Editing Vaporware

:''(For a general definition of the term, see the'' [[w:Vaporware|Vaporware]] ''article on Wikipedia.)''
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In the context of [[BattleTech]], "'''Vaporware'''" is a term generally used by fans to describe a product that, although announced or otherwise expected, failed to materialize to the point where it is considered an abandoned project.

Known cases of BattleTech-related vaporware include (in alphabetical order):
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==2019 Crowdfunding Campaign stretch goals==
Over the course of the [[2019 Clan Invasion crowdfunding campaign]] multiple items were announced that would become Vaporware, either due to stretch goals and their items being reworked during or after the campaign in response to backer consultation or production difficulties encountered due to unexpected scale of the campaign:

===Berserker Lance===
The Berserker Lance was originally billed as being a Lance Pack that would be available for selection as a reward or add-on if the campaign hit the stretch goal of US$750,000. The planned contents of the pack were listed as a ''[[Scarabus]]'', ''[[Firestarter (OmniMech)|Firestarter]]'' OmniMech, ''[[Axman]]'', and ''[[Berserker]]''. The $750,000 stretch goal instead became the [[BattleTech: Inner Sphere Heavy Battle Lance|Heavy Battle Lance]], which still contained the ''Axman''.

===Clan Light Fire Star===
The Clan Light Fire Star was originally billed as being a Star Pack that would be available for selection as a reward or add-on if the campaign hit the stretch goal of $675,000. The planned contents of the pack were listed as a ''[[Howler]]'', ''[[Solitaire]]'', ''[[Incubus]]'', ''[[Pack Hunter]]'' and ''[[Horned Owl]]''. The $675,000 stretch goal instead became the [[BattleTech: Clan Striker Star|Clan Striker Star]], which still contained the ''Incubus'' and ''Horned Owl''; the ''Howler'' and ''Pack Hunter'' were reassigned to the [[BattleTech: Clan Ad Hoc Star|Clan Ad Hoc Star]].

===Clan Pursuit Star===
The Clan Pursuit Star was originally billed as being a Star Pack that would be available for selection as a reward or add-on if the campaign hit the stretch goal of $350,000. The planned contents of the pack were listed as a ''[[Fire Falcon]]'', ''[[Arctic Cheetah]]'', ''[[Hellion]]'', ''[[Battle Cobra]]'' and ''[[Black Lanner]]''. The $350,000 stretch goal instead became the [[BattleTech: Clan Support Star|Clan Support Star]] (which had itself originally been the $550,000 stretch goal, and was replaced in that spot with the [[BattleTech: Clan Heavy Star|Clan Heavy Star]]), which retained the ''Arctic Cheetah'', ''Battle Cobra'' and ''Black Lanner''. The ''Fire Falcon'' and ''Hellion'' were reassigned to the Clan Ad Hoc Star.

===MechWarrior Pilot Decks - Battle of Tukayyid, Mercenaries of the Inner Sphere I and Warriors of Kerensky II===
Announced as part of the Kickstarter, MechWarrior Pilot Decks contained cards featuring art and pilot background descriptions of backers to assist in fulfilling the [[Canon]] Character pledges offered as part of the campaign. With an estimated 2,780 characters generated from the campaign, the wildly unexpected popularity of canon character pledges resulting in the expansion from the originally announced two decks (''[[MechWarrior Pilot Deck: Champions of the Inner Sphere I]]'' and ''[[MechWarrior Pilot Deck: Warriors of Kerensky I]]'') with a further three decks (''Battle of Tukayyid'', ''Mercenaries of the Inner Sphere I'' and ''Warriors of Kerensky II'') slated to appear in the second wave of campaign delivery. Additionally an another unannounced deck (''[[MechWarrior Pilot Deck: Mercenaries of the Inner Sphere II]]'') was also created as a "thank you" gift to help offset shipping costs with split two wave campaign delivery.

