When you approach ship balancing, will the goal be to have, say, an eight-man ship balance against 8 single man fighters, assuming similar skill levels and all posts manned?asked by kaffis

Balance wont strictly be 8 map ship vs 8 fighters. In the real world the fighters would probably win that match. I think different size ships will have different pros and cons. Bigger ships will be more about carrying more cargo and having more options to upgrade , but 4 people manning a Constellation will probably lose against 4 Hornets.