AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
edited September 2021
I am plucking away at creating a small Campaign centered on ilClan Era Montefeltro regaining control over their System. Currently I'm just setting the stage. When I can get my hands on Tamar Rising I'll hopefully be able to really make it fit. For now I'm just trying to put together what the star system looks like.
NUOVA PATRIA SYSTEM
VUOTO - 1st Planet
Mars like
Domed cities
Great mineral wealth
Small population
Industrialized
Inhospitable atmosphere
Ring system
MONTEFELTRO - 2nd Planet
Earth like atmosphere
Pangaea
Savanna mostly
Industrialized
Large population
Two moons of comparable size
(Moon) SOPRANO
Bigger of Montefeltro's two moons
Its orbit has it hang high in the night sky
Lunar surface
Minor population
Few hab domes
(Moon) BARITONE
Smaller of Montefeltro's two moons
Its orbit has it hang low in the night sky
Lunar surface
Minor population
Few hab domes
Inner Asteroid Belt (INTERNA)
TINIA - 3rd Planet
Gas giant
Three moons
(Moon) NETHUNS
Largest of Tinia's moons
Thick, inhospitable atmosphere
Liquid hydrocarbon oceans
Numerous dead volcanic islands
No permanent population
Small rotating workforce
(Moon) JACKASS (Formerly AMARIS-23)
Second largest of Tinia's moons
Earth like atmosphere
Mostly alpine
Two large continents
Moderate population
Minor industrialization
Former RWR military base
Historically a headache for Montefeltro
(Moon) UNI
Smallest of Tinia's moons
Lunar surface
No population
Attractive to pirates or other ne'er-do-wells
Outer Asteroid Belt (ESTERNA)
This is all broad strokes and I'm no astrophysicist, though I suppose neither are the BT writers so it's all good.
edit- Because I'm having too much fun with this I give you a kitbashed solar system;
Hilariously not to scale, of course.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
No one forgets the grand majesty of flying into the Nuova Patria System for the first time and first gazing upon the noble moon, JACKASS.
:heartbeat:
It truly is the Crown Jewel of the System. :razz:
Months ago now when I first came up with the Montefeltro idea I had also given thought to something of a rival planet (now moon). When coming up with the name I was thinking Amaris was exactly the type of egocentric asshole who would probably have a lot of things named after him. So I decided on "Amaris-23" as the name of the rival world. Then I figured people would probably rename it after the fall of the RWR and what better name to go with for something named in Amaris's honor than "Jackass".
Montefeltro was very quick to rid themselves of anything Amaris, which lead to a lot of innocent people being lynched. The good folks of Montefeltro try not to talk too much about that particular point in their history.
The people of Jackass on the other hand were diehard Amaris loyalists. After the fall the RWR military bases located on the moon were raided by the people for whatever the SLDF didn't take. Many Warlords rose and during these early decades the world was Montefeltro's chief security concern and biggest obstacle to system unification. Even after unification and well in to the modern era Montefeltro Security Forces would occasionally have to deal with rebel agitators trying to bring back the "glory days" of the RWR.
Nuova Patria in the ilClan Era:
The people of Jackass have seen a grand resurgence of RWR "culture" and are also rapidly expanding their own military capabilities.
The people of Vuoto have faired pretty well. Raw resources are always in need and economically they have grown considerably. They've little need for a unified Nuova Patria.
The people of Montefeltro wish for re-unification because in their minds the System is theirs's by right. Hard won centuries ago. Plus they've legitimate security concerns.
The belts (Interna and Esterna) are fast growing havens for pirates, smugglers and revolutionaries that are operating within and without the Nuova Patria system with Tinia's moon Uni becoming something of a gathering point for these less than scrupulous actors.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
Got to introduce a friend to Battletech yesterday with his first, and my second, game of Alpha Strike. I worked up a couple lists just over 200 points, with at least one of every size Mech for variety. I tried not to get anything with too many special abilities, since I planned to just use CASE/ENE rules, and ignore the rest for the first game. Ended up with a list of 6 for IS (AS7-S, HBK-5SS, RVN-2X, STG-6R, WHM-7M-DC, Zeu-9T), 5 for Clan (Daishi Prime, Dasher P, Mad Cat Prime, Puma Prime, Shadow Cat Prime). My local library has a 3d printer for members, so I've been sending Steel Warrior hextech jobs to it for the last couple of weeks, and it was great to see it finally laid out on a table.
