A starship's volume is very important to many details for the designer: the placement of its propulsors, the size of its hyperdrive, the amount of space needed within for its crew, and so on. For this reason, the first choice made by a starship's designer should be its volume. The ship's volume, also called displacement, is measured in cubic meters (m³).

Ships are classified by the Deneb Accords according to their displacement: small craft have displacements of 1,000 m³ or less; light ships have displacements above 1,000 m³ but not exceeding 10,000 m³; heavy ships have displacements above 10,000 m³ but not exceeding 100,000 m³, and capital ships have displacements over 100,000 m³. This is of most concern to naval forces, as the Deneb Accords limit the number of each size of craft a navy is permitted to have. Light ships often serve as frigates, destroyers or light cruisers; heavy ships are typically heavy cruisers or battlecruisers.

Once you have the displacement of your vessel, you will need to find its Linear Value and Area Value. These are used in many calculations when selecting equipment.

Linear Value is used to find the thickness of the ship's armour and the capability of its sensor suite, to name just a few uses. To find the Linear Value for your chosen hull, take the cube root of its volume. Round this up to two significant digits.

Among other things, the ship's Area Value will affect the cost to add stealth features, and is used to find the crew complement. To find the Area Value for your hull, square your Linear Value. Round this up to three significant digits.

If you don't fancy doing that level of math, check the table below for your hull size. Find the smallest Volume that is greater than your chosen Displacement.

If you are building a ship, rather than a small craft, divide your displacement by 1,000, then multiply the resulting Area Value by 100 and the resulting Linear Value by 10.