I love how they made this apart of the lore. Instead of just retconning that this never happened, they just said the cartoon was Inner Sphere propaganda created by the Federated Commonwealth for kids - literally the cartoon actually exists in universe as a kids cartoon. Plus the character Adam Steiner is a real character in Battletech and he is said to absolutely despise the tv show cause his troops continue to joke about it and bring it up to him. And Malthus is also a real character, he was so annoyed by the depiction of him by the TV show he tried to Sue Adam Steiner who the directed him to the Lyran courts to sue the Tv creators. The lawsuit was thrown out as he tried to Batchal the judge.
HOLY SMOKES!!!!!!! THOSE TYCO BATTLETECH TOYS WERE THEE MOST LEGIT THING EVER. I had almost all of them and I love them so much. When I moved, in the new house I turned all of the moving boxes into different mechs. On the inside, I'd draw the cockpit and control consoles on and on each side of the box was either the seat, forward left/right windows and I'd sit in a moving box for hours pretending to shoot other mechs. (that i also drew inside the windows).
Still love the show. This was the first BT book I brought. Slowly collected the strikers in metal over 15 years and recently painted them up, even the sloth and infiltrator. Just need a decent Banshee fighter proxy
The show was my connection as a kid; it's gonna be so fun to watch these bonkers scenarios! Also hoping for more TBT reviews. These little jaunts into past games and products. and getting some history & context for them, is awesome.
FASA had so much going on back then. I was deep into their products long before I heard of Games Workshop (right before the start of 3rd edition 40K). I legitimately have boxes in my storage locker packed with FASA-based novels and the game books for things such as Battletech, Crimson Skies, and Shadowrun.
Yeah, they just dominated gaming in the late 80 to early 90s. Everyone played Battletech and Renegade Legion, with role-playing seemingly split between White Wolf and Shadowrun. Good times.
Oh this takes me back. I used to sit every Saturday morning waiting for this to come on, my younger brothers and I all crowded around our tiny 15 inch CRT tv. My youngest brother got the Mauler toy, because Mauler is the best IS assault mech don't @ me, and we promptly 'lost' (read: removed by mother because brother was like 7 at the time) all the LRMs that went in the spring loaded launcher. Good times. I also found out that Renegade HPG have remastered the series in 4K which is freely available on TH-cam. It is definitely more cringey than I remember but I don't care, gimme big stompy robits!
You want the ultimate FASA throwback - try Renegade Legion - fighter game with some very interesting crunchy mechanics. Shaped charges for weapons damage - i.e.lasers do a straight line, and HE makes an bowl shape.
Yeah, this book is on my bucket list. This cartoon captured my imagination as a kid, and I used it to introduce my kid to the universe. We watch Baradul sometimes, but when he is older I will introduce the game to him with this book.
I've still got this book. I miss the days when FASA was so prolific at game stores. Centurion in the Renegade Legion line is an awesome game that you should look into grabbing a copy of for the channel. Lots of cool little hover tank minis and a crazy damage system that shows rounds and laser penetration through the layers of armor. Really fun system, though the floppy landscape books are a pain in the ass. You wan the second edition box with the yellow banner and the tank jumping on it so you get all the plastic tanks inside. Think it has a star on the lower corner that says 2nd ed too.
I cant believe they made a source book for the TV show. Besides the cartoon my only knowledge of Battletech came from Mechwarrior 2 and my annoyance at constantly overheating my Timberwolf.
My wallet in the 90s certainly realized there was competition between game companies. I'm amazed to this day how much crap I managed to buy between low wages and car payments. 40k, WFB, Necromunda, Space Marine, Man o War, Warhammer Quest, Space Hulk, Gorkamorka, Warzone, Chronopia, Battletech, Renegade Legion, WFRP, White Wolf, Shadowrun, Torg, Federation and Empire, Star Fleet Battles, DBA, and on and on. Not to even mention Magic the Gathering and 600 other collectible cards games of which Mythos, Netrunner, Shadowrun, and Jyhad were about the only standouts.
Man this Throwback Thursday makes me want to dig out my Renegade Legion stuff, FASA's other other tabletop wargame universe. They had Interceptor (space fighter combat), Centurian (grav tanks), and Leviathan (capital ship combat) and used an innovative damage allocation system that was sort of like reverse tetris, each weapon had a different shape that you'd use a stencil to mark off randomised hits on rectangular grids that represented the armor on the facing and then there was a schematic of the internal structure of the various vehicles (intercepter used a wiring diagram). Way too time intensive for modern wargaming, but it was a cool idea for it's time.
