Actually, I would hypothesize even with full slipstream information, I still wouldn't end up using them that much. I should try playing a campaign run through with the entire slipstream network visible at all times, and see how much I take advantage of them in my traveling, maybe recording the number of light years spent traveling by stream vs normal hyperspace or gate travel. I don't suppose there's a travel log mod which records your lightyears traveled and how? If I had to guess in my current games (with imperfect knowledge), less than 10% of my light years traveled are via slipstream (in a useful direction), whereas gate travel is probably around 50% of my light years travelled late game (and can reach 100% gate travel if I've got a gate in my colonies and a gate in a remnant system and I'm farming cores for some reason). As it is, I don't find myself using the neutrino detector in hyperspace, as simply fully zoomed out and unchained view catches a fair bit.
Honestly? If it's at 10% while not having good info on their placement and after 50% from gates, then that's not bad at all.
I really need to take notes on a run through some time to get a hard number on that as 10% is really a guess based on vague memories. Like, did I use one roughly one in ten trips? It's certainly more than one in hundred, but maybe it's only one in twenty really? Probably writing a personal odometer mod that just records light years traveled normally, in slipstreams, or distance traveled by gate (assuming the right API hooks exist?) is less effort than note taking and estimating. Hmm.
Although, I guess you are kind of doing that with your topography progress tracker in the next release anyways? I don't suppose you would be willing to add a light years traveled option to the historian graphs? Or maybe just an odometer readout to the Hyperspace Topography progress tracker itself (You've traveled X light years in hyperspace, Y of them at burn higher than 20).
I'm curious about zooming out and panning around, though; at 1650x1080 and max default zoom, it doesn't even come close to letting you see beyond the radar (which shows all slipstreams in range), let alone the range of the Neutrino Detector - which several times that? It's 10 light-years.
That was a misstatement by me without the game in front of me. Sorry for the confusion. Apparently, I was conflating information I get while traveling between the radar and the panning. You're right, with my 2560x1440 resolution, the upper right of my screen does not quite reach the edge of radar range (close though), but that means it's far off from radar range up and down. So that puts panning at something like almost 3 light years on diagonal (from center), ~2.4 light years left and right, ~1.3 light years up and down. The radar is more useful in that regard, going out a full 3 light years in all directions.
To clarify the more useful part of the comment, the farther the slipstream is from my fleet and running parallel or away, the less likely it is to be useful. If it is going towards my destination, it's going to eventually come into the 3 light year radar cone in front of my travel direction, and I'll pick it up the slipstream a portion of the way then, if it makes sense to do so. For me, running neutrino detector in hyperspace is almost never worth it given the ratio of payoff to hassle. And the game is designed such that you don't need slipstreams in the first place, so it's safe to ignore as well (also - please don't change that fact.
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Admittedly, the single volatile cost per day is pretty low for a late game low tech fleet burning 160 fuel per day (250 vs 4000?), but it does mean hitting a location that can refill volatiles regularly, which I point out waystations don't stock (perhaps they should if they're intended as exploration extenders with size 3 colonies scattered about?), so keeping topped up on volatiles adds a bit of shopping overhead, along with supplies and fuel in the late game. Or put another way, supplies and fuel are basically everywhere, volatiles are not.
I'll note, even if you do save a bit of fuel with the detour through a distant slipstream, you are often taking longer in terms of time (both real and in game). Although I suppose another 50% factor of fuel reduction (25% effective fuel costs?) will help.
To make those statements a bit more concrete, I'll create an example. With the current build, I just created a new new game, dev mode on, dev sensors on so I can see all slipstreams, with perfect knowledge. In this situation it's still unclear if traveling 7-10 light years out of the way (the range of the neutrino detector) is actually useful.
