Did Battletech Just Make the BEST New Player Campaign Supplement?

แชร์
ฝัง

ความคิดเห็น • 89

  • @weslaydragons749
    @weslaydragons749 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +9

    @3:50 page 16 ;) The PV conversion to BSP is still a ratio of 20 to 1 but it works out since Alpha Strike BSP is much cheaper than CBT BSP (Heavy Bombing in Classic is 20 points, but just 4 in AS). There's also a blurb about what to do for Classic if you don't have the updated Mercs support cards. They say to just double the cost of the old cards if that's what you have. It's not perfect, but it's close enough.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      You eagle eyed genius! Appreciate this!

  • @TheYoungKing45
    @TheYoungKing45 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +17

    Sticking with just Support Points and not asking you to convert back and forth at the end of every Track is a godsend.
    I had been sleeping on this book and didn’t realize it was jam packed with good campaign stuff!

  • @HawkTheRed
    @HawkTheRed 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +29

    I feel that cover goes way harder then it really has any right to be

    • @budgetcommander4849
      @budgetcommander4849 10 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      Putting a massive cloak on a humanoid mech seems so obvious in retrospect.

  • @josepablolunasanchez1283
    @josepablolunasanchez1283 11 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    For Merc contracts, define which objectives are main ones and which are bonuses.
    Contract amount in C-Bills include only main objectives
    Contract amount = 250,000 + Missions * 25,000 + Difficulty * 400,000 - Salvage Rights * 425,000
    Where
    Missions range from 1 to 3
    Difficulty ranges from 1 to 3. Same BV in friendly and enemy sides is medium = 2.
    Salvage rights yes = 1, no = 0
    Notice that bonus and enemies destroyed pay extra.
    Each enemy destroyed pays 25,000 C-bills
    Bonus objective pays 50,000

  • @markkrombacher8369
    @markkrombacher8369 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +5

    The Hinterlands are my favourite part of the ilclan era so far. This book is a must have for me. The cover artwork is also sexy as hell.

  • @gryphon3241
    @gryphon3241 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +10

    Iiiiiiiiiiiii just want the new contract negotiation system without having to buy a whole ass book i'm not gonna use (no interest in the hinterlands). Though i am also thankful they're starting to really put out proper supplements for the ilclan era. Hard to advance the lore/game if you keep going back to older eras already covered in excruciating detail

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  12 วันที่ผ่านมา +5

      Yeah, I agree that should have gone in the mercenaries box set. Might be worth waiting for the next one that isn't the Hinterlands, I'm sure they'll have more

    • @shanenice5380
      @shanenice5380 11 วันที่ผ่านมา

      ​@@MatanuskaMechworksI hoped more tech readout

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา

      What mechs are missing that you want to see?

    • @gryphon3241
      @gryphon3241 11 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      @notrolling-er1wq homie.......wut? They're the license holders, If we dont support them the game dies. If you really believe some wierd stuff like that then feel free to vote with your wallet. But uh, maybe dont advertise that you're wack on a public forum

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@gryphon3241 Don't worry, he is banned for being a complete loser :)

  • @stevenclark2188
    @stevenclark2188 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +5

    I think the whole point of Mercenaries not really using warchest points is that those are fixed, kinda like a BV for the campaign. Not using warchest points lets you benefit from being a merc. At least that was my read on the difference with the non-merc chaos campaign rules.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      This is probably the right take... to be honest I was doing this review on 5 hours of sleep and as fast as I can before it gets drowned out by proper YT creators 😅

  • @swankmotron
    @swankmotron 9 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    Thanks for giving this overview. I thought this book was terrific.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  9 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      It really is! Why is your name familiar? 😅

    • @swankmotron
      @swankmotron 9 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@MatanuskaMechworks ... I uh... Well, I had a small bit to do with the book.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  9 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      Just a little bit 😂