He ended up winning when we called the game after 5 or 6 rounds, with his Atlas, Raven, and Hunchback still standing, to my Daishi and Puma. I think my MVP was my Dasher P. I managed to win init the first couple of rounds, so it was in his backfield turn 2 shooting things in the back, and being a nusance/distraction for a couple of rounds until it finally took a couple of hits.
Visskar on
+9
AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
edited September 2021
My eyes were immediately drawn to those sweet ass coasters!
Since my brain can't settle down, here are the flags and emblems for the principal actors of the Nuova Patria campaign.
Montefeltro National Flag
Insignia of the Guardia Nazionale del Montefeltro
Jackass (aka Nuova Patria Republic) National Flag
Insignia of the Republic Fusiliers
Corporate Flag of Lucciano Industriale (defacto rulers of Vuoto)
Insignia of the Kabukimono (battalion strength mercenary company under contract by Lucciano Industriale)
I really should learn graphic design and how to draw so I can just make my own stuff instead of having to scour the internet. Still I am happy with what I got.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
My eyes were immediately drawn to those sweet ass coasters!
I wish I could take credit for those, but we were playing at his house.
0
IanatorGaze upon my works, ye mightyand facepalm.Registered Userregular
Another round of Alpha Strike today. This time I opened up my two Clan packs (Command Star and Heavy Striker Star) and, using the Prime variants, wound up with two Stars only four points apart.
I took the Command Star. First turn I took out my opponent's Hellbringer in exchange for my Mist Lynx. Three or four turns later I dropped his Gargoyle and something else without taking any more losses. Opponent called it there.
...I really need to get the Commander's Edition rulebook. We've just been abstracting the ranges (2" = 1 hex) and going from whatever else we know.
Twitch | Blizzard: Ianator#1479 | 3DS: Ianator - 1779 2336 5317 | FFXIV: Iana Ateliere (NA Sarg) Backlog Challenge List
Also if you got coins, please take a look at them. We found a couple of mine had some minor blemishes. I think one has a legit flaw I gotta report.
What sort of flaws am I looking for?
I don't really know how to answer that beyond "the imperfect kind" because one is just a smudge of dirt - inside the sealed case. Another is the actual material is flawed (the light metal stuff is just missing for part of the design).
Also if you got coins, please take a look at them. We found a couple of mine had some minor blemishes. I think one has a legit flaw I gotta report.
What sort of flaws am I looking for?
I don't really know how to answer that beyond "the imperfect kind" because one is just a smudge of dirt - inside the sealed case. Another is the actual material is flawed (the light metal stuff is just missing for part of the design).
I just opened mine up and it looks fine. Honestly I did not know it opened up till I found a notch on the side and stuck my fingernail in there. The case popped right open. The case itself is scratched on the inside from the FRR logo, but the coin is fine.
Also if you got coins, please take a look at them. We found a couple of mine had some minor blemishes. I think one has a legit flaw I gotta report.
What sort of flaws am I looking for?
I don't really know how to answer that beyond "the imperfect kind" because one is just a smudge of dirt - inside the sealed case. Another is the actual material is flawed (the light metal stuff is just missing for part of the design).
I just opened mine up and it looks fine. Honestly I did not know it opened up till I found a notch on the side and stuck my fingernail in there. The case popped right open. The case itself is scratched on the inside from the FRR logo, but the coin is fine.
AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
edited September 2021
An excerpt from Professor Cornelius Argyle's book Little Wars, Big Bravery: Conflicts of Minor Periphery Nations Chapter 23- The Destiny of Nuova Patria
The war for the fate of the Nuova Patria system, a star system that doesn't even appear on many star charts I may add, had went unnoticed by the overwhelming
majority of people in the Inner Sphere. For those that paid attention however, what they would witness was a modern conflict in miniature.
Among my colleagues who care to study such things many argue that the start of the war can be firmly placed at the moment Montefeltro DropShips landed on Vuoto.
I must play the contrarian here. The DropShips of Montefeltro may never have landed when they did or at all if it wasn't for the actions of the Nuova Patria Republic.
Months before the landing on Vuoto representatives of the Republic meet with and made deals with the numerous in-system Pirates. The purpose of these clandestine dealings?
