Included are a setting guide and a guide to each season. If you'd rather be surprised by events, then by all means just read the seasonal guides to catch up on whatever you've missed. There's no warp drive, no hyper speed. But there is hyperspace. Some ships are equipped with their own.
Weapons vary by race and technology.
Oh yeah, and earth uses larger carrier-type ships, then deploy small fighters during battle. Earth ships' gravity is generated using rotation. Oh yeah, and there are telepaths. Lots and lots of telepaths. Earth is on the verge of destruction in a war, a war caused by a simple misunderstanding, against the Minbari, a more advanced species.