- Stern drives are here! - 28 April 2017
A new meaty, snapping, snarling V8 sound accompanies today's release of the long awaited stern drives available for the vee hulls. Stern drive engine options include a wide variety of power levels ranging from 130 to a whopping 1,750 horsepower which is proving enough to run more than 240 mph in the shootouts! How to run the new stern drives: A pair of checkboxes now appears in the top of the engine panel in the design screen for switching between outboards and stern drives. You can load your previously saved vee hulls and switch them between stern drive and outboard quickly this way for some back to back comparisons or designing a stern drive using one of your outboard hulls as a starting point. Be careful though (or prepare for a good laugh at first), stern drive setups can be a lot heavier and more powerful than outboards, so a hull designed originally around an outboard won't work w…
- Stern drives are here! - 28 April 2017
A new meaty, snapping, snarling V8 sound accompanies today's release of the long awaited stern drives available for the vee hulls. Stern drive engine options include a wide variety of power levels ranging from 130 to a whopping 1,750 horsepower which is proving enough to run more than 240 mph in the shootouts! How to run the new stern drives: A pair of checkboxes now appears in the top of the engine panel in the design screen for switching between outboards and stern drives. You can load your previously saved vee hulls and switch them between stern drive and outboard quickly this way for some back to back comparisons or designing a stern drive using one of your outboard hulls as a starting point. Be careful though (or prepare for a good laugh at first), stern drive setups can be a lot heavier and more powerful than outboards, so a hull designed originally around an outboard won't work w…
- Multithreaded rendering released - 12 March 2017
-This new version upgrades from Unity 5.5.1 to the latest 5.5.2 and introduces multithreaded rendering for faster performance (higher frame rates) on multi-core CPUs. -The patch before this had a second camera in the scene which was intended for the Vive. The camera was supposed to be destroyed if you were not running VR, but mistakenly was left in the scene. This too was slowing down rendering performance when VR was not being used. This has been fixed, so performance might be significantly improved between this and the new multithreaded rendering. -The foam cutting across the water when you first get to or reset a water scene has been fixed.
- Multithreaded rendering released - 12 March 2017
-This new version upgrades from Unity 5.5.1 to the latest 5.5.2 and introduces multithreaded rendering for faster performance (higher frame rates) on multi-core CPUs. -The patch before this had a second camera in the scene which was intended for the Vive. The camera was supposed to be destroyed if you were not running VR, but mistakenly was left in the scene. This too was slowing down rendering performance when VR was not being used. This has been fixed, so performance might be significantly improved between this and the new multithreaded rendering. -The foam cutting across the water when you first get to or reset a water scene has been fixed.
- HTC Vive support is here! - 24 February 2017
HTC Vive virtual reality headsets are now supported in addition to the Oculus Rift. A recent update replaced the old vee hull system with a brand new one created from scratch using the new mesh generation system developed and used originally with the tunnel boats. The old, ugly, '80s-'90's low poly look to the vees is gone. The meshes are now much higher resolution and the paint is rendered with the new approach adopted originally for the tunnels which gives a shinier, smoother, sleeker appearance to the hulls. Seven example vee hulls are included that are set up to be easy to drive with good to excellent turning response and very little chine walk. After you take the default vee for a spin, be sure to load the other examples as starting points to see what's possible to do. Be sure to save your own versions by saving with a new file name or the system might overwrite your file changes t…
- HTC Vive support is here! - 24 February 2017
HTC Vive virtual reality headsets are now supported in addition to the Oculus Rift. A recent update replaced the old vee hull system with a brand new one created from scratch using the new mesh generation system developed and used originally with the tunnel boats. The old, ugly, '80s-'90's low poly look to the vees is gone. The meshes are now much higher resolution and the paint is rendered with the new approach adopted originally for the tunnels which gives a shinier, smoother, sleeker appearance to the hulls. Seven example vee hulls are included that are set up to be easy to drive with good to excellent turning response and very little chine walk. After you take the default vee for a spin, be sure to load the other examples as starting points to see what's possible to do. Be sure to save your own versions by saving with a new file name or the system might overwrite your file changes t…
- New Patch : Faster rendering and more - 22 February 2017
Design it, Drive it : Speedboats has been update from Unity 5.3 to 5.5 with this patch, paving the way for Vive support to be added soon. While updating, it was noticed that the water reflections system was doing work on more cameras than it should have been. This has had a significant impact on rendering performance all along. This patch removes the extra computations so now the water reflection/refraction rendering effects are only applied to one camera. This has a couple of effects: The inside of the windshield on the vee is now more reflective. In fact it was reflecting the bright floor so much that it almost looked like the windshield was hazy or dirty. The floor has been darkened which cancels out some of this, leaving the windshield looking pretty clean and clear. The other effect of this patch is a significant increase in frame rate. Stuttering in the display (on the development…
