Some great new improvements have been included in the latest update to the helm, including a couple we’ve been asking after for a while.

On the impulse maneuvering panel, the engineers have finally updated the nav radial’s compass mode (top pic) so that the inside position indicator spins to indicate heading, rather than the outside track indicator. This makes things much more intuitive, especially for non-navigators.

The engineers have also delivered some user-definable configuration to the nav radial in input mode (bottom pic). Instead of being stuck with a range of 180° when selecting a bearing or vector angle (the full 180 being impossible for the ship to deliver anyway), now you can select your own range.

This means you can choose a smaller range for the module – say 45° or 30° – which makes it much easier to select the exact angle you want, as the numbers are further apart on the selection track.

You also have the option of selecting an additional decimal place if you need really precise bearings.

I’m still coming to grips with the new impulse navigation panel, but I really love that they added a “flip” mode so quickly to the system map. Again it’s much more intuitive in that mode, especially with the new compass!