I think some of the other races have this type of tech unique to there faction or race.

As an optional extension of the idea, one could link phase jump range to anti-matter. That should introduce a risk-reward dynamic in that the farther you jump, the more depleted your reserves (and therefore combat ability) would be. And you may not have the means to return home. Such a change would require additional changes to other game play systems (not all ships have anti-matter. How to tell ships to leave enough anti-matter to retreat from a battle? what about anti-matter draining weapons/abilities? etc.) but may be worth exploring. Could be a step too far though and introduce too much whack-a-mole game play.

I long ago accepted Sins I was a space themed game and not a space game, because in 3D space there are infinitely many directions to travel.  Defending planets in 3D is nearly impossible.  The phase lanes further reduce travel directions, making defense possible. 

Would a game with or without phase lanes be more enjoyable to play?  It's hard to say.  I'd have to play them both.  I personally think I would like the challenge of being attacked from anywhere in range, but I don't think I could go up against 6+ computer players like I do in Sins I. 

I suspect, in a game without lanes, I'd probably fast track research for further jumps.  Then jump in with siege ships, obliterate a planet, then jump out. 

Thanks for the reflections.

I definitely see the planet snipe brodar2012 described as tempting strategy - and a very frustrating one for defenders. Might be mitigated by maluses to using far jumps in combination with garrisons. But I also see how it would be difficult to balance between making it useful (and not just outright dumb in every occasion) and not overpowered.

Good shout to Stellaris, Unikraken. I didn't play it so can't say. What was your impression (or people's views in general) about how well it worked or why I didn't work? I read up on it and it seems a later implementation involved some quite several status debuffs immediately after a jump which would make it a risky option for direct combat deployment.

But as above, it's probably quite hard to get right. As you said, it's the kind of gameplay that benefits from being baked in from the start ... which is where we are in with Sins 2 atm. Sort of. So certainly a worthwhile discussion to be had now imho, even if it results in sticking with what worked. I was just thinking that moving planets might alter the balance of whether limited-range free jumps can work or not because it naturally creates and destroyes soft choke points i.e. stepping stones/launch pads for further incursions. I was thinking of a kind of WWII island hoping game play there.

pls get rid of the phase lanes and take this game to a new era 🙏