You can find info on the pen and paper Version of Starfire at
http://www.starfiredesign.com/starfire/welcome.html.
The Weber books are very good, but the sheer size of the fleets used in the books makes the battle scenes get pretty redundant in The Shiva Option.
Does anyone know if there is a mod for the Starfire races? I think running into the Arachnids would be quite a trip. Especially if they had their huge reserve fleet like they do in the book.
GB