north? south?

[GenJackO]

i was going to name a wepons platform on my first planet base and realized i have no idea which
direction i built this platform from my base.... this isnt a big problem but then i realized that when my brother comes over and plays MP i dont really have a way to describe where things are on this planet, there just isnt a true north on which to get my berings..... i guess i could mount an expedition to one of the poles and plant a beacon but thats not very exact... ideas?

[Nyx]

well i think that is your best idea, do you really need it to be down to the inch, so long as you can tell or at least have general idea of a direction.

[SpetS]

watch the sun

[Nyx]

Originally posted by SpetS:

watch the sun

yeah, if you have the day setting to 1 day, you could be watching it for a wile.

[GenJackO]

i suppose not but for some reason i feel a bit picky on theis one ... dont know why its just bugging me

[SpetS]

Originally posted by Achskelmos:

Originally posted by SpetS:

watch the sun

yeah, if you have the day setting to 1 day, you could be watching it for a wile.

mark the shadows then

[Nyx]

their are GPS mods you can add that could help you. you can also make places with your game gps. it has unlimited range, had one that was 2,700km way(2,700,000m). you can label each one so you kno what they are.

[GenJackO]

i like the shadow idea that sounds like the way an engineer would do it lol

[Nyx]

well yeah, but its not accurate.

[GenJackO]

may be il set up multiple shadow compasses and triangulate ... that sounds like a bit of fun

[Nyx]

maybe someone has come up with a compass mod. would have to look for it

[Boltron1]

i suggested this a while back but hasnt had much support

http://forum.keenswh.com/threads/compass-for-planets.7371243

[Tired of your crap]

Originally posted by SpetS:

Originally posted by Achskelmos:

yeah, if you have the day setting to 1 day, you could be watching it for a wile.

mark the shadows then

You don't have to watch it that long, like watching the real sun.

Look up (not directly at it! lol) then mark the position of the sun. Do it again in about an hour. Compare the two places and see what direction it's going. Done.

[F-16D Block-60 FemboiDILF]

You could make observation towers and measure the minute of arc in between them to get the circumference of the planet, using a rudimentary octant made of rotors and cameras zeroed in on a beacon on each platform.

Then from there you could mark gps coordinates around the equator to make the longitudinal lines, go to the poles and find the exact spot where they are all equidistant from eachother.

This is the exact kind of circumstance where having actual instruments and survey equipment would be useful.

[9K]

Here's what I do in space. It should work just fine on planets as well. Make a GPS waypoint at some crazy distance like 0, -999999999999999, 0 and call it 'Galactic North'. Basically if you're looking at it then you're facing "North" (North of course is an arbitrary name and you could call it blarn or frablamicram if you really want).

[SolarScavenger]

Originally posted by Aryeonos:

You could make observation towers and measure the minute of arc in between them to get the circumference of the planet, using a rudimentary octant made of rotors and cameras zeroed in on a beacon on each platform.

Then from there you could mark gps coordinates around the equator to make the longitudinal lines, go to the poles and find the exact spot where they are all equidistant from eachother.

This is the exact kind of circumstance where having actual instruments and survey equipment would be useful.

I have a suden impulse to build A SE Stonehenge. This could be fun!