Battletech

[Lance]

Out of curiosity, is anyone a fan of the franchise?

I'm not just referring to the videogames (Mechwarrior series) either. There's the board game, books, TV Series, Collectible Card Game etc

I've had a hankering to play the board game again (there's a computer version called MegaMek) and I'm trying to find a few takers.

[MyNameDidntFit]

I can't say I've played anything from them bar MW2 (the good version of that acronym), but I'd be willing to give it a shot if it isn't too hard to learn.

[CemeteryGates]

I just played the first video-game once, and loved it, but never got around to getting it.

[Lance]

The board game is a bit different - it's not "difficult" to learn - there's just a lot of information to absorb first. Knowing what Battle/Omnimechs are capable - armor types, weapon types etc
- and there's hundreds of types. (not including powered infantry/aerofighters etc)
I loved the video-games - MW2: Mercenaries especially.

Here's a link to Megamek (http://megamek.sourceforge.net/). Screenshots will show you what the game looks like obviously. On the bright side, it's a free download.

But if you really want to get in to the game, the game manuals are the way to go (but not really necessary, since a lot of sites will give you all the same details with a little digging.

[Jason]

I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the MechWarrior games is/was to be released free to celebrate an upcoming game. Let me have a dig round and see if I can find the details.

[Lance]

I'm not sure about the freebie, but I've been watching Pirhana Games (http://www.piranha-games.com/) for any info about the new MW game - nothing since Nov '09 though.

[Jason]

Right, done some digging and found out the following:

The guys at Mektek.net (http://www.mektek.net/) have been given permission to distribute Mechwarrior 4 for free - this was announced about six months back, and the technical side of things is done now... the only issues remaining are legal ones, which are obviously taking longer to sort out. Until then, stay tuned to that site or alternatively I'll post info once I know what the story is.

[Lance]

Ahhhh that, yeah I remember now - can't wait until they sort it out :)