I'm currently making a mission pack (which should be out by the end of the week if I can come up with one more idea). One of the missions causes an explosion in your engines. The result is that your ship's turn rate and acceleration are reduced until you get your engine repaired. I did it by using a combination of crons, missions and outfits.
It would be hard (as in I can't think of any way you could do it) to simulate it in normal combat, but you could do it for special battles or something (as in you have to destroy a big ship, but in the process your ship is badly damaged).
Also, I don't think you can have a pattern for ionization - I think it's just a single colour.
Back in the days of the orignal Escape Velocity, I had a go at a plugin where you had to board a badly damaged Confederation Crusier. The ship started out disabled, and I edited the graphic so that it looked like it had been almost destroyed. Again though, it would really only work for special events.
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