RegattaGame is a virtual sailing game supporting several kinds of races : real races on-going at the same time as the real regattas,
pure virtual races or permanent challenges. The real or pure virtual races may be long races that last weeks or even months, or short
races that last only few days. Those short races are well adapted to learn about the game, get familiar with it and are less time-consuming.
In real or pure virtual races, the course is always different. In permanent challenges, you will be chasing time records over short
durations (few days, maximum one week) on a pre-defined course. Challenges are permanently available and you will select by yourself
the start date and time depending on the weather conditions.
RG principles
The wind parameters in the game (wind speed and wind angle) are issued from the real weather conditions. They are retrieved
from the NOAA forecasts. The winds parameters change twice a day at 8 am and 8 pm, European time. Regattagame is a game using winds
cells. The wind parameters are constant within a given 1 degree x 1 degree cell (unlike some other virtual sailing games using fluent winds).
The game interface allows to display wind forecasts up to 168 hours so you can build an optimize route. The boats used in races may vary as well
as the related sail polar files including 5 different sails. For an optimized boat speed, it is required of course to select the best sail
depending on the wind directions and wind speeds over the crossed cells.
The boat successive positions are computed every 10 minutes (say a game iteration). Because of operating reasons, races have their own
iteration minute (from 0 to 9). To help building route strategy, the game interface provides some tools like the polar graph, the boat route
projection displayed on the game screen showing future boat positions every ten minutes and the time at which the boat will cross the next
cell boundary. It's not necessary to be always in front of your screen thanks to very useful tools like the auto heading, the waypoints and
the programming mode with the scheduler.
A game made by players for players
RegattaGame is making use of open source software and doesn't require any additional plug-in to run. RegattaGame is optimized for the
web browsers Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari and Vivaldi. RegattaGame is free, developed and maintained by a team made up entirely of volunteers.
The software is not free of bugs but they are regularly reported, analysed and solved on the game forum. Have fair winds!
And now, have fun!
2: The boat: yours is red, others are green.
3: You can change your heading with the compass: clic and drag the little white circle and validate by clicking the green check or abort with the red cross below the compass. The heading can also be changed one degree by one degree with the "+" and "-" buttons right of the compass.
4: Winds bar: actual (forecast +0) wind parameters (winds speed and wind angle).
5: Tools bar, see the manual.
6: Info box.
It is recommended to start with a challenge race so you will be able to try the interface at any time and at your convenience.
Don't forget to weigh the anchor and set up a sail. "ANCRE" in French means "ANCHOR". The game interface is currently in French but English will be supported soon. For players familiar with other virtual sailing games, it is easy to use the French interface. In case of questions or need for help, don't hesitate to ask for!