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BattleMechs (often abbreviated 'Mechs) are large walking war machines that feature prominently in the
fictional universe A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes ma ...
of ''
BattleTech ''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The tradema ...
''. 'Mechs, which are generally either bipedal or quadrupedal in configuration, are controlled by human pilots and can thus be classified as
mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is ...
.


Origins

BattleMechs debuted in
FASA Corporation Fasa ( fa, فسا, Fasā, also Romanized as Fassa) is a city and capital of Fasa County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 110,825, in 33,379 families. Fasa is the fourth most populous city of the province. The city dat ...
's ''
BattleTech ''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The tradema ...
'', a board game of futuristic armored combat played with
dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing ...
, counters and paper record sheets on a map of hexagonal territories. The game's first edition in 1984 was titled ''BattleDroids'' and featured mecha based directly on those in the Japanese animated television series ''
Macross is a Japanese science fiction mecha anime media franchise/ media mix, created by Studio Nue (most prominently mecha designer, writer and producer Shōji Kawamori) and Artland in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth and th ...
'' and other
Japanese animation is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
from the late '70s and early '80s. Legal impediments with
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the '' Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as c ...
over the use of the term "droid" forced the name of the game to change in the second edition to ''BattleTech''. This, combined with legal troubles with Playmates Toys, led FASA in the 1990s to remove all images of these early designs from subsequent published material. Since FASA retained the rights to all aspects of the 'Mechs except for their visual depictions, they continued to use the 'Mechs and their stats, but did not print images of them until ''Technical Readout: Project Phoenix'' canonized new artwork for the designs. This fact led fans to dub these early 'Mechs the "Unseen," while their new look is colloquially referred to as the "Reseen." 'Mechs in ''BattleTech'' vary from one another in many ways, including mass, speed, chassis configuration, armor and armament, resulting in a practically limitless array of legal 'Mech designs. FASA and its successors WizKids,
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, and
Catalyst Game Labs Catalyst Game Labs (CGL) was created in May 2007 by InMediaRes Productions, LLC for the purpose of publishing print ''Shadowrun'' and ''Classic BattleTech'' sourcebooks.novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...
set in the fictional ''BattleTech'' universe, as well as an animated spin-off television series.


Backstory

In the ''BattleTech'' universe, the first BattleMech ever developed was the ''Mackie MSK-6S'', described as a 100-ton box with legs. It was developed in 2439 by the Terran Hegemony, first deployed in 2443, and produced throughout the rest of the Inner Sphere after its construction plans were stolen in 2455. Significant development and refinement of the technology followed through subsequent centuries. 'Mech advancement in the Inner Sphere crested during the reign of the Star League, but slowly degraded during the protracted conflicts of the Succession Wars. Much of the infrastructure and expertise necessary to produce the most advanced models was lost, with the result that, by the early 31st century, most Great Houses were fielding models that were centuries old. Star League-era BattleMech technology was preserved during this period of decline by a military faction later known as the Clans. Absent from the Inner Sphere for centuries, they returned in 3049 fielding 'Mechs of considerable sophistication and power. The first confirmed sighting of a Clan 'Mech by an Inner Sphere observer was that of a ''Timber Wolf'' (called the ''Mad Cat'' by Inner Sphere observers) by the legendary Phelan Kell of the Kell Hounds mercenary unit. The Clan invasion triggered a resurgence of BattleMech-related research and development, both in the Inner Sphere and among the Clans, leading to many new models being introduced during the 3050s and 3060s. After the collapse of the 2nd Star League in late 3067, most Battlemech manufactures were damaged or outright destroyed by the Word of Blake Jihad (Holy War). Smaller factories retooled and began manufacturing ancient designs dating back to the Age of War when Mackie was first introduced. The creation of hybrids from these ancient designs and new technologies again led to a slow progress in 'Mech development, despite the return to all-out war and the use of nuclear weaponry. However, the collapse of the hyperpulse generator network in the early 32nd century disrupted 'Mech advancement.


Terminology and nomenclature

The term "'Mech" broadly applies to all mecha within the BattleTech universe. BattleMechs, those that are intended for combat or related operations, are the predominant variety, with the result that the term is frequently applied to all BattleTech mecha. Non-combat models do exist, however, and are generally referred to as WorkMechs or UtilityMechs. These models tend to be specialized to perform a particular task such as harvesting, lumbering, scavenging, repair, etc. OmniMechs are a sub-class of BattleMech that mount weapons and equipment in modular "pods". The pods are easily swapped or changed, enabling engineers to customize an OmniMech's components for any given mission. With few exceptions, every major model of BattleMech bears both a name and an identifying code. Codes generally use letters from the 'Mech's name, followed by an alphanumeric reference to the submodel or variant. For example, the base model of the 70-ton ''Warhammer'' is WHM-6R, with variants WHM-6X, WHM-7A, etc. A single letter is normally used to indicate common variants of an OmniMech. Clan 'Mechs are sometimes known by two different names, one assigned by its Clan creators and one by Inner Sphere observers. An example is the 75-ton Clan ''Timber Wolf'', known in the Inner Sphere as the ''Mad Cat''. This practice generally ceased after the mid 3060s.


