Hypothetical AU tech: no Jumpships?

[evilauthor]

So here's the question: How does the BT universe change if Jumpships and Warships don't exist and never existed, and that what we call Dropships are each and every one of them equipped with a KF Drive of negligible mass and maintenance but otherwise subject to the same jump limitations as the canon KF Drive (ie, need to use Jump Points and take a week to recharge)?

The same mass limits for canon Dropships (max 100 ktons) still apply to these AU starships. They can also land (or not land in case of specific models) like canon Dropships.

[Marwynn]

Do capital weapons exist? Or sub-caps?

Also, do these KF drives cost a lot? Part of what makes the DropShip/JumpShip symbiosis so popular is its cost-efficiency. Transit times to and from a planet for some systems are more than the week it usually takes to recharge, so you can make 2-3 times more DropShips than you have JumpShip capacity and it should still work out fine.

[Red Pins]

...Oooh, sort of a millenium falcon thing.  Jumps require a noticable fraction of time in hyperspace; the crew doesn't experience the passage of time and has to reset clocks after arrival.  Something like the way the black box compares to a HPG - Yugo compared to BMW.

[evilauthor]

Do capital weapons exist? Or sub-caps?

Yes. And they can be mounted on these ships (assuming you can find the spare tonnage and heat sinks of course). Although they only become available as tech recovery from the Succession Wars allows in cannon.

Also, do these KF drives cost a lot?

Also yes. Also the primary limiter is the limited number of factories that can actually MAKE these micro-KF Drivers and again production increases as the tech recovery allows. Assume the increase in available starships matches the canon increase in docking collar capacity as more Jumpships became available in the OTL.

Part of what makes the DropShip/JumpShip symbiosis so popular is its cost-efficiency. Transit times to and from a planet for some systems are more than the week it usually takes to recharge, so you can make 2-3 times more DropShips than you have JumpShip capacity and it should still work out fine.

But how does the strategic situation change when every "Dropship" can jump themselves (after the week long trip to the Jump Point of course) instead of having to wait on some Jumpship?

[Red Pins]

Don't forget they can have small craft as a DS substitute.

[Giovanni Blasini]

I would expect a slower expansion and colonization rate, less interstellar commerce, and as a result, smaller interstellar nations.  Think Terran Alliance or early Terran Hegemony - the ships you're describing aren't much more efficient than an Aquilla.

How are these ships recharging?  Fusion?

[evilauthor]

How are these ships recharging?  Fusion?

Of course. If they're going to spend a week going to or from a planet, might as well spend that time charging the KF Drive too.

[Giovanni Blasini]

Of course. If they're going to spend a week going to or from a planet, might as well spend that time charging the KF Drive too.

Civilian DropShip, military DropShip or JumpShip/WarShip fuel efficiency rates for transit and/or KF drive charging?

Also, to clarify, the KF drive on these ships is essentially massless?  Are their costs comparable to JumpShips or WarShips of their size?

[Marwynn]

Yes. And they can be mounted on these ships (assuming you can find the spare tonnage and heat sinks of course). Although they only become available as tech recovery from the Succession Wars allows in cannon.

Also yes. Also the primary limiter is the limited number of factories that can actually MAKE these micro-KF Drivers and again production increases as the tech recovery allows. Assume the increase in available starships matches the canon increase in docking collar capacity as more Jumpships became available in the OTL.

But how does the strategic situation change when every "Dropship" can jump themselves (after the week long trip to the Jump Point of course) instead of having to wait on some Jumpship?

Hmm, intriguing. I would think that you'd see more Pirate Jumps. The biggest problem with a misjump was that you lost all your eggs with one. But if you only lost one egg or so, it wouldn't be too bad.

At least, I'd risk it. For military ops or blockade running / smuggling scenarios.

The problem with having JumpDrops is that it would limit overall shipping tonnage. Each DropShip is now going to need a KF Drive, that makes everything so much more expensive and each one lost would be a horrid loss. Colonization may be stinted.

Oh, and the Ryan Cartel... how would that work out? That was key to early colonization efforts. They could still coordinate KF Drives with 100kton JumpDrops but they'll be hauling a much smaller chunk of ice.

Costs would be simply so high that it may actually hinder interstellar commerce.

[guardiandashi]

depends on the actually costs honestly, if the jumpable dropships have their kf cores @ say 1% mass (a fair compromise between massless and canon jumpships) and have a cost multiplier closer to jumpships vs the current dropships multipliers it might actually reduce the overall cost of transport.

you could even see something like the old republics (star wars) jedi fighters hyper drive rings in some cases IE instaid of the hyperdrive being a intregal part of some jump dropper designs you have say a certain ship design that docks to a standard jump drive for that model of craft, that is deployed in certain systems even though the units actually cost more than the intregal units but allow for "pony express" chains of rapid jumps but these would be of strictly limited use and mostly military or express shipping as the costs might be out of control for anyone else to setup