I created the Zeus, so I can tell you for sure it was a failure and not enough were built to matter. The Cataphract is similarly rare I think.
Agree on the
Cataphract. Not so sure about the ZEU-6Y though, seeing how
1) the writeup concludes with an editor's note saying (paraphrased) that despite ComStar's possibly deliberately misleading negative evaluation the ZEU-6Y
Zeus was a fairly successful experiment that was in fact built in limited numbers - enough so that it
should have been mentioned in TRO3025;
2) "extinct" designs such as the
Falcon are in fact still present on the tables;
3) if 171-177
Spiders are enough to warrant an Av6 in the Draconis Combine, even if only 10 ZEU-6Y were built I reckon it should warrant Av1 in the Lyran Commonwealth. Compare to perhaps 2-3 Victor-9S which I agree may not be notable enough to matter in the big picture.
( and 4), I
so want to see the ZEU-6Y as a regular deployment unit! ;) )
PS: Yes I do realize that I'm arguing against the person who wrote the fluff text about how it should be interpreted. That doesn't put me off; I'm a lawyer and I like a challenge.
Edit: For clarity - I'm arguing for the
Zeus to be included here, not the
Cataphract