So you guys that are burried in white snow can now still sail during the chilly months! There's VSK4 and some crazy french people made an F18 model for it! (Theres also a tornado model available)
First, you have to buy Virtual Skipper 4 Here ($44 USD, downloaded to your harddrive) .
Then go download the F18 model here (you may have to register)
The sailinganarchy guys usually race the Melges once a week or more online. I was thinking if we could get enough people, we could have our own little virtual regattas.
Alan and I were so close to setting up our own wireless LAN in the truck and playing it all the way to/back from Tradewinds, but it requires an internet connection to register when you install the game.
Tad expect to see me online soon.
I am kinda busy right now, with my business, if not I would do it right now.
Whats your online screen name?
Great idea..Who else is interested? what is a good time/day of the week?
Robi,
I'm Maugan_Ra online I think. We need to setup a time/date to race. I'm thinking Wednesday nights. about 8pm ET and race for however long...I need to figure out the hosting problem though. Tradewinds blew my whole drinking budget for January and Feburary so I should be "in" a lot 😛
Here's something to wet your whistles...
![[Linked Image]](http://www.catsailor.com/bb_files/65193-vsk4-f18.JPG)
Find me some skinning support and I will creat a Team Velocity Sailing skin
Im comming after u mengo!!! 
Give me 30 to 40 more mins.
Does the F18 model have a spi?
I'm buying the full version soon, the demo is awesome.
Especially the ladder-ranking system is a very nice feature.
Racing against 20 boats at a time is really cool.
Maybe we should add some sort of prefix to our nicknames so that we recognize each other?,
also agreeing on a common server password might not be a bad idea.
Can someone post something bad about this game so I don't get addicted to (yet another) video game? 
Please?
Can I get mine without a boom vang?
how about a tiller?
Thats the new mainsheet meng
Please?
578MB @ 55KBps 
WTH! It will take me three hours to download
Wont be until tomorow that I can play it.
Please?
In addition to the CD-sized download (which, if you're a 3D/FPS gamer, isn't much, I've had game patches weight in at 800+mb) VSK4 isn't much more of an improvement over VSK3 in regards to features. The graphics capabilities have been ramped up a little bit, but not much. Surfing on waves is MUCH easier than it was in VSK3. If you don't have broadband, then don't bother getting this game, it wont work online. As it is, the netcode is suspect at best. When someone enters or exits the race while you're racing, the game will freeze for a couple seconds. This is particularly fun when you're in the middle of a gybe or a mark rounding as when it unfreezes, you'll be in the rocks, rounded up, or broached.
However, it is still the best sailing simulator/arcade out there.
And yes, there are spinnakers and yes, they do work almost the same way as in real life. (there aren't any capsizes in VSK)
Spinnaker run.
I was surfing a wave at the time, notice the boat speed. I got her up to 30knots on a HUGE wave once.... I think the model physics needs a bit of tweaking 
![[Linked Image]](http://www.catsailor.com/bb_files/65206-vsk4-f18-2.JPG)
Please?
To play this and enjoy it - you need a pretty healthy computer. I have a Pentium 3GHZ with a decent video card and it does not run terribly well. Mind you - I didn't build this computer for gaming...but still.
OK... I think I have been turned off a little, so I'll let this one go for a while. I have a computer that I think could handle it (plays Rome Total War well, and some FPS games)... but I'll hold off. UNLESS, playing it repeatedly means I will win every race I ever run in real life
I play in 1st person camera mode. Makes it more lifelike... I don't think it would give you all that much "practice" for real life racing. Although the Melges starts with the SA crowd are pretty tight with some virtual gelcoat getting scratched up.
I've got a top-end-gaming rig and I am able to run it on maximum settings.
Please?
To play this and enjoy it - you need a pretty healthy computer. I have a Pentium 3GHZ with a decent video card and it does not run terribly well. Mind you - I didn't build this computer for gaming...but still.
You dont mention what type of video card you have. I have a P IV at 1.7ghz with 512 RDram pc800 along with a ATI Pro 9800 128MB ram. Not top of the line, but I am able to run most of todays games at a desent resolution.
In gamming the cpu doesnt have much to do, its all about the video cards.
Oh and 28 more minutes to do! I would have assumed that if a persona actually purchased this game online they should provide a faster server. This 56kbps doesnt cut it, specially NOT for a almost 600MB file. Not too happy about that
It will have to wait until tomorow for me to install it.
ok, got it, and got the F18 mod..Can someone start the game tomorrow night?
