(Answered) IO - Primitive JumpShip questions

[sillybrit]

1. Per IntOps p129-130 Primitive JumpShips can only be equipped with a Primitive KF drive, but can they be built with a Compact KF drive when they become available? If yes, can a Primitive JumpShip originally built with a Primitive KF drive be later refit with a Compact KF drive? This could have a lot of implications for every ship class built prior to ~2460, such as the Aegis.
2. Per IntOps p130, Primitive JumpShips use the formula (45 + squareroot(engine tonnage)) to determine the number of free heat sinks, while WarShips use (45 +  squareroot(2 * engine tonnage)). Can a Primitive JumpShip later have its engine upgraded to WarShip standard to provide the additional free heatsinks?
3. Primitive JumpShips get only 66% of the armor points of a WarShip and isn't allowed to use advanced armor type. Can a Primitive JumpShip later be upgraded to be equivalent to a WarShip for armor purposes, including being able to fit advanced armors?
4. IntOps p128 says that all Inner Sphere states stop building Primitive JumpShips from 2460, but p121 gives a table of dates for primitive vs modern units in general showing 2470 as the threshold date for the Hegemony through to 2504 for the Capellans. Which is right? (Note that Era Digest Age of War p11 shows that the Capellans didn't become modern until 2524, so either IntOps or ED AoW needs errata on that point)

[Hammer]

1,2, and 3 are no as the upgrade is *normal* jumpships.  Basically upgrading primitives the result has been "totally rebuild the primitive unit".

Question 4 should be referred to the Ask the Lead Developers forum.

[sillybrit]

I don't agree with the statement that the upgrade path for a Primitive JumpShip is a normal, i.e. modern, JumpShip. The construction rules for Primitive JumpShips says that they're built like WarShips apart from the changes detailed in IntOps, so the natural upgrade for a Primitive JumpShip is WarShip.

That aside, ruling that Primitive JumpShips can't be fitted with Compact KF cores, would mean that Compact cores weren't used until the modern WarShip was introduced around 2460-2470. That limits most ships prior to those dates to 15LY jumps, unless they allocate extra mass to increasing KF range over thrust, protection, weapons, cargo, etc. With the Primtive KF drive's range only increasing by 1LY per additional 3% ship mass, only highly specialized designs will get into the 20LY or higher range category. Not that that's a bad thing, but it's something that would have to be accounted for in pre-WarShip designs.

Which also begs the question, if the Compact core was prototyped by the Alliance in 2290 and went into production in 2300, what was it used on? I could understand a naked Compact core being jumped around during prototype trials, but what was the production usage?

[Paul]

I don't agree with the statement that the upgrade path for a Primitive JumpShip is a normal, i.e. modern, JumpShip.

You dont have to. This is a rules forum, not a fluff forum.

[sillybrit]

I based my comment on the rules, not fluff: the Primitive JumpShip construction rules literally state multiple times that they use the WarShip construction rules.

[Paul]

Dates are fluff. There are no rules to do what you want.

[sillybrit]

So, to clarify, the Compact KF drive goes into production in 2300, but isn't actually used on anything until ~2460-2470 when WarShips can be built? All warships before then (so the Farragut-class and all prior classes) would be using Primitive KF drives limiting them to a jump range of 15LY, apart from maybe a few classes that devote extra tonnage to increase the jump range? And the refit rules in SO do not apply to Primitive JumpShips, so those older classes weren't later refit to WarShip standard?

[Paul]

So, to clarify, the Compact KF drive goes into production in 2300, but isn't actually used on anything until ~2460-2470 when WarShips can be built?
All warships before then (so the Farragut-class and all prior classes) would be using Primitive KF drives limiting them to a jump range of 15LY, apart from maybe a few classes that devote extra tonnage to increase the jump range?

Fluff. Not a problem for this forum to solve.

And the refit rules in SO do not apply to Primitive JumpShips

They do not.