As I commented on Facebook, that flyer looks like the illegitimate love child of an X-wing and a Viper. That art for the flyers and the headshots for the characters in the RPG section give me vibes of the 90s Star Wars background books ‘The Essential Guide to…’; wonder if it was the same artist that drew them or if it’s just a coincidence? 🤔
Something I never in a million years would have thought to see on this channel, really looking forward to it. The cartoon that has ended up costing me soooooo much time and money over the years. Still love it so. Also Ash I sent you a link on FB to an .stl that might interest you for this project.
It also should be noted that this cartoon was released about the same time that the first computer play centers (Called Virtual World) were going strong, so you could watch the cartoon, and go to a center where dedicated computers and custom cabinets were available to fight against other people in an experience. While this isn't the best thing that Virtual World did (IMHO), Battletech was a phenominon that went strong, and just stumbled along the way. If Crimsion Wings hadn't failed when it first got released, FASA might have still be around today. The power of the Battletech Franchise has been going strong forever, and it is the most successful part of the old FASA line. Renegade Legion was one of my favorite little games that no one ever talks about. It was one of the most fun batte Dogfighting games that I ever had a chance to play, and while they had a kickstarter to bring a version of it back into the world, it didn't feel the same.
Yusss! I remember making my loadout before buying the action figures with the shooting missiles and ejecting pilots while waiting for a match. I never played mech football, but I did play the Martian mining racing game. Good times.
This kind of content is awesome! Truly a unique niche for you, Ash. Always enjoy the history lessons. Man, I was only 7 when I played them, and I had no idea what the heck Battletech was, but those Genesis games were bad-ass.
Renegade HPG did a podcast recently with one of the shows creators and I think he said the toys were in development before the show was, which made it difficult for the development team because it kinda limited them in a few ways.
The Banshee does actually exist in canon! Granted, it's an experimental, illegal design and as such is pretty hard to run in a serious game. It also isn't super great since it pays the tonnage for two engines.
Now that Steel Rift is out, you'd probably be able to adapt the bigger scenarios into Steel Rift's rules, rather than Alpha Strike. From what I've seen so far, it does a way better job of being a mech skirmish game. Alpha Strike is a standard 28mm skirmish game wearing Battletech's skin, but Steel Rift, while still being quick and skirmishy, retains some of the best core concepts of mech combat without bogging down in the details like CBT.
Sega Genesis out sold the Super Nintendo, no one likes to talk about it but it's true. Genesis was marketed as "the cool kid console" and enjoyed a Healthy lead on Nintendo through out its life. Mostly popular for uncensored Mortal Komat and better sports games (which modern gamers tend to overlook). Not knocking Super Nintendo just correcting the record. Also Sega is still it's own company one their hottest properties is Warhammer Total war lol.
Sega isn't its own company and hasn't been since the dreamcast failed. They were functionally (but not officially) bought out by several different groups before finally being officially bought out by a company called Sammy so that they could use Sega's name.
For sure. I worked at a Blockbuster Video in '95 and the rentals of the Sega sports titles and fighting games far outpaced super nintendo stuff. We had 10 or more copies of many of their titles whereas I think only Street Fighter and Donkey Kong Country were really hot SNES rentals. The Sega CD system and the 32x were pretty popular rentals too.
Welp, given how much GW has thrown the fans under the bus and shot themselves in the foot driving a good chunk of their base over to Battletech let's see how much longer GW can retain their reigns. Hey if you guys want a good game, great lore and be able to field a sizable force without breaking the bank, jump on over to Battletech.
The idea of making a children's cartoon about Battletech is strange considering that the lore of Battletech is the downfall of human civilization into hyperviolence and authoritarianism.
I love how they made this apart of the lore. Instead of just retconning that this never happened, they just said the cartoon was Inner Sphere propaganda created by the Federated Commonwealth for kids - literally the cartoon actually exists in universe as a kids cartoon.
Plus the character Adam Steiner is a real character in Battletech and he is said to absolutely despise the tv show cause his troops continue to joke about it and bring it up to him.
And Malthus is also a real character, he was so annoyed by the depiction of him by the TV show he tried to Sue Adam Steiner who the directed him to the Lyran courts to sue the Tv creators. The lawsuit was thrown out as he tried to Batchal the judge.
Man, that takes me back. I remember having a few Battletech toys in the mid-90s without knowing what it was. I see a cool mech and I had to have it.
HOLY SMOKES!!!!!!! THOSE TYCO BATTLETECH TOYS WERE THEE MOST LEGIT THING EVER. I had almost all of them and I love them so much.
When I moved, in the new house I turned all of the moving boxes into different mechs. On the inside, I'd draw the cockpit and control consoles on and on each side of the box was either the seat, forward left/right windows and I'd sit in a moving box for hours pretending to shoot other mechs. (that i also drew inside the windows).
