This new version uses GURPS Fourth Edition, or more specifically, GURPS Prime Directive Fourth Edition as it is basic set of rules. I chose the GURPS route because it has an awful lot of support for it, and because in the online poll I had running for a while, it was the system that most people voted for. Besides, I dislike the D20 System and thus would not have used that anyway. Actually, I dislike GURPS too if I am honest, I am much more of a HERO System person myself.
I choose GPD more specifically for several reasons. GPD is based on the GURPS Lite system which, while completely compatible with GURPS, is a cut down and slightly simpler version of the rules, which works for me because I see no need for any system to have to have many core rulebooks. Also I am not a huge fan of the sheer detail that GURPS fans demand of the rules for vehicles and spaceships, so any attempt to make that area lite works for me. Because this website is generally geared up for use with the StarFleet Battles Universe its helps that GPD contains rules for integrating characters into SFB and is thus very useful.
What you will find here then, is a set of rules and guidelines to allow you to create and play characters and adventures in my take of the BSG Universe. you will find rules for character generation, aliens, equipment and all the normal things you would expect from a role-playing supplement. What you will not find though, is a huge amount of starship conversions from SFB to GURPS. I have assumed that generally if you want to employ starship combat, you will use the rules from SFB and this site.
Yes, SFB can be a vast and complicated game, and this can be off-putting for some people. However, my conversion of the rules discards an awful lot of those rules and all of the races, and thus generally all you really need to play is the Cadets Manual which is a much reduced set of rules at a very cheap price. If you like that, then you might consider upgrading to the full set of rules, but there is no real need to. Just ignore anything on this site that you do not have rules for.
At the end of the day though, you're out there to have fun and hopefully not to be run down with rules and detailed statistics on things. And if this site helps you to achieve that aim, then I have succeeded. Enjoy.
Most of the equipment and vehicles has been designed using GURPS Vehicles 2nd Edition and fudged when necessary (such as weights to be the same as the props and costs to fall in line with the rest of the equipment).
When updated vehicle rules appear, then the vehicle section will be updated as well.
There is one area where GURPS and Battlestar Galactica are always going to be incompatible. Battlestar Galactica uses the metric system of metres, kilometres and kilograms for measurements and weights. GURPS uses the older Imperial system of feet, miles and pounds. Unfortunately this was a problem. If I stuck with GURPS then it makes all the BSG words incorrect - a metron, which should be a metre, suddenly loses it is meaning and becomes slightly less than that. However, if I stick with the BSG Universe, then suddenly players of GURPS have to do a bit of conversion.
I have therefore decided to use BSG values for everything save for pounds weight. Every other measurement (like time values and distance) have been converted into BSG values. This makes it simple to use what we already have established in BSG, and thus preserve the background. Pound weights have been left because, well, everything in GURPS basically uses that value. While a yard is almost identical to a metron, a pound is not quite a laxar. Speeds have also been left in miles per hour just for convenience.