BattleTech

BattleTech is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2000, and owned since 2003 by Topps. The series began with FASA's debut of the board game BattleTech (originally named BattleDroids) by Jordan Weisman and L. Ross Babcock III and has since grown to include numerous expansions to the original game, several computer and video games, a collectible card game, a series of more than 100 novels, an animated television series and more.

Overview

Chicago-based FASA Corporation's original 1984 game focused on enormous robotic, semi-humanoid battle machines called BattleDroids. The name of the game was changed to BattleTech in the second edition because George Lucas and Lucasfilm claimed the rights to the term "droid"; the machines themselves were renamed BattleMechs from the second edition onwards.

BattleTech (video game)

BattleTech is an upcoming turn-based strategy video game being developed by Harebrained Schemes. It is set for release on Windows, OS X, and Linux in early 2017. The developers set aside US$1 million to create the game, and then turned to Kickstarter to secure funding for additional features, including a single player campaign, an expansion of that campaign, and a player versus player multiplayer mode.

In the game, the player assumes the role of a mercenary commander leading a team of powerful combat vehicles called mechs. The player is responsible for selecting each mech's model, armaments, and skills, and controls a team of four mechs in combat. The world of BattleTech is dominated by powerful noble houses locked in a devastating war, and the player selects one or more houses to serve.

The game shares a setting with the board game that launched the BattleTech franchise, Classic BattleTech, and many members of the development team have worked on previous games in the franchise. This includes both of the studio's co-founders; Jordan Weisman created the franchise while at FASA, and Mitch Gitelman was the producer for MechCommander and MechAssault.

BattleTech: The Animated Series

BattleTech is an animated television series based on the BattleTech fictional universe, produced for syndication by Saban Entertainment in 1994. The series ran for 13 episodes and focused on the character of Adam Steiner, a military officer in the distant future who struggles to liberate his home planet from an attacking faction.

The series was noteworthy for its blending of animation techniques, with computer animation used to depict most battle sequences and traditional animation used for most other scenes.

Story

The series takes place in the year 3050 as the Inner Sphere, the central region of settled interstellar space, is suddenly invaded by a powerful human faction identifying itself as the Clans. One of the many planets that falls to the Clan onslaught is a small, mostly unimportant world in the Federated Commonwealth called Somerset.

Far away on the planet Tharkad, Major Adam Steiner, a teacher at the Nagelring Military Academy and native of Somerset, receives word of the attack on his homeworld and the loss of all communication with the forces there, including his brother Andrew. Using his relationship to one of the Federated Commonwealth's ruling family, he gains permission to assemble a force to gather intelligence on the Clans and, if possible, liberate Somerset.