Visual effect for centering the ships wheel (accessibility setting)

@galactic-geek I do not think I can say it better than this.
@loaf-cat1384 said in Visual effect for centering the ships wheel (accessibility setting):

I wish everybody trying to dismiss OP's genuine issue a very warm shut up.

Let me respond to the ignorance one-by-one.

1. "The peg is different."

The wheel on a galleon can do 2 full rotations in both directions before being locked out. You could turn it one rotation back to the centre and the peg would be upright. This wouldn't indicate the ship is centred. Yes, there is a VERY subtle sound that plays on each full rotation and a different one for the full lock. I'm not hard at hearing, and I wasn't even aware of the 2 sound cues until reading this thread and double-checking myself. It really isn't that obvious.

I'm guessing some kind of HUD element that pops up, whether a symbol, or text, that fades out after a second, would be a good addition and solution.

2. "Well, where does it end?"

Ignoring this is a slippery slope argument just to respond to it. Knowing when the ship is centred is something EVERYBODY can know. Whether you are informed by an audio cue or a HUD indicator makes no difference to the outcome. There is no notable advantage to either, other than one being better for those hard at hearing. You can even enable it yourself if you're really that worried about the huge advantage it'll supposedly provide.

Obviously, being hard at hearing will impact other aspects of the game. Each case should be looked at one-by-one to decide what can be done to mitigate the disadvantage you might have without making the solution tilt the balance the other way.

3. "You can see the ship turning, that's a visual indicator."

Yes, and if I removed your ammo count, you'd know you're out of bullets when you try to shoot and air comes out of the barrel. If I removed your health bar, you'd know you were low health when I splash you with water and you die. If I removed your ability to hear water flooding your ship, you'd know the ship was filling with water when your clothing is soaking wet when you go and grab planks.

Those with difficulty hearing are missing an early indicator that is present to all players. If you're going to argue that the ship turning is a visual indicator, then the audio cue should be removed for everybody and everyone can just use the ship turning as the indication that it isn't centred. This is obviously not desirable as it's a) not the case, b) nobody has asked for this to ever change, and c) it would make aspects of combat tedious without adding anything fun to it.

In conclusion, engage brain before commenting.

@meroviel
Thanks for all you guys do!

What about a little gauge mounted near the wheel? A simple half circle with the bottom half missing with a hand mounted at its origin at the center of the circle. Give it a few notches left and right of top center. This way it will give you visual feedback on how far port/starboard you are turning. It isn't a HUD item, so it somewhat fits it the low UI department while also just being a normal tool you may see on a ship. Hell, even a little windsock might be useful for those who can't hear the music that tells you that you have full billow.

Witness my artistic talent.

@galactic-geek

Well that's good for you. But it is clear that not everyone here feels the same. And I do not think anyone here wants this in the game just for fun.

@galactic-geek I should think in the context of you experiencing similar challenges you should be supporting and empowering others to solutions that work for them. Instead I find your participation on this thread rather disappointing. Surely you can appreciate people adapt differently. I’m genuinely happy that you have found ways to enjoy this game and I fail to understand your animosity towards someone who perhaps requires a different adaptation to your own. May I suggest that you stop telling people how they should or shouldn’t overcome their own differences and start recognising that we all have our own ships to sail through this metaphorical storm and we shouldn’t be bailing into each other’s boats…

@nabberwar I think we should be encouraging solutions that can be incorporated into gameplay but unfortunately this dial would still require one to be looking at it and therefore not at the surroundings. My aspiration is for a solution that is effective even when not looking at the wheel

@bekkbloodaxe96

love the metaphors 10/10

@bekkbloodaxe96

but unfortunately this dial would still require one to be looking at it and therefore not at the surroundings.

My guy if you are staring at a gauge for that long, its more of a personal problem. Its something you can look at in a glance. Its no different than looking for the center peg on the wheel. Its like driving a car, do you stare at your gauges while driving car? My suggestion just has the added benefit of being utilized for more than just accessibility. It can also be a tool for players who aren't helming but can still captain in a way. One can throw out commands like "Port two notches." Hell, could even incorporate it in the voice line wheels for those not utilizing mics.

Your aspirations are only one way to facilitate accessibility. Doesn't mean others can't be utilized. I'm just following the trend that Rare has set forth already. Limited HUD, tools replace normal HUD items, and still fits a golden age of pirate theme. An actual gauge has the benefit of any person grabbing the wheel knows exactly where the wheel is going at all times. No need to even look for the peg or play around to hear the audio queue.

Edit: I would even add that his is exactly what was asked for by OP. A visual aid for accessibility. My suggestion nails this.

@galactic-geek you have never noticed the hit markers then? Which are remarkably similar to @realstyli‘s proposed solution… implementation of a new HUD feature absolutely has no bearing on future features - I trust the developers to find this balance and I don’t believe it is constructive of you to be fear-mongering that one new feature will open the flood gates to anything… the ‘slippery slope‘ argument has been brought up already.