To hire the Pirates to harass the trade ships traveling to Montefeltro. The Nuova Patria Republic was at a logistical and material disadvantage against their cold war enemy Montefeltro.
The Pirates activities not only helped even the odds, but their raiding proved more effect than the Republic had hoped for.
Many of the trade ships plying the lanes of the system were former Jade Falcon Clan merchant vessels. Thanks to centuries of Clan dogma the Merchant Caste of the Jade Falcon Clan
were not allowed to fight. Fighting was the sole “honor” of their Warrior Caste. Thanks to the then recent Battle of Terra having greatly depleted Jade Falcon Clan's Warrior Caste many of
these vessels were completely undefended and easy targets for Pirates. Professor Karl Gritzner's work Clan Society: A Blueprint for Chaos goes in to much further detail on the subject of
how the Clans' ways give rise to piracy.
The Pirates found these ships easy pickings. Quite a few were even taken without a scratch. What were these Pirates to do with ships full of cargo? Find a buyer of course. Luckily for
them they did not have travel far as they found a ready customer in the Nuova Patria Republic. While the Republic did have to pay a fine premium for these material goods it was a price worth
paying as not only did it mean no supplies going to their enemy but more supplies for their own industries and forces.
Montefeltro's lack of foresight concerning the AeroSpace theater would continue to rear its head throughout the war.
With the flow of resources, material and war supplies quickly dwindling Montefeltro had no real choice but to invade the resource rich, manufacturing focused and comparatively weaker Vuoto.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
Where's my stuff!?
That is the question being asked by most of you who have yet to receive your Wave 2 shipment, some with patient understanding and some with far more...creative imagery. We understand. After two years of hard work, millions spent on development, production, shipping... we are just as hopeful as our 10,000+ backers to see a successful conclusion to this amazing campaign.
However. If you are one of the 8-10% who have not received your shipment, it may indeed feel like we are stumbling just short of the finish line, but there is a lot of misinformation circulating out there.
- Was Catalyst selling Wave 2 material at Gen Con? No. We were specifically careful to not bring for sale any material that all our backers would not have had a chance to receive. Our only intentional exception was ten UrbanMech Plushies that we gave away to a few fortunate attendees.
- Has Wave 2 product been released through distribution? Again, no. The only stores with Wave 2 material for sale are retailer-backers, who were part of this campaign alongside every fan here. In hindsight, we wish we had exercised more control over our various fulfillment hubs, who used their own criteria to decide whom to ship to first. Some hubs preferred to ship large orders out early. Some wanted to ship to as many people as possible as fast as possible. There are good arguments for either, and both. However, we agree that stores should not have been able to sell to a non-backer before our backers were 100% shipped. Lesson learned! (We've even had a few retail stores volunteer to hold product until we've reported this. Above and beyond, retailers! Thanks!)
So where is my stuff!?
A fair question. Here is where we actually are:
As of 9/30, QML has reported to us the following:
US: Roughly 80% fulfilled, with the final 20% to be finished in the next two weeks.
Canada: 90% fulfilled, also finishing by mid-October.
EU: 87% fulfilled. In fact, the hard count is 213 orders left to ship!
UK: 95% fulfilled. We didn't get a hard count, but we expect it is in the same 200-ish range.
Aus: We did not get a %. And yeah, it's slow. Aetherworks expects to be 100% by end of October.
Asia: "About 2/3" was reported delivered or in transit. So call it 66%. The final 33% will be started after the current holiday period. We expect this process to still take extra weeks, because of how Asia distributes.
ROW: 97% shipped. This number is a little shaky because the ROW options come with their own headaches, like 10 of our 62 shipments to Russia coming back as "customs issues, not deliverable." Technically, that means Russia was 100% shipped but had a 20% failure rate. We have no idea why, since the other 52 shipments used the same customs forms and shipping method, and they went through without issue. We are in the processes of resending these shipments.
This may be enough to bring you satisfactorily up to date. If so, you can skip the second half of this update. If you want to know about the actual two issues that did crop up, slowing delivery to the last of our backers, by all means, read on!
Why was fulfillment slowed/stopped?
There are several rumors and even one report from a hub that Catalyst asked all fulfillment to stop and retake a full inventory. Catalyst also reported something similar recently, and that this would cause a slight pause in shipping. Some of this was, in fact, inventory related, exacerbated by our playing an international game of "telephone."
