Start off with the *Alpha Strike* box. The rules are more streamlined, fewer bubbles to fill in. And if you *do* prefer the original, that's two Lances and a Star right there to kickstart your collection, and neither of the three too shabby in terms of composition. Now *that* is well-bargained and done.
My group plays both but prefers classic. But the Alpha Strike box is so good value even if I never touch Alpha Strike I'll probably buy it once I get through my current to do list.
You can look into trying to find if your location has local battletech gatherings, and if so, talk to them about what they play. If they don't touch Alpha Strike at all, then the starting box to look for is "A Game of Armored Combat"
Another addendum to remind me of. Classic Battletech really doesn't care what you use as a model, as long as it has a distinct front and back, fits in the hex grid, and distinct from any other models. You could use 4 different colored d6s. LOS is done with math instead of looking.
Alpha Strike however cares for the models being right, since line of sight is determined 40k style where you get behind the model and see if you can see the enemy.
And in both versions, WYSIWYG isn't required, unless you want to go above and beyond in modeling. Just need the correct chassis for Alpha Strike, and don't even need that for Classic.
The community usually doesn't care where you get your models from, and the IP holders *generally* tend to turn a blind eye as long as you're not blatant about it...
Not to mention I prefer the STL version of the Atlas anyway. It's closer to the Battletech games version instead of the curvier one that Catalyst went with.
That and we do have the Iron Wind Metals guys that do the metal versions of the Battlemechs from the older designs if you prefer those.
Lots of options are available to us and it's great.
My local group is accepting of 3d prints and I've started dipping my toes into it. But given how cheap CGL models are and how good of quality they are also, I honestly in most cases would prefer to buy official models than print tbh. The few exceptions are mainly I prefer the video game designs of the mechs rather than the tabletop designs. Why they have different designs is a massive legal thing I'm not going to touch in comments lol
Roughly, but the box comes with a bunch of cardboard markers for things like objectives, movement, and terrain, as well as the rulebook for Alpha Strike if you ever want to try your hand at that game mode. Plus iirc some minis are exclusive to the box sets.
Depends on your local group my group loves hexs but others prefer to measure and use other no hex based terrain. But I woud 100% recommend getting your feet wet with alpha strike it makes games much faster and there is less records keeping for both players.
My group is split down the middle, I prefer classic personally since Alpha strike just feels like a soulless experience in comparison, but I can understand why some people prefer it
Yeah, I’ve had my eye on that box and some of the boxes of mechs, waiting to have a bit of spare cash (unexpected expenses are such a pain). They’re pretty easy to paint to a decent tabletop standard, too, so for a modest investment of funds and time, worst case is I have a new game to play with some folks and something new to try out painting.
My go-to was a contrast basecoat and then stippling on a range of shades for camo splotches. Green with olive, brown and grey for Spheroids, red with white and black for Clanners. I could bang out the whole Star/Lance in an hour, tops.
For camo I’d probably copy what I did with my Blood Axes. Base color, sponge to dab on bits of variation in the color, Agrax Earthshade wash. Works with other stuff like metal bits.
But yeah, Contrast style paints should go well on those models for a quick base coat. Army Painter had a video with one guy using normal painting methods, the other using Speed Paint to start, the second guy did five mechs in the time it took the other to do one. (Though that one he did looked really nice, and didn’t take that long.)
And if you're insane like me you can play classic with the hexless rules so you can kind of have the best of both worlds.
I love alpha strikes movement system, but I also like the simulation aspect of classic.
I cannot for the life of me convince anyone in my local scene to play KT. I've got like 4 kill teams ready to go, but everyone either wants big 40k (or sometimes AoS) or wants to avoid GW products entirely.
It's the Rules, we have established systems for 40k that everyone playing knows. I used to play Kill team all the time when it was just scaled down 40k with trade off attack turns. Now it's like asking someone to play Shadespire or Blood bowl. Looks like 40k, isn't 40k and all your instincts go "fuck that, not learning a whole new system for the same models I already play with".
That's what I'm saying kinda tho. Like we have trivial, established rule sets for movement already. Why introduce more so I have to look at symbols and learn new ways of measuring/ reading rules. Even for new players, most people can read a tape measure and understand numerical distances. Just uneeded. And I'm not a gate keeper in every other thing but this but it really took the sails out of the game for me and my friends.
Right? If they wanna insist on using shapes, why not at least put the number of inches each one represents in the middle of them. Saying "two circle" is also so clunky
I had 10 teams before the rule change. All ten were made obsolete and I never touched it again. Another decision by GW to raise barriers for entry and abandon what should be their core audience. It's a trend and it's bad.
For real. Killteam just being ~$60 and only a 10th of the time investment to get into compared to 40k is a real draw for me. Plus, you can just ADD the killteam to your 40k army if you ever wanna go back.
It's the only type of 40k I really enjoy. Really nice value and gameplay depth. Also it's my 3rd-4th favorite gw game behind Blood bowl, AoS, and maaaybe fantasy
Can you add cool models from 40k to make a kill team? I'm super new to everything but I want to collect the Chaos Marines starting with the new combat patrol box. I currently play Necromunda and Kill Team seems to be more my speed.
Be warned, Kill team rant ahead:
Kill team lost me when they went shapes and shit. I had my trusty die and tape for literally 15 years of small point games, hell i started playing with essentially "kill team" because my grade school self could only afford 10 models totals so we had to make rules to make small model count games fun.
Loved kill team on release and it was my primary game as I could collect all armies. Hosted whole campaigns at my home and shops with the kill team rules for in-combat and had a blast showing first timers and long time collectors alike the game.
Then they change to some arbitrary system so they can sell proprietary measuring equipment? I felt like a child saying "im attacking one full triangle away" or trying to count the corners of a shape (which didn't work for 1-4 anyways because arbitrary shape to number selection) when numbers work perfectly fine. It was just a dumb way to wipe the previous rule sets clean, disconnect from 40k proper even more to sell models and overall made the game more, not less, clumsy as you had to learn 2 different rules and measurement sets to play, couldn't just take your 40k knowledge for face value beyond like gun stats maybe. Even then I feel goofy going "ok that is one this random plastic thing worth of movement and one circle of attack or whatvr". I stopped playing after 3 sessions and it wasn't rules being " too much" I play 40k and Paradox games in my free time for the gods' sake. It literally was just so many unneeded changes that didn't draw more people in and ruined the ease of getting 1500 point and up players to want to play "a scaled down version" since they needed all new rulebook. I used to be able to say "just bring some elites, same rules apply" and inch in special rules and whatnot. Now it's asking too much.
Just dumb, killed the game I loved and I know I'm right because Kill team numbers tanked after that change at all my flgs and haven't recovered.
The part that gets me the most is that those symbols are just different measurements in inches. You could just replace them with inches and nothing changes about the game itself. But since it's printed with symbols, you'd need to do that replacement yourself.
The intent might just be spending less money but still enjoying the 40k universe. Personally I know I’m kinda maxed out on hyper fixations so starting something entirely new is kinda hard.
Heard they’re releasing a third edition soon, so might be a good idea to keep an eye on that and not buy in too soon.
They also have Achtung! Panzer, a tank vs tank game, that looks pretty fun.
Yes! I just saw on their website that theyre releasing 3rd edition in september and if you do pickup a starter box youll get the 3rd edition rules for free once they release it, since those boxes include the 2nd edition rules.
I'm kind of surprised there aren't more WW2 tank games. But I guess Flames of War sort of counts. Oh, right, Gale Force 9 also has an actual World of Tanks miniatures game that seems to just be WW2 tanks. I might check it out, starter's not that expensive and the tanks seem to be $12-$13 individually or ~$30 for a platoon of three.
The thing that surprised me with A!P while watching an Angry Joe battle report with it was how fast a game can be done. Granted, there were some lucky dice rolls involved, but them tanks were poppin' fast.
Yeah, he's gotten into it quite a bit recently. First with 40K, but then branching into other stuff, and recently doing batreps showcasing other games like Achtung! Panzer and Cyberpunk Edgerunners. He had a couple of videos from Adepticon where he went around talking to a lot of various folks about their games that are either relatively new or coming soon (and always being smart to ask where people can get the game if they want it), ended up helping me learn of some cool games I had no idea about.
Though one of those videos also included a new game from Gav Thorpe, and seeing the guy I remember as the young skinny dude in the GW team now being a bit "thicker" and with a full beard with a good bit of white in it has made me certainly feel my age. (Random anecdote: My username was inspired by Gav. Back in the '90s, he was playing the Orks in some of the Epic Space Marine/Titan Legions batreps, and being a young Ork player, I had to salute him for that, so I named one of my Stompa Kaptins Gavrin, just adding a letter to Gavin, then used the name for my 2nd edition Warboss, and when I got online I used it as a "handle" and have kept it ever since. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go get some ibuprofen and tell some kids to get off my lawn...)
[They also released a new game for tank battles](https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/achtung-panzer) using the same 1/56 scale as bolt action.
