From BGG:
elbmc1969 (Cool dude Ethan McKinney) wrote in regards to FRank Chadwicks production history.
“First, the love-fest.
Blah blah…….
And now, Star Cruiser. A game I want to love so much. A game where some interesting ideas never seem to come together to form a game. Star Cruiser has all sorts of rules about detection ranges, but the weapons have a range of one hex. Sure, there are missiles, but the sensor system makes it simple for most of them to detect their targets before they come into range.So …
Blah blah…….
And now, Star Cruiser. A game I want to love so much. A game where some interesting ideas never seem to come together to form a game. Star Cruiser has all sorts of rules about detection ranges, but the weapons have a range of one hex. Sure, there are missiles, but the sensor system makes it simple for most of them to detect their targets before they come into range.So …
Do you remember anything about the design and development process of Star Cruiser? For example, the firing arc diagram doesn’t make sense if the weapons only have a range of one hex. Did weapons have multi-hex ranges some when in the development process?”
Franks Response: You know, I haven't looked at Star Cruiser in years and years. And years. About all I can tell you is it was based on an ASW model of warfare instead of a Jutland or Midway model,
It was intended from the start to be all about detection and target solutions, not trading broadsides and marking off armor boxes. I think the detection tactics were a bit more involved than you remember, and much of the fight was about killing enemy missiles before they could get close enough to your ship to target it, but it really has been a long time since I've looked at it.
YES. This is what Star Wars with minis feels like and most of the counter based Space Themed games.
Interestingly, Breaking the Chains a Modern 2021 Air/Naval Tactical Game does just this – its all about interception mechanisms to protect your CV. Highly simplified but that is the gist of the game.