Good question.
The short answer is I don't know. 
GF III was actually being playtested well before Nova, and has gotten to the point where the combat mechanic works really well. The snag is in the activation system. It works, but we haven't tested it in enough different sized engagements to know whether it'll work all of the time.

Currently we're using alternating movement activation by division (squadron), followed by alternating combat activation, also by division. We've played through various scenarios from Ulsan (RJW) to different WW I hypotheticals using a bunch of battlecruisers and battleships, and I think we're on the right track. This would also work with plotted movement, similar to the way Nova is set up.

It's just a matter of focusing back on the historical side of the dice column system, and playing through enough scenarios to know whether there are big advantages to the move first - shoot first, or move second - shoot second activation mechanic. 

Kevin