A post that explains the in-setting ("universe"/"lore"/pick your word) BattleMech Technology and how BattleMechs work:
I don't think it's proper to reproduce the whole post here, thus the link:
http://mwomercs.com/...y-an-education/
I wish I had had access to / known of this information when I started playing in the MechWarrior video game genre back in the days of MechWarrior 3 - it would have made my gaming experience so much more meanignful.
(Insert trite comment about spoiled kids and GET OFF MY LAWN! here ).
For those who are interested in the 'Mechs, I hope you'll really enjoy the post.