What do you mean by expecting to much?

The Firespray has one attack, if it had to deal with 3 separate targets, entry level characters really can't count on 3 hits from the auto blasters. Then the auto blasters themselves aren't exactly world beaters per hit as well. If you deployed the TIEs in a group the characters were essentially fighting a target that's more maneuverable, faster, with more health, higher skills, and better guns. So I don't know that if they survived that's so bad really.

Probably that they expect their YT-1300 to tear through a squadron of 16 TIEs fairly easily. When in reality, you'll just be dead.

Considering that they did make it so that the crew of that freighter - four PCs - can often chew through 16 stormtroopers, it is a pretty distinct change of tone.

Very much so. Even with enough of a crew to put a man in both turrets, it would still be very close against a large group of faster fighters using Gain the Advantage.

I love the brutality of the game on a personal scale. It leaves something to be desired when ya get vehicles / star ships involved.

I love the brutality of the game on a personal scale.

You mean, "easy to knock down, hard to actually kill?" Or what

I love that it is easy to take a PC out of the fight. Makes getting into combat pretty tense, not just an exercise in die rolling. As for PC death, we have had only one so far and it was well deserved. lol

Except for a band of Trandoshan bounty hunters on Raxus Prime, the PCs have handily defeated all opponents they've faced

I'm pleased with the lethality of the game as well. It has shifted focus from the d20 way of "let's grind out combat scenarios" to more serious consideration of "do we actually WANT to be in a combat scenario?" That has made a huge difference in our game. Cause if you look at the PCs in the films, they are almost always running, survival comes first.

Except for a band of Trandoshan bounty hunters on Raxus Prime, the PCs have handily defeated all opponents they've faced

We haven't ran any of the FFG adventures other than the Beginner Box. All of our adventures are GM made. Our last session we faced 3 snipers with HBRs (rivals I think) in hard to get to hides (several stories up in buildings with locked doors), one minion group of 5 and a Rival on the ground. The snipers were in positions that made it difficult to get cover from all of them at one time. We had 2 PCs down before our entire party got out of the kill box.

We managed to win the fight, but it was ugly at first.