@nabberwar I am not suggesting you stare at a gauge or wheel for length of time. It’s simply that the audio cue enable recognition of the the wheels neutral position without looking and I would like to be able to do so too

@realstyli you are a legend!

Looks good, something like this would work perfectly. The devs would, based on that example, probably find a way to fine-tune it. Thank you so much.

@galactic-geek this is fairly daft.

No! Why? Because I can still see, hear, and even feel that centermost peg quiet easily.

"Works for me, so why change it?" Considering you have hearing loss, I'm baffled as to why you think this is a good response. I, as someone without any physical disabilities, could use this rhetoric to silence and dismiss any complaints from any group of people that are disadvantaged by physical disabilities.

When 1 thing falls short, strengthen something else

This straight up does not apply in this case. For this to be a valid argument, you would be suggesting that instead of being a good helmsman, OP becomes better at cannon aiming instead. This of course fails on two parts:
a) people should have the ability to play any role on the ship and not being able to do so is actively a detriment, not just to those hard at hearing, but their crew
b) it would require those hard at hearing to have some unique ability to outperform in other areas - there's no reason for this to be true in SoT

I don't want it to break immersion or balance of gameplay

Hit markers, health bar, interact key pop-ups. Do these ruin immersion?

As for "balance of gameplay", please explain to me how an option to toggle a HUD element that displays when the ship wheel is true centre would ruin balance of gameplay. If you don't struggle with knowing when the ship is true centre, a HUD element telling you it's true centre won't give you any further advantage. If you do struggle with it, the HUD element will put you at a level playing field.

Thinking about it, there is a perfect way which has been completely overlooked to fix this.

Just scrap the multiple rotations thing.

Make it so you can only turn the wheel 180 degrees but it just moves much slower on a Galleon

That way the top peg will always be straight and the bottom one will always be an extreme left or right.

Problem Solved?

The best solution IMO is for an auto center button where your character will turn the wheel till centered at normal speed.

This is great for bot accessibility and for when jumping on the wheel and setting the boat straight for a long sail where having your wheel perfectly centered is important.

This would act as both a QOL and accessibility change!

@realstyli im curious. How do you feel if the size changed for centered and just mainpeg up? It would create a slightly different look on the brig/galley when turning. That tou can quickly tell the difference.

@d3adst1ck

I'm not opposed to that, I was only thinking about the accessibility request itself.

I do worry though about audio indicators for everything just constantly triggering and being more of a hindrance than a help, as it doesn't indicate what the sound is, so could be confusing.

The request the OP had was to solve the problem of not hearing a specific audio cue. There may be other uses for it, but really I think adding something for that purpose is a good starting point.

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@captain-coel

Just like other ideas that suggest adding in-world indicators, it really seems like using a screwdriver to knock in a nail. It over complicates it and doesn't really solve the issue in a way that's analogous to the experience full-hearing pirates have .

Remember the issue is specifically that players with hearing problems can't hear a specific audio cue, which impacts their gameplay.

Adding any indicators on wheels could be overlooked if the player is turning the wheel whilst not looking at it (such as watching their ladder).

It also runs the risk of creating a lot more extra work for the devs to animate that effect, and would they have to do it for every wheel in the game?

@realstyli i meant your "bubble" not the wheel itself. Does that make sense? Like the bubble would be slightly smaller on thr first pass and bigger at true center

@jaegerdelta3465 1000 times what you have just said!

@captain-coel said in Visual effect for centering the ships wheel (accessibility setting):

@realstyli i meant your "bubble" not the wheel itself. Does that make sense? Like the bubble would be slightly smaller on thr first pass and bigger at true center

I worry that this would be confusing for me, too many 'cues' could be over complicating it, certainly for me. Just as if there were multiple sounds that sounded too similar might confuse a hearing person.

@captain-coel said in Visual effect for centering the ships wheel (accessibility setting):

@realstyli i meant your "bubble" not the wheel itself. Does that make sense? Like the bubble would be slightly smaller on thr first pass and bigger at true center

Gotcha. I don't sail on a brig or galleon that often, so I don't actually recall if the half turns (one rotation) actually make a sound?

I mean that could be a nice change, if there is a sound to represent at that point, but it might also be confusing if they're not really focusing? It's like after awhile you just don't actively notice something but pick up on it instinctively.

I think if they were to adapt any solution, it would have to be tested and refined anyway, so that's probably feedback if they were to go with an idea like mine.

@galactic-geek I will say it again, I don't want to have to look at the wheel for the indicator...

@jaegerdelta3465 sums the reason up perfectly with this - 'When you are at the helm, especially in battle, you should never be looking at the wheel. You should be watching where shots are going, making slight adjustments to help your gunner out, watching for boarding attempts, basically anything other than the wheel.'

@galactic-geek said in Visual effect for centering the ships wheel (accessibility setting):

If you don't like @realstyli's idea of a circle as a visual for the audio cue due to its anbiguity

I really quite like @realstyli's idea and dont think it is ambiguous at all.

Surely the devs would find ways to integrate it more smoothly or something, but I think this is quite THE solution already.