couple moreFT questions

Hi.  I'd mentioned recently that we had taken up Full Thrust after a
long time not playing.	Last night we taught my son's friend to
play.  I think they'll be wanting to play again.

My son designed his own 400 point ship (18 class 2s, a couple of 1s, two
screens, low thrust, 7 firecons (he's 12, which might
explain that).	His friend and I were together, each with a 200 point
ship.

How necessary is it to have scenarios for games where fleets aren't
similar in make-up, though they cost the same in points?  We
didn't have any asteroids or anything for "terrain".  We started with
him on one end of a ping-pong table, us on the other.  If we'd
started on opposite sides (not ends), and put him in the middle of his
side and us on the ends of ours, we'd have been able to take
advantage of his low thrust.  We could have figured out how to use our
better thrust to stay within 36" and not 24", to take
advantage of the single class 3 batteries.  But that sounds like we'd
have needed a bigger playing area, or keep shifting.  His
policy is to cut to 0 velocity and spin like a giant turret.  The rule
is you can spin freely as long as your engine works, right?

Or are these kinds of things balanced by weapon systems we aren't using
yet?  So far, we've kept to screens, beams, fire controls,
and thrust.  We were going to add stuff a bit at a time, starting with
simpler things.  So we wanted to add pulse torpedoes next
(and damage control parties, not by simplicity, but to try to give hurt
ships another chance).

I'd love to have a single FT rulebook with the best version of each
system in it.  We've got FT, MT, and FB1.  I'm not sure if, when
we get to fighters and missiles, what's the best version of everything.

I'm still interested in what's in the fleet packs from GZG.  I was
thinking of getting a battle squadron and a carrier group.  Does
that make sense?  I don't know how that compares with picking out ships
individually.

thanks,

andy