Technical Readout 3028

Technical Readout 3028: Know Thy Enemy
Product information
Type	Technical Readout
Development	Michael "Sigil" Todd
Primary writing	Michael "Sigil" Todd
Pages	134
Cover Artwork	credited to Harebrained Schemes and Justin Kase (back cover edited Map)
Interior Artwork	Harebrained Schemes, Florian "SpOoky777" Mellies, Justin Kase
Illustrations	Alex Iglesias, Justin Kase, Fernando "Odanan" Prado
Publication information
Publisher	(Fan work)
Product code	n/a
First published	2016
MSRP	n/a
Content
Era	Succession Wars era
Agency	ComStar
Universe Date	3028

The Technical Readout 3028, subtitled "Know Thy Enemy", is a fan-made PDF sourcebook for Harebrained Schemes' upcoming BattleTech video game.

Said video game uses the MechWarrior Online (MWO) 'Mech models instead of the canonical classic imagery or the re-imaged unseen, leading to substantial differences in the visual appearance of various 'Mech designs. Technical Readout 3028 was originally intended to showcase these designs as they would appear in the video game. However, the project outgrew that premise and included additional MWO-style 'Mechs, derivative Stinger and Wasp models, the apocryphal Linesman, and the purely fan-fictional Jayhawker, none of which will feature in the game.

A first preliminary work-in-progress version was offered for download in February 2016; the "final" version was released to the public on 23 November 2016.

Canonicity

Being entirely fan-made, the document itself is not canonical. The data provided for individual 'Mechs is broadly derived from canonical sources, but the flavor text occasionally strays into fan fictional details or, in a few cases, purely invented information with little basis in canonical fact. There are also anachronisms for the 3028 timeframe such as a Highlander in Gray Death Legion colors.

Description

Styled as an internal ComStar document dated 13 January 3028 according to its preface, Technical Readout 3028 includes

• Introduction
• Light BattleMechs
  • Flea
  • Locust
  • Stinger (Art by Justin Kase, derived from work by Alex Iglesias)
  • Wasp (Art by Fernando "Odanan" Prado, derived from work by Alex Iglesias)
  • Commando
  • Spider
  • UrbanMech
  • Firestarter
  • Jenner
  • Panther
• Medium BattleMechs
  • Assassin
  • Cicada
  • Blackjack
  • Phoenix Hawk
  • Vindicator
  • Centurion
  • Crab
  • Enforcer
  • Hunchback
  • Trebuchet
  • Griffin
  • Kintaro
  • Shadow Hawk
  • Wolverine
• Heavy BattleMechs
  • Dragon
  • Quickdraw
  • Rifleman
  • Catapult
  • JagerMech
  • Thunderbolt
  • Archer
  • Grasshopper
  • Warhammer
  • Black Knight
  • Marauder
  • Orion
• Assault BattleMechs
  • Awesome
  • Victor
  • Zeus
  • BattleMaster
  • Stalker
  • Cyclops
  • Highlander
  • Banshee
  • Atlas
  • King Crab
• The Marik Gunfighter (short story by Dustin Baker)
• New Designs and Prototypes
  • Raven
  • Wolfhound
  • JHR-X0 Jayhawker (a supposed Succession Wars era predecessor of the Bushwacker; not canon)
  • KPLT-K2 Katapult (this is effectively the CPLT-K2 Catapult, presented here as a different 'Mech under its established designation from the German edition of BattleTech because of conflicting sources regarding the popular CPLT-K2's availability in 3028)
  • Cataphract
  • Linesman (apocryphal predecessor to the Daboku/Mauler)
• "The Medium Laser" (A scientific lecture on laser weapon technologies as of 3025)
• Weapons Annex (A discussion of contemporary BattleMech weaponry, with stated ranges doubled over the normal boardgame scale of 30 meters per hex)

Technical Readout 3028 includes Design Quirks for all the 'Mechs it covers. Where available, Quirks were taken from canonical sources but in many cases they are derived from the written descriptions of the BattleMechs.

External links

• Download link
• Pertinent thread on the HBS BattleTech video game forum