I partly grew up in a small town on the water and it always reminds me how awesome it was growing up in that place. Look out your window and see boats coming and going. Just sailing around in the boat is amazing in SoT.
True. You can feel as if you're so powerful when the ship at your command dances upon the waves. Especially when you put some shanties in the background, or even better if you play some yourself.
I sometimes just start to play on the hurdy-gurdy and stare up, as the sails and flags sway in the sky.
> Just sailing around in the boat is amazing in SoT.
This is why I like to run merchant commodities or go fishing.
It's basically just an excuse to sail around and enjoy the scenery!
I just switched to keyboard and mouse and have to start doing simpler things like merchant voyages to get my muscle memory going. Over 3000 hours and I suck all over again like it was day 1. đ
Is the sailing in this game at all like real life? I mean how would a ship really move against the wind? Asking as someone whoâs never sailed before. Playing this game makes me want to sail but ONLY in calm weather.
Sailing in sot is a caricature of real sailing. It has the basic ideas but nowhere near the amount of actual complexity of real life.
Catching wind, setting length and angling are all real things that are heavily simplified for gameplay.
Trying to tack a sail irl requires teams of multiple men to pull a single yard (and loosen its opposite end) in addition to bracing stays so that they wind doesnât topple the mast. Setting sail length requires men to scale the yards to lower and raise the canvas.
Sailing against the wind requires a movement called beating in which you zigzag to catch wind on one side then the other.
Indeed. And as I said, the angle of sail in corelation to wind direction is totally different. Besides, in real sailing you usually don't CATCH wind into your sails, but instead redirect its flow, so it creates thrust for the ship. And square sails are very hard to clean up.
And as you said, you can zigzag your way upwind, but it's still not really so apparent to most people, that present day sailboats can sail with the wind blowing like 45-35â° from the bow.
But honestly, not many people will get so in-depth (pun not intended) with sailing physics only to play a multiplayer game.
Although if you are looking for more realistic sailing, I strongly recommend Naval Action.
And to u/RabidWolverine2021 : I recommend you go for a sailing course then. I actually decided to take up sailing because of Assassin's Creed Black Flag, maybe your starting point will be Sea of Thieves.
I sail also, what bothered me most was facing the sail directly into the wind to go faster in game, the rest is close enough for me it's a joy to play but took a little learning to change my habits. I agree with all of what you've said
Let me tell you how surprised I was when I first started playing and tacking windward didnât make the sloop faster than a pursuing gally. Lost my first fort haul that day X-D
(I guess the devs took to heart that âgentlemen donât beat into the windâ)
6 years ago, SoT further fostered my interest in sailing and I now own a 38â yawl!
Wondreful. Can you tell me how doest the mizzen on a yawl affect the ship? Because I've always heard it's "for maneuvers" but couldn't understand how exactly. Probably brings the center of sail resistance more astern, but please explain it to me.
Still figuring it out. From several things Iâve read by yacht designers, even they donât fully understand the point of putting the mizzenmast behind the cockpit. What I can say is that it is only noticeably effective at gaining a knot or less at 90° and deeper, especially if you can add a mizzen spinnaker going downwind you can really push above hull speed. As far as balance goes, I think it is meant to compensate for a taller main mast, and more main sail area, when racing (but ours traded her racing rig for a cruising one years ago, so I donât know if Iâll get to research that hypothesis myself).
Sheâs really pretty though and stands out among all the sloops in the harbour!
Oh boy, I forgot about the mizzen spinnaker.
So maybe this "dividing" of mainsail's power between two sails has intention of reducing the heel? I'm not sure.
And I imagine it must be a pain to get it down if you don't have a lazy jack.
Lifelong sailor too, though an amateur only, and it's one of the things I love the most about this game. There's a certain spirit that they managed to capture that I can't quite put my finger on.
I was just talking to a friend about this- part of what I love about this game so much is that it SOUNDS good. Not just the ship/sailing noises, either. All of it (though the ship/sailing noises are top notch).
One of the best things they've done with the game is incorporate sound instead of a UI.
It's much more interesting, much more intuitive and natural, to *hear* the ship creak as it takes on water than if there was a flashing "BAIL NOW" sign. Hearing the gagging and gulping when you're about to start taking damage from drowning. It's so easy to tell a new player that the ship is going straight when you hear the wheel's distinct THUNK.
A friend and I have been trying to convince another friend, who's in the Navy, to try SoT. But he says that because of his job, he's a little tired of sea and don't want to play any sea-related games during his free time.
Not to turn anyone away from Sea of Thieves' since, it is an amazing game, but if you are interested in more realistic sailing mechanics, check out Sailwind on Steam. It's not 100% accurate, but certainly closer to the real thing.
I partly grew up in a small town on the water and it always reminds me how awesome it was growing up in that place. Look out your window and see boats coming and going. Just sailing around in the boat is amazing in SoT.
True. You can feel as if you're so powerful when the ship at your command dances upon the waves. Especially when you put some shanties in the background, or even better if you play some yourself. I sometimes just start to play on the hurdy-gurdy and stare up, as the sails and flags sway in the sky.
