Showing posts with label Battletech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Battletech. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - Catalyst November & December Street Dates

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

The following products have a Street Date of NOVEMBER 19TH, 2014:


CAT35710 Assault Lance Package_FrontBattleTech: Assault Lance Pack ($19.99)

Thrown into the thick of the firefight, an assault lance MechWarrior has an ego as wide as a DropShip. That ego was earned in blood, sweat and hard-fought victories in the teeth of the enemy across a hundred worlds…

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - Catalyst August and September Street Dates

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

CrossfireCoverThe following products have a Street Date of AUGUST 27TH, 2014:

Shadowrun: Crossfire ($59.99)
“I know I sound like I’m talking about a roleplaying game, and it’s not. But it lends itself well to telling a good story.” Zee Garcia, The Dice Tower

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - Catalyst At Gen Con 2014

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

Catalyst Game Labs will be at Gen Con 2014 in force! We’ve got a slew of great gaming and games to check out at booths 417, 413, 509.

THE SHADOWRUN RPG EXPERIENCE

ShadowrunExperience2013
We ran this last year and it was so fantastically successful, we’re bringing it back again this year!

Monday, June 2, 2014

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - Introductory Box Set Reprint & Lance Packs

From the Catalyst Labs Website

IntroBoxSet-Contents_ (6)

The improved reprint of the BattleTech Introductory Box Set hit US shores in February and promptly sold out of the warehouse in a matter of days! And the reception of the improved miniatures and over-all quality of the box has been lauded from retailers to fans alike as the best Introductory box set in BattleTech’s 30-year history.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - Award Nominations and Awards

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

2014 ORIGINS AWARDS NOMINATIONS

28344Origins Award Nominee_MD
Catalyst Game Labs is honored to announce that our following books and games have been nominated for a 2014 Origins Awards:

Best Roleplaying Game: Shadowrun, Fifth Edition
Best Game Accessory: Shadowrun Gamemaster Screen
Best Miniature Figure Rules: BattleTech: Alpha Strike
Best Game Related Publication: Fire For Effect

Congratulations to all of the nominations!

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - New & Improved BattleTech Box Set Reprint Available Now!

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

BT-Box-Set-1000X400

     Strap yourself into the ultimate suit of armor: the BattleMech. Thirty feet tall and weighing up to a hundred tons, this humanoid engine of destruction is a walking arsenal with enough firepower to level a city block. The BattleTech game system takes you into the world of the 31st Century, where war has become a way of life. You are a MechWarrior. You are in command of the most powerful machine on the battlefield, and hold the fate of empires in your hand!
    The BattleTech Anniversary Introductory Box Set thrusts you onto the battlefields of the 31st century.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - BattleTech: Alpha Strike Data Package Available For Army Builder!

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website


AlphaStrikeDiorama 

Alpha Strike is a new, fast-playing form of the BattleTech game of futuristic, armored combat. Developed for the modern tabletop miniatures wargamer, this book allows for an alternative in game play that can turn an entire evenings gaming of giant ’Mechs on alien worlds into an hour or less. Complete with sample armies and a ready-to-play campaign system, all you need besides this book are dice, miniatures, and tabletop terrain to fight for control over the Inner Sphere!


Saturday, December 7, 2013

Catalyst Game Labs - Alpha Strike Data Files Releasing for Army Builder

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

Catalyst Game Labs is pleased to announce that free BattleTech: Alpha Strike data files will be released for Lone Wolf Development’s Army Builder in the near future, available to all licensed Army Builder users for free!

“Next year BattleTech turns 30! And while we’re still publishing supporting books for this seminal game—including reprinting the BattleTech Introductory Box Set, which is currently at the printer—there are times when players simply don’t have the time to invest in a whole evening of game play,” said Randall N. Bills, Managing Developer for Catalyst Game Labs. “BattleTech: Alpha Strike was published specifically to allow for an alternative in game play that can turn an evenings gaming into an hour or less. So far the reception has been fantastic, and we’re extremely excited to provide another great tool in support of Alpha Strike with the release of these files for Lone Wolf Development’s brilliant Army Builder software.”

Downloaded by over 60,000 miniatures gamers and with data files available for dozens of game systems, Army Builder is the software of choice for tabletop miniatures players. With its “point-and-click” simplicity, Army Builder eliminates many mistakes, allows for the building of rosters in minutes, and even verifies rosters as legal for a given game system.

The Alpha Strike data files for Army Builder are being compiled by Jim Williamson, a veteran data file author who is transcribing details from the Master Unit List; the massive, online repository of the literally thousands of units that populate BattleTech‘s universe, presented in a way to help players find what they’re looking for, including complete Alpha Strike stat cards on every unit page! Since the source data is coming from www.masterunitlist.info, the data files, when released, will be free!

“We’re very happy to be help Jim Williamson bring his work on the Alpha Strike data files to BattleTech players” said Rob Bowes, President of Lone Wolf Development. “When he showed us all the work he’d done bringing in the information from the masterunitlist.info site, we were excited because this is exactly why we created Army Builder—to help gamers have more fun in less time. We’re always excited to see data files being created for new games, and especially so with fan favorites like BattleTech!”

Look to www.catalystgamelabs.com and www.wolflair.com in the future for more details!

About Catalyst Game Labs
Catalyst Game Labs is dedicated to producing high quality games and fiction that mesh sophisticated game mechanics with dynamic universes-all presented in a form that allows beginning players and long-time veterans to easily jump into our games and fiction readers to enjoy our stories even if they don’t know the games.

Catalyst Game Labs is an imprint of InMediaRes Productions, LLC, which specializes in electronic publishing of professional fiction. This allows Catalyst to participate in a synergy that melds printed gaming material and fiction with all the benefits of electronic interfaces and online communities, creating a whole-package experience for any type of player or reader. Find Catalyst Game Labs online at www.catalystgamelabs.com.

