I got shipsim as a b'day present about 3 weeks ago.
My take on it is as follows: slooooow; disappointing; tedious; boring.
1 - to many resources spent on simulation -not enough on game play.
Fire some simulator programmers and hire some gamers.
2 - you can lose hours of scenario time on a little "environment damage"
What the $%^& is that?
3 - user interface - should have been an early beta version not the released one.
4 - Some scenarios are lame others are really LAME.
5 - Vessel selection - what were they thinking?
I don't want to pilot huge, slow, lumbering, unresponsive ships for hours.
6 - All scenarios should be available out of the box.
The whole program [license] was purchased not 1/3 of it.
7 - my solution - I only do taxi and other quick e.g.<30 minutes scenarios.
I can see by some reponses that my critique of SS06 stirred up a bees nest.
Yes, I was a programmer, systems analyst, and systems architect mainly for weather satellites but never a gamer.
Now I am a sole prop business owner as a computer support person for windows and networks. [I fix broken windows of the microsoft kind]
I was also a plank owner [original crew] on U.S.S. Enterprise CVA(n) 65 ['61-'63]
Normally, the helm was manned by boswain mates and I was a radarman by rate but I was at the helm of the big E on several occasions as a substitute helmsman; including at the bay of pigs. [1962] She is capable of 50+ knots and steers like a 80,000 ton 1200 ft speed boat. She will also probably be scrapped soon.
My language in the critique was maybe a bit inflamatory and I didn't mean to say the simulation was without merit. In fact, the simulation is first rate and I was pointing out that it had some rough edges. There is lots of room for improvement and the game definitely has potential not yet realized. My criticism was aimed at pushing for those improvements. Maybe SS08 resolves many of these issues, I hope so.
regards,
Rick St Thomas