Sailing mechanics, wind direction?

[Jeroen4X]

In older forum topics, I've read that in this game, the wind direction doesn't matter. You can sail in any direction you want. Is this still the case, and when yes, are there any plans to add realistic sailing to the game, even as an option? I would find it very unfortunate if you can just sail without taking the wind into account, would be a big dealbreaker to me. Especially since sailing is a big part of this game.

[Riot]

We actually decided not to include realistic wind mechanics intentionally. We did it early on because it sounded like a fun idea, but it ended up being more frustrating than fun the way we set the game up. We wanted players to constantly look around, spot an island, and head in that direction. And so we built the game with that gameplay flow in mind. When we added wind resistance it became quite frustrating because you'd see an island with something you need on it like a quest, particularly place (inns, ruins, etc.), and you couldn't go there due to the wind.

And so we opted to remove it to not put a strain on the exploration aspect of the game. Hope that makes sense!