Ship Simulator 2008
User Rating:
  Log in to rate this game!
ESRB:
Publisher: Lighthouse Interactive Game Publishing Genre(s): Simulation Home Page: http://www.shipsim.com/
Back to Dry Dock
Less time on the jokes and more time on the simulation, please
Given the lack of reality-based physics, it's no surprise that sailing vessels aren't present. Surely there are sailing enthusiasts waiting for a proper sailing simulation, and VSTEP would be wise to heed the call for wind-powered ships. Equally depressing is the long list of "Features Currently in Development" on the Ship Simulator website. Features such as mid-mission save, ships which sink when damaged and online multiplayer shouldn't be on a "Coming soon!" list – they should ship with the product. And the promised first patch (version 1.1) can't come soon enough; from inaccurate GPS coordinates to disappearing ship models, there are plenty of bugs to quash. QA, anyone? Those waiting for an accurate and enjoyable maritime simulation will simply have to wait longer. Ship Simulator 2008 has the look and feel of an unfinished and unpolished title. It feels more like corporate training software with a bit of extra content than a fully-fledged simulation. There's just not enough content, and what is present is flawed – sometimes disastrously so. When essential features such as a mission editor and bug fixes are already planned for addition prior to a game's release, it's a clear indication that the software isn't ready for customers' hard drives. Ultimately, there's very little entertainment value in a rushed product, and that statement holds true for Ship Simulator 2008. Summary of YouGamers Hardware TestingThe publisher of this game state the following specifications for their minimum and recommended requirements:
To learn more about how YouGamers performs its hardware testing, click here. Through our extensive gameplay and hardware testing across the full spectrum of PC configurations, YouGamers suggests that one should use the following guidelines for an appropriate minimum and recommended setup:
ScoresTo learn more about our scoring methodology, please click here.
If you wish to comment on this review or talk about the game further, please head over to our discussion board - click right here (registration not required).
Patches & UpdatesOn September 13, the much-needed Ship Simulator 2008 version 1.1 patch was released, with a new mission editor available as a separate download. According to Erik Schreuder, CEO of publisher Lighthouse Interactive: "This is an uncanny amount of free stuff that is being released for an already awesome simulation game. We continue to prove to our customers that we are in this game for the long run and we promise there is much more to come!" Just to keep the enthusiasm in check, the content and fixes in this first patch should have shipped with the game. Far from "uncanny", the amount of content is to be expected from a game that shipped with obvious omissions and glaring issues. That said, the 1.1 patch is a great first step in the effort to make up for a rushed release. Aside from the standalone mission editor (which requires the 1.1 patch), new features include:
Mid-mission save does indeed work, although I experienced occasional crashes when loading save files. Ships sometimes sink after extensive hull damage, but this is by no means a passable damage model. I was able, for instance, to plow the new PWC into solid objects at full throttle with no negative consequences. The same applies to ships – sometimes a damaged ship would capsize, and at other times I would simply lose rudder control. There are two new camera modes, but neither give views which weren't accessible with the standard third-person camera.
Rudimentary chart markup is now possible, complete with waypoint placement in free-roam mode. The external mission editor is nice, but lacks any documentation. The interface is easy to work with, however, and all of the game's environments are available to use in custom missions. It's possible to string together environments to emulate sailing from a harbor into open ocean, but the jarring load between environments still exists. 
Bridges now offer more detail, but it's difficult to interact with all of the controls with the limited camera
Still troubling, though, are in-game issues which hamper the realism. Currents still have no effect on vessels, small or large, and the unbelievable physics modeling hasn't been updated. Elements of realism, such as fueling and proper damage modeling, are still absent. Interactive bridge interiors suffer from elements which don't seem solidly anchored to the cabin; throttles and guages shake uncontrollably. The extra content is appreciated, but my opinion hasn't changed: VSTEP took on a large task with Ship Simulator 2008, but failed to meet average standards in almost every element of the simulation. Further patches may improve the game, but this means little when all but the hardcore have uninstalled the game from their systems.
Related Stuff Games: Ship Simulator 2008
Tags |
 
 
See if your PC can handle the latest games:
 
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
