"different from the norm"
Game Play
In Ship Simulator 2006 you get to control a total of nine boats and ships which include the R.M.S titanic, Container Vessel, Yacht, Inland Cargo Ship, Harbour Patrol Ship, Tub Boat, Power Boat, and a Taxi boat. You control these ships in three different areas, Rotterdam Harbour, Hamburg Harbour, or the tropical islands Phi, Phi in Thailand.To make the game interesting the game is set around you completing scenarios which include transporting cargo, taxiing passengers, and navigation. Each scenario involves navigating to a series of way points and some include stop off points where you need to moor the boat. Each waypoint has to be passed near or stopped at before it’s ticked off your list of objectives and you can move to the next way point. A navigation chart is available to help you plot your course to your waypoint, but you also have to avoid other sea going traffic on the way. Any collision will result in a damage cost being generated and if it exceeds a certain amount then at the end of the scenario you are informed you didn’t complete the task satisfactorily. If you do complete it correctly you are rewarding with a cash sum. Complete a number of scenarios to unlock some more. In total there are 31 built in scenarios, all slightly different using all of the nine boats and making the game actually quite unique and fun in some ways.
"control a total of nine boats
and ships which include the R.M.S titanic"
and ships which include the R.M.S titanic"
The traffic in the game seems to be scripted and as such it’s really your job to avoid them to complete the scenarios. The other boats make no attempt to move out of your way and if you’re not careful, they just ram into you. This is one area the game would benefit from improving in the next edition. A lot of the time the traffic follow the same route as you and can look really unrealistic, especially in the Phi, Phi islands. It just doesn’t look natural.
Interestingly Ship Simulator 2006 comes complete with a scenario editor which allows you to create and share new scenarios with the online community. Hopefully new environments and ships will be available to help build a community much like the flight simulator titles. A game like this really does need the community behind it to be a success.
"The water effects are amazingly realistic"
Graphics
The graphics are superb. The water effects are amazingly realistic, especially when your boat is casting shadows on to ocean. The boats and ships you control are excellently constructed, although the textures could do with being a little more detailed and less clean looking. While the water looks superb when the weather is set to calm, it looks no different when the weather is raining and windy. Even in the highest wind the water still looks relatively calm. That said the fog, the rain and detail of the environments are spectacular. The mooring rope when you moor your ship looks rubbish as well. Also some of the computer controlled traffic look like 2D images moving along the water due to the poor texturing on them. It’s a real shame about these few issues, while small, are still very noticeable. However one of the attractions of this game is the superlative graphics."poor texturing "
Sound
There’s not really much to say, the boats make, eh, boat like sounds. While the graphics are pretty the sound isn’t as atmospheric as it could be. For a busy setting of a harbour you’d expect lots of noise from birds, other boats, and people working around the harbour. Sadly this is missing. The sound that is there is generally ok.Overall
While this is a new and innovative game, Ship Simulator 2006 won’t appeal the majority of PC gamers. It’s not engaging or exciting, but what it does do is offer something different from the norm. The price of this game is pretty cheap, but again this is down to its limited appeal. The challenges and variety of boats on offer is exceptional. It’s well worth a look if you’re bored of the usual.