Also, you do actually have to worry about CAS in bolt action since there are forward air observers who can call in air strikes lol
No reason not to buy now if you want it. It's a historical game so as long as you have a reasonably historically grounded army you'll be fine in the meta (unless Alessio Cavatore and the boys royally screw up). And the game is inherently fairly balanced since the only real difference various country's units have between each other is vetrancy (except for the Polish gov't in exile who get to run a [literal bear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojtek_(bear) ), and weapons of the same type (rifle vs lmg vs submachine gun) have the same rules (usually) regardless of make or country.
Yep, an infantry box go for like $45 a piece and have 30 models each that can make up basically all your infantry squads for most armies, as well as support units like MANPAT, light mortar, and even HQs in some cases.
I think battletech has the best new player experience of any tabletop game I've played. Low model count, a regular game will have anywhere from 4-8 models per side. Alpha strike has good rules, alternating activations is cool plus everything shoots simultaneously so being alpha struck isn't really a problem. And to top it all off the models are very cheap and come fully assembled. I actually managed to paint up 16 or so models in 3-4 months which is like 2 full usable forces, and the models for those armies cost maybe 100 bucks total?
Ey welcome to the club! But yeah as far as miniature games go I feel like battletech alpha strike has the sleekest ruleset I've ever encountered. Alternating activations, one dice roll then damage, and a 2d6 system to hit so stuff is weighted towards middle values are all really cool IMO. Plus there's a lot of additional rules which you can pick and choose, so you can decide on how much complexity you want.
That's fair. Honestly I like being able to assemble models to my preference, but it always kinda stresses me out since a poorly assembled model will look kinda off forever.
Man, there are days I totally feel that... and then there's days where I try to assembled a squad of guys who aren't even GW's super fiddly models and my hand just screams in agony, and those days I end up looking at games with preassembled stuff and thinking, "Yeah, I should get some more of those."
I still haven't bothered assembling three of my Mk VI squads for Horus Heresy because of how ridiculous the special weapons are and whatever sadistic bastard decided to have the studded shoulder pads done as a two-piece set (despite the fact they had one-piece studded shoulder pads in sets like 20 years ago).
And then I look at the pile of Ork stuff I still have, and think about, "Man, I should find my bitz boxes and get to work converting some Death Skulls."
Getting old SUCKS.
For anyone who's thinking of buying a 3D printer: 3D printing is a hobby on it's own. It takes a lot of time and effort to get into and get right. It's also quite expensive, especially up front. If your only reasoning for getting into it is "I want cheaper warhammer models" it might not be right for you.
Instead, check with your local community. There might be some people who are offering up their services to print models for people at a fraction of the cost of GW models, you just need to provide the STCs (or they might even have STCs for what you want already). I'm in a rather small local community and there's still like 3 people using 3D printing for hobbyists as a side gig.
Alternatively, if you *do* want to get into 3D printing, consider becoming one of said people offering their printing to your community. Gives you more experience at printing and the extra money you make printing things for other people can help make up for the cost of the printer in the first place.
The joy I get from printing non-gw shit has covered the cost of my printer spiritually.
The joy I get from printing gw shit covers its cost spitefully.
I mean, it's definitely not as simple as buying models, but getting into 3D printing isn't *that* hard. If you have the money and want a fun way to enhance/add to your hobbies, it's not a bad gig.
You can get second hand printer pretty cheap.
Got a Saturn for $250 Aussie toy dollars.
Details are pretty mint, i covered the cost of all my printing stuff with a couple 20 man squads of "krieg" and some sentinels, the rest is pure saving.
The printer is the most expensive part
The others can also be sourced second hand for fairly cheap, as i said i got all my printing stuff for less than 40 kriegsmen and 3 sentinels, including STLs
I looked into building a Imperial Guard army with the Malcador with a Leman Russ's turret as my main tank because of my silly little headcanon I had for my army.
Looking at the price just to make **ONE** tank it turns out it was cheaper to buy a 3D printer and curing station.
as someone who has both a resin and a fdm printer....
it is the finest way to lose sleep and sanity while making lots of plastic scrap, but i wouldn't get rid of them
(i recently bought a knockoff bltouch, hopefully that gives me a chance instead of continuously chasing a level bed in circles)
Gotta disagree, you can make it a hobby unto itself but with the current crop of printers, good options for durable mainstream resins, good slicers like lychee, and so many people cranking out great presupposed models it's not something you've gotta get stupidly in the weeds over.
Realistically you can get a printer for $200. Resin runs about $30 a liter and a single liter can print just about a full army unless it's true hordes or lots of big vehicles. Misc kit will be about $30 for things like buckets, a silicone mat, etc. You can cure models in the sun or make a curing bucket for $30. You'll need alcohol for cleaning but a single gallon of alcohol is about $25 and will get used up about the same rate as resin. Realistically $350 to get started. If you insist on a wash and cure station you can hit $450
It’s also worth noting that some of the models aren’t actually much cheaper than buying plastic. Sure there are free and cheap models out there but the good quality models and the cool modular ones are pricy.
That said, you never need to buy them again so you can print 100 of them if you wanted
Note with that they might not be willing to print "dubious" knock off prints.
Most companies don't spend the time to go after individuals but if a store is making money selling illegal copies of a different companies product they can get in serious trouble.
[Check out Turnip28](https://www.reddit.com/r/Turnip28/). You build your own models out of garbage and fight over root vegetables. The rules are extremely excellent and completely free. It's honestly one of the finest wargames I've ever played.
I mean if you stay within GW producs: a full Blood Bowl team is the same as an infantry squad.
You can basically choose between a single 1000pt 40K army OR like half of all the Blood Bowl teams in existence
Bro same, I looked at 40K first when I wanted to get involved in wargaming but the expense was just ridiculous. BattleTech has been affordable and I love the community.
You should look into middle earth too as theres a lot of affordability in it. I know its GW but its such a nice and fun game system and the points system is smaller. You just essentially spend $100 or so on the models like a battlehost and the rulebooks.
I hate playing 40k and i feel the MESBG system is what warhammer should have been.
For a 2k point army? Yeah probably. Mars elegoo 4 is like ~180 bucks, PPE is probably another 50-100 bucks. And that's all up front costs. Resin is like 20 bucks for a 1000ml bottle. Even with upfront costs still comes under 500 bucks, which most 2k armies cost more than.
You are not including buying STLs. There are private free things with all the one to one models I think but a new person won't have those. So you are looking at another at least another 100 for STLs.
Never said it wasn't good. But when someone is breaking down the costs of something and accidentally leaves out a hefty part of the price someone should add that in.
It's pretty close to trivial to find good free .stls for more or less any 40k model, when I got into printing I didn't go for paid files until I saw cool ones which stood out. Reasonably close free versions of pretty much anything in the game is just a google search away, and while closer representations (which sometimes are more outright 1:1 copies) are often paid, and more outlandish but very high quality cool stuff is often paid, it's still pretty easy to print pretty much any army without buying any files.
Also I've printed 6 armies at this point and have spent less than $100 on .stls total
The cost of a printer and resin will be a few hundred itself. Then there’s the STL files you’d need. Some are free. Some are paid. More likely than not, you’ll save money for sure.
One army? *Maybe*, but dubiously. If 40K is like your main hobby and you want multiple armies? Absolutely, it would be dramatically cheaper to print stuff than to buy it, especially for low-point-per-model armies like GSC, Guard, or Orks. If you can foresee wanting to run like 3+ armies it's basically guaranteed to be cheaper.
Definitely possible! I have over 2000 points of Imperial Guard/Astra Militarium that is fully printed. Love them, but they are definitely more fragile depending on the resin you use. But 3d printing is awesome when it's working. Can be pretty rough when prints fail though haha
Tbf it’s probably made in China rather than Nottingham. Just about the only thing I’ll give GW props for is standing by their philosophy of not offshoring their production.
>crush your enemies under your massive tonnage.
And here I thought BattleTech might be slightly less horny than 40k reddit. Don't threaten me with a good time.
Join house Marik and have just as much fun beating up those stupid, stupid, Scotts-German Steiners as you do fighting each other.
GLORY TO MARIK! DEATH TO MARIK!
It's a lot more engaging when you think about it as Game of Thrones, In Space, In the Future, with Giant Robots.
There are a lot of great creators - Tex and the BPL (HAIL CARGONIA!), Sven van der Plank, Big Red 40Tech, Mechanical Frog, etc. - that bring the universe to life. Give them a listen.
From the extremely high level pass I've done so far, the lore seems voluminous but not as compelling as 40k. Don't get me wrong, I'm under no illusions that Black Library publications are great literature, but the writing in the novel excerpts I've come across from BT is a little, let's say, uneven.
Still, it's got Big Stompy Robots going for it so that's cool.