Configuration

BattleMechs range in height from and mass from 20 to 100
tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...
(22 to 110
short ton The short ton (symbol tn) is a measurement unit equal to . It is commonly used in the United States, where it is known simply as a ton, although the term is ambiguous, the single word being variously used for short, long, and metric ton. The var ...
s) in five-ton intervals, with some capable of ground speeds in excess of . Mechs have a torso that can rotate to either side independently from the legs, but few can do a complete 360 twist. Their power is drawn from fusion reactors and are best suited for ground combat, although they are also capable of limited performance underwater and in
outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
.


Bipedal

The majority of BattleMechs are
bipedal Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' ...
and can be classed as either humanoid or reverse-joint (" chicken walker"). Humanoid-type BattleMechs are the most common and include the iconic ''Atlas'' and ''Summoner'' (''Thor''). Reverse-joint 'Mechs are slightly less common on the field of battle, being quicker but less stable than the humanoid-type, but include such famous models as the ''Supernova'', ''Marauder'', ''Catapult'', ''Timber Wolf'' (''Mad Cat'') and the ''Dire Wolf'' (''Daishi''). There are a few, however, with
digitigrade In terrestrial vertebrates, digitigrade () locomotion is walking or running on the toes (from the Latin ''digitus'', 'finger', and ''gradior'', 'walk'). A digitigrade animal is one that stands or walks with its toes (metatarsals) touching the groun ...
legs that have a raised ankle and stand on their toes, like the legs of a dog, cat, etc. Examples include the ''Thanatos'' and ''Nova Cat''.


Quadrupedal

Four-legged "quad" 'Mechs constitute a small segment of official designs, and while they lack the flexibility and speed of bipedal designs, they are considerably more stable and can mount heavier weaponry. Though often maligned, quads experienced a bit of a renaissance in the years after 3060 with several new models released. Notable quad designs include the 25-ton ''Tarantula'', 55-ton ''Scorpion'', and 70-ton ''Barghest''.


Land-Air 'Mech (LAM)

LAMs are an extremely uncommon form of 'Mech capable of transforming between BattleMech and aircraft configurations, an ability that conveys great speed and flexibility at the cost of power and protection. The design of these LAMs, as well as several other 'Mechs, were leased from mecha designs used in ''
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross is an anime television series from 1982. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war. It is the first part of two franchises: The ''Super D ...
'' and other
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
series (see
variable fighter A variable-sweep wing, colloquially known as a "swing wing", is an airplane wing, or set of wings, that may be swept back and then returned to its original straight position during flight. It allows the aircraft's shape to be modified in fli ...
s); resulting real-world legal conflicts ended their official existence within the franchise. The ''Wasp'', ''Stinger'' and ''Phoenix Hawk'' are the only published LAMs, found in the unrevised edition of ''Technical Readout: 3025'', along with the other "lost" or "unseen" BattleMechs such as the ''Marauder'', ''Crusader'', ''Warhammer'' and the non-LAM versions of the ''Stinger'', ''Wasp'', and ''Phoenix Hawk''.


BattleMech construction

BattleMechs are initially made up of a series of internal structure "bones" which are connected together to form the skeleton of the 'Mech. An
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called myomer, which contracts in the presence of an electric current, is then wrapped around these bones. This powerful myomer transmission system is what gives BattleMechs their speed and agility in even the roughest terrain. The necessary electric current for the myomers is provided by a fusion reactor mounted in the torso. This artificial skeleton and musculature combined with a powerful
gyroscope A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rot ...
provide stability for the BattleMech. The entire system is controlled by a pilot wearing a neurohelmet that effectively links the 'Mech's central computer to the pilot's sense of balance and
nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes ...
. The neurohelmet also gives feedback by providing a kinesthetic sense of the mech's position for better judgement of balance. The movement of a 'Mech is controlled by a combination of throttle, joysticks, and dual pedal system. All 'Mechs include a cockpit, life support, sensors, engine, gyroscope, and actuator packages. Any space left over after accounting for these components, as well as upgrades to the structure (endo-steel) and armor (ferro-fibrous), may be used for heat sinks, weapon systems, ammunition, or other legal equipment. 'Mechs can carry a variety of weapons, most of which generate heat upon firing. This can become a problem in intense or prolonged fighting, as an overheating 'Mech may shut down or, in extreme cases, explode. To mitigate this, the heat is transferred into massive heat sinks, which help facilitate cooling but do not eliminate the problem entirely. Water is an effective coolant, but impairs movement.


Notes

{{BattleTech Universe BattleTech Fictional mecha