My Dissapointing Experience

[JacobT10]

I may be a very new member, but I have some points to make.

I bought PoC Deluxe Boxed Edition just recently, I remember the original PoC, and thought I'd try this one out.

Now I just want to say, I've played around with a lot of sims in my time, and helped with design for a few independent sims too. If I download a sim from an indie developer, I'll generally expect it to be a bit of a work in progress, which is fine, because in most cases they're cheap, or free.

However, when I buy a brand new, boxed piece of software from a shop, I expect it to be up to some standards, unlike PoC.

Popped the disc in, chose my language (US English), installed it, no problems there. When I run it though, the text is entirely in German. No apparent language options to switch to English, nothing.

I continue on though, being able to read German quite well.

So, picked a difficulty, a home port, set up a company, and was then presented with an interface I'd expect from a 2000's game. Clunky, inefficient, difficult to use.

Moving on to the actual 3D aspect of the "sim", I start off in "London Harbour". Now on the box it said "Full 3D experience" and "100 Beautiful harbour settings from New York to Sydney"

It isn't Beautiful. It just isn't. Though it's a 2008 game, apparently. It's graphics are terrible, I've truly seen better graphics on one man indie projects.

Hoping the graphics would be overcome by the physics, I soldiered on. The physics didn't.

The ships handle badly, very badly. I've piloted real boats, from small sail boats, to large power boats, and an old steam ship. The ships in PoC simply don't work like real ones, turning isn't accurate, acceleration is simply a joke

So I'm sitting here, trying to figure out one question. WHY?

WHY did the developers charge for this? WHY Are they charging a relatively high amount for it? WHY didn't they bother to actually put some time into development and graphics before going to release? WHY is something so sub-standard being sold in a major game retailer?

I can say one thing though, I'll try as hard as I can to sell it on either Amazon, or, failing that, trade it in somewhere.

Regards, Jacob Thomas

[rdklein]

[VinnyBarb]

I also have the PoC Deluxe version and there is an install option to select the language as "English/US". I bought the boxed PoC Deluxe version published by "Rapture Interactive" and I am also as disappointed as the OP above.

I used to play the Amiga version which I liked very much (at the time). But now I have to agree with the OP re the graphics and the game play, which is not up to par with most other current or not so current games. Especial when one has to pay almost full price in the shops for this game like any other current PC game. I thought Ports of Call Deluxe would be similar in style like the OLD Amiga version but with improvements of TODAY's standards of game development. Disappointing to say the least. Where is the use of mouse as a controller possible in this game/simulation? Not everyone plays with a controller or joystick, I prefer the mouse like one uses in most PC games nowadays. Where is the mouse control in PoC Deluxe?

Games like Dragon Age Origin, any of the Call Of Duty, Crysis, Medal of Honour plus many more are played with the mouse. I can see in the advanced options some of the mouse directions (axis) can be changed but where or what does the mouse control anything?

Game play re ships movement is not much different than the Amiga version with some (I guess) probably just adequate graphics if the game play with ships movement into and out of harbours would have been improved. But has it?

I still have to get used to the very hard of seeing WHERE to berth the ship in harbour, in the Amiga version one had at least an overhead view with a box where to berth the ship in. I can only see a view from the deck, view of the ships bridge, side views etc. but where is an overhead view to guide the ship, unless I missed something somewhere?

Some few years ago I did see a different Ports of Call version quite different from PoC Deluxe, where its author RD Klein showed off this new version which to me was what one would expect the "new" Ports of Call to be and where he (RD Klein) invited people to buy this alpha or beta version to further develop this to some sort of final version. Well, the PoC Deluxe version I have and which was released a year or so ago is NOT that version I had seen a few years ago, is there such a finished version around?

Also, what I would have liked to see is an EASY mode where it is not so hard for, say, kids to advance somewhat easier than the seasoned player of this simulation. As it is too easy to get bankrupted too early/soon for a novice.

VinnyBarb