Master Unit List

The Master Unit List (MUL) is a project by Catalyst Game Labs, in cooperation with a staff of volunteers known since as the MUL Team, that essentially comprises a database of all BattleTech units of any kind ever mentioned in a (canonical) source.

MUL Online Database
On 04 June 2011 the MUL Online Database went online, providing a searchable database for users including a force builder.

Its initial scope (version 1.0.1) is limited to units with existant record sheets, thought to essentially be an online version of the previously published Master Unit List: Battle Value document. As such, it did not include production data or introduction dates for the units.

As of January 7th, 2013, the MUL website includes unit image, tonnage, Battle Value, cost, rules level, technology base, unit type, introduction date/era, most current/detailed Technical Readout and Record Sheet source, faction availability (for Jihad and Early Republic eras), BattleForce stats (showns as Quick-Strike card), along with links to Camospecs and Iron Wind Metals for units. (Not all units have all information, as available). The site is searchable by unit (name or unit details), introduction date/era, faction availability or Sourcebook.

Development
According to a blog by Joel Bancroft-Connors, the MUL project started in 2007 as an attempt to assign official Battle Value 2.0 values to all existing BattleMech designs. Over the course of the project its scope was expanded; it became a master list of existing units and an official faction/availability list to replace the unofficial and outdated faction list by Peter La Casse, and includes introduction dates and known manufacturing data as a successor in spirit to Objective Raids.

On 14 January 2010, a Beta version of the Master Name List file (v1.66) was released to the public for factchecking purposes. Numerous issues were raised by the community and v1.66 remains an unofficial pre-release, i.e. non-canonical. However, it does technically meet the criteria for a meta-source as it seeks to collate otherwise canonical data. Although it was in fact correctly referred to as the "Master Name List", this document established the informal name "Master Unit List" (MUL) for the entire project and made the MUL known under that name to the general fanbase.

On 23 March 2011, the Master Unit List: Battle Value was officially released as a free document through the BattleCorps' BattleShop site, presenting a list of (only) those ground units for which official record sheets exist with Battle Value (2.0) and their Jihad era and Dark Age era availability. It is understood that this is only a fraction of the MUL's entire content and that further releases will provide additional data.

MUL Team
The following persons have been credited with creating the Master Unit List database and website (listed alphabetically):
 * Project leader
 * Joel Bancroft-Connors ("Welshman") - Project leader. Coincidentally, he wrote the "Combat Efficiency Factors" article for BattleTechnology many years earlier, as well as a first incarnation of a master list of units for that magazine. Although neither of these works is likely to have substantially contributed to the MUL project, they are very early attempts at the general concept.
 * Development Staff
 * Joshua Franklin ("nckestrel") - Maintained MUL when it was intially spreadsheet based, until moved to being maintained on the website itself.
 * William Gauthier ("MadCapellan") - Authored the Objective Raids: 3067 fan project. Factory Team lead.
 * Keith Hann ("Xotl") - Author of the 3025-3050 Random Assignment Tables (also known as the "Xotl RAT tables"), the most recent and most comprehensive fan-created faction list, random allocation tables and quirks list. His work is generally regarded as the most up-to-date, most accurate and most thoroughly-researched document despite him openly admitting to having used extrapolated, inferred or plainly estimated data where no solid canonical data was available to work from. Also CGL Errata Coordinator.
 * Johannes Heidler ("Jymset") - construction/BV expert (specialist on Support Vehicles), Record Sheet project
 * Daniel Isberner ("DarkISI") - construction/BV and spreadsheet expert
 * Chris Marti ("Alexander Knight") - infantry rules expert
 * Luke Robertson ("Jellico")- WarShip and DropShip rules, Clan infrastructure and SLDF expert
 * Chris Wheeler ("Chinless")
 * Patrick Wynne ("Roosterboy") - Universe fluff expert
 * Christopher Smith
 * Brent Ezell ("Moonsword")
 * Roland Boshnack ("ColBosch") - Authored a massive fan project cataloging all existing designs in a Technical Readout style, but chose not to release it to the general public after all over copyright concerns. Retired from working for CGL.


 * Production Staff
 * George Blouin ("Skyhigh") - Programming and site maintenance
 * Jason Tighe - Computer automation assistance
 * Sebastian Brocks - Computer automation assistance