BattleTech
 This article is a stub. You can help 1d4chan by expanding it |
A Game of Armored Combat
"It is the 31st century, a time of endless wars that rage across human-occupied space. As star empires clash, these epic wars are won and lost by BattleMechs, 30-foot-tall humanoid metal titans bristling with lasers, autocannons and dozens of other lethal weapons; enough firepower to level entire city blocks. Your elite force of MechWarriors drives these juggernauts into battle, proudly holding your faction s flag high, intent on expanding the power and glory of your realm. At their beck and call are the support units of armored vehicles, power armored infantry, aerospace fighters and more, wielded by a MechWarrior's skillful command to aid him in ultimate victory. Will they become legends, or forgotten casualties? Only your skill and luck will determine their fate!" - Product promotional tagline.
Holy Crap, Macross is awesome
So let's make a game based on it! That's essentially what happened. (FASA actually got sued for infringing on a few of the images in the first edition of the game, the images were altered for later editions... but not much.) They called the robots BattleDroids and published the game which used a hex-based movement and tactic system, and simple d6 mechanics. Lawsuits from Lucasfilm forced FASA to drop the first edition and make a second edition, changing the names of the giant robots from BattleDroid to BattleMech. Newer editions added more options and technology, but didn't change the gameplay much.
Mechanics
BattleTech uses a build system based on mech tonnage. You start with a Chassis limit, from 10-100 tons. You then determine engine size based on how fast you want your mech to be (how many hexes you want it to be able to move per turn) you then allocate the remaining tonnage to control systems, weapons, ammo and armor. This method varies slightly depending on the technology of the chassis, but not overmuch. Inner Sphere mechs tend to be a bit behind the Clan mechs, you see.
Play is simple. Roll initiative. Whoever loses moves first, fires last. If you get hit, you mark off the weapons damage rating from your armor. If the shot penetrates your armor, you roll potential criticals. Firing weapons and moving about generates heat, which you must keep down to keep your mech working properly.
Current State
After FASA went defunct, Battletech went to FanPro and then Catalyst Game Labs.