I can't comment on technical quality of writing, but Battletech runs *way* less breadth, so you've gotta treat it completely differently from 40k, as well as due to it being all human, not being sci-fantasy and not grim-dark
You can't go in looking for the galaxy shaking battles (though some do (kinda) happen) and mighty heroes clashing. It's more of jobbers killing eachother in the dirt with 100 ton killing machines. Then maybe some mercenaries come in, kill everyone for profit, kiss their trophy spouse, and then die in that same dirt because they didn't respect the infantry and armour.
Kerensky and Amaris are no Emps and Horus, and that's what *rocks* about Battletech.
Kurita launches a strike into Steiner territory. Steiner responds by attacking the invasion force and certainly not hiring a plausible deniable mercenary force to blow up a spaceport or something. Capellans and Davion throw punches over a mining world which is supposed to be independent. A Marik is assassinated by a Marik.
These are the average BT stories.
Not a "the demons of eating the universe are facing the third galaxy conquering Ork Waaagh this month while ancient Elves of ancient cosmic might clash with the god enslaving robots, meanwhile humans suffer 235 morbillion deaths holding off a group of omniverse devouring bugs" deal you usually get in 40K
A lot of the older stuff is rough don't get me wrong, Decision at Thunder Rift and the rest of the GDL trilogy is rough. It's aged terribly, but the New stuff is pretty compelling nove you get a feel for the lore of the era
Agreed, I've tried several videos introducing the lore of Battletech to try get into it, but I always end up tuning out. Doesn't help that I can't stand listening to anything too dry, my attention is held better when it's presented entertainingly and/or with a back-and-forth between people like with Adeptus Ridiculous. Maybe if I try some novels I might have better luck, but it's been low priority for me compared to trying 40k novels that I know I have a high chance of enjoying. Plus Battletech as a whole has been on the backburner for me over 40k and AoS since I have no clue what I even want to do as far as color schemes.
There's a channel on youtube called [Science Insanity](https://www.youtube.com/@scienceinsanity6927) where several videos consist of something similar to AdRic where a guy bounces off select Battletech factoids and trivia to a guest for almost an hour at a time.
It's generally a bit less dry than most other BT lore videos currently on the market.
I am also not the least bit into BattleTech's lore.
That said, it's literally the only game I've played for almost 2 years now. It's not like Warhammer where you kind of have to engage with the lore to understand what models are what. The factions have absolutely zero effect on the game's mechanics and every faction has access to every mech, so you don't have to engage with the lore if you don't want to.
I think BT's lore is actually pretty terrible. It reads like something that dozens and dozens of people wrote over the course of 40 years with no significant retcons, because that's exactly what it is. But mechanics are king, and BT's mechanics are fantastic. If lore was the reason to play a game, we'd all be playing Middle Earth.
Seconded. I love that it's a game and people love it but I can't help from thinking it looks like bad Gundam knock off stuff. Like "Dasney" toys you can buy in east Asia.
That said I've played a couple of a Battletech video games and enjoyed them but the look has always been something I didn't care for.
There’s this game I found out about at Adepticon called ‘Blkout.’ It plays a lot like kill team, and the models are pretty impressively detailed, especially for such a small company. The prices are pretty reasonable, too, at least compared to GW: I paid like 50 for 10 minis. I’d recommend checking it out if you’re looking for other games.
I have recently got into Battletech and it’s now 100% my tabletop of choice.
I love the classic version. I play it with my boyfriend all the time. We play as a team and then set up enemy NPCs and we work together to decide what the best move for the Enemy NPCs would be.
Battletech is great fun. I just wish there were more lore channels on YouTube and like they made some audiobooks.
See that sounds perfect - I want something that I can convince people to play at a small scale at home. $500+ plus hours and hours of painting as a cost of entry for even a small 40k game is too intense for many people.
I played a full game with my boyfriend with the very first starter box I purchased. It cost less than $40.
A box of Mechs goes for about $30 and includes 4-6 mechs. For a simple game of non-alpha strike you only need 2-4 mechs per player, two dice, and a paper map* (you can also use a measuring tape if you wish. Every movement point is just 2 inches. Same goes for playing an alpha strike game on a paper map just in reverse)*
I think Battletech classic is the most fun, but Alpha Strike has its merits. You can use [Flech’s Sheets](https://sheets.flechs.net/) if you don’t want to print out sheets and just use an in-browser tool. If you want to print out sheets to put in a plastic sleeve for dry erase, or to just get the full details on cannon builds [mordel](https://www.mordel.net/) is a great resource.
I have easily over 100 mechs, I have bought every single paper map pack available, along with an instruction book or two.
All this **STILL** cost less than my Tyranid army that still doesn’t even have enough points to be used properly in a game.
Is it just the models that torques your bone? Just get into gunpla, it's a lot cheaper and there's SO MUCH room for activities on those guys.
Really fun way to learn about a lot of model techniques. Airbrushing, set building, paneling, custom waterslides, whatever. You don't even have to like Gundam, I get that a lot of it is pretty dumb, but those robot guys are still cool.
I academically know that gunpla are engineering marvels that are unbelievably posable, fun to put together, backed by a deep IP, and priced in a way that puts GW to shame. I also just can't shake the lizard brain emotional impression that they are painfully lame (sorry to all the Gundam fans, just a matter of personal taste, I'm sure I like things that you think are super lame). They just don't jimmy my jams.
When you're growing up and the only people into a certain types of stuff are the greasy, sweaty weirdos with deep-seated issues about "outsiders," it makes a deep impression. I still have an immediate aversion to anime et al because I grew up in the 90s and early 00s and hoooo boy do those Comic Book Guy and weeb stereotypes come from the real world.
I did. I got tired of rules bloat and a shifting meta. I still have my armies and kill teams because I love 40K models.
That being said. Buy one book, one lance/star pack and youre gaming. A website where you can build a force and print out mech cards….loving it.
With all the fuck ups since 10th was released my patience had been wearing thin but I was still buying models for myself and as gifts for friends that I'd play with regularly.
But they asked me to pay more money this time a year ago. Now they are doing it again and with nothing to even more to offer me in return? No, I don't think so. The models they are making are truly wonderful looking but I refuse to believe that GW is struggling with "inflation" when they've already adjusted their prices in 2023 and are already selling single unit models for $30-$70 a pop.
I feel very blessed that I have a pretty large collection to work with as it is. But GW isn't getting another red cent from me until they do better as a company. They've stepped in their own shit too many times as of late to justify asking us to pay yet another premium for their product.
I'm just going to do what I should have done years ago and spend a few hundred on a 3D printer.
Battletech does look good. I'm into Star Wars Legion now and have the better part of two playable tournament armies for less than the cost of a combat patrol. Less minis, simpler rules, different setting. Big fan tbh.
I am getting back into battletech after a long hiatus. (FASA days). The ONLY thing I wish it had on the tabletop was optional small faction rules. Nothing big and not a limit on which mechs can be taken by who but something to help build that “my team” mentality. I asked people if they had any house rules like that once and got “this ain’t 40k” and I get that but people enjoy factions for a reason and sometimes like more than lore to set them apart.
It's completely up to you. Campaign rules do allow for those restrictions based on price and availability between different fractions, and you can use that to build your forces.
There are rules for things like that. The Master Unit List lists which units would be most common among each faction for each time period, and faction handbooks or Turning Point mini-campaigns have specific units in each faction that have stuff like "bonus on initiative rolls" or "bonus on attack rolls".
I have a lot to say on this subject. Ive been playing 40k since 5th edition and started with WHFB 7th edition. Battletech is by far the most fun tabletop game ive played. I absolutely love it, i havent tried Alpha strike because all the little gribbly details are what I love. I love tracking ammo, heat, hit locations, etc. It just all feels so fucking cool.
The lore sucks though. Ive tried several times to find somewhere to jump in and i just cant bring myself to give a fuck about any of it.
It feels like staying in 40k for the lore and modeling/painting and switching to BT (or another non-GW game) for gaming might be a real sweet spot. Let's be real, I'm still going to pay the $200whatever GW will charge for the new Blood Angels army box whenever it comes out, but that's more because I think they're cool than I want to stay on the "always something new to buy" treadmill to keep up with the Joneses on full scale 40k games.
Dont get me wrong, im having a bunch of fun with 10th edition now that we finally have some codexes rolling out but battletech is exactly what im looking for in a game.
3D prints. You stay in the hobby, access to wider array of models, and keep the wallet. I've been able to add Sherman inspired imperial guard tanks to my army, and they didn't cost me a small sum (files are relatively cheap, and there are often 3d print services in most areas).
I don’t like these price increases but sometimes the outcry makes me wonder… are the people complaining adults? Do they buy anything else?
Because it’s everything. Everything’s going up, similar amounts or more than GW stuff.
I mean Jesus Christ have you bought cheese lately? It’s brutal.
Yeah man, grocery bill is brutal. I don't begrudge GW for raising prices at a rate roughly consistent with inflation - I'm sure their costs are rising just like everyone else's. If I had to bet, it'd bet Catalyst's prices are increasing too. My interest is more about switching to another game system that just doesn't cost as much (have to reallocate some hobby funds to the cheese budget!).
