Boost Thrusters is a 1a tactical ship move action with a limit of once per round to move up to your ship's speed.
However, two different PC ship upgrades (Nova Prow, and Ramming Prow) provide a 2a activity that includes a Boost Thrusters (and an attack, if you end your move in an enemy's zone). Several NPC ships have simlar abilities, and a couple even have reactions that include a Boost Thursters.
Do we think these are mutually exclusive, or can you do both a Boost Thrusters and a 2a activity (or reaction!) that includes Boost Thrusters (the activity itself doesn't have a per round limitation) in the same round? This would make ships with these upgrades or abilities basically twice as fast as 80% of the NPC ships if you're willing to spend 3a on nothing but movement (and maybe an attack), which have a hard limit one one.
You could, for example double move away from an enemy with worse sensors than you and shoot it from a distance when it can neither see your nor catch you (or flee from you). But you can also do this against several NPC ships with poor speed and sensors anyway.
Thoughts?
I think it's intended the PC's ship can only move once a turn, but I'm not sure about the reaction moves. I'll look them up now.
The only npc ships I saw that had boost reactions were stewards ships that had strict limitations (one could only use its reaction when its shields went down, the other only moved one square to absorb famage for another ship). I think those reactions are constrained enough to allow them to happen in the same turn an npc moves normally. Did I miss any?
I think Hoist on Petard qualified for a level 12 Skyfire Legion fighter.
I also think the level 19 swarm ship might be easy to kill for the two faster PC hulls, given speed and sensor range, if it can’t combine its move and melee action with a regular boost thrusters.
It’s absolutely toast against the solar thrusters upgrade, which gives double speed regardless as you nova rush away from it. A solar thrusters explorer moving at double speed with max sensor range can mess up a lot of NPC ship designs unless they’re one of the few with a similar double speed rush.
I think the Boost Thrusters action in Nova Prow would be classified as a subordinate action.
BOOST THRUSTERS [one-action]
Traits: CONCENTRATE MANIPULATE STATION
Frequency: once per round
The starship moves up to its Speed in the direction of its current heading.
According to the Players Core: "a subordinate action still has its normal traits and effects, but it’s modified in any ways listed in the larger action". There isn't any text in Nova Prow that would modify the Boost Thrusters Action so I'm kind of leaning heavily towards the Boost Thrusters action in Nova Prow being the only one you can do that round.
I say leaning because it isn't a trait but I wouldn't be comfortable trying to persuade a GM that the Frequency limitation doesn't count as a trait or effect....