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Board » General Discussion » SOL - 3D Version

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Just a question,just curious...

Will SOL ever try to have a 3D version like SailX.com?

Is it possible?

I would definitely become a paying member if SOL went 3D.
St. Lucie - Jupiter Ocean Racing Association (SJORA)

Poll: Would you like to see SOL in 3D?

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To CKH: I have been hinting, cajoling, promulgating, asking----you name it----for just such a development in SOL. I have been using as an example of what can be done, the free downloadable program "Virtual Sailor" by Ilan Papini. While his program is not suitable for a large number of racers, and it pretty much confined to part of the Aegean Sea, it does have good visuals, with waves and weather, land scenery and ports,manual as well as autopilot steering, as well as manual and auto sail adjustment. The weather and wind, however are exactly the same across the entire map (adjustable by user), and are not linked to NOAA.
I have been using it in 20 boat races, with the other 19 controlled by the computer.(Unfortunately I can always win because [as we all know] computers are not very imaginative.)
However it does show what can be done, if we want.
I think it is clear that if a more visual and realistic racing program was to be developed, the present SOLers would change over to it 'en masse'
I attach a view.
p.s. You also get the chart, with boat positions and tracks.

--- Last Edited by Rod at 2011-04-15 14:38:54 ---

--- Last Edited by Rod at 2011-04-15 17:11:54 ---
If it breaks, it's not strong enough--if it doesn't, it's too heavy.
Attachments
I for one would Not prefer that this idea is adopted wholesale.

Why ?

I think it would jeopardize the free aspect of this site and would require significant overhead both on the server & client side.

Those of us who have slower internet access and/or less capable computers, would be squeezed out of future participation.

I therefore affirm the schematic approach to this elegant presentation
None so blind
The price for the down-loadable Virtual Sailor 4 is about $35 Canadian, which sis just about the same for the "Sailonline Yacht Club" membership, (which I am not a member of) so the two things are comparable. The VS4 program contains a great number of things which would not be needed for SOL, like freighters, submarines, guided missiles, fish, dolphins, seagulls, etc etc. The cost would be less than VS4, and would be payable only once.
I am not trying to sell VS4 in any way--it has its frustrations and is not at all suitable for what SOLers would need--it just demonstrates what can be done if we want.
If it breaks, it's not strong enough--if it doesn't, it's too heavy.
You wouldn't even have to go as far as virtual sailor. look at SAILX.com.
This is also a free sailing site.
You can pay for membership just like here in SOL.

take a look... www.sailx.com

O wonder if this is possible
St. Lucie - Jupiter Ocean Racing Association (SJORA)
Took a look at SailX and was not particularly impressed by its degree of realism. Little boat outlines running around at impossibly high speeds, while the controls are "suggestions to the actual skipper"---Are we back to rich men and paid crews?---anyway, to cut a long litany of derogatory comments to one....NO.
The degree of realism is just one step above SOL---you can actually see the boat's wake!!!!
p.s. Has anyone actually looked into the """FREE""" Virtual Skipper program to determine just what you actually can get??

--- Last Edited by Rod at 2011-04-16 18:16:07 ---
If it breaks, it's not strong enough--if it doesn't, it's too heavy.
you actually clicked on the 3d button? becasue there is 2d and 3d option. It is a simple 3d, compared to Virtual sailor. I think virtual sailor is great, but too much. I think the sailx 3d is just right, simple and easy, and still free.

The controls in sailx have a slight learning curve, but then again, if you sail in real life there is always that learning curve when controling a boat, that is what makes it so much fun and so challenging.
Not that SOL needs that sort of control, but the #D would make it a bit more exciting and REAL.
3D FOR SOL!
:)
St. Lucie - Jupiter Ocean Racing Association (SJORA)
Will try 3D and see. When I did before I got only an overhead view of one boat "model" with a mast and a mainsail. I couldn't find the control to shift to a panoramic view, and I couldn't find a plan of the racecourse.
I will persevere, but the list of different controls is so long (2 pages) that I don't know how you memorize. Also, can you slow it down to "real" speeds
p.s. I do like your "SLIGHT learning curve"

--- Last Edited by Rod at 2011-04-17 14:18:23 ---

--- Last Edited by Rod at 2011-04-17 14:20:07 ---
If it breaks, it's not strong enough--if it doesn't, it's too heavy.
guys,
this is simply not feasible (from a technical point of view), nor desirable.
It is not possible to synchronize the operation of such a large number of users (SOL averages 300 to 400 but can go up to 700) in different part of the world, with different connection/bandwidth, computational power etc. I think it would be difficult even on a MultiGBit LAN where everyone is sitting near to his opponents.

Virtual Skipper, SailX etc. are arcade games which are good for short races and a very small number of participants. Nice to have fun for a couple of hours hoping that you don't loose sync 100m from the finish line.

While we wait for ultra-reliable TeraBit connections I guess we have the choice:

1) good graphics, waves, even wife throwing buckets of iced salt water on our face ->> VSK & co
2) essential graphics, but a large number of simultaneous users (we can still have wife with the iced water bucket during updates) ->> SOL

The two worlds cannot mix at the moment.
But again, we have the choice

a.
One small correction---Virtual Skipper is in no sense an "Arcade Game". There is NO GAME. It is just an environment in which you have access to several types of boats, ships and planes, an ocean upon which to sail, land, airports, harbours and towns,----and from there you do what you wish. I use it for racing sailboats, others for torpedoing freighters, some explore the sea bottom and some just sail or motor around from port to port, some even fly aircraft. It is all contained within your own computer, so contact with other users is essentially the same as in SOL and would probably have about the same server load.
p.s. I am in no way suggesting that VS be used as a replacement for SOL, but instead that SOL can add similar features to the SOL programming to provide a more up-to-date and imaginative racing/sailing experience for the SOL user community

--- Last Edited by Rod at 2011-04-18 16:40:50 ---
If it breaks, it's not strong enough--if it doesn't, it's too heavy.

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