This blog is established to learn boating skills and to develop new uses for the innovative new boating software, BoatMaster, V.2.
This can be seen at www.boatmaster.org.
The original version was developed in response to my own boating need. My wife of many years was completely frustrated by my instructions in how to handle our boats at the dock. After years of frustration in many boats....sailboats, outboards, twin and single screw yachts....we still didn't have our own act together. I looked for a teaching simulator, and finding none asked my rocket-scientist-brother-in-law-computer-guru if we couldn't just make our own.
We did, and in the first version I found more fun and interest than I'd ever expected. The thing actually FEELS like a boat being docked....it generates the same feeling of panic when it's crashed as a real one, except that nobody gets hurt, and no insurance claim is filed. I've found it very, very useful, personally, and we've now had users from around the world give us similar feedback.
New uses; new features that our users "wish were there," are all invited to this blog. Please comment on what you see, what you feel about this program, and by all means give us and all the readers, your own "stories."
It'd take me too many years to give you mine, but I never tire of hearing others.
The program allows five demos before purchase, so you can see for yourself what you're getting. It's priced lower than the cost of a single fender, and thus is available to EVERY boater.
Enjoy, and return.
Could an Auto racing type wheel and lever type controls be made to work with the program?
ReplyDeleteThat would add a lot more realism to steerage etc..
Not quite the same when using a mouse.
Early in our experience we found that using the keyboard is easier and quickly becomes more intuitive than a wheel. A joystick or such a device might work, but would increase the cost and complexity. Try it and see if you don't agree. We'll keep these comments in mind for future developments. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt would only run intermittently on my Windows 7 computer; it would lock up and I would play with it and it would start again and then lock up. I used up several of my five trials getting it running again.
ReplyDeleteI also tried it on my Windows XP laptop and it ran consistently but the 3D aspect of the graphics flashes off and on as does the mouse cursor. A minor point but annoying.
Since you only allow five uses anyway, it would be nice if you could save a boat so you wouldn’t have to edit the file each time.
First impressions are that it isn’t that much different from version 1; some nice changes but nothing really major. I agree that it would be nice to have joystick or steering wheel capability. A company has come out with a boating wheel and throttle module that works with some of the full boating sims that are out there. The module is pricey, around $200, but if you already had it for one of the sims, it would be nice to be able to use it for BoatMaster; none of the sims that I have seen has as good as a docking simulator, for them it is just an afterthought.
The problem you're having is that you're using 64 bit OS, and BoatMaster was designed for XP/Vista 32 bit systems. We'll have a SP1 fix for this soon.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we'll add a boat save feature as you suggested, as we've had the same issue ourselves.
It seems that there is interest in a game interface/wheel, and we'll look into that also. can you suggest which one you'd prefer?
As for your other comments, I agree. V.2 BoatMaster remains the same regarding the physics of the boat/water/wind, simply because those are fixed by nature and won't change. We've added some new features that we think enhance the learning and teaching but if you've mastered them in V.1 you'll find little benefit from V.2 beyond the "fun" of it. The other programs you mention are not really simulators, and are not comparable to BoatMaster.
Thanks for your suggestions.
The problem you're having is related to using a 64 bit OS. BoatMaster was designed for HP/Vista and 32 bit systems. We'll have a fix for this in SP1, as well as adding a boat save feature in the demo, as you suggest.
ReplyDeleteIt seems there's interest in a wheel interface, and we'll look into this, too. Which one do you prefer?
As for the remainder of you comments, I agree. BoatMaster's physics haven't changed, simply because they're unchanged in nature. The boat/water/wind issues are the same, and the feel of their interaction can't be different if the original equations are correct, as we believe they are. We've added features in V.2 that make it more lifelike, more realistic, and we think we've enhanced the teaching/learning aspect of the program, but if you've already mastered the physics, there's little more to learn in a later version. As you point out, the other programs are really not comparable as docking simulators.
Thanks for your comments.
Hi Jerry,
ReplyDeleteI posted the second “anonymous” message above; took me a while to figure out how to sign in.
Actually, I am using the 32 bit version of Windows 7, but will wait for the SP1.
Regarding a control unit, this is the future of control units for marine simulators http://www.shipdriver.com/.
But, more realistically for BoatMaster, I think a basic interface to a joystick where forward and back motion of the joystick controls the throttle and side to side the steering would work well. Thruster control would remain on the keyboard. The use of the keyboard for throttle and steering is foreign to how I really operate the boat and two slow as I have to check to make sure I am on the right keys; in the meantime the dock is coming up fast. While a joystick isn’t exactly true to life, it would allow for instant changes in throttle and steerage with one control and one hand while the other hand can activate the thrusters.
Thanks…Harlen W.
We've found that the problems running Boatmaster are related to the NVidia graphics card. Ted's working on a fix for this.
ReplyDelete