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Author Topic: Alpha Strike  (Read 3105 times)

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JPArbiter

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #30 on: April 30, 2013, 02:58:25 PM »
as a Starter point for Alpha Strike, Operation REVIVAL does two key things.

1) it throws a bone to the second generation Grognards who may or may not think anything good came past the Fed Com Civil War Era

2) it is an era that emphasized combined arms operations (entire RCTs being rotated to oppose the Clan Front on the Fed Com Side, and the Ryuken and Legion of Vega doing the heavy lifting alongside Prefecture regulars on the Draconis Side),making the era a perfect fit for Alpha Strike
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Nerroth

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #31 on: May 02, 2013, 12:11:04 PM »
Alpha Strike: The TableTop Miniatures Rulebook



Quote
[Cover "in progress" by the brilliant Alex Iglesias.]

When we published Strategic Operations several years ago, a lot of people instantly fell in love with what is really a pretty small part of the book…the Quick-Strike Rules. And we immediately began getting questions of “when will you release a stand-alone rulebook of that?”

For those wondering what Quick-Strike is, the easiest answer is that it is the truest form yet published for being able to play BattleTech in a true “tabletop miniatures” style and speed, while still feeling like your playing BattleTech.

At the start of the year I had been thinking heavily about this, especially after years, at this point, of seeing plenty of people playing BattleTech in this manner at conventions. I then pitched the concept to Herb of a complete, stand-alone rulebook that would be the “table-top miniatures game” play of BattleTech. As it happened, great minds think alike and Herb had already been working an an epub release. I felt we shouldn’t only go half way on that and instead should embrace a full print book, full-color, hardback…the works (I know…shocking I wanted the kitchen sink in there…).

With that we got to work. The original outline, unfortunately, even for us, was way, way too much data as we wanted to cover every Era and even provide samples armies for all such Eras…the book might have been one of the biggest we’ve ever published…not to mention being crazy intimidating for other tabletop miniatures players that might want to give this a try.

So we immediately started trimming back, while still ensuring the book will provide a complete, full BattleTech experience that would have players coming back for more. This also allows for the creation of a series of great epubs to build upon the solid framework of Alpha Strike.

But wait…if they were called Quick-Srike why are we calling this Alpha Strike?! Well, to be honest, in hindsight the former is just too close to “Quick-Start” and we’ve gotten a fair bit of confusion along the way…hence a more unique name this time around.

We’re currently on track to have this at Gen Con with the book available to the public in September…or at least that’s the current plans…will see if it survives drop insertion….

In the meantime, this is the first of several blogs where I’ll discuss this great project…the drive flare of an incoming DropShip, announcing its coming…we’ll start getting into the bowels of what the ship carries in the coming weeks and months.

See ya there…

Randall

That WIP cover art looks great so far. I do hope that Alex's take on the Savage Wolf ends up on the cover of whichever AS expansion takes us forward into the Dark Age!
« Last Edit: May 02, 2013, 12:23:47 PM by Nerroth »
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JPArbiter

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #32 on: May 02, 2013, 03:02:05 PM »
each expansion should take place in a major era. Devlin Stone and Cameron St Jamais Atlas for Jihad Era, Anastasia Kerensky and her Wolf Hunters on the prowl for the Dark Age...

Yen Low Wang Busting chops for Succession Wars.
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Nerroth

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #33 on: May 02, 2013, 03:46:07 PM »
Quote from: JPArbiter on May 02, 2013, 03:02:05 PM
each expansion should take place in a major era. Devlin Stone and Cameron St Jamais Atlas for Jihad Era, Anastasia Kerensky and her Wolf Hunters on the prowl for the Dark Age...

Yen Low Wang Busting chops for Succession Wars.

Maybe some Mark I LAMs taking on a few Dragoons for the Star League era?

Or if the Wars of Reaving were split off from the Jihad, maybe some Coyote/Society units clashing with the Steel Vipers or Star Adders? (WoR itself already used that scene from the Kerensky Bloodchapel.)

And speaking of Land Air 'Mechs, I was thinking the Spectral LAMs might be good cover candidates for a Jihad-era expansion, in light of the recent IWM Kickstarter. With shiny new 3D-modelled miniatures on the way, where better a venue than Alpha Strike to showcase them?
« Last Edit: May 02, 2013, 03:53:10 PM by Nerroth »
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Nerroth

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #34 on: June 06, 2013, 05:30:38 PM »
The provisional Table of Contents:

Quote
   
BattleTech: Alpha Strike Table of Contents
On June 6, 2013

Herb and his great crew continue to pound on Alpha Strike to get it ready for heading to the printer in the near future. In the meantime, thought I’d share the current Table of Contents (subject to change, of course).

Welcome to Alpha Strike!