  • @timunderbakke8756
    @timunderbakke8756 8 วันที่ผ่านมา

    So this is a belated comment/follow up to my other one: I did indeed buy the book online today and I am excited to see how it goes. I’ve also mentioned the purchase to a friend who plays Alpha Strike. Maybe with a little luck we can get our own campaign kicked off in the Hinterlands.
    I’ve been working on the story for why my custom “irregulars” would be hanging out in the region. My homebrew unit pre-merger was FRR. In the dominion era, I see them as a predominantly freeborn unit with mostly inner sphere mechs. Clan Tech mechs like the IICs are fair game, but they don’t generally get the first line OmniMechs.
    They’re on a Rasalhague border world near the hinterlands. While the bulk of the force is fighting the combine, perhaps they’re doing some reconnaissance? Or maybe strategic hit and run strikes targeting potential threats on the border.
    Am I off base with this narrative, or does it have legs to walk into the Hinterlands campaign system?

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  7 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Sounds good to me! But I am not fully caught up myself yet... I've only done 2 lore videos yet and I learn A LOT during the research phase. That's why they take so much longer to make! At the end of the day, it doesn't need to match all the available canon, because there are 40 years of that behind this game. They have to employ "fact checkers" for their writers for heaven's sake... so that's my unsolicited take on it 😅

    • @timunderbakke8756
      @timunderbakke8756 7 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@MatanuskaMechworkschatgpt says the basic ideas check out.

  • @chadevans7519
    @chadevans7519 11 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    I contacted my FLGS last night and ordered my copy.

  • @Kaiju-Driver
    @Kaiju-Driver 9 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Dude! This is solid information, nice.

  • @duskhaunters3025
    @duskhaunters3025 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Great video. CGL should employ you to do their new product promos.
    Seems like an interesting development across the traditional Campaign Operations system.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      That would be cool! I'll take the compliment 😅 But at least this way, I can badmouth their distribution.... I haven't had mine ship yet, I've been going off the PDF only 😒

  • @derekburge5294
    @derekburge5294 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

    I'unno... Looks valuable, but if I pick that up, Campaign Operations might get jealous.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      Just remind her that she still has a place for making your large formation commands 😉

  • @ObiwanNekody
    @ObiwanNekody 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    3:23 every day.
    *Mercenaries Box Set is supposed to be available on January 22nd* , but there wasn't any new printing listed for BtASCE so I don't think it's getting a new printing soon 😔

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  12 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      I hearted this, but that doesn't mean I love your pain :(

    • @timunderbakke8756
      @timunderbakke8756 12 วันที่ผ่านมา

      It really feels like catalyst doesn’t want to support AS much more than they “need” to. All the content moves more towards classic still.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      I will give them credit where it is due: Although it does feel like Classic is CGL's baby, they have done a lot of work at making products that are suitable for both systems, which I am 1000% in support of. I love not needing to maintain two separate libraries for what is the same game just in different flavors, wherever I can. This book, along with the Force Manuals, go a long way towards bringing it back around full circle and including both systems. It took them a little bit of time to figure out, but nobody's perfect!

  • @MiriOhki
    @MiriOhki 4 วันที่ผ่านมา

    i don't play ilclan era, but the campaign rules do sound nice, and i can;t help but love the jump point map you mentioned.

  • @WilliamBrothers
    @WilliamBrothers 11 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    Just when I thought I was done purchasing some campaign related resources, they drop this? This is going to be another buy for me soon.
    One thing that left me hanging in Battletech Mercenary boxset was the need to create contracts. How involved is this compared to Campaign Operations? I've been using CO to make my contracts

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      It does! I may be making another video on it soon, but on page 131 there is a "Dobless Information Services" chapter which is basically a way of generating quick contracts in the new style. CO works fine too, but this is geared for the new Mercenaries campaign.

