A couple weeks ago, we had a rumor set from Tastytaste that first broke the news..... Premeasuring is in for 6th edition. This evening we have more confirmations that this is indeed in the rulebook.
Just yesterday or so, premeasuring came up again over at Beasts of War, and I have heard this is definitely in the rulebook from a source of my own. If this is the case, what does that do for the game?
My two cents is that it will stop some fudging of the distance on the table top. You can often see someone moving what looks to be more than their allowed distance when trying to get that extra 1" or so for the melta shot or to get into assault range. With premeasuring now, it would be allowable to literally measure to see if the distance is even possible before the unit moves. I think this will make for a more honest game.
On the negative side, I will miss the excitement and tension of waiting til the unit shoots to see if it is going to be in range of taking its shot. For instance, the vindicator taking its demolisher cannon shot, and ending up being just short on range.
I think I will appreciate premeasuring. I think the argument that it will slow the game down is a little ridicules. Players will not be premeasuring and double checking every single movement on the board. I do not think the tape measure will come out any more than it already is, there will just be less questionable measuring.