- New Patch : Faster rendering and more - 22 February 2017
Design it, Drive it : Speedboats has been update from Unity 5.3 to 5.5 with this patch, paving the way for Vive support to be added soon. While updating, it was noticed that the water reflections system was doing work on more cameras than it should have been. This has had a significant impact on rendering performance all along. This patch removes the extra computations so now the water reflection/refraction rendering effects are only applied to one camera. This has a couple of effects: The inside of the windshield on the vee is now more reflective. In fact it was reflecting the bright floor so much that it almost looked like the windshield was hazy or dirty. The floor has been darkened which cancels out some of this, leaving the windshield looking pretty clean and clear. The other effect of this patch is a significant increase in frame rate. Stuttering in the display (on the development…
- Vee hull remake has been released! - 19 February 2017
Out with the old, in with the new. After a few months of work, the vee hull remake has been released! This update replaces the old vee hull system with a brand new one created from scratch using the new mesh generation system developed and used originally with the tunnel boats. The old, ugly, '80s-'90's low poly look to the vees is gone. The meshes are now much higher resolution and the paint is rendered with the new approach adopted originally for the tunnels which gives a shinier, smoother, sleeker appearance to the hulls. Seven example vee hulls are included that are set up to be easy to drive with good to excellent turning response and very little chine walk. After you take the default vee for a spin, be sure to load the other examples as starting points to see what's possible to do. Be sure to save your own versions by saving with a new file name or the system might overwrite your…
- Vee hull remake has been released! - 19 February 2017
Out with the old, in with the new. After a few months of work, the vee hull remake has been released! This update replaces the old vee hull system with a brand new one created from scratch using the new mesh generation system developed and used originally with the tunnel boats. The old, ugly, '80s-'90's low poly look to the vees is gone. The meshes are now much higher resolution and the paint is rendered with the new approach adopted originally for the tunnels which gives a shinier, smoother, sleeker appearance to the hulls. Seven example vee hulls are included that are set up to be easy to drive with good to excellent turning response and very little chine walk. After you take the default vee for a spin, be sure to load the other examples as starting points to see what's possible to do. Be sure to save your own versions by saving with a new file name or the system might overwrite your…
- New Course Available: Abu - 24 November 2016
Specifically designed for tunnels: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNPPl46aY-M&feature=youtu.be
- New Course Available: Abu - 24 November 2016
Specifically designed for tunnels: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNPPl46aY-M&feature=youtu.be
- New Patch : Leaderboards and more - 24 November 2016
Couple fixes and minor changes: -Top speed shootout leaderboard was showing top 10 from Steam and top 10 from non-Steam combined into one list by mistake. This left out everyone on Steam who was below #10. If it looked like your results should put you somewhere in slots #11-#20 but it didn't show up, this should be fixed now and any run you made before this that was missing should show up now. Related note: The first time you run the top speed shootout it can sometimes show two leaderboards overlaid on top of each other, one from Steam and the other from the old website version that had its own leaderboard system. Haven't figured that one out yet, but if you see both, it'll most likely only be on the first run after starting the simulator. After that it should display correctly. -Vee bottom pad height can now be changed in smaller increments (1/8 inch instead of 1/4). Extra digit added…
- New Patch : Leaderboards and more - 24 November 2016
Couple fixes and minor changes: -Top speed shootout leaderboard was showing top 10 from Steam and top 10 from non-Steam combined into one list by mistake. This left out everyone on Steam who was below #10. If it looked like your results should put you somewhere in slots #11-#20 but it didn't show up, this should be fixed now and any run you made before this that was missing should show up now. Related note: The first time you run the top speed shootout it can sometimes show two leaderboards overlaid on top of each other, one from Steam and the other from the old website version that had its own leaderboard system. Haven't figured that one out yet, but if you see both, it'll most likely only be on the first run after starting the simulator. After that it should display correctly. -Vee bottom pad height can now be changed in smaller increments (1/8 inch instead of 1/4). Extra digit added…
- New Patch: Bug fixes! - 20 November 2016
A couple of bugs were found crawling around in the floor of the boats and have been exterminated. Main fixes of interest: -The simulator was crashing on startup for a very small percentage of people running Windows 10 - 64. This has been fixed, so if you couldn't run it before, try it again now. -The buttons in the ESC menu when driving the tunnelboat often didn't work at the end of a run, especially if the ESC key was pressed while the boat was rotating or accelerating quickly. This too has been fixed. -The tunnel boat's windshield mesh in the design screen had some gaps between it and the driver's cell. This has been fixed too.
