Cruise Ship Manager

Cruise Ship Manager

Fulfill your dreams of watching over a beautiful vessel, a large crew, and all sorts of passengers in Cruise Ship Manager!

Take cruises to a next level in this unique management game. Choose how you want your cruise ship to be built, make sure everything runs smoothly, set the prices for the passengers, and become a legend of the high seas!

Choosing the layout of the ship is up to you! Decide on the layout, where to place a canteen for your crew, and where 5-star restaurants should be. Does a casino strike your fancy or maybe an open pool? And don’t forget about rooms for your passengers! Make sure everything is well connected and that you keep enough money for food or fuel.

Pick your crew wisely. Their skills will lead to your success or failure. Once you leave the dock, you’re stuck with the people you chose so make sure you don’t regret hiring an untested rookie over an experienced veteran.

Once you settle on the amenities and prepare the necessary equipment, you can finally search for passengers to invite onto your ship. But there’s a catch - it’s not up to you who buys your tickets. So price your tickets accordingly. You might charge a premium if you do, your passengers will feel entitled to the best service there is and it won’t be easy to satisfy them. On the other hand, you could sell the tickets at a low price and improve your budget through other means. For instance, by charging extra for fancy cocktails.

As your renown grows, more people will want to experience the thrill of signing up for your cruise. Build your brand and reach a point where people will pay any amount of money, just to say they were on your cruise ship!

You have the power to choose the route your cruise ship shall take. Would you rather make some quick cash on a routine, 2-day cruise? Or maybe a long journey through the Bermuda Triangle is what strikes your fancy? You might be paid more for trips to exotic places but beware of the storms. Lives could be at stake if a fire breaks out or engines malfunction. It will be your task to end such a crisis - before it’s too late.

Features:

  • A cruise ship of your own that you can customize to your liking

  • Resource management (fuel, food, etc.)

  • Incredible variety of unique passengers with different expectations and behaviors

  • Random events

  • Crew members that have their own needs

  • Route selection

  • Many unique rooms to add to your ship

  • Unlimited fun!


Read More: Best Naval Survival Games.


Cruise Ship Manager on Steam

Her Majesty’s Ship

Her Majesty’s Ship

First, this game is not FTL on wooden ships. This game is a real-time management/strategy game with no tactical pause. The game is very similar to FTL but has a more MACRO approach to crew management then the Micro approach that FTL had.

I really enjoy this game and it is a great game. My game preferences run towards turn-based and tactical pause games. I really do not like RTS games whatsoever.

Although this game is a real-time strategy game at its core, it is very manageable and approachable. This game has captivated me.

Real player with 64.0 hrs in game


Read More: Best Naval Real-Time Games.


Her Majesty’s Ship - Troubled Waters but hopefully smoother sailing on the horizon

I am recommending this title mainly because I really like the idea behind it - managing a ship of the Royal Navy in detailed fashion - but have reservations in doing so.

The game is all too brief at this point and I have noted that other players have requested an endless mode, a correction I heartily endorse and support.

Combat is rather too simplistic and does seem dependent upon RNG factors, outside of already having a vessel well-stocked with powder and eventually a complement of marines.

Real player with 38.4 hrs in game

Her Majesty's Ship on Steam

TransOcean: The Shipping Company

TransOcean: The Shipping Company

Yes, I would recommend this…

…to fans of turn-based empire management simulations that also have a strong interest in sea-borne commerce and merchant marine.

| Quantatitive Rating = 8 out of 10 |

Rating updated 2017-11-27, based on having played the successor TOSC: Rivals, which I did not find better.


Observations and other musings…

This game is a lot like any management game, like space empire building without the conflict of war. In this case, your focus is on fleet building and freight management. They have put in a lot of antagonist elements that take the place of conflict-based issues of other games, like an investor that you have to buy out eventually, otherwise, the ♥♥♥♥♥ keeps saddling you with difficult contracts (missions) that set you back. Also, her quarterly dividend is 10% of your company’s holdings: So when I was at nearly a billion $ in the bank and many ships in my fleet, she came along and was taking nearly $200 million every quarter.