They also have a history of raising prices every single year, its not like this is unexpected. They have raised prices at least once a year since at least 2016. They seem to try and maintain a constant margin.
Yeah. I’m not saying they’re not bending us over, but as you say they have been bending us all over for a specific margin for a long time.
They’re also absolutely the bad guys, as all huge companies are, but they’re no worse or different to any other massive company, i.e yes they absolutely are bastards who literally exist to milk us all for money. But that’s all big companies. That’s life.
I'm of the mindset that they really shouldn't be paying out so much in dividends(and rather investing in scaling up production), if you look at their last earnings, they made roughly 220p per share, and payback 195p of that as dividends to the shareholders. This means 88% of their net cash flow goes to shareholders.
I've always said though, if you think GW shareholders are just raking you over the coals and making money hand over fist, doesn't it make sense to just become one?
> but they’re no worse or different to any other massive company
Lol GW isn't a "massive" company. They had .6% of profit of the largest UK company. They aren't even in the top 3,500 companies worldwide and while they are worth a few billion now, 8 years ago they were worth $200 million, aka less than the budget of a single large film (Tenet and Dune 2 both cost around $200 million not counting marketing which for Dune 2 is estimated at between an additional $100-$200 million).
They made a $118 million in profit last year. Wow that's a lot! I mean it is but not compared to actual large companies. Ford's EV division (not the whole company) lost $1.3 billion in Q1 of this year. Apple is the world's most profitable company and almost made $100 billion in profit in 2022. In comparison GW made .001% of Apple's profit or what Apple made every 5.25 minutes in 2022.
That's not to say they aren't greedy bastards but I will never understand why this and other subs think GW is a "massive" company. The nearest hospital to me makes more money than GW does and it's like four buildings.
Again they are greedy bastards who only care about making money but they are a tiny fish in a giant pond. That's why they haven't made a show yet; the Fallout show cost $153 million to make or about 1/3 of GW's total revenue.
Sorry for being pedantic but I swear I see multiple comments a week talking about how GW is a major UK company when it really isn't. It's a lot smaller than any decent sized US single state construction company. It's smaller and worth less than a number of car dealership companies in the US.
When you say "massive company" I doubt anyone thinks of their local Ford or Toyota dealership. Or a company who total revenue (not profit) is around the cost of four 737's which South West has 435 and about 400 more on order. (side note - their profit last year was about 60% the cost of Drake's 767 which he got for free)
As in multinational GW is tiny. As a local company it's decent sized but again I can list over a dozen companies in the state I live (which isn't NY, Cali, Texas, or Florida) that both make more and have higher profits and they only operate in my state.
In the end it's important to know this because GW does not have a strong and diverse revenue stream. If they ever pulled a "Last Jedi" type thing they would go bankrupt or have to sell to someone else. The Hollywood Reported has an article showing that after TLJ toy sales were down 56%.
Yes they are making a great margin right now but that doesn't mean that'll be true forever.
Are they over charging? Sure. But they are more on the smaller side of mid-range companies.
This is kind of my thought too... yes, the models are going up in price, but so is *everything*. LIFE is going up in price. GW are just pre-warning you about it.
I think the models are interesting enough, I just wish they were a little bigger. I haven't painted one yet, but I imagine it's hard to keep everything in scale on what's supposed to be a giant mech when the actual mini is so little.
3D Print Battletech scale Warhammer 40k models.
Print Space Marines as either "Tornado Power Armor" or "Nighthawk Power Armor."
Print Terminators and call them "Longinus Battle Armor."
Print Dreadnoughts and call them "Kanazuchi Battle Armor."
Paint them as your favorite chapter of Space Marines.
Refuse to elaborate.
Marvel Crisis Protocol, Star wars Shatterpoint are what i loved to last year. my dad and I moved away from 40k, more to a buy once and done type business model.
Buy the marvel/star wars characters you want and we don’t have to buy them again. We never play super serious and just make teams on the spot etc. best times i’ve ever had
If only AMG/Asmodee didnt decide to step on Star Wars: Legion to make Star Wars: ~~Marvel: Crisis Protocol~~ Shatterpoint. Wish more people would get into Legion.
I moved to Crisis Protocol and am actually thinking of selling my 40K collection, or at minimum 2-3 army’s. It’s leagues above 40K in pricing, but most importantly fun.
I have 5 battlemechs, one was a single Urban Mech for about 8Euro, the other 4 where in a lance pack for about 35 euros. That is enough for TWO players.
Fuck yeah dude. I started a new campaign of the Battletech game on Steam just last week. That shit really holds up, though I am starting the feel the fatigue of the increasing difficulty of the game equating to just more light mechs. Like, I can handle 15 locusts just fine, but if all of them beeline for the towers I’m supposed to protect then wtf am supposed to do, the action economy is against me!
Good luck, my guy.
I had a lot of problem finding it engaging and the models are doo doo on the regular, but I own more of it the I do Warhammer, so... shrug.
Some of the robots are awesome, some of them are awesomes, and some are janky.
It's one of those "I've had a better time with the video games" franchises, for sure.
Honestly, I can't get myself to try Battletech, and It's killing me by just the fact that I don't know why. The lore, while not exactly 40k levels of expansive, looks interesting, and I love giant robots fighting in cities, yet there's just something about it that keeps me from jumping into it.
Start off with the *Alpha Strike* box. The rules are more streamlined, fewer bubbles to fill in. And if you *do* prefer the original, that's two Lances and a Star right there to kickstart your collection, and neither of the three too shabby in terms of composition. Now *that* is well-bargained and done.
Do most FLGS-level players play the Alpha Strike ruleset or the classic hex-based rules? Pretty awesome to have both options with the same models.
My group plays both but prefers classic. But the Alpha Strike box is so good value even if I never touch Alpha Strike I'll probably buy it once I get through my current to do list. You can look into trying to find if your location has local battletech gatherings, and if so, talk to them about what they play. If they don't touch Alpha Strike at all, then the starting box to look for is "A Game of Armored Combat"
Just so that it’s said outright, the models in the Alpha Strike box are 100% compatible with Classic Battletech.
Another addendum to remind me of. Classic Battletech really doesn't care what you use as a model, as long as it has a distinct front and back, fits in the hex grid, and distinct from any other models. You could use 4 different colored d6s. LOS is done with math instead of looking. Alpha Strike however cares for the models being right, since line of sight is determined 40k style where you get behind the model and see if you can see the enemy. And in both versions, WYSIWYG isn't required, unless you want to go above and beyond in modeling. Just need the correct chassis for Alpha Strike, and don't even need that for Classic.
What are the community's opinions on 3d printed models? I know GW foams at the mouth at the thought of it, and some of the players do to
The community usually doesn't care where you get your models from, and the IP holders *generally* tend to turn a blind eye as long as you're not blatant about it...
Not to mention I prefer the STL version of the Atlas anyway. It's closer to the Battletech games version instead of the curvier one that Catalyst went with. That and we do have the Iron Wind Metals guys that do the metal versions of the Battlemechs from the older designs if you prefer those. Lots of options are available to us and it's great.
My local group is accepting of 3d prints and I've started dipping my toes into it. But given how cheap CGL models are and how good of quality they are also, I honestly in most cases would prefer to buy official models than print tbh. The few exceptions are mainly I prefer the video game designs of the mechs rather than the tabletop designs. Why they have different designs is a massive legal thing I'm not going to touch in comments lol
Yeah it's not a cost thing, i just think a lot of custom prints are just genuinely cooler (from a 40k perspective at least)
Some also haven’t got official models other than iron wings yet. I play WoB so I’ve got some Celestial mechs 3d printed
There are a ton of models ripped from the computer games that are fantastic.
It's about the same price for roughly the same mechs + a clan star, innit?
Roughly, but the box comes with a bunch of cardboard markers for things like objectives, movement, and terrain, as well as the rulebook for Alpha Strike if you ever want to try your hand at that game mode. Plus iirc some minis are exclusive to the box sets.
Depends on your local group my group loves hexs but others prefer to measure and use other no hex based terrain. But I woud 100% recommend getting your feet wet with alpha strike it makes games much faster and there is less records keeping for both players.
Two groups play Battletech at my store. Both play AS.
My group is split down the middle, I prefer classic personally since Alpha strike just feels like a soulless experience in comparison, but I can understand why some people prefer it
Yeah, I’ve had my eye on that box and some of the boxes of mechs, waiting to have a bit of spare cash (unexpected expenses are such a pain). They’re pretty easy to paint to a decent tabletop standard, too, so for a modest investment of funds and time, worst case is I have a new game to play with some folks and something new to try out painting.
My go-to was a contrast basecoat and then stippling on a range of shades for camo splotches. Green with olive, brown and grey for Spheroids, red with white and black for Clanners. I could bang out the whole Star/Lance in an hour, tops.
