Editing BattleTech (section)

== History ==
{{Further|List of BattleTech games}}

=== Conception ===
Chicago-based FASA Corporation's original 1984 game focused on enormous robotic, semi-humanoid battle machines battling in a science-fiction feudalistic Dark Age setting. The game was at first called ''[[Battledroids]]''.<ref name="battledroids">{{cite book| last = Weisman| first = Jordan|author2=L. Ross Babcock III| title = Basic Battledroids| year = 1984| publisher= FASA Corporation| location = Chicago}}</ref> The name of the game was changed to ''[[Classic Battletech|BattleTech]]'' in the second edition because [[George Lucas]] and [[Lucasfilm]] claimed the rights to the term "[[droid (Star Wars)|droid]]";<ref name="uspto 1977">{{cite web | url = http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=1113700&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=US_REGISTRATION_NO&searchType=statusSearch | title = DROID (Original registration) | publisher = [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]]  | date = September 22, 1977 | access-date = February 19, 2016}}</ref><ref name="uspto 2008">{{cite web | url = http://tarr.uspto.gov/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77580336&action=Request+Status | title = DROID (Current registration) | publisher = United States Patent and Trademark Office | date = September 26, 2008 | access-date = August 24, 2010}}</ref> the machines themselves were renamed BattleMechs from the second edition onward.

The game components included:
*First edition: two full-color terrain maps, 48 stand-up BattleMech counters, four sheets of playing markers, plastic counter stands, dice, and a rule book.<ref name=dragon>{{cite journal|last=Bambra|first=Jim|author-link=Jim Bambra| date=March 1988 |title=Role-playing Reviews: To the Stars!|journal=[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]|publisher=[[TSR (company)|TSR, Inc.]]|issue=131|pages=74–76}}</ref>
*Third edition: two color maps, a pack of record sheets, and fourteen 2" plastic miniatures of various BattleMech war machines.<ref name=dragon194 />
*Fourth edition: two rule-books, a booklet of record sheets, 48 stand-up playing pieces, and a sheet of 144 insignia stickers.<ref name=dragon238 />

===Illustrations & imagery===
Rather than create their own original robot art, FASA decided to use already-extant designs that had originally been created for a variety of different Japanese [[anime]], including ''[[Dougram]]'', ''[[Crusher Joe]]'', and ''[[Macross]]''. The rights to these images were licensed from ''Twentieth Century Imports (TCI)''.  In later years, FASA abandoned these images as a result of a lawsuit brought against them by [[Playmates Toys]] and Harmony Gold over the use of said images.<ref name="courtcase">{{cite court|litigants=Harmony Gold U.S.A. and Playmates Toys v. FASA Corporation and Virtual World Entertainment|vol=95|reporter=|opinion=2972|court=U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division|date=June 12, 1996|url=http://www.kaempen.org/alex/harmony_gold_v._fasa.html}}</ref> 

The anime-sourced BattleMechs continued to be referenced in-universe, but their images were no longer seen in new sourcebooks.  This led them to be termed by fans as "the Unseen". When [[Fantasy Productions]] licensed the property, these "Unseen" images were expanded to include all art produced "out-of-house" – that is, whose copyrights resided with the creators, not the company. Catalyst Game Labs has continued this practice.<ref name="rspu">{{cite book| title = Record Sheets: Phoenix Upgrades| year = 2006| publisher = BattleCorps| pages = 1–2}}</ref>

=== Expansions ===
The game's popularity spawned several variants and expansions to the core system, including ''[[CityTech]]'' which fleshed out urban operations, infantry, and vehicle combat, ''[[AeroTech]]'' which focused on air and space-based operations, and ''[[BattleSpace]]'' which detailed large spacecraft combat.  FASA also published numerous sourcebooks, known as Technical Readouts, which featured specifications for new combat units that players could select from.  However, despite the large number of such pre-designed BattleMechs, vehicles, aerospace units and other military hardware, the creators also established a system of custom design rules, enabling players to generate their own units and field them in combat. In addition to game rule books, FASA published several background books detailing the history, political and social structures of various factions in the game, including all five Great Houses of the Inner Sphere, ComStar, the Periphery states and the fallen Star League.

