[Aardwolf]

Here's a working concept video:

http://www.game-warden.com/masterpokey/CarrierAssault/JumpTest2b.avi

Edit:
A newer version:
http://www.game-warden.com/masterpokey/CarrierAssault/JumpTest2c.avi

2nd Edit:
In order to better show it off:
http://www.game-warden.com/masterpokey/CarrierAssault/JumpTest2d.avi

[Aardwolf]

Since nobody's replying, I decided I would post a little something for you guys to play with:

Jump Effect Demo v003

Edit:
This makes use of Cg shaders, so if your computer doesn't support that, get a new one!

Edit:
That means you, Nuke.

[jr2]

I'll take a look at this tomorrow... promised I would check it out, but for tonight I'm running short on time. 

[Akalabeth Angel]

   I'm not sure about entry but I really like the exit effect from Macross Plus. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N3HbsdlkQg
   Okay, I don't like it as much as I remember, but I do like is all the little particles falling off the ship. Would be cool to have a ship rip into normal space and have a bunch of whatever particles fall off the hull like it just tore through a waterfall or somesuch.

[Mika]

Aardwolf, my comments would be that the current effect looks more like an imaginary stealth field for me.

Mika

[Nuke]

what better way to hide from your enemy than to be going faster than all forms of radiation

[Aardwolf]

Here's a writeup of an idea I came up with today.

FTL Scheme Idea (sort of like FreeSpace's jump node system, but with a caveat and some things left up for later determination):

In order to go to warp/hyperspace/subspace/whatever, you must meet several conditions. First, your ship must be within a certain distance of some point (that is, it must be in a spherical region around said point); the point might be picked any number of ways, and there might be many such points that would have the same or similar results; also the spherical region might or might not be set off by some special effect, or maybe just a HUD overlay. Second, your ship must be pretty-well lined up in the direction you wish to travel (in normal space), e.g. to go from Sol to Alpha Centauri, you need to face Alpha Centauri. Thirdly, you must activate your jump drive while the first two conditions are true. When you activate your jump drive, your ship accelerates forward, and as it reaches some plane [or possibly a 3d surface with a maximum point at the place where the ship crosses it] in space perpendicular to the trajectory, all parts of the ship in front of that surface vanish. There might also be some sort of cool rippling effect on the surface. For a little bit (while in transit) the background looks like whatever subspace /hyperspace/it looks like. Then the same effect plays in reverse as you emerge on the other side. 

[General Battuta]

Hmm, could you do a bit more to explain how it's different from a regular old jump node? I'm not quite sure I follow the distinction.

[Wanderer]

As said earlier i would probably go with having interstellar drive requiring either canceling masses or trojan points idea.. Which translate to different lagrangian points (namely 1 or 4 & 5) and certain recharge time (perhaps even a day or so) and/or other limitations like requiring fueling... And then adding fluff for additional interplanetary - ie. much more efficient and capable of operating in gravity well but a lot slower - FTL drive, like something capable of just single AU or so skips with sizeable recharge times (like 30 minutes) with each skip.

Such fluff could explain the existence of convoys which are sorta odd in FS universe as well give some grounds for further fluff involving MAC type ships.