[Xenon]

Nothing in SR6 is "clear" when it comes to RAW
SR6 is more about the "intention" than "rules as written".


Having said that. All the clues are there if you look for them:

What does LOS(A) mean?
LOS(A) means the spell has
1. a line of sight range
2. and also has an area effect


And what does "line of sight range" mean?
LOS, meaning the caster needs a physical sight line to the target


And what does physical sight line to the target mean?
optical lenses such as binoculars count as physical line of sight; magical effects and digitized images such as thermographic goggles do not



Put that together and the spell will affect all targets in an AoE but only if you actually have 'physical line of sight' to them

(= you will only affect targets you actually "see" and that are also actually inside the area of effect)

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Every edition prior had a fundamental difference in that Area Direct Combat spells had to have LOS from the caster to every target in that area, whereas Area Indirect Combat spells only required LOS to the central point, and then targets that have no LOS from the caster are still hit.

The problem with how you're parsing it Xenon is you can apply the exact same reasoning to Area Indirect Combat spells.  Going by the CRB, there's no difference between the two with regards to LOS eligibility.  I do think you may have a point that LOS is still needed since LOS(A) is described as just being multiple LOS's, in this edition.  Of course, that then means now it's Area Indirect Combat spells that work fundamentally differently instead.

[Xenon]

Every edition prior had a fundamental difference in that Area Direct Combat spells had to have LOS from the caster to every target in that area

Go back to earlier edition and you will see the rule structure is similar.


General LOS(A) range rules require physical line sight to all targets in the AoE. Actual straight Line of Fire was not required, you could cast the spell around corners using mirrors or reflective surfaces etc as long as you could "see" the target(s). You could for example cast LOS(A) spells by using mage sight goggles. This was the default blanket rule for all LOS(A) ranged spells (including, but not limited to, direct combat spells).

This seem to still be the intent in SR6 as well (although I agree perhaps not as clear as it was in previous editions, but this seem to be the case for most rules in SR6 to be honest).

whereas Area Indirect Combat spells only required LOS to the central point, and then targets that have no LOS from the caster are still hit.

In previous edition Indirect Combat Spells was an explicit exception to the blanket rule.

Instead of depending on a magic link and physical sight line - Indirect Combat Spells created an actual tangible physical elemental effect (such as a fireball). Since you were throwing a tangible physical effect rather than establishing a mystical link you also didn't have to have to see the "true light" of your targets.

This intention might or might not still be in SR6 as well (although this is, if possible, even more unclear and can for sure be read in more than one way if you want to do that).

SR6 p. 132 Indirect Combat Spells
Rather than having the magic do the pummeling, Indirect Combat spells create an effect that causes the damage—igniting a fireball, say, or sparking a lightning bolt.

[Odsh]

whereas Area Indirect Combat spells only required LOS to the central point, and then targets that have no LOS from the caster are still hit.

I'm not adding anything new to the discussion with this, but if my memory serves me well, this was indeed the case in SR3 at least. And you couldn't reflect an indirect combat spell on mirrors and the like, nor hit targets through transparent barriers, whereas this was possible with direct combat spells.

Makes perfect sense when you think about the nature of such spells.

I assume this was removed in SR6 in an attempt to lighten the rules, so no clarification to expect from RAW. For RAI one can only guess if the mechanics are meant to be still in line with previous editions or not.