What is the minimum / recomended specs to run this in an OK way?
I have a AMD 2800+, 512mb ram, ATI 320m (ithink) 64mb graphic card.
Would this work??
BR
Patrik
As I am considering a new PC..and thinking of making the big switch (no..not to lead boats...from PC to MAC) Anybody know if I can buy/ play the sim on a MAC?
While I am asking...anybody have any pro's/con's on going MAC?
While I am asking...anybody have any pro's/con's on going MAC?
Oh - Oh. This question is sure to result in a heated debate. . Personally I like PCs, but I really think it comes down to what you're used to and what software you plan on using.
Bill
patrik,
you should be ok, just don't bump up the quality to the highest settings.
Michael, no the game will not run on mac. (Nor will 80% of the good software out there today 
)
Robi and I tried to get it to work yesterday to no avail. I think I simply punched to many holes in my firewall to host. My poor router was feeling the heat and finally locked up on me after we stopped trying.
may be u can get help here
http:/
i will also try to help and set up a server
but i cant promise any thing
more helpful links
http:/
http://www.vsk2.com/
http://www.itbyc.org/
This is from the ITBYC web site - very COOL
The ITBYC (International Team Racing and Beer Drinking Yacht Club) is a virtual yacht club dedicated to, as the name suggests, team racing and beer drinking. We use the game Virtual Skipper 4 (VSK) for our races, which is a very good regatta simulator.
The ITBYC was founded in the year 2000 when a small group of skippers grew sick and tired of skippers in public races, who consistenly ignored the ISAF rules and the basic principle of sailing. We wanted to have quality races when sailing online, and a private club with private races was the solution.
To ensure our member pool consists of a homogenous group of skippers, new members are admited by invitation only. In general, we want the members [1] of this club to:
own a legal copy of Virtual Skipper 4.
have a good sense of humour.
be a beer drinker. We drink beer during our races, if you're not going to join us in a glass you better have a damn good sense of humour 😉
be interested in team racing and tactical sailing
have at least a basic knowledge of the ISAF rules.
be a fair sailor [2].
be able to communicate in english, which is the only language to be used on the water and in the forums.
and last, but not least, be active. No deadwood please.
Being a world class sailor will not earn you any "bonus points". Being a nice person will.
The ITBYC has decided to stay relatively small to simplify race organization and to make sure everybody knows everybody. We try to have 8-16 skippers show up on our regular race dates, which we do! Since we recieve 2-3 applications per month and only admit members at a rate of one every 2-3 months, we usually have a backlog of people waiting to join.
Even though the only way to obtain a membership is through an invitation from the ITBYC, we would like to hear from anyone who thinks they meet our criteria. Please fill out the application form to register as a skipper interested in obtaining a membership. Keep in mind that even if you meet the standards we are looking for, we cannot guarantee that you will be invited to become a member. Because of the limited space in the ITBYC, there will certainly be qualified candidates who will not be invited to join. Please don't take it personally if you never hear from us.
Due to restrictions on number of members in the club, we have introduced a public race night as an alternative to non-members interested in well organized team racing. On these race nights, there is a mix of members and non-members. Please follow this link and read carefully for detailed information about the public race nights, and for a short introduction to team racing in general.
We are also offering the VSK Team Challenge, where you can sign up with a team and challenge any other team in the VSK community. Follow the team challenge item from the menu above, in order to learn more about this service.
Please use the contact form for general inquiries about the ITBYC.
Notes
1. The membership page is password protected to prevent email harvesters from collecting private member information. If you are not a member and you would like to see who we are, go to the ITBYC forum and select the members link from there.
2. Being a fair sailor in VSK requires some experience with the game. This is an online game so being a fair sailor means taking lag into account when manuevering (sudden luffs are a no-no). Also, do not hunt the opponent to give him a pen, but rather use the rules to control/block the opponent. If you have no right of way, respect the rules and keep clear (typically at the startline and at rounding marks). Otherwise you would be "ramming", which is a swearword in the world of fair play.
erez, I went through a setup guide on a couple different websites and know what I have to do, but it just wont work. I have a feeling that my router is acting up after I upgraded the firmware.
Let me give it a try tonight. My userid is Daveman, I will create a game around 9pm. If you can't connect email me at @nacra.ca">dave@nacra.ca to let me know.
we've been using AIM to communicate.
I'm MauganNCSU on there.
where will you be hosting this game?
canada/?????/?????
usa/??????/??????
and yes we have been using aim to communicate
http://www.aim.com
my nick is wildergfx
hosting it in toronto.