Questions on air-to-air engagements

[saab14]

Hello,

My group has started to explore aerospace combat. On the whole, we love the rules, and more generally, how easy it is to play combined arms games.

A couple of questions have surfaced on air-to-air engagements.

First, reference AS:CE page 185, when two aerospace units engage, what happens if they both succeed their control rolls?

Second, shouldn't units with high thrust find it easier to get behind units with low thrust? By analogy with the real world, I reckon a highly maneuverable interceptor should find it easy to outmaneuver a sluggish ground attack unit. However, I haven't found anything in the RAW to back this.

Thanks in advance.

[Frantic Pryde]

If both units pass, they can simply attack each other normally.

As far as I can tell, there is no bonus for faster fighters, which I also find a bit odd. Feels like the one thing really missing from these rules. My group has considered the following house rule but we haven’t tried it: Adding an additional penalty equal to the difference between speed to the control roll for the slower fighter.

[saab14]

If both units pass, they can simply attack each other normally.

As far as I can tell, there is no bonus for faster fighters, which I also find a bit odd. Feels like the one thing really missing from these rules. My group has considered the following house rule but we haven’t tried it: Adding an additional penalty equal to the difference between speed to the control roll for the slower fighter.

Yeah, it does feel like a strange omission, doesn't it? I had something similar in mind. A straight subtraction (higher thrust) - (lower thrust) would be punishing, but hey, serves them right for leaving their bomber or ground attack unprotected!

[FenderSaxbey]

I could have sworn that if a unit succeeds its control roll, it adds its thrust rating to the roll, but I could be thinking of the rules for BattleForce. Not a huge advantage, but could make a difference.

[nckestrel]

I could have sworn that if a unit succeeds its control roll, it adds its thrust rating to the roll, but I could be thinking of the rules for BattleForce. Not a huge advantage, but could make a difference.

Old version of the AS aerospace rules.  They were changed with the Commander's Edition.
We tried to move positioning more to actual movement/positioning instead of thrust makes you win a roll.  Thrust enables you to have more options/control over your flight path.  That should give you more choices about setting the range with other units.

But thrust has never affecting tailing, then or now.  It's always been a simple skill check, and if you fail you could be tailed.  As you pointed out, thrust was only after you checked for success/fail, so it never affecting tailing/not tailing as that was determined before adding thrust.

Skill determines tailing, speed determines range though less directly now than it did before. Now indirectly in that speed gives more options for positioning and positioning determines range.