Gaming Ship Simulator Extremes Review

Antony takes to the high seas, albeit without the piracy, eyepatches or Lonely Island songs.

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/pc/2010/09/05/ship-simulator-extremes-review/1

 

wow....

"I get about 6-10 FPS if I overclock my CPU to 2.5Ghz."

This game sounds like a pile of you know what.... on the forums, when someone said it looked bad, they asked him "In what way does the game look bad? Have your turned the graphics up to high?"

it's nice to know PC gaming isn't dying.... :facepalm:

 

Looks bad - but in fairness, most of the buttons on FSX airplanes don't work very well either - for example, the whole overhead panel is inaccessible on the Boeing 747 - at least 50 switches.

Being able to open the luggage hold is pointless if you are missing more important things - and stuff like the autopilot is appalling on the default airplanes. It's only once you've played with airplanes such as the Level-D 767 that you realise just what you've been missing out.

 

My father gets endless amusement out of Trainz, the railway thing - I really don't get how they make these things simultaneously so slow and so ugly. You'd have thought that half the point of a ship simulator would be to go and sit off Great Nicobar aboard a beautifully-rendered model of Emma Maersk and soak up a sunset, but no...

 

Surely you could have spent your time reviewing a more worthwhile game?

 

even there forms suck tried using it under opera on an phone(10) , the page is off set to the left by 1cm and it connects to the ip address not the host name(81.0.*) , even under Google browser on the phone its not correct (can't get to the username box )

every over site works perfectly fine game seems to have some basic flaws

 

Ummm by the title?

 

Please include image of the following face:
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2008/10/cooler-master-z600-cpu-cooler/16.jpg

 

+1. maybe it would up the score a bit

 

Awful game, although... "one of the newest features is the ability to walk inside vessels". That feature was in the 2008 version?

 

So that's how you pre-judge something is it, by it's title?

I suppose you judge books by their covers as well...

 

I'm guessing you're eagerly awaiting the review of "Waiting Room Simulator 2010" then?

 

Just how much do I not want to play that. Thanks for the review, it was a real eye-opener of what's new on the PC-games market. Maybe next take a look at the awesome forklift simulator?

 

Actually I wish we had more reviews of stuff like this, I can read a review of the latest version of call of duty anywhere, this a more serious (or attempted serious) game is something I might like if only it didn't suck so badly

 

or Uk truck simulator, or Mining and Tunneling Simulator, or woodcutting simulator, or destruction simulator (okay, that one doesnt sound too bad), or city bus simulator...

I think my main point is these are obviously niche titles which appeal to a very small amount of people here... thats what i meant by worthwhile, you could pick a title which would be of more interest to a larger percentage of the audience.

 

The smaller airplanes are pretty good, but as soon as you get onto the jets, everything falls far short of the mark.

This is the startup sequence for the FSX 737:

1. Battery On
2. APU On
3. Fuel pumps on (apart from crossflow)
4. Engine Generators On
5. Engine Starter buttons pressed
6. when N2 gets to around 20%, turn on fuel.
(alternatively, press ctrl + e and ignore the first 6 steps).
7. Parking brakes off.

