(Dieses Handbuch ist auch auf Deutsch verfügbar)

This guide has initially been written for version 0.02, that's why the graphics look a bit different from the current game. Also, now you will find the compass right in the beginning in the raft storage.

In the beginning, orientation in Stranded Deep is a bit challenging. You can estimate cardinal directions with the aid of the sun, the moon and the time of day (sunrise: Northeast, sunset: West, moonrise: East, moonset: Southwest). You might put sticks to the ground, pointing towards the island you came from. Add a coconut or other things to mark special islands. But it's not quite easy - until you have found a compass.



Things will get better then. With a compass, you will be able to find your way (and your way back!) - be it in the heaviest rainfall or thickest mist. You can even draw your own true-to-scale map of all the islands you have discovered. This guide will show you how.

Note: All of this will also work in real life.

With the crosshair (the white dot), point to the island you want to go to. Then read the bearing from the upper (red) end of the compass needle. Here it is 216 degrees or nearly Southwest.



Keep this direction in mind. Check it on your compass before you start paddling. If you have lost orientation while on sea (because of a shark attack or being distracted), simply align yourself with the bearing on the compass and go on. You might even start a journey without seeing your target, for example in bad weather. If you remain on course, you will get there.

The directions are counted clockwise:
North 0° - East 90° - South 180° - West 270°



The lower (white) end of the compass needle will give you the bearing for your way back. If you cannot read it, determine it as follows (using your first bearing as initial value):

• For bearings less than 180, add 180.
  
• For bearings greater than 180, substract 180.
  
• If the result is not between 0 and 360, you have done something wrong.

In the example above, 216 is greater than 180, so the backward bearing is 216 - 180 = 36.

Take your compass, look for an island in a direction of 36 degrees, and you will easily get back to where you have started.



One thing you could do now is make one island your main island, from which you radially visit all the other islands within sight. You can for example make a list or a table including the islands' bearings and additional notes. Or you might draw an approximate outline of your environment (with estimated distances) to have an overview.



Alternatively, a true-to-scale map revealing the islands' positions and bearings would offer much more possibilities. In the next chapter you can learn how to draw such a map. The principle is a bit more complicated than the above, but it builds on what has been explained so far, and once you got the idea of how it works, it will capture you.

Note: Depending on where exactly you are on an island, there may be measurement deviations of several degrees. Thus, to get as accurate readings as possible, always try to take bearing from the center of an island to the center of the other island. Taking readings from opposite ends of the island and then determining the mean value may also be helpful.

In this chapter you will learn how to draw your own marine map of all the islands you have discovered. It will look similar to the drawing below (don't be confused by the digits 1 and 7, they may look different in your country).



You can identify bearings to other islands at a glance. Your map will also allow you to determine unknown bearings to mapped islands - even at great distances.



For this project you will need a pencil, a rubber/eraser, paper (scale or checkered/squared paper preferred) and a tool for drawing angles - i.e. the triangle ruler, protractor or set square that you know from school. You might also use a real compass, like you would do in the wilderness (or a graphics software, if you prefer that and if your notebook has survived the plane crash).



Here we are again. Our target island still has a bearing of 216. Now take your sheet of paper, mark your home position (first island) somewhere, and draw a line with an angle of 216 degrees measured clockwise from North, which is zero (see the picture below). Baseline is the North-South-axis.


If you use one of the drawing tools mentioned, its scale will most probably end at 180 degrees. In this case, draw a line in an angle of 36 degrees clockwise from South (South corresponds to 180 degrees, and 180 + 36 = 216). Baseline is always the North-South-axis.





Both methods (drawing tool and compass) will lead to the same results. Since using a drawing tool is quite simple, I will refer to the more challenging compass procedure here. You don't need a compass. You can do all of this with a drawing tool as well and easier. (Since you have read until here, I assume you know how to use it. Just skip the compass parts and look at the drawings. You can try to find the angles by putting your drawing tool onto the monitor. Or even better, replicate the sample drawing with your own tools. This way you will quickly understand how it works.)



