The quickstart rules are about as clear as mud, poorly written, (redundant, wordy) and, frankly, misrepresented or evaluated by old hats. It's claimed that C&S isn't complicated. My response? Walking isn't complicated either, unless you're learning to walk. An example quote of the sketchy grammar follows (emph. mine) "Each time Armour suffers a penetrating hit where the excess damage exceeds its armour absorption,..."
p. 15
At the very least, it's in dire need of a flowchart or the like, esp. for the application of critical rules, like exactly IF and WHEN damage applies, esp. when block/shields are involved.
Example: EXACTLY, step-by-step, how does penetrating armor AND penetration apply? Does the crit damage go directly to each location, just as it does with body, or is that all wrong? Does the crit damage ONLY go to each location IF it penetrates? It. Is. Not. Clear. At. All.
The only reason I'm sticking to this particular ruleset, and hoping that plowing through the core book will answer some questions/be more clear, if after flirting with an aspirin OD, is that there's nothing else that quite fills this particular niche. It's like the Microsoft of medfan simulation.
TL;DR-it's a disordered, brain-grinding exercise in quasi-logic and frustration. I can tell there's a well thought out system here, somewhere, but somewhere between the notion and its expression, something broke down.
In short, if these are the "quickstart rules," then... sheesh. C&S: it's a gas.
Recommended fix? Grammar refresher course for the writer/s.