy this game if I was able to knock off a few top items from my list.
A fun game with some cool mechanics.
I ended my day with a lengthy game of MageKnight Dungeons.
I had an absolute blast playing.
It is proof that despite the years, this light weight dungeon crawler has legs and I’m looking longingly at my collection again.
Kudos to the game runners who made a massive dungeon seem conquerable while still providing just the right amount of danger to keep everyone honest.
The Heroic Teams were balanced and fun.
The enemy selection was well thought out.
And to boot, the small house rules they implemented really pulled it all together.
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In a stunning turn of events I managed to find a way to Indy at the last moment.
I had to call in some favors and made last minute reservations but it all worked out.
There were some trade offs to be made as I had to leave a bit earlier than I would have normally.
Still, I’m glad I have the opportunity to go and be a part of the best four days in gaming.
Catalyst is in their usual place near the entrance to the exhibit hall.
Catalyst remains a fixture in the hall to rival other manufacturers like Fantasy Flight and the like.
Leviathans is prominently on display and for sale.
There certainly is an air of excitement that they were able to bring the game to GenCon for the first time.
The usual suspects were available for BattleTech.
I was able to see print copies of the Tactical Kit, the new Battlecorps Anthology, and the latest Jihad (Total Chaos, Jihad Final Reckoning) and Field Manual SLDF.
Rumor has it that the faction dice quickly sold out leaving a few customers empty handed.
If you managed to snag a set congrats.
The standard run of games were available in the gaming hall Including Grinders, Solaris Melee Challenge and the standard storyline event.
I did not have much time this day to play as I arrived a bit late and spent most of my limited availability doing demos and getting settled.
Iron Wind Metals
IWM had an impressive array of miniatures available including most infantry, battle armor, micro fighters, bits, archive figures, buildings and much more.
A plethora of LE miniatures are available and a friendly staff pointing to anything you may need.
I’m always impressed with the available selection at all of the conventions that IWM attends.
CSO Diorama
This year the diorama is on Solaris 7 as contestants battle it out for fame and fortune.
No word on how this year’s diorama ties into potential Catalyst products.
I’ve heard mention of an upcoming Solaris 7 product from Catalyst.
It may be pure speculation but perhaps if Catalyst has an ace up their sleeve, the diorama would be an awesome companion.
The arena is a new addition to Solaris sponsored by the Republic of the Sphere.
Several new stables are also on display to keep things interesting.
Arbitration
Check out the first day podcast from Arbitration Studios!
All the Rest
I played quite a few demos in the hall and had a great experience so far.
Even so, there are quite a few games I’d still like to get to and will hopefully be able to play them in the coming days.
First up was King of Tokyo, a monster battling game for up to 6 players where you vie for control of downtown Tokyo to score victory points, kill your enemies, or both.
The game has a push your luck mechanic that ensures there is an ebb and flow to the game as Monsters inevitably take and relinquish control of Tokyo on the path to finding the one true monster.
It was a lot of fun and is a game that
I played Cool Mini Or Not’s upcoming Relic Knights skirmish game.
I had my doubts before playing but was pleasantly surprised by the game mechanics and the overall feel of the game.
Still not something that I would be picking up in the near future but I was impressed with the demo.
I also took in demos of The Duke, Balance of Power, Summoner Wars, and Dust Tactics.
Not bad for a short first day.
I’m looking forward for what the next day has to offer!
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GenCon 2011 is in the rear-view mirror.
I was not able to go myself this year but the tales of games and news from my roving reporters fired me up.
The excitement of GenCon is infectious even if you are not personally there.
As news, pictures and rumors made their way through the assortment of blogs and message boards, you could feel the excitement build.
This final GenCon post will cover all of the areas I missed earlier to wrap up coverage for 2011.
Catalyst always does a great job with the major conventions.
I hope to be there again next year.
Time will tell though if that wish will make it to reality.
Boot Camp and Grinders
The boot camp games ran all the way to the end of the convention.
Even with a slow start on Sunday (proof that you have to sleep sometime at GenCon) business picked right up.
Both the Grinder and the Boot Camps had full tables most of the convention as eager gamers had a blast tearing ‘Mechs apart.
Lance Tactics
The lance tactics games were held on a beautiful assortment of terrain from .
Those who managed to get to GenCon last year will remember their terrain being used for the QuickStrike games.
This year’s setup was brilliant as well.
Rumor has it that there will be new items going live on their website soon.