About Lone Wolf Development
Lone Wolf Development specializes in creating innovative digital tools for the tabletop gaming industry, allowing players to streamline game preparation, eliminate errors, and spend more time playing the games they love. With Realm Works, the company has created an entirely new vehicle for RPG publishers to distribute their material to fans. With an ever-growing suite of tools, including the award-winning Army Builder® and Hero Lab® products, Lone Wolf’s digital tools are the industry standard and are in regular use by tens of thousands of gamers, from miniatures games to role-playing games. Find out more about Lone Wolf Development at www.wolflair.com.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - Additional December Street Dates

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

The following products have a Street Date of DECEMBER 18TH, 2013:

CAT27505_GMScreen_Cover_190wide
 
Shadowrun Gamemaster Screen ($19.99)
Every shadowrunner knows the value of good information. The right fact, the perfect piece of data, can be the difference between success and failure on a run, between life and death. And in the right hands, information can be more than valuable—it can be powerful.

The Shadowrun Gamemaster Screen provides a collection of useful tables from Shadowrun, Fifth Edition for ease of reference in game play. With range tables, action lists, combat modifiers, social modifiers, and more, this is a critical game aid to make your Shadowrun games faster and more fun. And to provide that all-important secrecy so that the players don’t know what you’re up to.
This screen is for use with Shadowrun, Fifth Edition.

Shadowrun, Fifth Edition GM Screen - Dante's Inferno

Total Warfare
Total Warfare ($39.99)
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!

The product of more than twenty years of gaming experience, Total Warfare presents the rules of the BattleTech game system as never before. For the first time, all the rules for various units that have a direct impact on the deadly battlefields of the thirty-first century appear in a unified rules set: from BattleMechs to ProtoMechs, Combat Vehicles to Support Vehicles, infantry to aerospace fighters and DropShips. Interwoven and meticulously updated, Total Warfare provides the most detailed and comprehensive rules set published to date for BattleTech—the perfect companion for standard tournament play.

Total Warfare is the single-source rulebook for people who play BattleTech. It is not intended to teach new players the game, but rather to serve as a reference work for people who know the game, while introducing more technologies and expansive rules than appear in the basic box set. The introductory game in the BattleTech line is the BattleTech Introductory Box Set. New players should pick up that product before diving into this one. Construction rules for the various units presented in Total Warfare can be found in TechManual.

Note: This reprint (a corrected Fourth Printing) is now available again.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - November and December Street Dates

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

The following products have a Street Date of NOVEMBER 20TH, 2013:
CAT27400_SplinteredState_Cover_190wide
Splintered State ($19.99)

Federal Agent Seth Dietrich has a secret. Actually, multiple secrets. One of them made him go underground, hiding from the people desperate to learn just how much he knows. And the other is keeping him from surfacing, because he’s found he can’t even trust himself.

If Dietrich were in his right mind, he’d cover his tracks like a pro, and no one would find him. Especially not shadowrunners getting their feel for life on the streets. But he’s not in his right mind, which means a group of shadowrunners finds themselves in possession of some very valuable information—information the highest powers in Seattle want for themselves. What started as a simple job turns into a scramble for their lives, a scramble that could become profitable if the runners play their cards right.

Splintered State is an introductory adventure for Shadowrun, Fifth Edition. Whether you have played previous Shadowrun editions or are new to the setting, this adventure helps players and gamemasters learn the new rules while wrapping themselves in the intrigue, excitement, and danger of running in Seattle.
Shadowrun, Fifth Edition Core Rulebook
Shadowrun, Fifth Edition ($59.99)

There are cracks in the world. They’re slender, dark, and often cold, but they are the only things that keep you hidden. Keep you alive. They are the shadows of the world, and they are where you live.
You are a shadowrunner, thriving in the margins, doing the jobs no one else can. You have no office, no permanent home, no background to check. You are whatever you make yourself. Will you seek justice? Sow seeds of chaos? Sell out to the highest bidder? It’s up to you, but this much is certain—if you do nothing, the streets will eat you alive.

You can survive—even flourish—as long as you do what it takes. Sacrifice part of your soul for bleeding-edge gear. Push the limits of your will learning new and dangerous magic. Wire yourself into the Matrix, making your mind one with screaming streams of data. It’ll cost you something—everything does—but you can make it worth the price.

Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is the newest version of one of the most popular and successful role-playing worlds of all time—a fusion of man, magic and machine in a dystopian near-future. With rules for character creation, magic, combat, Matrix hacking, rigging, and more, you have everything you need to face the challenges of the Sixth World.

NOTE: Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is once again available.

The following product has a Street Date of DECEMBER 18TH, 2013:
CAT35252_FieldManual3145_Cover_190wide
It is the year 3145. Only thirteen years have passed since Gray Monday—the day that most of humanity’s interstellar communications grid suddenly and mysteriously collapsed. Plunged into darkness and fearing the worst, the leaders and armies of the Inner Sphere scrambled to act, some fearing the approach of invaders, others seeking to exploit the chaos. Now, armies are on the march, war has erupted on every front, and the Republic of the Sphere—once a sign of mankind’s hope for a brighter future—has retreated behind its fortress walls to prepare for the inevitable.

Field Manual: 3145 updates the military and political state of the Inner Sphere as it stands in the year 3145. This report includes a brief history and overview of recent developments in the BattleTech universe, as well as current TO&Es for the major ’Mech forces and mercenary commands employed by the realms and Clans of the Dark Age Inner Sphere. Special era-specific rules are also included, enabling players to create characters and forces for use in campaigns set in and after this critical point in BattleTech history.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - Randall N. Bills Attending MechWarrior Online Launch Event!

