I couldn't agree with you more about having a 'hard copy' of a book to lazily read through on a Sunday afternoon. Add to that the right music playing in the background and a cup of coffee and, and well, that's the most relaxing thing.
Man I really wish buying physical books from catalyst wasn't prohibitively expensive here in Japan. That seems like a neat compilation and I honestly enjoy most of the older art.
I glanced over the TRO earlier today and pondered ordering it but held off. Listening to your opinion and viewing the material that you showed has further convinced me that my hesitation is warranted. Being on a tight budget, and unless I stumbled across one hell of a deal on BT/MW sourcebooks such as these I have to carefully weigh their value to me, personally. Since I have most of the TRO's from the FASA era, and did purchase a later release by Catalyst that was, basically a reintroduction of those earliest TRO's, and for me, personally, a waste of valuable money that might have been spent buying a BT/MW related book that actually added something new (to me, anyway). From what your saying and what I noticed earlier this is another such book. Don't get me wrong, I agree whole heartedly with your assessment that this is a TRO for those seeking their version of those older publications. In such a case, I think that it would be a worthy investment. Thank you for your timely video, Sir Frog.
@@MechanicalFrog Without a doubt. Last year I came across a copy of the TRO: Succession War's and ordered it without being able to give it a physical look through and was disappointed when it came. For me, it was just CGL releasing a re-print of older material with nothing truly new to add between it's covers. Since I have the TRO's up through 3060, the book, while nice, was a terrible waste of resources better spent on other material. Plenty of stuff I missed out on when I dropped out in 02', and like yourself, I am always checking the used game boxes at the local game stores. As you say, plenty of Shadowrun material but I have yet to see even a Battletech novel, let along game material. A lot of material, as I am sure you well know, was printed in limited runs. X amount of books, once sold out, were gone. CGL has the luxury that FASA did not by being able to retain digital copies of everything the produce which then can be offered as PDF's or POD books. Being a bit out of date myself, I will honestly say that I get confused at times by the PDF material being offered by CGL. Recognition Guides, for example, seem like chapters meant for TRO's that never seem to get compiled so I don't know if they're worth buying or not. FYI, Big Red gave you and your channel a shoutout a few days ago during one of his pod casts. He's very impressed with your artistic painting skills and videos. I have to say that I totally agree.
@@yourseatatthetable We're in total agreement. Something CGL would benefit from greatly is better explaining what is found inside their offerings in the web store. You shouldn't have to buy something to sort out what is inside. Example pages, indexes, anything could help. Especially since a lot of the Sourcebooks and errata isn't named in a way that is clear what you're getting. Big Red has been tremendously supportive as I'm a relative newcomer to TH-cam. I appreciate the shout out and will continue working hard to earn it. I feel tremendously blessed that I can spend some of my time being a Battletech booster.
@@MechanicalFrog I've been cranking out videos from the heart (perhaps not great ones, but well meant ones) for over six years. When I reached my Battltetech collection and began reviewing them I was a bit shocked to find out just how vibrate and supportive the community is. I had become disillusioned when the Dark Ages did it's time slip, which is my mistake since, after some rough landings, the game seemed to keep moving forward. Now I'm both reminiscing and catching up. With deep, rich lore, fairly easy rules, and several mediums for various fans to pursue, it is hard to go wrong. My experience with the community has been very positive. I suppose had I kept painting mini's for the past few decades I'd come within range of your skills, sir. They are works of art, without a doubt. It's like Red's channel. He puts out some pretty good material, even if it's 'a different' view of many other YTubers. But his podcast is beyond reproach and I haven't found another one like it. I am enjoying the banter, the ideas, and the enthusiasm shared by so many fans. Ghessh, I'm blathering again. My apologies.
@@yourseatatthetable That's great to hear. Even though there is the occasional bit of drama, I think the Battletech gaming communities tend to be much more positive than others. I think it has to do with the longevity of the game and just how happy we are to share it with others.
