It's so so SO good...the level of detail is testament to the team who wrote it...but is it TOO detailed? This is what I will explore over the coming months...
Helll yes. Using some of that stuff is a ton of fun if you're playing with the same people regularly. The key is recognizing that you don't need to use all of it by any means.
"Amateurs talk tactics; professionals talk logistics" - IDK, but I hear it a lot in my military circles... Campaign Operations certainly embodies this. Which explains the minutiae of why the IS beat back the Clans... Among other things. I prize my copy of the book.
The clans could have sustained their way of warfare if they had logistics, but far easier for them would be to instead change their strategy to be something less retarded. You know, not making your force weaker to look better, stop announcing your forces and how you wish to deploy them, actually use the wonders of technology you have, the inner sphere was extremely backwards, they were to the clans as if primitives with machines they don't understand. I love my inner sphere, I am a ComStar fanatic at heart. But if the clans used their supposed superiority, they would not need much logistics. They would have won at tukkayid, and pressed on, or frankly, they should have just bombarded tukkayid from orbit as soon as comguards finished setting up. Obviously It would make for lousy writing, but it's reality. Clans lost because they were written as meathead morons who only care about honor and glory. Because if they were written as competent strategists, they would have won. With or without better logistics.
@@HalIOfFamer the Clans can't be made to make sense on any realistic fashion. Bear in mind they're actively conquering dozens of worlds each while trying to enforce radical social changes on these worlds. These aren't border worlds between the Houses, either, used to changing hands while largely being left to self govern by whoever is flying a flag this week. Guerilla warfare is heavily referenced in sourcebooks from this era, which requires a lot of manpower and specialization that the Clans are never shown having the capacity and doctrine for. Regarding logistics specifically, one of their great fracture points is that anybody can change orders with a fistfight. Say there's one shipment of LRMs, and Star Colonel A doesn't need them but whatever, he wants them. Star Colonel B is flat out and really needs them, but instead of settling this through a chain of command, they go shoot up each other's mechs, Star Colonel A wins and now B's cluster has a serious supply shortage while A is stacking missiles out in the weather because he's out of warehouse space. The Clans functioning as an organization works as well as the concept of battlemechs themselves, you just have to accept rule of cool and not try to explain it.
Huh!? At my favorite online store they got the same book, same title. BUT the cover art is snow themed, with a WHITE archer with two infantry dudes in the foreground and overlord dropships in the background, is that an updated version or alternate cover?
As to the depth and the book not being very "new player" friendly, I really hope they DON'T change that in the future. There are plenty of other games out there that have tried to become more "streamlined" in order to appeal to a broader audience. Battletech is one of the only games in production that still has "all the crunch" if you want it. I do agree that a lot of younger players are not going to know how to approach Battletech, and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Battletech comes from an era where RPG's were the dominant force in tabletop gaming, and so a lot of the "style" of rules writing has some similarities with old RPG's. A lot of the Battletech books, especially the "advanced rules" really emphasize the fact that ALL of the rules in the book are optional, and that players can pick and choose the specific rules they want to use in their games. Nothing is "required" in the advanced rules, and it seems like the writers were not expecting most players to use everything exactly as written in their games. It's more like a "menu" of items that you can select from to add more depth or flavor to your game/campaign. I think a lot of newer players struggle with that because they come in with a very "computer game" mindset where the rules are completely rigid and static. So the idea of only using SOME of the rules in a book, or modifying a rule that you don't really like is very foreign to many people. But I think it's worth putting in the effort. Having a system with the level of depth possible in Battletech with all the advanced rules and campaign/strategic operations creates something to "aspire" to. One of my life goals is to play a long running campaign with my Son. He is 11, and I am starting to introduce the game to him so he can learn the rules and then in a few years, I hope to be ready (I have a lot of learning to do myself) to run some really in depth games with him.
I love the depth myself, but some things are just annoying to micromanage, and, as you say, I think new/younger players would just scoff at the levels of detail. Like ammo/fuel...just have one overall cost for keeping a unit in active usage.
Im back to BT for the first time in 20+ years. Dragging a couple old buddies into a war of vega 3039 campaign. Was happy to learn about chaos campaign and got the PDF tailored to the war of vega BUT of course i wanted more to dig in to. CampOps has been FANTASTIC to just read and enjoy and take inspiration from as i map the actions of my buddies in 14th legion and the lyran and davion guards. Very glad to find your channel and this content. I am eager to digest your CampOp series (and plenty more im sure)
Keeping the Vlog format alive. I'm happy about the conversational tone. No production, no salesmanship, and just sharing what you see. Nothing wrong with those previous things but it is what sets you apart, a niche
3:14 I think a lot of this is dependent on world events.even just the level of water in the Panama Canal or the disasters in China (the natural kind, not the CCP) is having an impact and that’s before we get to anything geopolitical.
