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Sun Dial / Compass

So on the second row of pictures, furthest to the right, the picture is a first person perspective shot of someone holding and looking down at a sundial. The time is displayed on it, and it shows to be about 9:00 on the image.

Why is this important? Because the tag under the picture says, "Navigation in Elyria requires a map and a compass to help you get your orientation."

This picture has nothing to do with navigation however, and is related to how sundials will be an easy way to check the time.


12/20/2016 6:45:55 AM #1

I beg to differ that it has nothing to do with navigation. What time it is directly effects the position of the sun or stars that you are using to navigate by. If you are following the sun, the position of the sun at 8am will be in a totally different direction that it would be at 5pm. So it would really help to read the signs (sun or stars) at the same time each time to keep your traveling direction consistent. So a sundial (till time pieces are researched and developed) will be one of the main ways of doing this. Another way is by compass if you have one which I am not sure you will start the game with one. Also a sextant for following the stars will be yet another method but the time and their position will be critical for a accurate reading.


"Count Eldric Blackmoore of The Haven, offering direct support for the Hunters, Explorers and Gathers of Elyria" the

12/20/2016 7:12:11 AM #2

OK, but understand that all of that is negated by two factors:

1) Sundials do not determine morning or evening, only the 12 hour period between.

2) You can look at your own shadow to determine which way the sun is facing, you do not need a sundial for direction. What a sundial does is pinpoint the shadow to a much more specific spot, but North South East West is easy to determine based off your own shadow. Is it morning? Shadow's facing west, north is to the right of the direction your shadow faces.

Sextants work because there are no shadows at night, but the stars are still roughly in the same spots, but that's a different topic. The main way to gain direction will be a compass as explained in the caption, the sundial will be good for getting a precise time.

As for consistent travel, a sundial is not efficient for that. It is efficient for telling you the hour, but the shadow benefit is no better than just looking at your own shadow and estimating the hour (as for four hours your shadow will face one rough direction and for four it'll face the other).

The benefit of using a compass is if you know where on a map you're heading, but don't have a clear path to it. This lets you estimate where on the map you are, and just how far east verses north you need to travel (or east to south or west to north or west to south). A sundial doesn't add to the benefit of knowing a general direction though.