- New Patch: Bug fixes! - 20 November 2016
A couple of bugs were found crawling around in the floor of the boats and have been exterminated. Main fixes of interest: -The simulator was crashing on startup for a very small percentage of people running Windows 10 - 64. This has been fixed, so if you couldn't run it before, try it again now. -The buttons in the ESC menu when driving the tunnelboat often didn't work at the end of a run, especially if the ESC key was pressed while the boat was rotating or accelerating quickly. This too has been fixed. -The tunnel boat's windshield mesh in the design screen had some gaps between it and the driver's cell. This has been fixed too.
- Tunnel boats are here! - 18 November 2016
Formula style tunnel boats have been released and are now included for free in Design it, Drive it : Speedboats! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c61WcnVwec In the usual spirit of Design it, Drive it : Speedboats, you're free to modify the new tunnel boat as you see fit in much the same way you've been able to do with the vee bottom hulls. Speaking of vee bottom hulls, after driver safety concerns were raised by many players, the driver has received a helmet too. This along with the new engine model gives the vee bottoms a more racey look that we hope you'll like! Special thanks go to US Formula 1 boat owner and driver Morgan Williams of Bluewater Racing F1 for providing a new engine, new helmet, and billboard 3D models as well as providing constant feedback on the performance and feel of the new default tunnel boat. You can check him out on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/bluewa…
- Tunnel boats are here! - 18 November 2016
Formula style tunnel boats have been released and are now included for free in Design it, Drive it : Speedboats! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c61WcnVwec In the usual spirit of Design it, Drive it : Speedboats, you're free to modify the new tunnel boat as you see fit in much the same way you've been able to do with the vee bottom hulls. Speaking of vee bottom hulls, after driver safety concerns were raised by many players, the driver has received a helmet too. This along with the new engine model gives the vee bottoms a more racey look that we hope you'll like! Special thanks go to US Formula 1 boat owner and driver Morgan Williams of Bluewater Racing F1 for providing a new engine, new helmet, and billboard 3D models as well as providing constant feedback on the performance and feel of the new default tunnel boat. You can check him out on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/bluewa…
- Boat paint patch - Metallic - 10 August 2016
The boat paints have all been updated to look more like metallic paint which hopefully helps them look less bland, especially on constant color paint jobs without any patterns. Those have all looked pretty plain and boring until now, this should hopefully improve the boat visuals a little bit. This new paint is automatically applied to all paint patterns, you don't have to select a specific pattern or do anything in the simulator to use it. Screenshot: http://steamcommunity.com/app/501090/screenshots/?p=1&browsefilter=mostrecent#scrollTop=0
- Boat paint patch - Metallic - 10 August 2016
The boat paints have all been updated to look more like metallic paint which hopefully helps them look less bland, especially on constant color paint jobs without any patterns. Those have all looked pretty plain and boring until now, this should hopefully improve the boat visuals a little bit. This new paint is automatically applied to all paint patterns, you don't have to select a specific pattern or do anything in the simulator to use it. Screenshot: http://steamcommunity.com/app/501090/screenshots/?p=1&browsefilter=mostrecent#scrollTop=0
