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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Man in the Funny Hat" data-source="post: 7007240" data-attributes="member: 32740">Not only intended, but pretty close to the same.  In that respect it's close to the WEG d6 Star Wars game too.  Range there was simply a factor in having the GM set a difficulty number for players to roll.  The shorter the range the easier the difficulty number should be.  So, without specific ranges set in meters range either determined difficulty, or the difficulty that the DM wanted to assign dictated whether opponents ought to be closer or further away from each other.Again, it's an intended feature, not a design oversight.  Probably better to roll with it than try to "fix" it.  Simply assigning fixed, precise ranges in meters won't REALLY change things.  It just means the GM and players both spend more time dealing with rules crunch than creating the free-wheeling cinematic action that both those systems are meant to encourage.For example, the characters join Han Solo and board his ship the Millennium Falcon at docking bay 94 in Mos Eisley.  Suddenly stormtroopers show up in the docking bay.  "Stop that ship! Blast 'em!"  The GM doesn't need to have drawn out the docking bay in detail.  Neither GM nor the players need to count squares or take measurements:"Solo is near the bottom of the boarding ramp.  The docking bay is pretty big since the Falcon isn't exactly small, so it's medium range for all y'all.  There's potential cover for some of the troopers but they're not really taking up proper fighting positions.""We've got a ton of destiny points so I'll flip a destiny marker and I'll fire away indiscriminately.  In fact, I'll shoot the walls above them too... The destiny point would mean they panic or at least fall back long enough so that I can get on board, or at least get better cover.""Chewie will also get the ship started ASAP."<Dice are rolled.  Solo gets good results with advantage spent to add setback to one of the stormtroopers next check.  The stormtroopers all miss and some have threat results as well which the DM spends as suffering strain and one allows solo to perform a free maneuver - which he sensibly uses to run up the ramp and inside the ship.>That's fast, smooth and cinematic gameplay (or at least it should SEEM that way...).  Using specific ranges for weapons would be possible but would tend to mire the events in the "mud" of a fixed-position firefight encounter and detract from the flow:<Everyone measures/counts squares.>"Okay, these two troopers are actually long range for your Heavy Blaster Pistol which would be three difficulty dice, the others are medium range - two difficulty dice.  You're actually short range for these three shooting at you so only one difficulty die for them, medium range for the rest at two dice, except this guy who has a big-arsed heavy blast rifle which is also short range/1 die for him."If the GM WANTED a firefight around the ship he could arrange that in a dozen different ways, such as announcing that the stormtroopers arrive BEFORE anyone gets on board.  But the idea of the situation is simply to get the action moving - get the players into space for a short chase, NOT stand and fight it out in the docking bay. Throw out a range band that makes sense, add a few modifiers such as for Han's unexpected tactics and the troopers not actually expecting spirited resistance, and you have a quick couple rounds of action that jump immediately into the chase:"You're out ahead of the imperial cruiser but there's two more that come in from a better angle.  The closest one will start firing at long range.""I'll angle the deflectors to the rear, obviously, while Han does the course plotting.""Okay, they move from extreme to long and the ship starts rocking from the incoming fire.  A lot of the shots seem to be 'across the bow" so to speak.  They seem to want you to give up.  The ship shakes more as some closer shots are deflected.""Give up? Not freakin' likely.""What about the other PC's?  What are you guys doing?""We go up to the cockpit but leave the droids in the main cabin area.  We'll give Han and Chewie some snide "helpful suggestions".""Okay Chewie can have a boost die to his piloting as you kibbitz, which he will certainly need as they stop shooting across the bow.""Oh crap.  Uh...  How about I do Evasive Maneuvers this round?""Okay, they close the range to Medium.""Jeez Bill.  Maybe Luke SHOULD be the one piloting like I suggested earlier."Of course, this is a very simplified example.  In FFG's system there are a hell of a lot of ways to skin cats.  There are gobs of ways to modify dice rolls, add more dice, and a wide selection of HOW to apply the dice results.  Far more than this even begins to suggest, so the system IS NOT lacking for crunch.  But details of determining range just doesn't need to be one of them.  Not even SLIGHTLY.  It just gets in the way of the action rather than adding anything of value to it.</blockquote>

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