Rob hosts a conversation with Catalyst Game Labs’ Randall Bills and Piranha Games’ Russ Bullock and Bryan Ekman. Such a group can only mean one thing: BattleTech discussion. Does the BattleTech board game hold up after all these years? Do the various BattleTech and MechWarrior games and books create difficult expectations for what a mech game “should” be? What are the benefits of having a gameworld with so much history, and how do BattleTech-related games tap into it? How do the board games influence the upcoming MechWarrior Online?
I’ve been watching MWO pretty closely. Surprised, but excited to see 3MA talking about ‘Mechs.
Very nice surprise! I cant wait for MWO and now my interest in the boardgame is rekindled, too ;) Are there big differences to the Classic Battletech Box from 2007?
Finished listening – really enjoyed the episode. CBT has always been a favorite of mine and this coming year should be great for the setting. Skeptical about that “Summer 2012” date, though.
Great discussion and excellent job on having representatives from both the digital & cardboard implementations of BattleTech.
BattleTech is always a game I’ve really wanted to like, but as you touched on in your discussion there is a very real problem of scale in the game. Individualized Warriors (and granular detail) vs. Combined Arms futuristic battlescapes. Both are satisfying but contradicory, and can’t seem to be pulled off as well as I would like in boardgame version.
The computer seems like a good tool to resolve it, but I have yet to see a MechWarrior game that I felt truly captured the feel of piloting a 70 ton mech. The new MechWarrior game sounds promising though despite my reservations, especially the comments regarding balancing the clans with “honor based” gameplay.
A good episode! I’ve only managed time to play the “easy starting rules” in the 2008 boxed set. I’m looking forward to checking out the Quick Strike rules.
Also: pre-painted mechs, please!