Sailing by COMPASS

[Edward Edgemenace]

Does the new tutorial cover the compass zoom features any better?

[Arioch]

(===---) ??? what is that?

what I always to when boarding ship is to click on the compass +++--- in order to reset it.

but disney at one time fixed it so wherever you had it before it would stay there.

That isn't the case any more and is just as annoying as when you had to immediately set your boarding rights when launching a ship to not include public...

plain and simple it should stay wherever you left it and is really annoying to have to reset it in svs.

[Edward Edgemenace]

Originally Posted by Arioch

(===---) ??? what is that?

what I always to when boarding ship is to click on the compass +++--- in order to reset it.

The key to the left of BACKSPACE on my keyboard is "=" but pressing shift at the same time produces "+" instead. I don't hunt for the shift key, because I don't have to. If I use the "+" on the numeric keypad, that works, too. (But I very rarely do that.)

Originally Posted by Arioch

but disney at one time fixed it so wherever you had it before it would stay there.

That isn't the case any more and is just as annoying as when you had to immediately set your boarding rights when launching a ship to not include public...

plain and simple it should stay wherever you left it and is really annoying to have to reset it in svs.

When they had auto-compass adjustment off, it was awful. Every time I was on land, it was set to sea-view; every time I launched, it was still stuck on close-up/land view. Absolutely horrible - if they bring that back, they need to do so with something in F7/Options that says NO WAY, or "save sea zoom only." Frankly, I'd be happy if they just fixed the minor problem it currently has, with flagships not zooming in when you board, (then zooming back out when the enemies are defeated.)

With the minor exception of the Black Pearl, there is no need to ever use the medium compass setting (debatable even in the BB.) I'd like the zoom to be reset all the way out, whenever I'm on a ship, zoomed in all the way whenever on land or on a flagship.


So anyway,

Anybody on test, does the compass still needs to be reset in SvS whenever you launch? (I.e. an enemy ship next to you, appearing on compass as BLUE until you reset it with ===---.)

[Arioch]

oh.. i prefer mine zoomed all the way in regardless of on land or on sea or wherever.

and yes permanent settings for lots of things should be in the F7 menu as well as
more detailed graphics options.

[mlratto]

as always edward..stellar work!

[Allen]

Wow...nice help!

[MacIronhawk]

Originally Posted by Edward Edgemenace

So anyway,

Anybody on test, does the compass still needs to be reset in SvS whenever you launch? (I.e. an enemy ship next to you, appearing on compass as BLUE until you reset it with ===---.)

Just went on to check this out.
Yes, the compass still resets when you sink in SvS.

[Edward Edgemenace]

Sailing by Compass

Part 2: Compass ZOOM

Pictured here, the minus and plus signs are circled in red with yellow arrows. Clicking the plus sign will zoom the compass in, clicking the minus sign will zoom the compass out. When the compass is zoomed in, you can see only nearby items. When compass is zoomed out, you can see only larger enemies (such as ships.)

When the compas is zoomed all the way in, as in the example above in Tormenta cave, you can see individual enemies as red dots. All land-based gameplay defaults to this compass zoom setting. Zooming out to the middle setting on land is rarely useful; zooming out to the maximum setting does not ever seem useful, on land.

At sea, the compass is correctly zoomed all the way out, so that you can see ships on the compass. This is true, even after boarding a flagship (if you zoomed the compass in, while on board the flagship.)

Boss Battle

The rest of my compass zoom observations, are relevant only to the boss battle. There are very few situations where the game requires you to understand (and change) the compass zoom.

After the officers are defeated on the Black Pearl, you are instructed to take the wheel. Your compass is zoomed to the middle setting at this point. Generally, this is useless; you need to know where your crew is and that they are ready, before heading out to the frigates. Zoom the compass in all the way.

Seen here is a pretty typical situation: pirates milling about like ants on the compass, unsure where they should be. Higher-level pirates (boss battle vets) are on port side cannons, waiting for the lower-level pirates to find a cannon (any cannon!) The captain wisely waited for them to all get on cannons before proceeding. (Before the autumn of 2008, cannon ammo could charge all the way up, making that pause even more crucial.)

When I drive, I ask all pirates to get to the port side (left) of the Black Pearl, before engaging the frigates, for several reasons. #1) The left-forward frigate is the hardest to hit and hardest to sink of the four. #2) If the right-side frigates are sunk first, everyone will run to the left side...meaning that when the 4th frigate finally is sunk, everyone will be on the wrong side. When the last frigate is down, everyone but the captain should be on a right side cannon, to shoot at the first fort. #3) As of late-fall 2008, it takes 9 to 10 seconds to switch cannons. At that stage of the boss battle, 10 seconds can be fatal (with a large crew.)

If I am just a gunner and the captain asks everyone to get on the right side, before the frigates, I'll usually log out/close the game. Such a request is a sure sign that the crew will all go to jail; logging out before the Black Pearl sinks will prevent my pirate from getting "groggy." (The other indicator that the boss battle is doomed, is when a low level pirate grabs the wheel and barges forward before anyone is ready.)

