OPERATION LANCASTER 2023 Update! (AS Cards, Sourcebook, NEW Record Sheets Book!)

[Sumaire_STi]

2023 is a new year, and with it comes some significant updates for Operation Lancaster!

This project has seen a number of updates and revisions over time, though this most recent update is really hoped to be the final one for the project PDF itself. Numerous fixes, including significant reorganization of the Dreadnought BattleCorps' battle armor squads in the TO&E (that resulted in the removal of BV ratings for the battle armor units being in squads of 3--silly mistake, I know), tweaks to the Blackwood Templars Mercenaries' TO&E, fixes to a handful of erroneous specifications throughout, etc., have been implemented with the update to version 1.0.6. Really not planning on touching this PDF again unless something truly significant comes along, heh.

HOWEVER, the biggest new news is the introduction of the much-requested Alpha Strike Card Pack! It has been the intent since the original release to make a downloadable pack of AS Cards for all 500+ new variants included in Operation Lancaster, and now it's finally available (thank you, MegaMekLab!). It only took about three days' worth of solid work to get it all put together. I hope those who are interested enjoy!

There is one last update planned in the future, and that's to introduce a full single-PDF-file Record Sheet Pack, akin to the Record Sheet books of old. I'm guessing it'll probably have cover art pulled from the expanded cover art made for the original project/sourcebook/TRO PDF. Still have to figure out the rest of the organization, though. One thing at a time. This is somewhat of a back-burner item, however. A couple of additional "background/lore variants" have been added as a result of edits made to the main PDF (namely a new Mercury variant), so and the existing Record Sheet Pack has been updated to reflect this, along with some other tweaks here and there. The Record Sheet should be considered as still something of a work in progress, but it's got just about everything that's planned to be in the long-term final "Record Sheet Book"--it's just lacking the final polish and "packaging".

EDIT (01/25/2023): The new PDF Record Sheet Pack is NOW AVAILABLE! (See download links below!)



Downloadable Project Assets (all of which are free, of course!):

Technical Readout / Sourcebook .PDF Download Link (500+ Pages!): (Last Updated 03/21/2023)
- https://www.dropbox.com/s/45r6ctygm6ouxbf/BattleTech%20-%20Operation%20Lancaster%20V106.pdf?dl=0

NEW! Record Sheet Book .PDF Download Link (For all of the 530+ All-New Variants!): (Added 03/31/2023)
- https://www.dropbox.com/s/piuw9wbkywa0a85/BattleTech%20-%20Operation%20Lancaster%20Record%20Sheets.pdf?dl=0

NEW! Alpha Strike Card Pack .RAR Download Link (For all of the 530+ All-New Variants!): (Added 01/07/2023)
- https://www.dropbox.com/s/k0ihki6fnghhxj7/BattleTech%20-%20OpLancaster%20Alpha%20Strike%20Cards.rar?dl=0

CHANGED! Complete MegaMekLab unit file pack .RAR Download Link: (Separated from Record Sheet Pack 01/25/2023)
- https://www.dropbox.com/s/089rujkp7fa2pn1/BattleTech%20-%20OpLancaster%20MegaMekLab%20Files.rar?dl=0

Complete Art Pack (includes the MASSIVE full-resolution Cover Art by Alan Blackwell and Acala III piece by Pyralis!).RAR Download Link:
- https://www.dropbox.com/s/2v82g7dy0avcfjz/BattleTech%20-%20OpLancaster%20Art%20Collection.rar?dl=0

Operation Lancaster "Launch Video" Link:
- https://youtu.be/51HcUV39Buw

Operation Lancaster "Teaser Video" Link:
- https://youtu.be/w6_OpnspNWQ

Operation Lancaster Fanon Wiki Page:
- https://battletechfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Operation_Lancaster


Project-Related Interviews & Reviews:

"The Making of Operation Lancaster | A Conversation with Devin Ramsey" - Interview with Renegade HPG
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkEmP63J6Aw

"A look at Operation Lancaster - fan made TRO" - Review by Critical Rocket
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFU2Hcgi_rk

"Operation Lancaster - A Battletech Fan Project" - Review by Your Seat At The Table
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_dLtoZWJVE


(New thread because I'd rather not resurrect a many-months-dead thread, and because significant updates. Please don't hurt me, admins!)