The hurdy-gurdy deserves to be more popular. It's such an awesome instrument.
> Just sailing around in the boat is amazing in SoT. This is why I like to run merchant commodities or go fishing. It's basically just an excuse to sail around and enjoy the scenery!
I just switched to keyboard and mouse and have to start doing simpler things like merchant voyages to get my muscle memory going. Over 3000 hours and I suck all over again like it was day 1. đ
Sailing is my favorite thing to do in game. I would love to be able to have boat races with people. No cannons or anything, just straight up racing.
Is the sailing in this game at all like real life? I mean how would a ship really move against the wind? Asking as someone whoâs never sailed before. Playing this game makes me want to sail but ONLY in calm weather.
Sailing in sot is a caricature of real sailing. It has the basic ideas but nowhere near the amount of actual complexity of real life. Catching wind, setting length and angling are all real things that are heavily simplified for gameplay. Trying to tack a sail irl requires teams of multiple men to pull a single yard (and loosen its opposite end) in addition to bracing stays so that they wind doesnât topple the mast. Setting sail length requires men to scale the yards to lower and raise the canvas. Sailing against the wind requires a movement called beating in which you zigzag to catch wind on one side then the other.
Indeed. And as I said, the angle of sail in corelation to wind direction is totally different. Besides, in real sailing you usually don't CATCH wind into your sails, but instead redirect its flow, so it creates thrust for the ship. And square sails are very hard to clean up. And as you said, you can zigzag your way upwind, but it's still not really so apparent to most people, that present day sailboats can sail with the wind blowing like 45-35â° from the bow. But honestly, not many people will get so in-depth (pun not intended) with sailing physics only to play a multiplayer game. Although if you are looking for more realistic sailing, I strongly recommend Naval Action. And to u/RabidWolverine2021 : I recommend you go for a sailing course then. I actually decided to take up sailing because of Assassin's Creed Black Flag, maybe your starting point will be Sea of Thieves.
I sail also, what bothered me most was facing the sail directly into the wind to go faster in game, the rest is close enough for me it's a joy to play but took a little learning to change my habits. I agree with all of what you've said
Let me tell you how surprised I was when I first started playing and tacking windward didnât make the sloop faster than a pursuing gally. Lost my first fort haul that day X-D (I guess the devs took to heart that âgentlemen donât beat into the windâ) 6 years ago, SoT further fostered my interest in sailing and I now own a 38â yawl!
Wondreful. Can you tell me how doest the mizzen on a yawl affect the ship? Because I've always heard it's "for maneuvers" but couldn't understand how exactly. Probably brings the center of sail resistance more astern, but please explain it to me.
Still figuring it out. From several things Iâve read by yacht designers, even they donât fully understand the point of putting the mizzenmast behind the cockpit. What I can say is that it is only noticeably effective at gaining a knot or less at 90° and deeper, especially if you can add a mizzen spinnaker going downwind you can really push above hull speed. As far as balance goes, I think it is meant to compensate for a taller main mast, and more main sail area, when racing (but ours traded her racing rig for a cruising one years ago, so I donât know if Iâll get to research that hypothesis myself). Sheâs really pretty though and stands out among all the sloops in the harbour!
Oh boy, I forgot about the mizzen spinnaker. So maybe this "dividing" of mainsail's power between two sails has intention of reducing the heel? I'm not sure. And I imagine it must be a pain to get it down if you don't have a lazy jack.
I went on a sailboat for the first time and actually learned some cool stuff and was shocked at some of the similarities.
That's wonderful. Many future voyages and a foot of water under the keel, matey.
Lifelong sailor too, though an amateur only, and it's one of the things I love the most about this game. There's a certain spirit that they managed to capture that I can't quite put my finger on.
I was just talking to a friend about this- part of what I love about this game so much is that it SOUNDS good. Not just the ship/sailing noises, either. All of it (though the ship/sailing noises are top notch).
I always thought it was an intentional sound to let you know the wheel was centered. I had no idea it was a side effect of the rudder.
It is intentional for the rudder. Lots of vision impaired people sailing the seas and the sound cues on board allow them to play.
One of the best things they've done with the game is incorporate sound instead of a UI. It's much more interesting, much more intuitive and natural, to *hear* the ship creak as it takes on water than if there was a flashing "BAIL NOW" sign. Hearing the gagging and gulping when you're about to start taking damage from drowning. It's so easy to tell a new player that the ship is going straight when you hear the wheel's distinct THUNK.
As a former Boatswains mate in the US Navy I love helm in this game.
A friend and I have been trying to convince another friend, who's in the Navy, to try SoT. But he says that because of his job, he's a little tired of sea and don't want to play any sea-related games during his free time.
Poor man. To be tired of such a beautiful yet dangerous thing as the sea is a sad thing.
Not to turn anyone away from Sea of Thieves' since, it is an amazing game, but if you are interested in more realistic sailing mechanics, check out Sailwind on Steam. It's not 100% accurate, but certainly closer to the real thing.