





                           BattleTech Utilities v2.2a
                                      ---
                   Copyright (C) 1989, 1991, 1992 William Yu



FILES INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGE

BTECH    TXT     28455 02-27-92   3:33a
BTECH    EXE      7966 02-27-92   1:06a
BTECH-F  EXE     31690 02-27-92   1:34a
BTECH-M  EXE     37455 02-27-92   2:41a
BTECH-V  EXE     32614 02-27-92   1:34a
BTSETUP  EXE      9919 01-21-92  11:34p
BTU      ARM       280 12-03-90   5:35p
BTU      COL        35 02-01-92   3:04p
BTU      ENG       362 06-22-91  11:56p
BTU      FSC        56 06-19-91  10:24p
BTU      HTF       598 06-19-91  10:09p
BTU      HTM       572 12-06-90   7:56p
BTU      MSC       143 10-21-91   8:23p
BTU      PRN       137 02-01-92   3:04p
BTU      VSC        66 12-28-91  11:04p
BTU      WIS      3238 11-17-91   9:34p
BTU      WKL      3376 11-17-91   9:33p
CONV-M   EXE      8088 01-21-92  11:34p
LIST-M   EXE     12051 02-27-92   1:50a
DLIST-M  EXE     12126 02-27-92   2:25a
LANCE-M  EXE      6935 02-27-92   2:33a
STAR-M   EXE      6857 02-27-92   2:32a
STATUS-M EXE      9752 02-27-92   2:27a
_COLOR   COL        35 01-13-91   6:41p
_MONO    COL        31 11-23-91   3:44a
_EPSON   PRN       137 06-30-91   9:24p
_HPLJ    PRN       249 07-03-91  12:33p
MWSHEET  TXT      2788 02-23-92   8:07p
WHATSNEW TXT      1616 01-28-92   1:00a
README   1ST       348 02-27-92   1:51a

If you see any other files not listed here, be warned on the content.  It could
be dead weight or worse, either a virus or a trojan horse.





DISCLAIMER

This package is distributed "AS IS" without any warranty of any kind, either
expressed, or implied, including, but no limited to the implied merchantability
and fitness for a particular purpose.  The entire risk as to the quality and
performance of the package lies with you.


COPYRIGHT

All the files in the BattleTech Utilities package is copyrighted by William Yu.
The author retains all rights to the program.


LICENSE

This program is freeware.  You are encouraged to redistribute this package but
only under the certain conditions:

  No charge is made for the software other than a reasonable fee to copy the
  diskette.

  No modifications are made to either the program, the documentation, or the
  support files.

  All the files must be included together.



TRADEMARKS

BattleTech, 'Mech and BattleMech are registered trademarks of FASA Corporation.



INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this program is to help those who play the board/dice-based
BattleTech game create custom Fighters, BattleMechs and Vehicles.  No one else
should have any use for this program.





STARTING UP

There are two ways to start this program.  You can either type BTECH at the Dos
Prompt or you may directly run the separate modules themselves (BTECH-F, BTECH-
M, BTECH-V).  If you decide to run the modules directly, you may also pass the
name of the B2F/B2M/B2V you wish to load up.  The path and extension must be
included.

After typing BTECH, you should see the following screen.  Press any key to
continue.

                    +--------------------------------------+
                    |       Battletech Utilities v2.2a     |
                    |     Copyrighted 1990 - William Yu    |
                    |                                      |
                    |     BattleTech, 'Mech, BattleMech    |
                    |  are trademarks of FASA Corporation. |
                    |                                      |
                    +--------------------------------------+

You will then see a menu listing all the possible choices.  Use the cursor keys
to move the option you want and press [ENTER].

                    +--------------------------------------+
                    |      BattleTech Utilities v2.2a      |
                    |                                      |
                    |         (*) Fighter Designer         |
                    |         ( ) Mech Designer            |
                    |         ( ) Vehicle Designer         |
                    |         ( ) Setup                    |
                    +--------------------------------------+

SETUP

Although the quick setup instructions are sufficient for most users, you might
have a non-standard video card or printer.  If so, choose the Setup option at
the main menu.  You will now be presented with the following screen.