Campaign operations is probably my favourite rule book of all time. I actually made a whole video series on how to build a solar system according to campaign operations. if your interested you can find it here th-cam.com/video/IBe59muHLzk/w-d-xo.html
Thanks so much! I spent a lot of time working out all the math. The fifth part of the series shows off a spreadsheet I made that does all the really difficult math for you, and there's a download for the spreadsheet too. @@duskhaunters3025
Huh, I thought the Campaign Ops book included an updated version of the Chaos Campaign rules, which has a streamlined campaign rules for those not interested in breaking out Excel, which I'm thinking would suit your friends. Am I misremembering how it works or does the CC version in CampaignOps require fully detailed admin?
Yes, that's correct! I'm going to cover Chaos Campaigns at some juncture, as they are great. I'm more talking about the front end of the book here though i.e. the bit you need a PhD for ;)
Ha! That's always the fear! Funny you say this actually, as I got an email from CGL the other day making me aware of copy/rule updates in the Alpha Strike rulebook, as I'd bought the digital version some years ago. That's the future right there...even if we like hardcopies; being able to get updates in real time like this is incredible.
I've seen it at the local gaming stores. Somebody told me there is a more recent version than the one I have, so they must be around; I'm sure you can pick one up on Ebay quite easily.
Campaign Operations is easily worth it for the Formation Building section and the Maintence , Salvage , Repair and Customisation sections .
It's so so SO good...the level of detail is testament to the team who wrote it...but is it TOO detailed? This is what I will explore over the coming months...
Helll yes. Using some of that stuff is a ton of fun if you're playing with the same people regularly. The key is recognizing that you don't need to use all of it by any means.
"Amateurs talk tactics; professionals talk logistics" - IDK, but I hear it a lot in my military circles... Campaign Operations certainly embodies this. Which explains the minutiae of why the IS beat back the Clans... Among other things. I prize my copy of the book.
The clans could have sustained their way of warfare if they had logistics, but far easier for them would be to instead change their strategy to be something less retarded.
You know, not making your force weaker to look better, stop announcing your forces and how you wish to deploy them, actually use the wonders of technology you have, the inner sphere was extremely backwards, they were to the clans as if primitives with machines they don't understand. I love my inner sphere, I am a ComStar fanatic at heart. But if the clans used their supposed superiority, they would not need much logistics. They would have won at tukkayid, and pressed on, or frankly, they should have just bombarded tukkayid from orbit as soon as comguards finished setting up. Obviously It would make for lousy writing, but it's reality. Clans lost because they were written as meathead morons who only care about honor and glory. Because if they were written as competent strategists, they would have won. With or without better logistics.
Same...the best book in the pantheon!
@@HalIOfFamer the Clans can't be made to make sense on any realistic fashion. Bear in mind they're actively conquering dozens of worlds each while trying to enforce radical social changes on these worlds. These aren't border worlds between the Houses, either, used to changing hands while largely being left to self govern by whoever is flying a flag this week. Guerilla warfare is heavily referenced in sourcebooks from this era, which requires a lot of manpower and specialization that the Clans are never shown having the capacity and doctrine for.
Regarding logistics specifically, one of their great fracture points is that anybody can change orders with a fistfight. Say there's one shipment of LRMs, and Star Colonel A doesn't need them but whatever, he wants them. Star Colonel B is flat out and really needs them, but instead of settling this through a chain of command, they go shoot up each other's mechs, Star Colonel A wins and now B's cluster has a serious supply shortage while A is stacking missiles out in the weather because he's out of warehouse space.
The Clans functioning as an organization works as well as the concept of battlemechs themselves, you just have to accept rule of cool and not try to explain it.
Huh!? At my favorite online store they got the same book, same title. BUT the cover art is snow themed, with a WHITE archer with two infantry dudes in the foreground and overlord dropships in the background, is that an updated version or alternate cover?
Updated version.
As to the depth and the book not being very "new player" friendly, I really hope they DON'T change that in the future. There are plenty of other games out there that have tried to become more "streamlined" in order to appeal to a broader audience. Battletech is one of the only games in production that still has "all the crunch" if you want it.
