Re: Fleet Spacing

> > If there aren't any area effect weapons, why not clump
> > as close as possible?  Granted that when ships blow
> > up they do damage to the ships around them, but there
> > are some very good reasons for flying in a dense
> > formation.
> 
> This is why many fleets carry ships with Wave Guns.

I agree, but some campaigns don't allow Wave Guns or Nova Cannon,
so my question was aimed at them.  Without area effect weapons
what reasons do people have for spreading out:

So far we have:
Anti-fighter escorts use ADAF against fighters short of the fleet.
Submunition ships and missile ships have different range requirements,
so I can see squadrons of submunition ships and missile ships becoming
widely separated.

I have a hard time seeing why the Submunition squadron itself
of a fleet would spread out.  Especially if they have Sand Casters!
Obligatory abuse:
3 Submunition ships in close formation each with a forward Sand
Caster.  Effectively they get 3 levels of shields while closing,
for much less Mass than level 3 shields.

As long as they are far enough apart so they don't take damage if
one is destroyed, why spread out?

Michael Sandy