Developed by Rotterdam based studio VSTEP, Ship Simulator is the comprehensive simulator that allows players to ‘mission by mission’ master the varying boats in ever changing breathtaking 3D environments, and share performances and created levels online. Players will master the sea, when they master Ship Simulator 2006.

“With Ship Simulator 2006 we are proud to be able to bring to the market a game that really adds to the simulation genre. This game truly is a great looking and accurate simulator; we have high expectations for this franchise”, said Erik Schreuder, Lighthouse CEO.

Pjotr van Schothorst, technical Director of VSTEP, added: “For us, as a company that normally develops professional training applications, it was a great pleasure to now also produce a real computer game. We hope that everybody will have as much fun with it as we did during the development and that they learn something about ship manoeuvring and navigation along the way!”

Lighthouse further announced that various localized versions will be released around September 1 in various other European territories such as France, Spain and Italy.

Players will take control of a wide array of ship types, from massive cargo ships to speedboats, yachts, water taxis and even the mighty Titanic. The waters you sail are also as varied as the ships, from the biggest harbours in the world, such as Rotterdam and Hamburg, to the calm aqua marine waters of the Thai Phi Phi Islands. Gamers will experience how challenging it is to steer the Titanic through shallow water, or just how it feels to navigate a cargo tanker or tug boat - including how diverse the controls are.

Ship Simulator 2006 features:

• Play with 8 different ship types, all with individual controls, in 700 km2 recreated harbours (Rotterdam and Hamburg) and tropical scenery (Phi Phi Islands).
• Gameplay includes 40 very different missions, from search and rescue missions, racing a speedboat, to towing a cargo boat through a narrow harbour entrance with your tugboat.
• Create your own missions using the mission editor and drag playable ships and tasks into one of the game environments and populate your harbour with cranes, cargo ships, docking areas, cars and cargo stacks (a total of 100 editable items).
• Exchange your own missions with other players on the special forum at the game's website.
• Save and upload your mission time scores and compare to the rest of the world.
• Dynamic weather system including wind force and rain adds to the atmosphere.
• Earn credits by finishing missions or lose them by bumping your boat into other objects.
• Walk around on the Titanic. Experience the life of a passenger on board this famous ship. Enjoy the level of detail, modelled after the original design.