                        +------ BTU v2.2a Setup ------+
                        |  Screen Setup               |
                    +---|  Printer Setup              | ---+
                    |   +-----------------------------+    |
                    |                                      |
                    |         ( ) Fighter Designer         |
                    |         ( ) Mech Designer            |
                    |         ( ) Vehicle Designer         |
                    |         (*) Setup                    |
                    +--------------------------------------+





SCREEN SETUP

                        +------ BTU v2.2a Setup ------+
                        |  Screen Setup               |
          +----- Screen Setup -----+etup              | ---+
          | Normal Foreground    | -----------------+    |
          |  Normal Background     |                       |
          |  Label Foreground      | hter Designer         |
          |  Label Background      | h Designer            |
          |  Highlight Foreground  | icle Designer         |
          |  Highlight Background  | up                    |
          |  Rear Foreground       | ----------------------+
          |  Rear Background       |
          |  Target Foreground     |
          |  Target Background     |
          +------------------------+

There are a total of five colors that can be defined.  The following  describes
them.

  Normal    Everything other than below is displayed in this color.
  Label     This is mainly used for displaying titles.
  Highlight This is the color of the cursor.
  Rear      Any weapon marked as Rear will display this color.
  Target    Any weapon with a targeting CPU or Artemis FCS  will have this
            color.

Note: the color Normal Text/Black Background is reserved for the combination of
Rear and Targetted Weapons.

Use the left & right cursor to keys to change the colors.  Press [Esc] when you
are done. It will save your settings automatically.





PRINTER SETUP

                        +------ BTU v2.2a Setup ------+
                        |  Screen Setup               |
                    +---|  Printer Setup              | ---+
                +--------------------- Printer Setup --------------------+
                | Port         : LPT1                                    |
                | Formfeed     :  12                                     |
                | 1/6" Linefeed:  27  50                                 |
                | 1/8" Linefeed:  27  48                                 |
                | 10 CPI Pitch :  27 119   0                             |
                | 15 CPI Pitch :  27 119   2                             |
                | Bold         :  27  71                                 |
                | Bold Off     :  27  72                                 |
                | Underline    :  27  45   1                             |
                | Underline Off:  27  45   0                             |
                | Italics      :  27  52                                 |
                | Italics Off  :  27  53                                 |
                +--------------------------------------------------------+

After choosing the Printer Setup option, you will see the above screen.

Use the cursor keys to navigate through all the options.  Then enter the correct
printer codes and press [ENTER].  The [DEL] key will delete codes your cursor is
over PLUS any codes to the right of the cursor.

At the Port option, you press [SPACE] to cycle through the options.  If your
printer port is not listed, take out a text editor, load up BTU.PRN and manually
enter the correct port in.

Again, press [ESC] when you are done.  Your printer settings will be
automatically saved.





FIGHTER/MECH/VEHICLE DESIGNER

These three modules are pretty much alike.  You know how to use one of them and
you'll figure out how to use all three.  After selecting either of the three
options, you should see something similar to the following:

    File    Edit                       AS7-D Atlas
++---------------------+------ Mech Designer v2.2a ----------------------------+
||  New BattleMech     |                                                       |
||  Load BattleMech    |                                                       |
||  Save Current Work  |                                                       |
||  Print              |                                                       |
||  Dos Shell          |                                                       |
||  Quit               |                                                       |
|+---------------------+                                                       |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 +---------------------------------- Status ----------------------------------+
 |    Mass : 100       Walk : 3    Armor      : 19 (304)                      |
 |    Left : 0         Jump : 0    Heat Sinks : 20 - 0    Cost :  9,626,000   |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The top line is the menu bar.  You will see the two main menu headings, File and
Edit.  At the right side of the screen, the name of the Mech (or Fighter or
Vehicle) will be displayed.  To choose either File or Edit, use the Left/Right
keys to option you wish, then press either Down or [ENTER] and the menu will
"pull-down".

