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mj12games.com/forum → Iron Stars → Spotting questions
My gaming group played a scenario over the weekend over the "dark side" of the planet, using the searchlights/spotting rules.
We found it awkward to spot at the end of the turn, then move on a new turn and shoot at normal ranges only at the ships we spotted last turn.
Wouldn't moving spotting to either the beginning or the end of the movement phase make more sense?
Or, is automatic spotting supposed to be a free action that occurs out of sequence?
The rules for star shells make sense as you're not firing at a vessel so much as lighting up a patch of space. You then get to spot anyone who drifts through that area during the following turn -- so I don't see the problem there.
And with searchlights, you're directing the beams on to an enemy hull and then following them into the next combat phase. Searchlights can only reach so far, and anyone you light up during the end phase is likely going to be in range during the next turn.
May not be everyone's bag, but they've never felt awkward and I've never heard any complaints about the rules when we play over here.
If using spotting in a battle with lots of ships milling around, you spot your target at the end o f one turn, but in the following movement phase, several other potential targets come into range. Now, your lit target is further away from many other potential targets, that you must attack at double range.
Starshells would certainly solve the problem, but I haven't picked up that expansion yet.
"night time" battle should be confused affairs with missed opportunities and all that.
Frigging Delta.
I'm starting to think departure times are really just two-hour warnings for when you MIGHT be leaving. Thank God it's a direct shot to Tampa and they probably won't lose the luggage.
If using spotting in a battle with lots of ships milling around, you spot your target at the end of one turn, but in the following movement phase, several other potential targets come into range. Now, your lit target is further away from many other potential targets, that you must attack at double range.
Indeed. While I can see why this would be frustrating, as has been said-- nighttime battles should be confusing and chaotic.
Starshells would certainly solve the problem, but I haven't picked up that expansion yet.
If I post the starshell rules here, will you promise to go out and buy the expansion? 
Star Shells: In the darkness of space, any chance to shed some light on your enemies is worth taking. With the star shells rule, players may sacrifice some of their firepower in the hopes of providing more illumination on the battlefield.
Star shells are fired in the End Phase; this may only be done by a ship's primary or secondary batteries, and only if the appropriate battery did not fire during the previous Combat Phase. Choose a target spot on the board, and make an attack against this spot as normal (obviously, no armour value applies). The resulting number of "hits" (if any) determines the size of the area illuminated:
Number of Hits Radius 1 1” 2-3 2” 4-6 3” 7-10 4” 11 or more 5”Place an appropriate template with its center at the specified point on the board. Any ship within this template is treated as if it had been illuminated by searchlights (see The Merchant War, p.14).
All existing star shell templates are removed at the beginning of the End Phase, before new star shells are fired.
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