Map suggestions

[Jerome]

To add immersion, make the map look like an 18th century map.  Also, allow for the player location to be updated daily, at noon, as that is when they would take their readings with their sextant.  Also, (see my other suggestion), make navigation a skill you can level that will result in faster OS time and more exact positioning on the map.

[OlavDeng2]

Map is still very much work in progress

 

also, please lets not have the player location shown on map, the map itself should be enough for you to figure out where you are. Sextant can be introduced in game but only as a tool to help you find location, using sextant alone you cant find your location

[SteelSandwich]

Also, lets not add more ways to become faster in OW.

Speed modding will be game breaking

[ObiQuiet]

Jerome, we'd welcome suggestions for the tdamap.com map. It's being updated to handle port captures and other new features.

[AKPyrate]

My suggestions would be to at least allow a marker for where you think/know you are that can be manually placed before signing off if you're not in port.  Something around the size of the circle that currently marks the port you're in, though maybe have the option of a larger one if you're less sure of your exact location, but have a rough idea.  Additionally, a compass rose, possibly movable, and the ability to draw longer lines to plan longer voyages between distant ports.  The compass rose doesn't have to be too precise, the current 24 pt compass that we have in game should suffice.  Also, additional notes manually placed would be a nice touch, such as marking hidden reefs you happen to find, good hunting grounds for AI traders, etc.  I also think that having a delay for updating the current owners of ports would add some immersion and uncertainty.  Maybe they don't change color on the map until 24 or 48 hrs after being captured?  It would also be nice to have some topography on land that could be used for navigation.  Prominent peaks should be noted.  And I second the idea of making it look a little older, possibly the color of the text naming the port could indicate its affiliation instead of brightly colored dots.  That's all for now.  I'm all in favor of a minimalist map, and not really a huge fan of getting a position even daily, but adding some tools, especially manual ones, won't change the challenge of navigating, but at least for me with young kids and not able to play every day, can be a very useful reminder if I need to quickly quit and deal with a diaper change and can't get back until a couple of days later.

[maturin]

It wouldn't be a circle, it would be a long flat oval that updates at noon. Storms, increased time at sea and course changes would make the oval get longer, but not taller.

[AKPyrate]

It wouldn't be a circle, it would be a long flat oval that updates at noon. Storms, increased time at sea and course changes would make the oval get longer, but not taller.

 

I understand that in general, or if bearings could be taken of terrestrial objects you could have a triangle, or even do running fixes based off of one object (maybe a bit harder with the time compression in OW).  However, for practical purposes in game, having a circle of approximate position that you place there yourself would be handy.  The position update at noon I wouldn't be completely against, especially if a general line of longitude could be cross referenced with your approximate position, but I don't think it's really that necessary.  If they implement ocean currents and leeway (which I believe they nixed quite a while ago), then I'd be more agreeable to additional navigation tools.  For example, I recently took a cargo snow from Savanna la mar to La Tortue without incident, and actually made a beautiful landfall around the point off Saint-Nicolas.  It would have taken a bit longer with adverse winds, but that's part of planning a longer voyage.  It's not like the winds will change unpredictably; they're always backing (I wouldn't mind if they veered once in a while too, instead of the predictable, steady counter clockwise change).  So, I started out with the wind on my port beam, and by the time I was going through the cut between Cuba and Peurto Rico, the wind was on my starboard beam.  From there to La Tortue was a bit more difficult due to enemy shipping, but I know the area well and made a successful passage.  However, if I had needed to log out for the day in the middle of the passage, and maybe not returned for a week, I would have started out in the middle of water with no references and a very fallible memory of where I last was.  A longer passage would have made logging off during the passage much more difficult in a single stretch, but it's still just point the right direction and wait.

 

One addition that I might add to the map feature is the ability to write a basic log.  For example, if logged out for a while in the middle of a passage, a note to oneself saying "Sailing NExE towards Mantua.  Might be slightly south of course due to enemy activity.  Probably about halfway there."  Of course, being able to just put a approximate position marker on the chart would work, but notes would be cool as well.

[AKPyrate]

Another aspect that would be nice on the charts and in the game are a few aids to navigation (lighthouses).  These could be seen from quite a distance and be unique to let people know their bearings from them, as well as break up the shoreline a bit more than just trees.  I did a quick search and found some later period lighthouses here.  A couple of highlights below...

 

Abaco (Hole-in-the-wall) c. 1836

 

Gun Cay (Bimini) c. 1836

 

Paradise Island/Hog Island (Nassau Harbor) c. 1817

 

Cay Sal (Southern Channel) c. 1839

 

Others, along these styles or other period styles could be used in a variety of color schemes.  I don't advocate for lighthouses all over the place, but if you're making landfall and can identify a light, then all the better.  Maybe just in a couple of key locations, especially if NA expands beyond the Caribbean.