The large box in the middle of the screen is where everything happens.

The status window is at the bottom of the screen.  This will be updated anytime
you make any meaningful changes.  Most of the labels are quite simple; they
should be easy to understand.

The only real puzzler is the Heat Sinks field.  You will notice two numbers.
The first number is the total heat sink capacity;  adding a double heat sink
will increase this number by two.  The second number is number if heat sinks you
must add if your engine is too small.





FILE MENU

There are six options listed under the File menu.  They are:
     New
     Load
     Save
     Print
     Dos Shell
     Quit

All these options should be simple to understand.  I'll just talk a bit about
the Load/Save options.  The Load and Save options should give you a screen
similar to the following.

    File    Edit                       AS7-D Atlas
++---------------------+------ Mech Designer v2.2a ----------------------------+
||  New BattleMech     |                                                       |
||  +-------------------------------- Load -------------------------------+    |
||  |             +------------------------------------------+            |    |
||  |             |                                          |            |    |
||  |             +------------------------------------------+            |    |
||  | Path=C:\BTECH\M\3025                                                |    |
|+--|                                                                     |    |
|   |     Files                                      SubDirs      Drives  |    |
|   |+------------------------------------------++--------------++-------+|    |
|   || ALI-1A.B2M   * ALI-1A Alliance           || .            || [-A-] ||    |
|   || ANH-1A.B2M   * ANH-1A Annihilator        || ..           || [-B-] ||    |
|   || ARC-2K.B2M   * ARC-2K Archer             ||              || [-C-] ||    |
|   || ARC-2R.B2M   * ARC-2R Archer             ||              ||       ||    |
|   || ARC-2S.B2M   * ARC-2S Archer             ||              ||       ||    |
|   || AS7-D.B2M    * AS7-D Atlas               ||              ||       ||    |
|   || ASN-101.B2M  * ASN-101 Assassin          ||              ||       ||    |
|   || ASN-21.B2M   * ASN-21 Assassin           ||              ||       ||    |
|   || AWS-8Q.B2M   * AWS-8Q Awesome            ||              ||       ||    |
+---|| AWS-8QA.B2M  * AWS-8Qa Awesome           ||              ||       || ---+
 +--|+------------------------------------------++--------------++-------+| --+
 |  +---------------------------------------------------------------------+   |
 |                                                                            |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

When the Load/Save window pops up, the cursor is at the top input field.  At
this point, you can directly type in the file name.

However, you'd probably also notice the list of files in the large subwindow
below the Path label.  To get there, just hit the Down arrow.  If you want to
change to subdirectory or drive, press the Left/Right keys and you will be in
the appropriate place.  Note, if no other subdirectories or files exist, the
cursor will skip over to the next column.





EDIT MENU

    File    Edit                       AS7-D Atlas
+--------+-----------------------+h Designer v2.2a ----------------------------+
|        |  Setup BattleMech     |                                             |
|        |  Armor Allocation     |                                             |
|        |  Weapon Distribution  |                                             |
|        |  Misc Criticals       |                                             |
|        +-----------------------+                                             |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 +---------------------------------- Status ----------------------------------+
 |    Mass : 100       Walk : 3    Armor      : 19 (304)                      |
 |    Left : 0         Jump : 0    Heat Sinks : 20 - 0    Cost :  9,626,000   |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The four options under Edit are pretty simple also.  Again, the only possible
misunderstanding would be Misc Criticals.  This performs automatic allocation of
critical spaces for items like Ferro Fibrous Armor and Endo Steel Internal
Structure.





SETUP

The first thing you want to do is to enter the basic information for your 'Mech.