Real player with 124.4 hrs in game

I missed seeing this game when it came out, or I would have gotten it sooner, It is a simple cargo ship company tycoon game, very much like the classic 1986 Ports Of Call, with lovely 3D graphics and overall a nicer art style. For those interested, Ports Of Call XXL is in development (www.portsofcall.de ), and you can get versions of the classic game as well.

http://www.metallicat95.com/?p=388 – my review page

TransOcean has all the nice elements for a trading game — transport cargo from port to port, trying to make the most money and boost your reputations in order to improve your shipping company. Travel to more ports, play the ship driving minigame to get in and out of the docks for more status (and to save money and see the nice scenery), buy more ships, complete company contracts, and get rich. Or go bankrupt if you fail, but the game is overall fairly easy to play.

Real player with 93.3 hrs in game

TransOcean: The Shipping Company on Steam

World Ship Simulator

World Ship Simulator

This is an early access game and nowhere near finished. Fair enough. The devs are promising more ships, missions, career mode and possibly free roam.

However, the game needs some very fundamental changes to the core. The graphics are very amateurish and, in the case of the scenes at port where one is trying to choose a mission, the whole thing looks like something from the 1990’s. The NPC’s look like something a child would create, the colours are all wrong and are too vibrant. The port area is excrutiating to look at.

Real player with 5.1 hrs in game

First of all, it has to be said, this game is already a massive improvement on it’s infamous predecesor….. that said, you can tell this is in early access stage, ok let’s start with the bad….

-The night sky- This has no depth. I honestly think my grandmother could do a better job using MS paint and she can’t even use a Nokia 3310!

  • Land bird noises out at sea- I know this may sound petty, but really, whenever I have been out at sea (7 ferry journeys this year) I have not seen a single land bird. I understand they migrate twice a year, however, definitely see a lot more Gulls than I see Robins this is for sure

Real player with 3.4 hrs in game

World Ship Simulator on Steam

Search for the Titanic

Search for the Titanic

The search for the Titanic, the greatest ship to ever fall to the grip of the elements, captivated the world for decades while its wreckage lay undisturbed at the bottom of the sea. As an inexperienced oceanographer, you must build your skills, reputation, crew, and resources along your journey to mount an expedition to find the lost Titanic.

This meticulous simulation by Capstone Software was reviewed for authenticity by the staff of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the American organization that first discovered and photographed the Titanic wreck. Experience the challenges, dangers and excitement of scientific underwater exploration!

  • Navigate to over 75 underwater wrecks and 47 ports of call using more than 100 navigational maps and charts.

  • Use sophisticated sonar, magnetometers, underwater cameras, and mini-subs in your exploration of the ocean floor.

  • Battle the elements as you contend with realistic weather patterns and currents.

  • Find the Titanic and be rewarded with digitized photographs of the actual wreckage as it lays on the ocean floor today.

Search for the Titanic on Steam

Carrier Deck

Carrier Deck

Had I reviewed this game early on, I would have rated it positive, but having packed in well over 100 hours now, the design flaws and bugs are now standing out like sore thumbs. If Steam had a better review system with a “so so” option, I would choose that instead of pure thumbs down.

First let me say, that for many it will still be worth $10. You can still have a lot of fun with it. So, I’m not telling you to avoid it, but rather, know what you’re getting before buying. (Edit: This game is no longer in active development and there is no roadmap for the future at the time of this edit)

Real player with 236.0 hrs in game

Carrier Deck is a very nicely disguised “spinning plates” game where you need to quickly reprioritize your assets to meet changing needs, and “keep as many balls in the air as you can”. Unfortunately, some arbitrary design decisions (necessary for game design) also marred some of the enjoyment. Still, the game’s fun to play with.

You are the commander of the air wing, including any marine detachments and special forces detachments. You need to protect your carrier from threats in the air (bombers), on the surface (hostile warships), below the surface (submarines), and even land-based threats. To deal with them, are you armed with F/A-18 Hornets (and Super Hornets), SH-60 Seahawks (for anti-sub work), S-3 Subhunters, E-2 Hawkeye SWAC, and more. Launch appropriate search/patrol craft to watch for threats, scramble the right assets to attack each before they reach your carrier. In the meanwhile, receive cargo as they arrive.

