Coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator an amazing pack featuring two highly detailed boats with user-friendly controls, detailed interior, refined textures, water trails, night lights and custom sounds.
They are: Mercury, an agile and fast powerboat with a 1900hp V8 engine and Ilhabela, a charming Luxury Yacht with a top deck made of crystal for daylight navigation.
UPDATE 2: 01/25/2021
Added propeller rotation and radar animations
functional displays with GPS and navigation
RESOURCES:
water balance
detailed interior
Start anywhere in the world over water
night lights
Water trails instantly when on the go
sounds
friendly fps
COMING SOON: Animations
INSTALLATION SIZE:
Total boats extracted - 279mb
HOW TO INSTALL:
Locate the Microsoft Flight Simulator installation folder
You need to find and open the folder called Community
Copy the two folders "Marine RM Mercury" and "Marine RM Ilhabela" you just extracted into the Community folder
Start the game and the Mercury and Ilhabela boats will be in your hangar ready to sail!
HOW TO PLAY:
Start the game at the headland of some seaplane runway, put the engine on 100% and wait a few seconds for the boat to start moving. The water trails start with the slowest speed you are. Boats do not have a reverse engine for the time being, but this will be implemented in an upcoming update. Click Ctrl + L to activate an overnight navigation beacon. Quickly activate and deactivate the landing gear to honk. It is possible to start anywhere in the world on water, read the last paragraph of the following section to understand how.
IMPORTANT TO KNOW:
This add-on will continue to be developed for improvements such as: addition of a rotating steering wheel, animated candle movement and functional instruments such as GPS, radio and speedometer. Soon all models will receive this update.
The amount of water trails is limited by Asobo for now, when this limitation is removed from the SDK boats will have more sprays on the front and sides.
The speed of powerboat is limited to less than 70kts for water stability reasons.
Don't start cold, a boat's starter function is unrealistic without a panel.
I was very skeptical at first, a boat in MSFS? The price is too high in my opinion, but come on: a young developer and the few euros do not really hurt me. I bought the set because I fly mainly in Italy (as a German) and here almost only in the Naples area. So I took the speedboat on a trip from Castellammare di Stabia to Capri (free addon). At sunrise. And what can I say: unforgettable pictures while passing Sorrento and the isle of Capri, as if you were really there. The model of the boat and its physical behavior are not worth mentioning, but I can really recommend a purchase, because it offers a very unique and new experience. Hoping that future updates will bring everything even more in line with reality, I now give it 4 stars.
I had bought the other two boat packages and asked myself, do I really need this one? Right after I bought them, the sim had the answer, YES! The first place I tried to cruise, with the speed boat, was Venice. But Venice is having sim water issues and I couldn't start in the lagoon (it would only let me start at 1,500 feet!). So, I started pretty far from Venice, out in the Adriatic Sea, but at 70 knots the speed boat just ate up that distance. It is a charming aquatic speedster, with a lot of details, and its own niche in my boathouse.
The "luxury yacht" proved to be just the thing for exploring the Eastern Scottish coast because the North Sea, with weather set to "Live" can get quite choppy (kudos Microsoft) and the other boats would have been swamped, but the big party boat just cruised right through it.
Hint: FSRealistic users, enable your Cabin Ambiance/Small Cabin and set to Random, volume 24, to add a party to your boat. You'll hear folks chatting and having a good time when you are at the helm. I also suggest turning way down or off all the "Wind" settings because these boats have very pleasant sound effects.
As charming and usable as these boats are, the development plans look to turn them into 5-star craft. The new live maps and bits of animation are great additions. And there are some very creative camera angles too, though we really need simple right and left views from the default pilot's position.
Highly recommended for seeing your favorite sea and riverside locations in a whole new way.