Recently (two weeks? ish?) Catalyst began to hear from some of our pro-active EU backers that they had received the wrong cover on their Clan Invasion box set. A few waved it off, because they preferred the other cover, and a few didn't care one way or another, but the item was still wrong and all of them thought we'd want to know. We did! (and thank you!)
Fulfillment was slowed, and eventually paused in the EU, as we discovered that the factory in China had shipped the EU the wrong Clan Invasion box set. Every. Single. Copy. The shipment went directly from China to our fulfillment hub, so no one caught it until backers reported the issue.
At that time, we had two containers of follow-up production arriving within days, which included Kickstarter editions, so we did ask QML to ask the EU hub to wait until we could fix the issue for the final few hundred backers. It seemed like a good solution at that time.
Except...
The containers were extra slow getting through customs. (Of course they were!) Then our main warehouse was extra slow getting the containers received. (They are running at about half-capacity, we recently learned, due to Covid issues). Then Catalyst was at Gen Con, and word didn't get back to us just how slow things were going. Even now...our warehouse has received those containers, but the shipment to QML (that would then go to the EU) has still not shipped...and won't until next week.
That was issue #1, and should have only affected the EU. However, during that same period, we did yet-another-recount of inventory and nailed down about a 1.5% discrepancy. 1.5% sounds pretty good, right? 98.5% complete? Except that 1.5% of over 100,000 total items means we were off on about 1500 actual items. And not all of the same item. Twelve t-shirts. Five coin sets. One hundred ninety-four varied ForcePacks. Fifty-odd copies of the Battle of Tukayyid book. That kind of thing. This caused a great deal of additional confusion and consternation, and led to what had become a system-wide pause.
Now some of this product is also on the containers that recently unloaded at our main warehouse (but stil haven't shipped on to QML). Some we brought in by air freight at additional expense to try to speed things along. Some are stuck on containers in the middle of the Indian Ocean and won't be here for several weeks. (We even looked into emergency printings, and other options, but no joy!)
So, here is the plan:
Catalyst had a meeting with QML on Wednesday, at which time we agreed that waiting on outside sources was just not working. It had seemed like the right call to make at the time, but, Hindsight 20/20, it was time to adjust.
All of our foreign hubs have been (or should have been, by now) tasked to finish up any and all remaining shipments regardless of any missing items. Catalyst will get a detailed report of the items not delivered, and will make those up in a separate shipment at our expense. Yeah, we wish we'd made that decision ten days ago, too. (Please take into consideration the outrageous increases in freight and shipping over-stressing the entire world right now--so bad that Time magazine even featured how devastatingly bad its hitting our industry--and realize this decision will cost tens of thousands of additional dollars which will not be going into future BattleTech product development, which I think we'd all agree would have been the best place for it.)
Because QML should be only two days away from receiving the follow-up shipment from our main warehouse, they have agreed to fulfill what they can and then ramp back up the final 20% once that product arrives. They still expect to be 100% complete by mid-October.
Thank You
And that's the news. Not as bad as some of the rumors made things sound, but still annoying, especially for our final wave of backers who we hope now understand the issues that have hit us hard at the end, and how Catalyst intends to overcome them. We know there is still a great deal of work to do to get us through Wave 2, and to keep fixing issues that have cropped up along the way (like Russia!) and on which we will continue to work hard until we have fulfilled and satisfied all 12,000 active backers.
My wave 2 Showed up in AUS this very morning! The post is absolutely hammered her at the moment as we are having the Delta Variant experience and some postal hubs have had to shut down or go to skeleton crews, so I'm a bit surprised it showed up as quickly as it did. The Atlas and King crab are as glorious as I had hoped.
MechWarrior: Destiny: 4,750 (2 printings; a 3,500 3rd printing is currently on a ship)
So they definitely printed a shitload of it. There was supposed to be a digital download but I don't think I can find mine (unless it was an add-on in which case I don't think I got it).
Got some meat-space gaming in this weekend!
Played a 2v2 introduction game to bring onboard two new battletech recruits. They both had the clan starter boxes, so it was a pretty lopsided fight, but a blast nontheless.
Highlights:
-My battlemaster died a heroic death after being compleatly zombied by charge-tackling a Madcat off a cliff and crushing his own head in the process. The Madcat sadly survived.
