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 Flinty wrote:
They didn't even bother to give it a proper Clan name. Nice try, but could do better

clan Springing Spaniel? Rolling Spaniel? Fetching Spaniel?

You mean like Coyote, Wolf, and Burrock?

https://www.sarna.net/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Clan_Spaniel

It's a bit of the BattleTech lore mixing with real life...

 Flinty wrote:
They didn't even bother to give it a proper Clan name. Nice try, but could do better

clan Springing Spaniel? Rolling Spaniel? Fetching Spaniel?

This is a 20 year old lore tidbit they expanded on

So a couple errors in the shipping order is what is causing the shipping issues. They've delayed the submission deadline on the 12th till they can get it uploaded and resolved.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cgl/battletech-mercenaries/posts/4067683?ref=ksr_email_mktg_auto_backer_project_update_registered_users

I saw that. Cautiously optimistic about it, but there's still some oddities (I'm at a company level backing and still had to pay 70$ (+VAT, making it 85$), which I find very high given what is actually in that box).

- They mention all veteran+ backers get the Savannah map pack, causing high shipping... I thought that was just Batallion and upwards. So I don't get how the mistake with the map-pack size is going to benefit me.

- If handling is now covered by CGL, that probably will reduce my shipping I hope?

- I hope they can get that sorted, because on a $376 pledge, my VAT and shipping/handling came down to another $163... Pretty nuts.

 Elmir wrote:
I saw that. Cautiously optimistic about it, but there's still some oddities (I'm at a company level backing and still had to pay 70$ (+VAT, making it 85$), which I find very high given what is actually in that box).

I'm at the same level, but with no add-ons. Since I'm Stateside, I have no VAT, but they were still taxing the shipping, which my State does not do.

 Elmir wrote:
- They mention all veteran+ backers get the Savannah map pack, causing high shipping... I thought that was just Batallion and upwards. So I don't get how the mistake with the map-pack size is going to benefit me.

It was a double typo in that it was for Batallion+ pledgers, and the Map Pack not the Battlemat. Still, you're under $150, unlike Batallion+ pledgers, as well as those who did add-ons (like the aforementioned map-pack).

 Elmir wrote:
- If handling is now covered by CGL, that probably will reduce my shipping I hope?

I'm hoping a little, but I doubt I'll see much of a change myself. The Shipping number may change, but I doubt the VAT will. I did a test shipment from Aries using the slowest USPS method, and it was only about 50% more than what Aries would have charged (though the list was missing on the swag and Salvage Boxes). That's not much different than if I had Aries ship faster with FedEx.

 Elmir wrote:
- I hope they can get that sorted, because on a $376 pledge, my VAT and shipping/handling came down to another $163... Pretty nuts.

Agreed. Unfortunately, I doubt the VAT will change because that's your government's side of things. Only 2 guaranteed things in life, after all.

The flexibility in choosing the difficulty level and the variety of game modes can really make the gameplay fun and varied. It is important that the game is fun and satisfying, and that everything seems to work out for you! Continue to enjoy the game and have a good time at the gaming table!

Yeah, no escaping VAT.. That's big government in Europe for ya!

But the 70$ shipping was a shocker. Especially since I've had several tons worth of soil/building materials delivered at my door for less!

Did a couple early jihad era games to try out some different mech variants.

Game 1
My side
.fafnir 5X
.trebaruna
.barghest 4T
.crusader 9S
-improved heavy gauss all day

the other side
.atlas
.night star
.thunderbolt
.centurion

The other side started out strong scoring first kill on the barghest coring out the CT. this was quickly upset when his night star took one of those heavy gauss rounds to the face plate. the centurion decided to play slap fight with the fafnir..didn't go so well for him. with both the atlas and thunderbolt being forced to retire.







Game 2 we went smaller and faster.

My force this time was a C3 lance
.grand dragon 9KC
.ninja to 4
.cronus
.jenner C2

This time i was up against-
.caesar
.thunderbolt
.hatchet man
.centurion.

This game actually took twice as long since verything was so much harder to hit. a major swing happened when the hatchet man took a critical hit to it's RAC ammo nearly killing both the nearby jenner and caesar in the ensuing explosion. in the end the centurion lost a leg and the caesar was engine killed from internal damage. leaving me with the dragon and ninja to left to run down the thunderbolt. the cronus didn't survive long enough to do much as it took a gauss to the face on turn 1.

Finally finished finagling my paint projects per past period.

First is a culmination of Coromodir Corsair 'cquisitions, and Clan Campaign contentioneers.

Strikers on the flanks, Goliath 2H model without Rockets, Zeus-X with AC replaced with another LRM hand, Thunderbolt IIC, and Raptor

Erring on eradication is the Eridani Light Horse Hunter Lance.

Jumping Thunderbolt, Banshee, Sagittaire, and Cyclops

Having Hansen's Roughrider's Battle Lance up next.

Enforcer, Atlas, Penetrator, Jumping Hatchetman

Now Northwind Highlander's Command Lance commandeers the stage.