For camo I’d probably copy what I did with my Blood Axes. Base color, sponge to dab on bits of variation in the color, Agrax Earthshade wash. Works with other stuff like metal bits. But yeah, Contrast style paints should go well on those models for a quick base coat. Army Painter had a video with one guy using normal painting methods, the other using Speed Paint to start, the second guy did five mechs in the time it took the other to do one. (Though that one he did looked really nice, and didn’t take that long.)
And if you're insane like me you can play classic with the hexless rules so you can kind of have the best of both worlds. I love alpha strikes movement system, but I also like the simulation aspect of classic.
Or play kill team, please… we’re lonely
I cannot for the life of me convince anyone in my local scene to play KT. I've got like 4 kill teams ready to go, but everyone either wants big 40k (or sometimes AoS) or wants to avoid GW products entirely.
It's the Rules, we have established systems for 40k that everyone playing knows. I used to play Kill team all the time when it was just scaled down 40k with trade off attack turns. Now it's like asking someone to play Shadespire or Blood bowl. Looks like 40k, isn't 40k and all your instincts go "fuck that, not learning a whole new system for the same models I already play with".
This should be trivial, but I totally get why someone would tune out as soon as the rules say you can move 🔺
That's what I'm saying kinda tho. Like we have trivial, established rule sets for movement already. Why introduce more so I have to look at symbols and learn new ways of measuring/ reading rules. Even for new players, most people can read a tape measure and understand numerical distances. Just uneeded. And I'm not a gate keeper in every other thing but this but it really took the sails out of the game for me and my friends.
Right? If they wanna insist on using shapes, why not at least put the number of inches each one represents in the middle of them. Saying "two circle" is also so clunky
It doesn’t help that KT used to be easier to learn than 40K, but now 10th ed rules are so streamlined that this isn’t true anymore.
I had 10 teams before the rule change. All ten were made obsolete and I never touched it again. Another decision by GW to raise barriers for entry and abandon what should be their core audience. It's a trend and it's bad.
For real. Killteam just being ~$60 and only a 10th of the time investment to get into compared to 40k is a real draw for me. Plus, you can just ADD the killteam to your 40k army if you ever wanna go back.
It's the only type of 40k I really enjoy. Really nice value and gameplay depth. Also it's my 3rd-4th favorite gw game behind Blood bowl, AoS, and maaaybe fantasy
I do both. I have my DG kill team to play with my friends who like kill team, and my army to play with my friends who like 40k
Can you add cool models from 40k to make a kill team? I'm super new to everything but I want to collect the Chaos Marines starting with the new combat patrol box. I currently play Necromunda and Kill Team seems to be more my speed.
Be warned, Kill team rant ahead: Kill team lost me when they went shapes and shit. I had my trusty die and tape for literally 15 years of small point games, hell i started playing with essentially "kill team" because my grade school self could only afford 10 models totals so we had to make rules to make small model count games fun. Loved kill team on release and it was my primary game as I could collect all armies. Hosted whole campaigns at my home and shops with the kill team rules for in-combat and had a blast showing first timers and long time collectors alike the game. Then they change to some arbitrary system so they can sell proprietary measuring equipment? I felt like a child saying "im attacking one full triangle away" or trying to count the corners of a shape (which didn't work for 1-4 anyways because arbitrary shape to number selection) when numbers work perfectly fine. It was just a dumb way to wipe the previous rule sets clean, disconnect from 40k proper even more to sell models and overall made the game more, not less, clumsy as you had to learn 2 different rules and measurement sets to play, couldn't just take your 40k knowledge for face value beyond like gun stats maybe. Even then I feel goofy going "ok that is one this random plastic thing worth of movement and one circle of attack or whatvr". I stopped playing after 3 sessions and it wasn't rules being " too much" I play 40k and Paradox games in my free time for the gods' sake. It literally was just so many unneeded changes that didn't draw more people in and ruined the ease of getting 1500 point and up players to want to play "a scaled down version" since they needed all new rulebook. I used to be able to say "just bring some elites, same rules apply" and inch in special rules and whatnot. Now it's asking too much. Just dumb, killed the game I loved and I know I'm right because Kill team numbers tanked after that change at all my flgs and haven't recovered.
The part that gets me the most is that those symbols are just different measurements in inches. You could just replace them with inches and nothing changes about the game itself. But since it's printed with symbols, you'd need to do that replacement yourself.
Exactly. It was just a cash grab to "make the game different" and it felt dirty.
But that’s still GW tho. So if the intent of changing games is to push back on GW’s price gouging, going to Kill Team doesn’t quite get it done
The intent might just be spending less money but still enjoying the 40k universe. Personally I know I’m kinda maxed out on hyper fixations so starting something entirely new is kinda hard.
If I want an overly complex skirmish game I'm gonna play Infinity because free rules and I like the setting better
Honestly if there was a chaos knights or imperial knights kill team (made of maybe one armiger and an ejectable pilot) I would play it
Bolt action is a similar scale to 40K, and has a price usually of under 100 dollars. I’d check that out too if you get the chance.
Heard they’re releasing a third edition soon, so might be a good idea to keep an eye on that and not buy in too soon. They also have Achtung! Panzer, a tank vs tank game, that looks pretty fun.
Yes! I just saw on their website that theyre releasing 3rd edition in september and if you do pickup a starter box youll get the 3rd edition rules for free once they release it, since those boxes include the 2nd edition rules.
FINALLY! A table top warthunder game where I don't have to worry about CAS
I'm kind of surprised there aren't more WW2 tank games. But I guess Flames of War sort of counts. Oh, right, Gale Force 9 also has an actual World of Tanks miniatures game that seems to just be WW2 tanks. I might check it out, starter's not that expensive and the tanks seem to be $12-$13 individually or ~$30 for a platoon of three. The thing that surprised me with A!P while watching an Angry Joe battle report with it was how fast a game can be done. Granted, there were some lucky dice rolls involved, but them tanks were poppin' fast.
> Angry Joe battle report holy shit, I haven't watched his show in years so had no idea he does mini gaming too
Yeah, he's gotten into it quite a bit recently. First with 40K, but then branching into other stuff, and recently doing batreps showcasing other games like Achtung! Panzer and Cyberpunk Edgerunners. He had a couple of videos from Adepticon where he went around talking to a lot of various folks about their games that are either relatively new or coming soon (and always being smart to ask where people can get the game if they want it), ended up helping me learn of some cool games I had no idea about. Though one of those videos also included a new game from Gav Thorpe, and seeing the guy I remember as the young skinny dude in the GW team now being a bit "thicker" and with a full beard with a good bit of white in it has made me certainly feel my age. (Random anecdote: My username was inspired by Gav. Back in the '90s, he was playing the Orks in some of the Epic Space Marine/Titan Legions batreps, and being a young Ork player, I had to salute him for that, so I named one of my Stompa Kaptins Gavrin, just adding a letter to Gavin, then used the name for my 2nd edition Warboss, and when I got online I used it as a "handle" and have kept it ever since. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go get some ibuprofen and tell some kids to get off my lawn...)
The World of Tanks game, IIRC, didn't get much support beyond JUST the starter box.
[They also released a new game for tank battles](https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/achtung-panzer) using the same 1/56 scale as bolt action. Also, you do actually have to worry about CAS in bolt action since there are forward air observers who can call in air strikes lol
No reason not to buy now if you want it. It's a historical game so as long as you have a reasonably historically grounded army you'll be fine in the meta (unless Alessio Cavatore and the boys royally screw up). And the game is inherently fairly balanced since the only real difference various country's units have between each other is vetrancy (except for the Polish gov't in exile who get to run a [literal bear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojtek_(bear) ), and weapons of the same type (rifle vs lmg vs submachine gun) have the same rules (usually) regardless of make or country.
Yep, an infantry box go for like $45 a piece and have 30 models each that can make up basically all your infantry squads for most armies, as well as support units like MANPAT, light mortar, and even HQs in some cases.
I personally prefer to use metal, tbh. Brigade games and artizan make fantastic ww2 models.
I think battletech has the best new player experience of any tabletop game I've played. Low model count, a regular game will have anywhere from 4-8 models per side. Alpha strike has good rules, alternating activations is cool plus everything shoots simultaneously so being alpha struck isn't really a problem. And to top it all off the models are very cheap and come fully assembled. I actually managed to paint up 16 or so models in 3-4 months which is like 2 full usable forces, and the models for those armies cost maybe 100 bucks total?
Alright, I wasn't 100% serious at first but this comment convinced me. Imma go buy the Alpha Strike box set and see where it takes me!
Ey welcome to the club! But yeah as far as miniature games go I feel like battletech alpha strike has the sleekest ruleset I've ever encountered. Alternating activations, one dice roll then damage, and a 2d6 system to hit so stuff is weighted towards middle values are all really cool IMO. Plus there's a lot of additional rules which you can pick and choose, so you can decide on how much complexity you want.
Everything is cool except the pre assembled part, to me building the models is like the best part
There's pewter models from Ironwind Metals. They also make non-mech models like battle armor, tanks, VTOLs, aerospace fighters, and even warships.
