G'day all from the sunny land of Oz,
Whilst browsing through the Ship Sim forums I suddenly had a thought - what about a virtual shipping line?
It follows the same basics that the virtual AIRLINES that use Microsofts' Flight Sims as their platform. According to Wikipedia, 'A virtual airline (VA) is a dedicated hobby organization that uses flight simulation to model the operations of an airline. Virtual Airlines generally have a presence on the Internet, similar to a real airline.'
Now, to make a virtual shipping line, you follow the same principles. A virtual shipping line (VSL) is a dedicated hobby organization that uses marine simulation to model the operations of an shipping company. Virtual Shipping Lines generally have a presence on the Internet, similar to a real shipping company.
Now, with Virtual Airlines, once you sign up (membership should be free, that's the main thing that will help to attract members), you have to pass a check-flight (usually you have to make a video recording with the recording tool in FS and then package it up and send it off to the VA for analysis to see if you've got the goods. The main thing they focus on is the persons' ability to take off and land as a real pilot could). In Shipsim (I'm just going to refer to Ship Simulator as SS for now on) I'm not sure if there is a video tool like the one in FS, so we could probably modify it so that an instructor goes online through multiplayer and meets the candidate and goes through the checklist with them over the net. Once the person has passed the test they can go on and start their shipping career driving (not sure if its the correct term) a small watercraft. The website has a Timetable to which they'd have to stick to. Once they completed said journey they could then go onto the website and file the voyage, the total amount of hours being added into their total time spent at sea. As the hours clock up, the person advances through the ranks and gets access to bigger, better ships. These ships would (of course) be available through the VSLs' website, just like the Virtual Airlines' side of the fence.
The VSLs' main idea is so that normal people can get the feel of what being a marine commander does in the real world.
So, now we have that aside, you may be asking "Does the shipping line HAVE to be prototypical - like, can I only have VSLs that have real-life counterparts?"
The answer is no. For example, quite alot of virtual airlines have not real-life counterparts. Some virtual airlines have had the name of their airline fictional for quite a while, then out of the blue a real airline announces a sub-airline that carries the virtual airlines' company name (and logo, more often than not!). This was the case when Qantas, Australia's major airline, announced the low-cost airline, Jetstar. A virtual airline had been operating with the name Jetstar for about three/four years when Qantas announced it. Qantas was even going to use the same logo! Eventually the virtual airline sued Qantas. I don't know what the outcome was, so don't ask me!
But back to the main topic. Other virtual airlines DO model a real-life airline. Some even have good, strong partnerships with their real-life counterparts, one such example being the American VA United Airlines, fully endorsed by the real United Airline. So, the possibilities are endless. The only thing holding you back is the limited amount of ships you can use.
So, that's the idea. Tell me what you think about it.
Cheers,
Hayden Lynch
