Re: [FT] Filling in a Gap...with PSB

Kirk's Idea of massing individual fighters as >1 mass can be done 
without any rule changes (and in fact can make using fighter minis 
easier, since you can put 1, 2, or 3 to a base and have it be 1:1 
representational instead of cramming 6). A given Fighter group can be 
PSB's as 6x1mass fighters, 3x2Mass, 2x3 mass or 1x6 mass "ultra heavy" 
fighter. The mechanics would be identical to normal fighter combat, only

2 mass fighters require 2 hits to take out, 3 take 3 hits, etc, and each

hit damages a fighter's offensive capability (so that e.g. a Mass 2 
fighter with one hit attacks with only 1 die). There's no need for 
additional bookkeeping either, until the game is over and you want to 
see how many fighters made it through intact. Conversely, a fighter 
could also be a half-mass Powersuit or Drone 12/group), where each pair 
of fighters gets one die attack and each damage point knocks out two of 
them. Or a 1/3 or 1/4-Mass space insect (where a swarm is 18 or 24 
individuals, or a 1/10000 Mass Nannite as part of a Nannite Cloud....)

I tend to like this approach. It can make fighters feel more like space 
systems (for those like Kirk who want them bigger), and open up the 
mechanic for a variety of other flavors/genres. 3-fighter FG's feel like

"heavy fighters" - think Star Wars B-wings, or B5 Starfuries. the 
2-fighter FG feels like a lead/wingman pair (Or B5 Minbari fighters). 
The 1 fighter FG feels something like the "Last Starfighter" Gunstar 
(not the death-blossom special edition). 6-fighter groups feel like 
X-wings; 12-fighter groups like Tie Fighters (a la Dean, I think). You 
can capture different genres without messing with the mechanics.