Freelancer Companion Tutorial

What is Freelancer Companion?
Freelancer Companion is a separate program from Freelancer. You can run it alone or while playing Freelancer. It will show you where every base, trade lane, jump gate, jump hole, wreck, and mining field is in every system in Freelancer. It will also tell you which commodity is most profitable from each base, where to deliver it, and which route to take for fastest delivery.

What does Freelancer Companion NOT do for me?
Freelancer Companion will not tell you how far above or below plane an object is. Only where it is on a two dimensional map. It will note if an object is above or below plane in the route, just not how far off plane.

Where do I get Freelancer Companion?
You can download the program from the official website.

How do I use Freelancer Companion?
This section is only a little complex when you install and use it for the first time. Settings can be changed whenever you wish but I'm sure most will stay the same for most of you. These settings are for Freelancer Companion version 2.02. If you have an older version please visit the website linked in #3 for an update.

Settings
Click the Settings menu and select Speed & Delays or press Alt+5.
 * The default for Average speed for cruise travel is 280. Change this to 330. The reason for this is Freelancer's top speed without any MOD is 300. With the Discovery MOD we have a top speed of 350. It's a good idea to deduct 20 for the time it takes to engage cruise and for when you get disrupted out of it.
 * The various delay settings are an average for docking sequences with various things. I don't change them but you might wish to if you're proficcient with "speed docking." I will not explain "speed docking" here, that is a different topic.
 * Click the OK button when you're finished.

Click the Settings menu and select Limitations or press Alt+L.
 * In the Exclude systems box it is a very good idea to check the Guard systems so the program doesn't tell you to go through them.
 * I do not choose to Exclude base by factions nor to Exclude goods because I have both lawful traders and smugglers in game. You may choose to do differently.
 * Other Limitations has other settings you can change too.
 * Cargo volume is where you enter the cargo capacity of your ship . This will change the numbers in the Profit and Profit/Distance columns on the main window.
 * Maximum investment is an option I do not use so I can't say with certainty what it does. I believe it to be self explanatory though.
 * Maximum distance is another option I do not use but also believe it to be self explanatory. You tell it how far, in minutes, you want to go between point A and point B.
 * Avoid initially locked gates is something that should be checked unless you're playing the single player version and all gates are unlocked.
 * Don't go through jump holes is something you should only check if you're only on a lawful trader and never go into systems without jump gate access.
 * I recommend that you do not check this box.
 * When you are finished then click the OK button.

Important for Discovery v4.86: Click on settings menu and select Set Freelancer Directory...
 * Browse, find, and select the Discovery Freelancer 4.86.0 folder.
 * Click OK

Dynamic Economy
If you are not playing on the Discovery-GC server you might or might not notice that prices are different from the official server. Changing prices is an option that server administrators have so the trade routes your used to may be different here. By default, Freelancer Companion loads the default prices that are stored in your computer files. These prices are in compliance with the official Discovery GC server.

In order to load the current prices for your current server you must follow these steps: This will automatically load the server prices into Companion no matter which server you log into.
 * Open Freelancer Companion
 * Click on the Game menu
 * Hover over "Import From Game"
 * Select "Base Prices" if there is not already a check mark next to it. A check mark indicates this feature is turned on.

Notice that the other options in this menu are: These will also change what you see in the profits column and help you be more accurate with how much profit you will make without having to change information entered in Settings.
 * Your credits (max investment) - Reads from the game how much money you have on your ship.
 * Your ship's cargo hold size - Reads from the game how much space is on your ship for cargo.

General use after settings are finished
If you play Freelancer full screen then you must alt-tab out of the game to use this resource. I recommend you either dock at a base or be sure you are otherwise safe from attack. You will be vulnerable while the game is minimized!

If you play Freelancer in window mode then keep Freelancer companion in a place on your screen where you can easily click on it to bring it to the top.

How to use Freelancer Companion to help you choose what to trade or to find the fastest routes:
 * 1) In the top drop down menus select the system and base where your ship is located.
 * 2) Select which commodity you wish to trade and/or where you want to go.
 * 3) * If you're looking for what commodity to take where for profit, select a line from the list that appears in the box with Commodity, To, Profit, Distance, and Profit/Distance columns. This part will tell you what to take where for profit.
 * 4) * If you're not trading and just need to know the best route, you can use the lower Destination and Base drop down menus for where you wish to go.
 * 5) The bottom box will give you a best path, generally fastest route, to get where you're going.
 * 6) The large box on the right will display the system and path line for the line of directions in the bottom left box. Select each line in the directions area to see the system map and where the needed jump gates, jump holes, and bases are located.
 * 7) You can click on the map and use your mouse scroll wheel, if you have one, to zoom the map in and out for better clarity. If you do not have a scroll wheel on your mouse then you do not have the zoom feature.
 * 8) MINING: If you double click on a mining field a box will pop up asking you which commodity you are mining. You can play with these settings if you like, I just use it to select what I'm mining so I know where to take it for profit.
 * 9) * This feature has not worked for me since the release of 2.02 but it seems to work for others. If it does not work for you then I don't know of a fix as I haven't been able to find one.