Technical Readout: 3025

TR3025 Front Cover.jpg
Technical Readout: 3025
Product information
Type Technical Readout
Development L. Ross Babcock
Primary writing Shaun Duncan
Dale L. Kemper
Blaine Pardoe
Boy F. Peterson, Jr.
Anthony Pryor
Pages 200
Cover Artwork Dana Knutson
Illustrations David R. Deitrick
Dana Knutson
Duane Loose
Publication information
Publisher FASA
Product code 8603
First published 1986
ISBN-10 093178784X
ISBN-13 978-0931787843
MSRP $9.95
Content
Era Succession Wars era
Agency ComStar
Universe Date 05 June 3025
Series Technical Readouts
Followed by Technical Readout: 3025 Revised

Description[edit]

Technical Readout: 3025 was one of the first BattleTech sourcebooks ever, and the first that was not a scenario pack centered on an individual 'Mech company (four of which were published in the same or preceding year). A core game supplement as much as a universe sourcebook, it provided game attributes and fluff for the units included and general background details for the BattleTech universe, and would serve as a template for a whole series of similar books that was said to be one of the setting's best-selling product lines.

Framed as a publication by ComStar Publishing from the year 3025, the book provides detailed in-universe write-ups on 55 BattleMechs, 15 aerospace fighters, 3 LAMs, 4 DropShips and 12 combat vehicles including all 'Mechs, LAMs, and DropShips (but none of the aerospace fighters or vehicles) featured in the various boxed sets published until then, namely Battledroids/BattleTech, Second Edition, CityTech, and AeroTech.

Several minor, unmarked corrections and changes were made over time, see Editions below.

The MSRP was gradually increased from $9.95 to $12.00 (later editions of "third" printing, i.e. fourth printing) to $15.00 (later editions of July 1994 printing, after earlier editions were still $12.00).

The book was reissued and updated in 1996 as Technical Readout: 3025 Revised, which was in turn eventually superseded in 2009 by Technical Readout: 3039.[1]

From the back cover[edit]

"The most complete equipment reference book published to date"
-July 15, 3025
New Avalon Herald

This Technical Readout lists the capabilities and history of the most common pieces of military hardware used by the major houses of the Successor States in the year 3025. Focusing on BattleMechs and Aerospace Fighters, this volume also discusses important combat and support vehicles as well as the rare Land-Air-Mechs. In all, 55 'Mechs, 15 fighters, 3 LAMs, 4 DropShips, and 12 Vehicles are described and illustrated, making this volume a must for all, from historians to MechWarriors.

Contents[edit]

Printings and Changes[edit]

Technical Readout: 3025 had several print runs with various changes incorporated at different times, though these were not properly marked and the ISBN remained the same. As far as can be established, there were two printings in 1986, with the second printing apparently unmarked as such despite changes to the content, two different 1987 printings both marked as "Third Printing May 1987" in the imprint (one giving a MSRP of $9.95, the other of $12.00 technically marking it as a fourth printing), and two unnumbered "July 1994" printings, with the MSRP given as $12.00 and $15.00, respectively.

Besides a number of minor typographic errors that were corrected over time, known changes include:

  • In the first printing, the Battle History section for the Locust mentions a battle on Royal where the Federated Suns introduced an unsuccessful variant of the 'Mech with a PPC. The PPC variant reference was dropped from the second 1986 printing onwards and replaced by some more detail on the units involved.
  • The images going with the 35-ton Ostscout and 60-ton Ostsol 'Mechs were swapped in the first through third editions. Early copies of the third printing are nearly identical to the first edition with the Ostscout and Ostsol pictures swapped and a MSRP of $9.95. Later copies compound the Ostscout/Ostsol confusion by simply swapping pages 29 and 79. Now the Ostscout illustration appears on page 29 with the game statistics of the Ostsol while the Ostsol illustration appears on page 79 accompanied by the game attributes of the Ostscout. The Ostscout and Ostsol were finally fixed in the July 1994 printing.
  • The write-up for the Hatchetman initially mentioned two of the 'Mech's 14 heat sinks were mounted in the hatchet and a medium laser in the shaft; this was dropped in later descriptions where the hatchet was instead described as functionally a club. (At the time of publication, the hatchet rules did not exist yet.)
  • In the first printing, the Warhammer entry mentioned that the Lyran Commonwealth had placed extensively modified Warhammers in orbit of Tamar to serve as aerospace defense against incoming enemy DropShips in 3015; this passage was omitted in later printings.