We once used the toys from the series to play Big Battletech. 1 foot = 1 inch scale conversion, and played on the whole living room floor. Good times.
Still love the show. This was the first BT book I brought. Slowly collected the strikers in metal over 15 years and recently painted them up, even the sloth and infiltrator. Just need a decent Banshee fighter proxy
I was totally into Battletech then but I had really forgotten about this... thanks. Great video!!!
Man I remember watching this show when I was deployed to haiti. And I get this book when I get back from deployment; OMG I'm SO Old lol.
The show was my connection as a kid; it's gonna be so fun to watch these bonkers scenarios! Also hoping for more TBT reviews. These little jaunts into past games and products. and getting some history & context for them, is awesome.
FASA had so much going on back then. I was deep into their products long before I heard of Games Workshop (right before the start of 3rd edition 40K).
I legitimately have boxes in my storage locker packed with FASA-based novels and the game books for things such as Battletech, Crimson Skies, and Shadowrun.
Yeah, they just dominated gaming in the late 80 to early 90s. Everyone played Battletech and Renegade Legion, with role-playing seemingly split between White Wolf and Shadowrun. Good times.
I still have every one of those toys, BTW. I recently took a picture of them hanging out in my dad's basement.
Oh this takes me back. I used to sit every Saturday morning waiting for this to come on, my younger brothers and I all crowded around our tiny 15 inch CRT tv. My youngest brother got the Mauler toy, because Mauler is the best IS assault mech don't @ me, and we promptly 'lost' (read: removed by mother because brother was like 7 at the time) all the LRMs that went in the spring loaded launcher. Good times.
I also found out that Renegade HPG have remastered the series in 4K which is freely available on TH-cam. It is definitely more cringey than I remember but I don't care, gimme big stompy robits!
I love hearing your passion for the storyline. I’m looking forward to the campaign
You want the ultimate FASA throwback - try Renegade Legion - fighter game with some very interesting crunchy mechanics. Shaped charges for weapons damage - i.e.lasers do a straight line, and HE makes an bowl shape.
Wow. I have this book, picked it out of a bargain bin in the 00's. So fun to hear all of the backstory and context. TBT rulez!
Aw snap, I am SO looking forward to this
I watched every episode when I was younger and introduced to battletech
Yeah, this book is on my bucket list. This cartoon captured my imagination as a kid, and I used it to introduce my kid to the universe. We watch Baradul sometimes, but when he is older I will introduce the game to him with this book.
I've still got this book. I miss the days when FASA was so prolific at game stores. Centurion in the Renegade Legion line is an awesome game that you should look into grabbing a copy of for the channel. Lots of cool little hover tank minis and a crazy damage system that shows rounds and laser penetration through the layers of armor. Really fun system, though the floppy landscape books are a pain in the ass. You wan the second edition box with the yellow banner and the tank jumping on it so you get all the plastic tanks inside. Think it has a star on the lower corner that says 2nd ed too.
I hate when they got sue from harmony gold
Wow, never knew this existed. Used to love Battletech sourcebooks but this one flew by me.
You dare to refuse my Batchal? 😂👍💕
I cant believe they made a source book for the TV show. Besides the cartoon my only knowledge of Battletech came from Mechwarrior 2 and my annoyance at constantly overheating my Timberwolf.
My wallet in the 90s certainly realized there was competition between game companies. I'm amazed to this day how much crap I managed to buy between low wages and car payments.
40k, WFB, Necromunda, Space Marine, Man o War, Warhammer Quest, Space Hulk, Gorkamorka, Warzone, Chronopia, Battletech, Renegade Legion, WFRP, White Wolf, Shadowrun, Torg, Federation and Empire, Star Fleet Battles, DBA, and on and on.
Not to even mention Magic the Gathering and 600 other collectible cards games of which Mythos, Netrunner, Shadowrun, and Jyhad were about the only standouts.
Man this Throwback Thursday makes me want to dig out my Renegade Legion stuff, FASA's other other tabletop wargame universe. They had Interceptor (space fighter combat), Centurian (grav tanks), and Leviathan (capital ship combat) and used an innovative damage allocation system that was sort of like reverse tetris, each weapon had a different shape that you'd use a stencil to mark off randomised hits on rectangular grids that represented the armor on the facing and then there was a schematic of the internal structure of the various vehicles (intercepter used a wiring diagram). Way too time intensive for modern wargaming, but it was a cool idea for it's time.
Don't forget Legionnaire the man to man rpgish rules and Prefect, the large scale planetary invasion rules.
@@johnmiddleton4291 or Circus Imperium if we really want to get silly.
