The first thing I will do is to have a VERY clear idea as to what mission a ship is meant to perform in the game. With that mission in mind, I will brainstorm for hours on end about all the ways in which that mission 'could' be preformed optimally. The primary consideration is what systems will be used in the ship, at what scale, and any design details that are necessary. This includes shields, regen, thrust, etc.. I will give plenty of thought to all the problems the ship could encounter in the performance of it's mission and how it's building could permit it to resolve those problems.
During this process, there is typically a lot of calculator usage and pages of paper filled with numbers and notes. Usually by this point, I might have a vague idea as to what the ship will look like, but nothing at all firm. This is not usually a 'stage' that starts at one point and ends at another. This is actually an ongoing process that never really ends as different approaches war within my mind for dominance.
Once I have finalized a concept sufficiently, I will build any systems that should be tested in a temporary block form to make sure they perform properly. Weapons will be tested versus armor targets to ensure that they work as expected. Then I will assemble all the systems together in an extremely rough block form that will be completely disassembled shortly. The intent here is to test all the ship systems together to ensure that I have not overlooked anything, that everything is appropriately powered, that it has the movement characteristics needed, etc..
This blocked out ship will include the calculated approximate number of armor blocks the final ship will have, so it will have the mass necessary for proper testing. This test ship includes all systems and all blocks. They are simply not assembled in any serious ship like fashion, just big rectangular blocks of blocks strung together in a 'very' rough approximation of a ship. Note I will have also created some empty space blocks for crew quarters and the like, RP space. By this point, I will have a more firm idea as to what the ship will actually look like and a very solid idea as to how large it will be.
Once I know that all the planned systems work well together and that the planned mass of blocks will actually function as planned, I will usually leave that block assemblage alone, in case it is needed for further testing. Then I will build any and all turrets intended for the ship. (
More on how I build turrets.) These will be final assemblages, as the testing for the turret systems would have already been done in the previous phase. I will test them again however when built. I will spend all necessary time to get the turrets performing optimally and do whatever work I desire for their final look.
That done, I will finally lay down the first block of the ship proper. I will have already identified where in the ship I want my bridge (technically really the C&C) to be and where the core will be in that bridge, usually deep inside and to the rear of the ship. The first thing I build is the bridge. I will actually spend some time making the bridge look half way decent, as I actually spend time here. All necessary functions will be managed from this bridge and it will be built accordingly. The structure of my bridges is ALWAYS advanced armor, and even the light fixtures will be externally covered with a block of advanced armor. This is the final layer of protection for the most critical part of the ship.
In the old power system, I would lay down the power system at this point. With the old build system being gutted and effectively a completely new build system replacing it from the ground up (a brand new game really, Starmade is dead, long live Starmade), when I actually lay down the power system may change. In the old system, on medium sized ships, the power system very much informed the structure and layout of the ship and the ship very much had to be built around the power system, so power was typically the first thing I built, so as to ensure I had the maximum needed amount of it. If the ship I am building is meant to be able to mine, I will build it's salvage array now. (
More on salvage arrays.)
The next thing I would do, is to put down the turrets. This would require a skeleton of hull blocks creating a frame to which the turrets are attached. Much of that hull would be promptly removed after the turrets are affixed. I would then build the first block layer of any internal turret containment to ensure that they all are able to rotate properly. This skeleton and turret structure will ultimately very much determine the final shape of the ship.
Any intended RP space will be placed at this point along with connecting hall ways. The space will be lit. I may or may not do any detailing of such space at this point. Such niceties I typically do whenever I feel like it. I have plenty of ships I have gotten to warfighting readiness that have essentially empty RP spaces still. I have others where the RP space was finished long before the ship was actually flyable. However at the very minimum, the empty space 'needs' to be placed before system blocks go in, or you'll have the devil's time adding it later.
My previous calculations and testing will have ensured that the layout I now have currently outlined with my skeleton and turret placement will be sufficient to contain all the requisite systems (I actually try to overestimate the required space a bit). Knowing this, with some confidence I typically build the skin of the ship now, intending to fill the space between that skin and the already placed turrets, RP space and power system, with system blocks as necessary. This however is again with the old build system. The exigencies of the new system may require that they be placed before the skin. It is too early to know. In any case, when I put down the skin of the ship, I do so very much with turret arcs of fire in mind. I like for my turrets to have very good arcs of fire and the final shape of my ship has more to do with ensuring such fire arcs than it does with aesthetics.
With the skin in place, I will fill in the available (not RP) interior space with the system blocks planned as necessary to finish the ship. I test everything repeatedly to ensure that the precise amount is there and working as planned. Any remaining space (I always try to have a bit of wiggle room planned, just to be safe) will be filled with more shields and/or thrusters. The ship should now be fully functional. I will test everything again.
The ship is now done, except for being pretty. I will typically make a small effort to make it pretty, but as often as not, my small effort will be to give it a few lines of color or something to break it's monotony. None of my ships will win any competitions for looks. They could however win competitions for effectiveness, which is what "I" care most about.
All the above was written to be build system neutral. Even with the new system being programmed now, I expect the build process I outlined above to remain. If we were sticking with the old system, my description would have likely had a few extra paragraphs about self powered turrets, docked power, inheritance, and docked hull armor. There would have also been a detailed description as to how to have the cores for all such docked systems built within your bridge containment to minimize problems with free floating docked systems in combat. I probably would have added advice as to weapon systems, defensive passives, appropriate armor systems, etc.. However all of that is now one giant unknown as more than just power is being completely rewritten.
Much of that is out the window now. Complexities such as docked power are now things of the past. I lament their passing, as it added a VERY deep layer of challenge and mastery to building. The new system will certainly be easier on new players and those who don't want to be faced with opponents who spend months building a ship that can only be defeated by much greater numbers or another similar ship that took months to build.