So after looking at the model, bases, rules, etc. It looks like there is no weapon that can fire directly aft. Even the turreted Weapon on the fore section is basically obstructed by the aft section. APL an option? Otherwise my thought is that your fighters are going to have to cover your 6. Suppose this is intentional on FFGs part. Also looks like the only weapon that can shoot directly forward is the primary as well. Mostly shooting broadside, which gives your attackers more flexibility in which section they attack. Thoughts?

That seems odd that it can't shoot aft, considering it's the ONLY way we've seen it shoot in the movies!

The XWing and Tie Fighter PC games actually supported flying in behind the Corvette so that it couldn't fire at you.

Maybe Star Wars showed the Corvette firing backwards because the Star Destroyer was large enough to not be obstructed, or was slightly at an upper angle? I dunno.

That's true, although you had to be pretty close to the engines I think to make it work. Which is probably why in Alliance I think they added a engine backwash damage effect to discourage stuff like that.

It stands to reason that it is more designed for broadside combat so that you are encouraged to broadside other ships, and because the play area is wide left to right but not as deep towards the opposing player's side (the 6 foot sides are player edges). It wants you to move left to right or vise-versa along the table. Makes it so that you can't as easily protect the tail end or forward end of your ship by flying directly toward or away from another capital ship. It also gives the advantage to the ship that is broadsiding a ship that is pointing its tail at you. If your Corvette is perpendicular to an enemy's, and he is pointing nose or tail at your broadside, you could have up to four attacks, while he only gets one or possibly zero. Could do some serious damage, but only to one end of the enemy ship.

When it is shooting at the Star Destroyer in ANH it is firing at a ship behind and above it, not directly behind it. In a two dimensional game like this it makes sense that it has a blind spot. The ship DOES have a blind spot directly behind it which very small ships (like fighters) can take advantage of.

And you didn't have to be close to get in the blind spot in the games, it's just much easier to get in the blind spot when you are close up. The engine wash added in XvT did make it much harder to take advantage of though.

If you look at the turrets on the CR-90, turret has a arched wall elevating in the back of it that restricts its ability to shoot directly behind it. This is likely to avoid shooting the huge engine block in the rear.

Edit: Looking at some cutaways it appears that elevation swivels with the turret. I would still assume no rear arc being attributed to the engine size.

So after looking at the model, bases, rules, etc. It looks like there is no weapon that can fire directly aft. Even the turreted Weapon on the fore section is basically obstructed by the aft section.

The primary weapon cannot attack through the blue line between the two sections. The entire ship cannot shoot aft.

APL an option?

No. Huge ships can only use modifications that are labeled " Huge Ship only ."

So, all of this confirms what I thought. You are gonna need your fighters to protect the aft quadrant. If you broadside on the board, which seems to be the way the weapons and arcs are designed to function, you really expose your back to flankers who can sweep in from behind and hammer you. Other than deploying fighters to counter this, what other ways can you cover your 6 as a CR-90 pilot?

Think of it like a Pirate ship. **** now I want a Pirate ship game using the Huge ship rules.

The difference between the movie and the game is the restriction to 2D space, hence why the turrets could fire to the aft in the movie (and miss the engines). I think it is a fair simplification.

you can shoot to your 6, using secondary weapons (i suppose)

Think of it like a Pirate ship. **** now I want a Pirate ship game using the Huge ship rules.

http://www.aresgames.eu/games/sails-of-glory-line

It's a Napoleonic sailing ship game using rules like Wings of War which evolved into X-wing's flight path system.

An ISD is almost too big to miss. Even if it were directly behind the CR-90, it would still be visible in the same way you can't hide a car behind a bicycle. A fighter is small enough to hide in the exhaust of the CR-90.

you can shoot to your 6, using secondary weapons (i suppose)

No the secondary weapon arcs all shoot to the sides.

I plan to house-rule this so that it can still use its Turbolasers against any Star Destroyers that happen to get behind it.

you can shoot to your 6, using secondary weapons (i suppose)

No the secondary weapon arcs all shoot to the sides.

In the far future, approximately next millennium, there might be a hardpoint secondary weapon which can shoot outside the firing arc. Mounted in the aft section it could shoot to the rear.

Why wouldn't your primary be able to fire straight back?? I know it's 3-5 range, but measuring from the back of the fore base, range 3 starts basically where the model's engines stop. Yes there is a blind spot, but it only extends from the edge of the aft base to just over the length of a small ship base.

A pilot would have to bump and then have the CR take a 1 forward to get a shot and not take a shot. If the CR moved 2 after a bump from the rear, he's going to have a shot on his pursuer unless I'm missing something...

Why wouldn't your primary be able to fire straight back??

The shot crosses the blue line.

Page 5 of the manual. Yup, I missed that. She's got a big blind spot!