Virtual Sailor NG is out

When a new version of VS:NG is released, it's release notes can be found here.
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admin
Site Admin
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:09 am

Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by admin »

Hi Everyone,

At long last, I have published the new version of Virtual Sailor NG, I call this version 8.0 because it is a successor
to the Virtual Sailor family, and updates this long neglected program to what it needs to be in 2021...

So, all the updates will start with version 8.0

The program appears to be similar to Vehicle Simulator, and it is similar in basic functionality, and should run all scenery
and boats without a program and behave the same way.

There are many improvements over VSF, a partial list is here

Changes for version 8.0
  • Complete rewrite of terrain and scenery engine.
  • Complete rewrite of ocean and sea engine.
  • Object caching with fast and efficient scenery loading.
  • Immediate day night switching, no reloading required.
  • Newer and better instruments, including Radar, Map, Sonar and more.
  • Flexible and adjustable key assignment.
  • Better docking attaching to docks nearby
  • Better element design with packable elements.
  • External instruments open in separate windows.
  • NMEA output to external devices.
  • Accurate celestial calculations of sun, moon, stars.
  • Dynamic tide with adjustable amplitude and mean water level.
  • Waves height, sea surface, depending on wind speed.
  • Very flexible additional camera view, independent of main camera.
The most important to notice is that keys can be defined, so you can select your
own keys and you will see these on the Help->Keys screen.

Under the hood the game engine has been completely re written, it allows also huge performance boost,
for example if you show Options->Graphics and turn off all Performance options you can see frame rates of 250-400 !
but on low graphics mode, on the other hand when all is turned on it goes to 45-30 on heavy scene.

You can design a scenery from scratch inside the program, also "paint" elevations and textures, you can replace
all 2D trees by 3D trees, for this I have included the "California" scenery as a test area for your experiments.

Set time to now, and move on map, moves with Realtime change so when you move from say France to La the scene
will change from day to night, this is not a mistake.

Tide can be set to dynamic, and you can set amplitude and mean water level, then the phase will depend on moon and sun.
Celestial calculations are much more accurate and should follow the real positions, but time zone may need to be adjusted
by the Hours +/- adjuster on the weather screen.

Network is compatible with VSF, so you should be able to play with each other.
there may be issues with netplay as before, here are my recommendations and excuses why they happen:

1. Connectivity - the router you have usually changes the incoming ports to prevent hackers attacking your computer, this also
totally disrupts connectivity to your game, to overcome this use VPN between you and your friends when playing.

2. Disconnects - the program will disconnect a player when 30 seconds have passed without updates, and also detach from a boat without
5 seconds of update, but later can attach to that boat when updates arrive, when a player loads a heavy ship or heavy scenery it may take
more than 30 seconds to complete, and during that time he may be disconnected, it is not recommended to lengthen this time since the
disconnect is necessary to release a terminated program properly.
so my recommendation is - either load simple boats in netplay and not very detailed ones, or send every one of your friends the situation
to load, have them load this situation with all boats already loaded there, and then connect to netplay.

So, there are many more changes, and updated stuff, I will elaborate on them later on.

The registration period will be longer than 2 years, how long depending on sales, if the program becomes pirated like VSF
and sales dwindle then I will keep it at 2 years, if it sells moderately enough to keep this project funded, I will lengthen it a lot.
possibly to 5 years.

Hope you enjoy this program a lot of effort has been invested into it !

Thanks,

Ilan
kirelire
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2021 3:43 am

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by kirelire »

Image I've been trying it out 8-)
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:09 am

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by admin »

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for your fantastic response, I am thrilled and excited to finally see this much interest and participation !
I am aware of several compatibility issues that were reported to me, and i will do my best to fix them and add more features
in the next few days.

Please stay tuned to the news on the program and this site ( mark the checkbox "check the news" to see this feed.

Thanks so much, and hope you will enjoy this program !!!!

Ilan
hjsmuc
Posts: 38
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:21 pm

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by hjsmuc »

Hi Ilan,

Thank you for this exciting new version. So far I noticed that I cannot get the same smooth antialiasing as with VSF by using manual settings with Nvidia Inspector, I will try more settings these days. Regarding compatibility, I found that L'Aurore has see through gunports.

Maybe it would make sense to open a thread for compatibility issues.

Cheers
Hans
Graubart
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Jul 10, 2021 4:01 pm

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by Graubart »

Hi Ilan,

first of all: Thank you so much for your continued commitmentto this great simulator. As marine geologist I really love the sidescan- and forward sonar options, which literally opens a new world in this simulator. I can't wait to see the first underwater landscapes and wrecks to explore...

