I've just been reading a thread about the frustration some players feel in ships with inherently low jump ranges; I tend to agree that making people look at more loading screens is not much of a balancing mechanism. I have a few suggestions to ease the pain without making all ships identically capable.
An "FSD augmentation" module. Give up an internal compartment, get more FSD range. This would not extend the ship's total range as much as fitting a fuel tank in the same compartment (or why bother with fuel tanks), just individual jump range. It would have diminishing returns, such that the lower the existing jump range, the more viable it would be, avoiding it radically changing things by increasing already-large jump ranges. (Of course, other augmentation modules then suggest themselves...)
"D+" modules - weight of a D module (or maybe a smidge more), performance of a C module (or maybe a bit more), price of a B module (or maybe more like an A module) - adds an expensive gram-shaving option as well as the existing cheap one.
More radically, saved ship fits and the ability to transport modules as cargo. This has its downsides (heavier ship, less cargo space, additional financial risk) and seems like it opens many more cans of worms (can you leave your spares behind? Move them between ships?), but makes "travel fit" ships viable.
An "FSD augmentation" module. Give up an internal compartment, get more FSD range. This would not extend the ship's total range as much as fitting a fuel tank in the same compartment (or why bother with fuel tanks), just individual jump range. It would have diminishing returns, such that the lower the existing jump range, the more viable it would be, avoiding it radically changing things by increasing already-large jump ranges. (Of course, other augmentation modules then suggest themselves...)
"D+" modules - weight of a D module (or maybe a smidge more), performance of a C module (or maybe a bit more), price of a B module (or maybe more like an A module) - adds an expensive gram-shaving option as well as the existing cheap one.
More radically, saved ship fits and the ability to transport modules as cargo. This has its downsides (heavier ship, less cargo space, additional financial risk) and seems like it opens many more cans of worms (can you leave your spares behind? Move them between ships?), but makes "travel fit" ships viable.