Technical Readout: 3050
Sarna News
- Bad 'Mechs - Thresher Mk II
- HEXTECH Wave 9 Review - Winding Rivers, Tall Walls, and Underground Tunnels
- Hired Steel and Making MechWarrior 5: Clans Cinematics with Constantin & Bernhard of TMC
- Your BattleTech News Round-Up For December, 2024
- Community Outreach - Caterwauling On CamoSpecs With Matt "00Dawg" Frederiksen
- Read more →
| |
| Technical Readout: 3050 | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Type | Technical Readout |
| Development | Sam Lewis Donna Ippolito (Senior Editor) Kent Stolt (Assistant Editor) |
| Primary writing | J. Andrew Keith Jim Musser |
| Pages | 240 |
| Cover Artwork | Jim Nelson |
| Illustrations | Joel Biske Jim Nelson Dana Knutson Steve Venters |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | FASA |
| Product code | 8614 |
| First published | 1990 |
| ISBN-10 | 1555600905 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1555600907 |
| MSRP | $18.00 |
| Content | |
| Era | Clan Invasion era |
| Timeline | 3051[1] |
| Series | Technical Readouts |
| Followed by | Technical Readout: 3050 Revised |
Contents
Description[edit]
A major step forward for the BattleTech tabletop game, the Technical Readout: 3050 introduced OmniMechs, a wealth of new variants for existing Inner Sphere BattleMechs, new technology and an entirely new unit type—Elementals, armored infantry brought along by the invading Clans.
The title became later affected by the Unseen issue, which resulted in the 1996 release of Technical Readout: 3050 Revised under the same product number with considerable changes to content. Eventually the title was replaced in 2007 with Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade which included all-new artwork, more units and adaptation to latest rule developments.
The German edition was published as Hardware-Handbuch: 3052 with altered content (see Technical Readout: 3050#German Edition below).
Table of Contents[edit]
- Introduction
- The Clans
- The Uncommon Common Enemy
- Rivalry
- Bidding
- Intent
- Nonmilitary Technology
- Organization
- Tactics
- OmniMechs
- Elementals
- Clan 'Mechs
- Dasher
- Koshi
- Uller
- Puma
- Dragonfly
- Fenris
- Black Hawk
- Ryoken
- Vulture
- Loki
- Thor
- Mad Cat
- Man O' War
- Masakari
- Gladiator
- Daishi
- Inner Sphere Response
- Production
- Technology
- Strategy
- Deployment
- Light 'Mechs
- Medium 'Mechs
- Heavy 'Mechs
- Assault 'Mechs
- Engineers' Tests
- Weapons
- Electronics
- Construction Materials
- Clan Pilots and Characters
- OmniMech Construction
- Outfitting an OmniMech
- Designing New OmniMechs
- OmniFighters
- OmniFighter Types
- Mounting Pods
- Designing OmniFighters
- BattleArmor
- Movement
- BattleArmor Under Fire
- BattleArmor Attacks
- "Mechanized" BattleArmor
- Non-Clan BattleArmor
- Tables
- BattleTech Rules Clarifications
Remarks on content[edit]
- The title comprises descriptions of 95 units in total, all from Clan Invasion era, all units or variants of already introduced units were previously unpublished. Furthermore it contains description and rule for new unit technologies and unit construction. It contains:
- 16 OmniMech designs,
- 79 BattleMech designs, and
- Technology for 'Mechs and Vehicles (weapons, equipment and construction materials).
- The in-character description of the title's contents is given by Adept XXI-sigma Merle Jimmus, ComStar, 8 February 3052
- Some content is not listed in the Table of Content:
- OmniMech (profiles of all included OmniMech units)
- BattleArmor Record Sheets (5 pages with, each containing 3x5 record sheets for Clan BattleArmor)
- Index
- The TRO:3050 used construction rules that are (somewhat inaccurately) called "Fractional Accounting", where 0.25 ton increments were used. Later construction rules would only allow 0.5 ton increment. As a result, the designs presented in this book had to be upgraded later to comply with the new rules. For instance, the Timber Wolf (Mad Cat) had its endo steel frame and XL engine mass increased by 0.25 tons each (to 4 and 19.5 tons from 3.75 and 19.25 tons, respectively) and to account for the mass increase; with the Prime variant, an ER small laser in the right torso was removed. For other variants and designs, a similar treatment may have been necessary.
