Icrontic gives Paradox a High Five for Ship Simulator Extremes
primesuspect
Beepin n' BoopinDetroit, MI Icrontian
Today, we'd like to give Paradox a high-five for their upcoming sim game Ship Simulator Extremes.
As we mentioned last week, Ship Simulator Extremes is the latest iteration of their boat sim software. There are several improvements over their last version, mostly related to variety of missions, more licensed boats and extreme weather effects.
Originally, when we contacted Paradox about this sponsorship, they felt that the game may be too "niche" for our audience, but I told them I want to prove them wrong. I think our gaming audience is discerning and interested in things other than standard gaming fare.
So, I invite you guys to talk to Paradox; if you have any questions, comments, or opinions to share about games like Ship Simulator Extremes, this is the place for it.
Be sure to thank Paradox for sponsoring the discussion for the next two days, as well. No ads on the site thanks to them!
One way to thank Paradox is to check out their <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Paradox Interactive">Steam 50% off sale</a> going on right now.
As we mentioned last week, Ship Simulator Extremes is the latest iteration of their boat sim software. There are several improvements over their last version, mostly related to variety of missions, more licensed boats and extreme weather effects.
Originally, when we contacted Paradox about this sponsorship, they felt that the game may be too "niche" for our audience, but I told them I want to prove them wrong. I think our gaming audience is discerning and interested in things other than standard gaming fare.
So, I invite you guys to talk to Paradox; if you have any questions, comments, or opinions to share about games like Ship Simulator Extremes, this is the place for it.
Be sure to thank Paradox for sponsoring the discussion for the next two days, as well. No ads on the site thanks to them!
One way to thank Paradox is to check out their <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Paradox Interactive">Steam 50% off sale</a> going on right now.
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I've never played any kind of simulator game, but I'd be willing to get it a try. I'd have to get a nautical themed pashmina afghan first though, or I'd just feel like a big poser.
Thanks again Paradox!
My name is Shams Jorjani and I work in the publishing branch of Paradox (I mostly do project management stuff but also some marketing)
While this technically makes me an evil publisher we often say that we're the nicest of all the evil publishers
We (and myself personally) are excited to jump in bed with Icrontic. Some of you might know this already but PDX prides itself at having close relationship with the gamers. We have pretty big forum 215k users and all our devs post regularly (about 5 posts each a day) and actively talk with the community as much as possible.
Doing this feels like natural step as we've always tried to have a bigger presence outside the PDX forums.
I just want to give you a brief rundown of PDX before I talk some about Ship Sim and get to know you.
PDX started out as a development studio making hardcore PC strategy games (Europa universalis) over the years we've grown into a global publisher and we've released games such as Mount & Blade, Majesty 2 and Martians vs Stalin (not our finest moment perhaps...but most fun). We recently released our first console game; Lead & Gold: Gangs of the Wild West on the Playstation Network and it only spells the beginning of what Paradox is about to do the next few years.
But PC games is where we began, what we know best and where our heart is. What's great about PC gaming is that you can find a lot of cool titles that you find anywhere else. Being a successful mid sized publisher we can pursue a path with a lot of those niche titles.
One example is Ship Simulator Extremes. I myself am no great sim fan nor am I a sailor of any merit but Ship Sim Extremes has impressed me over the months I've been involved in the development.
So why Ship Sim? Why not really, we saw that almost nobody else was doing anything in the genre (except for Forklift Simulator perhaps), there were lots of fans and a great studio like V-step with the capacity to make a cool sim game.
So what we have now (or wil have shortly if the gods are willing) is a gorgeous, highly realistic Ship Simulator game which lets you sail just about any craft on any kind of sea.
I'm not going to go on too much now and instead invite you guys to ask questions (about ship sim, how we work, PDX in general or anything else pertaining to the gaming industry) I promise to answer as truthfully as possible*)
Oh, finally I want to plug PDX a little more. We're currently having our annual ginormous summer sale, where almost everything in our catalog is 50% off. This includes new titles such as Mount & Blade: Warband and Lead and Gold. So check out your favorite digital distributor for some sweet deals.
/Shams
* Truthful in the evil publisher sense of the word.
Also, I want to take a moment to say thank you to Paradox for being involved outside your own forums.
*fires up Steam*
1. Will the ships in Ship Simulator Extremes (SSE from now on) have more interiors? I realize this is hard to do for most of the larger ships, but I think being able to walk around, not only on the deck, but in sleeping/living quarters, galley, holds, etc, will add to the realism and immersion of the game.
2. I must admit that sometimes, although cruel, I enjoy trying to sink my vessel. I guess it's not something you deem very important, but will sinking animations be better? I'd certainly like to see the launching of lifeboats/rafts, hull maybe braking, listing of vessel, debris and oil on the surface, etc.
