My first sim on the AOL boards was something called "Blizzard Vanguard, Inc." the basic idea was that jobs were posted by the CEO of this company, in which smugglers could sign up for, and because this was public knowledge, bounty hunters could try to intercept the smuggler in a space battle. It was a fun "summer sim" that eventually Flashpoint ripped-off aspects of (Jobs/Cargo Units/Reward/Bounty), but otherwise it was billed as a "good clean fun" sideshow compared to the fleet vs fleet battle sims.
So yeah, it will definitely include the hex grids, hyperspace ratings will factor heavily into the game, as well as character ratings. Might be worth it to include some ground battle aspects too, so the smuggler could be at risk during any point of the job!
The "jobs" will remain in the current SL sandbox. So, it might be something like "pick up a shipment of blasters from Kwenn to deliver to the Klatoonians" or something.