Prior to the expansion, Invasion of Monster Island, the flight rules as listed were adequate. Helicopters, Flying Tanks, Jetpack Troopers, and Flying Monsters flew as much or as little as they wished and turned on a dime every time they moved.
With the arrival of Fighter Jets and Saucers the flight rules need to be fleshed out more to keep some units relevant. Saucers are cheaper and better than most Human ground units and can currently fly in any direction they wished. Why buy an Attack Helicopter for 7 points when you can buy a Fighter Jet for 4 points that is just as maneuverable and has a better Evade and Flying Speed but is 3pts cheaper?
To remedy this I recommend the following.
The cost for Flight power stays the same, but all Units and Monsters (hereafter both will be referred to as Entities) now have the following changes.
All Entities using Flight power must move at least ⅓ of their total Flight movement score each turn. If for some reason they cannot do this they are assumed to have rammed into whatever impeded them or have fallen out of the sky at their current altitude.
All Flying Entities now have a Maneuver Value (MV) of 1. An MV of 1 means while using the Flying Power the Entity may make only 1 turn of up to 90 degrees each game Turn. The Entity must move at least 2” forward in a straight line before executing this turn. All other forms of movement are not affected and do not use this Maneuver Value.
Flying Entities without the Hover ability must limit their attacks to targets within 180 degree of their front facing as per the diagram below.
Flying Entities without the Hover ability must limit their attacks to targets within 180 degree of their front facing as per the diagram below.
New Powers for Flying Entities
Highly Maneuverable: (Cost 1 point) The Entities Flying Maneuver Value is raised to 2; This power allows a Flying Entity to make 1 additional turn up to 90 degrees each game Turn. The Entity must still move forward at least 2” in a straight line before executing this additional turn.
Hover: (Cost 2 points) This power allows an Entity to fly at any speed up to their maximum and turn in any direction as many times as they choose. The following units are considered to already have the Hover power and do not have to pay extra for it. Attack Helicopters, Transport Helicopters, Jetpack Troopers, Flying Tanks, and Mother Ships.
Some Examples
A Fighter that takes the power Highly Maneuverable would now cost 5pts and would be able to execute 2 90 degree turns each turn.
A Scout Saucer that adds Hover to its powers would now cost 6pts and can zip around in any and all directions each turn at any speed up to its maximum (just like the classic UFO saucers do).