Note that any content which was later omitted but not refuted technically remains canonical even though its veracity is uncertain.

Notes[edit]

  • The "Repair Installation" entry states that there is no standard 'Mech repair facility, but gives a description of features and equipment that they all have in common.
  • TRO:3025 set the standard for future TROs and was one of the better selling titles for (and gateway purchases into) BattleTech.
  • Though not revealed until the 'Introduction' page of Technical Readout: 3025 Revised, this original edition was (in-universe) published by ComStar Publishing on 5 June 3025.

Foreign-Language Editions[edit]

German[edit]

Hardware-Handbuch 3025.jpg
Hardware-Handbuch 3025
Product information
Language German
Contribution Reinhold H. Mai (Translation), Reinhold H. Mai and Hans Alpers (Editors)
Pages 200
Publication information
Publisher Fantasy Productions (1st and 2nd Edition), A to Z Printing and Publishing Inc. (3rd edition)
First published 1990 (1st Edition), 1994 (2nd Edition), 1994 (3rd Edition)
ISBN-10 3890649394
ISBN-13 4018522109398

The German edition, titled Hardware-Handbuch 3025, was released by Fantasy Productions in 1990 with two more editions both published in 1994. The translation was apparently based on the very first edition of the original book, retaining parts that later print runs of the original book had omitted but giving the correct images for the Ostscout and Ostsol. There were some other changes though (see below). The German version was printed in DIN A4 format, a standard European paper size which is a little larger than North American Letter size.

From the German back cover[edit]

The German back cover matches the original in text and design.

"...Hardware-Handbuch 3025 - das Standard Nachschlagewerk für jeden MechKrieger." New Avalon Herald vom 15. Juli 3025

Dieses Kompendium beschreibt die gebräuchlichen Waffensysteme der Nachfolgerstaaten des Jahres 3025, ihrer Eigenschaften und ihre Entwicklungsgeschichte. Im Mittelpunkt stehen BattleMechs und Luft/Raumjäger, aber auch die seltenen FLUMs sowie Landungsschiffe, Panzer und Unterstützungsfahrzeuge werden nicht vernachlässigt. Insgesamt umfaßt der Band Beschreibungen und Illustrationen von 55 Mechs, 15 Jägern, 3 FLUMs, 4 Landungsschiffen und 12 Fahrzeugen. Ein Muß für den Historiker und MechKrieger!

Alterations[edit]

The German edition received a number of small alterations, mostly regarding the setting, while the content was largely left unchanged:

  • The Table of Content was left out, instead a short list of respective units is given next to the abstract of a chapter. For this, the original's illustrations next to the abstract of a chapter (e.g., a Panther for Light 'Mechs) were removed.
  • FanPro changed many unit names, mostly into direct translations of their English names into German (see below). Due to this, and to maintain an alphabetical order, the units appear in a slightly different order.
  • The error with the swapped Ostscout/Ostsol illustrations/stats in earlier editions of original Technical Readout: 3025 is corrected in the German 3rd edition.
  • The unit images of Stuka and Packrat differ. Where the Packrat image was reworked (a black block was added in the background) the Stuka image was completely exchanged.

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 Archer BattleMech was renamed to Schütze, the planet Gotterdammerung was respelled to Götterdämmerung, the DCMS (Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery) became VSDK (Vereinigte Streitkräfte des Draconis-Kombinats), etc.

Spanish[edit]

A Spanish edition was published by Diseños Orbitales in 1990 as BattleTech manual de referencia técnica 3025.

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]