[TEC] Map Tools and the Tool Helper
 

It occurred to me that some new players might not understand all the map tools and how they work. So... this is it! :)

The Navigation Map ('m' by default) and the TAI ('Tab' by default) give you access to five map tools and the tool helper. The tools are: Compass, Marker, Ruler, Eraser, Protractor. There's also the Tool helper. Here are what each of the tool icons looks like:

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/1682/compassicon.jpg http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/3852/markericon.jpghttp://img42.imageshack.us/img42/4901/rulericon.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/430/erasericon.jpghttp://img31.imageshack.us/img31/672...ractoricon.jpg http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/945/toolhelpericon.jpg

The Tool Helper

The Tool Helper is a toggle button that changes the icon of some tools to help you get more information from their use. The Tool Helper is ON when it's icon is colored gold as show above. Here you can see the Ruler tool first with Tool helper OFF then following that with it ON, where you can see the bearing tool attached to it's icon.

http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/3...lhelperoff.jpg Ruler Tool with Tool Helper OFF
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8...olhelperon.jpg Ruler with Tool Helper ON

The Compass Tool

The compass tool is pretty easy to use, click where you want the middle of a circle to be and drag out to the desired radius of the circle. This is good for things like checking range around your boat, or for checking how far in whatever direction a ship might have moved.

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/4...assexample.jpg
A compass with a 500m radius. From the middle to an edge is 500m from edge to edge across the circle is 1km.

The Marker Tool & The Eraser Tool

The marker tool is extremely simple. Click where you want an "X". It's good for marking known positions of a ship, which will be important in a later example.

The eraser tool is good for cleaning up marks that you no longer want. To use it simply hover over an existing mark till it shows up red, then click to erase it.

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/8790/eraserexample.jpg

The Ruler Tool

The ruler tool is good for finding distances and plotting courses of targets. To use it click where you want the line to start and drag it to where you want it to end. The tool helper icon for the ruler is a bearing rose with 180° at the top. This can be used to find the true bearing of a line by drawing the line and reading the number where it "exits" the bearing rose.

Lets say we've marked the position of a ship at two different points in time with the Marker tool. We can measure the distance between those points with the ruler and at the same time get the ship's course. In the example below you'll see that from the top marker to the lower marker the distance is 400m. You'll also see that the line "exits" the bearing rose at 110°. If those marks were placed 3 minutes and 15 seconds from each other you'd know three vital pieces of information. 1) It's position (from the mark 2) 2) it's course (110°) and 3) it's traveling at 4kts (400m traveled in 3m 15s = 400 / 100 = 4kts).

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/2...eedexample.jpg

The Protractor Tool

The Protractor tool is one of the most useful tools since he can be used for all kinds of things, one of the best being to find a relative bearing from your ship or another ship.

To find the bearing from your ship first start your protractor tool directly ahead of your boat, like this:

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/3...rfirststep.jpg

Then click and drag the line directly to your boat so it's reading 180° and click to place the anchor of your protractor angle, like this:

(Note that the protractor line has been pulled just past the boat so you can read the number, in practice you'd want it directly on the boat, zooming in so you can see the boat's silhouette to be most precise.)

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7...secondstep.jpg

Then drag again away from your submarine at whatever angle you wanted to mark, like this:

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/8...gleexample.jpg

There you can see that's a line that's at a 140° bearing from your boat. If the line is on the port (left) side of your boat however you'll need to do a little math. This next example is a bearing of 230° (360° - 130° = 230° to port).

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/118...erseanglee.jpg

Hopefully this has explained how to use the various tools and the tool helper to figure things out on the map!

Here are some more examples of using the Ruler Tool's "upside down" bearing rose to find a course:

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1628/alliecourse.jpg

Fantastic! That's worthy of a Subsim news posting and a Ping Prize. Send me a PM with your mailing address and you might win a stripper in a cake.
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But probably a Subsim Battle mug :D
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very clear and well explained. Well done.
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From personal experience I can tell you that the fun from the mug lasts longer ... :03:

Are there actually mugs and subsim items for sale? I definitely would like a coffee mug and a hoodie. And beer mug and shot glasses. And windbreaker. Shaker set. And ball cap. And tee shirt.

nice job :)

THE CAKE IS A LIE!!!!!:haha::har:

How about a SubSim stripper? A mug is kinda boring.

Give me the mug, the stripper costs to much and gives you a headache after having to listen to how difficult HER day was.

Waouh, thxx for that clear and precise explanation.
Au revoir;)

very clear explanation Kylania, great job.

I would also add that when you turn the Tool Helper ON, and click on your sub or waypoint to set a course, an on map compass will appear making it easier to set the precise course you want.

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Map Tools
 

Very well explained - Thank You.
Can you further explain how to figure out the speed of target.

400 meter in 3 min 15 sec = 400 / 100 = 4 kts.

What is the 100? and does the time have anything to do with it.

Thanks for the help
DCOg

The 100 is just the constant you divide by.

The distance traveled in meters by the target in 3 minutes and 15 seconds divided by 100 is their speed. So 400 meters = 4 kts, 1100 meters = 11 kts.

If you're using Imperial measurements (Yards instead of Meters) then you only count for 3 minutes and divide by 100. 1000 yards in 3 minutes = 10 kts.

The 3:15 rule is just a quick way of getting the target speed without a calculator.


SPEED = Distance / Time
You can of course, take any length of time if you want. For example, suppose that you timed at target for 20 minutes. And during those 20 minutes, the target moved 8km. Then you have distance and time so you can figure out speed.

Then the targets speed is 8km in .333333 of an hour OR 24km/hr.

To convert to knots, divide by 1.852. 24/1.852 = 12.95 = 13 knots.




to illustrate the 3:15 rule. Suppose a ship moved 500 meters in 3:15.

Then it's speed in km/hr = .5km/.05416666hr (3min 15sec = .05416666 hours) = 9.23 km/hr.

And 9.23/1.852 = 5 knots

Basically repeating what was said above. But explaining also a bit where it came from.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...2&postcount=56