This page describes the game system used for BTW.
This is very tentative. Just writing down ideas at this point, but comments are welcome.
I'm questioning the idea of dice for a lot of things. Which is not to say that I want to eliminate an element of uncertainty in the outcome of actions - there needs to be a way to have some things be more risky than others. But I am considering a non-player-visible "luck pool" that is depleted by risky actions (and replenished at a set rate.) I need to research this.
Character development will be by exercising skills. I'm going to write a program for this, so rather than doling out skill points and you spending them on things (maybe things unrelated to what your character has been doing), your character will gradually improve at the things he or she actually does. For exercising new skills you'd like your character to develop risk free, the ship has virtual reality training facilities that characters can exercise skills in.