Drift

I still think the Drift phase should be at the end of the turn.

Firstly it allows missile boats to drift into range as a tactic.  Secondly it is a risk with asteroids.  That is, asteroids drift first then the ships drift with possible collisions.  Any ship entering an asteroid's hex needs to roll under their piloting skill to avoid hitting it.

Drift in SD gives a unique feel to the game that no other space game has.  And it is fun.

It also means some ships can drift our of contact with the fight.  Even slower ships can drift up to 4 hexes which means they will need to turn around to get back into the fight.  And smaller ships can career off to escape their larger conterparts.

It is also good with using debris counters for destroyed ships (3d6 low damage) , which is funny for smaller ships because if they do get hit they get hit well.  Again this can be a risk in the drift phase.

I probably haven't tried drift since sometime in the '90s and I'll definitely have to give it a go again. There are a couple of issues that destabilize my verisimilitude* with slippery movement though:

1. The ship that does a snap turn at or near the end of its move where inertia would still carry it along its vector...
   
2. high drive value ships executing low (1-4) thrust moves drifting excessively... (i.e. a slow rolling start where the SPAC's are trying to shuffle forward but drift more than they thrust)
   

The benefits of breaking down the precise conga-lines and the extra bit of chaos (read: fun) does seem to outweigh these minor issues though, so I'll just have to test it out for myself and let you know how it goes.

Your reasons for moving it to the end of the turn also sound convincing- is there any cases where it doesn't make sense possibly overlooked? If nobody can point them out then it should be slotted at the end.

(*verisimilitude probably a misleading way of putting it... it's not that the abstracted 2D plane devoid of inertia movement rules we have is an immersively accurate representation of space movement, far from it- but its simple, easy, cinematic style works best to keep the pace going- but as soon as this little nugget of simulated inertia is introduced, the contradiction in a Stinger slipping forward when it -should- be slipping sideways or backward is a bit... jarring. I blame the drifty physics of vector arcade games & Silent Death Online for my current mindset. I guess you could assume that every (snap)turn has at least enough thrust to set inertia forward and then some and everything solves itself.)

Side note- I just watched Valerian literally last night- liked it quite a bit more than I had expected I would (I've wanted to see it for the visuals since it's release, but thought it would be a bad story or something- not at all. Leave it to the new Hellboy for the bad story I hear)

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Your reasons for moving it to the end of the turn also sound convincing- is there any cases where it doesn't make sense possibly overlooked? If nobody can point them out then it should be slotted at the end.

(*verisimilitude probably a misleading way of putting it... it's not that the abstracted 2D plane devoid of inertia movement rules we have is an immersively accurate representation of space movement, far from it- but its simple, easy, cinematic style works best to keep the pace going- ...

Side note- I just watched Valerian literally last night- liked it quite a bit more than I had expected I would (I've wanted to see it for the visuals since it's release, but thought it would be a bad story or something- not at all. Leave it to the new Hellboy for the bad story I hear)

I don't mind the abstract cinematic feel. I just think the ship turns and is pointing in a new direction then it's inertia is just in that new direction.

The shift also means that the Epping is given a bit of boost as a first strike weapon or a mop up platform.  The Revenge gets a boost too.  Many platforms that require being within in 10 hexes etc means the invincibility of the Black Widow and Lilith get bit of a rough ride.  

I liked Valerian too, suddenly realised why you mentioned it (my avatar - doh!)

I don't mind the abstract cinematic feel. I just think the ship turns and is pointing in a new direction then it's inertia is just in that new direction.

My knee-jerk first reaction just a lingering B5 Wars mindset hang-up. I'm over it. Your solution is not to let it become a problem in the first place and is a staple of KISS design and that's what's important. I'm actually wired to start coming up with inertia movement rules to please the purists, but my brain eventually realizes 'that guy' is at the controls and emits an internal blood-curdling scream of "NOOOO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!"

I'm working out an article in my head similar to this requesting brainstorming on an optional off board torpedo style of play, the goal of which is to speed up play, and/or allow for more TPV on the map without it slogging down to an ordinance crawl in turn 2, but map pushing stacks of torps feels so integral to the game I'm not sure if it would even work as a direct fire or other method alternatives. I have finally solved most of my torp woes by keeping the games smaller and using color-coded stands, but now I want to decouple torps from the map entirely at least as a larger battles alternative, but it's such a drastic mixed bag of gains and losses that it can't have the same feel.

The shift also means that the Epping is given a bit of boost as a first strike weapon or a mop up platform.  The Revenge gets a boost too.  Many platforms that require being within in 10 hexes etc means the invincibility of the Black Widow and Lilith get bit of a rough ride.

Rough Ride...  Black Widow...       Now that's just crazy talk!

I liked Valerian too, suddenly realised why you mentioned it (my avatar - doh!)

Yeppers