Sailing in this game is very hard

[Lightshifty]

I've played for a little while now and I have the basics down now for sailing in advanced mode, but I keep the hints on so I can see the hints in the trim dropdown. The hints tell me to constantly change the shape of the sails for better sailing performance, but this it is all the time without a break and changes constantly. My question is, will I ever be able to know when to change the shape of the sail like the hints do? I don't even know how I can possibly know when changes should be made. What are the signs that the sail is too tight/loose for the current wind speed etc?

[Dablin Polarius]

I know what you mean. From what I've read in chat, in RL people can see the affects on the wind more clearly on the sails then in the game, there are also other audio cues and the feel of the boat that we are missing in game.

Also it is hard to actually observe the sails and trim them at the same time, so for new players such as us with little sailing experience we have to refer to the UI for any help that we can get.

I have noticed that sometimes you can chase your tail so to speak when trimming. Sometimes, the wind will drop off briefly or change and the trim will go out, but if I leave it, 30 seconds later it will revert back to the way it was and become perfect again. Had I changed anything, I would have had to change it back.

[richard]

First, real sailors on real boats struggle just as hard as you to keep their sails trimmed. The wind changes constantly and the boat's speed and heel change constantly. And even if you'd constantly trim everything as best as you can, the resulting shape of the sail will still be a compromise and often far from perfect.

So my tip would be: Sail in skills level Basic mode first. Use the Helping Hand button to optimize your sails and watch what it is doing.

We will also be adding more advanced to tutorials on sail trim soon. Those should explain a bit more about WHY you would need to make your sail more flat or curved. Whereas the current trim panel only tells you THAT you should so that and HOW you should do that. I think that with more background understanding everyone can become an expert.

[emeg]

For trimming en observing the setting of sails is the trim panel in the UI (right of the GPS) very handy. I use it a lot. For using the mainsheet, if nothing specific selected (can also be done with the Q and E keys) you can look upwards to the main sail and use the W and S key to set the mainsheet to a lower or higher percentage.

[Adorable Cookie <3]

Originally posted by richard:

We will also be adding more advanced to tutorials on sail trim soon. Those should explain a bit more about WHY you would need to make your sail more flat or curved. Whereas the current trim panel only tells you THAT you should so that and HOW you should do that. I think that with more background understanding everyone can become an expert.

That would be really nice.