Real player with 145.1 hrs in game

Carrier Deck on Steam

Port Royale 4

Port Royale 4

I’ve played Port Royale 2 and 3. They were good games,not great ones but they were fun to play for a while. Enter Port Royale 4. My first observation is why have trading ships at all? I played as a merchant and built farms and production centers to bring down the cost of items I sell. Unfortunately you have to sell massive quantities of them in order to keep you head above water. Unfortunately, you can’t sell enough with your fleet no matter how big it is because trading ports will only accept a specific amount of a product before your forced to sell below what it cost you to produce the items. A temporary way around this is to sell the product to the market in the town where you produced it. You can make quite a bit that way but it only serves to help you break even because your trading fleet is fundamentally useless.

Real player with 95.2 hrs in game

TL:DR Port Royale 4 is a fun trading game with a few caveats especially for returning players. But it is a trading game through and through, so those who find such games boring will probably not enjoy it.

Actual review (based on latest beta, it will be updated if it turns out some of these points are not true anymore)

What is Port Royale 4?

Port Royale 4 is a trading game set in the late 16th/early 17th century Caribbean.

What is it like?

If you haven’t played any Port Royale game before…

Real player with 56.8 hrs in game

Port Royale 4 on Steam

Winds Of Trade

Winds Of Trade

So far I have played about 100 hours of this excellent game, and thought I’d give it a thumbs up with a quick reveiw because there are not many reveiws yet, and many of them refer to earlier versions.

If you’ve ever played a Port Royale or Patrician game, you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly, but there are differences, such as the fluctuating market prices, which vary much more realistically. Also, there is a stock exchange, and your decisions regarding buying and selling goods in the various ports will have a direct effect on share prices. You can make big money investing in a company, supplying it with raw materials and selling their products.

Real player with 640.0 hrs in game

This commerce-heavy fleet game delivers what it promises. The supply chain dynamics are well balanced and the economic engine seems well tuned. The combat is boring… maybe that’s why it’s not called “Winds of Cannons”. As an economics-heavy trading game, this is quite fun.

The battles are very uninteresting, just turn based clicking to shoot cannonballs at ships (there is a very limited amount of tactical decisions to be made, ie ship position, but since its primarily a trading game, your ships probably won’t be anywhere near each other). Battles are just enough danger to justify defensive ship upgrades, but otherwise boring. I attempt to escape them whenever possible - there’s essentially no good that can come from them, just ship damage and perhaps a paltry amount of cargo. Don’t buy the game for the battles.

Real player with 191.1 hrs in game

Winds Of Trade on Steam

Port Royale 3

Port Royale 3

You could spend your life playing this brilliant game. Well I have - .

Just imagine being in a time where you have more control over life - no atomic bombs just cannons swords and primitive guns and your own skills.

You travel from town to town as a merchant buying and selling and if you are good at it you amass quite a lot of money.

You make a lot more when you gain experience and title then you get assignments from towns - and oh how good is that - you feel good because the town folk or government leaders talk with you and want you to marry there daughters.

Real player with 492.9 hrs in game

Port Royale 3 is an epic story of European powers expansion to the Carribean Islands, the Southern U.S. States, Central America and the Northern town of South America. The game is entertaining and will continue to be a favorite in many years to come. Each town produces five commodities and trades 20 commodities in the market. The game offers almost everything a player wanted such as trading, town building, sea battle with pirates and trading ships of five other countries. After playing for 229 hours, I would say I like the game and would continue to play it in the future. The following will support what I said that I like the game:

Real player with 235.8 hrs in game

Port Royale 3 on Steam

Uboat Commander

Uboat Commander

“U-boat Commander” is an upcoming strategy game in which players take a Wolfpack commander role in the Second World War. Their task is to plan, synchronize, and execute u-boat attacks on Allied convoys in the Atlantic Ocean.

Use the tactical map to give orders to your u-boats. Find enemy convoys and plan your ambush.

Use existing Wolfpack tactics and synchronize attacks for maximum effect.

If you wish, you can take direct control over any of your u-boats and execute the attack yourself. Load and flood torpedos, manage the crew, aim with observation or attack periscope, fire, and watch enemies sink.

Recruit crewmembers, assign and manage crew roles to optimize the performance of your u-boats.

Use the Enigma machine to send encoded messages to your Wolfpacks.

Evade being discovered, try to escape or obey “Standing War Order 483” and fight off enemy aircraft.

Assure the safe return of your ships and become a real u-boat commander!

Uboat Commander on Steam