From the Catalyst Games Labs Website

Catalyst Game Labs is pleased to announce that Randal N. Bills will be attending the MechWarrior Online North American Launch Event in San Francisco, California, on September 26th.

“I played the original MechWarrior computer game when it was released in 1989,” said Randall N. Bills, Managing Developer for Catalyst Game Labs. “In fact, I remember that my friends bought it for me and I had to go in half with my dad to double our RAM from 2 megs to 4 just so I could run it. And I’ve been a fan ever since, having played every version across the years. Watching MechWarrior Online unfold, being a small part of that process, and watching the community embrace it and take it to whole new levels…it’s crazy exciting. It’s an honor to be apart of this event.”

Randall N. Bills will be running BattleTech: Alpha Strike at the event in a dedicated Catalyst Game Labs’ BattleTech section. BattleTech: Alpha Strike is a quick-playing tactical miniatures game that provides a whole new way to enjoy BattleTech, giving you the complete experience as a true miniatures game with fast, exciting game play!

Meet Randall, ask him questions, play in an Alpha Strike game…he’ll see you on the 26th!

Catalyst Game Labs

Catalyst Game Labs is dedicated to producing high quality games and fiction that mesh sophisticated game mechanics with dynamic universes-all presented in a form that allows beginning players and long-time veterans to easily jump into our games and fiction readers to enjoy our stories even if they don’t know the games.

Catalyst Game Labs is an imprint of InMediaRes Productions, LLC, which specializes in electronic publishing of professional fiction. This allows Catalyst to participate in a synergy that melds printed gaming material and fiction with all the benefits of electronic interfaces and online communities, creating a whole-package experience for any type of player or reader. Find Catalyst Game Labs online at www.catalystgamelabs.com.

Piranha Games Inc.
Piranha Games Inc. was founded in January 2000 by Russ Bullock and Bryan Ekman. Piranha Games is focused on the core action games market and has worked on exciting IPs such as: Need For Speed®, Transformers® 2: Revenge of the Fallen and Duke Nukem Forever®. Please join us at www.piranha-games.com

About Infinite Game Publishing

IGP is a newly formed publisher of AAA online interactive entertainment. Formed by industry vets with a passion for great games, IGP’s leadership is driving online entertainment forward by partnering with best-in-breed developers to bring high-octane excitement to PC gamers everywhere. 
Official Web site: www.infinitegamepublishing.com.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - Catalyst Game Labs at Pax Prime 2013

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

Catalyst Game Labs at Pax Prime 2013


Catalyst Game Labs is pleased to be attending Pax Prime again, in Room 213!
The Duke logo
Mega Duke Map

“…this is one of the best abstract strategy games I have ever played.” 
—Tom Vasel (The Dice Tower)
The politics of the high court are elegant, shadowy and subtle. Not so in the outlying duchies. Rival dukes contend for unclaimed lands far from the king’s reach, and possession is the law in these lands. Use your forces to capture enemy troops before you lose the chance to claim the land for yourself.
In The Duke, players move their troop tiles around the board and fl ip them over after each move. Each tile’s side shows a di erent movement pattern. If you end your movement in a square occupied by an opponent’s tile, you capture it. Capture your opponent’s Duke to win!

Duke 3

Come play a larger-than-life version of The Duke with 18-inch tiles on a 10-foot x 10-foot board! Or sit down and give this fantastic tile-laying game a full try.

Shadowrun 5 Logo Flat CMYK
Shadowrun

There are cracks in the world. They’re slender, dark, and often cold, but they are the only things that keep you hidden. Keep you alive. They are the shadows of the world, and they are where you live.
You are a shadowrunner, thriving in the margins, doing the jobs no one else can. You have no office, no permanent home, no background to check. You are whatever you make yourself. Will you seek justice? Sow seeds of chaos? Sell out to the highest bidder? It’s up to you, but this much is certain—if you do nothing, the streets will eat you alive.

Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is the latest version of one of the most popular and successful role-playing settings of all time. Fusing magic with technology in a dystopian near-future setting, Shadowrun’s popularity has crossed into video games, fiction, and more, but the living, breathing Sixth World role-playing setting has always been its heart.

Shadowrun book

The release of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition so close to the release of Harebrained Schemes’ Shadowrun Returns kicks off The Year of Shadowrun in Sixth World style. Stop on by and grab a table top demo of the best edition yet of the dark and gritty roleplaying game.

Shadowrun 5 Crossfire Logo
Crossfire 2

The Year of Shadowrun will continue with a slew of new games: board games to miniatures, an MMO in Shadowrun Online by Cliffhanger Productions, and more. First up beyond the RPG, though, our new adventure deck-building game.
    Shadowrun: Crossfire is a cooperative deck-building card game for two to four players set in the gritty, cyberpunk fantasy world of Shadowrun. Play a shadowrunner team and take on tough jobs such as protecting a client who’s marked for death, shooting your way out of downtown when a run goes sour, or facing down a dragon. In each game you’ll improve your deck with a mix of strategies while earning Karma to give your character cyber upgrades, physical augmentations, magical initiations, weapons training and Edge. Shadowrun: Crossfire includes an obstacle deck, black market deck, race and role cards, scenario cards, augmentation stickers, and personal missions that test a team’s allegiances.
Play the Shadowrun: Crossfire Demo Box, a fast and fun experience of the full game coming out in the near future!

AlphaStrikeDiorama
Alpha Strike 2

BattleTech: Alpha Strike is a quick-playing tactical miniatures game that provides a whole new way to enjoy BattleTech, giving you thecomplete experience as a true miniatures game with fast, exciting game play!
Dive into the demo to let us show you how you can take fast-playing BattleTech to new levels of miniatures wargaming fun!

2009 Leviathans Logo
Leviathans 2

In 1878 the Polish genius Rynchowski isolated an electrical fluid with remarkable lifting capabilities. A single, pivotal event that would change the world.

