A ship is not solely a framework which includes a bridge, some weapons and the power to use them. Instead, a ship consists of many systems which helps it to function in many differing circumstances under many different conditions. A ship needs hull to house the crew, shuttles and fighters for defence and planetary transport, possibly lab for scientific and identification purposes, cargo to transport supplies or additional missiles, and so on.
The following list of systems contains those that are used in the BSG universe only - for obvious reasons. So you will not find any Tractor Beams, Transportors, Shields and the like.
Where no notes are given next to the item, feel free to allocate the specific requirements yourself.
| Armour: | Armour is used to protect a ship, and when a ship is hit, armour is the first component to take damage. A ship may not devote more than 15% of its total boxes to armour. Asteroid ships may not mount additional armour. |
| Barracks: | Only used if the ship is a troop carrier, barrack boxes are what holds the troops, and represent the quarters, bunks and limited training facilities that troops need. Passenger liners use Hull instead of barracks to hold their passengers. If a ship carries more than 10 boarding parties, it must include a barracks, at one box per 10 additional parties. |
| Cargo/Fuel: | For cargo ships, or those warships carrying drones and wanting reloads. 1 cargo box is generally able to carry 50 spaces worth of missiles and drones or a games masters worth of cargo. |
| Fighters: | The standard weapon of any warship, and something almost every warship carries. Generally for military ships only, but on rare occasions civilian ships sometimes have the facilities to carry fighters (much like the merchant ships of World War II). 3 boxes on the SSD equals one whole flight of 8 fighters. On the other hand, Asp fighters cost 1 box per fighter. |
| Hull: | Every ship has hull. It represents the crew quarters and facilities, structural integrity of the ship, passenger facilities, stores and so on. Every ship must devote a minimum of 20% of its total SSD boxes for hull, with the exception of Tiny ships which need only allocate 2 boxes. Colonial civilian craft have half the requirements if they transport cargo, but Tiny ships and ships that carry passengers have the full requirements. Hull can be split in the various sections (front, centre, aft) however the owner wishes. |
| Lab: | Used for all sorts of things, lab represents additional sensor and analysis equipment, useful in a scientific and military role. Most ships will have 1 box at least, meaning that they can analyse their basic sensor data. Two boxes is a small lab or science station which even the largest warship will have, as it allows them to identify incoming missiles. Scout ships tend to have more lab to complement their special sensors. |
| Shuttle: |
All ships must have a shuttle bay of some sort unless they can land on a planet. 1 box equals one shuttle in a fairly spacious bay, 2 boxes will allow the carrying of a heavy or large shuttle. The amount of boxes a shuttle bay has is not a requirement for carrying yachts. |
| Special Sensors: |
Special sensors are additional electronic equipment which gives a ship much greater ability in the electronic warfare role. Only special research ships or scout warships have these, and generally only in small amounts. 1 or 2 boxes only. Special sensors are not available to early years ships. |
| Yachts: | Ships may carry yachts. Dedicated yacht carriers will have boxes on the SSD for yachts. A ship shouldn't have more yachts than shuttles. Ships that do not carry dedicated yachts will be able to carry them casually if they are size class 3 with at least 2 shuttle boxes as one shuttle bay. |