FASA launched two additional systems to complement the core game: ''[[BattleTroops]]'', an infantry combat system, and ''[[BattleForce]]'', a large-scale combat simulator governing the actions of massed ''BattleTech'' units.  ''[[The Succession Wars]]'', a board game released in 1987, is one of only two purely strategic titles of the series (the other being "The Inner Sphere in Flames" from the Combat Operations book).  ''The Succession Wars'' is played on a political [[star map]], with players trying to capture regions of space.

Recent years have seen a trend of consolidating the expansions into "core products" for efficiency.  Beginning under FanPro's aegis, then continued under Catalyst Game Labs, the various rulesets have been combined into a series of Core Rulebooks:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bg.battletech.com/books/core_rulebooks/ |title=Core Rulebooks {{pipe}} BattleTech: The Game of Armored Combat |date=October 26, 2011 |access-date=October 14, 2014}}</ref>

*'''Total Warfare''' (TW) integrates the original boardgame with ''CityTech'', ''BattleTroops'', and parts of ''AeroTech 2'' (itself a consolidation of ''AeroTech'' and ''BattleSpace'') pertaining to atmospheric operations (such as simplified rules for Dropship operations, and the use of AeroTech Fighters in atmospheric combat).
*'''Tactical Operations''' (TO) supplements ''Total Warfare'' with rules for expanded game-play (advanced rules).  These include an expanded weapons / equipment table listing (Lostech), advanced unit types (such as "mobile structures", planetary fortresses, and "large support vehicles") as well as numerous optional gameplay enhancements for planetary-level conquests (consolidating ''Maximum Tech'' and other expansion packs, like ''Explorer Corps'').
*'''Strategic Operations''' (SO) consolidates the rules for multi-game campaigns within a single star system (such as unit morale and management, repair and maintenance, equipment salvage, in-game construction, and unit-level economics) with the remaining ''AeroTech 2'' rules omitted from TW.  These include the introduction of [[Capital ships|capital-level]] spacecraft (Jumpships / Warships / Space Stations / Fighter Squadrons) and equipment, [[Space warfare in fiction|space warfare]] rules, and the use of space travel as a gameplay element.  A revised version of ''BattleForce'' is also consolidated into the book.
*'''TechManual''' (TM) consolidates the customization rules with [[Fluff (fiction)|technical fluff]] from various products for units compliant to ''Total Warfare'' rules.  (Construction rules for the missing units are listed in TO or SO, as these units are not considered to be "tournament legal" for gameplay).
* '''Interstellar Operations''' (IO) was originally a project that had been available in beta form. The book was designed to introduce rules for faction-wide operations (such as entire Clans / Succession Houses / Empires) across multiple campaigns and star systems—up to and including the entire Inner Sphere.  The book itself would have also included an expansion of additional technologies which stipulated per time period in the game universe's history, including revised rules for more advanced types of vehicles such as Land-Air 'Mechs, Superheavy BattleMechs, and unique period technologies. The size of the materials slated for the book forced its splitting into two volumes; the second, which was initially known as the ''Campaign Companion'', was renamed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bg.battletech.com/news/battleblog/interstellar-operations-open-beta-test-begins/ |title= Interstellar Operation Open Beta Begins |publisher=Catalyst Game Labs |date=November 2, 2012 |website=Battletech News |access-date=October 14, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bg.battletech.com/test/core-rulebooks/interstellar-operations/ |title= Interstellar Operation |publisher=Catalyst Game Labs |date=November 2, 2012 |website=Battletech News |access-date=July 23, 2015}}</ref>
* '''Campaign Operations''' (CO) is the self-contained companion book to Interstellar Operations. The book provides core rules handling player campaigns, using different rules sets. Taking older legacy rules found in previous source books, CO presented them in a singular core rulebook for better accessibility for the player. Included in the publication are rules to build environments for players to create and maintain combat units to be played in the game universe and rules allowing them to design their own worlds and star systems if desired.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bg.battletech.com/test/core-rulebooks/campaign-operations/ |title= Campaign Operation|publisher=Catalyst Game Labs |date=July 2, 2016 |website=bg.Battletech.com |access-date=July 2, 2016}}</ref>
*'''BattleMech Manual''' is an alternative Core Rulebook to Total Warfare. Unlike Total Warfare, the Battlemech Manual ignores all elements of combined operations, instead presenting concise and developed rules for playing games of Battletech focused exclusively on BattleMechs fighting against Battlemechs. The book is marketed as "table usage friendly" <ref>{{cite web |url=https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-battlemech-manual-book-pdf-combo/ |title= BattleMech Manual|publisher=Catalyst Game Labs |date=July 2, 2016 |website=bg.Battletech.com |access-date=July 2, 2016}}</ref> and serves as a complete, standalone game experience for players who want a single book for Mech focused combat.

