Replace Jump Drives With Continuous, Energy-Limited Fast Travel to Fix Slow Pacing

Problem: In vanilla Space Engineers, interplanetary travel has two extremes:

Normal flight: takes hours of real time with nothing to do.

Jump drives: instant teleportation but can't be used near planets.

No middle ground between “wait very long” and “teleport instantly.”

Core Idea: Replace (or keep) Jump Drives with fast travel mode that temporarily disables physics and moves a ship at extreme speed, limited by stored energy only (much like the jump drive).

How Fast Travel Mode Works: Player activates Fast Travel Mode. Ship physics, gravity, collisions, weapons, and ship systems are disabled. Only batteries may power fast travel (no reactors, no hydrogen). Ship moves straight at a much higher speed. Energy cost is precomputed and deterministic. When energy runs out or target distance is reached, server validates safe placement and re-enables physics for the vessel.

If the player doesn't stop in time and runs out of power (a power stat on the UI while FF), the ship stalls mid-space, broadcasting its location to NPC ships or server players.

Multiplayer & Anti-Abuse Rules: Fast travel cannot activate if:

• The ship has recently taken damage
• A hostile projectile or weapon fire is detected in a certain radius

Additional safeguards:

• Short server sync delay (≈1 second) before activation to: Confirm energy. Confirm no threats. Confirm destination clearance
• During fast travel: Ship has invulnerability. All systems except battery drain are disabled

This prevents combat escape abuse while allowing strategic disengagement before a fight begins.

Collision & Placement Safety

• Before physics re-enable, server performs a final collision scan
• If blocked, ship is placed at the nearest valid offset

Performance Considerations

• No high-speed collision simulation
• Uses existing damage/projectile detection systems
• Deterministic energy drain avoids desync issues

Why This Is Better Than Just Jump Drives

• Battery Power replaces jump drive long cooldowns and restrictions.
• Multiplayer-safe
• Eliminates idle travel time while expending same amount battery power.
• Encourages emergent gameplay (rescues, ambushes, stranded ships)