I really appreciate the suggestions of alternatives. However, for now we are trying to keep things as per the rules to ensure it is easy for new players to pick up the sequence by reading the rule booklet. My question came about as I was concerned I was missing something. As I feared I had missed something.

Fires are clearly rather a problem. A ship will take at least two damages from a single fire. In our last game I suspect that if we had played the fire correctly the game would have been closer to being resolved. Imperial, having suffered two fires in one turn, may have suffered six damages from these two fires, shortening the game considerably. Assuming my maths is correct.

One concern that some locals have is the impact of collisions, that is he feels they are too great. If we had played the fire rules correctly collisions would pail in comparison.