  • @danmorgan3685
    @danmorgan3685 11 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    This strikes me as a tabletop adaptation of the Battletech computer game made by Hair Brained Scheme. Not a bad thing at all.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      It is savvy if you are trying to hook those players into the tabletop game, that's for sure!

    • @danmorgan3685
      @danmorgan3685 11 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@MatanuskaMechworks My only complaint is it's aimed at Alpha Strike. If I get people into playing Alpha Strike they aren't migrating over to Classic. I know it sounds like an, "Old Man Yells At Clouds" moment but younger gamers don't seem to want to commit to a more complicated game.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  10 วันที่ผ่านมา +4

      This book actually covers both pretty equally. Each section tells you the regular rules for classic and then includes a small blurb on how to use it in Alpha Strike. I would argue it's a classic Battletech book first, Alpha Strike Second. It even tells players how to run a campaign that incorporates both systems and can use them interchangeably! This might actually be the best book for uniting Alpha Strike players with Classic players into a single campaign, as long as players are willing to try the other system every once in a while.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  10 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      Also, as a "younger player" meaning I'm a father in my late 30's, don't judge us too harshly. We are out here just trying to survive these days, and as they say... time is money.

    • @danmorgan3685
      @danmorgan3685 9 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@MatanuskaMechworks Well, that's good to hear. When I speak of younger gamers I'm talking about people in their 20s. They got spoiled by video games which are very low commitment and ask very little of the end user. This process has been going for a long time now.

  • @timunderbakke8756
    @timunderbakke8756 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +4

    I really like the campaign system that’s featured here. I’m not particularly attached to the region of space but I see it as an opportunity. I like that it has enough framework you could apply it elsewhere.
    Most important of all, Alpha Strike rules.
    I loved the review and the book mechanics. I’m really not looking forward to the lore though after reading the comments

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      Don't let them dissuade you. The lore for ilclan is perfectly entertaining! People have a bad habit of attaching their tastes and expectations onto their perception of that things quality. They say it's bad because its not a choice they would make themselves, rather than sitting back and enjoying the journey

    • @timunderbakke8756
      @timunderbakke8756 11 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@MatanuskaMechworkssorry, let me clarify a little. I’m not a fan of the author cited as having written the story in it. I did give his first ilclan book a fair shake. I do really like the other ilclan books I’ve read (hour of the wolf and redemption rites). So ilclan as a setting is perfectly good for me

  • @sitrucsimian5450
    @sitrucsimian5450 11 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    As a starting Alpha strike player would you recommend this over Campaign operations? Toying with getting both but don’t want to get overwhelmed.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      Great question! I would answer that they definitely cater to different demands. Hinterlands is much more bite-sized, less crunchy, and easier to manage with its smaller command structures. Campaign Operations is great, still one of my favorite books, and deals with more generic campaign running. It focuses on much larger formations, at closer to company sized at the lower end and going all the way up to battalion or regimental sized. It also has a lot of crunch, with many small rules and such, and is so complicated to run that I had to make a special Google sheet to run a single company. They are both similar in that they run campaigns but different in scope, scale, and setting.

    • @sitrucsimian5450
      @sitrucsimian5450 11 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @ I just purchased Hinterlands. After I digest that and get some campaign games in I will grab the campaign operations book. Thanks for your insight.

  • @banzailancer9969
    @banzailancer9969 10 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Damn right dude. You helped CGL make a little money :)

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  10 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Right? Maybe I should not be doing that for free but I like what I like 😅

  • @MOrab46019
    @MOrab46019 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

    I want to get it. Since I have Merc Handbook 3025,3055,The two Handbook and two Supplemental books.

  • @lumijo2407
    @lumijo2407 8 วันที่ผ่านมา

    The most improtant question I have is whether there is support for a 4-player campaign. Chaos looks like it is normally meant for 2 and only 2 people, whereas I am looking to expand it for a larger playgroup.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  8 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Page 38 details rules for playing as a "league", with each player running their own merc outfit and negotiating contracts separately, but being split into teams for the diametrically opposed contracts. I need to do a full video on the contract system, but the short of it is that when you generate a contract, you also generate one that opposes it for the opposing player to take.
      I won't rewrite the whole section out and it isn't exactly a free for all, but yes there are rules for more players. They may just have to team up for the length of a contract. Nothing says you can't switch up teams between contracts though!

