I kind of struck upon something while I was working the night shift the other day.
This is another alternate proposal to how AC work. It will be more than the HA wish to do because a real update seems to go against whatever their MO is. But bear with me, for theory and sake of local play.
Not discussing price changes in carriers, though this will almost surely cause them to not need to be as pricey. I find its best to argue out the actual rules before points costing is discussed. I will along with the rules, the logic that led to them.
Turrets roll to shoot down ordnance, they roll their dice and then they are mostly done.
Bombers are certainly nowhere near the size of 200 foot long torpedoes packed with ship-killing explosives. There is no way they could do exponentially more damage. They do however benefit from seeking out the weakest armor, and through this can sometimes achieve more precise strikes at weak points. Bombers roll 2d6 against the weakest armor of a ship.
Fighters protect the bombers on their attack runs, and run interception/diversion as needed. If there is not at least one remaining fighter marker in a wave to divert enemy fire after turrets have been rolled, bombers only roll 1d6 on their attack runs. Markers that have the option to act as fighters must have their role in the attack run declared before turrets are rolled.
Fighter bombers act as both fighters and bombers. When attacking a ship, markers with the fighter-bomber rule roll 1d6 against weakest ship armor, but do not have their roll reduced by lack of dedicated fighter markers.
Assault boats work as normal. Surviving fighters in a wave with assault boats, -1 if bombers are also in same wave, may give a +1 bonus to the hit and run roll of the assault boat at a 1:1 ratio, as they cover the advance to the most optimal boarding location.
It always bothered me that bombers could do more damage than torpedoes could, to massive city sized ships covered in armor.
I feel these rules brings AC down to a good attack option with its own advantages and disadvantages. It also saves minutes in the game by eliminating a dice mechanic.