This is the startup sequence for the Level-D 767:
1. Battery Switch .................................................ON
2. Standby Power Selector .............................AUTO
3. APU GEN switch .................................Pushed IN
4. Bus Tie Switches ........................................AUTO
5. Utility Bus Switches ........................................ON
6. GEN CONT Switches .........................Pushed IN
7. & 7a External Power ............................Establish
8. APU .............................................START then ON
9. Position Light ...................................................ON
10. IRS Mode Selectors (3) ................................NAV
11. Yaw Damper Switches .........................................ON
12. EEC Switches .......................................................ON
13. Hydraulic Panel ..............................................Check
14. Overhead Cautions ........................................Check
15. HF Radio .............................................................OFF
16. Battery Switch ......................................................ON
17. Standby Power Selector .................................AUTO
18. Electrical Panel ..............................................Check
All electrical switches should be pushed IN. Electrical switches are only turned OFF for abnormal conditions
19. APU .......................................................As required
20. Cockpit Voice Recorder .....................................Test
21. Emergency Light Switch ...............................Armed
22. Passenger Oxygen Switch .............................Blank
23. Ram Air Turbine Switch ..................................Blank
24. Ignition Switch ....................................................Set
25. Engine Start Selectors ...................................AUTO
26. Fuel Jettison Panel ...........................................OFF
27. Fuel Panel ...........................................................Set
Forward and Aft main fuel pumps OFF. Center fuel pumps OFF. Crossfeed switches OFF.
28. Fuel quantity and balance .............................Check
29. Engine and Wing Anti-Ice ..................................OFF
30. Exterior Lights .......................................As required
31. Cargo Heat ..........................................................OFF
32. Window Heat ........................................................ON
33. HF Radio .............................................................OFF
34. Passenger Signs ..................................As required.
35. Pressurization Panel .........................................Set
36. Equipment Cooling Switch ............................AUTO
37. Temperature Control Knobs ..............As required.
38. Trim Air Switch .....................................................ON
39. Recirc Fan Switches ............................................ON
40. Pack Control Selectors ........................As required
If the APU is in use, turn the pack switches to AUTO. If external air is in use, turn pack switches OFF.
41. Isolation switches ................................................ON
42. Engine Bleed Switches .......................................ON
43. APU Bleed Switch ................................................ON
44. Set Nav1 Radio – Located to the LEFT of the MCP. Set manual frequency if required, otherwise set to AUTO. Select AUTO.
45. FD Switch — ON
46. A/T Switch — OFF
47. IAS/MACH —Set V2 from FMC. V2 is 146 knots.
48. HDG – Set as required: runway heading 260.
49. ALT – Set as required: 7000’ as specified the departure YVR3 departure chart, though we will go direct YYJ.
50. Disengage bar — UP
51. Nav2 Radio — F/O Panel. Set manual frequency if
required, otherwise set to AUTO
52. Confirm NO FLAGS on main instrument panel.
53. Instrument Source Selectors — NORM
54. Airspeed - Check & set takeoff speed bugs.
55. RDMI — Set pointer controls and verify headings
56. EADI — Check
57. EHSI — Check. Range and display mode set as required. (Set Map mode at 10 nm).
58. ASA — Blank
59. Altimeter — Set altimeter
60. VSI — Indicates 0
61. Clock — Set.
62. Standby Instruments — Set
63. Warning Annunciators ................................... Check
64. Standby Engine Gauges .................................AUTO
65. Autobrakes .........................................................OFF
66. EICAS ............................................................. Check
67. TRP .............................................. Set TO and derate
68. Flap Indicator ................................................... Set 0
69. Alternate Flap Selector .................................. NORM
70. Landing Gear ................................ DOWN & GREEN
71. Alternate Gear Switch ....................... Guarded OFF
72. Parking Brake ..................................................... SET
73. Stab Trim Cutout Switches ........................... NORM
74. Spoilers ...........................................................DOWN
75. Throttles ......................................................... Closed
76. Fuel Control Switches .............................. CUT OFF
77. Flaps ..................................................................... UP
78. Engine and APU Fire Panel ..........................Normal
79. Cargo Fire Panel ...........................................Normal
80. Transponder ........................................................ Set
81. Stabilizer Trim ............................................ 2.4 units
82. Flight Controls ............................................... Check
83. Doors .......................................... Closed, Lights Out
84. Comm Panel ........................................................ Set
85. Audio Panel ......................................................... Set
86. ILS Frequency ......................................As Required
87. Aileron and Rudder Trim ................................. Set 0
88. Cargo Heat Switches ................................ON
89. Passenger Signs .......................................ON
90. EICAS Messages ........................................ CANCEL
91. Hydraulic Panel ..................................... ON & AUTO
92. Primary electric pumps ON & demand pumps to AUTO.
93. Fuel Panel ............................................................ Set
94. Red Anti-collision Lights .....................................ON
95. Pack Switches ...................................................OFF
96. Stab Trim: 2.4U
97. L or R Start Selector ......................................... GND
98. L or R Fuel Control Switch (Pedestal) ............. RUN
99. Generator Lights ....................... Confirm OFF
100. APU Switch ...............................................OFF
101. Engine Anti-Ice ...................................... As required
102. Isolation Switches (L and R) ..................... CLOSED
103. Pack Switches ................................................AUTO
104. Autobrake Selector ............................................RTO
105. EICAS ......................................... RECALL & CHECK


For example, on the default Boeing 737, you can simply take off, set autopilot to GPS and click engage and the jet will pretty much fly you to the destination. It's the same with all the other jets - you don't actually need any skill with FSX to fly properly, or even program the autopilot properly - the original route planner is very simple and each plane has a 'gps' mode that will simply fly you to your destination. It's only the planes such as the Beechcraft and the Cessna (as well as the Piper) that are relatively realistic - for any jet, they're nothing like realistic - the 747 doesn't even bother to model the overhead panel, apart from the landing lights and engine starters.

Most of the buttons on the 737 overhead panel simply don't work, and even those that do rarely do anything apart from cosmetic stuff.

Yes, this has far more controls, even at stock than your typical boat simulator boat, but it's bad to compare FSX to be true-to-life, unless you have one of the third-party addon planes installed that actually makes flying the jets realistic.

These games actually get surprisingly high sales. Whilst there may not be such a massive market in the UK amongst the mainstream, simulations such as these often sell over a million copies. Just because it's niche doesn't mean it won't sell.

 

Doctor's waiting room? Because I could imagine all sorts of fun ways to spend your time there:

"Oh, you've got Dr Morgan!? Well, don't worry: I'm sure the rumors aren't true. I mean, there was never any CONCLUSIVE proof those people didn't need their limbs amputated..."