Editing BattleTech (section)

== Setting ==
''BattleTech'''s fictional history covers the approximately 1,150 years from the end of the 20th century to the middle of the 32nd. Most works in the series are set during the early to middle decades of the 31st century, though a few publications concern earlier ages.<ref name="tr2750">{{cite book |last=Hess |first=Clare W. |title=Technical Readout: 2750 |publisher=FASA Corporation |year=1989 |isbn=978-1-55560-089-1 |editor=Donna Ippolito |edition=Corrected Second Printing |location=Chicago |display-authors=etal}}</ref> ''MechWarrior: Dark Ages'' and its related novels take place in the mid 3100s.<ref>{{cite web |title=WizKids: MechWarrior |url=http://www.wizkidsgames.com/mechwarrior/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208192502/http://www.wizkidsgames.com/mechwarrior/ |archive-date=December 8, 2007 |access-date=December 9, 2007}}</ref>

A detailed timeline stretching from the late 20th century to the mid-32nd describes humanity's technological, social and political development and spread through space both in broad historical terms and through accounts of the lives of individuals who experienced and shaped that history,<ref name="isaga">{{cite book
| last = Bills
| first = Randall N.
| title = Inner Sphere at a Glance
| series = Classic BattleTech
| year = 2007
| publisher = Catalyst Game Labs (inMediaRes Productions)
| location = Lake Stevens, WA
| chapter = A Brief History of the Inner Sphere
| isbn = 978-0-9792047-3-9
|display-authors=etal}}</ref> with an emphasis on (initially) the year 3025 and creating an ongoing storyline from there. Generally, ''BattleTech'' assumes that its history is identical to real-world history up until approximately 1984, when the reported histories begin to diverge; in particular, the game designers did not foresee the fall of the [[Soviet Union]], which plays a major role past 1991 in the fictional ''BattleTech'' history. Individual lifestyles remain largely unchanged from those of modern times, due in part to stretches of protracted interplanetary warfare during which technological progress slowed or even reversed. Cultural, political and social conventions vary considerably between worlds, but [[feudalism]] is widespread, with many states ruled by hereditary [[lord]]s and other nobility, below which are numerous social classes.

A key feature of the ''BattleTech'' universe is the absence of [[Extraterrestrial life|non-human intelligent life]]. Other than one or two isolated encounters in novels, mankind is the only [[Sentience|sentient]] species.

Above all, the central theme of ''BattleTech'' is conflict, consistent with the franchise's [[wargaming]] core.<ref name="ESF" />  Interstellar and civil wars, planetary battles, [[political faction|factionalization]] and infighting, as well as institutionalized combat in the shape of arena contests and [[duel]]ling, form the grist of both novelized fiction and game backstories.

The level of technology evident in ''BattleTech'' is an unusual blend of the highly futuristic and the nearly modern. The universe leans towards [[hard science fiction]] concepts. Much of the technology is either similar to that of the present day, or considered plausible in the near-future, such as the [[railgun]]. There are exceptions such as faster-than-light travel and communication, without which the setting cannot function. Radically advanced tech mixes with seemingly anachronistic technologies such as [[internal combustion engines]] and projectile weapons. [[Artificial intelligence]], [[nanotechnology]], [[Android (robot)|androids]], and many other staples of future fiction are generally absent or downplayed. Incessant warfare is generally blamed for the uneven advancement, the destruction of industry and institutes of learning over the centuries of warfare having resulted in the loss of much technology and knowledge. As rivalries and conflicts have dragged on, advanced technologies are redeveloped for the battlefield.<ref>''"Combat Equipment"''</ref><ref>''"Technical Readout: Vehicle Annex"''</ref>