Pass direction & anchor

Two settings that shape coverage

Every pass carries a direction and an anchor. Together they tell the swarm the overall shape of the sweep — where to start pushing from and which way to work across the region. They don't script individual machines; they bias the live scoring so the fleet's coverage pattern matches what the storm needs.

The anchor

The anchor is the reference point the direction is measured from. By default it's the centre of the pass's open jobs — so the fleet sweeps the whole cluster together and self-heals if a machine drops out (no fixed territories). You can switch it to your depot instead — a per-pass choice, off by default — which measures the sweep from the yard the fleet leaves from. Either way, distances and the outward/inward sense are relative to the anchor, and on the opening move machines fan out away from where peers already went (start-spread).

The direction

Choose the sweep that fits the storm:

• Outside-in — clear the far edges first and work back toward the anchor. Good when the outer properties are the ones that strand people if left.
• Inside-out — clear closest to the anchor first and push outward. Good for getting the core cleared fast, or when conditions near the yard matter most.
• Nearest-first — always take the closest available high-value property. The most efficient on raw distance when priority is simply "clear everything as fast as possible."

Choosing well

1. Leave the anchor on its default (the cluster centre) unless you have a reason to sweep from the depot. If you do switch it to the depot, confirm that depot is the yard the fleet actually leaves from.
2. Pick the direction by what your contracts and geography demand, not habit.
3. If a pass's coverage looked lopsided last storm, try the opposite direction and watch the difference — the what-if simulation lets you compare before committing.