Project Phoenix (3067)
Sarna News
- This article is about the upgrade and redesign project from 3067. For the 3020 design project from the Federated Suns and for other uses, respectively, see Project Phoenix (3020) and Phoenix.
Contents
In the wake of the Unseen lawsuits, FASA discontinued the use of numerous BattleMech designs that had been with the game from the earliest days. These were thenceforth known as the Unseen. While FASA would not use their images anymore, their names, game stats and place within the universe lore remained the same.
Project Phoenix was a first attempt by FanPro (FASA's successor) to salvage the situation, by giving the 'Mechs a visual makeover that would allow them to visually feature again in new products, as the new art was substantially different from the earlier "unseen" artwork. In-universe this was explained as design evolution over the course of the timeline, so the new, redesigned did not retroactively supplant the Unseen but became their new appearance from that point onwards in the timeline. Fans referred to them as the "Reseen".
Description
In mid-3064, forces from the Marian Hegemony invaded the Circinus Federation but were inexplicably stopped cold. It was later found that an unknown agency, believed to have been the Word of Blake, had supplied the Circinian forces with at least four different BattleMech designs that were heavily modified versions of designs which had been in use for centuries. The place of manufacture of these 'Mechs was unknown.[1]
Subsequently, Giovanni Estrella de la Sangre, planetary governor of Demeter and CEO of Vicore Industries seized on this concept with his vast personal wealth and started to create similar evolution variants of the same and other 'Mechs, with yet more subvariants, that were equipped with cutting edge technology. To this end he cooperated with numerous other BattleMech manufacturers and aggressively marketed the redesigned and upgraded designs to the Capellan Confederation and the Free Worlds League in particular.[1] A summary in-universe report on this situation - the Technical Readout: Project Phoenix sourcebook - was provided by Tempest Stryker to Precentor ROM Victoria Parrdeau on 1 August 3067, and referred to the entire project as "Project Phoenix".[1]
Owing to the massive redesign of the 'Mechs, their outer appearance was significantly changed in most cases.