    File    Edit                       AS7-D Atlas
+--------+-----------------------+h Designer v2.2a ----------------------------+
|        |  Setup BattleMech     |                                             |
|        | +------------------- Setup -------------------+                     |
|        | | Name          :  AS7-D Atlas                |                     |
|        | | Technology    :  Inner Sphere               |                     |
|        +-| Type          :  Two Legged                 |                     |
|          | Tonnage       :  100                        |                     |
|          | Movement Rate :  3                          |                     |
|          | Engine        :  Normal                     |                     |
|          | Internal      :  Normal                     |                     |
|          | Armor         :  Normal                     |                     |
|          | Heat Sinks    :  Normal                     |                     |
|          | Hideable HS   :  0 (2)                      |                     |
|          | Myomers       :  Normal                     |                     |
|          | LAM           :  No                         |                     |
|          +---------------------------------------------|                     |
|          |          [Space] or <,> to change           |                     |
|          +---------------------------------------------+                     |
|                                                                              |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 +---------------------------------- Status ----------------------------------+
 |    Mass : 100       Walk : 3    Armor      : 19 (304)                      |
 |    Left : 0         Jump : 0    Heat Sinks : 20 - 0    Cost :  9,626,000   |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

For the name, you just start typing characters in.  When you are done, just
press the cursor keys to go to the next fields.  But if you made a mistake, use
the Backspace key or hit [ESC] to wipe everything out.

For Tonnage, Movement Rate and Hideable Heat Sinks, use the Right and Left
arrows to increase and decrease the numbers.  For Tonnage, you can also use
Control-Right & Control-Left to increase and decrease by 25 tons at a time.

For the rest of the fields, Left, Right and [SPACE] will toggle the options on
and off.

When you are done, hit [ESC] to return to the Edit Menu.





ARMOR ALLOCATION

Choosing Armor Allocation will give you this screen.

    File    Edit                       AS7-D Atlas
+--------+-----------------------+h Designer v2.2a ----------------------------+
|        |  Setup Batt+----------- Armor Allocation -----------+               |
|        |  Armor Allo|                                        |               |
|        |  Weapon Dis|                  Head                  |               |
|        |  Misc Criti|                    9                   |               |
|        +------------|                    9                   |               |
|                     |                                        |               |
|                     |                   CT                   |               |
|                     |           LT      47      RT           |               |
|                     |           32      14      32           |               |
|                     |   LA      10      62      10      RA   |               |
|                     |   34      42              42      34   |               |
|                     |   34                              34   |               |
|                     |                                        |               |
|                     |              LL        RL              |               |
|                     |              41        41              |               |
|                     |              42        42              |               |
|                     +----------------------------------------|               |
|                     | <,> to move - ^,v,PgUp,PgDn to change  |               |
+---------------------+----------------------------------------+ --------------+
 +---------------------                                          -------------+
 |    Mass : 100       Walk : 3    Armor      : 19 (304)                      |
 |    Left : 0         Jump : 0    Heat Sinks : 20 - 0    Cost :  9,626,000   |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

You will notice that there are 3 numbers for the Torso sections and only 2
numbers for all the other sections.  For all sections, the last number is the
maximum number of armor points that can be placed in that section.  The first
number is the current number of armor points there.  For Torso sections, the
second number is the amount of rear armor.

Use the Left and Right arrow keys to move to a different section.  When you are
there, the Up and Down arrow keys will increase and decrease the amount of armor
there.  PgUp and PgDown will increase and decrease armor by 10.

Hit [ESC] when you are done.





