First the whining (just need to vent)

I dislike the salvo rules because they make every other configuration clearly inferior and they really don't make sense anyway. They also seem to make the one-shot-kill pretty easy. I also don't like that starship weapons use Ballistics Skill, that NPC ships are supposed to have around a 30% chance to hit while PC ships are closer to 60% (with plenty of rerolls as needed), and that a single PC can handle every weapon system and the torpedo launchers at the same time. I think there's also an issue with the huge range of damage from a single attack due to every success multiplying the damage.

Now the questions (to make sure I'm not making it too easy on the PCs):

Can a PC spend a Fate Point to get a 10 on starship combat initiative? If the PCs shoot first that usually ends the combat, so it seems like a no brainer. Does just one PC have to spend a point for this or do all of them?

Can a PC spend a Fate Point to buy a success on the hit with a starship weapon? As EACH success is another hit, that's a pretty good deal - especially as it seems you can spend as many Fate Points as you want on this. It seems pretty easy to inflict (weapon strength) hits each time - and if the previous shot in the salvo accounted for the shields and armor, it's pretty much a certain kill for the followup cannons.

I think you should check the NPC Starship rules in Battlefleet Koronus, since it makes NPC Ships a little more powerful with some special actions they can make (it also makes your life as a GM easier since you can skip a lot of rolls). Also, the Squadron Rules for starships makes a pack of riders a worthy opponent even for a Cruiser (I almost destroy my player's Cruiser with a single squadron of 5 Riders).

Also, not all NPC Ships have 30% chance to hit. A Crack Crew (40) take performs a Target Lock Order can hit with a base of 55%, plus any modifiers from distance and Components.

As for your questions:

1) Using Fate points for Iniciative in Space Combat was already asked before, and everyone has his own version. Some people say the Captain can do it, others say every explorer must spend a Fate point. Personally, I don't allow my players to spend Fate points to get a 10 on Iniciative on space combat.

2) Yes, the Gunner can spend a Fate point to add +10 to his Ballistic Skill check, re-roll a failed test or add a degee of success to his roll.

I have houserules to remedy these things.

- Lances get a +10 to hit, straight up. They are supposed to be accurate, one shot weapons.

- A -10 per battery involved in the salvo, if you strike you do a lot of damage, but getting all those guns to strike the same section is difficult.

Don't know if that works for you, but you can always give it a try. That and 'named' NPC's on the enemy's ship to preform the same actions as the PC's works wonders.

Rift said:

Yes, this is a very good idea to make Space Combat more chalenging. A couple of weeks ago I made a Navigator NPC with Stacking the Deck for an NPC Flagship, and make pleayers were really worried about losing (they ended up with their ship Crippled). One or two important NPCs aboard a ship can really change space combat.

About salvos:

While shooting in a salvo is very powerful, shooting each Macrobattery individualy is still useful when you don't want to destroy the target ship. Sometimes you just want to scare your enemy, or you want to cripple the enemy ship, board it and keep the ship for yourself. Firing Macrobatteries individually allow you to inflict multiple Criticals without seriously damaging the NPC ship. It's also a good idea if you are fighting a very powerful ship with high Hull Integrity, since you can damage their Weapons or other Components to your advantaje.

I have disallowed the salvo rules. Each Macro cannon fires individually and has to penetrate armor on it's own. It's not perfect, but it goes a good distance towards balancing lances again.