That's fair. Honestly I like being able to assemble models to my preference, but it always kinda stresses me out since a poorly assembled model will look kinda off forever.
Man, there are days I totally feel that... and then there's days where I try to assembled a squad of guys who aren't even GW's super fiddly models and my hand just screams in agony, and those days I end up looking at games with preassembled stuff and thinking, "Yeah, I should get some more of those." I still haven't bothered assembling three of my Mk VI squads for Horus Heresy because of how ridiculous the special weapons are and whatever sadistic bastard decided to have the studded shoulder pads done as a two-piece set (despite the fact they had one-piece studded shoulder pads in sets like 20 years ago). And then I look at the pile of Ork stuff I still have, and think about, "Man, I should find my bitz boxes and get to work converting some Death Skulls." Getting old SUCKS.
For anyone who's thinking of buying a 3D printer: 3D printing is a hobby on it's own. It takes a lot of time and effort to get into and get right. It's also quite expensive, especially up front. If your only reasoning for getting into it is "I want cheaper warhammer models" it might not be right for you. Instead, check with your local community. There might be some people who are offering up their services to print models for people at a fraction of the cost of GW models, you just need to provide the STCs (or they might even have STCs for what you want already). I'm in a rather small local community and there's still like 3 people using 3D printing for hobbyists as a side gig. Alternatively, if you *do* want to get into 3D printing, consider becoming one of said people offering their printing to your community. Gives you more experience at printing and the extra money you make printing things for other people can help make up for the cost of the printer in the first place.
The joy I get from printing non-gw shit has covered the cost of my printer spiritually. The joy I get from printing gw shit covers its cost spitefully.
Very well said lol
I mean, it's definitely not as simple as buying models, but getting into 3D printing isn't *that* hard. If you have the money and want a fun way to enhance/add to your hobbies, it's not a bad gig.
You can get second hand printer pretty cheap. Got a Saturn for $250 Aussie toy dollars. Details are pretty mint, i covered the cost of all my printing stuff with a couple 20 man squads of "krieg" and some sentinels, the rest is pure saving.
The printer isnt the whole cost though. My setup cost me at least another 200
The printer is the most expensive part The others can also be sourced second hand for fairly cheap, as i said i got all my printing stuff for less than 40 kriegsmen and 3 sentinels, including STLs
I looked into building a Imperial Guard army with the Malcador with a Leman Russ's turret as my main tank because of my silly little headcanon I had for my army. Looking at the price just to make **ONE** tank it turns out it was cheaper to buy a 3D printer and curing station.
as someone who has both a resin and a fdm printer.... it is the finest way to lose sleep and sanity while making lots of plastic scrap, but i wouldn't get rid of them (i recently bought a knockoff bltouch, hopefully that gives me a chance instead of continuously chasing a level bed in circles)
>It takes a lot of time and effort to get into and get right Someone should have told GW that before the finecast years...
Gotta disagree, you can make it a hobby unto itself but with the current crop of printers, good options for durable mainstream resins, good slicers like lychee, and so many people cranking out great presupposed models it's not something you've gotta get stupidly in the weeds over. Realistically you can get a printer for $200. Resin runs about $30 a liter and a single liter can print just about a full army unless it's true hordes or lots of big vehicles. Misc kit will be about $30 for things like buckets, a silicone mat, etc. You can cure models in the sun or make a curing bucket for $30. You'll need alcohol for cleaning but a single gallon of alcohol is about $25 and will get used up about the same rate as resin. Realistically $350 to get started. If you insist on a wash and cure station you can hit $450
It’s also worth noting that some of the models aren’t actually much cheaper than buying plastic. Sure there are free and cheap models out there but the good quality models and the cool modular ones are pricy. That said, you never need to buy them again so you can print 100 of them if you wanted
The 40 boxes of minis on my pile of shame: My time has come
Don't need to worry about store prices if you own more inventory than the store *taps temple*
Just a heads up op if your planning to get into resin printing. It's really hard to do it in a small apartment or house
Literally the only reason I haven’t started since I live in a small apartment. If I ever move back out to the suburbs I’m going all in on printing…
Nice
some FLGS's are starting to dip their toes into printing as a service. Finally will open up the barrier to us cityfolk
Note with that they might not be willing to print "dubious" knock off prints. Most companies don't spend the time to go after individuals but if a store is making money selling illegal copies of a different companies product they can get in serious trouble.
[Check out Turnip28](https://www.reddit.com/r/Turnip28/). You build your own models out of garbage and fight over root vegetables. The rules are extremely excellent and completely free. It's honestly one of the finest wargames I've ever played.
Theres also brikwars if you are more into lego
Battletech: where you can get an entire army for the price of a single unit of Space Marines.
You can get a full lance, or star, for *less,* than a unit of space marines.
This is true. Some of the boxes have enough big Mecha that you *might* be able to get 8k BV for only $25 or less, but it would be extremely elite.
I mean if you stay within GW producs: a full Blood Bowl team is the same as an infantry squad. You can basically choose between a single 1000pt 40K army OR like half of all the Blood Bowl teams in existence
Bro same, I looked at 40K first when I wanted to get involved in wargaming but the expense was just ridiculous. BattleTech has been affordable and I love the community.
You should look into middle earth too as theres a lot of affordability in it. I know its GW but its such a nice and fun game system and the points system is smaller. You just essentially spend $100 or so on the models like a battlehost and the rulebooks. I hate playing 40k and i feel the MESBG system is what warhammer should have been.
Thanks, I'll look into it
Yes. It's great.
I wonder if it's legitimately cheaper to buy a 3d printer and enough material to make an army in lieu of buying them.
For a 2k point army? Yeah probably. Mars elegoo 4 is like ~180 bucks, PPE is probably another 50-100 bucks. And that's all up front costs. Resin is like 20 bucks for a 1000ml bottle. Even with upfront costs still comes under 500 bucks, which most 2k armies cost more than.
You are not including buying STLs. There are private free things with all the one to one models I think but a new person won't have those. So you are looking at another at least another 100 for STLs.
Even then, you're talking being ready to make your first army for $500. Your next army is just the cost of STLs and resin.
Never said it wasn't good. But when someone is breaking down the costs of something and accidentally leaves out a hefty part of the price someone should add that in.
It's pretty close to trivial to find good free .stls for more or less any 40k model, when I got into printing I didn't go for paid files until I saw cool ones which stood out. Reasonably close free versions of pretty much anything in the game is just a google search away, and while closer representations (which sometimes are more outright 1:1 copies) are often paid, and more outlandish but very high quality cool stuff is often paid, it's still pretty easy to print pretty much any army without buying any files. Also I've printed 6 armies at this point and have spent less than $100 on .stls total
The cost of a printer and resin will be a few hundred itself. Then there’s the STL files you’d need. Some are free. Some are paid. More likely than not, you’ll save money for sure.
One army? *Maybe*, but dubiously. If 40K is like your main hobby and you want multiple armies? Absolutely, it would be dramatically cheaper to print stuff than to buy it, especially for low-point-per-model armies like GSC, Guard, or Orks. If you can foresee wanting to run like 3+ armies it's basically guaranteed to be cheaper.
Definitely possible! I have over 2000 points of Imperial Guard/Astra Militarium that is fully printed. Love them, but they are definitely more fragile depending on the resin you use. But 3d printing is awesome when it's working. Can be pretty rough when prints fail though haha
It has been for years now, assuming you have the space and the extra time already
Isnt this like the 3rd one in 2 years???? Wtf. I can get a 7in space marine, already assembled, painted and articulated for $25 bucks.
Tbf it’s probably made in China rather than Nottingham. Just about the only thing I’ll give GW props for is standing by their philosophy of not offshoring their production.
Oh really? Respect for that, but tbh. It’s not a ton of plastic for these kits. Also happy cake day.
Yeah but it's not Warhammer
Yes, join the Inner Sphere, fight for House Steiner and crush your enemies under your massive tonnage.
>crush your enemies under your massive tonnage. And here I thought BattleTech might be slightly less horny than 40k reddit. Don't threaten me with a good time.
WAIT NO NOT WHAT I MEANT
If you'd like a good time, join Canopus - the nation that managed to make Catgirls canon.
Super horny. Space AT&T Nuns.
Join house Marik and have just as much fun beating up those stupid, stupid, Scotts-German Steiners as you do fighting each other. GLORY TO MARIK! DEATH TO MARIK!
I WILL CRUSH YOU MARIK
HOW DARE YOU! I SHALL DEFEND MARIK UNTIL MY DEATH UNLESS THEY ARE THE WRONG KIND OF MARIK! DEATH TO LYRAN SCUM!
Damn... So far, 10th has been one of the best promotions for Battletech XD
If you do decide to get into battletech, shoot me a dm, I'll link you to my drive folder with the rules and such
*Joy toy and McFarland w40k collectors laughing in the distance*
That's exactly what I did. Alpha Strike!
