The game is pretty easy to control, as the controls can be as simple as steering and setting the engine speed. In addition, you have the option of fixing your view to the horizon, which takes all of the vomit-inducing fun out of boating. The game also allows for a range of realism options, such as allowing for capsizing and sinking. In addition, you can manually change the weather during the simulation, instantly watching your alterations watching the ocean swell from 4-foot to 25-foot waves in one second is pretty entertaining.
#VIRTUAL SAILOR 7 CONTROLS DOWNLOAD#
You cannot download real-time weather conditions from the Internet, although creating the conditions yourself is part of the fun. You can set the weather of your cruise using a number of pre-sets or defining wind speed, wave height, visibility, and cloud cover yourself. However, there is already lots of downloadable custom content created by users for previous versions of the game that is still compatible with Virtual Sailor 7 these extra boats and scenery files expand the range of the game enormously and shows that Virtual Sailor 7 is pretty easy to edit. The default content is not very extensive: just one area to sail in and a handful of boats. The game includes a small number of missions (called “cruises”) that usually involve sailing to a specific location. Virtual Sailor 7 lets you grab a boat, place it in the water, and sail around a bit. The game may not have a high level of detail, but you’ll be staring at the water for most of the time, so as long as the boats and ocean look good (which they do), you’re in fine shape. Virtual Sailor 7 offers competitive graphics and sound that can be displayed on much older systems. The sound is as good as it’s going to be for a boat simulation: the wind howls and the boats make sound. The developer should be commended for making a simulation that looks good but also runs well on most people’s computers.
#VIRTUAL SAILOR 7 CONTROLS SIMULATOR#
Best of all, you can crank up the settings to the maximum a system that ran medium settings in Flight Simulator X at 12 frames per seconds can display Virtual Sailor 7 at the highest settings (and a better resolution) at a consistent 30 frames per second, even with a lot of objects on the screen (and with sophisticated reflection and refraction of light in the ocean). The skies and weather effects are also well done and quite convincing, creating an environment that is quite competitive with top-of-the-line simulations. The coastal areas are generally bland for a lot of the time, although some basic textures representing docks and cities may be present in more developed areas. The ship models are also well done, looking quite like real seafaring vessels. Virtual Sailor 7 includes a great engine that produces realistic (if not repetitive) waves in the ocean, from small 2-foot waves to imposing 55-foot monsters. Since most of the simulation takes place at sea, you would expect the waves to be realistic, and they are. Unlike competing simulations, Virtual Sailor 7 features buttery-smooth graphics that also look fairly decent. While not displaying the notoriety or publicity of other simulations, the game hopes to deliver a solid replication of boating and sailing. Speaking of which, Quality Simulations serves up their seventh iteration of their Virtual Sailor series, coincidentally titled Virtual Sailor 7. The wind in your hair, the salt in your veins, the iceberg off starboard: it’s a wonderful activity for the entire family! While there have been plenty of flight simulators, train simulators, and car simulators, there haven't been very many boat simulators, although this is another area ripe for a quality simulation. What say you? A decent simulation that will appeal to boat enthusiasts: 6/8Īh, sailing. The Not So Good: Not much default content, no explicit tutorials, small audience The Good: Flexible game engine, good wave graphics with low system requirements, easily modified (with lots of user-made content already available), relatively low price Virtual Sailor 7, developed and published by Quality Simulations.