''Ship Simulator'' is a ship simulator, a type of

vehicle simulation Vehicle simulation games are a genre of video games which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles. This includes automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and a ...

computer game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual feedback from a display device, mo ...

which simulates maneuvering various ships in different environments, although without the effects of wind and current. It was developed by

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

company VSTEP and released by the now defunct company

Lighthouse Interactive Lighthouse Interactive Game Publishing B.V. was a video game publisher established in 2005 by industry veterans. With its head office in Haarlem, The Netherlands and a satellite office in Montreal, Canada, the company grew quickly and went on to es ...

''Ship Simulator 2006''

The first version of ''Ship Simulator'' was released in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and was titled ''Ship Simulator 2006''. The user can steer various ships, amongst others a Rotterdam

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public transport, public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an Urban area, urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a simil ...

, a

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

and even the ill-fated RMS ''Titanic'', in various weather conditions and in three real-life harbours, which are

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

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and

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in Thailand; a fourth harbour,

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was later released as a free download. A game element is added to the simulation by means of forty "missions" which have to be completed as fast or as accurately as possible. Users can also design their own missions, and share with others. The game has a built-in scenario editor to create new missions. ''The Official Ship Simulator 2006 Add-On'' was released in February 2007. This is an expansion pack with six additional ships and extra features such as ship walk-throughs.

Series

''Ship Simulator 2008'' released in July 2007 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and the UK. It contains seven ports and eight open sea environments. This version also features waves, weather, day/night time transitions, damage to vessels, and new boats and ships. There are six new ships; a supertanker, a

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ferry, large ocean ferry, a new patrol boat and two new tugs. There is also a ''Ship Simulator Professional V2.0'' The ''Titanic'' has also undergone some minor changes for example the second class stairwell and the stern section are visitable, as well and the original ships have been updated. Free add-ons were reportedly available, including a hovercraft, jetski, barge, improved physics and possibly another environment. An official expansion for ''Ship Simulator 2008'' titled ''Ship Simulator 2008 New Horizons'' was released in April, 2008. The add-on features eight new ships, the addition of multiplayer functionality, a new sailing area (Padstow, Cornwall), twenty new missions, in game downloading of new missions, option to connect and disconnect barges to the pushboat in-game, and new walkthrough options. ''Ship Simulator Extremes'' is the name of the latest installment in the ''Ship Simulator'' series. It was released on August 27, 2010. Additions to the game include new locations around the world from cold

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

to warm

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as well as new ships (including official licensed

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vessels) and new dynamic and more realistic weather and water systems. Most vessels from ''Ship Simulator 2008'' are also part of the choice of ships. The cruise ship "Ocean Star" from ''Ship Simulator 2006''/''2008'' is also included, except outside colors have changed and the name changed to "Orient Star". Vessels have more usable controls and more realistic ones, unlike ''Ship Simulator 2008'' in which only the whistle, binoculars, thrust, rudder and thrusters (if applicable on the vessel) are usable, although you can listen to the ship's radio but not send out calls. Sinking dynamics and physics have also improved in ''Ship Simulator Extremes''. Also unlike ''Ship Simulator 2008'', you can launch lifeboats/motorboats off a suitable vessel. Following a campaign by members of their growing fanbase, VSTEP agreed to include the ports of Dover and Calais (in one environment).

Peripherals

A "ship control unit", designed specifically for ''Ship Simulator'' and enabling more realistic steering, was released in 2006 by Wilco Publishing. P.I. Engineering have announced "ShipDriver", a marine simulation controller based on their RailDriver train controller for Auran's '' Trainz'' and Microsoft's ''

Train Simulator A train simulator (also railroad simulator or railway simulator) is a computer-based simulation of rail transport operations. They are generally large complicated software packages modeling a 3D virtual reality world implemented both as comme ...

''. ShipDriver released in winter 2010.

Critical reception

''Ship Simulator'' has been criticised for limitations in the replication of realistic controls and the lack of open architecture preventing users from creating their own vehicles and voyages. "Slow and mundane gameplay" and bugs have also been cited. Reviewers did comment that the game is challenging and that it has educational value. In addition, reviewers also praised the attention to detail for the scenery and boats.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.shipsim.com 2006 video games Lighthouse Interactive games Ship simulation games Single-player video games Video games developed in the Netherlands Video games set in Germany Video games set in New York City Video games set in Portsmouth Video games set in Southampton Video games set in Thailand Video games set in the Netherlands Windows games Windows-only games