  • @wikiwing348
    @wikiwing348 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    I will get this

  • @rutherfordappraisal258
    @rutherfordappraisal258 11 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    Filthy Alpha Strike low life here. I’m just getting into the game. Besides the Commander’s Edition and the can’t-get-here-soon-enough Mercenaries box (missed the KS and have to wait for retail), are there any books I need in order to use this?

    • @chrishotovec4163
      @chrishotovec4163 11 วันที่ผ่านมา

      No this book is very self contained, the only other thing would be the mercs box cause it has the BSP rules, but that is not required.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Nope! I would argue that even the mercenaries box isn't needed to use this, since the Commander's Edition has all the rules necessary for most games, including combined arms and battlefield support. What this will do for you is add a campaign setting and structure for taking a mercenary company from a mech or two up to a full company or more... Lot's of adventures to have!

  • @Hectorpalacios3
    @Hectorpalacios3 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    This guy called Randall Snyder made a purpose-built alpha strike campaign system that might be worth a look at

    • @RecklessFables
      @RecklessFables 12 วันที่ผ่านมา

      I've tried the Blando campaign rules. The rules have potential but the missions themselves needed review work.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      I did try a bunch of home-made campaign systems, and some of them I really like! If memory serves, Snyder made the map-based campaign for Alpha Strike, right? I remember one of them features hex maps.

    • @Sajuek
      @Sajuek 10 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      Randall is running a battle report TH-cam channel showing off his campaign, Wargamer Stories. It’s incredibly well told at least.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  10 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      @Sajuek THATS RANDALL???? He's a big inspiration for this channel then. His battle reports showed me they can be more than just folks rolling dice on camera, and made me think about how I wanted to do my own reports. Good stuff.

    • @Sajuek
      @Sajuek 10 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      @@MatanuskaMechworks I’m like… 99% sure that’s Randall. It’s his campaign setting at least!

  • @CanadianFabe
    @CanadianFabe 11 วันที่ผ่านมา

    how useful might this book be for players who want to run a merc campaign in other eras? the contract/pay rules sound like they could be used in any era maybe I'm wrong.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา

      You could use the system from this book for that easily enough, but I think the majority of the book would be pointless for somebody playing in a different era... you might be better off heading over to CGLs website to nab the free rules for the Succession Wars chaos campaign: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-chaos-campaign-succession-wars
      Or going all out and getting Campaign Operations.
      But if you want something that just adds on a 4-5 page section on generating generic contracts for use with something like the Mercenaries box set, you certainly can do that with this. Just be aware that some of the generic contracts still use the Hinterlands setting as a base, such as generating what planetary system the contract is for.

  • @ObiwanNekody
    @ObiwanNekody 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +5

    I was considering getting the Tamar Rising campaign book. You would consider this one to be superior in general?
    I wish I could get both, but budget's gotta budget.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  12 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      Tamar Rising is mostly a lore book, I haven't taken a good look at the back of the book where the campaign stuff usually is yet, I may have to do a compare/contrast for that

    • @TheSarge23
      @TheSarge23 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      For lore, get Tamar Rising. For crunch, get Hinterlands. Get the other when your funds allow. They work really well together if you want to play in the region, but the lore extracts in Hinterlands are strong enough to get you going. :) Both books are /excellent/ and made this 3025 fan highly interested in 3151+. :)

    • @screenmonkey
      @screenmonkey 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +4