[Hazard Pay]

Great work to everyone involved! Always a pleasure to come back and read it again.

[Wrangler]

Wonderful, your still still working on this!

[Sumaire_STi]

Wonderful, your still still working on this!

Great work to everyone involved! Always a pleasure to come back and read it again.

Thanks, guys. Really do appreciate the support. :D

Also, by the way:

- Quick fix made to the Operation Lancaster PDF file last night. Discovered that the damage ratings for the Heavy Naval Gauss Rifles on the Firebrand-class Battleship have been wrong this whole time, despite thinking I'd fixed that. Derp! (Fixed another thing or two as well, but nothing big enough to warrant a full-blown "file version" update, though, since that requires renaming the file, changing links, and so-on and so-forth. Yes, I'm lazy, but the updated version is live.)

[Wrangler]

Thanks, guys. Really do appreciate the support. :D

Also, by the way:

- Quick fix made to the Operation Lancaster PDF file last night. Discovered that the damage ratings for the Heavy Naval Gauss Rifles on the Firebrand-class Battleship have been wrong this whole time, despite thinking I'd fixed that. Derp! (Fixed another thing or two as well, but nothing big enough to warrant a full-blown "file version" update, though, since that requires renaming the file, changing links, and so-on and so-forth. Yes, I'm lazy, but the updated version is live.)

The TRO itself or in the record sheet?

[Sumaire_STi]

The TRO itself or in the record sheet?

The TRO PDF. Fortunately, the record sheets are just fine. :) For some reason, I transposed the heat from the weapon system in place of damage when I was writing the TRO article. Thought I fixed that months ago, but apparently I didn't.

[Sumaire_STi]

BIG UPDATE!

It's DONE! The Record Sheet Book is now available. All of the project's record sheets in a singular 540+ page .PDF file are now available here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/piuw9wbkywa0a85/BattleTech%20-%20Operation%20Lancaster%20Record%20Sheets.pdf?dl=0

As a result, the MegaMekLab file pack has been downsized to include ONLY the MegaMekLab files, and is now available here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/089rujkp7fa2pn1/BattleTech%20-%20OpLancaster%20MegaMekLab%20Files.rar?dl=0

 (Links updated in the original post as well)

[Wrangler]

Wow, there some serious issues with downloading.  Firefox has a hissy fit the file so huge. You may want zip those files up.

[Sumaire_STi]

Wow, there some serious issues with downloading.  Firefox has a hissy fit the file so huge. You may want zip those files up.

I don't know what to tell you. The record sheet PDF is a fraction the size of the project file PDF. The project file PDF, which has never been zipped, is 118 MB. Meanwhile, the Record Sheet PDF is just a "mere" 56 MB. Also, I use Firefox, and I'm on a limited-RAM laptop (less than half the RAM of my desktop), and I'm having zero issues loading directly from the public links. :-\

Maybe try again after rebooting?

(Seriously, I don't know what to tell you, that's not AT ALL just me saying "you're doing it wrong", I just don't know what the issue you're experiencing could be. :( At two different points earlier today--now three, since I did it just now to test it--while I was copying links for posting updates, I had the Sourcebook/TRO PDF open in one tab, the Record Sheet PDF open in another tab (at one point I had this opened twice on accident! :P ), the MML file pack open in another, and the Alpha Strike card pack open in a fourth--all of these tabs open simultaneously. Again, all using the public links--not opening from my hard drive--all on Firefox. All while running things like Discord, another web browser, and various other functions, all on my competent-but-far-from-amazing laptop. :-\ )

[Sumaire_STi]

Wow, there some serious issues with downloading.  Firefox has a hissy fit the file so huge. You may want zip those files up.

Are you still having issues with the PDF files? I'm just curious, since it's the first I've heard of that specific problem. Some people have historically had issues with the old .RAR compressed files I was using for the record sheet pack when they were trying to access the old separated PDF record sheet files--in that they couldn't get their devices to access them. That's a big part of the reason why I went ahead and did a single file "book" for the record sheets like I did.

Just wanting to check in. I also want to make sure it's clear that my comment was in *no way* intended to come across as any kind of attack--and I do sincerely apologize if it did!

