Map location indicator needed. Realism

[Sir Richard Bolitho]

I am finding I am wasting a lot of time trying to find locations and getting lost and giving up due to having to rely on compass and  guess work, and not really knowing where I am on the map. In reality a Captain was rarely lost and logged his location on his charts. He was able to do this because he had a sextant to shoot the stars/sun. This game is about being as close to reality as we can have. To not be able to see our position on the map is not realistic to the times. If the game mechanics were able to replicated a sextant type system great, but of course this would be far too complicated. In order to accurately reflect the historical reality and for the very same reasons Captains needed it, can we please have our location marked on the map with a dot/ship icon.

[SteelSandwich]

Similar topics:

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8849-something-like-longitudes-and-latitudes/

 

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/9022-map-scale-and-measuring-tool/

 

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8876-spyglass-and-roughly-around-here-map-mark-on-ow/

 

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8947-nav-suggestion/

 

 

The more serious ones:

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8649-map-tracking/

 

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/8848-a-simple-navigational-aid/

 

Feel free to try and find topics yourself and join the discussion there, it makes the forum so much less cluttered.

[maturin]

Real captains didn't have a computer system log their position for them. They had to do it by hand.

 

Right now you can do the following:

 

Press F11 at noon. Write down the in-game coords.

Go to tdamap.com and convert that to a position readout on the map.

Print the map and draw a dot on that location.

 

That will already tell you your location much more accurately than any historical captain can expect, with a fraction of the effort.

 

 

I hope that we will get noon latitude observations in the game someday soon. But even then, I hope all we get is a number. It's up to you to figure out what the number means on the chart.

[Sir Richard Bolitho]

Real captains didn't have a computer system log their position for them. They had to do it by hand.

 

Right now you can do the following:

 

Press F11 at noon. Write down the in-game coords.

Go to tdamap.com and convert that to a position readout on the map.

Print the map and draw a dot on that location.

 

That will already tell you your location much more accurately than any historical captain can expect, with a fraction of the effort.

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps a better idea would be an option to "check" to have a marker, very easy to include in the next patch.

[LeBoiteux]

NA is a skill-based game and one learns how to Navigate in NA pretty fast.

[Sir Richard Bolitho]

Makes no sense not to have an option for a locator.

[Ligatorswe]

Sextants to calculate latitude would be very nice. :-)

[Galbatorix]

We need a map with latitude and longitude and be able to use an sextant or and octant(not a sextant/octant simulator, just a button that after a few seconds give us latitude and longitude), not a bug report tool.

[Macjimm]

I hope we never have a magic icon on the map showing our location. I hope that F11 coords are removed someday. It just isn't that difficult to pathfind with a minimum of effort. Edit: We are not traversing oceans we are island hopping in the Carribean.

If the developers decide to add a magic icon, a indicator showing the direction to the capital port or some type of GPS locator to help the players that have no interest in navigating, I desparately want it to be on a toggle so we can turn it off. If this type of positional hint was permanently imposed on everyone it would ruin the game.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Macjimm

[Sir Richard Bolitho]

I hope we never have a magic icon on the map showing our location. I hope that F11 coords are removed someday. It just isn't that difficult to pathfind with a minimum of effort. Edit: We are not traversing oceans we are island hopping in the Carribean.

If the developers decide to add a magic icon, a indicator showing the direction to the capital port or some type of GPS locator to help the players that have no interest in navigating, I desparately want it to be on a toggle so we can turn it off. If this type of positional hint was permanently imposed on everyone it would ruin the game.

 

 

The suggestion is for it as an option, if you don't like it don't utilize it. Many of us would like it. I've had enough of wasting hours trying to find a cay etc.

[Reonhato]

The suggestion is for it as an option, if you don't like it don't utilize it. Many of us would like it. I've had enough of wasting hours trying to find a cay etc.

If you bothered to read the discussions linked you would know that it is almost certainly not going to happen, the best you can hope for is some extra tools for navigation sometime in the future.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Reonhato

[ParaBellum]

A magic GPS marker, no.

 

An ingame instrument like a sextant to get a vague sense of where we are, yes please.

[AtomicFrawg]

I would like to see some way to plot a course on the in game map. Something like buringsail.com, but in game.

