2.2 Open-World UI
The open world connects the ports and battles of Letters of Marque across a persistent Mediterranean. Its interface helps you answer four immediate questions: where am I going, what is nearby, who does that ship belong to, and what can I interact with?
2.2.1 Reading the main view
Keep most of your attention on the sea, the coastline, and nearby traffic. The interface supplies supporting information rather than steering for you. Your ship’s heading and the wind determine whether a course is practical, while ship markers, flags, or interaction prompts help you judge nearby contacts.
Do not treat an icon as a substitute for looking around. Land can conceal a route, another ship can approach while a panel is open, and the quickest line on the map may be a poor sailing course in the present wind. Close large panels periodically and reassess the world around the ship.
2.2.2 The compass
The client carries a compass, added during August 2026. It reports a bearing, and you choose how that bearing is written: as degrees, or as cardinal points. Neither is more correct — degrees are precise and match how courses are usually discussed, while cardinal points are quicker to read at a glance when you only need to know roughly which way you are pointing.
The setting lives under Settings → General, and the open world and battle are configured independently:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Overworld Compass Labels | Degrees or cardinal points, for sailing the open world |
| Battle Compass Labels | The same choice, applied separately inside a battle |
| Compass UI Scale | How large the compass is drawn. The default is 12, and a change requires a restart |
The split between the two label settings is worth using rather than matching. Long-distance navigation is a degrees job — you are holding a course and comparing it to a route. A fight is a glance job, where “north-east” registers faster than “047” while your attention is on the guns. Try them set differently before assuming you want the same on both.
2.2.3 Using the world map
The world map represents the game’s early-nineteenth-century Mediterranean setting and its network of historical ports. Open it with the binding shown for the map in your controls menu. Use it to establish your position, find a destination, study the coastline, and break a long voyage into manageable legs.
A plotted direction is only a starting point. Check the wind before committing to a course and allow room to sail around headlands rather than aiming directly through the coast. When the direct route places the destination upwind, a longer series of angled legs may arrive sooner than repeatedly trying to force the bow into the wind.
2.2.4 Ports and world transitions
Ports are the principal fixed landmarks and the connection between open-world sailing and dockside activity. Approach the intended port and follow the interaction prompt offered by the current build. Once docked, ship management, markets, crafting, warehouses, and other local functions belong to the Port UI.
Battles are likewise separate spaces reached from the persistent world. A nearby contact may be tagged or engaged when the game’s conditions allow it, after which the participating ships move into a battle instance. The open-world screen is therefore not merely a travel display: it is where you decide whether to approach, avoid, follow, or engage another vessel.
Transitions have received interface improvements during testing, but their exact prompts and timing remain build-sensitive. Read the confirmation text before accepting an interaction, especially when leaving a port, teleporting, or entering a fight.
2.2.5 Identifying nearby ships
Use the information displayed for a nearby vessel together with the flag flown by the ship. Flags were added in part to make faction identity readable without consuming another permanent interface panel. Identification matters before closing the distance: a contact may be friendly, hostile, neutral, or an NPC available for testing or combat.
The tag command selects or initiates interaction with an eligible contact. Controller users can use the assigned face button; keyboard and mouse users should check the current binding in the controls menu. A tag is an intentional act, so confirm the target and consider the surrounding ships before committing.
2.2.6 Chat and other players
Chat provides the direct communication needed for an MMO overworld, including coordination and player-to-player trade. Keep it available when arranging a meeting or voyage, but do not let an active text field take control while the ship is in danger.
The game supports international text, separate chat scaling, and Steam’s configurable text filtering. Steam’s global filtering preferences determine how aggressively chat is filtered and may treat messages from Steam friends differently. If text is hard to read, adjust the chat scale independently from the rest of the interface.
2.2.7 Cursor and input focus
A visible cursor or focused text box can capture input that you intended for the ship. If the helm, sails, or camera suddenly stop responding, close the active panel, leave the chat field, or return the cursor to the normal sailing state before troubleshooting the bindings themselves.
Input remapping can also make a prompt disagree with an expected default, particularly where an interaction still has hardcoded behavior. The controls menu in the current build is the best available reference. Test important remapped actions before relying on them near another ship.
2.2.8 Interface scale and situational awareness
The general interface and chat can be enlarged for readability. Choose a scale that lets you read contact and interaction information without covering too much of the sea. Ultrawide display support has also been expanded, though unusual resolutions may still expose layout problems worth reporting.
Some situational-awareness features have evolved during testing. Do not assume that a minimap or a particular status panel described in an old development post exists in the present build. Learn what the current screen communicates, and report missing or misleading information through the game’s community feedback channels.
2.2.9 A practical open-world routine
- Choose a destination on the map and note the coastline around it.
- Compare the intended heading with the wind and plan alternate legs where necessary.
- Close the map and scan around the ship before settling onto the course.
- Reopen the map at intervals and after any long diversion or encounter.
- Identify nearby ships by their displayed information and flags before approaching.
- Read interaction prompts carefully before entering a port, teleporting, tagging a ship, or joining a battle.
Continue with The Open World for the sailing and navigation principles behind these interface decisions.
Sources & Credits
This page draws on facts from, and gratefully credits: Letters of Marque — Official Patreon Developer Posts · Letters of Marque — the Steam playtest client. Prose is original; see how this guide is made.