Auto flee VS explosion damage.

[S!rAssassin]

So, we`v get explosion damage, but why ships totally ignored it? Mostly S-ships are instantly died.

Add auto flee command to ships near explosion! Right after "Explosion in-moment". Let them chance to escape!

[GCU Grey Area]

Mostly S-ships are instantly died.

Most of mine don't. Tend to use heavy fighters with strong shields for anti-capital duties, usually armed with missile launchers & a backup gun with a decent range (e.g. plasma). This keeps them mostly on the fringes of the blast radius when a capital ship explodes. Furthermore, since my heavy fighters are usually assigned to a carrier (Attack role) there's always a source of automatically generated orders for them - they'll either move onto the next target immediately after their current target is destroyed, or return to the carrier if it was the only enemy ship left on the field. Either way they're flying away from the ship when it explodes. Main thing to avoid is leaving fighters with the default Hold Position behaviour - if so they will just stay there indefinitely, patiently wait for new orders while everything explodes around them.

[S!rAssassin]

Main thing to avoid is leaving fighters with the default Hold Position behaviour - if so they will just stay there indefinitely, patiently wait for new orders while everything explodes around them.

And fighters with manual order to attack target too.

Furthermore, since my heavy fighters are usually assigned to a carrier (Attack role) there's always a source of automatically generated orders for them - they'll either move onto the next target immediately after their current target is destroyed, or return to the carrier if it was the only enemy ship left on the field.

In this case, fighters will move to next target, but not trying to avoid explosion! They do not take damage just by luck. It is not right.

[GCU Grey Area]

And fighters with manual order to attack target too.

Manual orders work fine as long as there's another order in the queue (e.g. attack something else, dock & wait, fly & wait, etc) so they know what to do next, or have been assigned to a ship which can automatically provide such orders.

In this case, fighters will move to next target, but not trying to avoid explosion! They do not take damage just by luck. It is not right.

Works well enough most of the time. Blast radius isn't all that big. Does not take long for fighters to get to the edge of it, irrespective of whether they're going after another target or returning to their carrier. Pretty much the only times I lose fighters to capital ship explosions is if they've already taken significant damage immediately before a nearby capital ship explodes. Personally fine with that - fleet battles should be a somewhat risky business.

Frankly do not like auto flee. Have sometimes ended up fighting it for control over a ship. This has on occasion resulted in loss of a ship which would otherwise have survived if it had just followed my fly to orders, instead of constantly attempting to flee in an arbitrary direction (e.g. getting a damaged destroyer to safety while under fire from a station).