X-Wing Alliance offers the most in depth Star Wars deep-space combat experience on the PC. The game features a different style than the simpler Rogue Squadron series. X-Wing Alliance is a simulation, putting the player in a realistically balanced fighter craft that can blast holes in anything from a Star Destroyer to a TIE Interceptor. X-Wing Alliance has both multiplayer and a single player campaign that follows a family of smugglers getting drawn into the galactic civil war.
This little tutorial shal fill you in on the very basics of hull plating for fighters and smaller transports.
This guide talks about Darksabers Ultimate Craft Pack, as well as Defiants' X-Wing Install system.