It does work, but it will display the 1-5 setting that's closest to your ordered speed.
However, a lot of things influence what speed you end up doing, in comparison to the speed you order.
If you order 7 knots in calm seas with no upgrades, the crew will run the engines at the speed to give you roughly 7 knots (that said, the 'advanced' scale isn't shown accurately anyway - the markings don't match the speeds).
If you order 7 knots in rough seas, the crew run the engines at the same speed as they would in a calm sea, resulting in you doing less than 7 knots, I think.
As above, promotion points can also upset this. So can recharging the battery - the crew won't compensate for running on one screw by upping the engine speed.
So the advanced speed controls do work, but not very reliably. Like a lot of things!!
