Bibliographical notes, editorial changes, extra rules and everything else!
Release dates:
Please note:
"author or illustrator tbd" = to be determined = not clearly marked in the article. If you know more, please let me know!
all record sheets created with Heavy Metal programmes, all BV = BV 1
'Mechs split up into three sections. BattleMechs encompass all "lvl1" or intruductory level units. The other units utilise more advanced materials, but are split into the two sections representing pre- and post- Succession Wars. Note that some units listed amongst the main BattleMech list were all but extinct during the SW era; they do, however, field technology found in the basic CBT boxed set. The exception is the Huntress, which is now, in fact, mounts advanced equipment. When BattleTechnology #14 was released, Thumper artillery was considered "lvl1", though. - I will sort this text into its appropriate subheadings once this TRO gets underway.
Unit selection:
Unlike TRO: StarDate, TRO: BattleTechnology does not present a comprehensive list of all units ever published. The 'Mechs presented here have to fulfil two criteria: A) have to have write-up, B) stats and C) an illustration. It is C) that disqualifies a great deal of units. These are:
et al
As you can see by the entries, I was extremely lenient in the selection process! Some (namely Whirlwind and Harrier) also almost fail the A) requirement because they were part of a scenario. Units that fail both A) and C) are:
et al
Finally, the Mantis LAM - BattleTechnology #__ strangely fails requirement B) and, to an extent, A). John Gammon produced a beautiful illustration for a story by _______ which featured this unit, but never supplied and detailed game information.
'Mechs:
Huntress: BattleTechnology #14, pp. 52-53, author Robert Benedetti, illustrator Jerry Cheadle. Part of an article SunZhang Academy Chosses "Most Perfect Assault 'Mech". The side torsos allocated 1 point too much armour to the front (33/10), moved one point to each leg.
'Mech quirk: (removal of three internal structure boxes) in the side torsos. Cut from 1st paragraph of "Capabilities". This buys additional space in the side torsos: allocate 18 critical slots; the Thumpers use up 15 of these, the bottom 3 are "Roll Again" slots. When modifying the 'Mech to this status, it is suggested returning it to its original armour specifications (side torsos 33/10, legs 25).
Suggested 'Mech quirk: This 'Mech is equipped with Tracks (Total Warfare, p. 143 and TechManual, p. 249) for free!
Note: Despite the HMPro sheet stating this to be a "Level 2", the Huntress actually only fields "Level 1" technology. However, artillery rules were lvl2 rules. Of course, with the introduction of Total Warfare and its additions, artillery is now considered an advanced rules supplement. Nevertheless, the table in TacOps, p. 405 states that it has an availability rating of C/C/C, meaning it was of use throughout the Succession Wars. This is why the Huntress is listed amongst the 3025 'Mechs.
Omega: BattleTechnology #14, pp. 50-51, author John Gammon, illustrator John Gammon. Part of an article SunZhang Academy Chosses "Most Perfect Assault 'Mech". Yes, Gammon was more of an illustrator than author. Nevertheless, his design absolutely rules. There was an LRM-10 listed among the Weapon allocation table (LA), but not in the weapon list or illustration. I ignored it.
Note: I translated this article (and doubled its length) for the MechForce Germany publication Terra Post #30. In that article, I did include the LRM variant (the LA lasers were exchanged for the LRMs) as the 137-B.
Note: The bottom picture was drawn by John Gammon as an inside-back cover illustration for BattleTechnology Special Edition: The Lost Issues.
Titan: BattleTechnology #11, pp. 56-59 and BattleTechnology #17, p. 43-49, author David Broussard, illustrator Jerry Cheadle.Yes, a lot of variants. These pose twofold uncertainty about the nomenclature of the various types, especially in the text.
Nomenclature I: The first question was about the tpye number. The title of the first article calls it the TI-1* Titan, every single other mention (be it text, stat block or Record Sheets, which BattleTechnology first published for the Titan design) name it the TIA-1*. Nevertheless, I chose the TI-1* designation to be in line with the new TRO: 3075, in which the Titan reappears as a Word of Blake 'Mech (with no major cosmetic changes!). Then, there is the question of the letter designation of the variants. The first text talks about the Star League variant; hence, I changed the type number to "TI-1A" in the 2nd paragraph of Overview. The second text is indeed titled "TIA-D Titan-D" and is very confusing! It talks about the "TIA-1D" yet then exactly describes the "TI-1AD". I changed that type number in the 1st paragraph of Overview.
Nomenclature II: The variants were not actually given type numbers. Considering that there are a total of 9 different Titans, I want to retrace my reasoning:
TI-1A - original designation
TI-1B - this number was erroneously given in the text; I used it for the basically unchanged Titan II, the projected production version
TI-1J - because the 3050 variants also had low letters, I decided to mark the jump jet variant with the obvious "J" letter
TI-1SS - the "Suicide Special" is designated for its nickname
TI-1AD - essentially the production version, this one is also set by the book
TI-1D - the pimped-out version is also named on pp. 44-45 of BT#17
TI-2D - an identical stat-block on p. 46 shows the minor ECM variant to be the only BT-TI-variant with a "2"
TI-1AG - almost as an afterthought, there are two additional variants on p. 44 of BT#17. These are true field upgrades. Since the stat-block of the TI-1AD on p. 47 calls it a "kit" (even though it is not), I decided to follow its example with these two true kits. The "G" was chosen for "gun", because this one focuses on PPCs - "TI-1AP" would have sounded too much like an anti-infantry variant.
TI-1AJ - the other field kit was given this number for the same reasons described above
Armor: The armor was changed slightly from the first to the second article, the side torso armour changing from 35/7 to a more sensible 32/10. After much deliberating, I chose to go with the original layout for the two (unspecified) field refits (-1AG & -1AJ).
Internal Placement: The jump jets of the -1J and -1AJ were put in the legs, to conform with the -1D and -2D. The Suicide Special was somewhat strange to recreate, the note about the SRM4 ammo made very little sense, until two side torso SRM4s were deleted and one CT SRM4 was added to rebalance it. 5 tons of SRM2 ammo, indeed... The reason for the strange Heat Sink allocation in the -1AJ becomes clear when viewing the -1AG - until recently, I would have put that third PPC into the LT. However, TRO: 3075 gives a nice pointer about better placement of the weapon and allows for a very nice bridge between the old apocryphal magazine design and the newest official Technical Readout. Thus, the Heat Sink placement is consistent amont -1AG and -1AJ.
Note: the picture of the Titan was reused in BattleTechnology #17, but as a title picture, with the the box featuring different text: "The Titan - A Great 'Mech Gets New Tech. The Titan-1A was our state of the art 'Mech in 3038. Now, with a retooling and redesign job, it's ready to take on the Clans!" - BattleTechnology #11 was the "January 3040" issue.
Vehicles:
AeroTech Units:
return to TRO: BattleTechnology
return to LosTech Cache