getting lost at sea

[Brute]

do i have to always keep a person on the maps to keep from getting lost?

[Kaleu]

yes.

[Brute]

no other position helps? like spotting deck ?

[Brute]

is it only when im in open sea? with no land in sight?

[Zeke & Sil]

AFAIK, it only happens when you're in the open sea for a significant period with no land in sight and no navigator.

[primmreaper]

When I suspect I wont hit an enemy convoy I switch the two leaders(Skipper and the other dude) when their status bar gets to about half. Same with the two engineers. When you do get lost at sea put a leader at the nav station with two other crewman, also stop the engines.

[JeanDeaux]

I think the mechanics behind this process are a bit flawed. It looks to me that there is a timer and if there is nobody at the station when this timer runs out then you're just lost. I can have someone on the maps for most of the trip and find that you can get lost in as fast as two minutes as soon as it's unmanned.

[[82AD] ♤Stonewall♤]

Also make sure to turn on Gyro again if u turn it off when running silent.
With Gyro off u will get lost very fast.

[Serathis]

Gyro helps a lot

[Arran Chace]

Originally posted by Firebirb:

AFAIK, it only happens when you're in the open sea for a significant period with no land in sight and no navigator.

This...

My expierence is that too, open sea, nothing in sight, no navigator, travel mode, and time compression, always results in getting lost.

But as soon above conditions arent met, i never get lost either.

[Goffik]

Originally posted by jeandeaux:

I think the mechanics behind this process are a bit flawed. It looks to me that there is a timer and if there is nobody at the station when this timer runs out then you're just lost. I can have someone on the maps for most of the trip and find that you can get lost in as fast as two minutes as soon as it's unmanned.

It makes sense to me, to be honest. If you're chugging along on the open sea with no obvious landmarks in sight, and nobody to take bearings and timings to keep track of where you are, then you will get lost. It doesn't matter if you've had a navigator for 90% of the journey to date. Waves, currents, winds, pilot error, all contribute to slight, unwanted changes in course which can put you somewhere other than where you want to be. There was no GPS in WWII, it was all done the old fashioned way by humans.

[JeanDeaux]

Another time-out incident. I pulled my tired navigator off the map, this time 2 seconds later we're lost. Don't get me wrong, I think the idea is sound that you need someone mapping your position and I'm not trying to dissuade this feature but I don't care for the current mechanic of it. In this case, I didn't have time to swap characters at the map before getting lost. If this is how this mechanic is going to work, then we'll need another officer who's sole duty is to map/navigate. Even back in the day of sails, the sextant was only use a few times a day. All I'm suggesting is to perhaps start this mysterious timer after the navigator leaves his post. It can be a random time before getting lost, but a few seconds/minutes seems a little soon.

[Kyrah Abattoir]

If I suspect I might get spotted and don't have the possibility of having a leader on the conning tower AND on the map, I usually submerge to deck awash so i can still run the diesels.

[渤元]

Yes, there must be someone in the chart room.

[Karl]

Originally posted by jeandeaux:

Another time-out incident. I pulled my tired navigator off the map, this time 2 seconds later we're lost. Don't get me wrong, I think the idea is sound that you need someone mapping your position and I'm not trying to dissuade this feature but I don't care for the current mechanic of it. In this case, I didn't have time to swap characters at the map before getting lost. If this is how this mechanic is going to work, then we'll need another officer who's sole duty is to map/navigate. Even back in the day of sails, the sextant was only use a few times a day. All I'm suggesting is to perhaps start this mysterious timer after the navigator leaves his post. It can be a random time before getting lost, but a few seconds/minutes seems a little soon.

That is too fast, indeed, I never had such issue though. -> To avoid it, use the gyrocompass next time, it helps a great deal, you do not get lost (afaik) when not at the open sea at all.

[Revaero]

There might not be something working as intended with this feature for navigation. I noticed that in the top right corner (where it shows speed, wind, depth, etc...) it has an exclamation point icon for "navigation error", but I've never seen that change. Navigation error always says "0 m" for me.

I think the intent was to have this change the longer you go without a navigator to the point where you become lost.