WHICH WAY IS SOUTH?

[RachaBoi]

So, I get this message saying something like, "there is land 700 m south of here" and I'm like AWESOME, then I get a message saying lifeboat 7 blah blah blah, so I go to lifeboat 7, and get a compass. So I assumed the compass would show me which way is South. Apparently in the heat of the moment I accidently DROP this compass, and cannot retrieve it because it glitched out of the game. Will someone give me general directions of which way is South? (sun sets in the west, I GET IT, but this is an alien planet)

[Karmeh]

Oh my, you play an exploration / survival game without knowing the 4 basic elements of directions?! whatever you call them.

[Karmeh]

It should be at the very very back of the aurora.

[wolfheart303]

The sun rises in the north and sets in the south. If you follow the tail of the Aurora out you'll see the island. If you turn around and can't see the Aurora anymore, you've gone too far. Just skim along the surface and keep the Aurora slightly to your left, you'll see the bases on the peaks of the island render first.

[Zemecon]

South on this planet is to the right of where the sun rises and left of where the sun sets, just like on Earth.

For future reference, you can make a compass yourself. Collect some magnetite from around the base of the mountain island one full screen left of the Aurora and the fabricator should then give you the recipe for a compass.

EDIT 1:

Originally posted by wolfheart303:

The sun rises in the north and sets in the south. If you follow the tail of the Aurora out you'll see the island. If you turn around and can't see the Aurora anymore, you've gone too far. Just skim along the surface and keep the Aurora slightly to your left, you'll see the bases on the peaks of the island render first.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Look it up.

EDIT 2: Damn tags.

[wolfheart303]

Originally posted by Zemecton:

South on this planet is to the right of where the sun rises and left of where the sun sets, just like on Earth.

It seems I stand corrected. Zemecton has it right. Shows how much attention I pay to my compass, I usually just use the Aurora as a reference point with the islands.

[Swiftstickler]

You can equip the compass like you equip the different beacon frequencies. Then it will be on your hud all the time.

[slxpress]

It's important to note that the landmass is 750m to the southwest of the crash site. Not 700m south. Actually, more like west by south west. Closer to southwest from the safe shallows.

If you look in the horizon you can see a bit of discoloration that doesn't move while the clouds float above it. As long as you head in that direction, you'll hit the island eventually. It's a pet peeve of mine that the message from the Aurora is actually a misdirection that can send the player off into the unending void by heading due south from the crash site. The developers really should change that to make it more accurate, IMO.

[Confused_Toothpaste]

can someone show some proof as to where the sun sets and rises? all I have to go on is a couple of threads where someone says "it rises in the east and sets in the west" and then someone going "no actually it rises in the north and sets in the south" and vice versa... where are yall sources...

[Amanoob105]

Originally posted by Confused_Toothpaste:

can someone show some proof as to where the sun sets and rises? all I have to go on is a couple of threads where someone says "it rises in the east and sets in the west" and then someone going "no actually it rises in the north and sets in the south" and vice versa... where are yall sources...

If you really want to find out for sure for yourself, just load up a creative mode game and build a compass.
Then wait a bit for the sun to move.

Most of the early game is spent using a mix of your lifepods beacon and the giant crashed ship to figure out where you are relative to the rest of the map.

[Cougarific]

On Earth it's east-west, in Subnautica it rises in the North and sets in a West.

[Eagle_of_Fire]

How can you even "drop the compass"..? You build it and place it in your "misc" slots of your dive suit and never touch it ever again... O_o

[Confused_Toothpaste]

Originally posted by Amanoob105:

Originally posted by Confused_Toothpaste:

can someone show some proof as to where the sun sets and rises? all I have to go on is a couple of threads where someone says "it rises in the east and sets in the west" and then someone going "no actually it rises in the north and sets in the south" and vice versa... where are yall sources...

If you really want to find out for sure for yourself, just load up a creative mode game and build a compass.
Then wait a bit for the sun to move.

Most of the early game is spent using a mix of your lifepods beacon and the giant crashed ship to figure out where you are relative to the rest of the map.

Ya know what? I did that. It rises in the north east. https://imgur.com/a/A83Qssa

[silbrulf]

Originally posted by Eagle_of_Fire:

How can you even "drop the compass"..? You build it and place it in your "misc" slots of your dive suit and never touch it ever again... O_o

if im not mistaken, when the OP put this up the compass was a one-off find it and keep it item that you had to actually check... game has changed quite a bit in the 4? years since its first early-access days