I mean, we're in space. They probably have decent coverage and comms. I feel like fighters should be able to be activated regardless of where they are on the table.

Perhaps it's more a simulation of each ships abulity to track it's fighter groups and what they are doing. Once they get too far away, the details get fuzzy.

It just like this silly thing about space and space transport, but in this game spaceships take turns moving and stopping. Its outrageous.

Sure, but given the tech involved it just seems a soft reasoning.

As for it only being a game, it just seems like an arbitrary rule. What's it safeguarding? If fighters could move everywhere via a command would it really break anything? They'd still need a command and, barring that, could only do EITHER an attack or movement.

As far as I can tell it serves to keep your fighters somewhat tethered to their mothership but that seems contrary to their purpose as well. It prevents you from doing end runs with your squadrons I guess but I don't think that would be so bad. It's a tactical choice.

I'm good with it. To me it seems a necessity for game balance, just like limiting fighters to a percentage of your build total.

Honestly, I think I'd prefer it a little better if each ship's squadron value also determined the number of squadrons you could add to your fleet, but this would probably lead to larger squadron values and thus an imbalance in the value of the squadron command.

At the end of the day, I'm willing to make concessions in mechanics for the sake of game balance.

nope

range limitations put greater emphasis on your strategic positioning and punishes/rewards you according to the decisions you make

gameplay >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> fluff

plus, the Squadron command has the squadrons acting "simultaneously" with the capital ship (you interrupt your activation and then continue on with it) so the presence of the capital ship likely represents more than just "hey, luke! go here and do that!"

Sure, but given the tech involved it just seems a soft reasoning.

As for it only being a game, it just seems like an arbitrary rule. What's it safeguarding? If fighters could move everywhere via a command would it really break anything? They'd still need a command and, barring that, could only do EITHER an attack or movement.

As far as I can tell it serves to keep your fighters somewhat tethered to their mothership but that seems contrary to their purpose as well. It prevents you from doing end runs with your squadrons I guess but I don't think that would be so bad. It's a tactical choice.

You'd actually be removing the tactical choice from the matter. Do you operate in the general area of your ships or do you take off the leash and roam free without thier support. That is the tactical choice at the present.

I'm actually very suprised you are so underwhelmed by the implications having no limitation on Squadron Commands would have specifically once we move to the 3 by 6 build.

By having a range limitation you provide the choice I highlighted above, you also have order of activation impacted as if you want Squadrons in a certain area to activate you need to move a ship in that area as opposed to any ship on the board. You also have the ability to create upgrades the shorten or length the tether. Additionally, you remove some of the advantage the extra fast ships have at jumping other fighters. Yes they can do so but they risk being left open without the early activation if they jump to far.

Countermeasures. X distance from a friendly ship communication gets more difficult as enemy ships attempt to jam your communications.

Countermeasures. X distance from a friendly ship communication gets more difficult as enemy ships attempt to jam your communications.

But what about counter counter measures?

Countermeasures. X distance from a friendly ship communication gets more difficult as enemy ships attempt to jam your communications.

But what about counter counter measures?

countered by anti-counter counter measures

I do maintain that the Squadron command is less about communication as much as working in tandem with X amount of fighters, and doing so becomes more difficult if the two elements are too far apart (such as with, say, covering fire)

It's a game mechanic that is there to make the Capitals still the focus while keeping squadrons balanced in my opinion. If you could give commands to fighters at any range why would a Rebel player risk putting his Nebulon-B in range of a VSD when he can sit back and just dish out commands.

If you look at the mechanics of the rules you will see a common theme that FFG is trying to get through. Keep those ships moving and find a way to get in there, don't sit back avoiding putting yourself in danger. No risk gaming is not overly fun so keep the action going and get in there, even if it is turn 3.

I definitely saw it as more of an example of the ship and fighter squadrons working in tandem with each other, either focusing on a certain firing pattern or formation based attack and less about, like it was said ealier, go here shoot now!

I mean, we're in space. They probably have decent coverage and comms. I feel like fighters should be able to be activated regardless of where they are on the table.

Not in Georges' version of space combat.

The Star Wars space combat in the movies is copied off WW2 movies that George watched. So the communications and tactical information being sent to the pilots was quite limited.

RADAR did not reach beyond the horizon, in fact in New Hope the Imperial Pilots are running to their ships as the Rebels are attacking the Death Star, the pilots fighting at first were on patrol.

Communications is deemed to be "whatever is required to move the story along" in one scene we see a hand help holo emitter yet in another we have a droid making a recording and delivering the recording by hand. During the attacks on the Death Stars the control rooms seem a lot like the WW2 command bunkers we see in movies like the Battle of Britain, which took information from the commanders of the air fields by phone and the phoned orders to the airfields and that was radioed to the airmen.

All in all the game mimics this quite well.

While I wish the range was a little longer, this mechanic reinforces the theme of Star Wars quite well. Empire ships have high command, meaning their swarms of (relatively) weaker TIEs must escort their capital ships and only strike out on their own when the situation is dire. On the other hand, the Rebels have low command values, but very powerful individual squadrons, meaning their fighters can spread out away from their capital ships to engage whatever is necessary at the moment.

I'll bet a hundred dollars that there will be title cards for one or both sides that allow you to issue commands at any distance. Probably for the Flurry/Quasar Fire.

I'll bet a hundred dollars that there will be title cards for one or both sides that allow you to issue commands at any distance. Probably for the Flurry/Quasar Fire.

I was about to post the same but you beat me to it :-(

From a purely gameplay perspective, I actually like the limitation. I mean, yeah, it sucks not to get to throw 3 TIEs around when your VSD lumbers away from the combat zone - but I appreciate that it helps the squadrons take a back seat in the game.

And while communication isn't likely the issue, there is some logistical excuse. Look at ANH, when the X-Wings were making their run on the Death Star, rebel command could do little but offer vague guidance. The fighters were coordinating themselves. In RotJ, Home One was active in the role that fighters played, but it was much closer - even in the fighting itself.

I get the gameplay implications, but medium is too short of a range. If i can put gunnery on a target at long range, then i would think i can communicate clearly with a fighter squadron at that range

Remember you can order your squadrons to move or shoot during their phase no matter how far they are from a capital ship

If you want to bring them into the ship phase, though, you better have planned ahead

Comms aren't the issue, its the ability to work in tandem with the capital ship

You really don't want an Imp player to be able to command 10 TIEs a round from anywhere on the board.

I saw the command as the closest fighters are able to respond fastest to a tactical situation. Past med range the fighters are not in a position to help in time.

My 2 cents.

From a purely gameplay perspective, I actually like the limitation. I mean, yeah, it sucks not to get to throw 3 TIEs around when your VSD lumbers away from the combat zone - but I appreciate that it helps the squadrons take a back seat in the game.

And while communication isn't likely the issue, there is some logistical excuse. Look at ANH, when the X-Wings were making their run on the Death Star, rebel command could do little but offer vague guidance. The fighters were coordinating themselves. In RotJ, Home One was active in the role that fighters played, but it was much closer - even in the fighting itself.

I like this explanation a lot.

I dont mind the range restriction for the squadron command. It allows room for future design space for other upgrades. Then you'd have to choose what upgrades to take. Giving players multiple choices is really good.

the range has bothered me on a few occasions now where i put them just barely out of range just so i had the opportunity to hit first. If i were to change anything it would be the full distance of the ruler instead of the medium distance

That eliminates the ability to create upgrades that do just that.

Also, complaining that you placed them just out of range isn't solved by making the range longer--you're just going to start doing it again once you try and push the limit again.