Interception group range slider?

[Axeface]

Fleet combat with many S and M ships is still really problematic, the simple approach of making all subordinates attack 1 target in large fleets is effective but becomes inefficient as group cohesion is lost during a battle. If you just use a large fleet with many sub groups on interception the massive 40km range of this leads to loss of cohesion, it takes an eternity for ships to regroup (massively compounded by the many bugs that make ships not use their travel drive and 'slowboat' vast distances).

To explain. The most efficient approach to large groups of smaller ships attacking other swarms is many smaller groups all attacking different targets, eg a fleet of 20 fighters split into 5 groups of 4 is much more efficient than 1 group of 20. Currently the best way I have found to do this is by having many smaller 'fleets' with the leader on protect position behaviour with a small radius (5 to 10km) and subs on attack with commander.

There are very few ways to keep group cohesion in larger more simple fleets. Many ships always end up spread over 40+km (radar range) and due to this loss of cohesion arnt able to concentrate their power, it is very frustrating.

It would be really nice to be able to form large fleets that are able to keep the cohesion of many smaller fleets on 'protect position' with a small radius.

So a question to the people on this forum that have a lot more experience with fleet combat than me, would giving us a range slider for interception groups make this work as I think it would? Subordinate groups of a fleet would remain closer to the fleet leader and their own subordinates? Is there something im missing entirely?


As a side note, group cohesion is a huge problem still even in 7.50 beta. Groups dont hold formation, leaders fly off on their own, subordinates fly off on their own. Egosoft, if I have set up ships in a group and given them a formation, its really important that they try to stay together.