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AT-43 is my first "true" miniatures game, so I apologize if this seems like a noob question, however, why is there no pre-measurement of actions allowed?

Since the rest of the game is structured around out-thinking your opponent, it seems odd to me that there is core mechanic which gives the advantage to the player who happens to be a better judge of spatial relationships.

It doesnt matter so much, there is no absolute range, only differing to hit brackets. Getting your distances wrong is the difference between 1 point modifier on a d6, with Warhammer and Warmachine its all or nothing instead.

Domnt concern yourself overly regarding ranges just be aware what your and your opponents accuracy levels are.

Also dont mistake AT-43 for a true tactical minitures game, at least until they plug the hioles in the ruleset. Cover means very little in At-43 if you have area effect weaponry, so you cannot deploy your troops intelligently because blast weapons hit them normally on very low target numbers and kill them all the same. And some units have such high accuracy or rerolls that they cannot miss on the size of play area the game is officially designed for. Too many elements become a no brainer or are otherwise not influenced by smart play.
I have hopes for V2, but fears that the fanbois who cant understand strategy who are happy with the game as is have too much influence.

Bit of a game designer decision. 40k is the same way and WFB just started allowing premeasuring. some players feel that premeasuring takes away some of the excitment (just an inch off! So close!). Others feel that in the future, laser rangefinders would be standard issue. Do your regular opponents feel the same way? Allow premeasuring!

I will agree with robertsjf's sentiment, but its irrelevant. At-43 more readily copies reality (up to a point) you dont have actual ranges with most weapons just declining opportunities to hit. Got a target long way off you decide first whether you can hit it then you find out.

You se a laser rangefinder is worthwhile for absolute range, but for hand held weaponry that isnt the issue, user ability is. Soliderrs look through the sights and guess whether they can make the shot, which is normally based on a proabability based on range. Longer range means less chance, but do you shoot anyway.

Its a better system frankly, though it does have problems. It doesnt account for accurate short ranged only weapons except for flamers, it also doesnt account well for long range weapons with a less steeply declining fire envelope. Lock shot and flamer weapons only partly cover this.
Its a minor nigglek, and an acceptable loss for the benefits of easy of play and tactical tansparency.

Other things really need fixing, but not this.

Thanks for the responses!

Actually, I'm more concerned about pre-measurement when it comes to movement rather than shooting.

I've been playing through the Operation Damocles missions, and there were several times when I wanted to, say, run a around a corner to avoid getting shot, but I misjudged the distance and *did* end up getting shot.

I've always allowed measuring for movement, it seems a bit silly otherwise. If the troops knew they couldn't make it to cover, they wouldn't attempt.

Lord-Ironfist UNA wrote:I've always allowed measuring for movement, it seems a bit silly otherwise. If the troops knew they couldn't make it to cover, they wouldn't attempt.

Premeasuring for movement is an understandable pojnt of practicality, you need to know you can clear ansd obstacle your minis cannot easily stand on.

However for real infantry knowing whether you will make it from cover to cover or not before the enemy gets to shoot has always been one of the big dilemma in the age of modern warfare. Fact is you dont know much of the time. FIBUA in particular has always been a very racey experience. Exellent concealement, long fire corridors and patches of very good cover interspaced with no cover at all.

I think allowing for pre-measurement is a good thing, it helps new players get into the game. But can also lead to players not risking as much as they would, and that risk is what can make games more interesting and fun.

This is why should I ever get my game off the ground, I'll probably add an extra random die of range and movement in certain situations.

Vertrucio wrote:IThis is why should I ever get my game off the ground, I'll probably add an extra random die of range and movement in certain situations.

Personally, I prefer the die roll as a randomizer as opposed to seeing who has better depth perception. Seems more egalitarian.

Orlanth wrote:Its a better system frankly, though it does have problems. It doesnt account for accurate short ranged only weapons except for flamers, it also doesnt account well for long range weapons with a less steeply declining fire envelope. Lock shot and flamer weapons only partly cover this.

The system still works for accurate short range weaponry vs. long range. Take for instance a storm vs assault golem. Storm golem is more accurate at short ranges while assault is better for long.

Storm golems can hit range 4 with a 75% hit chance. Assaults only have 66.7%.

Assault golems can hit range 7 with a 50% hit chance. Storms only have 30.5%

AGs long range weaponry declines less steep going from 66.7% to 50% going from range 4 to 7.
SGs short range weaponry declines quickly going from 75% to 30.5% going from range 4 to 7.

Pre-measuring doesn't change the game really, so there is no point in not doing it.