If your compass is a common model with a pivoting needle like the one above (in contrast to the in-game model, which has a floating disk), you can use it as a protractor/angle meter. Set the compass to 216 degrees by turning its dial (see the image for where to look). Put the compass base at your home position and then turn the whole compass, until its North mark (the orienting arrow) shows to North on your map. This is why checkered/squared paper is useful - it is easy to align the compass' orienting lines (your drawing tool, respectively) in parallel with the grid on the paper.

Note: The position of the compass needle is irrelevant here!

You may also want to determine the bearing of another island (or more) in your proximity and transfer it to your map. Here the direction to island number three, measured in-game, is 142 degrees (Southeast):



After drawing your first lines, you will have to decide where to place the marker for the second island. Leave enough space for names and numbers. With this decision, you will establish a base distance. It does not matter how long it is, since you can only measure angles with your compass, not distances. Your whole map will scale on basis of the first distance defined here.

Now you can leave for the second island. You already know how to determine the backward bearing, so you can note it on your map (36).

Once you have arrived, take another bearing of the third island. The in-game compass shows 78 in this example. Transfer it to your map.



Here you see again how to set and align the compass. If you use a drawing tool, you will also have to apply it at the marking of the second island using the North-South-axis as the baseline and draw a line to 78 degrees clockwise from North.

Whatever method you choose, here comes the highlight: The crossing of the two lines reveals the more or less exact position of island number three. This technique is called triangulation.



This way you can go on and on, from island to island. If you later on want to find your way to a certain island, you just check the bearing on your map and go there. With your map you can even determine unknown bearings of mapped islands that are out of sight - simply read the angle from the map with your drawing tool (or compass), and there's your bearing.



Important Note: With this method, there are several sources for errors and inaccuracies that might cumulate. Most problematic is the in-game measurement itself. Hence, don't expect your map to be perfect. You will probably encounter some minor deviations of a few degrees every now and then. Don't be irritated or discouraged by this. The map is for your orientation, and this purpose it will serve.

If this has made you curious and now you would also like to know how to use a real compass outdoors, go on reading.

The in-game compass is a model with a floating disk, i.e. its needle is not a real needle. It shows the direction (bearing) as soon as you point to the target. A real compass like this (see below) would probably have an aiming appliance, e.g. a vertical slot in the cover with a "hair", and a notch at the other end of the compass. A fine line above the scale would allow for an exact reading.




The compass I used for creating this guide is a common model with a pivoting needle. For exact measurements, compasses of this type are slightly more complicated to handle than the ones with a disk, but they have the additional advantage that you can also use them as a protractor (angle meter) and directly transfer angles from a map onto the compass - and vice versa.





Aim at the target (see the red arrows on the compass in the picture, that's the direction) and turn the compass dial, until the marked North pole of the needle is between the two markings on the glass (which is not the case in the picture) - keeping the compass itself aligned with the target. Afterwards you can read the direction (bearing) at the position marked, transfer the angle to your map like shown or use it for moving outdoors.


From map to reality is just the other way round. First you put the compass on the map, as can be seen in the picture, pointing from your home position to the target. Then you turn the compass dial, until its North mark points to the North of your map. Now you take the compass away from the map and turn it (turn yourself), until the marked North pole of the needle is between the two markings on the glass. The compass will point into the desired direction.

Again: As long as the compass is lying on the map, the position of the needle doesn't matter. You also don't have to rotate the map. Just do your determination, set the direction, and then take the compass and turn it until North is on North. Compass shows you where to go. It may sound difficult in the first place, but in fact it is quite simple.




For better clarity, I have used a simple orientation or map compass in this guide. Similar bearing compasses (see above) with notch and bead sights and an additional fold-out mirror, in which you can observe the needle while aiming, allow for much more accurate bearings.


Notes:

• Outdoors you would also have to consider the magnetic declination, which varies locally and is quoted on maps in most of the cases.
  
• In shipping and aviation, the bearing is always given triple-digit (078 instead of 78). As a stranded with short resources, I decided to do without the extra digits. Who knows how long my pen will last and if I ever will find another one?

I hope my compass guide has been helpful. If you liked it, you might rate it with a "thumbs up", or leave a comment below.


Stay Alive!




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For people who like reading stories:

A Tale From The Crab Saga 

A Guide for Stranded Deep

By: Skarmo

Obviously not a guide. For people who like reading stories.

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SOS signal fires sighted!