eSail V3 BETA (3.0.x) is an exciting new update that brings new features to the eSail community. As always, our updates are free for all eSail users. V3 is based on Unity 6 which itself is in Beta. As well as adding new features, a lot of work has been done on compatibility with Unity 6. Although this doesn't add anything for users short term, it means we are on the right platform going forward, which should speed up development.

NOTE 1: Before running the Beta backup your data folder. See the Technical Support discussion for this folder's location.
NOTE 2: Challenges are excluded from the beta. This is because the boat handling has changed slightly. We will probably have new leaderboards once V3 is fully released.
NOTE 3: All new text is in English only. Translations will be added once the Beta is completed. At that stage will will also add speech in languages as required.
NOTE 4: Users on the beta will be in a different 'world' to those on V2.

NEW FEATURES

• Better graphics. All terrain textures have been improved. There is also now more use of the 'Detailed World' setting which adds more objects including rocks, trees, roads and harbour details. Even the seaweed has been replaced with something a bit more appealing (although remember performance considerations do limit the detail!) Many buildings have been given window lights. This can help when night sailing.
  
• Wind variability (Live Sailing). Now the wind responds to the shape of nearby land causing wind shifts. Anabatic and katabatic breezes cause patches on the water surface which the observant sailor can use to maximise speed! For more information see http://Wind in eSail
  
• New 'Trade Islands' added. These islands are slightly tidal so you have to be aware of tidal heights. There are published tide tables for the islands.
  
• New chart for the Trade Islands. This is available once you have collected all the POIs for Navaronne etc. This level is now classified as 'Atlantic Explorer'. The new level for the Trade Islands is 'Tidal Explorer'.
  
• Reference section and notebook. On the menu there is a new button for 'Reference'. Here you can look up any term or function featured in eSail. There is also a simple notebook for making - you guessed it - notes.
  
• Boat detailing. We have started an ongoing process of adding more graphical detail to the boat. This includes a new masthead wind indicator.
  
• Reciprocal button on the chart plotter. This enables you to quickly read a line from the opposite bearing.
  
• The depth sounder now reads depth taking into account wave and tide height.
  
• Hands and wheel centre adjustable brightness.
  
• Each chart now is saved with zoom and position.
  
• Added an ‘all lines delete’ button to charts.
  
• Run in Background option. See the first section of Settings.
  
• Added Settings to modify keyboard steering and throttle.
  
• Plan view - you can now plot the courses of boats, with boat names now visible on the plan. So before racing this can be turned on. In the event of possible foul play, take a screenshot so that we can see how the action has unfolded. Click on the chart plotter behind the compass, then the orange button.
  
• Glance view added to Smart Button. Drag left or right on the button so see at 90 degrees. See the tooltip for keyboard shortcuts.

eSail Pro

• Fixed bug where autopilot was always setting to apparent wind (in Wind Mode).
  
• Tidal Curve tool. This interactive tool can be found in the chart drawer.
  
• Tidal heights tutorials.
  
• Added tack mode to autopilot. While using the autopilot hit the button to steer the boat onto the opposite tack.

Thank you for your suggestions which have been incorporated here. Please add feedback to the new V3 discussion. All feedback is very welcome!


To swap to the V3 Beta:

First back up your data!

1. Right click on eSail in your Steam client.

2. On the drop down menu click 'Properties'

3. Click on the BETAS tab.

4. Select 'eSail_V3' branch. The password is: eSailEmerald

This update provides an agreement checkbox, so that the user needs to accept that eSail is not a replacement for professional training by a qualified instructor. In addition we point out limitations - we cannot simulate the physical and mental demands of real world sailing. Also we highlight that no simulator can always replicate real world physics, especially as all boats behave differently. The agreement only needs to be accepted once by each user/boat.

This wording is in preparation for eSail V3. We will be adding tidal height information so it is really important that users realize the limitations of eSail. We do not want users grounding their real life boats! But the wording applies to V2 as well and builds on the current licence agreement and warnings we have placed across all marketing materials.

We have also changed some wording in Settings. We now have a 'Detailed world' checkbox. The text states that this provides more detailed sky and terrain. Actually the increased terrain details in V2 are barely noticeable. But in V3 we will have some nice eye candy, and this option will become more important so users can conserve resources if their machine is struggling with the new detail.

This small update fixes an issue in the Mooring Sandbox (eSail Pro). There were hidden boats which caused some very strange effects when trying to moor. Apologies to anyone who had problems mooring before this was identified!

