I had a question that kept coming up in our games.

I have others but this one is the fresh one....Ill be around later to ask the others

Can you launch Vipers using the Command Location While the Hanger Deck is damaged?

My group says no you cant, But I cant find any ruling and the closest one I can find would be:

Q: If the “FTL Control” location is damaged, can the fleet marker still advance? Can the fleet still Auto Jump?
A: Yes and Yes

My thinking is that "PLAYERS" cant launch from the hanger deck, but Command can launch vipers. I think that other locations cant dictate what another location can and cant do.

Yes you can, there is nothing in the rules or FAQ that indicates that Vipers cannot be launched from Command if the Hanger Deck is damaged (at least in Core and Pegasus rules, I dunno about Exodus). It also means that Lee can still get into a Viper with his OPT by using Command.
If your group wants to justify it logically, just assume that those Vipers were already in the tubes before the Hanger Deck got damaged.

Yea, yes to both.

The fact that they are not creative to come up with a thematic reason does not change the facts <haha>.

The hanger deck is the... um... right side, where as it happens, all the players launch from... the Command location is the... left side... where the unmanned or "red shirt" piloted vipers are.

FTL is where the MANUAL FTL controls are, not the drive itself. The "auto-jump" is when the computer has finished calculations for a nice safe fleetwide jump.

But not, they "actions" are not cross connected with location names, it is merely a theming applied to the game mechanic.

If a location is damaged you cannot use this specific location. Launching from the Hangar Deck is no longer possible if the Hangar Deck is damaged. But you can launch unmanned vipers using the Command location. And Apollo can still hop into an unmanned viper when it is placed in space using his ability.

Effectively, all a Damaged Hanger Deck does is that it prevents Pilots who are played from jumping in a Viper.

Command can still tell the Redshirts that they need to die... errr, launch.

- - S.