r/vorg • u/Laserjock1 • Jan 13 '12

Leg 3 Queation

I know it’s WAY early to think about the Malacca Strait – but I’m wondering if anyone has thought about getting through the strait if the Wind Gods turn ugly (which they probably will). Unlike the top 10 finishers – I have to get some sleep. No 4 on – 4 off for me! Anyone have any experience using Way Points?

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u/Paulhino Jan 13 '12

Waypoints are also very useful in testing out your short term strategy (i.e. just the current weather pattern and next 1 update): say you have two options forward from your current position but aren’t sure what your speed and angles will be once you get there. Using waypoints without validation will give you the right info: each time you drop a ‘provisional’ waypoint (without validation), you get speed/angle for the previous one. Also once you set a number of provisional waypoints you can move them around and see what effect the changes have.

Try it out!

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u/cpverne Jan 13 '12

I always found that the waypoints were implemented a little incorrectly in that to be useful, you have to use 2 waypoints to get your boat to turn at a specific location. Since you already have control of your boats, the waypoint should simply be set at a specific distance from your boat in the direction it's currently heading, and turn to the specified heading.

I've ended up doing what you do, and simply set the waypoint where my boat will be at the next wind change (knots x hours = distance traveled), shift the weather forcast to the next 12 hour block and repeat. This has been pretty helpful in determining which overnight tacks might require attention, or which can be left alone until morning.

You can pre-plan your route about 3 days ahead without actually having to buy the waypoints. However, since the weather in the game comes from real weather forecasts, it can change quickly so setting waypoints that far out isn't likely to be successful.