This new update is designed to help novice sailors, as well as fix a few bugs.

1. Added a Points of Sail diagram. This can be accessed from the 'Adjusting the Mainsail' tutorial. (In V3 all learning resources will be accessible from a central location.)

2. Previously it was easy to accidentally click on the sail bag in the cabin and deploy the asymmetric without even knowing it. So we have now added a confirmation alert.

3. We have added a note in first tutorial about how the tutorials are saved and how to access other tutorials / challenges.

4. We have modified the starting boat positions of the basic tutorials to help novice sailors avoid crashing into the training buoys or land.

5. Fixed bug - when changing line (radial left) hands hotspot was disappearing.

6. Fixed bug - where medals would appear on changing the time between local/UTC on the Multiplayer Challenges screen.

7. Fixed bug - page 3737 wave file (English only) as this referred to travellers not being in eSail which is no longer the case.

8. Changed visibility of boat name on stern so that it can be seen at a greater distance.

9. Improvement to multiplayer to avoid to avoid boats appearing on top of one another.

10. German language fixes. Thank you to Tjabo for pointing these out!

11. Improvements in mooring to reduce errors with disappearing/misaligned mooring lines. Thank you Peter for all your testing of these issues.

12. Fixed bug where dragging on screen to look around or orbit could lock up.

To force an update, sign out of Steam (user your user top right), then sign back in again. Otherwise Steam will automatically update your eSail in due course.

We have a new test release which is designed to help novice sailors, as well as fix a few bugs.

1. Added a Points of Sail diagram. This can be accessed from the 'Adjusting the Mainsail' tutorial. (In V3 all learning resources will be accessible from a central location.)

2. Previously it was easy to accidentally click on the sail bag in the cabin and deploy the asymmetric without even knowing it. So we have now added a confirmation alert.

3. We have added a note in first tutorial about how the tutorials are saved and how to access other tutorials / challenges.

4. We have modified the starting boat positions of the basic tutorials to help novice sailors avoid crashing into the training buoys or land.

5. Fixed bug - when changing line (radial left) hands hotspot was disappearing.

6. Fixed bug - where medals would appear on changing the time between local/UTC on the Multiplayer Challenges screen.

7. Fixed bug - page 3737 wave file (English only) as this referred to travellers not being in eSail which is no longer the case.

8. Changed visibility of boat name on stern so that it can be seen at a greater distance.

9. Improvement to multiplayer to avoid to avoid boats appearing on top of one another.

10. German language fixes. Thank you to Tjabo for pointing these out!


To swap to the Test Beta:

1. Right click on eSail in your Steam client.

2. On the drop down menu click 'Properties'

3. Click on the BETAS tab.

4. Select 'Test - Windows & Mac' branch.

All feedback welcome! Please provide your feedback under this announcement.

This small update fixes a problem with the timings of buoy and land lights. Thank you to raskil2000 for pointing this out. We have checked all lights but it is still possible we may have missed something, so any positive or negative reports would be much appreciated.

eSail v2.4 has a new experimental face input feature as well as a number of small fixes.

• Rev counter now fixed (eSail Pro). The dial could get stuck on 1000 revs when opening and closing the panel.
  
• Changed water reflections to reduce reflection when foggy.
  
• Reduced error logging when screen dragging to avoid filling log files with unnecessary messages.
  
• Now automatically moves anchor back on boat when it becomes detached.
  
• Face input to look around inside eSail (Pro DLC only). See instructions below.

Thank you for users for pointing out these issues!

Face Input
NOTE: This is an eSail Pro feature
This exciting new feature is currently only tested on Windows. It enables you to look around inside eSail by moving your head. It is best used with a good screen size. A phone or other mobile device is used to capture your head angle. This input is sent to a separate 'eSail Face Input' app on your computer, which in turn sends the input to eSail. If after testing we find the feature is useful to the community, we will hopefully incorporate the capture functionality into future eSail releases so you will not need the eSail Face Input app.

Requirements:

• iPhone/iPad meeting these requirements.
  
