Ship construction is very simple in theory. You pick a ship size, and then fill it with components. Once done, you determine some basic facts about the ship, calculate the points value, and of you go.

Unfortunately, the system is called a guideline for a very real reason. SFB has no ship construction system as far as I am aware, and thus I have had to attempt to do one from scratch. And also, one that is backwards compatible, thus meaning that ships already designed do not have to be redone. Not the easiest task, but here is the result.

Basically, the system is a pick-n-mix approach. You pick a hull size, and then you fill that hull with all the components that you want. The end result is your ship. There are a couple of formula's, but nothing very complicated. There is also a lot of choice, which can help or hinder.

It is advisable to read the guidelines thoroughly before making a ship, as any relevant notes on the early ships are strewn in with the other ships. There are some important differences though.

The heart of the ship construction system, are the ship tables. These tables are categorised by yahren, race and military or civilian type. These tables list a wide range of information, including size class, movement rates, life support and so on, and very importantly, the amount of boxes on the SSD that the ship has.

Using these tables as a base, you then have some limits as to what you can and can not put into a ship, and thus you have to be a bit careful. Having a large hull will allow you space for loads of weapons, but at the same time, the ship will be slow and not very manoeuvrable.

The thing to remember about the ship construction system (like most of the SFB rules themselves), is that they are abstract. An SSD box is not a certain weight or mass, and does not take up a certain volume in the ship. In fact, an SSD box does not just contain what it states it is. A warp engine box represents part of the engine, but it also represents the power couplings, fuel, conduits and the like that are spread around all over a ship.

Similiary, while a size class does have some bearing on the size of the ship, it also represents the state of the ship. For example, a size class 2 late style Colonial Warship is bigger, probably faster and more manoeuvrable than an early style size class 2 Colonial Warship. However, both are size class 2 to take into account technology differences and the like.

Because the system is not perfect, and because it was designed with backwards compatibility in mind, you will find that some of the original ships do not conform exactly to these rules. For example, the Colonial DVL is listed as being size 3, but conforms exactly to size 2, and the Colonial Osiris states that it is size 2, but is in fact 7 boxes off! In addition, ships not designed by me may also not conform.

However, with the publication of these revised notes, all future ships will confirm to these standards!

At the moment, this system does not really cater for early ships, and when finished will undergo a slight rewriting to account for any special occurrences.

Any comments or questions about this system would be gratefully received!