[Wrangler]

Are you still having issues with the PDF files? I'm just curious, since it's the first I've heard of that specific problem. Some people have historically had issues with the old .RAR compressed files I was using for the record sheet pack when they were trying to access the old separated PDF record sheet files--in that they couldn't get their devices to access them. That's a big part of the reason why I went ahead and did a single file "book" for the record sheets like I did.

Just wanting to check in. I also want to make sure it's clear that my comment was in *no way* intended to come across as any kind of attack--and I do sincerely apologize if it did!

It was the PDFs.  It freaked out because sheer size of the file.

[Sumaire_STi]

It was the PDFs.  It freaked out because sheer size of the file.

Wild. This is the first I've heard of that being an issue. Sorry to hear it's being a PITA for you. :(

On the bright side, at least there's the "download" button at the top-left, so you can grab the PDFs and open them in a dedicated PDF reader...? I mean, here's hoping at least. Again, sorry for the trouble, mate. :(

[Wrangler]

No worries, I have my copy.  It may put off people whom won't say anything.  I was using Fire Fox, but i don't think that was it.

[DocVanBooom]

I really enjoyed the TRO.

Thanks for the inspiring work!

[DOC_Agren]

No worries, I have my copy.  It may put off people whom won't say anything.  I was using Fire Fox, but i don't think that was it.

I had no problem with firefox grabbing the files...

[Sumaire_STi]

Thank you all for the awesome support!

It's been kind of a wild last month. Interest in Operation Lancaster has suddenly seemed to surge out of nowhere about a year after release, with it suddenly showing up on multiple Youtube channel within just a couple of weeks of each other. I'm extremely chuffed to see that people are enjoying this project, and it's amazing to see people taking the time to talk about it. On top of that, I even got to have a chat with Travis at Renegade HPG (awesome gentleman, him)! For anyone interested, here are links to the videos in question (I'll also add them to the original post):

"The Making of Operation Lancaster | A Conversation with Devin Ramsey" - Interview with Renegade HPG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkEmP63J6Aw

"A look at Operation Lancaster - fan made TRO" - Review by Critical Rocket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFU2Hcgi_rk

"Operation Lancaster - A Battletech Fan Project" - Review by Your Seat At The Table
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_dLtoZWJVE

Again, thank you all for the great showing of support. This is *wild* to me.

[Daryk]

Congrats on the positive press!  :thumbsup:

[Sumaire_STi]

Congrats on the positive press!  :thumbsup:

Thanks, mate! It's been really awesome. It still feels a bit strange (imposter syndrome is real!), but it's still fun. :D

[Sumaire_STi]

Operation Lancaster News (Launch Anniversary Update!)

- Technical Readout/Sourcebook: Updated! (03/21/2023)
This is a minor update, just fixing a handful of typos and grammatical errors. A couple of examples of how minor these fixes are: DII-SMR-D1 Sumaire Assault BattleMech had the wrong gyro tonnage (should have been 3 tons, not 4, unlike the OmniMech version), terminology error in the Cyclops "Warcrime" article (used the term "fitment" when the word "installation" should have been used), etc.. The link is unchanged, but here it is for anyone interested, regardless:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/45r6ctygm6ouxbf/BattleTech%20-%20Operation%20Lancaster%20V106.pdf?dl=0

- Record Sheet Pack: Finally Updated! (03/31/2023)
With the sole exception of the Orbital Defense & Refit Platform (O.D.R.P.), all units now have art on their record sheets! Unfortunately, I had difficulty trying to find a way to get individual vehicle variants to have separate art (such as the standard Kodiak Heavy Tank vs the Kodiak Heavy Tank "Tarmac King"), so the vehicles that have art for multiple variants in the main project PDF file are all stuck using one line art type. I don't know why this issue exists for vehicles but not for 'Mechs. The link is unchanged, but here it is for anyone interested, regardless:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/piuw9wbkywa0a85/BattleTech%20-%20Operation%20Lancaster%20Record%20Sheets.pdf?dl=0

- Art Collection: Checked! (No Update)
Despite encountering issues with navigating it during the interview with Renegade HPG, all of the intended art is in there. It was just a communication issue that was edited out from the interview video posted on Youtube. So it's all good! The link is unchanged, but here it is for anyone interested, regardless:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2v82g7dy0avcfjz/BattleTech%20-%20OpLancaster%20Art%20Collection.rar?dl=0