@@Hundmathr I actually have some of the chariot minis for that from a big sealed lot years ago.
As I commented on Facebook, that flyer looks like the illegitimate love child of an X-wing and a Viper.
That art for the flyers and the headshots for the characters in the RPG section give me vibes of the 90s Star Wars background books ‘The Essential Guide to…’; wonder if it was the same artist that drew them or if it’s just a coincidence? 🤔
It maybe! I’ve found the fantasy art world is smaller than I imagined it was back then.
Something I never in a million years would have thought to see on this channel, really looking forward to it. The cartoon that has ended up costing me soooooo much time and money over the years. Still love it so. Also Ash I sent you a link on FB to an .stl that might interest you for this project.
It also should be noted that this cartoon was released about the same time that the first computer play centers (Called Virtual World) were going strong, so you could watch the cartoon, and go to a center where dedicated computers and custom cabinets were available to fight against other people in an experience. While this isn't the best thing that Virtual World did (IMHO), Battletech was a phenominon that went strong, and just stumbled along the way. If Crimsion Wings hadn't failed when it first got released, FASA might have still be around today. The power of the Battletech Franchise has been going strong forever, and it is the most successful part of the old FASA line.
Renegade Legion was one of my favorite little games that no one ever talks about. It was one of the most fun batte Dogfighting games that I ever had a chance to play, and while they had a kickstarter to bring a version of it back into the world, it didn't feel the same.
Yusss! I remember making my loadout before buying the action figures with the shooting missiles and ejecting pilots while waiting for a match. I never played mech football, but I did play the Martian mining racing game. Good times.
If your interested in the history of the animated series Toy Galaxy has a quick episode about the series and the marketing around it.
The Heavy Gear PC games were so underrated.
HG2 is one of the best games of all time!
OH HELL YES!
One of my favourite games of this vintage is "Terra Nova". It was a game of battlesuit combat, and featured some Full Motion Video cut scenes.
YOU DARE REFUSE MY BATCHALL!?
This kind of content is awesome! Truly a unique niche for you, Ash. Always enjoy the history lessons.
Man, I was only 7 when I played them, and I had no idea what the heck Battletech was, but those Genesis games were bad-ass.
By Tyco...of course!
We fought in CBT with 18 mechs and there was three of us and we managed without AS rules.
The property has changed hands many times, but I think CGL is handling it pretty well so far.
If they could manage to keep anything in print, that is.
Renegade HPG did a podcast recently with one of the shows creators and I think he said the toys were in development before the show was, which made it difficult for the development team because it kinda limited them in a few ways.
The Banshee does actually exist in canon! Granted, it's an experimental, illegal design and as such is pretty hard to run in a serious game. It also isn't super great since it pays the tonnage for two engines.
I have some those tyco toys,there cooled looking
Awesome !
Now that Steel Rift is out, you'd probably be able to adapt the bigger scenarios into Steel Rift's rules, rather than Alpha Strike. From what I've seen so far, it does a way better job of being a mech skirmish game. Alpha Strike is a standard 28mm skirmish game wearing Battletech's skin, but Steel Rift, while still being quick and skirmishy, retains some of the best core concepts of mech combat without bogging down in the details like CBT.
Warzone and chronopia you mentioned
Will you make any batrep again?
In cannon the show is IS propaganda. It's awesome.
Sega Genesis out sold the Super Nintendo, no one likes to talk about it but it's true. Genesis was marketed as "the cool kid console" and enjoyed a Healthy lead on Nintendo through out its life. Mostly popular for uncensored Mortal Komat and better sports games (which modern gamers tend to overlook). Not knocking Super Nintendo just correcting the record. Also Sega is still it's own company one their hottest properties is Warhammer Total war lol.
Sega isn't its own company and hasn't been since the dreamcast failed. They were functionally (but not officially) bought out by several different groups before finally being officially bought out by a company called Sammy so that they could use Sega's name.
For sure. I worked at a Blockbuster Video in '95 and the rentals of the Sega sports titles and fighting games far outpaced super nintendo stuff. We had 10 or more copies of many of their titles whereas I think only Street Fighter and Donkey Kong Country were really hot SNES rentals. The Sega CD system and the 32x were pretty popular rentals too.
Welp, given how much GW has thrown the fans under the bus and shot themselves in the foot driving a good chunk of their base over to Battletech let's see how much longer GW can retain their reigns.
Hey if you guys want a good game, great lore and be able to field a sizable force without breaking the bank, jump on over to Battletech.
This is not Chris. :(
The idea of making a children's cartoon about Battletech is strange considering that the lore of Battletech is the downfall of human civilization into hyperviolence and authoritarianism.
Look at Spiral Zone for even darker kids fun!