One thing we are looking at is at the end of the turn move the asteriods randomly in some direction, makes life exciting.

i think FF may introduce something like this as part of a future wave. seems a little unrealistic that all asteroids hold their exact position the entire game. some house rules are changing this for casual games so if u think ur local playgroup wants it then implement something.

it might even be possible to destroy asteroids altogther and either inflict splash damage on nearby ships (range1) or just remove the obstacle.

Hmm... must have misread something somewhere. Thought it was range 3. Thanks for the correction.

EDIT

Misunderstanding. I didn't mean to say that you place objects outside of range 3 but that they have to be placed past range 1-2 from any edge, meaning at least at range 3.

It just occurred to me, however, that it's a very "2-dimensional" approach.

It is but then again this game like SW space battles in the movies are very 2D anyway.

I'm of the opinion that obstacles increases the quality of the strategy in the game a whole lot in subtle ways. The game starts right at the asteroid placement phase. Your decisions will always be as a function of what ships you bring, what ship your opponent brings, as well as in which order these ships are placed. As a mainly rebel player, I have to exploit the asteroids' advantage by drawing my opponents' neat TIE fighter formation (for example) through the field, which wrecks his positioning and allows me to fire with all guns when combat starts, as opposed to a partial force from him. Asteroids allow you to gamble by just piloting through them to get excellent positioning, at the cost of a reduced attack and defense. Sometimes, a move like that is just what you need for a killing shot. Not bad for just 1 potential damage.

I wouldn't like to play a game WITHOUT asteroids.

In my experience, not using asteroids tends to result in localized skirmishes even more than when you include them. Why? Because there's no incentive to run away and regroup. It literally becomes a long game of K-turns. With asteroids, you can maneuver for cover, draw your opponent through them, or fake out your opponent by maneuvering through an asteroid when it's least expected. It's very exciting!

Why don't asteroids move? Maybe the ships and the asteroids are all moving together in orbit relative to each other.

What about buying obstacle upgrades with squad points? There are a lot of lists that add a random R2 or VI or DTF because they have an extra point or 2 left. What if you could up grade your asteroids to all Large, explosive, all small, drifting or, "light weight" (finishes a ships movement with that ship on a pass through). Or what if you could pre-place mines or other dangerous obstacles?

In the "survivability thread" I hint at the idea of someone paying for a mine like "ship". Cheap but easy to hit they'd only come into play if someone shoots at them or runs one over.

Astroids are very tactical if you know how to use them to your advantage. The biggest advantage is that a ship loses their action turn if the movement template overlaps the astroid (on top of the 1 dice roll).

As I play more games, the more I notice obsticales becoming less and less part of the game. The range 2 spacing from the edge at 100 points makes them almost not part of the game anymore. It's just 3-4 ships going up the edge for an alpha strike and then k-turning. Rinse repeat. I mean sometimes people turn into the middle but it just seems like a range 1 space from edge would be more healthy for the game.

I know TIE swarm has to worry about the obsticles more, I just haven't had the experience of fighting against it as most of my opponents always play rebels.

This is from my experience, I could be totally off base here but let me know what you all have experienced with this.

we should play a game sometime

i'll force you to navigate the asteroids or i'll flank you at the sides and destroy everything of yours while i still stand with a full fleet