Not Covered…
Unfortunately there is no way to be everywhere at once and so reporting is sketchy when it comes to the following events:
Flight School
A Time of War, held in a different building, boo urns GenCon…
Daily Canon Events
Grand Melee, a damn near full event…
This is a testament to the epic scale that is GenCon.
Catalyst puts on a great show and has just about every kind of BattleTech available to be played and enjoyed!
Battle the Masters
The capstone event of Saturday featured the Masters of the BattleTech brand going up against the fanatic fans that make this community possible.
The Masters divided into teams of two to take on opposing teams of fans.
Each player brought two ‘Mechs to the party and a lance on lance battle beatdown ensued.
Here is one battle of many…
The Masters
MAD-2R Marauder
YMN-10-OR Yeoman
NGS-6S Nightsky
Marauder IIC
MAD-6L Marauder
BLR-1G BattleMaster
The Masters jumped to an early lead by putting crippling damage on the fan’s Marauder leaving it with a single Plasma Rifle.
The rally was on shortly thereafter though.
At first the fan’s Clan units tried to stay at range to bait the Masters into the open.
High to-hit numbers forced an advance.
The Nightsky fell first over three rounds from the BattleMaster and 7 CLan ERPPCs.
The fans then split fire using the Clan units against the opposing Hellstar while the BattleMaster and 6L Marauder took on the 2R Marauder.
The Yeoman tried to support his lancemates but just could not output enough damage to make a difference before the Master’s Marauder fell.
The Marauder IIC was destroyed after shutting down from overheating but the rout was already in progress.
The BattleMaster tore through the Yeoman while the fan Hellstar dealt a deathblow to the Master’s Hellstar.
In another heated battle the Masters (which included the line developer Herb) had two Celestials, a Pariah and one other ‘Mech against the fans who brought a Thunderhawk and others (sorry for the sketchy details, the evening ran very late!).
By the time the end of the game came around the Thunderhawk had devoured the Celestials leaving the lone Pariah on the field.
Unfortunately the fans lost initiative over and over again which allowed the Pariah to jump for back shots with impunity.
That game was the ONLY game that the Masters ended up winning that evening.
Thanks to the Fans
From the perspective of gamers and demo agents I have reports that spoke highly of the conduct of all fans who partook of the BattleTech festivities at GenCon.
The level of trust between players was notable.
Events seemed to run themselves which made the job of hosting events a pleasure.
Demo agents are a great bunch and work their tails off to make these games available.
Great fans just make the entire package better.
Also bravo to Catalyst for moving to a staggered Demo agent schedule which gave every game a sense of continuity.
There was never a cold shift from one team to another. A decided improvement from previous GenCons.
Thanks to My Reporters
A great many thanks go to JPArbiter and nckestrel who have provided the reports and pictures for this year’s GenCon.
I could not have been able to have any coverage this year if not for their love of the game and willingness to help out.
Till next year!
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News and pictures are flooding in from GenCon and there is a lot to talk about.
GenCon is living up to it’s reputation as the best four days in gaming.
As always the companion podcast to the ScrapYardArmory GenCon experience is being provided by .
Canon Event: The Wars of Reaving
This year’s canon event is centered around the Wars of Reaving, further promoting the recently released sourcebook courtesy of Ben Rome.
***SPOILER ALERT***
Clan Steel Viper is on the defense protecting their genetic repository from an onslaught of Clan Blood Spirit.
Blood Spirit gains victory points by destroying buildings that make up the Steel Viper repository and lose points whenver they call in reinforcements.
The Steel Vipers gain victory points by destroying attacking units.
The regular bounty is actually quite small but Star Commanders are worth much much more.
Star Commanders on the Blood Spirit side are assigned in secret before each gaming slot.
The early game had the Vipers bottled up inside the canyon holding the repository.
The Blood Spirit players split their way through the defenders or climbed over the canyon walls to get at the repository.
With few options to repulse the attackers, the buildings kept falling resulting in a sizable lead for Clan Blood Spirit.
The final score as of last night was about 70VP to 35VP with Clan Blood Spirit in control.
***END SPOILER***
Late Night Quick Strike
The CamoSpecs crew are at it again with several off the schedule battles of epic proportion.
When you absolutely positively have to destroy a regiment/galaxy of units in a single evening, only the Quick Strike rules from Strategic Operations will do.
The game featured the Word of Blake versus Coalition forces in a massive game hosted by Demo Agent Incridibl. As in previous years most of the players ended up being either Demo Agents or CSO artists but there was always a slot or two available for the adventurous convention goer ready to command a few lances/level II.
Coalition forces were a mixed crew featuring several Clans alongside Inner Sphere regulars as well as off-board artillery.
