best advice I can give:
you're going to be tempted in the near future to roll out a fleet of warships all at once. Do this. However, design them all FIRST then post them all on the bureau of ship
design so that people there can help you pick them apart, and identify what's missing.
I will never be able to recapture the nostalgia of my first game, but I had to start another one when I spent 5 years contstructing a huge spacefleet, hurled it against a small
cluster of enemy startships, and learned the hard way that you need active sensors to target enemy warships.
Checking out the designs posted there will also help you gauge how ships should work...for instance, the right size and range for a missile cruiser.