Jump range is dependant on the ship's mass. Thus, there is a need to balance FTL speed and payload/armor/weapon systems. If you give ships free buffs, there really wouldn't be a need for pilots to compromise, wouldn't it?
BTW, I also like a ship with 100LY jump range, 10kt of cargo space, instaWin turreted weapon systems mounted on all hardpoints and neutronium armor. Plus, rainbow colored clouds should come out of the exhaust port to add to my enemies' humiliation.
So the smallest ship, the eagle, should have the biggest jump range then?
Why is there a need to balance payload, etc, you haven't answered the question - what affect does not balancing have?
Who here is "balancing" payload for jump ranges? I've never compromised, I buy A-rated gear except when it's not worth it (like scanners/LS) - once i'm in a system, being able to jump 1000 ly or 10 ly is useless to me.
Does 500 tons of goods affect jump distance?