Alpha Strike Basics

    Alpha Strike vs. Total Warfare
    What’s Needed to Play Alpha Strike

Alpha Strike at a Glance

    Additional Material

Introductory Alpha Strike

Components

    The Unit Card

Setup

    Choosing Army Lists
    Placing Terrain

Playing the Game

    Sequence of Play
    Victory Conditions

Movement Phase

    Terrain
    Jumping

Combat Phase

    Resolving Weapon Attacks
    Resolving Physical Attacks
    Overheating

End Phase

    Damage
    Heat

Special Abilities

    Special Ability Descriptions

Standard Alpha Strike

Components

    Additional Game Terms for Standard Alpha Strike

Setup

    Choosing Scenario Types
    Choosing Forces
    Placing Terrain

Playing the Game

    Sequence of Play
    Victory Conditions
    Forced Withdrawal (Optional)

Movement Phase

    Unequal Number of Units
    Terrain
    Additional Movement Rules

Combat Phase

    Resolving Weapon Attacks
    Resolving Physical Attacks
    Overheating

End Phase

    Damage
    Heat

Special Abilities

    Special Ability Descriptions
    C3 Networks

Abstract Aerospace System

    Control Rolls

Aerospace Setup

    The Radar Map
    Placing Aerospace Forces on the Radar Map

Abstract Aerospace Gameplay

    Abstract Aerospace Movement

Abstract Aerospace Combat

    Resolving Aerospace Air-to-Ground Attacks
    Resolving Aerospace Air-to-Air Attacks
    Resolving Ground-to-Air Combat

Aerospace End Phase

    Ending Air-to-Air Engagements
    Aerospace Damage

Advanced Options

Advanced Movement Modes

    Climbing
    Evading
    Leaping
    Intentional Falls from Above
    Sprinting
    Transporting Non-Infantry Units

Advanced Terrain

    Buildings
    Deep Snow
    Gravel Piles
    Hazardous Liquid Pools
    Heavy Industrial
    Ice
    Jungle
    Magma
    Mud
    Planted Fields
    Rails
    Rough, Ultra
    Rubble, Ultra
    Sand
    Swamp
    Tundra
    Water (Expanded)
    Woods (Expanded)
    Bogging Down

Aerospace Units on the Ground Map

    Aerodyne Units
    Spheroid Units and Airships
    Landing Rolls
    Aerospace Unit Transports
    Partial Cover

Artillery

    On-Board Artillery vs. Off-Board Artillery
    Resolving Artillery Attacks

Alternate Munitions

    Alternate Artillery Munitions
    Alternate Autocannon Munitions
    Alternate Bomb Munitions (Bombs/Aerospace Missiles)
    Alternate Narc/iNarc Pods
    Alternate LRM Munitions
    Alternate SRM Munitions

Battlefield Intelligence
Buildings

    Building Types
    Movement Effects
    Attacking Buildings
    Walls

Concealing Unit Composition

    Blip Counters
    Concealing Record Sheets
    Concealing Unit Capabilities

Coordinate System

    Creating a Coordinate

    Dropping Troops

    High-Altitude Drop
    Low-Altitude Drop
    Zipline Drop

ECM/ECCM
Ejection/Abandoning Units
Environmental Conditions

    Atmospheric Density
    Darkness
    Earthquake
    Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
    Fissures
    Gravity
    Temperature
    Tornado
    Wind
    All Other Conditions

Fire and Smoke

    Fires
    Smoke
    Spreading Fires
    Fire and Units

Hidden Units

    Hiding on the Ground
    Surprise Attacks from Hidden Units

Large Support Vehicles, Mobile Structures, and DropShips

    Boarding and Repelling

Minefields
Targeting and Tracking Systems
Terrain Conversion
Special Abilities

    Special Ability Descriptions

Converting Alpha Strike to Hex Maps

    Converting Movement and Distances
    Line of Sight

Campaign Play

Setting Up the Campaign

    Force Creation
    Campaign Turns
    Determine Outcome Phase

Logistics

    The Total Chaos Campaign
    Tracks
    Situation and Game Setup
    Warchest and Objectives
    Special Rules
    Aftermath and Next Track
    Warchest Point System
    Warchest Points Between Tracks
    Skill Advancement
    Warchest Campaign Record Sheet

Meeting Engagement

    Situation
    Game Setup
    Warchest
    Objective
    Special Rules
    Next Track

Breakthrough

    Situation
    Game Setup
    Warchest
    Objective
    Special Rules
    Next Track

Assault

    Situation
    Game Setup
    Warchest
    Objective
    Special Rules
    Next Track

Counterattack

    Situation
    Game Setup
    Warchest
    Objective
    Special Rules
    Next Track