      Hinterlands is probably the best setting to play in, no one has a giant mitary, and because Malvina drained the whole region of a majority of its warfighting materials, and essential abandoned it, and the Lyran Commonwealth still has a black eye from its war with Clan Wolf and like idiots buying all of Comstar's old assets (they bought all the Doge Coin and NFTs right when it collapsed) that they can't really invade... yet.
      This area gives a fantastic feel of the old 3025 setting, (right up till they wrote the Warrior Trilogy, great books but essentially made it all about the large scale mitary)

    • @NegTharayas16
      @NegTharayas16 9 วันที่ผ่านมา

      ​@@TheSarge23 Same. I have Tamar Rising and it is super well put together. I wish they put the same amount of thought effort into the timeline of Inner Sphere as a whole.

  • @alecciarosewater7438
    @alecciarosewater7438 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    hotspots terra sourcebook when

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  12 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Good question... maybe Ilkhan's Eyes Only? Guess we will find out!

  • @ResetIncoming
    @ResetIncoming 12 วันที่ผ่านมา

    I want it now!!!

  • @gabrielnguyen5580
    @gabrielnguyen5580 11 วันที่ผ่านมา

    any novels to recommend?

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      I just read Damocles Sanction and really enjoyed it! If you mean in relation to the Hinterlands setting... I have not read any past Bonfire of Worlds that dealt with it so I will have to take a rain check on that one 😅

    • @gabrielnguyen5580
      @gabrielnguyen5580 10 วันที่ผ่านมา

      added to the list :)

    • @vicbadger8902
      @vicbadger8902 10 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Jason Schmetzer's Gray Death Rising omnibus has the handful of stories about Ronan and Bel Carlyle reforming the merc group and it's centered in the Hinterlands region. Plus it's a solid read.

  • @pieresteinbach
    @pieresteinbach 9 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Yeaaaaa this is just chaos campaign still. This stuff is in campaign ops

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  9 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Yeah but no... Campaign Ops does have Chaos campaigns but they are not done at this scale and are far more crunchy than this system. In Campaign Ops, they don't have nearly the same number of example contracts or tracks, as they require you to roll them all up off various tables. It is a lot more dense and less concise than the rules presented in Hinterlands. Although I own and love my Campaign Ops, they are different products targeted at different levels of campaign players. The new contract negotiation rules are also not used in Campaign ops, and are changed quite a bit.

  • @chasedean4032
    @chasedean4032 2 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา

    Ethics? What are we houce davieon

  • @danpaulsen4123
    @danpaulsen4123 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +6

    Love the book, best they have done in a long while
    Bryan Young writing another woman trembling in a cockpit the first freaking sentence of the book reminds me why i don't like who CGL pays though for the lore

    • @timunderbakke8756
      @timunderbakke8756 12 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

      Oof…. I just went from “this book sounds awesome” to “I’m really not sure I want to mess with it”
      I *really* don’t like anything that guy writes. And he’s obnoxious online. And he did the ghost bears dirty.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  11 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      I think people may look into things a bit more than they deserve. I asked my partner if they thought the author was being disingenuous or misogynistic in any way, and they didn't think so.
      The ghost bear lore also may not be what people wanted, but there is nothing absolutely outlandish about it. Every faction waxes and wanes, that's just the setting. Hold out and they will rise again!

    • @swankmotron
      @swankmotron 9 วันที่ผ่านมา

      I hope you like the next one better!

    • @swankmotron
      @swankmotron 9 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@MatanuskaMechworks The Ghost Bear stuff coming up is going to explain a lot of what was going on there. But that was definitely not my decision to do what happened there. I just got the assignment to write it.

    • @MatanuskaMechworks
      @MatanuskaMechworks  9 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@swankmotron Not saying this just to be nice or anything: I genuinely didn't see any problem with what is already there. Maybe I went in with less preconceived expectations than others, or maybe I have just seen how little it takes to set former allies against each other IRL, but I found it perfectly plausible. I got downvoted to oblivion on reddit for saying so though 😅 I'm no literary critic, I just like what I like.