Am I missing something(s)?

[Darth Anatos]

Found Discovery, I've been wandering about, finding new systems and factions that weren't in the original game. excellent.

Find myself lusting after the capital ships, and half a billion credits?!?!?!? okay, mining/trading it is.
(well, that and the transports have huge offense/defense/cargo compared to fighters)

I've run into a few things that have me scratching head.
bigger ships require crew? is there an in game mechanic that says when you need it or need more? does it change ship capability?
Cargo pods. Are they anything besides making your ship look prettier?
(bought ship with spots for cargo pods, in adding them changed my capacity by not one unit)
Have my handy dandy trusty Freelancer ID, but hear about IFF needed as well. I haven't seen an IFF transponder as yet. is that still in mechanics, or was that phased out/combined with ID?

Thanks all.