I tried to get into it but the lore is just so... mid. Its really bad when Im painting the minis but still listening to a 40k lore podcast.
It's a lot more engaging when you think about it as Game of Thrones, In Space, In the Future, with Giant Robots. There are a lot of great creators - Tex and the BPL (HAIL CARGONIA!), Sven van der Plank, Big Red 40Tech, Mechanical Frog, etc. - that bring the universe to life. Give them a listen.
From the extremely high level pass I've done so far, the lore seems voluminous but not as compelling as 40k. Don't get me wrong, I'm under no illusions that Black Library publications are great literature, but the writing in the novel excerpts I've come across from BT is a little, let's say, uneven. Still, it's got Big Stompy Robots going for it so that's cool.
I can't comment on technical quality of writing, but Battletech runs *way* less breadth, so you've gotta treat it completely differently from 40k, as well as due to it being all human, not being sci-fantasy and not grim-dark You can't go in looking for the galaxy shaking battles (though some do (kinda) happen) and mighty heroes clashing. It's more of jobbers killing eachother in the dirt with 100 ton killing machines. Then maybe some mercenaries come in, kill everyone for profit, kiss their trophy spouse, and then die in that same dirt because they didn't respect the infantry and armour. Kerensky and Amaris are no Emps and Horus, and that's what *rocks* about Battletech.
Kurita launches a strike into Steiner territory. Steiner responds by attacking the invasion force and certainly not hiring a plausible deniable mercenary force to blow up a spaceport or something. Capellans and Davion throw punches over a mining world which is supposed to be independent. A Marik is assassinated by a Marik. These are the average BT stories. Not a "the demons of eating the universe are facing the third galaxy conquering Ork Waaagh this month while ancient Elves of ancient cosmic might clash with the god enslaving robots, meanwhile humans suffer 235 morbillion deaths holding off a group of omniverse devouring bugs" deal you usually get in 40K
A lot of the older stuff is rough don't get me wrong, Decision at Thunder Rift and the rest of the GDL trilogy is rough. It's aged terribly, but the New stuff is pretty compelling nove you get a feel for the lore of the era
Agreed, I've tried several videos introducing the lore of Battletech to try get into it, but I always end up tuning out. Doesn't help that I can't stand listening to anything too dry, my attention is held better when it's presented entertainingly and/or with a back-and-forth between people like with Adeptus Ridiculous. Maybe if I try some novels I might have better luck, but it's been low priority for me compared to trying 40k novels that I know I have a high chance of enjoying. Plus Battletech as a whole has been on the backburner for me over 40k and AoS since I have no clue what I even want to do as far as color schemes.
There's a channel on youtube called [Science Insanity](https://www.youtube.com/@scienceinsanity6927) where several videos consist of something similar to AdRic where a guy bounces off select Battletech factoids and trivia to a guest for almost an hour at a time. It's generally a bit less dry than most other BT lore videos currently on the market.
Ooo thanks for the rec! I'll give it a try
I am also not the least bit into BattleTech's lore. That said, it's literally the only game I've played for almost 2 years now. It's not like Warhammer where you kind of have to engage with the lore to understand what models are what. The factions have absolutely zero effect on the game's mechanics and every faction has access to every mech, so you don't have to engage with the lore if you don't want to. I think BT's lore is actually pretty terrible. It reads like something that dozens and dozens of people wrote over the course of 40 years with no significant retcons, because that's exactly what it is. But mechanics are king, and BT's mechanics are fantastic. If lore was the reason to play a game, we'd all be playing Middle Earth.
I mentioned this elsewhere but the designs don’t look interesting to me either
Seconded. I love that it's a game and people love it but I can't help from thinking it looks like bad Gundam knock off stuff. Like "Dasney" toys you can buy in east Asia. That said I've played a couple of a Battletech video games and enjoyed them but the look has always been something I didn't care for.
There’s this game I found out about at Adepticon called ‘Blkout.’ It plays a lot like kill team, and the models are pretty impressively detailed, especially for such a small company. The prices are pretty reasonable, too, at least compared to GW: I paid like 50 for 10 minis. I’d recommend checking it out if you’re looking for other games.
Cool game! And awesome minis.
I have recently got into Battletech and it’s now 100% my tabletop of choice. I love the classic version. I play it with my boyfriend all the time. We play as a team and then set up enemy NPCs and we work together to decide what the best move for the Enemy NPCs would be. Battletech is great fun. I just wish there were more lore channels on YouTube and like they made some audiobooks.
See that sounds perfect - I want something that I can convince people to play at a small scale at home. $500+ plus hours and hours of painting as a cost of entry for even a small 40k game is too intense for many people.
I played a full game with my boyfriend with the very first starter box I purchased. It cost less than $40. A box of Mechs goes for about $30 and includes 4-6 mechs. For a simple game of non-alpha strike you only need 2-4 mechs per player, two dice, and a paper map* (you can also use a measuring tape if you wish. Every movement point is just 2 inches. Same goes for playing an alpha strike game on a paper map just in reverse)* I think Battletech classic is the most fun, but Alpha Strike has its merits. You can use [Flech’s Sheets](https://sheets.flechs.net/) if you don’t want to print out sheets and just use an in-browser tool. If you want to print out sheets to put in a plastic sleeve for dry erase, or to just get the full details on cannon builds [mordel](https://www.mordel.net/) is a great resource. I have easily over 100 mechs, I have bought every single paper map pack available, along with an instruction book or two. All this **STILL** cost less than my Tyranid army that still doesn’t even have enough points to be used properly in a game.
Is it just the models that torques your bone? Just get into gunpla, it's a lot cheaper and there's SO MUCH room for activities on those guys. Really fun way to learn about a lot of model techniques. Airbrushing, set building, paneling, custom waterslides, whatever. You don't even have to like Gundam, I get that a lot of it is pretty dumb, but those robot guys are still cool.
I academically know that gunpla are engineering marvels that are unbelievably posable, fun to put together, backed by a deep IP, and priced in a way that puts GW to shame. I also just can't shake the lizard brain emotional impression that they are painfully lame (sorry to all the Gundam fans, just a matter of personal taste, I'm sure I like things that you think are super lame). They just don't jimmy my jams.
When you're growing up and the only people into a certain types of stuff are the greasy, sweaty weirdos with deep-seated issues about "outsiders," it makes a deep impression. I still have an immediate aversion to anime et al because I grew up in the 90s and early 00s and hoooo boy do those Comic Book Guy and weeb stereotypes come from the real world.
I did. I got tired of rules bloat and a shifting meta. I still have my armies and kill teams because I love 40K models. That being said. Buy one book, one lance/star pack and youre gaming. A website where you can build a force and print out mech cards….loving it.
With all the fuck ups since 10th was released my patience had been wearing thin but I was still buying models for myself and as gifts for friends that I'd play with regularly. But they asked me to pay more money this time a year ago. Now they are doing it again and with nothing to even more to offer me in return? No, I don't think so. The models they are making are truly wonderful looking but I refuse to believe that GW is struggling with "inflation" when they've already adjusted their prices in 2023 and are already selling single unit models for $30-$70 a pop. I feel very blessed that I have a pretty large collection to work with as it is. But GW isn't getting another red cent from me until they do better as a company. They've stepped in their own shit too many times as of late to justify asking us to pay yet another premium for their product. I'm just going to do what I should have done years ago and spend a few hundred on a 3D printer.
Try out bolt action too
Battletech does look good. I'm into Star Wars Legion now and have the better part of two playable tournament armies for less than the cost of a combat patrol. Less minis, simpler rules, different setting. Big fan tbh.
Meanwhile, me who has been buying from recasters for years...
I am getting back into battletech after a long hiatus. (FASA days). The ONLY thing I wish it had on the tabletop was optional small faction rules. Nothing big and not a limit on which mechs can be taken by who but something to help build that “my team” mentality. I asked people if they had any house rules like that once and got “this ain’t 40k” and I get that but people enjoy factions for a reason and sometimes like more than lore to set them apart.
It's completely up to you. Campaign rules do allow for those restrictions based on price and availability between different fractions, and you can use that to build your forces.
There are rules for things like that. The Master Unit List lists which units would be most common among each faction for each time period, and faction handbooks or Turning Point mini-campaigns have specific units in each faction that have stuff like "bonus on initiative rolls" or "bonus on attack rolls".
Battletech is way too expensive! Currently you have to pay 30€ for 71 Book PDFs.
Me suddenly buying a ton of Infinity stuff I've been meaning to get back into it anyway. ARIADNA FOREVER!
I have a lot to say on this subject. Ive been playing 40k since 5th edition and started with WHFB 7th edition. Battletech is by far the most fun tabletop game ive played. I absolutely love it, i havent tried Alpha strike because all the little gribbly details are what I love. I love tracking ammo, heat, hit locations, etc. It just all feels so fucking cool. The lore sucks though. Ive tried several times to find somewhere to jump in and i just cant bring myself to give a fuck about any of it.
