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[Internal Notes]
GOOGLE EARTH PIN COLOR KEY
- Yellow = Undefined
- Red = Location Not Available
- Pink = Has Dock (No Scenery)
- Green = Basic Scenery
- Blue = Has Complex Scenery
- Cyan = Complete
I intend to set up a real-world itinerary-driven Virtual Ferry Service (VFS) to be enjoyed with Virtual Sailor NG (VSNG). This will be primarily for my own enjoyment, but it will be made available to anyone who likes the idea.
The plan is to bring it to fruition in organic “phases.” Here is what I perceive the flow of this project will look like….
- Phase 1 - Collect a list of all ports/docks available by name in VSNG. If these are somehow coded on the map, any help making the correlations clear would be appreciated.
(STATUS: COMPLETE - 241 Real-world docks identified between Gibraltar and the Black Sea in Google Earth.)
- Phase 2 - Add to the list the real-world ports/docks that are not included in VSNG.
STATUS: WORKING - 37 of 241 investigated. 30 of those 37 are not available in VSNG yet but will be created over time as well as any others.
- Phase 3 - Match the refined list of ports/docks derived in Phase 2 to real-world schedules and itineraries posted on real-world ferry websites.
- Phase 4 - Set up manual reporting (spreadsheet) of schedules completed. At first, this would only include a simple “From-To” record with a place for comments on the voyage. Later on, there may be grading, statistics, etc. It would all depend on the organic, natural path of the project.
- Phase 5a - Expand the project to allow for multiplayer participation, like in a Virtual Airlines (VA), if there is any genuine interest. This is only to make this expansion available as a goodwill gesture. I will enjoy my participation with or without multiplayer.
- Phase 5b - If multiplayer comes to birth, it might allow someone to fill the place of a dispatcher. Time will tell.
- Phase 6 - Automate the record-keeping and statistical analysis. Honestly, this phase would take quite a while as it would require me to learn Perl, PHP, etc., to build the webpage, server-side backend programming, etc., to make this a reality.
- Phase 7 - Grow the “ferry” idea outside of only using ferry vessels and schedules to include potential large-scale passenger and cargo shipping. This could happen earlier in the “Phases” as the working interest flows.
That’s it for now. We start with “Phase 1.”
Please reply with any ideas and/or comments which could be helpful to this project, especially any identifying of ports/docks included in VSNG.
Also, please post back if there is interest in seeing this ported to Vehicle Simulator.
Thank you for taking the time to read about my project, and remember, the sea is not a mean thing. It is only terribly unforgiving of poor judgment, oversight, and lack of astute planning.
Take care.