Well, I was going to start my own thread, but since this one is already here, I'll just add to it.
I've had my eye on the Ship Simulator series for quite some time now, but no stores around here (Bismarck, ND) ever carried it, and I was hesitant to order from overseas, so I always passed--(this was regarding the first version, years ago).
Then, a few weeks ago, I thought to check on Youtube to get some actual gameplay footage. After watching a few videos, I was sold. I never even downloaded the demo or anything. What I saw was good enough.
My 2008 SE arrived in the mail a few days ago, and I am just pleased as punch! Right now, I'm still just messing around with it in the free roaming areas, but I did try the first mission out, and while I have failed that mission 4 times now, I have had a blast doing so, and learn a little more each time.
My very first sim was Microsoft Space Simulator back in 1994. I still run it on my old 486, and still have fun with it. I used to buy a lot of sims in the old days, but sadly I was won over by the first-person shooter. Now that I'm getting older, and shooters ain't what they used to be, I find my attention turning back to sims again. I want something I can dabble with for hours on end, and Ship Simulator is fitting that bill perfectly.
It runs perfectly at 1920 x 1200 on my Q6600, 6 gigs ram, 9800GT/512, Vista Premium 64 bit. I get around 35 frames per second, sometimes a lot more, so that's plenty good! It's beautiful, and I look forward to sitting down with it each night after a very stressful day at work. It is very relaxing, and takes me to a good place.
Well done, guys. And I can't wait to see what the future holds for this sim!
By the way, the Netherlands rocks! No one around here has heard of Within Temptation, but I 'discovered' them on Youtube last year, and now own all their albums--Black Symphony is amazing. I suppose now everyone here will tell me how much they suck.
![Undecided :-\](http://forum.shipsim.com/Smileys/default/undecided.gif)
Anyway, best wishes for the future of this amazing sim! I'll be watching.