Is it just me who cannot download the Western Europe Scenery? It looks to me like all three download links post to just the scenery description but nothing downloadable.
Victor
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2021 6:19 am

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by Victor »

Ilan,
Very many thanks for what looks like a new and exciting simulator.
I have started to try a few things. such as creating a new situation. i can add a vehicle, even one imported from VSF. But I can't add a scenery. I have looked all over and i can't find any way of adding a scenery, even those two supplied. I can edit an existing situation and change the vessels but I can't change the scenery to Norway for example.
Any one else found these, or if you have found a way to do it I would be pleased to know.

many thanks

Victor
Vermont
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Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by Vermont »

Will this simulator come to steam?
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NoBody191
Posts: 46
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Location: Indonesia

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by NoBody191 »

I have a suggestion

The simulator should accept the flying things (such as the Albatross) as an airplane, and these planes could fly in game, like the previous virtual sailor, when the some submarines are flying
Random Kiddo who loves diving the internet

penyelam handal.
Sailorjohn
Posts: 98
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2021 2:13 am

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by Sailorjohn »

Hi Ilan,

Just purchased NG last night, and it's already addictive. The water and spray dynamics are great, as are the instruments.

I also encountered the problem with Axe's wonderful L'Aurore, with water showing in the interior. The problem is that Axe made many parts of the ship, including interior, rudder, flag, etc as instruments. VSF uses the option "Show panel outside" which correctly renders the ship; NG allows specific instruments outside, like radar and map, but not panel. Could we get the panel outside option? That would fix the outside render of L'Aurore and any other vessel using instrument parts.
Victor
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2021 6:19 am

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by Victor »

Hi Ilan,

A small update to my previous post.
The ability to allocate functions to keys is great.
IMO "scenery" is missing from the "change" drop down menu.
In the "New" Situations page Add Scenery should be included.
kityatyi
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2021 12:20 am

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by kityatyi »

Sailorjohn wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 5:37 am Hi Ilan,

Just purchased NG last night, and it's already addictive. The water and spray dynamics are great, as are the instruments.

I also encountered the problem with Axe's wonderful L'Aurore, with water showing in the interior. The problem is that Axe made many parts of the ship, including interior, rudder, flag, etc as instruments. VSF uses the option "Show panel outside" which correctly renders the ship; NG allows specific instruments outside, like radar and map, but not panel. Could we get the panel outside option? That would fix the outside render of L'Aurore and any other vessel using instrument parts.
Agreed. All of Axe's boats have the "transparent interior" issue due to the lack of the "Show panel outside" option. It would be great to have it back.

I also could not find out how to activate animations. It used to be the CTRL+A key. I cannot seem to be able to assign it either.

Apart from this, a number of minor issues. Some sceneries seem to load without objects, such as Pierre Genete's Greece. The docking panel (D) seems larger than it was, and in some boats, it extends beyond the containing screen.

Also, there is a typo in the menu. "Hide watger" in the menu instead of "Hide water".

Overall, very impressed! The new visuals are awesome and the effects are great too!

Any chance to make the stern wave longer? In the case of some bigger boats, the stern wave is hardly any longer than the ship's length when it should be multiple times the length. The stern wave is often seen behind the ship for miles.

I would like to request an option to change the MAP orientation similar to how it can be changed for the radar (north up, head up, course up, etc.)
Sailorjohn
Posts: 98
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2021 2:13 am

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by Sailorjohn »

While "pushing the envelope" I've encountered a few glitches in NG:

1. If I select and accept 'show map outside', 'show radar outside', or 'show HUD outside', I get just that instrument on screen...nothing else...just the instrument full screen...and since I was already in full screen mode (not in window), I was locked out of VS and had to restart pc. And if I selected more than one instrument outside, the screen went nuts with radar/map/HUD flashing simultaneously full screen...again had to restart pc. Although I still had cursor, there was nothing to click on to get out. Now I'm staying in window mode so I can at least close it.

2. Opening the 'empty scenery' situation to try different vessels, I tried to move the vessel into an imported VSF scenery. Each time, with different sceneries, NG started to load objects, but wound up looping...unable to load the scenery. Had to exit game. BTW, I had imported all my VSF sceneries, situations, and common files, so the objects should be able to load.

3. As others have stated, we need an option to open a new situation, with choice of scenery and vessel.

4. For you aviators out there, rest assured you can still fly in NG. I loaded an AN2 on floats, and it works just fine. While you don't have keys for flaps, you can click and drag the controls. And the view of the water when airborne is fantastic, as the green shade in the shallows fades into deep blue...and you see reflections of clouds, mountains, etc on water surface, as well as glare.

Still exploring and learning...
SJ
kityatyi
Posts: 33
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Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by kityatyi »

Sailorjohn - I have also come across some of the points that you have mentioned.

Particularly, #2, which indeed required a full restart. Here I would like to add that a number of sceneries simply do not display any objects, only the map itself.

I also experienced an unresolvable black screen after opening the HELP menu of the game. It took me outside of VSNG and when I returned to the game all I had is a pitch-black screen from which there was no escape other than a game restart.