Not a bad book. I won't be picking it up as it adds nothing new to my collection but should be a must buy for players just getting into BT during this new resurgence. As far as story fluff goes....I don't care, not one bit. Most players like me that have been at this game since 1986 most likely feel the same.
Another TRO that might fit your needs would be the TRO Succession Wars, by Catalyst. Published circa 2019 and is still fairly new enough that you might find copies of it online. The TRO is basically a release of older FASA material found in the 3025; 3039; 3050; and (it claims) some from 3075, although I cannot say that I saw anything new (to me) between it's covers. But then, I'm jaded lore hound from the 80's and 90's era of Battletech.
I first saw these recollections this weekend. I have the originals so I probably will not get most of these thou it seems that at least one that I looked at has mechs that are not in the original TRO's.
@@PhearTheHam They were the best way to learn about mechs, and you could create record sheets from them. Books of filled out record sheets were produced, but they didn't have pictures of the mechs or any background information.
@@MechanicalFrog man i wish BT stuff was more accessible in the philippines back in the 90s the experience opening these for the first time must have been great back then.
They are now the IlClan but, much like the Falcons, they used up a lot of their resources to win Terra. I'm not sure it's a safe assumption that it could last 100 years.
So it's using those _utterly gawdawful_ 2005-ish _Project Phoenix_ era illustrations for the Marauder, Warhammer, etc. Unseen designs, rather than the beautiful new Reseen illustration designs? _Ugh_ no thank you. I'll just stick with my original printing _Technical Readout: 3025 and _3050_ with the _absolutely fantastic_ Duane Loose line art.
@@MechanicalFrog Absolutely, Loose defines classic BattleTech art for me. 😃 By the way, I forgot to thank you in my comment; I was considering whether to buy this TRO or not, and your review helped me decide. Thanks!
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Unless you are really really really into simulationism and/or min/maxing, the tabletop game really lost its charm. It's when the game lost its expected collective understanding. In the third succession war timeline everybody knew what a Battle Master could do, or an Awesome, or a Rifleman, or a Locust, etc. In real life, soldiers have opportunities to study their enemies battle systems and become familiar. To get the same kind of familiarity out of a board game you need to have a limited number of units. They ALL need to be iconic. The original game was a lot like Chess that way, everyone knew how everything worked. And every model on the table is what you see is what you get. With omnimech technology, but without 3D printers, there was no way to know what you were fighting to tell your opponents starts shooting at you. You also had to trust that they got all the math right. And if you didn't own the same books they did they had a clear advantage. I think the alpha strike rules go a long way to solving this problem. I'm not a fan of Catalyst's politics, but Alpha Strike is certainly a good thing. It makes the clan and after erras as playable as the succession wars, while getting to play with the cool new stuff.
That's an interesting take, for sure there's a shift in the game when you don't immediately know what you're facing. Thank you for sharing your two cents.
![[#2024MAMA] ROSÉ (로제), Bruno Mars - APT. | Mnet 241122 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dgGqD28J6aQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I couldn't agree with you more about having a 'hard copy' of a book to lazily read through on a Sunday afternoon. Add to that the right music playing in the background and a cup of coffee and, and well, that's the most relaxing thing.
Truth.
Man I really wish buying physical books from catalyst wasn't prohibitively expensive here in Japan. That seems like a neat compilation and I honestly enjoy most of the older art.
The shipping is a real pain.
I'll take a book over a PDF any day. Books never run out of battery.
I completely agree with your point at 6:31
Not the crazy part, part about owning the books
We own so many that we had to build a library in the basement... XD
@@MechanicalFrog a library of table top rules and lore
@@gavinkennedy5813 Mostly history books, and several shelves of game books.
@@MechanicalFrog that sounds like the greatest library I’ve ever heard of
@@gavinkennedy5813 A life goal achieved.
I glanced over the TRO earlier today and pondered ordering it but held off. Listening to your opinion and viewing the material that you showed has further convinced me that my hesitation is warranted. Being on a tight budget, and unless I stumbled across one hell of a deal on BT/MW sourcebooks such as these I have to carefully weigh their value to me, personally.
