I personally do not like this idea. However, the idea of making a ship's design affect its maximum jump range is still a good one.
The best idea I can come up with right now for that would be this: Add some new types of Jump Drive Modules (all of them would connect to jump drive computers as they do currently).
The idea is this:
Mechanical change: The Jump Drive system now behaves differently.
1. Jump Drive is charging/cooling. This happens automatically and uses energy until it is done. Attempting to use the drive when it is still charging will toggle this automated charging on or off (useful if you don't want to waste energy when near an inhibitor).
2. Once fulled charged, it will maintain that full charge in the presence of any inhibitor system weaker than it. Stronger inhibitors will cause it to drain.
3. You must bring your ship to a complete stop to use the charged Jump Drive, otherwise it will not work and tell you to stop the ship. You can still be turning or rotating, as long as your ship speed is zero.
4. Upon use, your ship stops rotating and begins moving forward at a slow speed. This continues for a set amount of time based on the ship's design, after which you jump. During this time you cannot use weapons, other systems, or otherwise control the ship outside of hitting a key to cancel the jump (which will still result in your Jump Drive needing to recharge as if you had jumped). In short, the Jump itself is no longer instant. The time it takes to jump from activation is "Spool Time."
5. Upon successfully jumping, it behaves as it currently does, and you jump to the location you wanted.
Parts:
Computer: is the computer part.
Jump Power Module: Increases the "power" of the jump drive, and how fast it charges up (decreases charging time).
Jump Stability Module: Increases how far you can travel with each jump, but also increases the total charge required for each jump and the complexity of the calculations needed to jump (increases charging time and spooling time).
Edit: Unlike Spooling and Charging parts, the Stability Module's effect is not influenced by ship size. It would have a shallow diminishing returns curve, but no real hard cap.
Jump Spooling Module: Decreases the time it takes for you to Jump once you tell it to do so (decreases spooling time).
Effect modules: could potentially allow some effect modules to be attached to the computer for further customization:
-Overdrive Effect: Increases charging power, and decreases spooling time. However, power cost is increased as well. Additionally, you jump in a completely random direction.
-Pull Effect: Greatly increases charging and spooling time, as well as energy cost. Ships within a certain distance of your ship will now be warped along with you.
-Push Effect: Identical to Pull Effect, except that your own ship does not warp (energy costs, spooling time, etc are still calculated as if it did).
-EMP Effect: Increases spool time, but reduces the effect of Jump Inhibitors.
-Explosive Effect: Greatly decreases spooling time. However, the jump range is now randomly between 1 sector and the drive's theoretical maximum range in the direction you are facing. Additionally, the jump will now drain your shields and energy reserves to zero (as well as those of any docked entities). Oh, and in the event you DO travel the maximum theoretical range, the jump drive explodes violently.
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