PBVR Quick Start Guide

This is a quick guide to getting new captains up to speed on how to use the new cargo management pages in Powerboat VR.

STARTING A NEW GAME

When you first start Powerboat VR (PBVR) you will 1st see a screen telling you about any recent updates. Click the "OK" button to progress.

The next screen should look like this...

Select "NEW GAME"

You will now see this screen...

You can opt for either an Easy, Medium, Hard or Rags 2 Riches start. However, for this tutorial we will start a "FREE PLAY" game so that we begin with all boats unlocked.

Click "FREE PLAY" & the game will start placing you in the Bluefin 24 starting boat.

SWAPPING TO A NEW BOAT

For this tutorial we want to swap to the Flounder 9-LH cargo ship.

To do this bring up the Main Menu by pressing "M" or "ESC" and you should see the following screen...

Click the "COMPANY INFO" button and you will see you Company Information menu screen...

Now click the "Your Boats" button to access the boats that you currently own...

You may need to scroll to the second page using the "NEXT PAGE" button for the Flounder to show up. Once it does click on it to get to the Boat Deployment page...

Now click on the "SWAP TO THIS BOAT BUTTON" and you be moved into the Flounder.

You can now press "M" or "ESC" to exit out of the menu and you should find yourself aboard the Flounder.

SELECTING JOBS

Now we need to choose some jobs to complete...

Open up the Main Menu with "M" or "ESC". It should already be on your Company Information so you can click on the "JOB BOARD" button

The Job Board is spit in to 4 sections...

• Quick Jobs - these are single jobs where you will be provided a suitable boat to complete the job with. They are simple jobs that can be completed in a single journey.
  
• Freight Market - these jobs deal with transporting goods. You will need to complete the job using a boat that you own. They pay out much more than Quick Jobs.
  
• Ferry Market - these jobs deal with transporting people & vehicles. You will need to complete the job using a boat that you own. They pay out much more than Quick Jobs.
  
• Job & Shipmanagement - This is where you manage you jobs and load cargo onto your ship.

For this example please click on the "FREIGHT MARKET" button

FREIGHT and FERRY markets are spit into 3 sections

• Small Jobs - these are best completed in small but fast boats. They benefit from time delivery bonuses.
  
• Medium Jobs - General jobs suitable for any boat. Smaller boats may need to make multiple trips to complete the job. Less emphasis on time bonuses but more bonus for completing 100% of the job
  
• Bulk Jobs - Only the biggest boats can finish these jobs in one go. Big emphasis on completing 100% of the job

For this example please click on the "SMALL CARGO" button

You will now be able to see a list of jobs available at your current port. Each job is different and will have different time bonuses and 100% completion bonuses . You can click on the "VIEW" button to see a simple route showing you the destination island.

You can have up to 5 different jobs in progress at any one time.
Pay attention to each jobs destination. Clever captains will choose jobs going to the same place so they can complete multiple jobs in a single trip.

Choose 2 or 3 suitable jobs by clicking the "ACCEPT BUTTON". Once you are happy now click the "VIEW CURRENT JOBS" button.

LOADING CARGO & MANAGING JOBS

You should now be on the "YOUR ACCEPTED JOBS" page.

This screen is split into 2 main sections. On the right hand side you will see a list of your currently active jobs.

On the left hand side you will see the cargo management screen showing you the available bays and compartments available on your current ship.

To load cargo simply click the "LOAD BAY 1", "LOAD BAY 2", "LOAD BAY 3" or "LOAD BAY 4" buttons underneath each job. You will see the cargo appear in the selected bay.

Keep loading cargo until the bay is full or you have loaded all the cargo available for each job.

It is possible to load more than one cargo type into a single bay as long as it has unused compartments. The number of compartments in a bay differs between bays and ships but generally the larger the bay the more compartments it has.

The cargo load system will automatically assign cargo into suitable bays.

If you wish to unload cargo from a bay you can click the ">" button next to the compartment it is loaded in.

The amount of cargo, how much you have collected and how much you have delivered is tracked next to each job in the list. Ideally you want to aim to have 100% for each.

Underneath the cargo bay display you will see buttons for loading and unload fuel and ballast. You will also see calculations for the weight of the boat including a final Dead Weight Total (DWT).

Pay careful attention to your DWT amount. 100% DWT is the recommended maximum load but it is possible to exceed this if you wish. Just remember that the heavier your ship is the lower it will sit in the water making it more susceptible to bad weather.

When you are happy you've loaded enough cargo you can close the menu by pressing "M" or "ESC".

NAVIGATING TO ISLANDS

Your primary navigation aid your ships MFD screen. This computer can by cycled through various different modes...

SAT NAV

The SATNAV mode will show your position as well as the position of islands, ports and other points of interest such as buoys. The SatNav also gives an indication of water depth around your boat.

You can zoom in and out using the "+" and "-" buttons on the MFD

RADAR

RADAR mode shows and objects around your boat such as land, rocks, buoys and boats.

Stationary objects appear yellow, while moving objects appear green. Moving objects will also leave a trail giving an indication of their direction and speed (faster objects leave a longer trail).

RADAR is particularly useful at night as it will see objects that perhaps you cannot.

Be aware that the RADAR takes time to sweep around your ship.

You can zoom in and out using the "+" & "-" buttons plus you can switch between "NORTH UP" and "HEAD UP" modes. NORTH UP means that the top of the screen always points to North. While "HEAD UP" means up where the boat is currently pointing.

WEATHER REPORT

The Weather Report screen shows you the current weather and sea conditions as well as the upcoming weather and sea conditions.

Some weather effects are not yet simulated but sea conditions are.

FUEL & ENGINE PERFORMANCE

The Fuel & Engine Performance screen shows you how much fuel you are currently using to maintain your current speed. Running at "Flank/Speed" speed uses much more fuel than "Cruising" speed which is usually around 3/4 speed.

The most efficient speed will vary between boats and external factors such as sea conditions will also impact performance.

BOAT SETUP

It is possible to tweak the setup of your boat by adding/removing or positioning ballast.

Ballast adds extra weight to your ship in the form of sea water. It is most commonly used to stabilise empty ships but can also be used to adjust handling & planing characteristics of speedboats.

UNLOADING CARGO & COMPLETING A JOB

Once you have reached your destination port you will want to unload your cargo.

Open the Main Menu by pressing "M" or "ESC" and navigate to the "JOB & CARGO MANAGEMENT" screen.

When you are in the destination port's cargo loading area the "LOAD BAY" buttons will change into a single large "DELIVER ALL CARGO FOR THIS JOB" button.

Click this button to unload all the cargo you are carry for that job. You can also unload the cargo manually by pressing the ">" button next to each compartment if you wish.

The amount you have delivered will be shown underneath each job.

You should aim to delivery 100% of the cargo for a job so that you can receive the 100% completion bonus.

Once you have unloaded all your cargo you can click the "COMPLETE" button next to it to see a break down of how much you will earn.

If you have not completed the job completely you can click the "BACK" button to continue transporting cargo. However, you can also choose to end a job at any time and receive a "Pro Rata" payment for you amount you have delivered.

If you are happy with the payment amount click "ACCEPT PAYMENT".

You will now see you bank balance with the new deposit at the top...

Congratulations! You have completed your 1st job and you are now ready to run your own shipping company!

[GreyWolfe]

Thanks Jimmy this really helped.

[Jimmy Arcade]

I will keep this updated as best I can