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In general I was wondering always of the tradeoffs of the two had against each other, in BFG imperials as supposed to be the most well rounded fleet, but Chaos was actually better in smaller battles thanks to a more less specialized cruisers than the imperial fleet.

The space marine also seems to fall the way compared to the chaos space marines, most obvious in like the Ultramarines and sucessor chapters vs the black legion and chaos undivided, with Chaos a bit better individually but not quite better as a whole the space marines.

Mainly this were both the most popular races in each game and their disadvantages compared to the non-human powers like Eldar or Orks tend to be more obvious but compared to each other, Chaos actually seems more flexible then the Imperial fleet/Space marines

ok, as far as Eldar go, hard to hit (unless you are using ordinace) made out of tissue paper, but are faster than anything else.

Necrons tough and they repair

Orks freaking armoured, but walling pigs

Tau, fragile, but they have more drones/bombardment capabilitites (which means they rape eldar/dark eldar)

The Chaos ships have excellent firepower and are easy to use - I would actually claim they are the best all rounders and the best 'starter' fleet - a good Imperila player can get the advantage of his armoured prows, torpedoes and nova cannnos but these require skill to use correctly.

A little late, but I love BFG and I play it extensively.

- Imperials benefit from being probably the best-balanced of all the fleets. They have good firepower and defense (armored prows make a difference), extensively use torpedoes (which essentially act like unguided rockets, but aren't blocked by shields) and have the awesome Nova Cannon. Their armored prows allow them to get close and make their lesser range less of a factor in comparison to other races. They have some really good specialist ships, too; the Gothic-class has 4 Lances (Essentially giant lasers which always hit on a 4+) on either side, which is a great complementary class for high-firepower ships; it almost assures you of a hit or two when someone's shields are down. Oh, and the Dauntless-class Light Cruiser, which is a nice mix of firepower and maneuverability.

- Chaos is focused on long-ranged combat. They typically have longer-ranged weaponry and lack torpedoes; most have weapons batteries which can be focused forward or to the sides. They also move faster than most imperial vessels, so they put distance on Imperials if necessary. Their armor is a bit lighter, so if you allow Imperials to get too close, you can get hammered really quickly. They also benefit from all their attack craft carriers automatically containing assault boats, which make hit and run attacks on the enemy when they contact.

- Eldar are the kings of maneuver combat. They get a second move after shooting in the ordinance phase, and their movement depends on which way the sun is on the board. They have less firepower than other races, but their equipment allows them to get the most out of it. They are very fragile, having less hits and a very low "To Hit" number (4+), but their holofields make them very hard to hit and they get a 2+ save to ordinance.

- Orks are kind of broken, mostly because they are weaker than the other main races. They have strong frontal armor, but low side armor. They also lack good shields, point defenses against ordinance, speed, and maneuverability. They are really meant to be played in things like raids rather than fleet engagements, and I'd argue most of their escorts are useless. From what I've seen, the only thing really worth its salt in Ork fleets are Kill Kroozers and Terror Ships. Even then, it's still pretty difficult. They have randomized firepower and their signature guns (which do double damage) are ridiculously short-ranged. I'd argue that you might need to house rule some changes for them to stand up to the others.

- Tau are a mixed bag, depending on who you talk to. They are generally slower and have less firepower than most ships. However, they can point almost all their guns forwards if need be (allowing for great combined firepower), and most of their capital ships have improvements which allow them to have the same armored prow advantage of Imperials. Their comparable ships don't have as many hull points as Imperials or Chaos, but their big advantage is that they have some of the best ordinance in the game. Almost all Cruiser-level ships carry both guided torpedoes and attack craft (sometimes only fighters, though), and their bombers can survive fighter attacks. Some people say they aren't effective, but my Forgeworld Tau fleet looked pretty damn dominant against an Imperial fleet at the 1750 point level. As long as you aren't exchanging broadsides and keeping them in your front quarter, you'll be in good shape.

- I have little experience playing Necrons and Tyranids. I've heard that Necrons are really cheap, and frankly they just don't interest me in BFG. They are very survivable, very powerful, and have some special movement maneuvers. They can wreck most things. Tyranids are a sort of have an "ala carte" sort of system where you can buy features for individual ships. They have odd chart which shows their instinctive behavior for each turn which probably could be done better, but I really can't comment since I've never played them.