Grasshopper, Jumping Highlander, Gunslinger, and Warhammer.

Kell Hounds Striker Lance Strikes it's own pose for the field.

Nightsky, Jumping Crusader, Griffin, and Wolfhound.

---------------------------------------

Colors are mixed up per lance due to there being so many secondary acquisitions with the Merc Lance Forcepacks. The Brown Pants Legion units are those who are my first purchase (such as Sagittaire or Nightsky), or had been painted up in other colors already (Cyclops and Highlander). The ones done up in Coromodier Corsair colors (yellow center with black sides and white limbs) are units I have pilots running in our local bi-weekly campaign. Those who are in neither camp are done up in my own "Fetid Claws" scheme which I like to consider my ersatz Wobbie scheme.

Did a jihad era game lyrans VS davions.

I was running some improved heavy gauss, ERLRMS, hardened armor, and some clan specs weapons.

.fafnir
.trebaruna
.stalker II
.black knight (clan spec)

the other side-

.night star-mix tech
.atlas II-mixed tech
.gauntlet
.marauder

This was one of those games where my opponent was more of a threat to himself than to me.

He blew up his atlas ammo and killed himself, fell with his marauder and took out his XL engine and the gauntlet fell and went to sleep.

The only mech i lost was the Fafnir taking explosion damage and being force to withdraw.

Did 2 games this weekend-the first was a re-enforced lance facing a comstar level 2, i ran a heavy gauss focused force (stalker, fafnir, atlas), along with a viking 2g and some challenger tanks.








The second game i broke out my themed axe lance-

Some nice terrain

your a little late to the party. steel warriors studios (RIP) designed all the hex tech terrain and when they shut down GF9 got a deal to start releasing them fully painted. It is fantastic and really affordable for what you get. the line is so large i really hope they keep releasing more of it. the power station/solar collector has got some giant buildings in it that may be a bit to large for GF9, but the airfield would be a really good set for them to release.

This was a table i did a few weeks ago with mostly GF9 and some old JR miniatures terrain.

I like them, but I don't know about using them on the standard paper maps.. I'd be worried about their size being quite overpowering/incongruous compared to the scale of the hexes. For hexless play? Or Alpha Strike? I think they'd be pretty sweet.

Did a bit of a rematch against the comstar force from last week, this time i countered with my own re-enforced c3 lance from house kurita.

My side was
.battlemaster CM
.akuma 2X
.hatamoto-chi
.shugenja
.wolverine
.cronus

The phone company brought

.king crab
.highlander
.maruader II
.flashman
.shadow hawk
.raijin

This time around we had much less ECM on both sides with just the rajin and shugenja.

So it ended up being a close game. with the battlemaster/wolverine combo facing the flashman and shadowhawk at the end. it turned into a narrow combine victory.

 aphyon wrote:
your a little late to the party. steel warriors studios (RIP) designed all the hex tech terrain and when they shut down GF9 got a deal to start releasing them fully painted. It is fantastic and really affordable for what you get. the line is so large i really hope they keep releasing more of it. the power station/solar collector has got some giant buildings in it that may be a bit to large for GF9, but the airfield would be a really good set for them to release.

This was a table i did a few weeks ago with mostly GF9 and some old JR miniatures terrain.

Spoiler:

They still sell them as stls, but with the original Thunderhead Studios name instead:

https://cults3d.com/en/design-collections/Thunderhead_Studio/hextech-battletech-compatible-terrain-system

thunderhead bought the STL IPs from steel warrior (the original creators) when they went under and then thunderhead made the deal with gale force 9

Representing the mailed fist tonight.

The table was heavy forested with some hills


first off was a battle of the quad lance-
.trebaruna
.sirocco
.goliath
.barghest

I was facing off against
.night star
.atlas
.gunslinger
.king crab


It turned into a stand and deliver fight to my advantage as the intervening hill between us granted my quads partial cover to over half my hit locations(legs) I did manage to score a head hit with an improved heavy gauss on his atlas.






The second game my opponent chose the set up in the form of 3 heavies and a medium-

I brought
.dragon fire
.falconer
.rifleman
.bushwhacker

The other side brought
.ceasar
.thunderbolt
.warhammer
.centurion.

The highlight of the game was the centurion doing a ram attack on the rifleman for a 50 points worth of collision damage.

other than that and the occasional critical hit from all my LBXs his dice were really not with him. the only mech he managed to go internal on was the falconer before he lost his last mech.

Did 2 games this weekend.

The first was a fast heavy battle.

My side
.grand dragon 9KC
.grand dragon 7K
.cronus
.ninja to

The other player
.rifleman
.hatchetman
.wolverine
.warhammer

The table was heavy woods with hills.












The second game went heavier with my side running
.hatamoto-chi "shugo"
.hatamoto-chi "shin"
.hatamoto-chi 28T
.hitotsume kozo

The other side-
.nightstar
.atlas
.thunderbolt
.centurion.

The Meme is real-






So we did this thing and it was as he said. they were like the wind and the hammer was Friedreich. i lost one grand dragon. and killed all but the wolverine.