The smartest military minds of the coming generation—Zeppelin, Jellico, Fisher and others—diverted their attention to the glorious new technological revolution and sea-going battleships were abandoned around the world. In their place, armored giants took to the skies.

In 1906, Great Britain launched the HMS Leviathan, the first of the “super air ships”, sparking an arms race around the world. By 1910 the most powerful nations boasted large High Fleets, and the start of small skirmishes left the world uneasy…welcome to Leviathans!

Check out our steampunk, alternate-history 1910 miniatures game of air fleet battles. The color-coded dice mechanic makes it fast to learn, with a ton of depth of play. Perfect for boardgame players looking to dip their toes into miniatures game play!

AND MORE…

Swag

In addition to playing some great games, we’ll have a variety of games for sale, as well a slew of other game swag, from t-shirts to laser-etched glasses, clip boards to USB drives loaded with game PDFS, and more.
Stop on by Room 213 and check out all the action!

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - Catalyst September/October Street Dates

From the Catalyst Labs Website

Catalyst September/October Street Dates

The following products have a Street Date of SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2013:
SR5 Standard Limited Edition
Shadowrun, Fifth Edition [Limited Edition] ($99.99)

There are cracks in the world. They’re slender, dark, and often cold, but they are the only things that keep you hidden. Keep you alive. They are the shadows of the world, and they are where you live.

You are a shadowrunner, thriving in the margins, doing the jobs no one else can. You have no office, no permanent home, no background to check. You are whatever you make yourself. Will you seek justice? Sow seeds of chaos? Sell out to the highest bidder? It’s up to you, but this much is certain—if you do nothing, the streets will eat you alive.

You can survive—even flourish—as long as you do what it takes. Sacrifice part of your soul for bleeding-edge gear. Push the limits of your will learning new and dangerous magic. Wire yourself into the Matrix, making your mind one with screaming streams of data. It’ll cost you something—everything does—but you can make it worth the price.

Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is the newest version of one of the most popular and successful role-playing worlds of all time—a fusion of man, magic and machine in a dystopian near-future. With rules for character creation, magic, combat, Matrix hacking, rigging, and more, you have everything you need to face the challenges of the Sixth World.

NOTE: Shadowrun, Fifth Edition Limited Edition includes: bonded red leather cover, foild-stamped cover, spine and back with dragon embossed on cover, gold-gilded page edges, and cloth bookmark. Interior is identical to the standard printing. While supplies last.

Shadowrun: Sprawl Wilds
 
Sprawl Wilds ($19.99)

You live in any sprawl long enough, you’ll find out that there’s a lot more to it than businessmen and soykaf stalls. Any sprawl worth its mettle has its dark corners, its forgotten places, its spots that are just as wild and untamed as the deepest rainforest.

Seattle, the prime metroplex in the world for shadowrunning, is filled with such places, and Sprawl Wilds gives shadowrunners a chance to tour them. From a fortress-like Barrens farm recovering from a mysterious attack to a dark secret hidden in a clinic, runners have a chance to see the sites most people never encounter, and uncover information that some people want to stay secret at any cost. They’ll meet jaded smugglers, wary police officers, passionate activists, hardened criminals, wounded warriors, and at least one deranged killer. The questions are, will they survive long enough to collect a paycheck—and how much of the sprawl will be nothing more than dust when they’re done with it?

Sprawl Wilds is a collection of Shadowrun Missions developed for major summer gaming conventions. These adventures have been adapted for both Shadowrun, Twentieth Anniversary Edition and Shadowrun, Fifth Edition, and they provide hours of shadowrunning goodness for experienced street veterans and new shadowrunners alike. With complete game information, including NPC stats, these adventures are poised to plunge players into urban chaos!

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Technical Readout: 3145 ($39.99)

The great experiment that was the Republic of the Sphere has failed. Withdrawn behind the Fortress walls, the once-great power has become a silent, opaque remnant of its former glory. Without its influence, old hatreds have risen anew. As war once more rages across the Inner Sphere, new equipment strides across ancient battlefields. Technology, once stagnated by trade restrictions and peace treaties, now surges forward again, testing these new machines in the fierce crucible of war.

Technical Readout: 3145 introduces the wave of new battle armor, vehicle, ‘Mech, and aerospace units appearing across the Inner Sphere in the Dark Age era. Featuring new equipment described in Era Report:3145 and Field Manual 3145, this book brings players an update on the advancing technologies used in the battlefields of the thirty-second century.

FireForEffect_Cover
 
Fire For Effect: BattleCorps Anthology Vol 4 ($14.99)

A massive invasion fleet is destroyed almost to a man. Legions of soldiers, confident of victory, are cut down before they even reach the ground. Those that do make landfall are bombarded and shattered and rained with nuclear fire. Elsewhere, veterans long retired from combat are called back to duty by desperate times. Explorers comb unknown worlds for hints to explain deadly evils.

Seventeen stories of combat, honor, betrayal and death fill the pages of Fire for Effect: BattleCorps Anthology Volume 4.

Savvy readers will recognize now-familiar names in BattleTech lore among the authors: Steven Mohan, Jr., Kevin Killiany, Phaedra Weldon, Jason Schmetzer, Jason Hardy and Herbert Beas. These writers have shaped the direction of the BattleTech universe. In 2007, with these stories, they took the fictional storylines of the BattleTech universe to new and violent heights. Worlds rose and fell, and empires toppled. Armies of BattleMechs and fleets of WarShips fought and perished.

And beneath all of it, the spidery tendrils of the Word of Blake sowed mistrust and conflict in every realm.

The following products have a Street Date of SEPTEMBER 25TH, 2013:

Shadowrun, Fifth Edition Core Rulebook
 
Shadowrun, Fifth Edition [Standard Edition] ($59.99)

There are cracks in the world. They’re slender, dark, and often cold, but they are the only things that keep you hidden. Keep you alive. They are the shadows of the world, and they are where you live.

