Virtual Sailor

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Virtual Sailor, created by Ilan Papini, allows users to operate a wide variety of vessels (sail & powered) in different parts of the world. Both the graphics and boat dynamics have been designed to be as realistic as possible, and the software also features multiplayer capabilities. You can easily create your own add-ons including boats, sceneries and animals to share with the community.

1 Features
2 History
3 Minimum Requirements
4 Review
5 External links

[edit] Features

Accurate wave dynamics above sea and below.
Accurate sailboat and motorboat dynamics.
Accurate and dynamic sailing sounds.
Fully adjustable weather and sea conditions by day and night.
Photorealistic land and sea based on real topographic data.
Diverse and adjustable marine life.
Global land and sea area allows global navigation and sailing.
Simulates sailboat racing including wind shadow effects.
Multiplayer online sailing and racing over the net.
Uses the latest DirectX9 technology in 3D graphics, sound and multi play.
Advanced and simple to use virtual environment.
Fully interactive 3D instrument panel for boats.
Advanced and simple to use program.
Built to expand, allowing third party sceneries and boats.
Full documentation for making all files of scenery and boats.

[edit] History

Virtual Sailor was first released in 1999 and since then has seen at least 12 major release versions, with many minor updates released each year. The latest release, version 7, is the result of years of feedback and improvement from the community.

[edit] Minimum Requirements

Pentium 3 with 800 MHz with 256 MB RAM.
Video card with DirectX8 compatibility and 32 MB RAM.
Windows 2000, XP, Vista
DirectX9 installed.

[edit] Review

Virtual Sailor will appeal to ex professional seafarers but is less likely to attract the young "shoot-em-up" gamer who demands fast action scenarios. Bringing a 100,000 ton vessel alongside requires time and patience, whether in the real world or with this simulation.

Its great strength is in its convincing sea surfaces in various weather conditions, and in its accurate ship dynamics (at least for many of the larger vessels). Other ship simulators have more detailed graphic representations of port facilities but lack realism in other respects. Unlike other vehicles, ships are not "driven" by a person seated comfortably; it is constantly necessary to walk from one wing of the bridge to the other via the wheelhouse as one inches a large ship into port. This ability to move around the wheelhouse and out onto the bridge wings (and elsewhere on the ship) is fully provided-for in Virtual Sailor.

It is not simply the sea, the land and the ships that are well represented in Virtual Sailor; adding to the realism is the accurate movement of the sun and the moon across the sky, the state of the tide, the currents and the winds. Watching the sun rise (or set) as one stands on the bridge with the ship gently rolling and pitching is quite nostalgic.

There is no attempt to represent beaches in Virtual Sailor and this may detract from its appeal to those who want to use motor launches or sailing dinghies as their chosen craft. However beaches are invisible to the deep-sea sailor as he navigates a mile or more offshore and so this is of little consequence. There are plenty of attractive harbours provided in the Greek Islands as a playground for small-craft in Virtual Sailor. For the largest ships there is the challenge of navigating your ship to ports like New York, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Gothenburg, Tangiers and many others.