• Windows computer
  
• eSail and eSail Pro add-on/DLC

To set up Face Input:
1) Download the eSail Face Input app onto your computer.
2) Extract the zip file and put it somewhere convenient. You will probably want to make a shortcut on your desktop to the executable file eSailFaceInput.exe
3) On your mobile device (currently only tested with Apple IOS) go to App store and download Unity Face Capture


Using Face Input:
1) First start eSail. Go into Live Sailing or any other module. Open Settings and scroll to the bottom. Check the box to enable Face Input. Save settings.
2) Now you can toggle Face Input on and off using the 'End' key. This is hard coded so make sure it does not conflict with other keys you may have set up.
3) When Face input is running you will notice that you cannot drag on the screen to look around. However, you can still orbit.
4) Start the eSail Face Input app. NOTE: First time you will probably get a Windows Defender warning. Click on More and Run Anyway (the exact messages may vary).
Make sure you can easily change between the apps. I find Alt+Tab an easy way in Windows.
5) Start your Unity Face Capture on your mobile. You need to allow access to the camera and the network. No other permissions are needed.
6) Ignore various warnings about needing Unity Editor - you don't!
7) Once the face capture is working you should be able to move the head inside the eSail Face Input app.
8) If communication is working between eSail Face Input and eSail you will see the screen moving as you move your head.

Tips:

• Use the settings to adjust speed of movement.
  
• The default deadzone settings assume you have placed your phone centrally under your screen. If you put your phone somewhere else you will need to adjust. If you put your mobile above the screen you will need to change the X deadzone settings.
  
• Make sure you do not have a light behind your head, and make sure you have reasonable lighting on your face.
  
• Glasses may cause issues if you have a lot of reflection on them!
  
• When changing between modules, such as between Live Sailing and a tutorial, eSail effectively restarts. Because of this you will need to click the restart button in eSail Face Capture AFTER the new eSail module has fully loaded.

Likely issues:
There are two layers of communication - between mobile and computer and between the two eSail apps on your computer. Either could be blocked by firewalls. Please let us know of any issues and we will attempt to resolve them and will certainly learn a lot!

This update has a number of small fixes and improvements, as well as additional languages for eSail Pro. A huge thank you to all our community translators!

• Added missing throttle handle
  
• Better debugging when leaving a challenge
  
• Added French, German, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Dutch languages for eSail Pro.
  
• Changed hand compass scale to make it larger
  
• Binoc and hand compass icons in drawer. Moved tooltip down as was fighting cursor on certain resolution/scaling combinations
  
• Fixed bug where in central mooring sometimes crew could not pull line
  
• Fixed bug where boat heading was not being restored in Sandbox
  
• Now saving ‘wind’ mode and ‘true wind’ setting. Also made sure that Autopilot settings were applied on restoring

This update has a number of small bug fixes and improvements. Thank you to users for reporting these and helping replicate these issues.

• Fixed bug where game boat's engines were not sounding
  
• Fixed bug where anchoring was not working in Mooring Sandbox
  
• Improved physics fighting between mooring lines with stern-to mooring
  
• Anchoring - improved holding especially on sloping or slimy sea bed
  
• Jib now should unfurl easier if on the leeward side.
  
• Yaw now made to bring the stern quarter to the wind (blows the bow away from direction of wind)
  
• Added Change Password text to button on Edit User Screen
  
• Quick Start now says “(Advanced Users)”
  
• Edit User screen now has shortcut to force Registration Completed.
  
• Alert added when an Add-on is installed referring user to new tutorials.
  
• Alert added when adding mooring lines before fenders.
  
• Added a check to stop fenders being rigged after mooring lines.
  
• Changed eSail Pro tutorial wording to refer to new Etincelle pump and tank being quarter full on new boat.
  
• Added new Etincelle fuel pump.
  
• New boats now get quarter tank of fuel.
  
• Made all dashboard mode buttons pointer click (not pointer down). This might prevent bug where cannot change mode.
  
• Bug fixes for setting sleeve colors and winches while doing central mooring

eSail Pro is the latest add-on for eSail Sailing Simulator. eSail Pro takes the simulator to the next level with advanced instruments, a refillable fuel tank and more.

The new instruments include a fuel gauge which also shows engine hours. The tank size is 15 gallons and can be filled at Port Fogerty on the South of the main Shearwater Island.

There is also an new wind indicator, showing true and apparent wind speed/direction. Below this we have a new autopilot instrument, providing incremental controls and the ability to set the autopilot to the wind. This is very useful when racing, but is a convenience in general sailing too.

eSail Pro enables you to try more advanced sailing such as mooring under sail. And we have also added a Mooring Sandbox where you can set wind speed and direction to practise your mooring. This is supported by two new tutorials covering more advanced mooring techniques and how to get the best out of eSail Pro.