You are a shadowrunner, thriving in the margins, doing the jobs no one else can. You have no office, no permanent home, no background to check. You are whatever you make yourself. Will you seek justice? Sow seeds of chaos? Sell out to the highest bidder? It’s up to you, but this much is certain—if you do nothing, the streets will eat you alive.

You can survive—even flourish—as long as you do what it takes. Sacrifice part of your soul for bleeding-edge gear. Push the limits of your will learning new and dangerous magic. Wire yourself into the Matrix, making your mind one with screaming streams of data. It’ll cost you something—everything does—but you can make it worth the price.

Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is the newest version of one of the most popular and successful role-playing worlds of all time—a fusion of man, magic and machine in a dystopian near-future. With rules for character creation, magic, combat, Matrix hacking, rigging, and more, you have everything you need to face the challenges of the Sixth World.

Note: All online orders have already begun to ship (including all three editions).

Cosmic Patrol: The Moon Must Be Ours!
 
The Moon Must Be Ours! ($24.99)

Since the founding of the Cosmic Patrol, the Moon Men have maintained an iron grip on the Moon, forbidding landing of any kind. Wielding the mind powers of dynamo-psychism, the Moon Men have posed a threat to humanity unlike any other. But no more! Mounting the largest invasion in the history of the Patrol, Director Roderick Dyson has given the order: “The Moon Must Be Ours!”

The Moon Must Be Ours! is a campaign book for Cosmic Patrol that puts players into the mysterious and dangerous domain of the Moon Men. Using a unique “choose-your-own-path” structure, players will navigate the massive maze of rooms and tunnels that the Moon Men have created in the sub-lunar surface. Robot! Goo Monsters! Moon Gorillas! Players will have to face them all to win victory for the Cosmic Patrol!

The following products have a Street Date of OCTOBER 9TH, 2013:

CAT35600_AlphaStrike_Cover_400wide
 
Alpha Strike ($39.99)

For centuries, the armies of the Great Houses have fought to reclaim the glory of the fallen Star League, sending regiments of their elite MechWarriors into battle across hundreds of worlds as humanity slid inexorably toward a new Dark Age. The coming of the Clans—descendants of the lost Star League army—did little to stem the slaughter.

It only raised the stakes.

Alpha Strike is a new, fast-playing form of the BattleTech game of futuristic, armored combat. Developed for the modern tabletop miniatures wargamer, this book brings players the ability to wage war on land, sea, and air using the Quick-Strike game system first devised for truly large-scale play, re-scaled to the tactical level of “classic” BattleTech. Complete with sample armies and a ready-to-play campaign system, all you need besides this book are dice, miniatures, and tabletop terrain to fight for control over the Inner Sphere on land, sea, and air—one world at a time!

Alpha Kit_Cover190wide
 
Alpha Kit ($14.99)

Tired of hunting for a specific table in a rulebook? Wish you had heavy-duty reference cards for Alpha Strike game play like that found in the Introductory Box Set? Then the Alpha Kit is for you!
The Alpha Kit contains several heavy-duty cards of compiled tables from Alpha Strike.

CAT35106Tech Kit_Cover_190wide
 
Tech Kit ($14.99)

Tired of hunting for a specific table in a rulebook? Wish you had heavy-duty reference cards for Total Warfare game play like that found in the Introductory Box Set? Then the Tech Kit is for you!

Also includes a brand new BattleMech blueprint poster!

The Tech Kit contains seven heavy-duty cards of compiled tables from TechManual.

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Strategic Kit ($14.99)

Tired of hunting for a specific table in a rulebook? Wish you had heavy-duty reference cards for Total Warfare game play like that found in the Introductory Box Set? Then the Strategic Kit is for you!

The Strategic Kit contains five heavy-duty cards of compiled tables from Strategic Operations.

Musketeers Expanion Pack
 
Musketeers Expansion Pack ($11.95)

Add your favorite characters from the Musketeers-Athos, Porthos, Aramis, D’Artangon, Richlieu, de Winter and Rochforte-to your game of The Duke!

Monday, August 26, 2013

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - A Changing Of The BattleTech Development Guard

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

A Changing Of The BattleTech Development Guard


Herb Beas is stepping down as the BattleTech Line Developer.

Herb has served long years, first as an assistant line developer and then almost five years as the Line Developer, adding immensely to the lore that is the BattleTech game and universe. His skills and dedication have helped swim the often-muddy waters of licensing, as well as wrap up the epic Jihad Era, flesh out the Dark Age Era and solidly start to prepare for what comes next.

Randall Bills will be stepping back in as an interim Line Developer, while Catalyst is already starting the process of looking for a new BattleTech Line Developer that will take on the task for the long term.
If any one is interested in stepping into that position, by all means, contact randall@catalystgamelabs.com and Catalyst will review your qualifications.

About Catalyst Game Labs

Catalyst Game Labs is dedicated to producing high quality games and fiction that mesh sophisticated game mechanics with dynamic universes-all presented in a form that allows beginning players and long-time veterans to easily jump into our games and fiction readers to enjoy our stories even if they don’t know the games.

Catalyst Game Labs is an imprint of InMediaRes Productions, LLC, which specializes in electronic publishing of professional fiction. This allows Catalyst to participate in a synergy that melds printed gaming material and fiction with all the benefits of electronic interfaces and online communities, creating a whole-package experience for any type of player or reader. Find Catalyst Game Labs online at www.catalystgamelabs.com.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - Production & Design Freelancers Wanted!

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

Production & Design Freelancers Wanted!

There are a lot of reasons to love Gen Con and not all of them are for the gaming. You get to meet up with old friends, see all the cool ideas people are coming up with and, of course, shmooze. Are you a production/layout/design expert and want to schmooze at Gen Con? Catalyst is looking to expand our corps of production freelancers!

