[Fred Brackin]

<sigh>I have to confess that even though I was a playtester for Spaceships I can help you with few of your questions. I was never actually able to set up a combat that fit the abstract "dogfight" the Basic rules seem to envision. Everything seemed to end up either as a Fast Pass situation or one where maneuvering made no difference.

You might also want to look at how hard it is for a ship to go undetected before you worry too much about what happens after that. ambushes are another thing I never manged to set up. Detecting ships was too easy for ambushes to happen.

Your last question though is simple and clear. Point Defense is not an Active Defense. Point Defense is an Attack action taken by a gunner against the missiles. Frequently in a Wait situation. Dodge is usually the only Active Defense a ship can take.