Hello captains,
I've been playing NA on and off since January and would like to give a few suggestion based on my background irl (active tall ship sailor and occasional computer game player).
First I must say that I really enjoyed playing this game when I have time, specially for the realistic battle where wind tactics allow to take over your opponent, but also the open world and the crafting/trading system. However there are few points that I would like to comment on, and give my opinion.
Two minor incoherence concerning the map and navigation system:
- In the map window the coordinates start with the longitude West. irl it would always start with Latitude North or South. For me (and I guess for other players with navigation background) it is hard to get used to it.
- On the wind direction and ship direction diagram (bottom right in OW, bottom left in battle): the wind direction arrow is pointing on the compass where the wind is going to, not where the wind is coming from. Same here, irl the convention is the opposite and would show the direction from where the wind is coming (see image of a conventional instrument plotter, wind is represented as the yellow arrow with letter T).
Concerning the open world navigation system. I would suggest the development of a more realistic navigation system including wind direction change and wind patterns, currents, leeway, weather changes, clock system for longitude, poor latitude position in case of overcast (cannot fix the sun with the sextant) etc..
Making a more realistic navigation system would attract a lot of people from the traditional sailing community that would see this game as a simulator from the age of sails. Moreover I've been reading a lot of complains on the forum about long and boring OW navigation. A more realistic navigation system would bring more dynamics to the OW and offer more challenges and tactical decision, making long OW navigation more fun. I know that represents a huge amount of work for developers, but might be worth considering.
That's my suggestion for this wonderful game. Developers keep on the good work!