-My Wolverine shredded my opponent's Puma with an alphastrike, knocking him on his ass. The Puma then failed 3 attempts to stand up and went to sleep for the rest of the game.
-My ally's Kingcrab took multiple shots to the cockpit in the fourth turn and went down after only tanking maybe 30 total armour damage.
-My valiant Wolverine went to assist my ally's remaining Crab only to arrive as it died. Vengeance was taken by jumping behind a Madcat, killing it with an alphastrike to the bum, and then shutting down and getting coupe-de-grace'd by the remaining (crippled) Madcat and Grendel.
Thinking about it. If anyone isn't a painter and finds that video a bit intimidating because it's rushed, I'd encourage you to watch some of his earlier stuff. He's been doing painting videos for a godawful number of years now and I can tell he shorthands a few things since he assumes you know now. But he's hands down the simplest way to learn some great mini painting skills, if you can stomach that he used to be a GW employee and (like me) thinks their paints are worth the insane mark up in just ease of use.
What is this I don't even.
0
AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
Thinking about it. If anyone isn't a painter and finds that video a bit intimidating because it's rushed, I'd encourage you to watch some of his earlier stuff. He's been doing painting videos for a godawful number of years now and I can tell he shorthands a few things since he assumes you know now. But he's hands down the simplest way to learn some great mini painting skills, if you can stomach that he used to be a GW employee and (like me) thinks their paints are worth the insane mark up in just ease of use.
Duncan is actually starting his own paint line now.
I saw that. I love Duncan but mass produced paints seems like a spot where it would be tough to actually improve the quality? I want to support him but his paint line seems entirely redundant.
That said I was delighted to see him apply the GW paint process to a mech.
What is this I don't even.
+2
AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
I saw that. I love Duncan but mass produced paints seems like a spot where it would be tough to actually improve the quality? I want to support him but his paint line seems entirely redundant.
That said I was delighted to see him apply the GW paint process to a mech.
There are a ton of paint lines out there each with their ups and downs.
If Duncan’s delivers even Citadel quality but in droppers I’ll be a customer.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
0
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
Meanwhile I'm just stuck here obsessed with the idea of wishing they'd put the Shadowhawk in the Beginner's Box with the Wolverine and the Griffin.
And then my mind starts flying down the what-if whole and then I'm like wishing they'd given them different primary weapons. Like, use the Wolverine's lore background of originally having a PPC and go with that, then give the Griffin like an LRM-15 as its primary and just back up medium lasers. Like if that'd been how they'd been designed all along?
e: and then you take the Stinger, the Wasp, and the Valkyrie and make them all 25 tonners instead.
H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
edited October 2021
If we're concepting alternatives for the 55-ton IS trio, I always felt like the names for the Griffin and Shadowhawk seemed backwards. What I would've done:
The Griffin is named after an animal that combines traits of two ambush predators, one that flies and is noted for its keen eyesight. I'd have given it a loadout suited for a flanker/pursuer, mostly mid-short range stopping power but with some long range poke to backshot runners. The SLDF Royal version should've had an Active Probe to help track down targets.
The Shadow Hawk would've been an elusive long range fire support platform. Just give it the Griffin's canon loadout, and add an ECM Suite for the SLDF Royal version.
The Wolverine would be a tough-as-nails front liner. Skip the jumpjets (since its the only one of the three named after a land animal), increase the armor, give it a balanced weapons loadout with an eye towards longer engagements, and the SLDF Royal model gets AMS.
This would've also made them the obvious way to introduce Lostech systems besides the alternate weapons and weight-saving features. Like give each of them CASE and Arrow IV FCS too.
Posts
NUOVA PATRIA SYSTEM
VUOTO - 1st Planet
MONTEFELTRO - 2nd Planet
(Moon) SOPRANO
(Moon) BARITONE
Inner Asteroid Belt (INTERNA)
TINIA - 3rd Planet
(Moon) NETHUNS
(Moon) JACKASS (Formerly AMARIS-23)
(Moon) UNI
Outer Asteroid Belt (ESTERNA)
This is all broad strokes and I'm no astrophysicist, though I suppose neither are the BT writers so it's all good.
edit- Because I'm having too much fun with this I give you a kitbashed solar system;
:heartbeat:
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
It truly is the Crown Jewel of the System. :razz:
Months ago now when I first came up with the Montefeltro idea I had also given thought to something of a rival planet (now moon). When coming up with the name I was thinking Amaris was exactly the type of egocentric asshole who would probably have a lot of things named after him. So I decided on "Amaris-23" as the name of the rival world. Then I figured people would probably rename it after the fall of the RWR and what better name to go with for something named in Amaris's honor than "Jackass".