Unfortunately the sheer scale of the custom backer art for the decks required would impact their completion. While the Wave 1 Pilot Decks were completed and shipped, the additional Wave 2 decks could not be completed in the time available, resulting in Catalyst Game Labs taking the best 55 cards completed for those decks and producing one single new deck (''[[MechWarrior Pilot Deck: Heroes of the Clan Invasion]]'') issued to those who selected any of the Wave 2 decks along with CGL store credit for the value of the unproduced decks and a promise they would be hopefully revisited in the future.<ref name="kickstarter_update_178">''Kickstarter: Battletech: Clan Invasion'', "Update 178: Faction Dice, Pilot Decks, and Remaining Digital Items"</ref>

===Camospecs: A Unit Art Manual===
Part of the $2,000,000 stretch goal incentives, The Camospecs Unit Art Manual was described as including "a variety of paint schemes for various combat commands from the various factions, appropriate to each design, along with text discussing those details." Unfortunately the project would prove to be far more work than CGL had anticipated, opting to ensure the completion of the six issue [[CamoSpecs Online: A Guide to Faction Paint Schemes]] and cancelling this item on 1 January 2023.<ref name="kickstarter_update_184">''Kickstarter: Battletech: Clan Invasion''. "Update 184: Clan Invasion Digital Content Update"</ref>

==BattleCorps stories==
[[BattleCorps]] did not usually announce publications beforehand. The exception were serialized stories and multipart story cycles, and a number of early projects remain unfinished. This led [[Jason Schmetzer]] to announce that he would not purchase unfinished or incomplete multipart stories after taking over as managing editor.

Unpublished (or unfinished multipart) BattleCorps stories or serials include:

===''A Distant Thunder''===
A multipart serial, ''[[A Distant Thunder]]'' did not continue beyond part 2 which ended on a cliffhanger.

The story's protagonist unit, the [[Langford Wraiths]] [[mercenary unit]], also featured in the BattleCorps story ''[[The Gambit in Dream]]'' (which essentially narrated how the unit originally formed), and [[Dags Honor]] featured as a minor character in ''[[Epaulet Mate]]''. Snippets of information about later events can be gleaned from [[Jihad era]] sourcebooks, especially ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: 3070]]''. They suggest the unit had a run-in with the [[Word of Blake]], suffered hardships and injuries, and lost their integral [[DropShip]] ''[[Elizabeth (Individual Leopard-class DropShip)|Elizabeth]]'' before fleeing back to the [[Inner Sphere]] on another DropShip by 3070.

===''Machine Nations''===
Originally announced as the sixth story in the [[Proliferation Cycle]], ''Machine Nations'' was supposed to tell the story how the [[Capellan Confederation]] first obtained [[BattleMech]] technology. Announced for publication circa June 2005, it was never published.

It was later explained that a first draft of the story had been submitted by [[Loren Coleman]], but was rejected for fact-checking/continuity issues<ref name="BCN">BattleCorps news item [http://www.battlecorps.com/BC2/news.html?article=629 "At Long Last... the Proliferation Cycle"] (dead link)</ref>; the story as written could not be salvaged.

On 7 May 2011 an announcement in BattleCorps' [[BattleCorps#News section|"General" news section]]<ref name="BCN" /> proclaimed that ''Machine Nations'', "a title without a story", had been consigned to history and that Jason Schmetzer had written a new story (''[[The Spider Dances]]'') in its place to conclude the Cycle.

===''To Serve the Dragon''===
Although announced as a multipart serial, only the first part of ''[[To Serve the Dragon]]'' (by [[Loren Coleman]]) was ever published.

==BattleTech: Gray Death Legion==
A video game for the [[w:Sega CD|Sega CD console]] that was partially written in 1993/1994 but never released as the developer, Absolute, went under. An Alpha build demo version of this otherwise lost game exists.<ref>[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6uktZeUkqBc Youtube video] of Alpha build</ref><ref name="BT:25YoAaF">''BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction'', p. 255</ref>

==Black Magic Battalion==
According to FASA order forms and also a [[MFUK]] publication<ref>According to [http://www.classicbattletech.com/forumarchive/index.php/topic,13027.msg298727.html#msg298727 this posting] (dead link) on the CBT Forum (archived) by user 'Dark Jaguar': "''I don't know if its of any interest to you (or even if its true) but the MFUK handbook stated that Fasa 1628 was a Comstar book never published and that another unpublished one was going to be called The Black Magic Battalion presumably as 1658.''</ref>, FASA announced a product called "Black Magic Battalion", presumably to be written in the fashion of previous scenario packs detailing a particular military unit. An order form dated August 1988 lists it with product number 1653.

Another price list "Prices effective August 1, 1988"<ref>See [http://www.classicbattletech.com/forumarchive/index.php/topic,67717.msg1621480.html#msg1621480 this] (dead link) posting on the CBT Forum (archived) by user 'Jal Phoenix': "''1658 doesn't appear anywhere on any of the order forms I have. Here the Black Magic Battalion reference for those who are interested, from an order form dated "Prices effective August 1, 1988". Note that its number was reused for the House Davion book.''</ref> refers to this product with product code #1623, which was later used for ''[[House Davion (The Federated Suns)]]''.