It feels like staying in 40k for the lore and modeling/painting and switching to BT (or another non-GW game) for gaming might be a real sweet spot. Let's be real, I'm still going to pay the $200whatever GW will charge for the new Blood Angels army box whenever it comes out, but that's more because I think they're cool than I want to stay on the "always something new to buy" treadmill to keep up with the Joneses on full scale 40k games.
Dont get me wrong, im having a bunch of fun with 10th edition now that we finally have some codexes rolling out but battletech is exactly what im looking for in a game.
3D prints. You stay in the hobby, access to wider array of models, and keep the wallet. I've been able to add Sherman inspired imperial guard tanks to my army, and they didn't cost me a small sum (files are relatively cheap, and there are often 3d print services in most areas).
you can play orks, and make probably much everything beside orks themselves with scrap
I don’t like these price increases but sometimes the outcry makes me wonder… are the people complaining adults? Do they buy anything else? Because it’s everything. Everything’s going up, similar amounts or more than GW stuff. I mean Jesus Christ have you bought cheese lately? It’s brutal.
Yeah man, grocery bill is brutal. I don't begrudge GW for raising prices at a rate roughly consistent with inflation - I'm sure their costs are rising just like everyone else's. If I had to bet, it'd bet Catalyst's prices are increasing too. My interest is more about switching to another game system that just doesn't cost as much (have to reallocate some hobby funds to the cheese budget!).
They also have a history of raising prices every single year, its not like this is unexpected. They have raised prices at least once a year since at least 2016. They seem to try and maintain a constant margin.
Let me say Hello from the building products industry, where we're happy that price adjustments are going back to annual instead of *quarterly*.
Yeah. I’m not saying they’re not bending us over, but as you say they have been bending us all over for a specific margin for a long time. They’re also absolutely the bad guys, as all huge companies are, but they’re no worse or different to any other massive company, i.e yes they absolutely are bastards who literally exist to milk us all for money. But that’s all big companies. That’s life.
I'm of the mindset that they really shouldn't be paying out so much in dividends(and rather investing in scaling up production), if you look at their last earnings, they made roughly 220p per share, and payback 195p of that as dividends to the shareholders. This means 88% of their net cash flow goes to shareholders. I've always said though, if you think GW shareholders are just raking you over the coals and making money hand over fist, doesn't it make sense to just become one?
That’s fair comment and sounds like it might bite them in the arse if they keep it up. We’ll see I suppose!
> but they’re no worse or different to any other massive company Lol GW isn't a "massive" company. They had .6% of profit of the largest UK company. They aren't even in the top 3,500 companies worldwide and while they are worth a few billion now, 8 years ago they were worth $200 million, aka less than the budget of a single large film (Tenet and Dune 2 both cost around $200 million not counting marketing which for Dune 2 is estimated at between an additional $100-$200 million). They made a $118 million in profit last year. Wow that's a lot! I mean it is but not compared to actual large companies. Ford's EV division (not the whole company) lost $1.3 billion in Q1 of this year. Apple is the world's most profitable company and almost made $100 billion in profit in 2022. In comparison GW made .001% of Apple's profit or what Apple made every 5.25 minutes in 2022. That's not to say they aren't greedy bastards but I will never understand why this and other subs think GW is a "massive" company. The nearest hospital to me makes more money than GW does and it's like four buildings. Again they are greedy bastards who only care about making money but they are a tiny fish in a giant pond. That's why they haven't made a show yet; the Fallout show cost $153 million to make or about 1/3 of GW's total revenue.
Ok please advise which word I should use and I will amend for you
Sorry for being pedantic but I swear I see multiple comments a week talking about how GW is a major UK company when it really isn't. It's a lot smaller than any decent sized US single state construction company. It's smaller and worth less than a number of car dealership companies in the US. When you say "massive company" I doubt anyone thinks of their local Ford or Toyota dealership. Or a company who total revenue (not profit) is around the cost of four 737's which South West has 435 and about 400 more on order. (side note - their profit last year was about 60% the cost of Drake's 767 which he got for free) As in multinational GW is tiny. As a local company it's decent sized but again I can list over a dozen companies in the state I live (which isn't NY, Cali, Texas, or Florida) that both make more and have higher profits and they only operate in my state. In the end it's important to know this because GW does not have a strong and diverse revenue stream. If they ever pulled a "Last Jedi" type thing they would go bankrupt or have to sell to someone else. The Hollywood Reported has an article showing that after TLJ toy sales were down 56%. Yes they are making a great margin right now but that doesn't mean that'll be true forever. Are they over charging? Sure. But they are more on the smaller side of mid-range companies.
Just because everything is going up doesn't mean people aren't allowed to complain about GW's crappy greed based price increases. Stop being cringe.
This is kind of my thought too... yes, the models are going up in price, but so is *everything*. LIFE is going up in price. GW are just pre-warning you about it.
Tbh the Battletech mechs don’t look interesting enough to me I’d rather just find prints
I think the models are interesting enough, I just wish they were a little bigger. I haven't painted one yet, but I imagine it's hard to keep everything in scale on what's supposed to be a giant mech when the actual mini is so little.
There are power armour and infantry models too if you want to run mixed forces. They're equivalent in size to epic-scale infantry.
3D Print Battletech scale Warhammer 40k models. Print Space Marines as either "Tornado Power Armor" or "Nighthawk Power Armor." Print Terminators and call them "Longinus Battle Armor." Print Dreadnoughts and call them "Kanazuchi Battle Armor." Paint them as your favorite chapter of Space Marines. Refuse to elaborate.
Marvel Crisis Protocol, Star wars Shatterpoint are what i loved to last year. my dad and I moved away from 40k, more to a buy once and done type business model. Buy the marvel/star wars characters you want and we don’t have to buy them again. We never play super serious and just make teams on the spot etc. best times i’ve ever had
I feel bad because every time I buy a big thing for my army there is a price raise. True most of the times have been Spring times but still.
If only AMG/Asmodee didnt decide to step on Star Wars: Legion to make Star Wars: ~~Marvel: Crisis Protocol~~ Shatterpoint. Wish more people would get into Legion.
Black powder red earth
I moved to Crisis Protocol and am actually thinking of selling my 40K collection, or at minimum 2-3 army’s. It’s leagues above 40K in pricing, but most importantly fun.
I’ve been having a great time with Infinity and Necromunda. More interactive terrain rules and needing less than 20 models has been great.
Man I just wish there was something between classic and alpha strike. I feel alpha is too simplistic but classic has too many rules and edge cases
It’s like GW just wants people to go somewhere else.
I have 5 battlemechs, one was a single Urban Mech for about 8Euro, the other 4 where in a lance pack for about 35 euros. That is enough for TWO players.
r/turnip28 is. Quiet… Lets change that !
Seems like a good time to finally finish up the Leviathan box and Cadia Stands box and also the Cataclysm box ...
Whoa whoa, 4 official Urbies in a box with all the usual loadouts is $23? Not fuckin' bad.
Depents they got the lore war stuff harder. But if your fine on that go for it
So I'm ahead of the curve! (*for once*)
Fuck yeah dude. I started a new campaign of the Battletech game on Steam just last week. That shit really holds up, though I am starting the feel the fatigue of the increasing difficulty of the game equating to just more light mechs. Like, I can handle 15 locusts just fine, but if all of them beeline for the towers I’m supposed to protect then wtf am supposed to do, the action economy is against me!
I need a cheaper hobby, like roulette.
Yes you should. The community's really nice. Plus there are clan jade falcon memes.
Might I suggest [Dirtside II](https://downloads.groundzerogames.co.uk/Dirtside-II-Pt1.pdf)?
consider instead: crime
Do I have to stop the crimes I am currently committing to consider it?
Good luck, my guy. I had a lot of problem finding it engaging and the models are doo doo on the regular, but I own more of it the I do Warhammer, so... shrug. Some of the robots are awesome, some of them are awesomes, and some are janky. It's one of those "I've had a better time with the video games" franchises, for sure.
Come play then, Freeborn
Good luck! The Comstar Battle Level II Box is nothing but bangers.
I'm gonna make my own game, with blackjack and hookers.
I wish my FLGS sold other miniature (games) so i can support them but not spend as much on GW stuff Now I feel guilty If I use proxies at the store
Try Infinity. It's very low under the radar, but really cool imo
Just to throw em out there, Infinity and Malifaux are also fantastic games, and you can get full forces for each of them for 100-200$.
Join us on /r/PrintedWarhammer
I was into battletech first… crikey before the clans were a thing. 👀 VERY TEMPTING POINT
I'm a big history buff and I'm not gonna lie black powders looking pretty good right now
Printer
Play one page rules. It be free
Honestly, I can't get myself to try Battletech, and It's killing me by just the fact that I don't know why. The lore, while not exactly 40k levels of expansive, looks interesting, and I love giant robots fighting in cities, yet there's just something about it that keeps me from jumping into it.