Battletech Technical Readout: 3055

Battletech Technical Readout

by Mike Nystul

In 3049, without warning, Kerensky's heirs set upon the Inner Sphere in a savage series of battles known collectively as the Invasion. On Tukayyid the Com Guards brought the seemingly unstoppable Clan war machine to a halt. The Invasion ended as suddenly as it had begun, and left in its place an uneasy peace. Both sides now had an opportunity to reassess their opponent's strengths and weaknesses and respond. By 3055, the first of a new breed of BattleMechs rolled off the assembly lines of the Inner Sphere, machines designed specifically to counter the technologically advanced weapons used by the Clans. Only time will tell if these new designs will be enough to turn the tide when battle is joined once again.

The BattleTech Technical Readout: 3055 contains illustrations, descriptions, and complete statistics for new Inner Sphere BattleMechs and Clan OmniMechs, OmniFighters, and second-line BattleMechs.

Genres: Gaming, Science Fiction, Role Playing Games

168 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1992

Reviews

[Garrett Henke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book when it first came out in the 90’s. I remember finding it in a bookstore in Albuquerque during a family vacation and I probably read it 10 times. I love Battletech, but this book isn’t as good as I remember. The mech designs are okay but the writing is not as interesting as I remember. The book almost reads, “Hey, tech manuals sell well! Let’s make a new one!” Still, the book is alright. If you’re playing a game in the clan invasion era it has some interesting stuff.

[Mark Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I met the group of friends that are still among my best friends via Battletech.

Until mid-7th Grade, lunch meant eating quickly, then heading outside seeking something to alleviate boredom and avoiding bullies. Then, one day, one of my (only) friends introduced me to these guys who stayed in all lunch, hunched at the end of a cafeteria table as though using their bodies as a wall to protect the bubble of fantasy that they were collectively creating. Some days the bubble contained D&D, but on that first day it was 25-100 ton, 2 inch tall war machines from a thousand-odd years in the future known as Battle Mechs.

I was hooked instantly.

It was a board game, but with infinite scenarios created by the players. It was a roleplaying game with a duration of one battle. It had a massive variety of pieces with various weapons, speeds, armor ratings, and special abilities and, if you weren't satisfied with the hundreds of options they provided, extensive, balanced rules for creating your own mechs.

The rules were extensive and, when using advanced optional rules, bordered on obsessive minutia but being a dysfunctional obsessive compulsive, I found learning them a delight. Unlike life, here there were clear-cut rules on how to do EVERYTHING!

The technical handout books not only contained dozens of mechs and vehicles, but each had its own history and backstory, as well as little personalized traits and quirks that had no effect on the game but made it all feel real, like commentary on how cramped the cockpits were for larger pilots or how awkwardly the control yokes were placed.

I don't know the state of the game currently aside from the nearly-direct computer port of this game that we always dreamed of finally coming out (just look up Battletech on Steam), but between the politically complex and interesting universe, detailed, comprehensive and seemingly balanced rules, and the relative speed of play, it filled a solid niche in our gaming schedule.

When the RPG came out (around college times for me) we even tried out a short lived mercenary game. Though we only got through a few sessions, it did send me on a month-long nostalgic binge re-reading the books and re-living a hundred battles fought in Middle and High School.