A couple of questions from a newish Pilot

[Lung Drago]

Greetings, I've played a few games with my premade crew of friends and had lots of fun, but there are a couple of questions and annoyances that came up and I would like to discuss them.

1. I've definitely noticed that on many maps there's wind. I turn off the engines and my junker noticeably drifts to the right after going straight forward so it's not simply inertia. Other times I can "feel" the resistance when trying to turn/fly against it. However, in the heat of steering and battle I find it difficult to actually gauge both the direction and force of the wind in any way. I've examined the steering wheel with a magnifying glass and I see only a longitude meter and engine power controls. How do I gauge the wind, then? It's annoying when I decide to "fly into cloud cover" only for the clouds to be blown away, ending with me chasing it while the Benny Hill theme plays in the background.

2. Am I correct in thinking that in the Battle of the Dunes map the sandstorms spawn randomly? It happened countless times that while brawling with other ships a goddamn sandstorm comes all over us  with no warning whatsoever (and nobody noticing it coming) no matter how paranoid me and my crew are about them. The only conclusions we have is that the sandstorm spawns right on top of us or comes from below us where we can't see.

3. How exactly does the Tar Barrel work currently? I've sprayed some ships with it while escaping but each one just flew through it and kept chasing us, am I just too much of a pussy with my engines or is the tool simply not good enough?

4. I believe the Captain Spot button (B) is not good enough. It's just barely noticeable and goes away too fast so I don't bother with it anymore even though the concept itself is very useful.

 

[Kamoba]

Captain spot is effective for picking targets when you do not have voice comms, or if you have an ai gunner you want to shoot a certain ship. The pilot tool Spyglass is one which should be equipped by your engineers and gunner. This allows them to provide a longer lasting more effective spot.

Dunes dust storms are not random and quite predictable, especially their flight pattern.
You need to storm.charging the centre of the map, take to the sides, and if you're in a goldfish, squid, pyramidion, mobula or Junker, flying close to the floor will take you under most.dust.storms.

Tar is very very very effective, either you need to juice a little bit more out, or the enemy are going around it, or you're using it too late and thus the enemy is not very effected.

Wind judgment takes practice to get to used to. After some time it'll be like second nature. If you're hitting very very strong winds that cause screenshake. This is what's called Trade winds, and that's to signal that you're trying to fly off of map.

[Dementio]

As far as I can tell, wind only goes from west to east on every map that features it. I find that It doesn't actually change how I fly a ship all that much, the only few times I feel affected is when I want to be stable in mid air so my gunners have an easier time to hit the enemy and then the wind drifts me to the left or something.

Moving clouds can be annoying, but they are also useful. Sometimes people are just staying there in that one spot and when the clouds moves it reveals them or when it moves in it is your chance to go in while the enemy can't see you. Not all clouds move though.

That blue thing next to the helm is for altitude, but it is a little bit weird since the ground on some maps is placed higher than on others so when you hit the ground the meter does sometimes not say "you are hitting the ground". At least it will always tell that you are about to reach the limit of how high you can go.

Dunes' sandstorms move with the wind from west to east, always through the middle lane, which is "3" when you open the map. They spawn left of "A3", which is outside the map, so you can actually see them coming, if they are within your render distance, I am not sure from how far away you can actually see them. Some normal clouds also spawn and I am not sure on that one either, but I think the normal clouds and sandstorm move at a little bit difference speeds or maybe spawn at little bit different intervals.
As Kamoba said, you can go below the sandstorms to avoid damage, doing the opposite of that, which means going as high as possible, probably works too.

The Tar Barrel works in a similar fashion as the sandstorms: You sit in it, you take damage. For details about Tar you can check the Guns of Icarus Online Wiki. A problem that you may be experiencing is that the enemy is too close to you so they won't get hit by tar or, as Kamoba said, they are flying around it. Tar Clouds are not infinitely big.

I believe the Captain Spot thing is good enough. It's supposed to work as a "target that one" and even AI prioritize that target, but the AI program is so bad that the second the captain spot goes the AI loses interest and shoots something else again. It disappears so quickly, because when you actually want to mark them and spot them, the Spyglass is the way to go. If captain spot would hold for too long it would replace the Spyglass by a little bit. But increasing the time the captain spot stays activated for two or seconds might not be too bad.

[Lung Drago]

As far as I can tell, wind only goes from west to east on every map that features it. I find that It doesn't actually change how I fly a ship all that much, the only few times I feel affected is when I want to be stable in mid air so my gunners have an easier time to hit the enemy and then the wind drifts me to the left or something.

Moving clouds can be annoying, but they are also useful. Sometimes people are just staying there in that one spot and when the clouds moves it reveals them or when it moves in it is your chance to go in while the enemy can't see you. Not all clouds move though.

Interesting. I assumed all clouds are subject to the wind. Does that mean that the moving clouds also move in a predictable, preset pattern?

That blue thing next to the helm is for altitude, but it is a little bit weird since the ground on some maps is placed higher than on others so when you hit the ground the meter does sometimes not say "you are hitting the ground". At least it will always tell that you are about to reach the limit of how high you can go.

Yeah I've definitely noticed the altitude meter is kind of wonky, but it's much better than having nothing at all. Kind of how I felt about the wind, something like a paper rotor sticked onto to the wheel would be nice to have

Dunes' sandstorms move with the wind from west to east, always through the middle lane, which is "3" when you open the map. They spawn left of "A3", which is outside the map, so you can actually see them coming, if they are within your render distance, I am not sure from how far away you can actually see them. Some normal clouds also spawn and I am not sure on that one either, but I think the normal clouds and sandstorm move at a little bit difference speeds or maybe spawn at little bit different intervals.
As Kamoba said, you can go below the sandstorms to avoid damage, doing the opposite of that, which means going as high as possible, probably works too.

