The Orion Doubling omission is a glaring error that I cannot explain. It will be fixed. Likewise the disruptors on the photon-armed bases.

As to why each of the base types is doubled, you have to go back to the previous versions of the book (Admiralty/Nova). In order to match the page count, and thus continue to use the already-printed covers, we had to retain separate entries for (as an example) the Romulan and Gorn Bases, even though they are now both labeled "Plasma-Armed".

The Tholians use phasers.

Anyone who buys the PDF will receive a notice when the file is updated.

Of course I meant photons.

I noticed that as well. Plasma-D were not chosen for inclusion in Starmada, so I assume that this was done to give them some sort of artillery-based AA ability against enemy drones and fighters (and there WILL be fighters when the Hydrans come to Unity  ). In practice, it works just as well, plus drones don't degrade over time/distance traveled. Also, since drones are simply warp-speed nuclear missiles, it makes sense that plasma-using races would have developed them long before they even thought of plasma torps.

On ADB's own website, you can download the rules and SSDs for the SFB Sub-Light Game, which takes place during the fabled Earth-Romulan War mentioned in "Balance of Terror." The Romulan sub-light Warbird, Warhawk DD, and Snipe FF all have missiles, which are sub-light drones, so...

Also, rockets/missiles would, I think, be part of the early spaceflight development of any race.

True, but the Feds have drones, and sometimes I like to play "what-if"-type scenarios, like a Fed-Kzinti or Fed-Klingon alliance against the Romulans, etc.

And the Federation would never have gunboats. And the Tholians' pursuers (Seltorians) would never show up. And only the Klingons would ever have a battleship. And Oceania has always been at war with East Asia. One's faith in the Fearless Leaders is best served by a short memory.

I'm loving Starmada SFU! It lets me play bigger scenarios with more ships than I ever dared with FC/SFB, and I find the game mechanics superior. I love the way phasers work, for example - ph-1 and ph-2 are supposed to be the same same emitter, but ph-2 has an inferior targeting system. In FC/SFB, even when ph-2s hit at close range, they do much less damage than ph-1. In Starmada SFU, ph-2s have less range, but damage is the same as ph-1. That makes more sense to me based on the in-universe explanation of the difference between the two. In FC/SFB, I sometimes didn't even bother to use my ph-3s, as they were pitifully weak, but in Starmada SFU I use them at close range to great effect (Gatlings are going to be BRUTAL in Starmada!)

No. It's PDF-only for the time being, while we gather any feedback/errata (a smart move on ADB's part). It will be available as a book in the very near future.