Clarification on a few things.

First, there are 3 different bases:

Small

Large

Huge

While the huge bases are sized the same, the center peg area is slightly different. This is because the epic ships have the number tabs built into the stand, while the Large base ships have it built into the base.

Second, I can think of two reasons for why no black. The first reason is that it might blend to the background too well, providing an unfair advantage to judging if a maneuver will clear or not.

But the second reason is a manufacturing reason. Black doesn't typically look good in a transparent plastic. It ends up looking like a smokey gray and kinda blah. So to do it properly, you'd have to change materials to an opaque plastic. This sounds simple enough, but each material will have different properties, including how much it shrinks during cooling. Since the bases all have to be the same size, a different shrink % would require the mold to be slightly larger. And since they're going to continue making non-black ones, that means a second mold needs to be created. This costs $$$. Furthermore, they now either need to run the mold in the machine in short bursts as productions needs are required, but this involves heft setup fees and machine down time as you swap between the two molds. Or, if they wanted to dedicate a machine to it, you then end up with downtime for that machine, which costs $$.

TL:DR - material changes require more money. Dye changes not so much.

A base should blend, as much as possible, into the table to place the focus on the model. Bright red or blue bases? People actually want these?

What's wrong you people?!

At the very least they should have released a black/smoke grey colour. At least I can buy new bases/pegs to replace the ones that are worn out from constantly switching the card inserts out.

A base should blend, as much as possible, into the table to place the focus on the model. Bright red or blue bases? People actually want these?

What's wrong you people?!

At the very least they should have released a black/smoke grey colour. At least I can buy new bases/pegs to replace the ones that are worn out from constantly switching the card inserts out.

I think the base standing out isn't too much of a problem; remember that the base is what actually matters for gameplay, not the model.

A base should blend, as much as possible, into the table to place the focus on the model. Bright red or blue bases? People actually want these?

What's wrong you people?!

At the very least they should have released a black/smoke grey colour. At least I can buy new bases/pegs to replace the ones that are worn out from constantly switching the card inserts out.

I saw someone paint up their Robotech Tactics minis' bases to look like some kind of targeting hologram or the type of highlight that video games put on units you've selected. Worked really well.

A base should blend, as much as possible, into the table to place the focus on the model. Bright red or blue bases? People actually want these?

What's wrong you people?!

At the very least they should have released a black/smoke grey colour. At least I can buy new bases/pegs to replace the ones that are worn out from constantly switching the card inserts out.

See how nice the arcs look when they are highlighted with the same color base, which actually kinda glows and makes the art of the ship card POP!

You can't tell, but I'm giving you a very stern look right now.

I was worried about that as well when I painted my bases silver and gold and bronze. I didn't want to do black because so many other people do that. I discovered that the colored bases don't actually stand out. In fact, even a bright color like silver blends into the background more than the clear does.

On the other hand, these look to be extra bright. I'm not sure if that's what the actual color will look like though.

A base should blend, as much as possible, into the table to place the focus on the model. Bright red or blue bases? People actually want these?

What's wrong you people?!

At the very least they should have released a black/smoke grey colour. At least I can buy new bases/pegs to replace the ones that are worn out from constantly switching the card inserts out.

Well if you look strictly at the gameplay mechanics you don't even need the models, but who would want to play that game? True models give the table top miniatures game their appeal. There is a reason why Warhammer sold better than Disc-Wars (although some might argue with recient events the situation might have flipped).

And for the most part the model design reflects that with star background cardboard tiles and a clear transparent plastic base. Still it is easy for some ships to get all mixed up so having different bases might be easier. I don't think it will remove the need for numbers ID tags in the pegs but colored bases might make the game go smother.

A base should blend, as much as possible, into the table to place the focus on the model. Bright red or blue bases? People actually want these?

Yes, just like radar and targeting interfaces are in the X-Wing games.

I think FFG missed the mark on this one. Where's the hot pink? Real gamers game in pink.

I think FFG missed the mark on this one. Where's the hot pink? Real gamers game in pink.

Real Imperial gamers game in pink TIE Fighters.

Do people really need more small bases? I have like 100 that just sit in a box.

I'm glad they are selling them because I can now throw that box away. I was holding on to them just in case I ever wanted to put all the ships on display, and because I couldn't replace them. Now, into the bin they go.