We’re looking for people with a thorough knowledge of Adobe’s suite of production software – InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator – and with experience producing both short- and long-format projects. Knowledge of Catalyst’s game lines is necessary, primarily with our Shadowrun and BattleTech PDF-exclusive lines. A flexible schedule and ability to work independently are pluses, but we’re happy to train up and work with the right person.

If you’re interested, come and talk to Matt or Ray at Catalyst’s booth (#903). Please have a portfolio, resume or examples that you can leave with us – both digital or physical are fine.

Won’t be at Gen Con? No worries – you can submit a resume/portfolio digitally starting on Aug. 26 through Sept. 8. Simply email Matt and Ray at matt@catalystgamelabs.com and ray@catalystgamelabs.com.
Thanks a lot, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release - Catalyst at Gen Gon 2013

From the Catalyst Game Labs Website

CATALYST AT GEN CON 2013

As always, Catalyst Game Labs will be at Gen Con 2013 in force. In fact, this year we’re taking things to a whole new level!

THE SHADOWRUN RPG EXPERIENCE

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Dive into gaming in the Sixth World like never before as players step into the infamous Dante’s Inferno club in Seattle’s Sprawl. An 8-foot tall, 30-foot long banner creates an immersive 11 foot diameter room were you can learn Shadowrun, Fifth Edition and run the mean streets in the shadows of the megacorps.
Runs must be made by appointment only with our exclusive Dante’s Inferno concierge, and each player of the Shadowrun Experience will not only have memories of a run like no other, but will walk away with a free copy of the hard-back, full-color Sixth World Almanac sourcebook!

SHADOWRUN: CROSSFIRE

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The Year of Shadowrun continues beyond the RPG with our new adventure deck-building game.
    Shadowrun: Crossfire is a cooperative deck-building card game for two to four players set in the gritty, cyberpunk fantasy world of Shadowrun. Play a shadowrunner team and take on tough jobs such as protecting a client who’s marked for death, shooting your way out of downtown when a run goes sour, or facing down a dragon. In each game you’ll improve your deck with a mix of strategies while earning Karma to give your character cyber upgrades, physical augmentations, magical initiations, weapons training and Edge. Shadowrun: Crossfire includes an obstacle deck, black market deck, race and role cards, scenario cards, augmentation stickers, and personal missions that test a team’s allegiances.
Stop on by and play the Shadowrun: Crossfire Demo Box, a fast and fun experience of the full game coming out in the near future!
We’ll even be giving away complete Demo Boxes to Shadowrun players each evening in the Gaming Hall!

THE DUKEDOM

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“…this is one of the best abstract strategy games I have ever played.” 
—Tom Vasel (The Dice Tower)
Come play a larger-than-life version of The Duke with 18 inch tiles on a 10 foot x 10 foot board! Or sit down at one of several The Duke tables and give this fantastic tile-laying game a full try.
Anyone that purchases anything for The Duke (either the base game or any of its expansions) will walk away with the convention exclusive Specter tile!

ALPHA STRIKE

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BattleTech: Alpha Strike is a quick-playing tactical miniatures game that provides a whole new way to enjoy BattleTech, giving you thecomplete experience as a true miniatures game with fast, exciting game play!
Dive into the demo to let us show you how you can take fast-playing BattleTech to new levels of miniatures wargaming fun!

OTHER IN-BOOTH DEMOS

Don’t forget to check out our other great games—such as Leviathans, Balance of Power and Cosmic Patrol—that we’ll be demoing in-booth during all the hours the Exhibit Hall is open.

SHADOWRUN COSPLAY

Do you love Shadowrun Cosplay? Well stop on by our booth in Shadowrun cosplay* and get registered into our daily drawing. At 5:30 Thursday through Saturday we’ll draw one lucky winner’s name to walk away with a signed copy of the Shadowrun, Fifth Edition Standard Limited Edition!
*A minimum requirement of cosplay is needed; no just wearing a white-collar shirt and glasses and calling yourself Mr. Johnson.

FREE STUFF

We’ve got two different Shadowrun posters, as well as quick-start rules for our role-playing games, all for free…while supplies last.

THE GAMING HALL

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The Catalyst Demo Team will be running an avalanche of events for our awesome players.
We will have tons of Shadowrun Missions with Fifth Edition goodness, Cosmic Patrol for rockets, rayguns and robots, both BattleTech: Alpha Strike and BattleTech: Total Warfare for all your ’Mech destruction, and Leviathans for domination of the skies in an alternate 1910! We will also be showcasing our new Shadowrun: Crossfire deck-building game using the demo box, as well as The Duke, with tournaments for both systems.
For The Duke tournament, every participate will walk away with a new, unique tile they can use in any The Duke game—the Swashbuckler—while the winner will receive a Middle Ages Siege Engines Expansion Pack of 5 tiles (check out the free print & play for this great set)!
Finally, looking for pickup games after the Exhibit Hall closes? We will have all of our games available in the gaming hall to play with events starting up as soon as we have enough people to play a round.
Please peruse the Gen Con Event listings: www.gencon.com and sign in, or if you are signed in to Gen Con, click here.

NEW BOOKS/GAMES

As usual, a good chunk of the Gen Con experience is diving into the plethora of new games released just for the show. Below is what we hope to have for our various communities.
(As always, a few caveats: A. We are trying to get all of these items to the show, but there’s a chance some might not make it…simply the luck of the draw when trying to coordinate this many items through multiple printers for one shows; B: Some of these items are convention exclusives; C. Non-exclusive items won’t be available in-stores until a later time; once we have Street Dates for any items available to stores we’ll post updates with that data.)
In no particular order, the following are brand new to the show (or only recently released:
The Duke logo

THE DUKE ($35)

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The politics of the high court are elegant, shadowy and subtle. Not so in the outlying duchies. Rival dukes contend for unclaimed lands far from the king’s reach, and possession is the law in these lands. Use your forces to capture enemy troops before you lose the chance to claim the land for yourself.
In The Duke, players move their troop tiles around the board and flip them over after each move. Each tile’s side shows a different movement pattern. If you end your movement in a square occupied by an opponent’s tile, you capture it. Capture your opponent’s Duke to win!