Pursuit

    Situation
    Game Setup
    Warchest
    Objective
    Special Rules
    Next Track

Defense

    Situation
    Game Setup
    Warchest
    Objective
    Special Rules
    Next Track

Era Setting: Clan Invasion (3048-3062)

    The Clan Invasion
    The Marik-Liao Offensive
    The Refusal War
    The Second Star League
    The St. Ives War
    The First Combine-Dominion War

Key Conflicts and Campaigns

    The Clan Invasion
    The Marik-Liao Offensive
    The Refusal War
    Operation BULLDOG
    The St. Ives War
    The First Combine-Dominion War

Factional Overview: Clan Invasion Era

    Special Alliances and Enmities
    Factional Special Abilities (Optional)

The BattleTech Universe

    House Davion (Federated Suns)
    House Kurita (Draconis Combine)
    House Liao (Capellan Confederation)
    House Marik (Free Worlds League)
    House Steiner (Lyran Commonwealth)
    ComStar
    Word of Blake
    The Clans
    The Periphery

A History of War

    Colonizing the Stars
    The Age of War
    The Star League
    The Succession Wars
    The Clan Invasion
    Civil War Era
    The Word of Blake Jihad
    The Dark Age

BattleTech Resources

    Core Rulebooks
    Technical Readouts
    Historical Sourcebooks
    Maps, Terrain, and Miniatures
    Fiction

Choose Your Rules

    Gamemaster Adjudication
    Fiction vs. Rules


There ya go! Very deep look into this coming book…hopefully next time we’ll have a final cover to show off!

Till next time…

Randall
« Last Edit: June 06, 2013, 05:39:44 PM by Nerroth »
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Nerroth

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #35 on: June 15, 2013, 02:45:27 PM »
From the first BattleChat of the day:

Quote
<Nerroth>: Good afternoon, Herb. First question: has it been decided yet which fromat or theme the pdf expansions to AS will use? For example, would they be grouped according to era (Star League, Jihad/WoR, Dark Age, etc), or would the era material be more loosely spread across different and overlapping files?

<Habeas2>: Nerroth - The first set of Alpha Strike PDF-exclusive expansions will be grouped by era.

<Nerroth>: Will there be a file based on 3145 in that initial set, or will the Dark Age have to wait a while longer?

<Habeas2>: Nerroth - The Dark Age era is one of the Alpha Strike supplemental PDFs being planned, and will likely be the last one of the present batch produced.

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Nerroth

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #36 on: June 19, 2013, 03:40:07 PM »
The pre-final cover is up:

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Rainbow 6

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #37 on: June 27, 2013, 01:23:02 PM »
Can't wait for this to come out now.
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Nerroth

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #38 on: July 22, 2013, 09:23:31 PM »
The first preview PDF is up!
« Last Edit: July 22, 2013, 09:59:42 PM by Nerroth »
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Nerroth

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #39 on: July 26, 2013, 03:19:44 PM »
And here is preview 2, with a revised MSRP. (Reportedly, the first preview's price listing was an error.)
« Last Edit: July 26, 2013, 03:20:52 PM by Nerroth »
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Nerroth

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #40 on: July 26, 2013, 08:00:27 PM »
A new blog update.

One part in particular stood out:

Quote
“Are you going to support Alpha Strike further?” I can hear you asking. Sure. Ideas are already being jotted down for what we could put into an “Alpha Strike Companion” for print down the line, Era Faction Army List PDFs (cause we’ve got a pile of factions and Eras), we’re even looking into what full-color Alpha Strike Unit Cards sold as decks of cards might look like…
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Nerroth

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #41 on: July 29, 2013, 04:36:35 PM »
Alpha Strike went up today in PDF form.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2013, 07:53:16 PM by Nerroth »
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Nerroth

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #42 on: July 29, 2013, 06:07:04 PM »
Boasting about how you managed to get the book for free like that might not endear them to your cause, even if it was due to a mistake made on their (or DTRPG's) end.

But in terms of unit stats, it has been noted that a major update to the Master Unit List website has been in the works for some time, and will go up in the not too distant future. (The new AS Unit Card format will be errata-ed into StratOps soon, too.)
« Last Edit: July 29, 2013, 06:09:58 PM by Nerroth »
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JPArbiter

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #43 on: July 29, 2013, 07:08:34 PM »
I am sure either Drive Thru RPG will charge your card later, or reimburse CGL out of pocket for any "free copies" given out.  Ethically you're obliged to contact drive thru and say "I think there was an error."  but lets be honest, few would in this or similar cases.

proselytizing over I am REALLY looking forward to tearing this book apart and playing some games using the rules.
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Nerroth

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Re: Alpha Strike
« Reply #44 on: July 31, 2013, 11:31:47 AM »
This surfaced over on the BT boards:

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