My hopes for the next Ship Simulator...

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[VesselMate]

This is one of my first posts to the forums, but have been a SS user for years. I dont want to ruffle any mods or developers feathers here with this thread- but rather offer a Users Direct Point of View regarding future versions of Ship Simulator.

I am very well versed in both Ship Simulator series as well as Microsoft's Flight Simulator series. The best of both worlds in my opinion would be a mix of whats in SS already, combined with the many expansion features of FS not to mention REALISM features of FS. Part of the appeal to Flight Simulator for me is the actual realism of the simulator- in relation to movement, physics, weather dynamics, ship/aircraft handling behavior in those various weather conditions. Flight Simulator is just that though- a Flight simulator. The handling of the available ships that are pilotable in FS is simply not realistic as far as drift, currents, tides, wave dynamics, etc.

What appeals to sailing ships in Flight Simulator to me is the option to acquire very detailed and visually realistic ships and being able to sail them in a visually very realistic environment- all over there world. Lakes, rivers, oceans, bays, you name it. If it exsists in the real world, you can sail your FS ship there. Having that option in Ship Simulator would be invaluable for me- and Im quite certain many, many other people.

Its been mentioned in other Forum Topics that VStep should learn from Microsoft. I cant go so far as to say that myself, but I will say that the environments and options available in Flight Simulator have kept me a very happy user for well over a decade now.

In all, to me, the realism in handling, physics, et al are paramount. Environment is a close second. The option to sail the world- wherever there is real-world water- would be Third and finally the ability to import content. Radar, interactive radio communications and detailed charting are simply a pipe-dream I think...

Again, I dont want to stir the pot with this post. Just wanted to share my thoughts and see what others think!

[saltydog]

Yeah, sailing around the world would be great..
  Sounds like a good idea..

[PoRL]

You mean plotting a route taking into account weather, tidal flow, tidal depth, navigation aids, AI traffic and boat characteristics (similar to the way you do a flight in FSX)??


You need to spend €250K on a "professional" version for that, just like you did with FSK!!


Oh...... wait a moment...

[Captain Spencer]

Yeah, sailing around the world would be great..
  Sounds like a good idea..

Right, I'll tell VSTEP to get right on it then.... 

[Bottman]

Yeah, sailing around the world would be great..
  Sounds like a good idea..

Hmm - have you ever been on a long distance voyage across the Atlantic on board a freighter? There is nothing to do as looking out for hours and days. I don't know, if someone has fun with it. I would like to have more port environments instead and I can live with the transportation trigger to switch from one to another. Maybe the sea area off those ports could be larger, but until know each environment can not be larger than 40 km x 40 km.

[PoRL]

Hmm - have you ever been on a long distance voyage across the Atlantic on board a freighter?

Friend of mine has done it twice on a yacht! Now THAT'S boring!! ("We'll tack sometime tomorrow.....")


Oh.... and "wet wipes" are your biggest friend!

[Subwolf]

Next Ship Simulator??

Good grief...they have more than enough trying to get SSE in shape. They shold stay with this one for a while, when all the bugs are taken care of I hope they will start offering more ships and environments. So maybe SSE ends up better than the 08 version, as it should do.

[VesselMate]

Next Ship Simulator??

 They shold stay with this one for a while, when all the bugs are taken care of I hope they will start offering more ships and environments.

Yes, the Next Ship Simulator.  Ive stopped short of purchasing SSE simply to my experience on a friends purchased SSE on a machine thats top end- but thats another topic thread all together. Suffice to say, I wont purchase SSE based on my experience with it thus far, not to mention the horrendous reputation its gained since its release. By the sounds of it, the "next" SS will be what I wait for.

Im hoping the 'next' one will be more of an actual Simulator as the title suggest, rather than a game. But added ships and the ability to import your own, and expand the environments are still my wishes. Despite sailing the world being painfully long and tedious, sometimes going for days without a course adjustment- there are those who would indeed be interested in running a cruise on the computer for multiple days on end. The time-spam of inactivity adds to the realism of what is in fact a Simulator! (Real world- theres always something to do at sea- be it monitoring engine equipment/gauges, lifeboats and fire drills, etc. )

Moreover, sailing from one port to another along a plotted course is what Id be more interested in. Say Seattle to Vancouver. Or the Inside Passage of British Columbia. Real world pilotable environments- with REALISM!

Sorry to dredge up a dead post, but Ive only just been able to post today.

Cheers Mates!
 

[MokMok]

It would be very fine if users can add their own designed vessels. Just like in Virtual Sailor.

[Bottman]

It would be very fine if users can add their own designed vessels. Just like in Virtual Sailor.

They can!!! Please search for the Content Contest here.
http://80.95.161.114/shipsim/forum/index.php/topic,21558.0.html

[VesselMate]

While the Content Contest is definitely a step in the right direction- it still doesnt allow ME to import vessels as I want into the game/sim. Having said that, Ive been working on a BC Ferry model (Queen of Saanich) in GMAX for Flight Simulator; I'll definitely be making a submission to the contest provided I can get the model finished before the deadline. (Modelling as many know isn't a task that can be completed in a day, or sometimes even weeks depending on the model).

Someone mentioned in another thread about VStep taking over the gaming engine for Flight Simulator- as Microsoft Games has stopped producing the FS series in light of the economic conditions. That would enable VStep to implement the entire planet of sailable water into the sim.

For those who dont know, the Flight Simulator engine contains the entire real world- up to 19m terrain mesh LOD. Sceneries are very easily imported by adding them to the Scenery folder within FS (Mainly BGL files). Same goes for aircraft/ships. The limits of expansion in FS are only limited to what your machine is capable of- certainly not many limitations within the Sim itself. Having those attributes as part of Ship Simulator- in my opinion- completely invaluable.

I made a lot of references to FS- for that I apologize to the Vstep people; no disrespect intended. But FS has/had a good thing going with the sim engine platform... hint hint nudge nudge...