What is there to recommend WEG d6 1e over newer editions like the free 2e REUP?
ignoring reup as it's pure IP theft...
There are essentially 5 official WEG subeditions 3 for 1E, 2 for 2E...
- 1E core only
- 1E + rules upgrade (changes hyperspace, alters defensive actions)
- 1E + Rules Companion (further alters defensive actions, allows haste actions to move your first action to the 0th action or -1st action rounds... also introduces limited selection of force powers by what your force skills are. Adds die-capping by scale.
- 2E core changes further the defenses, adds a movement attribute, adds an initiative roll. changes the way die-capping works. Scale is table based. Command and many-on-one table based.
- 2E Revised & Expanded: scaling now dice bonus, rather than dice capping. Adds an extra damage step (wounded has two boxes),
- d6 Space is a clear case of "was going to be 3E until we lost the license) - adding advantages and disadvantages, tweaking the initiative and the defensive actions a bit more.
2E has a more traditional initiative system; 1E doesn't.
2E has way more craft detailed, and 6 distinct scales; 1E has 2 in core.
2E has a huge raft of craft written up; 1E doesn't.
2E has the wild die, 1E doesn't.
2E limits how many force abilities one can use; 1E doesn't until the Rules Companion (and that uses the same limits as 2E.
The biggest difference is initiative.
Start of round, everyone is supposed to declare actions (not, of need, targets)...
Then, everyone rolls their first action, noting the penalty to all actions for the number of declared actions. These are not resolved simultaneously; highest goes first.
If anyone has second actions (very common), those get resolved in a second pass, reduced further if reactions took place to 1st actions.
If there are third actions (uncommon), a third resolution pass. Same for 4th, 5th, or even all the way to 10th to 12th, etc. (I've had a player with 7d in blaster pop a force point to stun out a squad or 8 stormtroopers... and shoot them all for 5 dice - he intentionally stayed in cover for first action.)
When all declared actions have been resolved, return to declaring actions.
The second biggest difference is scales.
1E has two scales in core, and no change in the rules upgrade.
Rules Companion adds 4 more, for the standard 6 of 2E... but dice over cap are read as 0.
Each subedition handles defense actions differently. Without digging into the books, I can't recall which does which.