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Ships version 1.5 is released, making a great game even better

It’s been nearly two years since Paul van Dinther released the excellent “Ships” game, and it’s recently been updated to be even better.
Check out what’s new in this video:


The new enhancements include:
Sound system
The new “Ships” had a complete overhaul for the sound system. The new sounds are based on his new 3D sound library as demonstrated here.
Autopilot
The control panel now has a new Autopilot switch. Autopilot only engages when the ship is on a steady course (ie not turning) and the rudder is set in neutral. With the autopilot engaged it is possible to simply close the browser and come back to the page a day later to see where your ship ended up. Perfect for those long trans oceanic passages. This only works when Cookies are enabled on the browser.
Multiple ships
You can now operate multiple ships simultaneously. More ships require more PC grunt. Running all the ships may push the limits of what your browser can take.
Ships15.jpg

Pause
The control panel now has a Pause switch. Pause was already accesible by pressing the “P” key but a switch makes it more obvious.
Throttles neutral
Placing your throttles in neutral was nearly impossible to do with the sliders. Now pressing “N” is all it takes to instantly place the throttles in neutral. This is handy when you want to park your ship with autopilot engaged.
Anchor
The anchor was always a gimmick. It only made sound and nothing more. Now you can drop anchor at very low speed (Less than 1 m/s) which causes the speed to hit zero instantly. The anchor will drag when the power lever is at 20% or more. Continuous full power may even break the anchor chain. With the anchor down, the ships position will now be restored when you load the page again at a later date.
Re-positioning of models
The airship “Hindenburg” has been reposition as to be moored at the “Euromast”
Various ships have been more accurately placed due to imagery changes in Google map data.
New Cruise ship
A more detailed cruise ship replaced the ugly model of the Queen Mary 2. The new cruise ship is courtesy of cleancruising.com.au. Paul build this ship as part of a big library of cruise ship models of which a small selection shown in this video.
If you’ve never played it before you should certainly head over to his site and try it out.
As a special bonus, Paul included Tahina (Frank’s sailing catamaran) as one of the “ships” to use. Very fun!
tahina.jpg

Also, be sure to read our post about ways to work around performance issues with the Google Earth Plug-in, as the game requires some hard work from the plug-in due to everything going on with it.
Have fun!

Playing games in Google Earth

Since Google Earth was first released, a variety of people (including myself) have looked for ways to use it for gaming. While it will never be a true gaming platform, there are still some fun choices out there to play with. Here are a few of the best:
• The Flight Simulator: This was first unveiled with Google Earth 4.2, and it’s a built-in feature of Google Earth. You can fly as either an F16 or an SR22, and start from a variety of airports around the world. Press CTRL-ALT-A (or Command+Option+A on Mac) to get started. This video gives a nice overview of the controls:


• GEWAR: One of the first games people thought of when Google Earth came out was “Risk”. Playing that kind of game on the Google Earth platform would be pretty cool. It was something I chewed on for a while, but couldn’t figure out how to make it work. Eventually I discovered a way to create dynamic network links and I created “GE War” in mid-2005. It was mostly a proof-of-concept game, but it became quite popular. I eventually handed the game off to some of the more active players, and they’ve been improving it ever since. You can check it out at GEWar.net, where they have nearly 80,000 registered players.
GEWar

• Ships: Last year, PlanetInAction.com released a neat game simply titled “Ships”. It gave you the ability to take the helm on 3D ships, and was very well done. Here’s a video tour of the game:

• Apollo 11 Moon Lander: The same guys that brought you “Ships” also released the “Apollo 11 Moon Lander” game. It’s a very simple game, but it’s very well executed with 3D models, responsive controls, and audio taken directly from the Apollo missions.

Beyond those, there are a wide variety of other games you can play. A few more:
• GEMMO: A DND-style game.
• Mars Sucks: Blast aliens from your space ship.
• Milktruck Madness: Drive a milktruck around the earth. No scoring or lives (and really, no point to it), but it’s quite fun.
• Football: An American-style football game.
Do you know of any others we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments.

Amazing Lunar Lander Game Using Google Earth

Just a week ago, we had the introduction of the new Moon in Google Earth. A few days later we saw the release of the basic Lunar Rover game. And, now, an awesome lunar lander game by the same guy who brought you the fantastic ships simulator game back in May. Leveraging the tools he had developed for Ships, Paul van Dinther has created a fun lunar lander game which includes sounds and instruments, and lets you test your skills at landing the Apollo 11 Eagle lander. The game, called Apollo 11 Moon Lander , uses real audio clips from the Apollo missions, and has some nice touches when you run out of fuel, or land too hard. Moon Lander really shows off the power of the Google Earth API for games and simulators. Here’s a short video demo showing a successful landing:


Tips: Use Space bar to fire the engine. Use left and right arrow keys to rotate the lander. Land with the arrow inside the green area for your vertical speed. To get some practice, click the Unlimited fuel checkbox below. Advanced users: try using the up and down arrow keys. Also, on my computer, Firefox runs considerably better than Chrome for the GE plugin. Your results may vary.
Google Earth Blog had a hand in testing and providing feature suggestions during Paul’s development of the game. Paul is a talented developer and develops simulation software professionally. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to leave comments here. Paul will be checking for feedback. I think he’s done a great job!

Fantastic Free Google Earth Game: Ships

PlanetInAction.com has released the first version of a fantastic free simulation game which leverages the browser-based Google Earth plugin as the primary graphics engine. The game is called “Ships” and lets you take the helm on ships – barges, cargo ships, container ships, and even a cruise ship (the QM 2). Everything is in 3D, you can drive the ships anywhere in the world, there are sound effects, physical modeling, and realistic visual effects that makes this a wonder to behold. Not only that, but the author – Paul van Dinther – has created some great camera tools to make it easier for people to follow the action and see the sights. This is the best example of the Google Earth API I’ve seen to date.
I was fortunate enough to work with Paul over the past few weeks providing some beta testing before he released Ships. Once you see the application, you’ll understand why I was thrilled to get involved. There are some technical notes on the application below the fold. But, watch this video review to see what I’m excited about:


You can try Ships right now – make sure you read the keyboard shortcuts. Everything else is pretty straightforward, although watching the video above may help you learn some tricks – especially with the cameras.
Ships uses the Google Earth API, Flash 8.0, and Javascript. He also used Soundmanager 2 for sound effects, and SketchUp for the 3D models. Not everything is physically modeled (the anchor doesn’t stop the boat). Paul wasn’t able to implement collision detection (for this release), so the ship doesn’t go “aground” when you hit the shore – maybe it will in the “Pro” version. Paul had this to say about working with the Google Earth graphics engine:

“Google Earth proves extremely capable to handle many overlays with
alpha transparencies which enables developers to create intricate and
graphically rich instruments. Proof of that can be seen in the
Compass/rudder instrument which consists of 5 layers of bitmaps.
(compass rose, rudder dial, rudder position needle, rudder target
needle and instrument bevel). Each layered image uses alpha
transparency to create a sense of depth and shadows. There really is
no limit what can be achieved in the hands of an experienced graphics
artist.”

I’m hoping other developers will take a look at Ships and realize the GE platform has a lot to offer. This game really shows what is possible if you take advantage of what the Google Earth platform can do.
There were a couple of other GE plugins before Ships which gave a glimpse at what was possible. See the Paragliding Simulator and Satellite Debris plugin applications. But, today, my hat is off to Paul van Dinther for his Ships simulator/game. Great work Paul!