Montefeltro was very quick to rid themselves of anything Amaris, which lead to a lot of innocent people being lynched. The good folks of Montefeltro try not to talk too much about that particular point in their history.
The people of Jackass on the other hand were diehard Amaris loyalists. After the fall the RWR military bases located on the moon were raided by the people for whatever the SLDF didn't take. Many Warlords rose and during these early decades the world was Montefeltro's chief security concern and biggest obstacle to system unification. Even after unification and well in to the modern era Montefeltro Security Forces would occasionally have to deal with rebel agitators trying to bring back the "glory days" of the RWR.
Nuova Patria in the ilClan Era:
The people of Jackass have seen a grand resurgence of RWR "culture" and are also rapidly expanding their own military capabilities.
The people of Vuoto have faired pretty well. Raw resources are always in need and economically they have grown considerably. They've little need for a unified Nuova Patria.
The people of Montefeltro wish for re-unification because in their minds the System is theirs's by right. Hard won centuries ago. Plus they've legitimate security concerns.
The belts (Interna and Esterna) are fast growing havens for pirates, smugglers and revolutionaries that are operating within and without the Nuova Patria system with Tinia's moon Uni becoming something of a gathering point for these less than scrupulous actors.
He ended up winning when we called the game after 5 or 6 rounds, with his Atlas, Raven, and Hunchback still standing, to my Daishi and Puma. I think my MVP was my Dasher P. I managed to win init the first couple of rounds, so it was in his backfield turn 2 shooting things in the back, and being a nusance/distraction for a couple of rounds until it finally took a couple of hits.
Since my brain can't settle down, here are the flags and emblems for the principal actors of the Nuova Patria campaign.
Montefeltro National Flag
Insignia of the Guardia Nazionale del Montefeltro
Jackass (aka Nuova Patria Republic) National Flag
Insignia of the Republic Fusiliers
Corporate Flag of Lucciano Industriale (defacto rulers of Vuoto)
Insignia of the Kabukimono (battalion strength mercenary company under contract by Lucciano Industriale)
I really should learn graphic design and how to draw so I can just make my own stuff instead of having to scour the internet. Still I am happy with what I got.
I wish I could take credit for those, but we were playing at his house.
I took the Command Star. First turn I took out my opponent's Hellbringer in exchange for my Mist Lynx. Three or four turns later I dropped his Gargoyle and something else without taking any more losses. Opponent called it there.
...I really need to get the Commander's Edition rulebook. We've just been abstracting the ranges (2" = 1 hex) and going from whatever else we know.
Twitch | Blizzard: Ianator#1479 | 3DS: Ianator - 1779 2336 5317 | FFXIV: Iana Ateliere (NA Sarg)
Backlog Challenge List
What sort of flaws am I looking for?
Steam: betsuni7
I don't really know how to answer that beyond "the imperfect kind" because one is just a smudge of dirt - inside the sealed case. Another is the actual material is flawed (the light metal stuff is just missing for part of the design).
I just opened mine up and it looks fine. Honestly I did not know it opened up till I found a notch on the side and stuck my fingernail in there. The case popped right open. The case itself is scratched on the inside from the FRR logo, but the coin is fine.
I have the FRR one if that makes a difference.
Steam: betsuni7
Steam: betsuni7
The war for the fate of the Nuova Patria system, a star system that doesn't even appear on many star charts I may add, had went unnoticed by the overwhelming
majority of people in the Inner Sphere. For those that paid attention however, what they would witness was a modern conflict in miniature.
Among my colleagues who care to study such things many argue that the start of the war can be firmly placed at the moment Montefeltro DropShips landed on Vuoto.
I must play the contrarian here. The DropShips of Montefeltro may never have landed when they did or at all if it wasn't for the actions of the Nuova Patria Republic.
Months before the landing on Vuoto representatives of the Republic meet with and made deals with the numerous in-system Pirates. The purpose of these clandestine dealings?
To hire the Pirates to harass the trade ships traveling to Montefeltro. The Nuova Patria Republic was at a logistical and material disadvantage against their cold war enemy Montefeltro.
