Ship Drifts Off Course

[Zosimus]

My ship often drifts off course, especially in high winds. I have talked to my navigator and helmsman until I'm blue in the face, but they still do not keep an eye on the compass. Is there any easy solution to keeping the ship going on the last heading I called?

[Jaystew]

Realism, it's such a bitch lol jk.

I have no idea how to fix that.

[vanjast]

Time Compression (TC) <= 128x

[Zosimus]

The ship drifts off course with TC 64.

[scott_c2911]

Its called leeway to let everyone know. The old sailing ships took it into account when navigating. When you plot a course the navigator sets a small amount of port or starboard rudder to compensate for it in game. If you just point your sub at heading 090 for example and say rudder amidships it will not be pointing at 090 in a few hours or so regardless of tc. This can also be attributed to the curvature of the earth modelled into the game but im not so sure about that. Sailor steve knows about plotted courses that arc across the ocean rather than a straight line but I cant remember the name for it.

[UKönig]

The more skill and experience your officers have, not to mention decorations, will help reduce incidences of lost waypoints.
When I put the new Nav Officer on, he loses his way every now and then, especially underwater at 70+ meters. I put that down to a lack of sky/star sightings.
But yeah, the more skill and decorations your crew has, the less they slip up.

[Zosimus]

Yeah I haven't been using waypoints. Normally I'm on my way to my zone and I get a hydrophone contact so I go off after the guy to sink him with the plan to resume course once I've bagged him. However, during the chase, the guys often lose their way. Rather paralleling him, they drift towards the target track. I guess what you're saying is I have to stop using waypoints to go to my patrol area because they will be needed to track and sink ships.

[desirableroasted]

Originally Posted by UKönig

The more skill and experience your officers have, not to mention decorations, will help reduce incidences of lost waypoints.
When I put the new Nav Officer on, he loses his way every now and then, especially underwater at 70+ meters. I put that down to a lack of sky/star sightings.
But yeah, the more skill and decorations your crew has, the less they slip up.

The game does not miss waypoints -- ever -- if you have set them and told the Nav Officer (whomever is standing in that post) to follow course. That is like telling the Sonarman to listen for contacts -- it is automatic.

If, on the other hand, you set a course for 120, you will eventually have to manually intervene -- always -- to keep that course. Just as if you were manually handling the sonarscope.

BTW, not sure what you mean by "Nav Officer" -- any officer will fill that post 100%, no matter their decorations or experience. Also, the little sextant device -- the "helmsman" qualifcation? Utterly useless; it was never programed into the game.

[desirableroasted]

Originally Posted by Zosimus

However, during the chase, the guys often lose their way. Rather paralleling him, they drift towards the target track. I guess what you're saying is I have to stop using waypoints to go to my patrol area because they will be needed to track and sink ships.

They are not drifting toward the target track; that's just coincidence.

Most experienced captains will write and rewrite their waypoints many, many times on a patrol. Waypoints are just a way of telling your officers where you want to go now, until something comes up and you tell them something different.

[UKönig]

Well, maybe your crew doesn't get lost, but perhaps you could speak to mine? Because under the right circumstances, my nav officer will make us turn circles. It happens (mostly, not always) when running time compression (any speed). If I have been "underwater" for hours and if we are at any depth over 70 meters, we will suddenly start turning circles, going nowhere. Like he's looking for his lost keys. I either have to erase the offending waypoint and tell them to resume set course, or pick up and reset the waypoint to bring things back into alignment.
That to me sounds like losing a waypoint. Either that, or my navigator is an idiot who lied on his resume.
And then I have had an awesome crew, who rarely gets lost even at 150m down. I know I can leave the TC on to 64 or 128 and go do something else and I trust that they won't mess things up.

[desirableroasted]

Originally Posted by UKönig

Well, maybe your crew doesn't get lost, but perhaps you could speak to mine? Because under the right circumstances, my nav officer will make us turn circles. .

If your waypoints are close together (like 3-5 boat lengths) at hard angles, that *can* happen.. the AI (sort of like your GPS if you park at the house next door) can freak out. But on a normal voyage, at normal speeds... no.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by scott_c2911

Its called leeway to let everyone know. The old sailing ships took it into account when navigating. When you plot a course the navigator sets a small amount of port or starboard rudder to compensate for it in game. If you just point your sub at heading 090 for example and say rudder amidships it will not be pointing at 090 in a few hours or so regardless of tc. This can also be attributed to the curvature of the earth modelled into the game but im not so sure about that. Sailor steve knows about plotted courses that arc across the ocean rather than a straight line but I cant remember the name for it.

Actually I have to disagree completely. In the game if you use waypoints the sub will hold its course, which is not realistic, or the navigator wouldn't have to take a position fix every day. On the other hand, if you just set a heading and let the boat go, it will not only drift off course but drift off heading, which is highly unrealistic. In real life the helmsman will hold his heading, or you'll replace him with a helmsman who can. The heading should never wander. If you set your heading for 300 degrees, the boat should stay on that heading. That it doesn't isn't realistic - it is a game bug.

Real Life: You tell the helmsman to hold a heading. He does. If the boat drifts off course because of winds or currents your next fix will find you not where you expected, but you will still be on the same heading. You would then plot a new course and give the helmsman the new heading, and he would hold that one until told otherwise.

The Game: You tell the helmsman to hold a heading. He falls asleep at the helm and your heading wanders all over the place. If you ignore it long enough you might find yourself on the opposite heading. This is not even a tiny bit realistic. It is a bug. Plotting waypoints is the only way to insure that your boat will hold its heading. Unfortunately plotting waypoints also guarantees a perfect course every time. The alternative is to give the helmsman a heading and then correct it constantly, essentially conning the boat yourself. Both ways are less than desirable.

[scott_c2911]

I honestly thought it was a way of simulating weather effects on navigation but what sailor steve has said above does make sense. Even where leeway was concerned the ships held their headings and rather crabbed sideways across the seas. The effect isnt as dramatic as that and the difference is only a few degrees but when sailing across an ocean it could mean that the sailors landfall could be out by hundreds of miles. It must be a bug. Thanks sailor steve for helping me out

[vanjast]

Originally Posted by Zosimus

The ship drifts off course with TC 64.

A TC=128 is just manageable if you're sailing on Real Nav. Not too much drift and plenty time to correct.

[Jaystew]

Weather should not affect the compass.