Ships age. Thus there had been two rules in the earlier versions of our standard rules that dealt with that issue. By doing so they also added to the general idea of maintenance and upkeep costs for a fleet.
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Refits for life extension:
Any ship ages. Its combat ability degrades and time and technology advances. For each year over 15 that a ship has not been refitted, it suffers a 5% penalty to its combat performance. Note that a ship may be refitted at any time, subject to any relevant naval treaty restrictions.
For detailed rules on how to perform a refit check our rules over
here.
Once a ship is refitted for life extension, it is no longer subject to the combat penalties mentioned above.
Rebuilds for life extension:
Although a refit does extend the career of a warship, she will need more extensive work after thirty years of service in order to remain effective, regardless of earlier life extension refits. For each year over thirty that the ship has been in commission, she will suffer a 5% penalty to all aspects of her operation (combat, speed, damage control, etc) as parts simply wear out. Note that a ship may be rebuilt at any time, subject to the terms of relevant naval treaties. A rebuild will require that the ship be dry-docked.
For detailed rules on how to perform a rebuild check our rules over
here.
Regardless of what does take place, the ship’s weight may not be increased by more than 20%.
Once rebuilt, the ship is essentially new again; she will not require a refit for 15 years, nor rebuilding for another 30.