[SpardaSon21]

Or you could just skip the models and buy the novels.  Great way to get into the universe without blowing money on expensive models.  $70 USD will buy you about 7 or so paperbacks, depending on taxes, with some left over.  And the omnibuses are great deals with three novels for only $13.99.  If you want advice on specific novels, anything by Dan Abnett is awesome.  Watch out for ones written by C.S. Goto though.

[stuart133]

Yeah, read a few of them, they seem pretty good.

But the main thing is that I would like to get into playing, but if you know of any cheaper futuristic figure games, with a nice rich universe, feel free to post them, cheers.

[Thaeris]

I always thought the various Battletech series looked cool, especially beacuse of all the neat fighters available. I never found a good rulebook, though, so I never started picking up kits.

If you like Warhammer 40K but dislike large models, GW has a series called Epic 40K. Thus, you can have hordes of tanks, actually use aircraft on the board, etc. I have yet to see these in the hobby store, however. Buying them from Forge World would be pretty pricey, too. Still, this way you'd get a lot more "bang" for the buck, so-to-say, and not have to fill a corner of the room with large, easily damagable miniatures. Now, they're small, damagable miniatures! 

[SpardaSon21]

Doesn't Epic include Titans?  Those can get a bit pricey...

[Thaeris]

A "normal"-sized titan would be even more so. 

[NGTM-1R]

You want cheap? Download MegaMek. It's free, you play Classic BattleTech online. Win. Or just play Classic Battletech with a counters instead of minis. As long as you bought and read the rule books, nobody will give a crap. For that matter, the novels for CBT are definitely better than the stuff Black Library turns out.

Regarding 40k Black Library stuff: it's usually not very good. Abnett cannot be trusted with a series of novels either, so avoid the Gaunt books. I do recommend the Cain books, Brothers of the Snake, the Grey Knights trilogy which hasn't been collected for some reason, and Titanicus if it's out in paperback yet.

Talking of 40K, I was thinking of getting into it, any recommendations on armies, first purchases. BTW I have played a lot of figure games, and am a fairly experienced war gamer in general.

If you're used to games of a fairly high level of similarity to modern tactics, Imperial Guard or Tau is probably a good choice. (I have a custom-built IG light armor unit because they won't let me play Tau anymore. :/ Too many games of Steel Panthers made me good at the right style of fighting.)

Most new players start off with Space Marines but they rarely keep them for some reason. They're certainly forgiving with their armor save.

Buy your guys off ebay rather than from GW, the market is glutted and ebay is ****loads cheaper. Possible exception with the new IG plastic dudes. If you want a certain style of guy reliably (somebody here assembled several entire squads of Space Marines with the "beakie" helmet) the ebay is definitely your best bet.

[chief1983]

Well there's also Assault Tech 1: Battleteck for a Mechwarrior 2 clone, but I forget if someone mentioned it in this thread.

In case someone did, I'll make this not completely redundant (I hope) by mentioning Battleships Forever.  If you haven't played it, you're missing out.

[mxlm]

Regarding 40k Black Library stuff: it's usually not very good. Abnett cannot be trusted with a series of novels either, so avoid the Gaunt books. I do recommend the Cain books, Brothers of the Snake, the Grey Knights trilogy which hasn't been collected for some reason, and Titanicus if it's out in paperback yet.

Dude, The Inquisition War. Best 40k, no question (admittedly, I've only read maybe a dozen BL novels, but still). Also The Vampire Genevieve. Why these two? Well, 'proper authors': Ian Watson and Kim Newman, respectively.

[NGTM-1R]

Haven't read that. And I selected the books I did mainly because I like the concept of "case study". Cain books are just good, and frequently amusing. Titanicus is a look at the life of Titan crewman and the Mechanicus in general. (Please ignore the shaggy dog story about Samstag, but do note the chapter numbering, which is in Binary.) Brothers of the Snake is a good look at the life of a Marine from before Abnett got Protection From Editors +2.

I'll second the comment about C.S. Multilaser Goto though.

That said, with folks like Loren L. Coleman, Micheal Stackpole, and others of similar calibur running about in Classic BattleTech, there's really no contest.

[mxlm]

I really liked Victor Milan's stuff. Though I haven't read his MW:DA novels.

[SpardaSon21]

NGTM-1R, the earlier Ghost novels were written before Brothers of the Snake.  Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[NGTM-1R]

That's actually disturbing, considering how poor some of them are in comparison.

[stuart133]

I quite enjoyed the Gaunt novels actually, especially the sabbat worlds crusade ones.

[mxlm]

I liked the Gaunt novels. For a bit. By the time I was halfway through the second omnibus I'd had more than my lifetime's allotment of Gaunt, and gave both omnis to some charity or other and pretty much wrote off Dan Abnett. Incredibly repetitive.

[BloodEagle]

Strange threadjack is strange.

On that note: Link*.

*I take no responsibility for any and all psychological damage that you will receive from viewing that. By the way, it might not be SFW.

[mxlm]

Bumped because I want PC game recommendations, specifically for multiplayer games. I don't necessarily care about the genre or age but I do (duh) care if it still has an active playerbase (I just got Demigod. I like it. No one plays it. I've never seen more than five games in the lobby at once).

[The E]

Off-Topic: mxlm, you know that that was supposed to be a SECRET? Not everyone here has Laundry access, you know.

[mxlm]

They will soon. Or else.

[MR_T3D]

Bumped because I want PC game recommendations, specifically for multiplayer games. I don't necessarily care about the genre or age but I do (duh) care if it still has an active playerbase (I just got Demigod. I like it. No one plays it. I've never seen more than five games in the lobby at once).

battlefield anything.
can't go wrong, still good player bases, though BF2 has the BIGGEST one.

[Leeko]

How about free games? I'm bored...

DWARF FORTRESS.