==Blackthorne BattleForce Comics #3==
[[Blackthorne BattleTech (Comic series)#BattleForce - Small unit actions in the 31st century|Blackthorne's BattleForce Comic series]] was intended as a three-part story, named in accordance with the three lances of the protagonists' unit (Dog, Sheep and Goat lance) "The Hungry Dogs", "Black Sheep" and "Sacrificial Goats".

Although announced with the title "Sacrificial Goats" in the second issue of this comic series, the third part was never released, leaving the story arc incomplete.

Fan speculation suggests that the conclusion of the story would have shed light on one of BattleTech's mysteries, namely how the [[Magistracy of Canopus]] came into possession of new war matériel and technologies around 3025; others have pointed out that this may be unintentional. (The storyline is about the [[Federated Suns]] and [[Capellan Confederation]] fighting over [[Tibolt]], an unmapped [[periphery]] world beyond their shared border that holds a BattleMech cache and an unspecified other, yet more valuable secret. Although the Magistracy is not mentioned in the published stories, the description of Tibolt suggests that it may lie within that periphery state's borders, or at least very near it. The speculation is that the Magistracy may have ended up in possession of the planet and its prizes after the Federated Suns and Capellan Confederation forces fought each other to a standstill there.)

==ComStar sourcebook==
Listed in a July 1987 FASA order form and in store adverts in gaming magazines ([[w:White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]] #102; Games Review #1, October 1988; also mentioned as an upcoming product in [[Future Wars]] #22) around 1988 as FASA product #1628, this sourcebook allegedly was a report on [[ComStar]] in the fashion of the House Book series, detailing the order around the year [[3025]]. (A different [[ComStar (sourcebook)|ComStar sourcebook]], FASA product #1655, was published in 1992 with a different cover, unrelated to the older Housebook series and in-universe set in the 3050s.)

The ComStar Sourcebook may be the most prominent example of BattleTech vaporware. Some people claim to have seen (or even held in their hands) a physical copy around ca. 1989 in shops in England, Canada and the US, describing it as "''a Housebook style Comstar book'' [...]''. It had the dark blue cover of a house book with the embossed emblem of Comstar and on the back it had the shiny monocolor Comstar logo''" and as "''house book sized but about half as thick''". This started a massive research thread on the [[CBT Forum]]<ref>In [http://www.classicbattletech.com/forumarchive/index.php/topic,67717.0.html this thread] (dead link) (archived)</ref> which, however, failed to turn up conclusive proof that such a book existed.

Over the course of the thread, [[Line Developer]] [[Herbert A. Beas II]] explicitly said that the [[Catalyst Game Labs]] offices should have everything ever printed for BattleTech archived, but did not have that book; he concluded the book did not exist as an official product, though he also said that it was impossible for him to positively rule out its existence. On the theory that copies of a preproduction run exist, he explained {{quote|''that pre-release runs were pretty much a financial impossibility back in those days. When I came on board in 1995, FASA was just coming into the computer age for product design. In the late 80s, they were still performing layout by physically cutting and pasting pages together, and doing Honest to Cat typesetting. Those processes were tedious and more expensive in terms of time and manpower than what we have today with electronic methods. Print runs had to be large in order to have a chance of making profit at a per-unit rate. Print on Demand simply did not happen then, and short runs were seen as suicidal. This would suggest (to me) that the warehouse would thus have had a HUGE stockpile of leftover copy, and thus our archives should have had samples to draw from. Yet we cannot find any.''}}

