So FFG needs a game that has starwars miniatures, but is not based on blind luck.

They did an amazing job with x-wing, where knowing how your opponent is going to move is more powerful then your ability to roll dice. It really makes you feel like your in the mind set of a pilot. To be honest you still feel starwars even when you take luke and wedge and face down the slave 1 with boba in it, even though boba alters the universe by killing luke and wedge....

Dog fights were very common in starwars new hope and beyond, however ground warfare was not. Some people might of played galactic battlegrounds (best rts ever!) however, it got horrid reviews for not feeling like starwars. So the enigma that FFG has to solve, to get more money out of me, is how to make a game like this, and make it feel starwarsy.

What role am I playing? Am I playing the hero on the field? or am I playing the mastermind general in an air conditioned room moving troops around? How much to scale should the models be (atats wont be small)?

Will movement be done by squares? or will it be done in inches? I can see a smaller scale game be done on squares be much more tactical then a larger scale with free movement. However I think if they do like Dust and have both options available to play would be the best option.

So heres my opinion.

in combat, both sides are moving at once (contrary to 40k, warmachine, dust, heroclix) So I think movement dials would be amazing to bring in from xwing. everyone moves around the same time. you plan for your opponent to plan for your move which is happening all at once. Also leads for a much simplier game.

To get the best feel.

3 battles come to mind immediately when I think soldiers shooting each other.

First is A New hope.

A small squad vs a small squad with darth vader (imagine if Obi-wan and Yoda was aboard that ship and fought Vader then!) The terrain would be much more tactical with narrow hallways and you might be able to work out dials with movement (forward green 2 blocks, forward white 3 blocks, forward one block left one block, forward red 5 blocks.) you could throw actions on a different dial (forward 2 blocks,)next dial(crouch, stand, dive over the barrier infront of you to take cover from behind, peer around the corner)

This type could be taken into many different scenes and reasons for fights, with or without objectives (a bothan needs to be exfiled from a small urban environment)

Second battle, Hoth!

I think this would be more open and free. with loads more units! To be honest, its not as much about caring who wins as it is about seeing the models in the field. When you have more units, games can get a little more unbalanced then keeping it smaller scale, however I dont think you would want to use a dial for each trooper, but maybe per unit instead (maybe even use templates when moving like xwing, and have to face in the same direction.

Third battle, Endor, I see this as an inbetween of the two.battles. Maybe for the players who have terrain that could be used (such as buildings) but still want to move each trooper as a single rather then a unit.

I think the above idea is the most amazing thought I have ever had, and I might have to create one like it. Anyone up for creating an indie starwars game until ffg makes one using some of the above methods? maybe playtest and give ffg a working model so all they have to do is some simple rule revising, model creation, and whatever else it takes? Id be okay with a brand new game using the above method lol