VSTEP Sets Sail On NAUTIS Early Access Development

VSTEP is a step closer to the release of its NAUTIS Home in Early Access.

NAUTIS Home is in the alpha-testing phase. A group of maritime professionals and simulation enthusiasts are testing the software and are providing VSTEP with their valuable feedback. The VSTEP team is getting insight into potential issues, hardware requirements and usability of the interface.

Besides free-roam, NAUTIS Home will contain courses to train users’ sailing skills and practice challenging scenarios. The development of the training courses is full steam ahead. Each course will contain several scenarios to train specific navigation and maneuvering operations. As we speak, the scenarios for the Early Access version of NAUTIS Home are being developed and tested. After the release, the company will continue to add courseware.

The newest addition includes The Clipper Canary. The vessel is equipped with powerful bow and stern thrusters for optimal maneuverability. All to ensure a smooth voyage.

Aetos, a pilot boat, is also new and is a fast vessel ideal for navigating and maneuvering busy port areas.

The company’s vision is to ensure that simulation-based learning becomes a vital part of maritime education and training by making ship simulation accessible to everyone. With NAUTIS Home, VSTEP aims to enable both maritime professionals and simulation enthusiasts to experience realistic ship simulation.

“We believe in an innovation where professional simulation software, learning and fun are combined in a scalable solution,” says Fabian van den Berg, Chief Executive Officer of VSTEP.

The Early Access release is expected in the last quarter of this year.

In the Early Access release, users can expect the following features:

Realistic 3D ship simulation to experience professional ship simulation at home; Courses for users to improve their sailing skills each containing several different maneuvering training scenarios; free roam where users can explore the oceans in free-roam mode and select their own vessel, environment, and weather conditions; content: 10 vessels and 8 environments across the world to start with;  panels: Basic Chart, Basic Radar, Conning and Controls, which are available to help users maneuver and navigate through an environment; and viewpoints: different viewpoints are available including Helmsman, Bridgewings, Binocular and Orbit camera.

NAUTIS Home will be continuously updated after the Early Access release. Users can expect new vessels, environments, courses and features. The goal is to create an enthusiastic community with dedicated users. For that reason, VSTEP is working on a community platform about which it will share more information soon.

The company’s aim is to have a feature complete NAUTIS Home ready by the end of 2023.