I don't think we need to "group" AUX like we do Starfighters since AUX's get attacked that way anyway... Let's say with the PBR
HMS Revenge I fire all weapons on Lambda Shuttles... I'm not going to sit there and calculate # of weapons per Shuttle, I'm going to do total damage and then divide by targets. In this case, 800 x UCR (3/5) = 480 Damage / 12 Shuttles = 40 damage each. All destroyed. Done deal.
Since this game treats AUXs like "mini capital ships" we have to follow that mindset accordingly by letting them fly and die as solo units.
The movies don't really portray AUX's in combat, so all we have is the video games...and even then their role is minor. The whole idea behind the AUXs we have in Star Wars simming today really came from the SW:RPG by WEG. Sure, they may have made it into the SW Comic Books, but for the most part they again play a minor role. Unfortunately in every iteration of SW Simming, AUX's are combat thorns that can pile the damage if not dealt with...which is now a major role.
Now this isn't to say AUXs can't mop the floor with Starfighters... hell... I definitely remember getting my ass kicked by an "elite" Lambda shuttle in X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, but allowing them to form groups and engage entire squadrons at will is I believe "unconstitutional" to the spirit and intent of GCW.
Foreword
Hoppus and I (Hale) have been developing the ideas of Galactic Civil War for nearly an entire year. It started out as a pet project due to the dissatisfaction with After Endor and traditional simming as we know it on the Star Wars Sim Forum; and what it became is our new hope for the Forum. Complex rule systems with endless modifiers and tit-for-tat tweaks and exceptions for this-and-that were things we worked very hard on to prevent and avoid at all costs. What remains is a set of rules that gets back to the basics.
Our continuing goal and intent with GCW is to provide clear, simple, and universal rules with easy-to-follow gaming mechanics that make gameplay both easy, exciting, and encouraging for multiple players to join in and game each other. We hope that with an eye towards the passed glory days of AE and GR, and with another eye looking to the horizon of the SWSF, we desire to create an ideal simming environment for the future, today.
What is a clear, simple, and easy-to-follow gaming mechanic to incorporate Auxiliaries in battle?
1. Let them fly and die as individual units.
2. Let them provide 1:1 CSP cover against attacking AUX.
3. Since AUX's are solo units, they can be "engaged" by other solo units such as capital ships and starfighter squadrons (which "fly as one" unit).
Oh and one more thing:
Standard Movement ~ Moving into A-Ring exhausts all movement points. Moving into a DEEP SPACE ZONE (even from another zone) exhausts all movement points. Moving diagonally is NOT ALLOWED.
The logic behind this rule:
1. Moving into the A-Ring from the B-ring exhausts all movement points because engine power is directed towards overcoming the more intense gravitational pull of the planet.
2. Deep Space to Deep Space is a huge span of distance relative to the actual System, which is why it exhausts all movement points.
The intent behind movement points being exhausted is to:
1. Prevent players in "sliding" from one side of the System to the next via Deep Space Zones. Starfighters especially would become masters at this since they have fast movement points. Imagine an A-Wing Squadron moving from C-13 to Deep Space 4 to Deep Space 1 and then to C-4. Granted, the A-Wing Squad could move from C-13 to B-7 to B-8 to B-1, which essentially gets them to the other quadrant effectively, but this is a HUGE difference in terms of relative distance covered due to proximity to the planet.
2. Prevent players in "sliding" from one A-ring space, into the Atmosphere, and then back to an opposite A-Ring space.
3. Obey a relatively skewed sense of the Laws of Physics, with respect to science fiction, but still maintain some believability in those Laws. Einstein dammit!
