I've played TI3 about a half dozen times and recently bought TI4. I have a few inter-related questions about upgraded fighters. I apologize in advance for not knowing the names of all the technology cards off the top of my head here. Sorry.

1. If I have the upgraded fighters that can fly on their own without being transported, can I still transport them using a carrier? I assume yes, and I assume this applies to any ship with a capacity.

2. If I do want to transport some upgraded fighters using a carrier, are the fighters allowed to move on their own to rendezvous with the carrier before or at any point during the carrier's move? Can I, as part of a single activation of a remote system I'm attacking, move a squadron of 4 upgraded fighters two hexes to meet up with a carrier, land them on the carrier, then move the carrier 2 more hexes as part of that attack?

3. Somewhat unrelated to the first 2 questions, but say I activate a system and bring several ships in from different places, some are carrying ground forces and others fighters, and they're all attacking an opponent's system. Does the game check during each round of combat to see if I have enough capacity for my remaining GFs and fighters? I assume so, but not sure. Also, during combat, is each GF and fighter effectively "stuck" to the capital ship that brought it? Or can I take away capital ships as casualties in any way I like as long as I have enough capacity left alive to accommodate the GFs and fighters I have left?

Thanks.

1. Yes and yes.

2. I have no idea. Good question. I'd ask FFG.

3. No, you don't check capacity until the end of the fight. As long as you're legal when the fight starts, you could lose all of your cruisers and the fighters will keep on fighting. But once the fight is over, you have to "get legal" with capacity.

2. The answer is no.

The first rule of movement is that you must always end your movement in an activated system. In order for this "split transport" move to function the fighters would have to end their movement in a system that wasn't activated so that the carrier could pass them and pick them up. That's not allowed by the rules.

Now the last rule of movement is that movement happens simultaneously, but each individual move must still follow the basic first rule of movement. Hence when you move your fighters (they move 2), at the end of that move they must be in the activated system.

To be clear, I haven't tried this during a game and would not try to if I knew it was illegal and felt I could prove that to the satisfaction of a rational, reasonable opponent. That said, I'm now concerned about someone else trying to do it against me and how I'm going to prove to them that they can't. Just to play devil's advocate, one could argue that if I move an upgraded fighter two spaces to join a carrier then move it two more with the XRD transport, in that situation, the fighter hasn't "ended" anything in any illegal hex. It's still moving toward and eventually stopping in the activated space, is it not? It moves two spaces on its own and two more on the carrier, so its move is not over until it reaches the activated space, as evidenced by the fact that it ultimately ends up in the activated space and not somewhere else.

On a related note, what if the fighter only moves ONE space before boarding the transport? Since it has a move of 2, and it hasn't actually exhausted that move, you could claim it hasn't "ended" it's move when it joins the carrier under that scenario as well.

This is a move that, I believe, was legal in Axis and Allies at one point, and I think some people still think of carriers and fighters in terms of that game, at least as a first-blush way to grok how it works. I'm afraid that comparison might put the idea in someone's head, and assuming it's actually not legal, I'd like to be able to unequivocally prove such.

Yeah I can see it being a debatable point. In general though, wether you play it one way or the other, as long as it's consistent for everyone I don't see a major balance issue. Perhaps the Nalu are slightly better.

It’s certainly a vague enough point to warrant tossing the question to FFG, but I’m with BK on this, it’s an illegal move.

I sent the question to FFG, got a response a few hours later (same day!):

Me:

" Rules Question:
In Twilight Imperium 4th Edition, if I have the Fighter II (Advanced Fighters) technology and Carrier II (XRD Transport) technology, is it legal for me to move my fighters two spaces on their own to join a carrier, then move them aboard the carrier another two spaces, ultimately ending up with the carrier in the activated space, wherever that is?"

The response, from FFG:

"Thanks for your rules question regarding TI4. In the scenario you have portrayed, the fighters' movement is not legal. Because there is no partial movement, the Advanced Fighters can either reach the active system from their current system or they cannot. It is not possible to move them part of the way and have a carrier do the rest of the work.