The Word of Blake also brought artillery but also included several aerospace fighter wings.
The first two turns were fairly standard with some long range shots but little damage as a result. The third turn is when it all hit the fan.
An initial flight of Word of Blake artillery (8 Arrow IVs) slammed into the Coalition front line. Weapons fire, now at medium range was dropping ‘Mechs.
The Word of Blake aerospace assets came out in force and dive bombed the coalition armor assets.
Anti-aircraft fire brought down a third of the fighters but the bombs did their work, damaging almost half of the Coalition force to some degree.
The Coalition forces took a beating but pushed forward bravely to claim the forward objectives.
At the end of the evening the consensus from the field was that despite higher losses, the Coalition forces won the event due to the early objective grab.
Thanks to the CamoSpecs Online crew and Incidibl for hosting the event!
The Painting Competition
The Machines of War category is again well represented by BattleTech minis.
Is another sweep in store for the fans of the Inner Sphere this year?
There are some stunning minis in the field and I wish the very best for any BattleTech mini!
Eye Candy for All
Ben Rome, assistant line developer and photography enthusiast was gracious enough to post a link to his flicker album.
There are some great shots in the collection and are definitely worth a click.
Keeping it Interesting
Here are a few more pictures from around the convention!
ScrapYard Armory Photography provided by JPArbiter and nckestrel.
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What’s Up with BattleTech and Catalyst
A big part of Day 2 is the BattleTech seminars where the loyal fans of the game get to hear about the state of the game from The Powers that Be in person.
At the front of the house for this year’s convention was Herb, Jason S, and Ben Rome.
Loren Coleman and Randall Bill managed to visit towards the end.
New Product in the Pipeline
Closing out the end of this year we should be expecting the A Time of War Companion (previous edition conversions, advanced cybernetics, archaic weapons, creature creation), Jihad Reckoning (featuring an early Republic/Liao conflict), and Field Manual 3085.
Moving into 2012 we should be looking for Handbook Kurita and Historical Liberation of Terra.
The Clan Introductory Box set is still in the works but is facing some serious difficulties.
The hope is for all of the miniatures to be made in High Impact Plastic similar to the Loki and Thor from the regular box set (and also to fantastic looking Leviathans minis).
Topps remains a jealous guard of plastic minis.
They are not in the mood for anyone to make an attempt to redo the Click-Tech plastic miniatures even though that is absolutely not what Catalyst is doing.
At one point Catalyst had permission to go forward but then Topps somehow forgot they gave them permission.
The whole situation is frustrating but Catalyst remains cautious.
High detail plastic is in the future for the Clan Box Set AND the normal Intro Box Set.
Not this reprint but the one after that, Catalyst hopes to at least partially do away with the soft plastic miniatures in favor of high impact plastic.
The current reprint in progress is around 7,500 boxes.
At MSRP of $49.99 that is $374,925 of product.
Start bugging your friends to buy one this Christmas season!
Keep in mind that this is a hope and not a promise.
Catalyst can’t confirm anything until it is a done deal so the future of plastic miniatures is very much in flux.
The PDF Turning Points series will be going strong with several titles in various stages of work.
Titles that were mentioned include the following in
Chesterton
A few other titles were also noted.
These would be in the very early stages of work and few details were available surrounding their scope.
Clan Widowmaker Absorption
Interstellar Operations is the Duke Nukem Forever of BattleTech (a title previously held by Operation Klondike).
Randall is the one to bug about this monster.
I highly suspect that baby seals everywhere will be on guard until it’s release.
Randall has a lot of big ideas and would love to do a large scale high production value “Twilight Imperium” style game in the same color as the old Succession Wars board game.
Interstellar Operations is taking priority though.
Novels are going to happen.
“If we don’t get them out … I’m going to hurt somebody.” – Herb.
This is a big issue for the Catalyst guys and they are working several angles to get it done.
Unfortunately the collapse of Borders has tightened everyone’s grip on their purse strings.
A major brick and mortar like Barnes and Noble pays on a delayed schedule which makes things challenging to say the least.
Catalyst is actively talking with several other vendors that may be able to bring novels into reality quicker and with less risk (think epub or print on demand, btw the Cosmic Patrol rulebook was done via print on demand).
A BattleCorps Anthology was not available this year due to work load issues with the Leviathans launch.
Ultimately, they would like to have one available each year.
There is at least a chance for one before the year is out if not early next.
Regardless the series will continue to be produced and will highlight the best fiction available on BattleCorps.
The Plot Line Moves (and shakes!)