[SteelSandwich]

Magic marker is for a lot of people the start of dumbing down the game.

They fear that with tp already , cruise controll will be next. Auto-trading in ports as well. Via plotting courses you can sail the world whilst you are at work.

One simple comment: by the love of the seas, dont do it!

[braginator]

I am strongly in favour of the "nice sextant-button which gives me a rough position" way. Maybe with a nice special Navigation menu/map/whatev.

[Mighty Bouff]

I'd be fore having a sextant mini game (only usable at 12:00 each day) that then displays a big white circle on the map (like when you are docked in a port) to give you a rough indicator of where you are. If you miss 12:00 though (+-5 in game mins perhaps) then tough cookies. I think that brings a nice mix of tying in to what captains actually did without removing the difficulty too much. I'd also have it so you have to be stoped on the open world map to do it (so at risk of being attacked).

 

As its a mini game if you fail (it won't tell you if you pass or fail) then the circle will just be in the wrong place (but near enough so you might not notice).

[maturin]

The suggestion is for it as an option, if you don't like it don't utilize it. Many of us would like it. I've had enough of wasting hours trying to find a cay etc.

Sorry, but I don't want the people using this "option" to use their two-way radios to pinpoint my position in the OW after sending out scouts. Let them grasp for words describing headlands and bearings instead.

[Sir Richard Bolitho]

They would only see their position. The suggestion is for a navigation aid, not a "see all".

[Excelsior718]

I really hope they don't do this.    

 

After playing for a while, navigation is not difficult, provided that you are paying attention.  

 

Navigation is a game skill, just like combat.  

 

Learning to navigate, recognize landmarks, and estimate distance traveled is one of the things I enjoy about this game.  

 

Please don't dumb it down.  

[Voltaire1512]

NA is a skill-based game and one learns how to Navigate in NA pretty fast.

 

You seem to confuse this with EVE.

[Puppet]

—1 for showing location on map.

[Ghroznak]

I like the fact that Scotty can beam my ship back to the Capital every 3 hours, but having a marker on the map to indicate the position of the ship would be unrealistic.

 

They had navigators, charts, sextants and every officer knew how to find their position. This was realistic. Teleportation was not realistic.

 

Also, we don't have to ration the food, worry about crew wages, punish or reward the crew, pull ropes to hoist the sails, enter towns by getting into the longboats... etc.

 

Not knowing position on the map is both unrealistic and annoying. It's also very frustrating when trying to link up with friends and trying to find them on the map.

[Plak]

This Wiki article shows very nicely what a challenge it was to get an accurate position in those times.

 

The article points to some background information worth reading and shows very dramatically how nicely the current map in Naval Action does capture the historical context.

 

I have had quite a few funny discussions with my groupmates about finding our correct position on the map within close vicinity of our capital.

The missing marker does add to the atmosphere when the weather turns extremely bad. Ever tried finding your mission or even the next island in one of those storms.

With a position marked on the map the whole exploring and adventure thing of sailing just disappears.

What is the next step after adding the position?

I want markers for all ships in my vicinity? Add their size and nation too, so I can stay on the map and never bother to actually think for myself.

 

In my opinion it already is easy enough to find out your position on the map as soon as you can see any kind of land.

The uncertainty of your position away from any land should be kept as well. It does add to the feeling of accomplishment when you cross a larger stretch of open sea and make landfall close to where you planned and expected to.

[Aussie Pastor]

The suggestion is for it as an option, if you don't like it don't utilize it. Many of us would like it. I've had enough of wasting hours trying to find a cay etc.

Play something else, as said earlier it's a skill base game.

Saying that there is a MAP made by Shrouded Recluse.

It is Accurate plus down the right side has ALL the ports Coordinates, then you F11 to get current CORDS.

Simple.

If not you may need to find a group to sail with to help you.

[Limey McLimerton]

Makes no sense not to have an option for a locator.

To you, maybe.  To the overwhelming majority of the playerbase, it makes perfect sense.  While most people want additional navigation tools, like a chart table we can draw on, plot courses on, etc, very few people who are passionate about this game want a GPS you are here dot on the map.  Casual players who will likely move on after a week because the game is too "hard" for them, sure, but why cater to that crows?