Shipdriver controller delayed again

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[Kevinmcg_ships]

Once again the Shipdriver controller has been delayed. Again. 

A games website (based in Belgium I think) had the ShipDriver controller as a release date of 12 September 2009 since a June delay. That date has passed and once again it has been brought forward to 12 October 2009.

Frankly, the release date has been deferred so often that I really wonder if we would ever see the ShipDriver controller coming out. Disappointment after another disappointment. Hardly a good impression, isn't it?

I do believe many of us would love to have a dedicated controller for a ship sim, as it gives the extra realism of playing ships in SS2008, but I'm not sure if I would be willing to part my money if we are continually being treated so shabbily in this manner.

End of rant (oh, wow that feels good now!  )



p.s. I'm wondering if that poll which we had last year (i.e. "Would you pay the ShipDriver controller for EUR199?") had anything to do with the general apathy of the company who is making the ShipDriver controller? Perhaps if we had shown strong support then perhaps they would have been more committed? Just a food for thought.....

[saltydog]

I think we shall see a man on Mars before we see the ShipDriverController..
It seems unlikely that we (Shipsimmers) have any influence on the development..
Besides, it is allready outdated, what with bowthrusters and joystick controls..

[IRI5HJ4CK]

I think Shipdriver is a bit....Un-realistic?

Not to be ungrateful...But, I personally think it would be better, if, a company developed a realistic throttle (Twin, with a clip for single), and maybe a "Clip on desk" wheel or something along those lines..

I just think Shipcontroller looks a bit tacky...And, maybe it's the angle of the photo, but those controls look awfully scrunched up together, next to the wheel.

Jack.

[Kevinmcg_ships]

I think Shipdriver is a bit....Un-realistic?

Not to be ungrateful...But, I personally think it would be better, if, a company developed a realistic throttle (Twin, with a clip for single), and maybe a "Clip on desk" wheel or something along those lines..

I just think Shipcontroller looks a bit tacky...And, maybe it's the angle of the photo, but those controls look awfully scrunched up together, next to the wheel.

Jack.

I'm with you on this Jack.

However as P.I. Engineering is the only company who is manufacturing a ship control controller, it would seem we are stuck with them. I don't know of any other hardware companies who are going to make their own version of ship controller.

I would love if VSTEP do one, but I understand they are too busy with the development side of Ship Sim.

[Bottman]

I fear, VSTEP has just two alternatives for such a thing: a very cheap made unit, which isn't really cheap in price, but very simple made - or a very expensive controller, which is taylormade for professional use only. That means: 300 Euro or 5000 Euro (just a guess ) Until now I can't see, that one of those will be able to handle an azimuth driven vessel comfortable, but the professional one seems to be quite perfect made, using original levers, buttons etc.

[baszwanenburg]

will it be availble to buy in the Netherlands?

[Ballast]

will it be availble to buy in the Netherlands?

If im correct, the ShipDriver as mentioned in the opening post isnt available at all.

[Kevinmcg_ships]

will it be availble to buy in the Netherlands?

ShipDriver seem to have gone off the radar as the SimWare website (www.simw.com) no longer have the Ship Driver console on pre-order. My guess is that SimWare got so fed up with the delays that they are no longer interested in it.

However another company called VRInsight has made a new shipsim console called Ship Console and there is another thread about this, which might be of an interest to you:

http://www.shipsim.com/ShipSimForum/index.php?topic=16149.new;topicseen#new

Ship Console is available to buy from the SimWare website, but the price may be too expensive.

[Captain Darling]

Shipdriver's Official website - www.shipdriver.com

On there it does say Fall of 2009..

So it should be released anytime soon.

[mvsmith]

It’s hard to see how a toy wheel improves “The Ship Simulator experience”, although the interchangeable wheel types should keep you occupied during a mission that involves three different player ships underway at one time.
None of the toys I’ve seen are suitable for all of the different types of vessel in SS, and leave one with many buttons substituting for keyboard keys.

[Captain Darling]

It’s hard to see how a toy wheel improves “The Ship Simulator experience”, although the interchangeable wheel types should keep you occupied during a mission that involves three different player ships underway at one time.
None of the toys I’ve seen are suitable for all of the different types of vessel in SS, and leave one with many buttons substituting for keyboard keys.

Well.. Is the Vstep's desktop control unit for Pro suitable for all the different types of vessels in SS? I don't think so..

And how could you cram so many different controls onto the same unit? You can't unless you have plenty of money..
One way they could do it is by having series of control units for the different types of vessels..

And they won't do that until they gain experience in building and selling the units, and when they see a market in it.
All of this negative criticism won't help the companies behind the units any good in terms of morale and determination to develop in the market..

[Kevinmcg_ships]

All of this negative criticism won't help the companies behind the units any good in terms of morale and determination to develop in the market..

The thing is, several times I have contacted the company who makes ShipDriver asking how much it would cost, when would it be available, and whether it would be available in the UK, because I was genuinely interested in buying one. (I was even willing to do a couple of weekend overtime so that I can afford to buy one)

So far I've had no reply from the company, not even an acknowledgement, despite asking very politely each time. I'm sorry if I've been negative about ShipDriver on this thread, but what do you expect after being met a wall of stone-deaf silence and felt let down every time the release date has been put forward? Not even a courtsey email or e-newsletter to let us know what's happening. I only found out about the delays through a third party seller - what kind of service is that? Poor customer service. 

If a company genuinely wants to attract potential customers then it must make sure their customer service is good and keep us apprised of developments. When you look at VSTEP, their customer service (from my experience) is excellent. When all these glitches caused by bugs emerged shortly after SS2008 came out, they worked very hard to bring out several patches. Fixing these bug problems hasn't been an easy ride for the VSTEP team but nevertheless they stuck with us and I really am grateful to them for doing so.

[Shipaddict]

I emailed them a long time ago and I think it was £110 for it. Can't remember exactly though

[Kevinmcg_ships]

I emailed them a long time ago and I think it was £110 for it. Can't remember exactly though

Yeah I remember you saying that. I think that was when the US Dollar was at its low against the British Pound, hence its low price. The US Dollar has since rallied against the Pound and Euro. Last time I checked the price on SimWare wesbite, it was something like £190 (exluding VAT & postage costs)

[Shipaddict]

Ah yes that's a point I forgot about that

[mvsmith]

And they won't do that until they gain experience in building and selling the units, and when they see a market in it.
All of this negative criticism won't help the companies behind the units any good in terms of morale and determination to develop in the market..

Perhaps the reason those toys don’t make it to market is that the companies realize that there is no significant market. They find, by testing, that the performance in SS is not that great. Serious players of SS would abandon them after trying to use them.

[PI48895]

It's out: www.shipdriver.com (http://www.shipdriver.com)

Sorry it took so long.

[Mad_Fred]

Ah what's a few years, eh.. 

Just kidding.. Congratulations on your release!! 

[PI48895]

Thanks Mad_Fred. 

For fun, check out the deer damage in my office last week: http://piengineering.com/support/antlersofdeath.php (http://piengineering.com/support/antlersofdeath.php)

I attempted a dramatic reenactment at the end of the photo series.