A little more progress. The first mission to attack Baal times out long before you can reach the P3R-636 system. Since I destroyed the sole enemy there and was left staring at an empty mission list, I figured I had to cheat and get there before it timed out. Sure enough, if I destroy the enemy before it times out I get called back to handle an emergency.
Now, the second emergency where you have to save the survivors of the Beta site is a problem. The new Goa'uld ally, the Bessarians, have slowing weapons. It's a bit difficult to go anywhere let alone rescue anyone when 5 or 6 of those dreadnaughts have zapped you to immobility. Maybe they should start further away from the Beta site planet so you have a chance to do the requested mission? I set myself invulnerable & waited for the chance to move. A non-cheat approach would not have worked. I'd have been slaughtered.
The reason I am timing out so much might be that I am using an older system. (A 1.2 Ghz Duron!) The engine for this game has some issues with timing. The slow rendering rate my my relatively old & slow system might be delaying my progress.
I had forgotten about directional damage. OK, then maybe you need to put the crew slots in the middle of the ship somehow? It's not like there isn't enough room for more slots.
