When the allies invaded Normandy and drove to the Rhine River, they were not trying to liberate cities that were of random value and scattered at random intervals; they were trying to liberate the whole country of France. These "random planets of random value at random intervals" give you something to fight over, but you're fighting a war that bears no relationship to any real war really fought in real space
Isigny, Caen, Cherbourg, Bayeaux, port-en-bessin, St Lo... all places that the were vital for allies to capture, whether to open up some extra supply capacity, or to clear flanks, or just 'cos they were on the main road network etc.
On the large scale only Cherbourg may have had any strategic signifcance, the rest were sleepy places no one may have heard of, but of 'random value' through the 'random chance' that they happened to be right where a large army was moving through. At the local scale they were of major importance and significant actions/battles occured directly as a need to take them.
If I'm playing a grand strategic game like Third Reich then normandy is a clear hex with a dot to indicate that there is a notable city of interest but it has no effect on combat/movement etc at that level. If I'm playing a more operational level game like Longest Day then each of the above towns and many more are of massive importance and need to be properly represented.
I have no idea what the FA system was trying to do, but it doesn't seem unreasonable that the same may well apply to an SFU campaign, at an F&E scale campaign 'normandy' may have been an empty sector that can be assumed to be full of planets of no significance, they abstract out of such a game. At a local scale campaign, however, some of those nameless planets may acquire important signifcance
because you have to secure them for purely local concerns - That planet has a fighter factor better take it so they can't threaten supplies, That planet allows the enemy to gather info on our movements through the sector, that planet is slap bang on the upcoming invasion route, that planet will be a great staging area for our supply line etc.
Of course as a local commnder you may not even know why you are fighting over some minor planet - you had orders and that was that, all you know is that this ball of rock is about to become the death of thousands of your men of reasons known only to those higher up (and they might not even be good reasons).