WEAPON DISTRIBUTION

    File    Edit                       AS7-D Atlas
+--------+-----------------------+h Designer v2.2a ----------------------------+
| +--------------------------- Weapon Distribution --------------------------+ |
| |   Left Arm   |  Left Torso  |     Head     | Right Torso  |  Right Arm   | |
| |LA Actuator   |LRM-20        |Heat Sink     |AC/20         |LA Actuator   | |
| |Hand Actuator |   "  "       +--------------|   "  "       |Hand Actuator | |
| |Medium Laser  |   "  "       |              |   "  "       |Medium Laser  | |
| |Heat Sink     |   "  "       |              |   "  "       |Heat Sink     | |
| |Heat Sink     |   "  "       |              |   "  "       |              | |
| |              |AMMO LRM20-6  |              |   "  "       |              | |
| |              |AMMO LRM20-6  |              |   "  "       |              | |
| |              |SRM-6         |              |   "  "       |              | |
| |              |   "  "       |              |   "  "       |              | |
| |              |AMMO SRM6-15  |              |   "  "       |              | |
| +--------------|Heat Sink     +--------------|AMMO AC20-5   +--------------| |
| |   Left Leg   |Heat Sink     | Center Torso |AMMO AC20-5   |  Right Leg   | |
| |Heat Sink     +--------------|Medium Laser  +--------------|Heat Sink     | |
| |Heat Sink     |              |Medium Laser  |              |Heat Sink     | |
| +--------------------------------------------------------------------------| |
| |       [A]mmo,[D]elete,[H]alf,[R]ear,[S]tatus,[T]argetting,[W]eapon       | |
+-+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +
 +-
 |    Mass : 100       Walk : 3    Armor      : 19 (304)                      |
 |    Left : 0         Jump : 0    Heat Sinks : 20 - 0    Cost :  9,626,000   |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Again, use Left and Right keys to move to a section.  Then use the Up and Down
keys to move to a specific location in a section.  There, you can do the
following:

  A = Ammo          Place ammunition here
  D = Delete        Delete anything that is here
  H = Half          Toggle tonnage for ammunition from 1 to .5 tons and back
  R = Rear          Face your weapon to the rear
  S = Status        Give heat and damage totals of all your weapons
  T = Targetting    If SRM/LRM, mark the weapon as using an Artemis IV FCS
                      If the Mech is using Clan technology and the weapon is of
                      the direct fire style, then mark as linked to a targetting
                      computer.
  W = Weapon        Place a weapon here (if it fits)

Hit [ESC] when you are done





MISC CRITICALS

This option will automatically place or delete Artemix IV FCS, Endo Steel,
Ferro-Fibrous, MASC (or 3X Myomers) and Targetting CPU critical spaces for you.

    File    Edit                       AS7-D Atlas
+--------+-----------------------+h Designer v2.2a ----------------------------+
|        |  Setup BattleMech     |                                             |
|        |  Armor Allocation     |                                             |
|        |  Weapon Distribution  |                                             |
|        |  Misc C+------- Criticals ------+                                   |
|        +--------|  Artemis IV FCS :   0  |                                   |
|                 |  Endo Steel     :   0  |                                   |
|                 |  Ferro-Fibrous  :   0  |                                   |
|                 |  MASC           :   0  |                                   |
|                 |  Targetting CPU :   0  |                                   |
|                 +------------------------|                                   |
|                 |    [A]dd - [D]elete    |                                   |
|                 +------------------------+                                   |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 +---------------------------------- Status ----------------------------------+
 |    Mass : 100       Walk : 3    Armor      : 19 (304)                      |
 |    Left : 0         Jump : 0    Heat Sinks : 20 - 0    Cost :  9,626,000   |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Just move the Up and Down cursor keys to the appropriate and press either A or D
to allocate or de-allocate.

Just one note, for Artemis IV FSC criticals, they must in the same section as
the SRM/LRM they are linked to.



ONE LAST NOTE

At any time, [F2] will display whether your Mech is within the rules or not.
Also, [F9] will bring you back to the bar menu at the top without closing your
current window.





OFFICIAL RULES I IGNORED

Maximum of 55 tons for LAMs
No XL Engines for Aerospace Fighters
No Double Heat Sinks for Vehicles
No Endo Steel for Vehicles
Maximum of 50 tons for Conventional Fighters
Maximum of armor points equal to tonnage for Conventional Fighters



WHERE IS THE AUTHOR?

If you wish to send a comment or suggestion to the author, he can be reached at
PC GFX Exchange in San Francisco.  The number there is 415-337-6846.  Or you can
send a letter to the address below.



CONTRIBUTIONS

If you wish to donate a small amount of $15 to the author for his time and
effort, you may freely do so.  Send a check or money order, but not cash, to his
address at:

                         William Yu
                         2270 32nd Avenue
                         San Francisco, CA 94116


