How do I see GPS coordinates on map?

[Bloomstomb]

Hey guys, just started playing again. I am using a realy good mod that (amongst other things) is giving me GPS coordinates with ships in distress.

I have the long lat coordinates but how do I know where they are on the map?

Thanks for your input.

[A Very Super Market]

Umm... what mod are you using? It might help...

[Pisces]

Yes, I'm very curious too what mod you are talking about. Or are you talking about radio messages stating latitude and longitude where they are. If so, then you can ignore them since they are not real. You just receive them to cut the boredom.

As for how to find lattitude longitude coordinates (just so you know, back in the WW1/2 days there were no such things as GPS satelites. They used sextants to measure positions of things called stars and planets and moon. )... There are black/white bands on the edge of the map that are certain intervals of degrees. Or you can measure distances away from the equator and Greenwich meridian, 1 degree is 120km.

[GinoC]

Originally Posted by Pisces

There are black/white bands on the edge of the map that are certain intervals of degrees. Or you can measure distances away from the equator and Greenwich meridian, 1 degree is 120km.

Actually you don't normally use meridians of longitude for distance measurement because the distance between them is continually narrowing to where they all meet at the poles. A minute (1/60th degree) of latitude is equal to a sea mile and changes slightly between the equator and the poles because the earth is an oblate spheroid. The International Nautical Mile is the accepted average value of a sea mile and defined as 1852m. Therefore, a degree would be close to 1.852 X 60 = 111 km.

[Pisces]

Originally Posted by GinoC

Actually you don't normally use meridians of longitude for distance measurement because the distance between them is continually narrowing to where they all meet at the poles. A minute (1/60th degree) of latitude is equal to a sea mile and changes slightly between the equator and the poles because the earth is an oblate spheroid. The International Nautical Mile is the accepted average value of a sea mile and defined as 1852m. Therefore, a degree would be close to 1.852 X 60 = 111 km.

I know, but you are playing this game. And the above doesn't hold in that. This game is flat. As said before, in the game the degree grid is rectangular with 120km interval in both directions. The developers of Silent Hunter 3/4 wanted to make their work easy.

[Bloomstomb]

Im using the gwx mod... Those radio messages are meaningless ?

DAMN!


LOL

I was starting to think they got this game wolfpack style finaly.

[irish1958]

No, they are not useless; scripted into the GWX game are several incidents which will be made known to you via radio message, and which you can participate in if you happen to be close enough to get there in time.

[Bloomstomb]

Ok thats great then.. So how do I know where NXX XX W XX XX is on the game map?

How do you guys find it?

[GoldenRivet]

messages that use lat long are for immersion only.

scripted messages will tell you specific information and send you to a specific grid square.

ie. "Bismark is in distress, proceed at full speed to grid square XXXX to help her out"

[GinoC]

Originally Posted by Pisces

I know, but you are playing this game. And the above doesn't hold in that. This game is flat. As said before, in the game the degree grid is rectangular with 120km interval in both directions. The developers of Silent Hunter 3/4 wanted to make their work easy.

Good points. It's hard to tell if an actual chart projection like a mercator was employed or if it was some other rough approximation. I understand that they would want to avoid the whole issue of great circle routes versus rhumb line over large distances. I haven't actually measured the latitude scale, but it seems odd that there would be that much discrepancy with the actual value. All pretty much irrelevant anyway. I apologize for my pedantic reply.

[Pisces]

Originally Posted by GinoC

Good points. It's hard to tell if an actual chart projection like a mercator was employed or if it was some other rough approximation. I understand that they would want to avoid the whole issue of great circle routes versus rhumb line over large distances. I haven't actually measured the latitude scale, but it seems odd that there would be that much discrepancy with the actual value. All pretty much irrelevant anyway. I apologize for my pedantic reply.

Ahh, no worries. It's difficult to see the difference between a sim and the real world sometimes. Happens to me all the time.