Technical Readout: 3025

Technical Readout: 3025 was the first of the series providing game attributes, fluff, and background details for the BattleTech universe. It has entries for 55 'Mechs, 15 aerospace fighters, 3 LAMs, 4 DropShips and 12 combat vehicles.

The product was reissued and updated in 1996 as Technical Readout: 3025 Revised, which was replaced in 2009 by Technical Readout: 3039.

From the back cover
"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

 * Introduction
 * Light 'Mechs
 * Locust
 * Wasp
 * Stinger
 * Commando
 * Javelin
 * Spider
 * UrbanMech
 * Valkyrie
 * Firestarter
 * Jenner
 * Ostscout
 * Panther


 * Medium 'Mechs
 * Assassin
 * Cicada
 * Clint
 * Hermes II
 * Vulcan
 * Whitworth
 * Blackjack
 * Hatchetman
 * Phoenix Hawk
 * Vindicator
 * Centurion
 * Enforcer
 * Hunchback
 * Trebuchet
 * Dervish
 * Griffin
 * Shadow Hawk
 * Scorpion
 * Wolverine


 * Heavy 'Mechs
 * Dragon
 * Ostroc
 * Ostsol
 * Quickdraw
 * Rifleman
 * Catapult
 * Crusader
 * JagerMech
 * Thunderbolt
 * Archer
 * Grasshopper
 * Warhammer
 * Marauder
 * Orion


 * Assault 'Mechs
 * Awesome
 * Charger
 * Goliath
 * Victor
 * Zeus
 * BattleMaster
 * Stalker
 * Cyclops
 * Banshee
 * Atlas


 * LAMs
 * Stinger LAM
 * Wasp LAM
 * Phoenix Hawk LAM


 * Aerospace Fighters
 * Davion
 * Sparrowhawk
 * Corsair
 * Stuka


 * Kurita
 * Sholagar
 * Shilone
 * Slayer


 * Liao
 * Thrush
 * Transit
 * Transgressor


 * Marik
 * Cheetah
 * Stingray
 * Riever


 * Steiner
 * Seydlitz
 * Lucifer
 * Chippewa


 * DropShips
 * Leopard Dropship
 * Union Dropship
 * Overlord Dropship


 * Vehicles
 * Swift Wind Scout Car
 * Rommel / Patton Tanks
 * Von Luckner Heavy Tank
 * Galleon Light Tank
 * Packrat Long Range Patrol Vehicle
 * Mobile Long Tom Artillery
 * Boomerang Observation Plane
 * Mobile HQ
 * Coolant Trucks
 * Ordnance Transport
 * MASH
 * BattleMech Repair Facility


 * Index

Editions
Technical Readout: 3025 had several print runs with various changes incorporated at different times. The first edition was published in 1986 with a MSRP of $9.95. This edition had a number of minor typographic errors but more noticeably the pictures of the Ostscout and Ostsol are swapped. This error would continue well into the third printing.

The third edition is identified by the notation "Third Printing; May, 1987" in the bottom right corner of the credits page. 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. These later versions of the third printing also feature an updated UPC with a MSRP of $12.00.

The Ostscout and Ostsol were finally fixed in the July 1994 printing. This edition increased the price to $15.00 and fixed some of the typos of the previous printings.

German Edition
The German edition called Hardware-Handbuch 3025 was released by Fantasy Productions in 1990 (with two more editions following both published in 1994) and received a number of small alterations (see below). The German version is printed as DIN A4, a standard European paper size, which is a little larger then north american Letter.

From the german back cover
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
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.
 * Due to the use of German names for units, and to maintain an alphabetical order, the units appear in a slightly changed order.
 * The error with the swapped Ostscout/Ostsol illustrations/stats in earlier editions of original Technical Readout: 3025 is corrected in German 3rd edition.
 * The unit images of Stuka and Packrat differ. Where the Packrat image was reworked (a black block was added in background) the Stuka image was completely exchanged.

Spelling and Names
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.