Steering the dinghy

[Merlin69]

I think something needs doing about the above. Nearly all of my restarts have the dinghy next to a ship wreck which I seem to be unable to paddle away from? By the time I do the thing wants to go it's own way no matter which way I steer it, W/A/D/S makes no difference? Of course once on the island it's usually too late to do much. Also when I'm trying to get the dinghy to go to the next island it gets stuck on the rocks/reef and I get nowhere unless I get out and pull it? BTW there are no instructions as how to get out of the dinghy and keep the right way up whilst dragging it to shore? This whole thing frustrates me deeply!

[WhiteKitt]

Its a game to master xxxxxxxD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58-2pwzfW40

[QueenPixxa]

This is weird, Merlin. I have had this problem only a couple of times. Do you immediately grab the paddle, before sitting in the raft? once you grab the paddle then you sit and paddle w usually.
Once you are ashore, stand up again, reattach the paddle, jump out, right click on the raft and drag it on the sand. It works well for me, this way.

[Mimir]

The lifeboat has acted weird for me a few times, including being sort of stuck on a wreck right at start. Jumping out and tugging it away from whatever it's stuck on has fixed it for me. Granted, it doesn't go straight when I row it, and steering is hard, but that's about what I'd expect.

[Cougarific]

Originally posted by Mimer:

about what I'd expect.

Yeah have you ever tried to steer a round, inflatable craft on the open seas?

It's not easy at all - and be grateful you didn't rip your lifeboat to shreds on the rocks/coral you hit. The game is actually pretty forgiving with this craft IMHO.

[QueenPixxa]

Originally posted by Cougarific:

Yeah have you ever tried to steer a round, inflatable craft on the open seas?

It's not easy at all - and be grateful you didn't rip your lifeboat to shreds on the rocks/coral you hit. The game is actually pretty forgiving with this craft IMHO.

Hey hello Cougar, it's nice to see you here, I had no idea you played SD :)
Maybe you could make one of your great YT series about it!

[Merlin69]

If I were to steer a raft in RL on open seas there wouldn't be all those wrecks trying to hold me up-would there? Besides which this is supposed to be a fun game albeit it's EA or isn't it?

[Merlin69]

QP yes I always grab the paddle and then press E to get moving but having one's body in the way means I can't see all round to steer properly. Maybe I should use the arrows on my kb instead, perhaps it's because this games seems to prioritise XBox and controllers not pc's and mouse users? I guess I might have to play some other game like NMS until this one gets sorted out-pity really because I like aspects of it.

[thomlovessue]

When moving straight, use the upper knuckle of your top hand on the paddle as a sight line...

[Mimir]

Eh, it's slightly better with controller. Still hard to steer straight though. I guess the lifeboat isn't supposed to do much, perhaps one or two island hops. You should by then have more than enough material to build a 2x2 raft with sail, rudder and anchor.

[dragonbornzyra]

I fail to understand the difficulty in steering the lifeboat. Pressing W make you row "forward" You look in the direction that W takes you. That's forward. Now you're going forward, and looking forward. It's remarkably obvious and self explanitory. I played 50 or so plus hours using the Liferaft and visited at least six islands, before I switched to using Rafts, and only after permanently losing my Raft out to sea over save/reloading operations while Raft was anchored just far enough away to be considered lost. I recovered it, but didn't save between then and the reset and thus lost it.

The life raft has 4 "sides" 1 has the paddle, 1 has the inventory box, 1 has the anchor, the other side is "empty" and that's the front. You push W you go in that direction. You press A and D to turn left and right respectively.

What's the confusion?

[Merlin69]

The confusion is that the tutorial doesn't tell you which side is the forward one and in my case the dinghy doesn't do what it's told!

[Merlin69]

The dinghy does it's own thing! I sailed to the 2nd island but the thing got tangled up with a wreck and it took some time to get free!

[dragonbornzyra]

Originally posted by Merlin69:

The dinghy does it's own thing! I sailed to the 2nd island but the thing got tangled up with a wreck and it took some time to get free!

Hm.....to turn left and right, you have to "hold" A or D long enough to trigger your avatar to "paddle" Each "paddle" turns your raft by increment. Holding W to go forward, generates a "paddle" each paddle moves the Raft forward by an increment. If you are just "pressing" A, W, or D to move around and not holding those directions, that may be why you are having trouble commanding the Raft.

I'd recommend you steer clear of wrecks and avoid getting caught up on them, but if you are having trouble steering the Raft, that's not good enough advice huh? Holding Right Click and dragging the Raft free is your only option at this point, both the Life Raft and custom built Rafts can get stuck on shallow rocks or wrecks, and both require the same technique to pull it free.

Both Rafts the best strategy is to simply avoid getting stuck. Get in the Raft with your Paddle and hold W, when you start to hear yourself paddle look in the direction you are going. Look at the side of the Raft that is moving foward, and memorize this orientation.

I agree the tutorial doesn't explain how to use the Raft, but it's self explainitory. W moves foward. So holding a Paddle, you go foward, and whatever direction the Raft goes, well.....that's forward. It's something I learned on my own within the first 3 minutes of playing the game.

Try to make you a single Raft Base, put a floor and an anchor on it, a sail, and a rudder, and try using that. Opening the sail with the anchor pulled up the Raft will automatically "go" foward, and requires steering with using the Rudder. It may be easier for you to use.

[Mimir]

Zyra seems to be a lot better at paddling than I am... Perhaps perspective makes a difference? I usually play with 3rd person view (less motion sickness for me) and I wouldn't say that it's a simple as pressing A/D until you have the desired direction and then go forward. Might be easier to get it lined up in 1st person view.

For me, building my own raft made a huge difference, it's a lot more fun to sail than paddle. And simple to steer (aside from accidentally placing the rudder in the front and having to steer left to go right). Just make the raft at least 2x2 since it's a bit flimsy if too thin.

[dragonbornzyra]

Originally posted by Mimer:

Zyra seems to be a lot better at paddling than I am... Perhaps perspective makes a difference? I usually play with 3rd person view (less motion sickness for me) and I wouldn't say that it's a simple as pressing A/D until you have the desired direction and then go forward. Might be easier to get it lined up in 1st person view.

For me, building my own raft made a huge difference, it's a lot more fun to sail than paddle. And simple to steer (aside from accidentally placing the rudder in the front and having to steer left to go right). Just make the raft at least 2x2 since it's a bit flimsy if too thin.

Huh, didn't even know we could change perspective from 1st to 3rd person......neat?

That might be a part of it. Have you tried to steer the Raft in 1st person?

I wouldn't mind making a simple video demonstrating the reasoning behind how I paddle and steer the Raft if you'd like, even if you've already moved on to custom Rafts.