I first attempted to contact Topps, the current owners of the Battletech license, and was immediately shot down. Next, I reached out to Catalyst, who currently license Battletech from Topps and manage all of the publication for Battletech sourcebooks and game materiel. While I got further with them, their Game and Managing Developer Randall Bills was quick to shut down my pitch, and instead was quite insistent that we should all just pick up the latest copy of Alpha Strike and play that instead.
So needless to say, I’m at a loss. I don’t know enough about licensing or IP law to get hold of the IP myself or license it from Topps, nor is my reputation great enough to warrant working out a deal, apparently. So....yeah. That’s it for Battletech: Combined Arms, I guess. Unless any one of my followers can provide any info, then the game won’t be moving forward at all.
In that light, I’m posting up my written rules for the game in their current state, available for free as PDFs from this site.
In other news, I’ve finally built Tim’s amazing Dervish kit. This little 55-ton fire support ‘mech is an Inner Sphere icon, and Tim has captured it perfectly, creating a very modern rendition of the design with the most pose-ability i’ve ever seen on one of his kits!
Alas, all good things must come to an end, I’m afraid. I love this hobby, and wanted to take it to the next step with the publication of Battletech: Combined Arms. I am going to try ONE last tactic for the new year, which I’m hoping will come through. If it fails though, I think I’ll be signing off on Battletech forever. I’ve put years worth of effort into developing this game concept and working on the models, and while it’s been fun...I really, truly thought I would be able to make it into something greater. But the lack of similar passion shown to me by Catalyst Game Labs has proven pretty heartbreaking, and I don’t think I have it in me to stay the course if I know there’s no way to make my dream game a reality.
Time will tell, I suppose.
Battletech: Combined Arms
Battletech: Combined Arms rules
Battletech: Combined Arms unit profiles
Glad you liked the kit, Sam. Don't give up hope. If I were you, I would set up a PayPal donation button for anyone who wants to support you. You put a lot of time into this. Download...make a donation.
ReplyDeleteBridgetown hobby and games is gone, but you could try Guardian Games and see if they can point you in the right direction
ReplyDeleteRight direction for what? I frequent Guardian Games multiple times a week. I love their store but I doubt they can do anything with legal matters or licensing. They sell games, that’s about it.
DeleteThanks for the free rule set! I believe there are loads of die hard fans out there that would be interested in this game. Unfortunately a published version of your game seems unlikely to exist, It may yet live in an open source like format. Providing free fan made rule set would likely get a bit of attention on the MWO and Battletech the game forums. With 3d printers being cost effective to purchase or commission getting a hold of 1/60th scale mechs is getting easier all the time and there are a great deal of them stomping around on many desk tops at this stage.
ReplyDelete