Notes[edit]
- Copyright date of the first edition was 1989 on the back cover, 1990 in the indicia.
- Trademarked as BattleTech Technical Readout: 3050.
- The Revised Second Printing was also copyright 1990.
Foreign-Language Editions[edit]
German[edit]
| |
| Hardware-Handbuch 3052 | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Language | German |
| Contribution | Reinhold H. Mai (Translation & Editor), Dietrich Limper (Layout & Montage), André Helfers (Montage), Ralf Hlawatsch, Michael Immig, Silvia Jettkant (Copy-Editors), MechForce Germany (Technical Consultancy) and A to Z Printing & Publishing (Printing) |
| Pages | 260 |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Fantasy Productions |
| First published | 1994 |
| ISBN-10 | 3890649203 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-3890649207 |
Published by licensee FanPro, the German edition of Technical Readout: 3050 (TRO 3050) received major revamping, beginning with the title, which was changed to Hardware-Handbuch 3052. According to the imprint, additional texts from other sources (Technical Readout: 2750, Technical Readout: 3055, Wolf's Dragoons, Wolf Clan Sourcebook, ComStar and BattleTech Compendium: The Rules of Warfare were included. The German version is printed as DIN A4, a standard European paper size, which is a little larger then North American Letter.
Alterations[edit]
Table of Contents[edit]
The original content was restructured and expanded. Where the original TRO 3050 contains only BattleMechs, the German edition adds Clan OmniFighter designs from TRO:3055. The Table of Contents is vastly shortened and reads:
Einleitung (Introduction)
Clans
- Elementare (Elementals)
- OmniMechs
- OmniJäger (OmniFighter)
Freie Innere Sphäre (Free Inner Sphere)
- Leichte Mechs (Light Mechs)
- Mittelschwere Mechs (Medium Mechs)
- Schwere Mechs (Heavy Mechs)
- Überschwere Mechs (Assault Mechs)
Techdata
Strategische Informationen (Strategic Information)
Index
Additional, Altered and Missing Content[edit]
The German edition's most extensive addition is the inclusion of all OmniFighter designs from TRO:3055. The chapter Strategic Information provides additional insights on some Clan concepts, like Bidding, various forms of Trials etc., with content originating from Wolf Clan Sourcebook, on three pages. The last page contains an ad for MechForce Germany.
The chapter Techdata contains all content from original edition's chapter Engineer's Tests, but without any sub-chapter. The described equipment is simply sorted in alphabetical order, rather than functional groups. The original's Introduction is completely replaced by an alternative in-universe introduction, without being credited to a specific person or institution, given sometime after the Battle of Tukayyid, which explains the title alteration from 3050 to 3052. The weapon charts in German edition show all (at that time) available equipment, not just the new equipment presented. The BattleArmor record sheets are somewhat colloquially named Krötenbogen (Toad Sheet).
Spelling and Names[edit]
As with other German products prior to 1997 spelling and names (especially places and units) as well as most abbreviations were regularly adjusted. For instance the Mech unit Archer was renamed to Schütze, the planet Gotterdammerung was respelled to Götterdämmerung, the DCMS (Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery) became VSDK (Vereinigte Streitkräfte des Draconis Kombinats) and so on.
Spanish[edit]
A Spanish edition was published by Ediciones Zinco in 1994 as BattleTech manual técnico 3050: El retorno de Kerensky.
Covers[edit]
Original 1990 cover. Art by Jim Nelson.
1994 German edition.
1994 Spanish edition.
References[edit]
- ↑ Technical Readout: 3050, p. 46: The Outreach summit has happened but the Clans have not yet renewed their invasion
See also[edit]
Technical Readouts (TROs) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
