As Someone who has used both Virtual Sailor and Vehicle Simulator for the last 10 years to create videos for YouTube, this newest version of Virtual Sailor is good but could be SO much better with just a few minor tweaks.

Firstly The Menu, There is simply no need for any of the extra sounds or 2d ships moving around while on the menu. It just looks tacky. The previous menus in VSF and VS7 are more suited. Wave Displacement is amazing and looks great, however, the performance it takes is unbearable, I get 20 FPS with ships I got 200 FPS within VSF. If the wave displacement was optimized it would be outstanding. The new physics are good no complaints there, ships handle way better.

Overall there is still a lot of work to be done, I love this software and always will, but I believe the price needs to be lower if these issues are not fixed and implemented as it will distract customers away from the product. I have tried contacting the developer about these issues but have sadly had no luck. Hopefully, if he sees this it might help in getting these improvements for a better experience for us all to enjoy

R.I.P Ilan. You will be missed.

This is the perfect game for any maritime enthusiast.
This realistic ship simulator features huge customization and open source content in order to give you the possibility to edit the game and add whatever content you like.
You may find dozens if not hundreds of custom made ship by players in the official developer website or around the web.
As the game is custom friendly you may create your own assets too.
The only downside I have found for now is the very poor optimization, and how certain assets can really be slow to run even if you have a PC with great specs.

Virtual Sailor NG is what i would describe a work of art. This is the game for any Marine enthusiast. With the right graphical mods and ReShade presets you could make this game look stunning. With more and more high-quality Payware vessel and scenery addons being made every day ensures you will never get bored in this Maritime simulator. Want to sail around the entire globe? Why not! You can do it if you want. If you want the best high quality addons visit SIM3D, you won't regret it.
R.I.P. Ilan Papini, the creater of this simulator. Your legacy will live on.

Awesome simulator.

I don't really know a lot about ships and ferries but I'm definitely learning. VSNG caught my eye on Youtube a while ago. I'm glad I finally decided to pick it up.

Again I'm a noob when it comes to piloting ships but I can say I've spent countless hours on flight, train and truck sims and right now this one has my full attention. It's very chill, very immersive with the right add-ons, and satisfying to learn various types of controls for different types of ships or passenger ferries.

Performance wise most modern PCs shouldn't have a problem, and making this sim look great is super easy on the fly with the in-game menus. You can basically tune the weather and water to look however you want it to, and to fit whatever scenery you're in from bright blue tropics to Manhattan harbours. Honestly I've spent a few hours just tweaking the water colour and creating different types of waves with the wind generated system and it all works super well. On a side note I do really like the clouds too, 99% of the time they appear very natural.

There are pre made scenario "missions" but most of your time will likely be spent plotting your own routes and sailings. If you've spent time with flight sims you will be right at home as ship navigation is very similar (obviously). I personally find it easiest to just take from real life when planning ferry passages as this can all be found via google maps.

VSNG includes a handful of different vessels to experiment with, and some of the models are pretty meh. Don't expect photo realism or MSFS quality navigational instruments, most of the included look better in third person. I highly recommend looking into the massive amount of available add ons online. Both free and paid, there is some great stuff out there. You will find everything from small sailboats to massive passenger ferries with fully operational bridges and nicely detailed scenery mapping many different port cities and ocean passages. Navigating a narrow island passage in heavy fog from the bridge of a 200m car ferry is definitely an experience. The developer includes many links for mods on his website:)

If you're a fan of the previous title (vehicle simulator), maritime travel or just simulation titles in general I highly recommend having a second look at this. Time consuming, yes. Worth it, totally.

Definiteley shows it's age and since the creator sadly passed away recently - may he rest in peace - the game probably won't recieve any more updates. Other than that it is very good and the best ship simulator out there imho.

Best case scenario for the community would be if the game would be open-sourced by the creators family.

Great sim for ship and sea enthusiasts! Lot's of available sceneries and ships available at hangsim site.

Best ship simulator ever!

Edit: Gonna admit that the engine used for this simulator is way outdated but, from all simulators I've seen this one is the best!

Virtual Sailor is a game with potential to become a ship version of Flight Simulator which will only need all ports in the world to be added and just like Flight Simulator add two drop down boxes where you can choose for example St Malo Berth 5 to Portsmouth Berth 4 adding a drop down box for creating a direct route choosing Barfleur or to add the Bretagne as you have to place the ship where you think the Ferry Port is resulting in the Ship hanging off a peir sometimes. This could with great rebuild be the new Ship Simulator 2025 or 2026 with a Flight Simulator style world map including all ports just like Flight Simulator has all Airports and a more basic programming to create a Ship path between the Port you are leaving from and the port you are arriving at. I have really enjoyed it so far and look forward to seeing it develop into a great Ship Simulator to make it just like Flight Simulator for Ships.

I'd been a Virtual Sailor fan for years, but moved away from it a while ago. I have to say that VSNG is a big update over previous versions! I am very happy to be 'back' so to speak!