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Soar Like a Sky-Bear (Jetpack Mod)

Originally posted by the Song of the Sky-Bear:

What with his wysdom and his hardynesse,
He conquered al the regne of Aldersesse;
And thurgh the eyr dashed undernethe his shroud,
And rafte the heddes of all thoos byg and proud...

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Saad Amus' legendary relic, the Flume-Flier of the Sky-Bear, is very clearly a jetpack.
Saad Amus is the Sky-Bear, he flies through the air, and the item itself is literally named SkybearJetpack in the game's files. So why can't it fly?

This small, lightweight mod adds the functionality of a jetpack to the base game's Flume-Flier, along with some customised sound and VFX to make the experience of flying it feel more jetpack-like. See videos above for preview.

It also increases the duration of the base item's Dash ability while airborne, so you too can dash thurgh the eyr through the air like the Sky-Bear of old.

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This mod adds the following additional features to the Flume-Flier of the Sky-Bear:

• Jetpack: Grants Flight ability at level 4, roughly equivalent to a Gyrocopter Backpack. Includes customised cosmetic effects (see video above).
  
• Dashing while Airborne: Increases the duration and reduces the cooldown of the base item's Dash ability, (only) while Jetpack is active. Airborne dashing is *very* fast, but dashing overhead does not affect enemies on the ground.
  
• Integral ZPEC: Simulates effects of an integrated zero-point energy collector and circuitry, providing indefinite powered flight unless disabled by normality or EMP.
  
• +100 rep with Birds and Winged Mammals, naturally.

This mod also now includes the following experimental feature, enabled via the Options screen.

• Altimeter: If enabled in Options, (re)equipping the Flume-Flier will add an additional part, the Altimeter, and associated ability. This allows you to move a single Z-level up into the sky and back again, allowing you to dash unimpeded over everything, including mountains and so on. See video above.
  
• The Altimeter now also allows you to traverse mountain terrain on the world-map if jetpack is activated. Very useful for world-map exploration.
  
• NOTE: I've tested this as thoroughly as I can and it should be robust stability-wise. However, be aware of the increased risks involved in flying around at higher z-levels. You can survive a 1-level fall mostly unscathed, but anything higher than that (including falling through a shaft/hole in the surface) will inflict substantial, potentially fatal fall damage.

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• Airborne dashing is extremely rapid, especially with the Altimeter as well - you can easily traverse an entire parasang in 10 seconds. However, the game's systems for buffering and thawing/freezing zones are not designed for such rapid movement, and if you dash continuously for 30 seconds you will encounter some slowdown from loading etc. Even a half-second gap between dashes will help a lot with this.
  
• The Jetpack's Flight ability is calibrated to fall somewhere in between the Gyrocopter Backpack and Anti-grav Boots, with a fixed 1% chance of falling on movement and a 16% chance on Swoop.
  
• For various reasons the mod doesn't actually add ZeroPointEnergyCollector and Circuitry parts to the base item, but it simulates their effects by making the Jetpack and Altimeter parts sensitive to normality and EMP. Watch out for Galgalim.
  
• The Jetpack doesn't work underground. However, if you activate it while standing directly underneath a hole in the strata above (elevator shaft etc.) you'll be given the option to try and jump up through it. You can only jump up one level, though, so it requires some empty space around the shaft. If there isn't any, you'll just (safely) fall back down again.

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Is this compatible with existing saves?

UPDATED: Yes. As of the latest version, the relevant parts should be automatically added to instances of the Flume-flier already created in an existing save. If for some reason they aren't, create a new instance (by Wishing for SkybearJetpack) and use that one instead.

Does Saad Amus himself use it? Does it affect the fight with him?

NPCs are capable of utilising the Flight ability on equipped items, and in principle Saad Amus can use it and will even combine it with Swoop to attack you from the air. However, the Jetpack (like other Flight-granting items) does not work underground, so in practice, he cannot use the new features in the environment in which you encounter him (although he Dashes as normal).

If you're up to it, you can Wish for a new instance of Saad Amus (Skybear) while on the surface. I've found him even more formidable with Flight, though. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Is it safe to remove mid-game?

From my testing, disabling or removing this mod mid-game shouldn't fundamentally break the game or your save. However, disabling mods can have undesirable and enduring consequences if done hastily. In particular, removing or disabling this mod on a save when the item is equipped will not unregister its abilities, causing them to remain as inert options indefinitely.

To safely remove this mod, please carefully follow the following procedure:

1. Deactivate the jetpack's Flight ability, if currently in use.
   
2. Unequip the Flume-Flier. This should automatically unregister all associated abilities.
   
3. Save your game, and quit to Main Menu.
   
4. Disable this mod from the Mod Configuration menu as normal.
   
5. Quit the game entirely, and then re-launch it.
   
6. Load your save. You'll get a warning that the mod is disabled, make sure you choose "Use Current Mod Configuration".
   
7. You will then see a warning message about errors in Player.log. Choose "No" and your save should load successfully. Don't worry, the errors won't reoccur.
   
8. The only trace of the mod remaining should now be the changes to your specific instance of the Flume-Flier. To remove, destroy your instance of the item and then Wish for a replacement (SkybearJetpack). You should now have a pristine, unmodded copy of the base game's Flume-Flier.
   
9. Save the game again. Should now load with no issues and no apparent traces remaining.

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All items that grant the Flight ability (mechanical wings, gyrocopter, anti-grav boots etc.) use the MechanicalWings part, a pretty flexible system that is also closely integrated with the game's wider Flight mechanics. This mod adds a custom part, Jetpack, which is essentially a custom variant of MechanicalWings, mostly to add flavor elements such as custom messages, sound and VFX. Actual flight uses the base game's Flight mechanics, which are unchanged.

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This mod is pretty light-weight, the only real change is to add a new part to the base game's Flume-Flier item. As such, it shouldn't interfere with anything else.

If you do encounter issues, please comment here and let me know.

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