===After FASA===
After the FASA Corporation closed in 2000, Wizkids bought the rights to the game in January 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://theminiaturespage.com/news/?id=704940|title=Wizkids Acquires Battletech|date=January 25, 2001|website=The Miniatures Page|access-date=June 6, 2018}}</ref> They reworked the IP to launch their [[MechWarrior: Dark Age]] collectible miniatures game, but licensed the rights to continue to publish products for the old game to FanPro (itself a subsidiary of [[Fantasy Productions]]).  Topps bought Wizkids in 2003, but this did not change any publishing agreements at that time. FanPro held the license to the original tabletop game (which they rebranded as "Classic BattleTech") until 2007. At that point [[Catalyst Game Labs]] (CGL) acquired the license from Topps.  CGL continues to hold the license to this day; with the end of the ''MechWarrior: Dark Age'' miniatures game, the name of the traditional tabletop game has reverted to simply ''BattleTech''.

On June 24, 2009, Catalyst Game Labs announced that they had secured the rights to the "Unseen" art. As a result, art depicting the original 'Mechs could be legally used again.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.catalystgamelabs.com/|title=Catalyst Game Labs|website=Catalyst Game Labs}}</ref>  However, an update on August 11, 2009, stated that the part of the deal regarding designs that originated in images from ''Macross'' had fallen through, returning the original images to Unseen status once again.  Since then, designs that originated in images from ''Dougram'' and ''Crusher Joe'' are no longer considered Unseen.<ref>[http://battletech.catalystgamelabs.com/2009/08/10/sometimes-things-just-dont-go-as-we-want-them-to/ Sometimes Things Just Don't Go As We Want Them To {{pipe}} BattleTech: 25 Years of Heavy Metal Mayhem] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226140916/http://battletech.catalystgamelabs.com/2009/08/10/sometimes-things-just-dont-go-as-we-want-them-to/ |date=February 26, 2012 }}</ref>

===Kickstarters===
In 2019 Catalyst Game Labs launched the Battletech: Clan Invasion [[crowdfunding]] campaign on [[Kickstarter]]. To match it's modernization effort around the rules of Battletech, with the Clan Invasion campaign Catalyst Game Labs aimed to update the designs and physical models of a number of classic Battlemechs with modern, plastic kits. While initially the campaign sought only a minimum of $30,000 in funding, over its 30 day funding period $2,586,421 was raised. This success led to Catalyst Game Labs launching a second crowdfunding campaign in 2023. The *Battletech: Mercenaries* campaign focused on [[combined arms]], updating a number of vehicle designs with plastic models in addition to more Battlemechs. The second campaign nearly tripled the amount raised by its predecessor, totalling $7,549,241 pledged in its 30 day funding period.