Since I have most of the TRO's from the FASA era, and did purchase a later release by Catalyst that was, basically a reintroduction of those earliest TRO's, and for me, personally, a waste of valuable money that might have been spent buying a BT/MW related book that actually added something new (to me, anyway). From what your saying and what I noticed earlier this is another such book.
Don't get me wrong, I agree whole heartedly with your assessment that this is a TRO for those seeking their version of those older publications. In such a case, I think that it would be a worthy investment.
Thank you for your timely video, Sir Frog.
I am glad that the video was helpful. It's so important right now that our hobby money is spent well. Be it on Catalyst stuff or elsewhere.
@@MechanicalFrog Without a doubt. Last year I came across a copy of the TRO: Succession War's and ordered it without being able to give it a physical look through and was disappointed when it came. For me, it was just CGL releasing a re-print of older material with nothing truly new to add between it's covers.
Since I have the TRO's up through 3060, the book, while nice, was a terrible waste of resources better spent on other material. Plenty of stuff I missed out on when I dropped out in 02', and like yourself, I am always checking the used game boxes at the local game stores. As you say, plenty of Shadowrun material but I have yet to see even a Battletech novel, let along game material.
A lot of material, as I am sure you well know, was printed in limited runs. X amount of books, once sold out, were gone. CGL has the luxury that FASA did not by being able to retain digital copies of everything the produce which then can be offered as PDF's or POD books.
Being a bit out of date myself, I will honestly say that I get confused at times by the PDF material being offered by CGL. Recognition Guides, for example, seem like chapters meant for TRO's that never seem to get compiled so I don't know if they're worth buying or not.
FYI, Big Red gave you and your channel a shoutout a few days ago during one of his pod casts. He's very impressed with your artistic painting skills and videos. I have to say that I totally agree.
@@yourseatatthetable We're in total agreement. Something CGL would benefit from greatly is better explaining what is found inside their offerings in the web store. You shouldn't have to buy something to sort out what is inside. Example pages, indexes, anything could help. Especially since a lot of the Sourcebooks and errata isn't named in a way that is clear what you're getting.
Big Red has been tremendously supportive as I'm a relative newcomer to TH-cam. I appreciate the shout out and will continue working hard to earn it. I feel tremendously blessed that I can spend some of my time being a Battletech booster.
@@MechanicalFrog I've been cranking out videos from the heart (perhaps not great ones, but well meant ones) for over six years. When I reached my Battltetech collection and began reviewing them I was a bit shocked to find out just how vibrate and supportive the community is.
I had become disillusioned when the Dark Ages did it's time slip, which is my mistake since, after some rough landings, the game seemed to keep moving forward. Now I'm both reminiscing and catching up.
With deep, rich lore, fairly easy rules, and several mediums for various fans to pursue, it is hard to go wrong. My experience with the community has been very positive. I suppose had I kept painting mini's for the past few decades I'd come within range of your skills, sir. They are works of art, without a doubt.
It's like Red's channel. He puts out some pretty good material, even if it's 'a different' view of many other YTubers. But his podcast is beyond reproach and I haven't found another one like it. I am enjoying the banter, the ideas, and the enthusiasm shared by so many fans.
Ghessh, I'm blathering again. My apologies.
@@yourseatatthetable That's great to hear. Even though there is the occasional bit of drama, I think the Battletech gaming communities tend to be much more positive than others. I think it has to do with the longevity of the game and just how happy we are to share it with others.
Not a bad book. I won't be picking it up as it adds nothing new to my collection but should be a must buy for players just getting into BT during this new resurgence. As far as story fluff goes....I don't care, not one bit. Most players like me that have been at this game since 1986 most likely feel the same.
That's fair.
It's for new players
I would LOVE a TRO with the new updated artwork. Even just a reprint of 3025 or 3050 with the new artwork would be awesome.
