First let me apologize for the length of this reply, I tend to over think and over explain things.
I think what you are trying to do is change Jump Drives into some sort of super FTL drive that still travels in the same physical space.
Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction:
So by these definitions,
- Jump Drive = Instant travel between two points which would only be detectable on arrival or generation of the destination portal (cyno field in EVE).
- Hyper Drive = Faster than light travel using a dimensional space other than our own, depending on which lore you follow most likely not detectable until entering normal space.
- Warp Drive = Faster than light travel using some method to warp space (think warp field of Star Trek) in which the ship can still interact with objects in normal space and be detected with the correct equipment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warp_drive_(Star_Trek)
The problem in EVE is single speed warp drive. They vary by ship, as in a ship with a max warp of 3 always does 3 except when accelerating and decelerating. If you wanted to use warp drive to cover 10 ly distances it would take a very long time. (I tried to find EVE definition how fast warps are but didnGÇÖt have any luck and IGÇÖm not home to log in and do rough calculations). Figure most of the solar systems are under 100 au. 1 au=approx 150 million kilometers and a light year is around 9.5 trillion kilometers. So 1 ly = 63,241 au. Now take any cap or supercap in the game, warp it 100 au and multiply that time by 632 and thatGÇÖs how long the current tech would take to go 1 ly. (100 au @ 30 seconds = 1 ly @ 5.25 hours). If you allowed the current tech to go any faster you would have ships traveling from one side of a solar system to another instantly.
A standard freighter has a warp of 0.75 I think. Some null space can be something like 20 ly to the edge of low going to Jita. It takes over a minute move a freighter 100 au. This means it now takes you over a week to make the one way trip to Jita. Actual time would be even longer unless you are there right after DT to restart your warp. And since youGÇÖre in warp, you might get unlucky and trip over a warp jammer in a system and drop out.
Implementation anything like that would require a near complete re-write of the way we travel in EVE. Currently we have sub-light, warp and jump tech. Your proposal requires replacing jump tech with some sort of super warp useable only for galactic travel not solar, none of the other forms of travel would allow for the tracking or detection you desire. Even then you would need deep space scanning arrays to detect ships traveling that fast before it passed you.
Jump drives or super gates are the only logical way to travel large distances across the EVE universe in large ships.
Also the comment
Quote:This is also how every popular sci-fi movie/series regards inter-system space travel
in the opening post is inaccurate,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_drive, there are plenty of examples of instant interstellar travel.
On a side note, if you can't defend the space you are in, hot drops or not, it will soon be someone elses. Consider joining an alliance capable of defending it's space or finding a nice quiet corner some place and keep a low profile.
I am enjoying the intellectual exercise of this discussion, thank you.