The author of the sourcebook that was published in 1992, [[Blaine Pardoe]], commented in the thread:
{{quote|''It's been a while - but I "may" be able to shed some light as the author of the original ComStar Sourcebook.'' [...]<br />''I never saw an official other sourcebook - if it was in the works at the time, [[Sam Lewis (person)|Sam Lewis]] would have been all over me about it given the agonies associated with the first one.<br />A few months back someone contacted me about this subject via eMail.  He claims that he has a sourcebook on ComStar but it was not a FASA product.  I never saw it...but it's possible that some sly dogs were out there doing their own little underground product.  I saw one once on eBay which was lifted from the series of articles I wrote in ''Stardate'' magazine - someone had bundled them together and was selling it as a "sourcebook." ''[...]<br />''You have to be VERY careful with attempting to match up the FASA catalog numbers with reality. There were gaps, cancelled products (Like one I wrote for the Crimson Hawk's which appeared for six months worth of catalogs then evaporated with fan interest).<br />Not to mention that in the backs of some of the novels, those little surveys you filled out, had some glaring errors. I guy approached me at a con four years ago with a patch for Clan "Sea Wolf" or something crazy like that. At first I thought he was on drugs but he told me it was the mysterious missing clan. He showed me the back of one novel survey where you could select your favorite faction...and there it was.<br />This guy was very nice but believed he had stumbled onto the lost ark or some sinister secret. He had even written up a history for them and designed a patch logo. I told him it had to be a print mistake, but he swore he had found something we had hidden. I'm sure tonight a bunch of you are going through and checking -- when someone find it, post it.<br />I think this mythical ComStar Sourcebook (snipe) you are chasing is probably just a rogue printed copy of some fan generated material.<br />Blaine "Buck" Pardoe''}}

Artist [[David R. Deitrick]], who had been working on the other House Books, and BattleTech author [[William H. Keith, Jr.]] were contacted by fans, but neither could recall a ComStar book prior to Pardoe's 1992 sourcebook.

Game designer [[Michael Mulvihill]] answered:
{{quote|''My name is Mike Mulvihill and act partly as [[Jordan Weisman|Jordan]]’s historical reference man and game designer, having worked with him for 20+ years.<br />While I wasn’t at FASA during late 80’s. I was there just a bit later and could give you a bit of perspective.<br />I believe there was a Comstar book advertised in the late 80’s, as you have indicated by your research, that would have been in the format of the House books. It was never produced. There are three main reasons I can think for this:<br />1) There were 5 “core” sourcebooks produced in 1988. That was a huge undertaking for a company that at that time had 2 other games going strong ([[w:Renegade Legion|Renegade Legion]] & ''[[w:Star Trek: The Role Playing Game|Star Trek]]'']). The ability to maintain that schedule is the reason why in the early days books appeared out of their numerical order (as you also noted, for instance 1627 appearing before 1622 and 1623). They would create a schedule and move things around as time permitted. Thus you would see an advert for a book that may not be out for a year or so – in other words the schedules we very malleable.<br />2) In 1989 a 4th game was added to the FASA schedule: [[Shadowrun]]. That is why the releases from 1989 consist of many less sourcebooks – the FASA team was spread too thin to maintain 6 “core” BT products and try to do a full RPG at the same time. In 1989 they only released 2 sourcebooks and a Tech Readout. In 1990 they only released 1 sourcebook and 1 Tech Readouts. As you can see that a spiral condition would occur as a book that missed its date may continue to slip – some for a long time – if a more current product replaced it.<br />3) BattleTech was unique in that it had a awesome timeline driven by the novels. The BattleTech team would gather twice a year for a summit to go over the novels and master plots for the year and what game product would enhance the stories. If something did get bumped like the Comstar book, it may just end up not being relevant again until the novels that focus on Comstar come back around or a novelist proposes using it. It would get replaced with more immediate and concurrent products.<br />So while that explains why Comstar didn’t exist – it doesn’t tell you how people may have remembered seeing a product.<br />My explanation is FASA was great at crafting adverts and teasers that would look like regular books. They used to create sneak peeks brochures that put the rest of the industry to shame: 8-16+ page brochures that would feature original fiction or short stories, full color art and even items you couldn’t get in the regular source material. These were coveted by stores and fans for hints of the future plot lines, new ’mechs to use and other cool stuff. I know I worked on many of these while I was there.<br />I’m going to assume this is what was seen in the stores. It would be the reason why you got an out of stock reference when you actually checked on the book for sale. FASA would not cancel the product, just say it was running late but it will be coming out. The stores would just list it as out of stock or unavailable.<br />To sum up there was only one Classic BattleTech Comstar book in 1992 (#1655) – why they changed the number from 1628 to 1655 I can only guess at: a) that FASA/stores/distribution probably had cleared the old number out of their systems b) it had been listed as permanently as OOS/Unavailable c) that the name of the book and the focus had changed enough that it would confuse 1992 level software systems d) they wanted it to fit with the currently released product numbers.<br />I hope this helps answer your question.<br />Have Fun!<br />Play Games!<br />Mike Mulvihill''}}

The FASA product code 1628 was not taken for another product, and remains blank. (Around 1987 it is also said to have appeared in FASA catalogues for a miniatures set that may or may not have been what was released as product #1633, ''[[PlasTech]]''.)

