I know this has been suggested before but I think the new patch has made it even more relevant.
The new patch has added a couple mechanics that interact much more directly with hard flux:
- Polarized armor means hard flux directly determines combat stats
- new phase mechanics mean that hard flux is essentially the limiting factor for phase ship survivability/escapability since soft flux will be quickly dissipated in phase
In addition, I think seeing hard flux in combat would be very valuable for diagnosing when ships are high on flux due to being under pressure, vs when they are applying pressure and not necessarily in danger.
Also I think it might help players learn/notice when their loadouts are overfluxxed.
I think previously, it was suggested that hard flux should appear as a darker bar inside the main flux bar, and that still seems like a good and easily implemented solution.
edit: apparently there is already a little notch that shows hard flux that I somehow never noticed, but I think the suggestion of showing hard flux as a darker portion of the main flux bar would be easier for (dumb) people like me to see.