Arctic Fox, on 08 October 2012 - 11:22 AM, said:
This is incorrect. TRO:3039's silhouettes only indicate the post-Phoenix versions of those 'Mechs; the actual Succession Wars-era units still canonically look like the Unseen and that's the reason they are not given art, and the Line Developer has indicated that they have no intention of retconning them to something else at this point.
Except... here we are in a game that is centered around 3049. We are right in the thick of the usage of those mechs. Most of the unseen are all the common mechs of our time period.
Obviously there is a current need for those mechs.
For example (taken from the TR 3050):
Locust - "The Locust is one of the most common 'Mechs in the Inner Sphere"
Stinger - "Though not as widely produced as the Locust and Wasp, the Stinger is still very common everywhere except the Daconic Combine and FRR."
Wasp - "With thousands of Wasps in service and more than 100 new ones marching off the assembly lines every year, this 'Mech is one of the most common in the Inner Sphere and Prephery."
Most of the unseen have similar descriptions. While the rest of the 'Mechs have descriptions like:
Clint - "Never produced in great numbers, the Clint has become almost an oddity on today's battlefield."
If we are to continue getting new mechs, something has to give.