A Japanese website<ref>[http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www003.upp.so-net.ne.jp/Irregulars/english.htm&ei=zij4S8LEBcH68AbP8sjKCg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CDEQ7gEwBw&prev=/search%3Fq%3DFASA%2B1628%2BComStar%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DhUu%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official Japanese website translation link]</ref> lists it with the comments "Not Available. There are rumors that there is a pre-version."

==Eridani Light Horse scenario pack==
In 1993, FASA received a novel pitch about the [[Eridani Light Horse]] [[mercenary unit]]. Although the novel draft was rejected, it was suggested to the author that he should write a scenario pack instead on spec (i.e. with FASA reserving the right to accept or reject the project after receiving the complete script). They received the script and exchanged letters with the author until 1996, without either expressly accepting nor rejecting his submission. The project remained unfinished.

Parts of the script, namely the revised section detailing the unit's history, were uploaded to an unofficial fan website at some point. This website was subsequently adopted by [[WizKids]] in 2001 as the official BattleTech website. WizKids was apparently unaware at the time that the Eridani Light Horse history as presented on the now "official" BattleTech homepage came from an unpublished script, as opposed to an official publication. (It is worth noting that this time period was immediately after FASA had closed its doors and transferred the BattleTech IP to WizKids who would launch the new [[MechWarrior: Dark Age]] game in 2003 while what was now "[[Classic BattleTech]]" was later sublicensed to [[FanPro]].)

The author subsequently argued that his history as written by him had been officially adopted as BattleTech canon, by being published through a now-official channel. This resulted in the content in question being removed from the webite in 2005, which in turn eventually led to the [[Eridani Light Horse lawsuit]] where the author claimed that he now co-owned the BattleTech setting because of his contribution to its shared history. The lawsuit was dismissed and the fiction piece in question whas declared noncanonical.

==Explorer Corps Campaign Set==
Around 1993, FASA planned to expand the BattleTech line through exploration of the unknown peripheries. This was envisioned as a new product line, complete with its own line of 'Explorer Corps' novels; the core product was going to be a boxed set called the "Explorer Corps Campaign Set" as announced in the [[1993 Update Flyer]].

The idea was dropped, however. The boxed set was reduced to a sourcebook released in 1996 (the ''[[Explorer Corps (sourcebook)|Explorer Corps]]'' sourcebook, FASA #1681) and only one Explorer Corps novel, ''[[Far Country]]'', was published, with its storyline somewhat altered from what the teaser/summary provided in the 1993 Update Flyer had announced. ''Far Country'' author [[Peter Rice (person)|Peter Rice]] had initially been contracted to write at least two Explorer Corps novels but FASA canceled the contract.<ref>According to the secondhand account of a person who spoke to him; the original forum posting was lost in a forum crash, but it was archived here on BTW at [[Talk:Far Country#Archived forum thread]].</ref>

== Historical: Brush Wars II ==
Mentioned in a Battlechat by then-Lead Developer Herbert Beas, ''Historical: Brush Wars II'' would have been a second volume to ''[[Historical: Brush Wars]]'' with content from the pre-[[Jihad]] era. ''Historical: Brush Wars II'' was [http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=50379.msg1201849#msg1201849 confirmed to be Vaporware in April 2016]; it was also confirmed that ''[[Historical: Wars of the Republic Era]]'' was originally pencilled in to be ''Historical: Brush Wars III''.

{{Quote|I see a Battlechat transcript where Herb mentioned a Brush Wars II with all pre-jihad, but I haven't heard anything about it lately.|Catalyst Game Labs forum user nckestrel, 06 April 2016}}

{{Quote|Vaporware. Wars of the Repiublic Era was supposed to be BW III.|Herbert Beas, former Line Developer, in response to nckestrel, 06 April 2016}}

As of 2020, Catalyst Game Labs announced that they would rebrand the products for republication in a print-on-demand format as originally intended.