There is going to be a concerted effort to remove the white hat worn by the Republic of the Sphere.
Nothing in BattleTech is completely white hat anyways.
Davions are crooks.
Steiner, which is Herb’s favorite, are also crooks.
Liao have been the punching bag of the Inner Sphere for what seems like forever and have come by their black hats honestly.
The Republic will be more of a stepping stone for the plot.
No much happens over the course of 60 or so years so a jump is called for.
3150 will be the beginning of whatever era is next for the BattleTech line.
All the Rest
BattleCorps has been a bit slow since Jason has been tapped to review several products all at once.
A new update is in the works that will provide additional functionality including ePub capability.
This is still in early development so don’t hold your breath.
Rumor has it that the MechWarrior game had been sidelined lately but shows signs of movement once again.
However, there is very little contact between Catalyst and the game developer so take this rumor with a Tharkad sized grain of NaCl.
There has been a recent shake up in the status of the unseen.
Art previously thought to be back on the OK list is again off limits.
The licensing issue and confusion at Topps have muddied the waters significantly.
Photography provided by JPArbiter and nckestrel.
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While I may not be there in person this year, my gaming heart is in Indianapolis.
The ScrapYardArmory has two roving reporters snapping photos and taking notes to make sure BattleTech fans from near and far are kept in the loop.
The Line Starts Where?!
The lines for Will Call were very long.
The GenCon staff seemed overwhelmed as it took attendees several hours to pick up their badges.
This got so bad that some stalwart fans were forced to miss their first games.
Other sources have suggested that the GenCon powers that be are hoping for/expecting a record attendance this year.
They may very well be getting their wish.
For those of you lucky enough to be at Indy for the festivities remember to keep your badge near and dear.
The GenCon staff are rather draconian when it comes to enforcing their badge policies.
If you lose your badge, you need to buy a whole new entry.
Catalyst Game Labs
Several major product releases made the trip to Indy and were available for purchase at the Catalyst booth.
Wars of Reaving
Historical Reunification War
Era Report 3062
HexPack Cities and Roads
BattleTech Dice
The BattleTech Dice are available in several colors and feature a BattleMaster profile on the 6.
These are a prototype run that may be expanded to feature faction logos.
There are no promises as always.
Of particular note is the heft of the Wars of Reaving sourcebook.
This item is Randall worthy in it’s size and ability to do physical harm when thrown.
I can’t wait for the print product to make it to store shelves!
Iron Wind Metals
The team representing Iron Wind Metals brought their “A” game to GenCon this year.
There was a wealth of new product on display including the Bounty Hunter packs.
The “A Time of War” scale Nighthawk BattleArmor will be a welcome addition to many tabletops.
Finally there is something reasonable to go up against the 28mm Clan Elemental!
BattleTech Games
BattleTech games were packed in the early sessions and into the night.
From the arenas of Solaris 7 to the training sessions in the Boot Camp there were plenty of ‘Mechs getting bashed together to the delight of convention goers.
In Solaris 7 there was a fantastic shake-up when a janitor suited up in a BlackHawk to stir the pot!
After a few frightening volleys, the players at the table wised up and began to team up to put an end to the wayward janitor.
No mop-jockey was going to steal the show in this arena!
Leviathans
The rumors are confirmed, the Leviathans Box set missed GenCon due to failed promise from a foreign printer.
Randall Bills had tweeted about a printer snafu prior to GenCon and now we know what product was the victim.
That said, there was plenty of Leviathans goodness to be seen.
Demos were running full tilt and the big ships were drawing quite a crowd.
Too bad the box set missed, it would have been an epic unveiling.
The Camo Spec Diorama
The diorama this year features a pivotal moment in the Wars of Reaving.
The Kerensky Blood Chapel stands protected by Clan Wolf as a horde of attackers advance to claim the founder’s legacy.
More pictures cause I know you love em…
Other News
has unveiled a custom BattleTech themed miniature bag.
The final product will be available this fall.
The bag will have the following trays:
Three 1 inch trays for vehicles
Three 1.5 inch trays for large vehicles
Four 2 inch trays for ‘Mechs
Logo Patch, one of the following
Clan Jade Falcon
Bryan Wade from Outrider Hobbies contacted the ScrapYard shortly after this post went live and graciously provided the following images.
Thank you Bryan and Outrider Hobbies!
BattleTech PodCasting GenCon
Keep your eye on
for podcasts as the convention continues!
Photography provided by JPArbiter and nckestrel.
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The Wars of Reaving are Upon Us
Photography by JPArbiter
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