The current ruleset has dates for when various techs were developed but that's a huge set of rules because, like the Compendium (there have been 2) they're compiling a lot of rules.
For the 3015 era you're basically dealing with the original base game technology. My recommended rulebook for that era is the 4th edition, which is an easy 48 pages aimed at new players and only includes hardware as available in the early 31st century. Here's a link to a pdf copy: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1daSl6_5...sp=sharing
Setting knowledge is extensive, yes - over 1000 years of game history over 30 years of publication history. The original five setting books have been around as free pdfs for years (legally), 150+ pages each and covering each of the Successor States from the top down as of 3015, including history, government, military, society, economics... and they don't come close to detailing everything so there's a lot of room to work in fresh details. I don't have a link handy for them or anything more concise either.
For the 3015 era you're basically dealing with the original base game technology. My recommended rulebook for that era is the 4th edition, which is an easy 48 pages aimed at new players and only includes hardware as available in the early 31st century. Here's a link to a pdf copy: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1daSl6_5...sp=sharing
Setting knowledge is extensive, yes - over 1000 years of game history over 30 years of publication history. The original five setting books have been around as free pdfs for years (legally), 150+ pages each and covering each of the Successor States from the top down as of 3015, including history, government, military, society, economics... and they don't come close to detailing everything so there's a lot of room to work in fresh details. I don't have a link handy for them or anything more concise either.