==Knights of the Inner Sphere==
In issue 10 of [[Mech (magazine)|Mech Magazine]] (Q2 1993) [[FASA]] announced a contest to submit fan entries for [[Knights of the Inner Sphere]] characters, for an upcoming sourcebook. The stated intent was to provide full [[MechWarrior: The BattleTech Role Playing Game, Second Edition|MechWarrior, 2nd Edition]] statistics and write ups for each of the 150 Knights. Entrants were restricted to [[MechForce North America]] members, and [[Scott Jenkins]] was listed as the point of contact for the contest.<ref>''Mech Magazine'', AWOL Productions, Issue 10, pp. 2 & 16</ref>

==MechWarrior Tactics==
Announced and promoted alongside [[MechWarrior Online]], MechWarrior Tactics was going to be a free-to-play turn-based tactics video game set in the BattleTech universe. It was originally under development by Roadhouse Interactive and ACRONYM Games, but was taken over by Blue Lizard Games and published by Infinite Game Publishing for the Unity Web Player platform. The game never left closed beta, allowing players to purchase instant access until the website went offline on August 28, 2014. Infinite Games Publishing began bankruptcy proceedings in October of that year, and MechWarrior Tactics was placed on sale in December, 2014.

The game pitted two players against each other in an online match. The turn-based combat was presented via an isometric 3D perspective, with the play area divided into a hexagonal grid. Each player had control of four individual BattleMechs, to which they issue separate movement and combat commands which are not seen by their opponent. Moving the 'Mechs into certain tiles that represent forests, hills, or bodies of water granted combat advantages and disadvantages, making the skillful maneuvering of units a major aspect of the game. Likewise, the combat itself offered several tactical options, including the targeting of specific subsections of an enemy unit, and balancing overheating of weapons with their cooldown period. Once both players finished inputting their movement and combat orders, the action played out on both players' screens simultaneously, showing the results of their actions for that turn. The turns continued in this fashion until one player lost all of their 'Mechs.

A major inspiration for the game was the [[BattleTech Collectible Card Game]]. Most items available to the player are represented in the form of virtual cards, including the 'Mechs themselves, their individual weapons, upgrades, and pilots. These cards could be purchased with real money or acquired through gameplay progression by using in-game currency. Customization performed on a particular 'Mech was carried over into future matches, giving players an incentive to invest in their card collections for the long haul rather than building up an arsenal for one specific match.

The entire game was played inside a web browser window and did not require any additional downloads.

==Objective Raids: Jihad==
Listed for a time as an upcoming product on the webside of retailer Amazon.com, with a projected release date of December 2012. It was going to be an updated print compilation of the ''Objective Raid'' PDF-only series, but the project was canceled.<ref>see [http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,17267.0/topicseen.html this thread] on the official [[BattleTech Forum]]</ref>

==Tale of the Green Ghosts==
:''see article:'' [[Tale of the Green Ghosts]]
This short story was supposed to be published in [[Games Unplugged]] magazine issue #29, but the magazine folded and as far as can be established, issue #29 was either never printed, or in any case never shipped.

==XTRO: Deep Periphery==
First mentioned in the [[Random Assignment Table|Random Assignment Tables]] of ''[[Interstellar Expeditions: Interstellar Players 3]]'' this publication was to include information on the [[Escorpión Imperio]]'s 45-ton Pride Conventional Fighter and the 100-ton Thunderbird Strike Fighter. [[Line Developer]] [[Herbert A. Beas II]] clarified in a posting on the official [[BattleTech Forum]] on 06 November 2013 that ''XTRO: Deep Periphery'' had been canceled. The Pride Conventional Fighter should be replaced on the RAT by the [[Meteor]] Heavy Strike Fighter and the Thunderbird should be replaced by the STU-5K ''[[Stuka]]'' aerospace fighter.<ref>Relevant forum thread posting found [http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,34671.msg809245.html#msg809245 here], also archived on [[Talk:Interstellar_Players_3:_Interstellar_Expeditions|this article's Talk page]].</ref>