Then i went up against an old gaming friend who picked up some new mechs to try out.

i decided to go marauder chassi themed with a marauder II, dragon fire, falconer and gauntlet,

My enemy went with a marauder II, blackjack, orion, crusader





We did a second game. i brought out a hatamoto-chi "shugo" with a C3 master computer, along with a catapult, crusader (using the archer mini) and no-datchi all in the C3 network. this time i was facing and orion, rifleman, archer.crusader.

Had a scenario mission set up- this was a intel raid mission. i had to get my raiden battle armor in to steal the intel and get at least one squad out.

they were riding in some goblin IFVs.

I went with something i do not often run-an MRM themed C3 heavy lance.

.shugenja
.catapult
.crusader
.grand dragon

My opponent brought in a re-enforced heavy lance of his own-
.marauder
.archer
.warhammer
.avatar
.thunderbolt
.caesar

When the dust has settled we had brutalized each other pretty well. on my side the shugenja, catapult and one goblin were out. all of them having most of their armor stripped off before they went down. the remaining crusader was missing an arm. on his side he lost the avatar, ceasar, warhammer, and marauder. the dragon surprisi9ng while suffering some actuator damage ended up being the least overall damaged mech on my side. one squad of battle armor had to hoof it off the table as their transport was destroyed. the other made a clean get away giving me a minor victory in the scenario.

2 more games tonight-

the first one was a 3067 scenario mission kill the VIP vehicle

minor victory-kill the target vehicle
major victory-kill the target vehicle and get your lance clear while keeping you own VIP vehicle alive
total victory-kill the target vehicle and defending mechs while keeping you VIP vehicle alive.


The VIP vehicles were a striker and a drillson.

i only managed a minor victory with my heavy gauss lance-







Game 2 was a marik/combine 4th succession wars fight, my dice were not loving me this game.

this one was a loss that included a successful DFA by my opponent.

 Elmir wrote:
Yeah, no escaping VAT.. That's big government in Europe for ya!

But the 70$ shipping was a shocker. Especially since I've had several tons worth of soil/building materials delivered at my door for less!

late to the party, but CGL are either lying or my stuff is going to be delivered by 4 oiled up JAV models in swimsuits. I did some calculations based on the size and weight of what im getting and, after VAT, came up with a rough estimation of £70. They hit me with £180, which is utterly absurd as I have had parcels of roughly the same size and weight sent from Japan and delivered to my door for £30 plus VAT (which on occasion you get away without paying. If your lucky. Having typed this im going to be hit from now till 2026.) Given that this is coming from a regional depot (IE, its already in the country) to my door, just over £130 for postage seems utterly absurd.

Indeed. I’m continually amazed at the number of people on the Kickstarter comments section that just don’t seem to mind being stiffed on postage. And not even a bit stiffed, like 3 or 4 times as much as necessary.

Its a weird combination of brand loyalty and CURRENT THING'ism, it was visible on the discord as well (at least before I was booted it was). I dont think that many of these people realise that Battletech is far older than CGL and will, if they keep messing up this bad, outlast CGL.
To be fair though, CGL seem to be forgetting that last bit themselves, what with the crackdowns on 3d printing and files. Not that I care, I will continue to source alternatives to CGL's minis. They dont deserve an ounce of respect after this latest stunt.

It's a little easier for me to check, since I'm here in the States, but it seems like those who pledged at Company level and didn't add on to much got off a bit easy. Those who pledged more (particularly the Regiment and Full-K) were the ones who got nailed.

In my test, I went to a reliable online source and built an order that was roughly equivalent in size, at least in regards to boxes. They didn't have any Salvage Boxes for a full source, and I didn't see any equivalents for all the SWAG. The shipping for it came out to be about $5 less than what QML shipping posted for theirs. That was with the slowest speed with the most unreliable service. Of course there was a Shipping Tax included, which wasn't part of my State's protocols, but that was ironed out. That was with a Company Pledge, though. One of the other guys here also put in a Company Pledge, and there's like a dollar difference.

They did provide an option to get a better shipping rate, but you had to have done it a month ago. Any other request right now will only go for credit on the CGL store, if that. They did send an email out to everyone to the email registered with BackerKit a week or two before that deadline.

I will say, though, in my group, we have had all the levels higher, including a Full-K. His shipping cost was scary, even if it doesn't include the shipping for all the double kits he will be getting over the next few years.

I’m being charged £45 and it shouldn’t be any more than £15. So I’m grumpy, but it’s not killing me.

Oh hell, that email. I didnt even notice it had come due to work and not having time to check my emails until it was way too late. Might as well put in a claim though, though any credit would be wasted on postage to the UK.
Might get me the Campaign ops book though.

 Flinty wrote:
I’m being charged £45 and it shouldn’t be any more than £15. So I’m grumpy, but it’s not killing me.

The question is, "In comparison to what?"

Effectively speaking, you're expectation is to be charged less for shipping than I am.

If you're getting a Company Pledge or higher, £15 is amazingly cheap. If you're getting the Battalion, you're getting off better than one my local friends.