Fighters ...how does that go again.

Paul A. Neher writes:

@:) Well, since everyone is putting their two cents in, I might as
@:) well add to the babble. Here's how I interpret the rules:
@:) 
@:) First of all, the sequence:
@:) 
@:)	1) Fighters move, and any in dogfights resolve the dogfights
@:)	2) Starships fire, as well as deliver defensive (ie. anti
@:)	   fighter/anti missile, etc.)
@:)	3) Fighters that survive and have not engaged in dogfights
@:)	   may now fire.
@:) 
@:) PDAF/ADAF:
@:) Each pdaf/adaf may engage once. When they engage fighters, they
@:) engage the ENTIRE squadron, but they may not engage multiple
@:) squadrons. Damage delivered indicates "the number of fighters
@:) destroyed in that squadron."

  Thanks Paul - I think this is the best synopsis we've seen yet.
Unfortunately, I am going to disagree with it.	After reading the
various messages posted so far and after carefully considering the
rules, I have come up with the following sequence of combat:

  1) Fighters move, and any in dogfights resolve the dogfights.  Any
     fighter group _not_ in a dogfight declares which ship (if any) it
     is attacking.

  2) Starships fire offensive weapons and PDAF or ADAF.  After each
     ship has fired, any fighters which have declared that they are
     attacking that ship may fire on it.  This means it's a good idea
     to fire your ADAF ships first.

  3) Fighters whose targets have chosen not to fire this turn may now
     fire upon those targets.

  Now, here is my reasoning.  Step 3 is described in FT, page 4, last
paragraph.  I think that's pretty clear.

  Step 2 is described in FT, page 4, paragraph 3, third (complete)
paragraph.  It's important that fighters fire immediately after their
target does, because that means that fighters can be used to force the
opponent's order of firing.  So they fire as soon as the ship they're
attacking fires.  They do not get to attack their target immediately
after another ship has used ADAF to protect that target.  This is
explicitly stated in FT, page 5, paragraph 2.

  Step 1 is the tricky part.  FT never defines exactly what they mean
by "attacking" when they discuss fighter operations.  I have
interpreted this to mean that fighters must choose a particular target
before any ships fire, and that they must publically announce that
that is their target (one can imagine the fighters swooping in close
to the target).  Since we know that fighters always fire as a reaction
to PDAF (except when they're firing at defenseless ships at the end of
the turn), and since we know that PDAF is only allowed to target
fighter groups which are "attacking" the PDAF ship, we must assume
that "attacking" and firing are separate actions.  The only
alternative I see to this method is to state that a fighter group is
"attacking" every ship in its front arc.  This means that any fighter
group flying into a tight bunch of ships is instantly annihilated, and
it also means that ADAF is basically useless, because PDAF can usually
fire at any fighter group within 6" (because that group is usually
pointed at your fleet, which is usually close together).  So my vote
goes for pre-declaration of fighter targets during or just after
fighter movement.

(all rules references are made from FT second edition which I assume
is the standard)

-joachim