After the frigates, I will zoom to the middle setting, back in to check crew position, back to middle, back in to check crew again, back to middle. If you are using broadsides to hit the middle bridge of the first three (you should) then having compass on middle setting helps you aim. The two pictures above show the position of the Black Pearl, relative to some of the middle forts. Note that I back up, for both middle pairs, so that only the left fort (of each pair) can hit the Black Pearl.

When all the bridges are destroyed, I'll zoom the compass back out, all the way, for the sea battle with Goliath.

Ooops. I mean, I'll zoom all the way IN first, to make sure the crew has moved from the starboard side cannons over to port side cannons and are all ready to go. Then I'll zoom back out.

Before December 2008, you used to be able to see Goliath on compass, before passing the last forts. In the picture above, the two red dots on the left-edge of the compass represent Goliath. Once you pass the last forts, the third cut-scene starts and Goliath appears next to you (approximately where it appears in this picture.)

Note that if the captain turns left, (even a tiny hair to the left) you should logout quickly. There is a law against turning left: captains that turn left, go to jail. The battle with Goliath is a measure of cannon range: the sooner you get out of range, the less damage you will take. If you go straight or even to the right a little, you can use full sail/ramming speed to avoid taking even a single hit from Goliath. Once you have enough distance for Goliath's red dots to drop off the compass, you can stop and turn...your gunners have much better range than Goliath's explosive-firing front cannons. (Stopping and turning too soon can be just as bad as turning left.)

Note that it is possible to survive, if you turn left, sometimes. But that depends on: #1) having a very large and very strong crew, #2) having 40% or more hull remaining after the bridges & forts. When you turn left, you guarantee that Goliath will hit the Black Pearl at least once, with double explosive. So, 100% of the time, it is foolish to turn left when Goliath is still on-compass.

[Edward Edgemenace]

Originally Posted by MacIronhawk

Just when on to check this out.
Yes, the compass still resets when you sink in SvS.

Thank, but that wasn't quite my question. If I launch French and there is a Spanish boat right next to me, it appears BLUE instead of RED on live (currently.) Using ===--- will turn it RED. Does that still happen on test?

Again, I ask: do the new tutorials on the test servers, explain the compass any better than the old one? Or is it the same Tia Dalma "destiny" thing?

[MacIronhawk]

Originally Posted by Edward Edgemenace

Again, I ask: do the new tutorials on the test servers, explain the compass any better than the old one? Or is it the same Tia Dalma "destiny" thing?

I haven't made a new pirate on test but I have a pretty strong feeling that she doesn't explain it any better.

P.S. That boss battle pause is something I try hard not to do. If I pause to wait for everyone to get on a cannon I end up getting damage from the forts.

[Edward Edgemenace]

Originally Posted by MacIronhawk

I haven't made a new pirate on test but I have a pretty strong feeling that she doesn't explain it any better.

P.S. That boss battle pause is something I try hard not to do. If I pause to wait for everyone to get on a cannon I end up getting damage from the forts.

The pause is before the frigates, not after. I've seen no difference in damage from the forts from going slow (but I've seen over a hundred lost because people rush...especially at that point.)

[Edward Edgemenace]

Originally Posted by MacIronhawk

P.S. That boss battle pause is something I try hard not to do. If I pause to wait for everyone to get on a cannon I end up getting damage from the forts.

The other major reason to pause, is that most people (rightly) find it very rude.

Whenever I've soloed the BB, (22 times) I've stopped after the officers to get coffee, etc. After the frigates and the first three bridges were defeated, I'd normally be at around 92% hull remaining. So no, rushing gains you nothing (but an irate crew.) Checking the timestamps at http://photobucket.com/POTCO again, it looks like I waited three minutes before heading out that time...

[MacIronhawk]

Originally Posted by Edward Edgemenace

The other major reason to pause, is that most people (rightly) find it very rude.

Whenever I've soloed the BB, (22 times) I've stopped after the officers to get coffee, etc. After the frigates and the first three bridges were defeated, I'd normally be at around 92% hull remaining. So no, rushing gains you nothing (but an irate crew.) Checking the timestamps at http://photobucket.com/POTCO again, it looks like I waited three minutes before heading out that time...

I wait once the officers are finished off but I expect everyone to know where their cannon is once going up against the forts.
From what I've seen, if you wait three minutes after the frigates have been finished off then the forts will do quiet a lot of damage to you.

[Edward Edgemenace]

Originally Posted by MacIronhawk

I wait once the officers are finished off but I expect everyone to know where their cannon is once going up against the forts.
From what I've seen, if you wait three minutes after the frigates have been finished off then the forts will do quiet a lot of damage to you.

Indeed, as I said before, I mean before the frigates, after the officers. Guess my clarification was more confusing than the original statement!

[MacIronhawk]

Originally Posted by Edward Edgemenace

Indeed, as I said before, I mean before the frigates, after the officers. Guess my clarification was more confusing than the original statement!

Also, good pictures of the pearl. I use the method I see in your pictures. I'll usually stay close to the right so I'll only have one fort attacking me. I can then go up to the front of the pearl and finish off the other fort without taking any damage.

I think the hardest part is having to go past the first set of forts before you can do damage to the next.