I do agree that a lot of younger players are not going to know how to approach Battletech, and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Battletech comes from an era where RPG's were the dominant force in tabletop gaming, and so a lot of the "style" of rules writing has some similarities with old RPG's. A lot of the Battletech books, especially the "advanced rules" really emphasize the fact that ALL of the rules in the book are optional, and that players can pick and choose the specific rules they want to use in their games. Nothing is "required" in the advanced rules, and it seems like the writers were not expecting most players to use everything exactly as written in their games. It's more like a "menu" of items that you can select from to add more depth or flavor to your game/campaign. I think a lot of newer players struggle with that because they come in with a very "computer game" mindset where the rules are completely rigid and static. So the idea of only using SOME of the rules in a book, or modifying a rule that you don't really like is very foreign to many people.
But I think it's worth putting in the effort. Having a system with the level of depth possible in Battletech with all the advanced rules and campaign/strategic operations creates something to "aspire" to. One of my life goals is to play a long running campaign with my Son. He is 11, and I am starting to introduce the game to him so he can learn the rules and then in a few years, I hope to be ready (I have a lot of learning to do myself) to run some really in depth games with him.
I love the depth myself, but some things are just annoying to micromanage, and, as you say, I think new/younger players would just scoff at the levels of detail. Like ammo/fuel...just have one overall cost for keeping a unit in active usage.
Im back to BT for the first time in 20+ years. Dragging a couple old buddies into a war of vega 3039 campaign. Was happy to learn about chaos campaign and got the PDF tailored to the war of vega BUT of course i wanted more to dig in to. CampOps has been FANTASTIC to just read and enjoy and take inspiration from as i map the actions of my buddies in 14th legion and the lyran and davion guards. Very glad to find your channel and this content. I am eager to digest your CampOp series (and plenty more im sure)
Nice! It's such a great resource. I'd say it's the best hobby book I have, given the detail and copy. It's a real work of genius.
Hanging my hat. I love the discussion and insights. Greetings from across the pond
Thanks! I like to think I'm a slightly different voice in the BattleTech choir given how most content people are US based.
Keeping the Vlog format alive. I'm happy about the conversational tone. No production, no salesmanship, and just sharing what you see. Nothing wrong with those previous things but it is what sets you apart, a niche
3:14 I think a lot of this is dependent on world events.even just the level of water in the Panama Canal or the disasters in China (the natural kind, not the CCP) is having an impact and that’s before we get to anything geopolitical.
Megamek really helps me with this
Megamek ❤️
The math in the planetary generation section is hilarious .
I only read it once...I think my brain ended up emigrating because of it ;)
God, guns, and Battletech. The periphery using optional rules and home brew. Because you can't tell me what to do
Just strap a 16th C Turkish cannon to your right torso and call it an AC20...
Campaign operations is probably my favourite rule book of all time. I actually made a whole video series on how to build a solar system according to campaign operations. if your interested you can find it here th-cam.com/video/IBe59muHLzk/w-d-xo.html
Instant subscribe :) Glad to see somebody drilled down into the more eclectic parts of such a fantastic book.
Thanks so much! I spent a lot of time working out all the math. The fifth part of the series shows off a spreadsheet I made that does all the really difficult math for you, and there's a download for the spreadsheet too. @@duskhaunters3025
Huh, I thought the Campaign Ops book included an updated version of the Chaos Campaign rules, which has a streamlined campaign rules for those not interested in breaking out Excel, which I'm thinking would suit your friends. Am I misremembering how it works or does the CC version in CampaignOps require fully detailed admin?
Yes, that's correct! I'm going to cover Chaos Campaigns at some juncture, as they are great. I'm more talking about the front end of the book here though i.e. the bit you need a PhD for ;)
Maan, do a video going through those shelves!!
Its coming...I talk about it on the latest video...just need the KS to arrive :D
I have the Marauder cover book. I hope I don't have to buy another one if they don't have the same info.
Ha! That's always the fear!
Funny you say this actually, as I got an email from CGL the other day making me aware of copy/rule updates in the Alpha Strike rulebook, as I'd bought the digital version some years ago.
That's the future right there...even if we like hardcopies; being able to get updates in real time like this is incredible.
20:51 for me, it’s the lack of another person. Anytime I do anything tabletop by myself, it always feels a bit hollow.
Same. SadHammer blues I call it ;)
I swear by this book , not as good as the old Merc books though , it just seems to be missing things
Ral Partha metal minis? ❤❤❤❤
Some of them are awful and/or derpy, but when they get it right they go hard!
Is it back in print?
I've seen it at the local gaming stores. Somebody told me there is a more recent version than the one I have, so they must be around; I'm sure you can pick one up on Ebay quite easily.