CUSTOMIZATION TILES EXPANSION PACK ($10)


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Build your own Troop Tiles and conquer new lands for The Duke!

ROBERT E. HOWARD EXPANSION PACK ($10)

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Add your favorite characters from Robert E. Howard’s works—Solomon Kane, Kull The Conqueror, Dark Agnes de Chastillon, and Conan The Barbarian—to your game of The Duke!

MUSKETEERS EXPANSION PACK ($12)

Musketeers Expanion Pack
Add your favorite characters from the Musketeers—Aramis, Athos, Porthos, D’Aragnon, Richlieu, de Winter and Rochforte—to your game of The Duke!

ARTHURIAN LEGENDS EXPANSION PACK ($12)

Arthurian Legends Expansion Pack
Add your favorite characters from Arthurian Legend—Arthur, Guineviere, Merlin, Lancelot, Perceval, Morgana, Mordred and Fort/Camelot—to your game of The Duke!

ROBIN HOOD EXPANSION PACK ($12)

Robin Hood Expansion Pack
Add your favorite characters from Robin Hood—Robin Hood, Main Marion, Friary Tuck, Little John, Prince John, The Sheriff and Sir Guy—to your game of The Duke!
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SHADOWRUN, FIFTH EDITION (see prices below)

Shadowrun, Fifth Edition Core Rulebook
There are cracks in the world. They’re slender, dark, and often cold, but they are the only things that keep you hidden. Keep you alive. They are the shadows of the world, and they are where you live.
You are a shadowrunner, thriving in the margins, doing the jobs no one else can. You have no office, no permanent home, no background to check. You are whatever you make yourself. Will you seek justice? Sow seeds of chaos? Sell out to the highest bidder? It’s up to you, but this much is certain—if you do nothing, the streets will eat you alive.
You can survive—even flourish—as long as you do what it takes. Sacrifice part of your soul for bleeding-edge gear. Push the limits of your will learning new and dangerous magic. Wire yourself into the Matrix, making your mind one with screaming streams of data. It’ll cost you something—everything does—but you can make it worth the price.
Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is the newest version of one of the most popular and successful role-playing worlds of all time—a fusion of man, magic and machine in a dystopian near-future. With rules for character creation, magic, combat, Matrix hacking, rigging, and more, the core rulebook provides everything you need to face the challenges of the Sixth World.
Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is available in three formats (the content is identical):
SR5 Standard Limited EditionStandard ($60)
This is the standard, full-color, hardcover book that will be available in stores.
Standard Limited Edition [limited quantities] ($100)
  • Red bonded leather
  • Gold foil lettering stamp
  • Non-foil debossed dragon image on front cover
  • Gilded Gold Color edges on paper
  • Bookmark
Deluxe “Mayan” Limited Edition [extremely limited quantities] ($200)
SR5 Deluxe Mayan Limited Edition Slipcase
SR5 Deluxe Mayan Limited Edition
  • Red (dragon-texture) bonded leather
  • Gold foil stamp on cover
  • Printed on 100# paper (instead of the standard 80# )
  • Gilded Gold Color edges on paper
  • 2 bookmarks
  • 1 poster
  • 1 of 250 numbered page at front of each book
  • Red bonded leather slip case
  • Gold foil Mayan calendar with SR elements stamped front/back slip case

SPELL CARDS ($10)

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Everyone in the Sixth World wants to geek the mage first. Your job is to make sure that won’t happen by being faster, deadlier, and more powerful than they are. Shadowrun Spell Cards make spellcasting faster and easier, with easy-to-reference game statistics for 54 different spells. Grab a pack and use it to call down a whole hellstorm of mana when you need it most!
Shadowrun Spell Cards are for use with Shadowrun, Fifth Edition.

GEAR CARDS ($10)

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The right gun, the right vehicle, or the right piece of equipment can be the difference between life and death. Shadowrun Gear Cards provide quick reference to 54 different pieces of gear. Containing game stats and illustrations of guns, vehicles, drones, and more, these cards will help keep the game moving and make sure characters have what they need to come out on top.
Shadowrun Gear Cards are for use with Shadowrun, Fifth Edition.

SPRAWL WILDS ($20)

Shadowrun: Sprawl Wilds
You live in any sprawl long enough, you’ll find out that there’s a lot more to it than businessmen and soykaf stalls. Any sprawl worth its mettle has its dark corners, its forgotten places, its spots that are just as wild and untamed as the deepest rainforest.
Seattle, the prime metroplex in the world for shadowrunning, is filled with such places, and Sprawl Wilds gives shadowrunners a chance to tour them. From a fortress-like Barrens farm recovering from a mysterious attack to a dark secret hidden in a clinic, runners have a chance to see the sites most people never encounter, and uncover information that some people want to stay secret at any cost. They’ll meet jaded smugglers, wary police officers, passionate activists, hardened criminals, wounded warriors, and at least one deranged killer. The questions are, will they survive long enough to collect a paycheck—and how much of the sprawl will be nothing more than dust when they’re done with it?
Sprawl Wilds is a collection of Shadowrun Missions developed for major summer gaming conventions. These adventures have been adapted for both Shadowrun, Twentieth Anniversary Edition and Shadowrun, Fifth Edition, and they provide hours of shadowrunning goodness for experienced street veterans and new shadowrunners alike. With complete game information, including NPC stats, these adventures are poised to plunge players into urban chaos!