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Battletech Media Franchise]]
@@ Line 90: / Line 90: @@
 The idea was dropped, however. The boxed set was reduced to a sourcebook released in 1996 (the ''[[Explorer Corps (sourcebook)|Explorer Corps]]'' sourcebook, FASA #1681) and only one Explorer Corps novel, ''[[Far Country]]'', was published, with its storyline somewhat altered from what the teaser/summary provided in the 1993 Update Flyer had announced. ''Far Country'' author [[Peter Rice (person)|Peter Rice]] had initially been contracted to write at least two Explorer Corps novels but FASA canceled the contract.<ref>According to the secondhand account of a person who spoke to him; the original forum posting was lost in a forum crash, but it was archived here on BTW at [[Talk:Far Country#Archived forum thread]].</ref>
-== Gladiator Gazette, Milestones and OpFor ==
-Three of five microproduct ebook-only lines originally announced in e-book only product series announced by [[Catalyst Game Labs]] on 24 Jul 2015.<ref name="DPSI">[http://bg.battletech.com/news/news-and-announcements/drop-pod-sequence-initiatedthree-two-one/ Drop Pod Sequence Initiated... Three, Two, One - BattleTech News Article by Randall Bills]</ref> The ''Gladiator Gazette'', ''Milestones'' and ''OpFor'' series were confirmed to be "dead" in an interview with BattleTech Line Developer [[Ray Arrastia]] and Assistant Line Developer [[Aaron Cahall]] conducted by Sarna and posted on the Sarna news channel on 29 January 2024.<ref name="SarnaInt2024-01-29">See [https://www.sarna.net/news/battletech-in-2024-an-interview-with-line-developer-ray-arrastia-assistant-line-developer-aaron-cahall/ the interview transcript]</ref>
-{{Quote|''Gladiator Gazette'', the concept was basically just a PDF on a character and their ‘Mech or vehicle and do it like it’s an article in a magazine. Focusing on a Solaris gladiator or something like that. We had ideas we could put in little ads and maybe some short fiction or whatever. The issue there was a lack of interest by the staff. We couldn’t get anybody to contribute. Which is fine because. We wanted to bring back the flavor of BattleTechnology, which we’ve done with the new Shrapnel. In fact, there were at least two other lines very similar to that concept that were never announced, they never got past the discussion pre-development stage. It’s possible you’ll see something like that someday, but the ''Gazette'' doesn’t exist.
-'The ''Milestones'' were supposed to be short little scenario packs that delve into some of the mysteries behind the Dark Age. The first few stories had to do with the HPGs, and those were held up because the storyline was held up. That’s really all there is to it. Aspects of those stories will be used, some will not, and ''[[ilKhan’s Eyes Only]]'' should be the first place where we see some of those little things going all the way back. The developer of ''Milestones'' was [[Joshua Perian]] and he is the developer of ilKhan’s Eyes Only. So for sure, we’re going to see little bits of that come out there. But as a line, ''Milestones'' never took off. So that’s gone.''
-Now, OpFor was supposed to be focusing on a Lance Pack—how do you use a Lance Pack, and how do you fight against it? Something focusing on a small scale to support those products. So that kind of was put on hiatus when the Lance Packs didn’t do so well. It had come up again with the ForcePacks that we could revisit this model, but it never picked up steam to develop that further than the basic concept. So it was hitched to a bandwagon.|Ray Arrastia, BattleTech Line Developer, 29 January 2024}}
-However, it was confirmed in the same interview that all three products were effectively superceded by other products and events:
-{{Quote|They all got superseded by something. I mean, these PDFs, including the ones that still exist, were all generated at a time when the line wasn’t producing as many books as it once did. It was in that kind of era between Era Report: 3145 and ilClan. Wasn’t much coming out, so the PDFs were to keep something BattleTech coming out so the line didn’t just die.
-Like, when it’s one book a year and a limited number of miniatures, what would you say you do here? All three of the products Ray mentioned essentially got superseded by something. ''Gladiator’s Gazette'' got superseded by ''[[Shrapnel]]. ''OpFor'' got superseded by the [[ForcePack]]s, especially the ForcePacks that are fluffed to a particular unit, like the mercenary unit packs, stuff like that.
-''Milestones'' got superseded by the timeline moving again. We didn’t need to pick at the edges of the Dark Age era when we could just make sourcebooks again—an ilClan book happened and off we went. I will say the two that you mentioned — ''[[Touring the Stars (series)|Touring the Stars]]'', ''[[Spotlight On (series)|Spotlight On]]'', and I’ll throw in ''[[Turning Points (series)|Turning Points]]'' — do have a role to play in the ''Brush Wars'' products that are going to be coming out this year, finally. We’ve revisited the two ''Brush Wars'' sourcebooks as a PDF series that will be collected in POD. Installments of three in a season, as we call it. Each one of those installments will be a FASA-style sourcebook; meaty text-heavy, look at a particular brush war that hadn’t been on screen much.|Assistant Line Developer Aaron Cahall, 29 January 2024}}
 == Historical: Brush Wars II ==