I attach a png for this new game's map. Let's assume I want to go to Alpha Tempest from Askonia, a 26 light year trip due east, over slightly half the length from the core to the edge of the sector, which should make using slipstreams more worthwhile (traveling 10 lightyears out of the way to catch a slipstream to get a destination only 10 light years away is never worth it). Let's assume I know the slipstreams are mostly west to east travel at this time, so the fact there's the start of slipstream 7 light years south means there is at least the possibility the slip stream is heading roughly in the right direction. But there's no guarantee there is a convenient crossing stream that happens to get to the exact destination. But let's say I take the gamble and head south for the East traveling stream.
It turns out, with a dram at base burn 10 (20 sustained), travel by slipstream one way takes 15.25 days, 19 fuel and 3 supplies. Flying directly on autopilot either there or back takes 13 days, 25 fuel and ~7 supplies. Even in a perfect knowledge situation, and a slipstream with an endpoint on my destination, it is unclear in this case that the slipstream option is better. Estimate 2 days in system to do the exploration scan, then head back. Assuming you are chaining contracts, 2 days saved out of 30 on a 50,000 credit contract is roughly 3,333 credits since you can grab the next one and go, compared to the slipstream savings of 550 credits. So for a Dram exploration start knowing the slipstream is there 7 light years away does me no good. Neutrino detector usage in this case isn't worth it.
If I were instead heading for the blue giant in the bottom right corner, I'd eventually see the slipstream with my radar around the halfway point due to how I approach blocking slips streams, which in this would have me head south slightly to enter and cross, but I'd see the direct stream at that point, at which point I'll hop on. In that case using neutrino detector to find the slipstream earlier saves 2 days (16 vs 18 days), 8 fuel (20 vs 28), and 7 supplies (2 vs 9). So it is potentially worth it in optimal situations streams roughly half the length of the sector going directly to your destination. Which doesn't actually happen all that often.
Now this isn't a full combat fleet that gets slowed significantly by deep hyperspace, and it's at the low end fuel usage, which is why I need more data from an actual play through with note taking. But just because you can detect a slip stream out a farther distance doesn't actually make the slipstream useful, and the probability of it being useful is goes down with its distance as the cost to use it goes up in time and fuel.
As a side note, while doing this testing, I'm suddenly wishing for a on map waypoint option that just tells me the distance between two points instead of counting squares and doing a bit of a^2 + b^2 = c^2 in my head (or calculator on my phone). Again, just to make planning easier. Having the waypoint calculation which is show when you're flying around, but on the map, and between two arbitrary points (so telling you expected time and fuel usage) would be amazing for planning long routes. Or even doing multiple waypoints on the map even if they don't get saved for travel, but just giving a player an idea of how much fuel they'll spend, might reduce new players getting stranded, or an idea of how many logistics ships they need to buy. The fuel range overlay is good, but is less handy for multiple waypoint runs.
Yeah, I hear you. Then again, as long as long stretches were "nothing happens" exist, the movement system will have to stand on its own on a regular basis. The worst emptiness-offender is not even hyperspace though, but big empty systems. Some interesting movement could be applied here too: Raising a solar sail (ability) near the sun to be blown into the system fringe (aka "make your own pulsar but without the hurt")? Using a planet's gravity well to slingshot yourself through the system? Maybe a jump points acts like a pinball bumper if you don't go trough?
Ah! But you don't *know* that big empty system is actually empty, I think that's pretty big.
On the other hand, a solar sail and a gravity slingshot both sound like fun things! Like, a lot of fun. Hmm. Both could be initiated by interacting with the star/planet, even (so: no ability slot), though that'd break the movement flow.
I'd think you want an ability slot, but potentially an alternative movement mode button, akin to dark or sustained burn, because you need to maintain inertia afterwards. Gravity Slingshot or Interial Dampers Off or something. You turn it on, and now your fleet burns normally plus picks up acceleration towards nearby masses, and maintains inertia much better. So as it approaches the planet it accelerates faster and faster, and then off you go as you pass over. If you make the acceleration proportional to the planet's mass, it could make gas giants natural objectives for fast travel - or even across the sun at the cost of some supplies due to the corona. Could lead to some crazy chases if the AI understands how to use it.
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