FIRING LINE ($20)

Shadowrunning can take you all sorts of different places and give you the chance to have all sorts of different guns pointed at you. Whether you’re exploring mysterious islands off the coast of Seattle, collecting bounties on the tightly guarded streets of Manhattan, or trying to survive the power conflicts of DeeCee, you’re likely to find yourself in trouble and in the line of fire. Because that’s where you’re paid to be.
Firing Line collects four Shadowrun Missions developed especially for the large summer gaming conventions, making them available for the first time to the gaming public. The adventures have all the statistics and game information needed for both Shadowrun, Twentieth Anniversary Edition and Shadowrun, Fifth Edition, meaning that a wide range of shadowrunners will have everything they need to dive into the adventures and get themselves in some high-paying trouble!
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ALPHA STRIKE ($40)

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For centuries, the armies of the Great Houses have fought to reclaim the glory of the fallen Star League, sending regiments of their elite MechWarriors into battle across hundreds of worlds as humanity slid inexorably toward a new Dark Age. The coming of the Clans—descendants of the lost Star League army—did little to stem the slaughter.
It only raised the stakes.
Alpha StrikeBattleTech game of futuristic, armored combat. Developed for the modern tabletop miniatures wargamer, this book brings players the ability to wage war on land, sea, and air using the Quick-Strike game system first devised for truly large-scale play, re-scaled to the tactical level of “classic” BattleTech. Complete with sample armies and a ready-to-play campaign system, all you need besides this book are dice, miniatures, and tabletop terrain to fight for control over the Inner Sphere on land, sea, and air—one world at a time!

ALPHA STRIKE AD HOC UNIT CARDS ($15)

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Alpha Strike is a new, fast-playing form of the BattleTech game of armored combat. Alpha Strike Ad Hoc Unit Cards includes 90 cards with the game stats players need to instantly take to the battlefield. Eighty of the cards reflect the Units listed in Alpha Strike, while 10 cards feature notable MechWarrior Units. Full color and laminated for dry erase use, you just need miniatures and you’ll be playing BattleTech like never before!
For use with BattleTech: Alpha Strike.

TECHNICAL READOUT: 3145 ($40)

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The great experiment that was the Republic of the Sphere has failed. Withdrawn behind the Fortress walls, the once-great power has become a silent, opaque remnant of its former glory. Without its influence, old hatreds have risen anew. As war once more rages across the Inner Sphere, new equipment strides across ancient battlefields. Technology, once stagnated by trade restrictions and peace treaties, now surges forward again, testing these new machines in the fierce crucible of war.
Technical Readout: 3145 introduces the latest wave of new battle armor, vehicle, ‘Mech, and aerospace units appearing in the Republic Armed Forces and across the Inner Sphere in the Dark Age era. Featuring new equipment described in Era Report: 3145 and Field Manual: 3145, this book brings players an update on the advancing technologies used in the battlefields of the thirty-second century.

FIRE FOR EFFECT: BATTLECORPS ANTHOLOGY VOLUME 4 ($15)

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A massive invasion fleet is destroyed almost to a man. Legions of soldiers, confident of victory, are cut down before they even reach the ground. Those that do make landfall are bombarded and shattered and rained with nuclear fire. Elsewhere, veterans long retired from combat are called back to duty by desperate times. Explorers comb unknown worlds for hints to explain deadly evils.
Seventeen stories of combat, honor, betrayal and death fill the pages of Fire for Effect: BattleCorps Anthology Volume 4.
Savvy readers will recognize now-familiar names in BattleTech lore among the authors: Steven Mohan, Jr., Kevin Killiany, Phaedra Weldon, Jason Schmetzer, Jason Hardy and Herbert Beas. These writers have shaped the direction of the BattleTech universe. In 2007, with these stories, they took the fictional storylines of the BattleTech universe to new and violent heights. Worlds rose and fell, and empires toppled. Armies of BattleMechs and fleets of WarShips fought and perished. And beneath all of it, the spidery tendrils of the Word of Blake sowed mistrust and conflict in every realm.
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THE MOON MUST BE OURS! ($25)

Cosmic Patrol: The Moon Must Be Ours!
Since the founding of the Cosmic Patrol, the Moon Men have maintained an iron grip on the Moon, forbidding landing of any kind. Wielding the mind powers of dynamo-psychism, the Moon Men have posed a threat to humanity unlike any other. But no more! Mounting the largest invasion in the history of the Patrol, Director Roderick Dyson has given the order: “The Moon Must Be Ours!”
The Moon Must Be Ours! is a campaign book for Cosmic Patrol that puts players into the mysterious and dangerous domain of the Moon Men. Using a unique “choose-your-own-path” structure, players will navigate the massive maze of rooms and tunnels that the Moon Men have created in the sub-lunar surface. Robot! Goo Monsters! Moon Gorillas! Players will have to face them all to win victory for the Cosmic Patrol!
2009 Leviathans Logo

SHIP QUIRKS/CREW ABILITIES DECK ($15)

The complexities of ship construction create unique design quirks that bring a flavor all their own to each leviathans. While the men and women that crew the airships bring their skills, passions and blood to elevate each vessel into legend. The Ship Quirks/Crew Abilities Deck are a series of positive and negative Ship Quirks, as well as Crew Abilities, that allow an easy, dynamic way for Leviathans players to bring their ships to life in a fun, different way every game.
For use with Leviathans.

AND MORE…

And if you think that list of books/games is awesome, we’ve got even more stuff for you to check out. Our usual new t-shirts, as well as some brand new items: shot glasses, clip boards, dice bags, thumb-drives, bags and more…all with our favorite game logos!
And there might even be a few more surprises when you hit the floor!
See ya soon for the best four days in gaming!