Because I am not concerned as much about the change as I am about the unintended consequences of the change you are proposing. That's my only reason for caring. -- jim
However, at least one of the unintended consequences you have pointed out is in fact, not valid. I believe you have stated that if you played that any ATT shot hit the hex, and the units in it were not taken into account, you could suddenly get GCA against any/all PRC just by hitting the hex (if using HE).
The only concern I have is WP. The way the A24.31 rule was erratized is a problem.
"All units (including friendly ones) except a non-CE, CT AFV in a Location with a WP counter must take a NMC when the WP is placed
(by any means) [EXC: non-moving units in First Fire] in that Location (not when it drifts or they move into it) or when hit by
ordnance WP [EXC: if the WP does not rise to that elevation (24.4)]. "
The first part (i.e., placed) makes sense for placement of WP grenades. The second part, as changed, would be consistant for ordnance fire, i.e., you must hit the target in order to have an effect. However, the "by any means" change, along with the rules for smoke (where it states "placed" once a hit is achieved) kind of make the second part null, since any ordnance fire "places" the WP in the ground level, automatically hitting everything.
Perhaps that is what was intended, I don't know. I believe the second part was specifically put there in order to hit upper levels with WP.
By allowing SMOKE to hit any hex with the hex as a target could make WP more effective, although given the TEM / CE DRM maybe not.
As it stands now, the rules for hitting a non-occupied Location with HE and one with SMOKE are inconsistant. I can hit any Location with HE by hitting a hypothetical infantry unit in that Location, regardless of other units in that Location or other Locations in the hex. That is not true for SMOKE. If I can see other units in the hex, suddenly my ability to hit anything in the hex is changed.
I would like to see it become consistant, which would mean that any SMOKE fire at an un-occupied hex would need to add the +2 concealment, effectively making any ATT hit (regardless of ammo type) need to hit at least a hypothetical concealed infantry unit in any Location of the hex in order to hit the hex.
Again, the issue is not as simple since SMOKE includes WP. If you clarified the rules and specified "hit the target hex" meant "hitting the hex" vs "hitting a unit in the hex", you could effectively hit a large target, and have a WP effect, without hitting the hex. I'm not sure if that would work. Prior to v2 this was not the case, since "or when hit by ordnance WP" was not part of the v1 WP rules.
I do believe the way it is played now, and I do not believe the rules are as clear as they should be, the treatment of HE and SMOKE in certain cases is very inconsistant. The difference in what the effect is (placing smoke, vs a an attack against units) makes it different to begin with, so it is not unreasonable. On the other hand, the actual game mechanics for getting a hit should be consistant, and they are not.
I do agree that ANY changes/clarification need much more consideration before being made official. I also agree that if you want to run a small target vehicle into the perfect Location for me to lay down SMOKE, I will be pissed, but I will not argue about the rules allowing for it, instead I will just run my AFV into bypass, impose TSL on your troops, strip your concealment, and then generally make your day miserable.