The Pirates activities not only helped even the odds, but their raiding proved more effect than the Republic had hoped for.
Many of the trade ships plying the lanes of the system were former Jade Falcon Clan merchant vessels. Thanks to centuries of Clan dogma the Merchant Caste of the Jade Falcon Clan
were not allowed to fight. Fighting was the sole “honor” of their Warrior Caste. Thanks to the then recent Battle of Terra having greatly depleted Jade Falcon Clan's Warrior Caste many of
these vessels were completely undefended and easy targets for Pirates. Professor Karl Gritzner's work Clan Society: A Blueprint for Chaos goes in to much further detail on the subject of
how the Clans' ways give rise to piracy.
The Pirates found these ships easy pickings. Quite a few were even taken without a scratch. What were these Pirates to do with ships full of cargo? Find a buyer of course. Luckily for
them they did not have travel far as they found a ready customer in the Nuova Patria Republic. While the Republic did have to pay a fine premium for these material goods it was a price worth
paying as not only did it mean no supplies going to their enemy but more supplies for their own industries and forces.
Montefeltro's lack of foresight concerning the AeroSpace theater would continue to rear its head throughout the war.
With the flow of resources, material and war supplies quickly dwindling Montefeltro had no real choice but to invade the resource rich, manufacturing focused and comparatively weaker Vuoto.
So they definitely printed a shitload of it. There was supposed to be a digital download but I don't think I can find mine (unless it was an add-on in which case I don't think I got it).
e: found it - https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/mechwarrior-destiny?variant=32115876429858
Played a 2v2 introduction game to bring onboard two new battletech recruits. They both had the clan starter boxes, so it was a pretty lopsided fight, but a blast nontheless.
Highlights:
-My battlemaster died a heroic death after being compleatly zombied by charge-tackling a Madcat off a cliff and crushing his own head in the process. The Madcat sadly survived.
-My Wolverine shredded my opponent's Puma with an alphastrike, knocking him on his ass. The Puma then failed 3 attempts to stand up and went to sleep for the rest of the game.
-My ally's Kingcrab took multiple shots to the cockpit in the fourth turn and went down after only tanking maybe 30 total armour damage.
-My valiant Wolverine went to assist my ally's remaining Crab only to arrive as it died. Vengeance was taken by jumping behind a Madcat, killing it with an alphastrike to the bum, and then shutting down and getting coupe-de-grace'd by the remaining (crippled) Madcat and Grendel.
11/10 would do it again.
credit to their respective pilots:
https://www.instagram.com/sonsofcydonia_hobby/
https://www.instagram.com/visitor.from.the.warp/
Those are all amazing! That camo on the Crabs is fantastic an I'm going to do my best to steal it.
... what the fuck are we even doing here?
On one hand how can I justify the purchase.
On the other hand how can I justify not to!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HARE4yzVK8k
Duncan is actually starting his own paint line now.
https://youtu.be/F-Y6LWGbfzg
The Kickstarter was very well funded.
That said I was delighted to see him apply the GW paint process to a mech.
There are a ton of paint lines out there each with their ups and downs.
If Duncan’s delivers even Citadel quality but in droppers I’ll be a customer.
I saw this today while eBaying (does that make me a mercantile werewolf?), and thought of you while having a hearty chuckle.
Oh.
My.
God.
Does it have international shipping?!
IT DOES!
150 EURODOLLARS! (plus 30 for shipping)
HRRRGGGHHHH
About 209 Nuyen. Honestly, for 28 Mechs that is a bargain. Though I'd probably just put it in my display case.
edit- God, I bet sitting in the cockpit of an Italian made BattleMech must feel like being hugged by an angel.
Lamborghini makes tractors. That's like half way to industrial mechs already.
Also the LM-002 which was used by military.
Steam: betsuni7
And then my mind starts flying down the what-if whole and then I'm like wishing they'd given them different primary weapons. Like, use the Wolverine's lore background of originally having a PPC and go with that, then give the Griffin like an LRM-15 as its primary and just back up medium lasers. Like if that'd been how they'd been designed all along?
e: and then you take the Stinger, the Wasp, and the Valkyrie and make them all 25 tonners instead.
This would've also made them the obvious way to introduce Lostech systems besides the alternate weapons and weight-saving features. Like give each of them CASE and Arrow IV FCS too.