I personally do not like the leftover aviation elements, but I guess it's just me. Stuff like the ADF and the NAV radios on the NAV panel doesn't quite belong to a maritime simulation, also the Gyro calibration... When clicking "create a vehicle" there are many flying machines. Those are obviously from the predecessor VSF on which VSNG is possibly based. Since VSNG is a nautical simulator, for the sake of consistency all aviation-related remnants should be gone from the game, including the menus as well as the help documentation which is full of flying-related references. For a new user who does not know the history of the series, it is all very confusing and gives the impression of chaos and disorder. My vote is that VSNG should be exactly what the name suggests: virtual sailing.
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ekeimaja
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Location: Finland

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by ekeimaja »

kityatyi wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 10:06 am
Particularly, #2, which indeed required a full restart. Here I would like to add that a number of sceneries simply do not display any objects, only the map itself.
This can be fixed by going to top menu, Design > Objects > File tab > Load all objects.
VS sailor since 2008
kityatyi
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2021 12:20 am

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by kityatyi »

ekeimaja wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:06 am
kityatyi wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 10:06 am
Particularly, #2, which indeed required a full restart. Here I would like to add that a number of sceneries simply do not display any objects, only the map itself.
This can be fixed by going to top menu, Design > Objects > File tab > Load all objects.
No, unfortunately, it won't solve the problem. Not a single object is loaded.
i_i_andrew_i_i
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Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by i_i_andrew_i_i »

I also had a problem loading objects. Scenery starts empty and only then you have to load objects.
Sailorjohn
Posts: 98
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Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by Sailorjohn »

I've also had the problem of loading and saving objects in a scenery, and later reentering that scenery...no objects. Do we have to edit and save each scenery every use? I've entered sceneries with elaborate saved situations, found no scenery objects, and when I edit objects back in, program kicks me out of situation. When I reload situation, the objects are gone again.

Another issue is no option to undo 'land on objects' which is on by default...so you can't pass beneath bridges. We need to be able to unclick that to pass under bridges, especially in the beautiful Oka River scenery!

Also noticed that most bowsplash points are ahead of the vessel...including default cruiser. I've deleted many profiles, and the program does seem to restore correct ones.
kityatyi
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2021 12:20 am

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by kityatyi »

- Patches don't seem to work as they should. Every scenery that utilizes the so-called patches (layers that cover the land like a blanket, giving it a different look) flickers, similar to how textures on a model flicker. Parts of the textures below are visible, the patches don't cover them fully.

- In of the sceneries, as I pan the camera, the 3D object - the dock in this case but I guess it is irrelevant - disappears. When I pan back, it reappears. If I rapidly pan the camera left and right, the model rapidly disappears and reappears.

- In the object editor, when scrolling down the list of available objects, in Vehicle Simulator when you press for example the letter "D" then the list jumped to those objects that start with D, making it easier to locate the desired object. Unfortunately, it is not the case in VSNG. When pressing a key, nothing happens, it is not currently possible to navigate the list this way.

- Some of the ship models seem problematic in VSNG, unable to accelerate past 15-16 Kts when in reality - and in VSF - they could easily achieve 20-22 Knots. There is no autopilot involved, it is not the "speed hold" function that stops the ship from speeding further, I see no known reason why it should not accelerate.

- The marine radar animation appears to be bugged. The animation starts in one direction but after a few rotations of the radar, it suddenly changes direction and the entire animation becomes erratic.
Sailorjohn
Posts: 98
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Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by Sailorjohn »

It's frustrating. After entering a scenery, in this case River Oka, there are no objects...clicking on 'load all objects'...nothing happens. But clicking on 'load user objects', everything's great...it's all there. Then I click 'save user objects', load a vessel, run sim for awhile...save situation. And next time I reload situation...no objects! Back to square one! Has anyone tried the scenery edit page, where you can save existing, or create a new scenery? I've been afraid to save existing for fear of unintended consequences...like erasing the scenery. It's also a dead end, as you can't seem to return to NG.
kityatyi
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Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by kityatyi »

I tried something similar: adding objects to a scenery (I also tried deleting objects) but as soon as I click "Save user objects" the program crashes to desktop.
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Ari-Visser_Lover
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Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by Ari-Visser_Lover »

kirelire wrote: Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:01 pm Image I've been trying it out 8-)
Wow nice boat. where i can found it ? (well if it's a mod or officialy boat in VS-NG / VSF.)
That think me a defender uscg
kirelire
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Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by kirelire »

Ari-Visser_Lover wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 9:55 pm
kirelire wrote: Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:01 pm Image I've been trying it out 8-)
Wow nice boat. where i can found it ? (well if it's a mod or officialy boat in VS-NG / VSF.)
That think me a defender uscg
You can find it here: https://sim3d.snabbserver.com/product/pilot-boat-745/

Hope you enjoy it! One of my favourites :)
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Ari-Visser_Lover
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Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by Ari-Visser_Lover »

You can find it here: https://sim3d.snabbserver.com/product/pilot-boat-745/

Hope you enjoy it! One of my favourites :)

Yeah i found it finally. That is very nice boat. I bought this ans other pilot boat. I love it !!
Thanks for you'r help :D
Capture d’écran 25-05-2022 02.10.01.png
Capture d’écran 25-05-2022 02.10.01.png (129.34 KiB) Viewed 43665 times
here is a screen
kirelire
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2021 3:43 am

Re: Virtual Sailor NG is out

Post by kirelire »

Ari-Visser_Lover wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 12:25 am Yeah i found it finally. That is very nice boat. I bought this ans other pilot boat. I love it !!
Thanks for you'r help :D

Capture d’écran 25-05-2022 02.10.01.png
here is a screen
Glad you like it :)
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