Virtual Skipper (PC)

[Iron Draggon]

Does anyone else here have any game in this series? I have VSK1, VSK2, VSK3, & VSK4. Would be cool if we could get a DP racing league together for some team racing or even some match races. I want to get into playing these online.

BTW, if you're into racing games, and you're looking for something different, this is a great series to get into. It's much slower paced than traditional racing games, but it's no less fun and exciting. Lots of strategy involved, and no prior knowledge of sailing is required. (But it does help!)

[jcalder8]

I've never heard of this game before but after hearing about it I'm going to have to check it out. It looks like it would be a lot of fun. My wife has already said that its something she'd like to play and she hardly ever plays games.
Has 4 come out? I did some searching and some sites said it was out while others said it wouldn't but out till the end of the year.

[Iron Draggon]

www.virtualskipper.com

VSK1 was released by Ubisoft in the US, and you can still find it on ebay. VSK2 was never released in the US, and it shows up on ebay from time to time, but is harder to find. VSK3 was released by Enlight in the US, and it can still be found on ebay along with the international version. VSK4 hasn't been released in the US yet, and I don't know who the publisher will be for the US, but it's supposed to come out later this year. You can get the international version on ebay though, or get it direct from the European publisher.

I have the US version of VSK1, and I have the international versions of VSK2, VSK3, & VSK4. No problems ordering any of the latter direct from the European publisher, but it is a little expensive to do so, about $50 total for each one.

There are alot of female skippers into this series. Maybe even more than male skippers. It is a very relaxed sort of racing game, and of course if you want to, you can just sail around. VSK3 introduced the ability to add custom skins to your boats and crew, and VSK4 introduced the ability to add custom boat models as well, so it's becoming more and more MOD-friendly too. And all but VSK1 include a course editor as well, so you can create your own race environments and set up your own race parameters also.

It's becoming a very immersive series. Of course it always has been very immersive, but it's still becoming even more so. I got into it on a whim, with very little prior knowledge of real sailing, and I became instantly hooked. I think it has alot of potential to attract a wider audience, but so far it's proved to be mostly a niche market, which is a real shame. But I suspect that's probably only because most potential players assume that you have to know real sailing to be any good at it, which isn't true at all. Each game includes some tutorial scenarios to help you learn all the basics. And it isn't really hard to learn at all. Even a child could learn to sail pretty well in this game. So it's very easy to learn it.

[Iron Draggon]

If anyone is interested, there's a new US based racing club for the Virtual Skipper series now! Finally, after several years of nothing but foreign based clubs for this series, US players are banding together and forming a club of their own! It's still open to foreign members as well, but at last we can race at times that are the most convenient for us!

http://www.vsk-usa.com/

Hope to see you there!