Greater Space Battles: Alternate Missile Rules

So I actually finished Battle 2 of Period 2 of my Greater Space Battles solo campaign over a week ago and made the necessary campaign rolls to generate the next battle using the results.  I'll specifically address these rolls (and show my campaign record sheets) in a future post, but right now I want to talk about a new mechanic I playtested during that battle.

The missile rules in the Greater Space Battles book work fine as written.  The only problem is they just feel wrong.  So I tested a new set of rules I find superior.  I won't change the downloadable rulebook, but if I ever have time to release a rules supplement, I'll throw these new missile rules in there.  I vastly prefer these mechanics.

OK, so in the new rules when a ship's captain chooses to launch a missile, the player pays one energy token which has been allocated to attack actions.  The player then places the missile counter on the table, touching the firing ship's base, and opposite the ship's Vector/Readout Disc.  The player may place the missile facing any direction.  The picture below illustrates a missile launch.

Missile attack turn 1, energy allocation phase

 Later during this launching turn, when the player moves the launching ship, the player leaves the missile counter in its original location.  The player may turn the counter's facing up to 60 degrees either clockwise or counter-clockwise (anti-clockwise for my antipodal friends).  This represents, in abstract, the missile maneuvering towards a target.  The player does not move the missile counter however, and does not have to declare a target yet.

Missile attack turn 1, movement phase

The player resolves the missile attack one turn after launching, as before.  During the weapons fire phase, the player determines the missile's target (any and all enemy ships are eligible) and rolls the proper amount of dice.  The missile is now totally disassociated from its launching vessel, therefore the player may resolve the attack at any time during the weapons fire phase, especially since all attacks are simultaneous.  I resolve all missile attacks first, but only out of whim.  The player now measures the range for the attack from the missile counter, not from the launching ship.  The attack dice for the missile equals 2d6 if the target lies within 60 degrees of either side of the missile nose as depicted on the counter.  If the target lies outside this area, the missile expends excessive fuel maneuvering to the target intercept; the missile gets 1d6 for the attack roll.  As before, the player resolves all missile attacks separately; he may not amplify a missiles effectiveness by adding more energy like he can with beam weapons.

Missile attack turn 2, weapons fire phase