How about towing is free, and there is a tow station at each layer's hub galaxy. I think a timed debuff to your character would be more appropriate than making people pay absurd amounts for a tow.

Is it fixed to be a set amount x jumps, or is there still the stupid hull charge?

I'm pretty sure it's a combination of hull-type and jumps, could be wrong though.

Hull types. Not jumps.
A Light Fighter is looking at 100m for a tow max, whether he's in Arena Lobby(to Sol) or out in DF330 Perilous(to Sol).

However a capital ship user, like a FC, is going to be looking at 1b for his dread, and 1b more for each battlercruiser.

I think it's unfair, and probably why theres so many Swarm FC's when Capitals offer more advantages. The tow costs are ridiculous.

It costs 143m to tow a Capital Ship with 2.5k hull 1143 distance.

/signed.

Just say Bob's Towing Services is now government-owned, so the service is heavily subsidized (maximum of 150m per ship, discount for "bulk tows" i.e. slaves) but as the service is cheaper Bob is less careful, resulting in "minor damage" (a -20% shield debuff for 10 minutes).

making it like WoW's ress sickness ftw

Obviously it's a system that works; you can't embargo every feature that a successful MMO has implemented for the sake of being original.

It does? JeffL must've changed it.
I remember when I had gotten stuck in a galaxy the owners aggroed on me(before the USA could annihilate the galaxy), I paid 1.2b for my dread and 1b each for 2 EFBC slaves.(w2, there were no layers at time)

Much farther forward, my gunner's dread(it is now sniper) cost 1b. I said fuck that and ran the gauntlet of bases to retrieve it. It was like a uni or two ago.(Wild Space w3)

No doubt, they have the winning formula so to speak and ss could improve a lot by employing a few more copycat techniques.

WoW is now free to level 20, what game does that sound like?

Towing thatch from nihilite is 1b, thats kinda expensive.