3. How about a crew? What's really been bugging me about the previous games is that I'm all alone on a supertanker in the middle of the ocean. I'd like to have my second mate on the bridge with me, maybe someone is swabbing the deck, deckhands throwing lines when mooring, tourists on a cruise ship, just a little more LIFE, in general. This also goes back to the previous questing about sinking. Saving the crew would be a nice addition, instead of just going down with the ship.
4. With this extreme new weather, what effect will it have on my ship? Will I be able to capsize? Will I take damage in weather? Could you explain a little more about the new weather system?
5. User/fan modding. The adding and modification of vessels have been strongly prohibited by the developers, except the changing of the colors on the Patrol Boat. You have indeed improved this by launching improvements, and some new vessels through the shipyard, but I'd like to see some more. In my experience user mods will improve the longevity of a game tremendously. See what user modifications have done for Microsoft's Flight Simulator. There are hundreds of sites dedicated to giving users new content in the form of new aircrafts, landscapes, airports and even ships. If we get a modding community two percent as large as FS, I'd be happy.
Reading over this post I realize it's more about what I want in the game, rather than questions about what's really in the game. I really enjoy the Ship Simulator series, and I can't wait 'till Extremes comes out!
I also enjoy some of the other games in your inventory, such as Mount&Blade (been playing since v. 0.601 I think) and And Hearts of Iron. Keep up the good work!
I see that there are sailboats which would be my main reason for picking this game up.
How detailed are the sailing controls? Can i sail across the atlantic in real time or what is the longest continuous body of water in the game? Is weather dynamic and changing with season?
zanthian:
the idea is to have dozens and dozens of different boats. You can see a few of them on the Gametrailers vids:
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2010-ship-simulator/700648
Jokke:
1: They will have interiors in the form of bridges. As I understand it you'll be able to do some upper deck exploration-
2: I actually spoke to the devs about it and it's one of those things that takes a huge amount of work to implement but is a miniscule part of the game. In the end it's more about sailing than sinking.
3: Excellent question and suggestion, again it's very hard to implement but I and the developers know it's on everybodies wishlish.
4: The weather will effect your ship in lots of waves, maneouvering is harder and it impacts speed and can definitely lead to disastrous results.
5: I'm unsure, sending an email to the devs right.....now.
MAGIC: Nice to be here.
Sailing will absolutely be possible in real time if you want. Weather is also changed dynamically, but I'm unsure about the exact sailing mechanics (wind and sails) there are numerous boats with sails but they are also equipped with engines, which's their main mode of propulsion.
Cheers,
Shams
Paradox... I've been a fan of Sims in general. Some of my past experiences tried to make both an accurate sim AND accurate game. THAT is tough and a failure too often. If the Ship Sim Extremes starts with an accurate Sim and adds on with more features to make it more appealing to more folks, you will have a great product.
f*** land I'm on a boat?
T-pain was approached but he declined to participate as a he's more of a woodcutter simulator guy. Go figure.
Answers to previous questions:
Unfortunately you won't be able to mod the vessels themselves. The reason for this is that creating a vessel takes much more than just modeling one and dropping into the game. They require support on the code level. The devs hope to add a mission editor down the line if fans want it.
MAGIC:
No sailing, that is a completely different ballpark (would need entirely need physics model). Only motorized vessels (although some have sails)
/s
You will see that gaming at Icrontic is a very community oriented thing. Frankly games that I would not have thought to touch I have played and enjoyed because others in the community do so. No doubt I'll be playing Lead and Gold, and I am intrigued to try the ship simulator.
Just speaking for myself, I did would not be playing TF2, Shattered Horizon, The Sabatour, Plants vs. Zombies amongst other titles if it was not for Icrontic's coverage.
The game journalists at Icrontic have a knack for finding those diamonds in the rough before anybody else.
I've also played Hearts of Iron 3 and Majesty 1 and 2 quite extensively. You guys really do strategy games well and I hope you guys stay on that same path!
Finding diamonds in the rough is kinda of our thing too. Mount & Blade is a pretty good example. Most reviews started out with "this looks like ****, but it's the best game you'll play this year". Makes us really excited about future stuff with mount & blade.
The challenge is trying to polish that diamond like crazy while balancing the release date.
As you can see in the Ship Sim trailers the developers have just poured love over the ships and making the water feel and look realistic.
Aaah....talking about realistic water almost feels like it's 2004 again
We're aiming to release a new trailer for Gamescom that'll show off more Gameplay. In other words it'll be a "regular" trailer compared to the one we just did...which was a gamble for us.
How do you, pardon the pun, make a splash with those people who don't get turned on by the words "ship" and "simulator". We thought that besides a pretty blonde making fun of ourselves/the game could work.
Did it work?
/s