If the process is real time, which it needs to be otherwise it'll be a huge let down, then we will need to have a fourth propulsion mode to make it work.
Normal flight is too slow. Super cruise is disabled due to mass lock. So we'll need a third speed, hyper- sonic.
I'll explain. Normal speed is around 450m/s maximum and only on one ship. Even at 500m/s, we would take 41 minutes to fly from London to New York. Not exactly gripping game play. And some planets would prevent the escape of gravity.
So we need hyper- sonic drives.
As soon as we get close enough to a planet, we exit super cruise. At this point, the game loads the planet's procedural data. We can now engage hyper - sonic flight. The hyper - sonic drive will automatically engage the super cruise fsd once you escape a planet's gravity pull. Otherwise, the hyper - sonic drive will allow you to accelerate quickly up to extreme speeds, much faster than normal flight but with a slower top speed than super cruise minimum speed.
The hyper - sonic drive must be disrupted, just like the fsd, if you wish to attack someone flying in hyper- sonic. The hyper - sonic drive will emergency stop to avoid impact, with similar properties to super cruise.
If a planet has no atmosphere, hyper - sonic flight isn't much different to super cruise. Just slower. However, if the planet has atmosphere, the flight changes visually and in its tactile implementation. There will be a heat gauge, like scooping. You will need to adjust your entry angle to manage this. As your heat increases, the shaking, visual effects increase.
Once you're leveled out in the atmosphere, hyper - sonic allows you to traverse the surface with a hud element showing altitude. Gravitational pull will be compensated so as not to make level flight totally impossible on some planets. However, constant movement is required and there is a minimum speed, just like super cruise.
Once you have arrived at your destination, you can disengage the drive, which seamlessly drops you to normal speed. No loading is needed. Hyper- sonic space shares normal space instances, the same instance you enter when dropping out of super cruise. You just can't attack another target until you disable the drive. Therefore, each planet will have an instance encapsulating the whole planet and the space surrounding it, excluding res and nav beacons. This will allow the entire mechanic to be completely seamless from start to finish.
That's how I think planetary landings should be handled. This would allow all the fun of the op, still make it reasonably challenging, without making some planets instant death (as some were in Frontier), allowing a seamless entry and seamless propulsion from 300-400m/s up to 20-30km/s and back down.