That would be cool.
Thanks my get one now
Good times had by all.
What's the song in the background of the intro? Also, quick question, could a total warfare book from 2008 or so work with modern minis and rulesets?
It was part of a music pack I purchased off of Fanatic, I think. I don't recall the exact name.
Yes your total warfare book will still work fine.
Would you recommend this TRO for me and my Dad? We're trying to figure out what to get next after a game of armored combat and my dad wants a TRO
If you enjoy the Clan Invasion era and don't have any of the others, it's a great buy to get familiar with the popular mechs of the time.
Another TRO that might fit your needs would be the TRO Succession Wars, by Catalyst. Published circa 2019 and is still fairly new enough that you might find copies of it online. The TRO is basically a release of older FASA material found in the 3025; 3039; 3050; and (it claims) some from 3075, although I cannot say that I saw anything new (to me) between it's covers.
But then, I'm jaded lore hound from the 80's and 90's era of Battletech.
@@yourseatatthetable That would be the one to get if you prefer your Battletech without the Clans involved. 😀
I first saw these recollections this weekend. I have the originals so I probably will not get most of these thou it seems that at least one that I looked at has mechs that are not in the original TRO's.
The originals are definitely gems to hang onto... I never see any Battletech books at the used bookshop.
Crazy
All the way.
Are TROs absolute needs when playing or are they just for fluff and collection purposes?
They are largely fluff these days as the technical information on mechs can be found online in most cases.
@@MechanicalFrog but back in the 80s 90s were they something akin to codices from 40k?
@@PhearTheHam They were the best way to learn about mechs, and you could create record sheets from them. Books of filled out record sheets were produced, but they didn't have pictures of the mechs or any background information.
@@MechanicalFrog man i wish BT stuff was more accessible in the philippines back in the 90s the experience opening these for the first time must have been great back then.
@@PhearTheHam I remember coming home from the hobby shop and just pouring over the book, trying to find every little bit of interesting info.
didnt Alarics Wolves create a new wolf star league?
They are now the IlClan but, much like the Falcons, they used up a lot of their resources to win Terra. I'm not sure it's a safe assumption that it could last 100 years.
So it's using those _utterly gawdawful_ 2005-ish _Project Phoenix_ era illustrations for the Marauder, Warhammer, etc. Unseen designs, rather than the beautiful new Reseen illustration designs? _Ugh_ no thank you. I'll just stick with my original printing _Technical Readout: 3025 and _3050_ with the _absolutely fantastic_ Duane Loose line art.
Fair enough. I have both so it's all good. Duane Loose is my favorite BT artist.
@@MechanicalFrog Absolutely, Loose defines classic BattleTech art for me. 😃 By the way, I forgot to thank you in my comment; I was considering whether to buy this TRO or not, and your review helped me decide. Thanks!
@@AaronLitz Happy to help.
Hard copy > *
Absolutely.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Unless you are really really really into simulationism and/or min/maxing, the tabletop game really lost its charm.
It's when the game lost its expected collective understanding. In the third succession war timeline everybody knew what a Battle Master could do, or an Awesome, or a Rifleman, or a Locust, etc.
In real life, soldiers have opportunities to study their enemies battle systems and become familiar. To get the same kind of familiarity out of a board game you need to have a limited number of units. They ALL need to be iconic.
The original game was a lot like Chess that way, everyone knew how everything worked. And every model on the table is what you see is what you get.
With omnimech technology, but without 3D printers, there was no way to know what you were fighting to tell your opponents starts shooting at you. You also had to trust that they got all the math right. And if you didn't own the same books they did they had a clear advantage.
I think the alpha strike rules go a long way to solving this problem. I'm not a fan of Catalyst's politics, but Alpha Strike is certainly a good thing. It makes the clan and after erras as playable as the succession wars, while getting to play with the cool new stuff.
That's an interesting take, for sure there's a shift in the game when you don't immediately know what you're facing. Thank you for sharing your two cents.