The greatest fun using Virtual Sailor can be when you play with other people, Virtual Sailor can connect to other users and let you see their boats, interact with them and chat.
Virtual Sailor connects using a peer to peer connection, there is no special server you need to use, any user hosting a game can be found and joined for an online session.
The program can connect using the internet and also using local networks without internet connection.
To connect online select Network -> Connect from the menu, this will show the connection dialog.
At the top of this dialog you see your IP address and port used, below you can enter your name, this name will be used for the online session as your call sign.
You can host a new session or join an existing one, to host a new session press "Host a new session" and wait until session is established.
You can select "Publish my IP" if you wish others to see your session on the internet and join you.
To see other sessions currently active press "Find sessions", you will see a list of sessions below, the time they were started ( given in GMT ), the scenery they are at and the name of player hosting this session.
To join any of these sessions select it from the list below and press "Join an existing session".
Alternatively, if you know the IP address or name of computer you wish to join, type this address at the remote IP textbox and press "Join an existing session".
Names can be resolved without the use of specific IP addresses, if you are on a LAN for example you can enter the name of the machine you connect to instead of its IP address.
Once session was established this dialog will disappear and you will see a message "session has started".
The chat mode - the chat mode is much more than just a tool for chatting, it can be used when you are not playing online as well.
The chat mode is activated by pressing F9, it has thee modes; text only, text and chat and off.
When the text mode is enabled you will see a scrolling list of all program messages and chat messes appear onscreen, this list shows you the time each message was sent, and the name of the sender, it also shows you the names of players on the right side of the screen.
When the text and chat mode is active, you will see in addition to this text also the text input box at the bottom, any text you type will go inside, and be sent when you press Enter, this message will be sent to all players online.
Notes about playing online:
Virtual Sailor can play with up to 24 players online, players can be in control of a boat and also guests on boats.
When a player switches to a boat which was controlled by other player the second player becomes a gust and cannot control the boat himself, the "Guest" tooltip appears on the top right corner of the screen.
Any change of waypoints, weather, time, or boats done by one player immediately effects all the others, they will see these changes as well.
It is important that all players use the same land settings, especially the same land size in order for the positions of the boats to be transferred and shown correctly for all players.
Virtual Sailor has several websites in which you can download more boats and scenery, and also get more information about creating these add-ons, these sites are the main sites and from them you can access the partner sites which offer much more content:
There are also several forums in which you can ask questions and get answers about using the program or creating new content for it, these forums are found at www.hangsim.com/forums
In case you need help installing or using your program and you cannot find the answers on this document or the websites above please contact our support at support@hangsim.com
We wish you a very enjoyable use of Virtual Sailor and many hours of exploration and fun.
Ilan Papini Thursday, October 05, 2006
