Powerboat VR News

This is just a small update that changes the MFD SatNav Map to a high resolution pre rendered map image.

It's much clearer than the "on the fly" terrain renderer and also much faster for the GPU as it is simply rendering a flat image rather than the actual terrain.

I'll be adding island, Port and other place names to the map together with the cargo accept at each and their various stock levels so you can plan your cargo transportation routes.

I've also fixed a few bugs with the 2D MFD Control Buttons which would highlight incorrectly wwhen you mouse was over an entirely different button!

This update adds mouse control to the game as well as the ability to tweak the non-VR game hud such as resizing elements or hiding them completely.

Should be fairly familiar to anyone who has played other simulation games...

1. Mouse wheel dollies view in/out (3rd person view only)
2. Hold right mouse button and drag to move the camera view around.
3. To enable mouse driving controls click the "Toggle Mouse Controls" button. This will disable most input from game controllers while mouse controls are active.
4. Use the buttons and sliders to control engine power, steering etc. Bow thrusters only work for ships that have them (currently the Jupiter and T800).
5. MFD can also be controlled via the mouse using the new on screen controls.

Other updates...

1. Bow thrusters now emit a suitable wake/foam when in use.
2. Fixed a lot of errors with engine pivot placements which should mean slightly smoother turning.
3. Adjusted drag effects when hitting the water on most of the boats.
4. Vortex now has an aerodynamic effect when will help keep it pointing in the right direction on large jumps. I've also updated the Vortex's physics so it shouldn't bounce out of the water as much now when impacting waves.

Today's update adds another new boat to the game - the Jupiter 130XS which is a 130ft luxury power yacht. It is fully explorable in VR too. Currently it can only be piloted from the fly bridge, but I will be adding internal controls as well.

You can now also earn money from transporting either passengers or cargo around the map. Most ports accept passengers (either standard or VIPs) so they are a good way of making some easy money.

Payment for cargo/passengers is calculated on a base price per unit multiplied by distanced travelled in kilometres. So if you carry 10 VIPs and deliver them 15km away you will be paid £45 x 10 x 15 = £6,750

This calculation will become slightly more complicated as the "prestige" value of the boat used plus your own personal "reputation" value will also be taken into account. This will make doing passenger runs in exotic powerboats boats feasible as their "prestige" value will be a lot higher than other boats offsetting their smaller seating capacities.

Reputation & Prestige will also come into play once boats can sustain damage/flooding and become sinkable. Losing cargo or passengers will be a bad thing and will reduce your reputation while not maintaining your boat will reduce its prestige value with both values effecting future earnings.

Currently there isn't anything to spend your money on, but the amount is saved so earn your millions now before you have to buy your boats!

The transportation network will be expanded over the next few weeks.

Other updates...

1. Modifications to all boat physics should make them a little (or a lot!) less stable on the waves.
2. Steering physics have also be tweaked so the forces applied are not instantaneous.
3. Modified the cargo MFD display to show where an item was collected from, how far it has travelled and how much you will make upon transporting it.
4. Moved the Ballast controls to the Boat Settings MFD page.
5. Fixed tree occlusion culling for both standard and VR modes so you should see a bit of a performance increase.
6. Prebaked the ocean masks around Long Island to improve loading speeds.
7. Added a new improved wake system to the Jupiter

Next week will be mostly about populating Long Island, adding extra ports to build up the cargo network and tidying up any left overs such as making light houses work etc.

I'm also hoping that I'll be happy enough with everything to push the BETA into the live build and update the store page to reflect how far this game has come on since it was launched.

This update adds Long Island together with Manhattan Island to the game map.

The island is not fully finished yet, but Manhattan and South Brooklyn Docks are modelled. There are also some other smaller islands including Governor's Island, Roosevelt Island and Mill Rock Park.

I've moved your starting location to the Brooklyn Docks so you have easy access to the new scenery.

If you want to get back to Menorca you can use the boat reset function which should drop by back at Fornells. However, if you drive directly south from Brooklyn you should hit Menorca within a few minutes (in the Vortex at least!).

Weather conditions are perfect for a quick sprint across the ocean!

Other Updates...

1. Optimised all dock assets.

Next stage will be to get some loading/unloading areas into Brooklyn Docks so that you can at least start to transport people between the two islands.

Transporting people will be slightly different to standard goods as there will be 3 different bonus multipliers in effect...

1. Distance transported - further is always better!
2. Time taken - faster is always better so racing powerboats will do well here even if they can't carry many people.
3. Boat prestige - smarter, more expensive boats will excel here such as the new Luxury Motor Yacht coming soon :)

In addition to this there will be 2 classes of passengers - Standard and V.I.P.s

Not all boats will be able to transport V.I.P.s as it will depend on how fancy they are while others will be able to carry both classes in varying amounts.

Hopefully this should all be implemented in next weeks update...

Even though the title of this game is Powerboat VR, there was actually only one real offshore powerboat in the game - the Typhoon.

This update goes a little way to balance this by adding an new Powerboat - the Vortex V390.

It is a V shaped powerboat so provides a totally different experience to the Typhoon.

Other updates...

1. Changed the font on the main menu
2. Split the "Swap Boat" pages into 3 sections to cover Pleasure Boats, Offshore Powerboats & Commercial Boats.
3. Added the Vortex to the boat swap pages
4. Updated the Vortex's "Rooster Tail" generator and the other wake/splash generators to use a different particle system. I think it looks a bit better.

Next update will add a larger boat into the Pleasure Boat category for transporting people around the different islands and hopefully add some new races around Menorca.

Races will initially be more suited to the Offshore Powerboats as they will be longer courses, but I will add some shorter courses for the likes of the Fury Extreme to whip round!

The next phase of development will be to add a new island (probably either Long Island or Manhattan) so that I can setup some longer logistic routes. I've redone the "Road Map" post in the forum so you can see an approximate list of things I will be adding.

Once this is in place I will be pushing the RealWorld Beta "out the door" and into the official build.