Enhanced Fleet Pursuit
Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2021 5:35 pm
Download: Enhanced fleet pursuit 1.2
This is an edited version of Extended Fleet Pursuit Indicator. Credit to the original creators, who did the hard work. Here are some images to compare. You will need to open the full-size images to see the differences clearly.
The intention is to make it more readable, especially in nebula sectors; to show fleet delay and nebula advance; and to make it look more like vanilla FTL.
Older version: Enhanced fleet pursuit 1.1
Note for purists / win streakers
The original Fleet Pursuit mod is widely accepted for win streaking purposes, and therefore this one is too.
This mod is almost 100% pure convenience / quality of life. But "almost 100%" is not 100%. Although it's widely accepted, there is debate about how much of an advantage it confers (if any). I summarise my view here:
There are several different ways to measure jumps that have proven accurate, if more time-consuming. Rulers, marks on a sheet of paper, counting pixels on a screenshot, counting dashes between beacons, even counting the faint hexagons in the background.
With enough patience, complicated routing with extended jumps can be measured this way without the mod. However, the mod makes it much quicker and easier, and saving time and energy could be considered an advantage in itself.
At the start of the sector, the mod also provides information that is impossible to obtain otherwise, because the Fleet progress cannot initially be seen without mods. The horizontal progress of the Fleet is 100% predictable, but there is variation in the vertical position of the "epicentre" of the Fleet rings.
In the vast majority of circumstances, this just doesn't make a difference. But occasionally it does. I believe I've had exactly one run where it mattered:
I was playing Rock A in sector 1. There was an early store, and the Fleet mod allowed me to see I could definitely squeeze in an extra regular beacon before the store, instead of "playing it safe" and taking a nebula beacon. A regular beacon would have been more likely to generate scrap, giving me a higher chance of affording teleporter at the store, which could potentially make the difference between winning and losing.
I chose to pretend I didn't have the mod information, to avoid taking unfair advantage. There was a teleporter at the store, and I missed out on it by 2 scrap as a result. I won the run anyway.
So in at least some circumstances, the mod DOES provide an advantage beyond just convenience. I think it's extremely rare that this would matter, but "extremely rare" is not the same as "never". When this happens, you MAY be able to discard the advantage if you're vigilant, but not necessarily.
Ultimately it's up to you to decide. I think the advantage is irrelevant in the scheme of things, and would be less significant than getting a marginally better night's sleep, for example.
Making this incredibly small compromise in "purity" helps me continue to enjoy FTL in the long term, as it removes a lot of repetitive tedium. That's just my take on it though.
This is an edited version of Extended Fleet Pursuit Indicator. Credit to the original creators, who did the hard work. Here are some images to compare. You will need to open the full-size images to see the differences clearly.
The intention is to make it more readable, especially in nebula sectors; to show fleet delay and nebula advance; and to make it look more like vanilla FTL.
- The numbers are brighter
- Reinstated the bolder fleet advance "red line" from the unmodded game
- Removed the number 1 and tweaked number kerning and position
- Removed the special treatment for jump 2 (extra arrows and brighter line)
- You get faint black lines when the Rebel Fleet is delayed
- These lines also appear when you're at a nebula beacon, showing the nebula advance distance
Older version: Enhanced fleet pursuit 1.1
Note for purists / win streakers
The original Fleet Pursuit mod is widely accepted for win streaking purposes, and therefore this one is too.
This mod is almost 100% pure convenience / quality of life. But "almost 100%" is not 100%. Although it's widely accepted, there is debate about how much of an advantage it confers (if any). I summarise my view here:
There are several different ways to measure jumps that have proven accurate, if more time-consuming. Rulers, marks on a sheet of paper, counting pixels on a screenshot, counting dashes between beacons, even counting the faint hexagons in the background.
With enough patience, complicated routing with extended jumps can be measured this way without the mod. However, the mod makes it much quicker and easier, and saving time and energy could be considered an advantage in itself.
At the start of the sector, the mod also provides information that is impossible to obtain otherwise, because the Fleet progress cannot initially be seen without mods. The horizontal progress of the Fleet is 100% predictable, but there is variation in the vertical position of the "epicentre" of the Fleet rings.
In the vast majority of circumstances, this just doesn't make a difference. But occasionally it does. I believe I've had exactly one run where it mattered:
I was playing Rock A in sector 1. There was an early store, and the Fleet mod allowed me to see I could definitely squeeze in an extra regular beacon before the store, instead of "playing it safe" and taking a nebula beacon. A regular beacon would have been more likely to generate scrap, giving me a higher chance of affording teleporter at the store, which could potentially make the difference between winning and losing.
I chose to pretend I didn't have the mod information, to avoid taking unfair advantage. There was a teleporter at the store, and I missed out on it by 2 scrap as a result. I won the run anyway.
So in at least some circumstances, the mod DOES provide an advantage beyond just convenience. I think it's extremely rare that this would matter, but "extremely rare" is not the same as "never". When this happens, you MAY be able to discard the advantage if you're vigilant, but not necessarily.
Ultimately it's up to you to decide. I think the advantage is irrelevant in the scheme of things, and would be less significant than getting a marginally better night's sleep, for example.
Making this incredibly small compromise in "purity" helps me continue to enjoy FTL in the long term, as it removes a lot of repetitive tedium. That's just my take on it though.