I thought there was a standard point penalty for not hitting your assigned target in the first 60.
Agree with your post and the affect that it has down the line, but on the other hand only a 30 point penalty does seem alittle light. Granted I have fun either way in the FSO's and look forward to them each time, but something in your post seem to catch me a little off guard.
Seeing this as a case of being wiped out and not making it to target or being held up getting there trying to fight your way through would definitely be subjective and needs consideration. But to completely leave your mission to attack another air force and not even try to get around or deter them to make it to your target is something completely different.
Another thing that threw me off was the thought that the penalty didn't override the point response. The action they took caused a domino effect on the other side. Let me explain....
Leave out the fact that no points were awarded for the targets they should have hit.
Numbers are an example here....
12 ally aircraft left their mission and dropped ords to attack 12 axis aircraft with ords to target. Axis's try to fight through with some keeping their ords to carry out mission and become less able to fight. axis's lose 8 aircraft in the end. Now the 4 aircraft left must now try not only to complete the target assigned task, but are less 8 aircraft/ords to do it with. Also, 4 instead of 12 now have to do so fending against the defense that was set at their target.
Effect: Less ords to hit target, less aircraft to make it through defense yet to encounter, less aircraft to make it through defense with less aircraft to possibly get points shooting down defense aircraft. Also, the 8 aircraft shot down by the first encounter were worth more than the not going to target penalty. And don't forget that the penalty wouldn't have even been that if another squad sent a few to their target to hit it before t+60 as you stated.
I do enjoy flying these scenerios and salute all those that put these things together. But I will admit, my first thought after reading your post was along the lines of "-30 points, if thats all it cost them with what they got in return, they made that up and then some while costing them greater than hitting the target".
No complaint, just my thought after reading your post with a possible flip veiw to look at.