Teleportation? Sure, just fold it into the Medical network system.
I'll keep my thoughts simple. If we want teleportation, we already have the foundation for it: MedBeds.
Give us a spawning UI that lets us send our "imprint" over the comm array network to available locations within range of that network chain. Could be stations, or any vehicle/ship with an open medbed within comms range that has enough resources to normally re-spawn a person.
This solves:
- Time to reach teammates across the universe
- Doesn't allow mass resource teleportation since you'd spawn in either naked (or with your pockets empty)
- Requires a functioning comm array chain (which also allows counter play and stops people from spawning large groups in deep space)
It achieves the goal of massively reducing the time to gather allies while still applying a cost-benefit factor to the game, allowing the devs a balancing tool in the process.
Deep space is still deep space, you'll have to plan your groups from the fringe of a communications zone.
Ships would still need to be claimed to have them at the new station if not already there. Group leaders would need to account for resources for their freshly spawned allies.
To me this seems like a painfully obviously choice to satisfy the "Some want teleportation, some don't" parties. Right down the middle compromise that "fleshes out" the preexisting systems and gives CIG an excuse to deepen and refine their game world.
Edit: This also adds something absolutely critical to a sandbox mmo with intentions to have an economy, Cost sinks. Having to supply the medbeds to allow for frequent convenience respawns adds just another little cost sink to help fight the inflationary nature of a game with infinitely generative resources. You trade a time cost (a finite resource) for virtual material cost (an infinite resource).
Thoughts, comments, angry "This is dumb, you're dumb" insights below please