I obviously had no idea about any of this. Thanks a lot for this information this should help me out on this map immensely.

Wind judgment takes practice to get to used to. After some time it'll be like second nature. If you're hitting very very strong winds that cause screenshake. This is what's called Trade winds, and that's to signal that you're trying to fly off of map.

Those are easy to identify and figure out I think. I was referring to winds inside the map but reading on more about the game I also suspect partial engine damage could be what I'm experiencing...

The Tar Barrel works in a similar fashion as the sandstorms: You sit in it, you take damage. For details about Tar you can check the Guns of Icarus Online Wiki. A problem that you may be experiencing is that the enemy is too close to you so they won't get hit by tar or, as Kamoba said, they are flying around it. Tar Clouds are not infinitely big.

I'll try more doses then, I've been very frugal with it because it hurts egines, the one thing that's exposed when trying to shake off a chasing enemy.

I believe the Captain Spot thing is good enough. It's supposed to work as a "target that one" and even AI prioritize that target, but the AI program is so bad that the second the captain spot goes the AI loses interest and shoots something else again. It disappears so quickly, because when you actually want to mark them and spot them, the Spyglass is the way to go. If captain spot would hold for too long it would replace the Spyglass by a little bit. But increasing the time the captain spot stays activated for two or seconds might not be too bad.

Captain spot is effective for picking targets when you do not have voice comms, or if you have an ai gunner you want to shoot a certain ship. The pilot tool Spyglass is one which should be equipped by your engineers and gunner. This allows them to provide a longer lasting more effective spot.

Okay, I realize that the captain spot shouldn't really replace the Spyglass in function, but the issue we're having with it is that it's plainly hard to see. Captain Spotting a spyglass-unspotted ship is visible good enough but when we're playing say 3vs3 and all 3 enemy ships are close together, spyglass spotted, we're having difficulties telling apart the ship that's captain spotted. I think the captain spot should use a different color, and perhaps even blink, even off to the sides of the screen when you're looking in the wrong direction, since when I spot something and a crew member is looking elsewhere or busy, by the time he orients himself and looks around the spot is already gone.

[The Mann]

Greetings, I've played a few games with my premade crew of friends and had lots of fun, but there are a couple of questions and annoyances that came up and I would like to discuss them.

1. Wind.

2. Sandstorms.

3.Tar Barrel.

In game, look for my username, add me as friend and send me a message when online. if you wish, you can join me and I can show you tar barrels, and other questions you have. We will either rule the skies or crash but at least you may learn a little in the explosions...

[Kamoba]

Regarding your view on captains spot, the User Interface is being worked on, my advice, write your suggestion directly to Muse feedback@musegames.com
Tell them your problems with Pilot spotting, use an example to describe the problem and make a.suggestion for how it could differ.
Other than that the only thing I could advise would be, communicate with voice a bit more, name the ship you want shot at, or the type of ship (ie Junker) and work with it.

[The Mann]

Communication is key.

Using a microphone is the best way to tell people who to fire at and what to repair.

Despite this, it is not just the captain who needs to communication, crew also need to communication to ensure they know what to do or can inform you of what they intend to do.

[Yarr Vinny Scarr]

Communication is key.

Voicechat wins games, I totally agree with that

There's no time to type in hectic situations. And you also can't quick-command a target...

[nanoduckling]

Tar can be a fiddly weapon. Keep in mind that it is more effective dropped on a stationary ship or slow moving ship than a fast moving one. A chasing squid or fish can use shine or kero to burn straight through you tar and suffer at worst moderate damage, if they are chasing you they likely have the advantage so many pilots will trade a little bit of damage to prevent you escaping, especially if they know they can hit your already damaged engines once they emerge from that big black cloud.
Also keep in mind that the tar spawns behind you and starts off pretty small. A ship right on your backside can miss the cloud entirely. It is worth playing around in the blastyard to get a good feel for where the tar spawns.

[Queso]

Tar can also be used a bit deceptively. You can drop it and then use pilot stamina and other tools to then change your direction and either escape a different way or engage when they suspect you are trying to run.

[BlackenedPies]

Wind doesn't have much effect on your moving ship, but can be dangerous to stationary ships near obstacles. Watch your drift and don't stick too close to hard stuff.

Captain spot is very useful and I'd recommend binding it to a close key. I use F and it tells your crew where the enemy is and who's not your friend. Allies can't be spotted so use that if you're unsure. If they go below or above you can keep the spot on them and track. If you can spot them so can your crew. Spam click for a second if you think you see something. It also tells AI who to target, but AI are buggy.

[Daft Loon]

A further point about the sandstorms that i have noticed is that they are almost exactly limited to the middle grid row on the map, one side of the line is safe the other not. On a related note, use the map often and probably rebind its key to something more convenient (i put crew chat onto my mouse, moved captain chat to x and use c for the map).

[VomAct]

What Dementio said about all those, but yeah, when you drop tar, you need to generally drop two or three clouds to deter pursuit.  I wouldn't suggest tar in anything slower than a goldfish, though.

Wind mechanics are very subtle, and usually are only noticeable in a long-range sniping ship, just like gun recoil slightly turning your ship.

[Schwalbe]

Quick answer for the sandstorms on Dunes (DUUUURRRS):

Sandstorms are randomly generated, but only in (and maybe a little in the near proximity of) the third row of squares on the map (check your map for position).

Generally, a good idea is to either wait for your enemy to come for you through the raging sandstorm with guns ready (cause they'll be weakened) or getting to them flying very low (almost by the ground).

And sorry again - haven't read previous answers, ain't got time but wanted to help, a little at least.