Make Wind Visualization Optional

  • Genuine Heather
    Captain
    Insider

    I've never been a big fan of the wind visualization. You know, those squiggly lines that appear in the sky whenever you're on board a ship. I rarely pay them much attention, as I find the flags to be more than adequate for determining wind direction. But I do find them distracting. This game is so visually beautiful and realistic. The wind animation is one of the few immersion-breakers when sailing.

    I think many people probably find them helpful, but I bet there are many, like myself, who would rather not see them. I propose adding a setting to turn the wind visualization off or on. This would be a simple little Quality of Life addition to make this gorgeous game even more immersive.

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  • Dragonsire2016
    Seafarer

    @genuine-heather I'm all for options...why not.

  • WalperR
    Captain
    Insider

    The wind visualization strikes me as Rare's solution to players telling the direction of the wind since players cannot 'feel' the wind direction ingame. And it helps in cases where a flag may be difficult to see (night time/angle of flag).

    It's an excellent mechanic for the game and fits it perfectly. A graphical option to turn it off would be fine for personal preferences, but I'd say relative to other issues, it's a very low priority concern.

  • m1sterpunch
    Master
    Insider

    I wish the wind had a bit of variation in strength and that the gusts were only visible as an indicator that you would get a squall or gust.

    Also, heavy weather and waves should be able to capsize your ship if strong enough.

  • PumpkinKangaroo

    There was a thread a bit back about this by @Kondrites saying the same thing. It got mixed results.

    I personally can't use them for wind direction and rely on the flag. They also make screenshots a video a little (just a little) less attractive. I'd love the option to turn them off.

  • AlPhAcEnTuRiOn2
    Captain
    Insider

    @genuine-heather Although I do use them quite a lot I don't particularly like them. An option to turn them off would be ideal as I find they can make things look a bit messy at times.

  • BinaryPlayerOne
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    On a sloop alone I can see why it would be ok to not see the wind direction as you can just look straight up when navigating the boat to see the flag.

    But that's about it...everyone else and on other ships will have to see the wind. Again. On the sloop alone I can understand why someone dont feel the need for it.

    But when the new boat comes and on the galleon it's a time saver to see it. Because having to run around seeing the flag and wind direction would be a pain...

  • PumpkinKangaroo

    @binaryplayerone said in Make Wind Visualization Optional:

    On a sloop alone I can see why it would be ok to not see the wind direction as you can just look straight up when navigating the boat to see the flag.

    But that's about it...everyone else and on other ships will have to see the wind. Again. On the sloop alone I can understand why someone dont feel the need for it.

    But when the new boat comes and on the galleon it's a time saver to see it. Because having to run around seeing the flag and wind direction would be a pain...

    Like I said, I can't use the wind streams to tell wind direction. I use the flag(s). I sail on both sloop and galleon and manage to keep the sails set. The ship doesn't really matter.

    I don't think anyone is suggesting to totally remove them, just an option to toggle them. I know why they are there and it's a good way for most to tell wind direction. I don't know how easy it would be to be able to offer a toggle, but I for one would really love having the option.

  • BinaryPlayerOne
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    @pumpkinkangaroo Hard to argue with an option in this case. So yeah why not?

  • Genuine Heather
    Captain
    Insider

    I agree it’s not a high priority, but it would be a nice QoL option for many, and probably not terribly difficult to implement.

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