http://textadventures.co.uk/forum/samples/topic/45kehg8oz0_7eumput3cag/nautical-directions

I was being silly, wasn't I?

The nautical directions should not be displayed in place of the compass directions, should they?

I got code-crazy. Now I'm thinking the default, non-directional exit setup is the way the handle things.

What say you?

Non-directional should cover everything that is not NSEW...

I'm sure you could make or hook up a new compass if you really wanted to. Or at least Pixie could show you.

I've got it replacing the compass directions in the compass pane with F, P, SB, and A when you are on a ship right now. That's what I'm thinking of removing. DarkLizerd is right. It doesn't make sense for Fore, Port, Starboard, and Aft to be on a compass, because the nautical directions always depend on your location on the ship, not you location on the globe.

I think Fore, Aft, etc. make perfect sense when you're adventuring on a ship. The ships is a smaller world, is all. What difference does it make that your game is a map of a small city or the layout of a pirate ship? The directions are very relevant to the setting and add a depth of immersion to the story.

Just so long as they don't stay that way when you go ashore.

Having those directions seems to make sense to me. But I think that if the player is typing letters, those should still work too.
Maybe in the centre of the compass (or in the background behind the buttons), you could have a compass rose or a diagram of the ship to show which way it's facing. If you're sailing a ship from one port to another, you might even have some function which adjusts the actual compass-directions as the ship is turned around. It's probably a bit silly, and most times would be pointless, but I'm sure there could be some interesting puzzles made out of the same ship being in different orientations at different points in the game.

if the player is typing letters, those should still work too

I've got that part covered. You can enter the complete direction or an abbreviation.

Maybe in the centre of the compass (or in the background behind the buttons), you could have a compass rose or a diagram of the ship to show which way it's facing. If you're sailing a ship from one port to another, you might even have some function which adjusts the actual compass-directions as the ship is turned around.

Right now it just replaces the N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, and NW buttons with F, SB, A, and P when you are aboard a ship.

I was thinking of a way to make the compass pane's background look like a ship, but I never considered changing its orientation! That is a very good idea!!!

Here is the current test game:

http://textadventures.co.uk/games/view/002sdcqptee0w-jhxrxbtw/spacecraft-prototype

I think having both direction types at the same time, would be useful, as they do exist at the same time:

(1) the direction you're facing/moving-toward-away on the ship ("navigating the ship"), and (2) the direction that the ship itself is facing/moving-toward-away in the world itself ("navigating the world")

though this is probably a bit tricky on how/where to do with the UI/GUI design