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©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co. All rights reserved. SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator WINNER 2011 One-Design Creativity Award

SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator · SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator WINNER ... Sailboat racing can be split into two primary modes ... improve their thinking

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Page 1: SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator · SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator WINNER ... Sailboat racing can be split into two primary modes ... improve their thinking

©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co. All rights reserved.

SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator

WINNER 2011 One-Design Creativity Award

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2SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator

OverviewSAILX IS AN ONLINE GAME THAT ENABLES USERS

all over the world to race sailboats against each

other in real-time around short courses and in

strict accordance with the Racing Rules of Sailing.

Sailboat racing can be split into two primary modes

– offshore racing and inshore racing. Offshore

racing involves racing over long distance courses

(e.g. across oceans) designed to test navigation,

meteorology and seamanship. Because boats can be

out of sight of each other for long periods of time,

boat interaction is not a signifi cant factor.

“SailX is designed to ‘game’ the mental aspects of inshore racing.”

In contrast, inshore racing takes place in small, tightly

defi ned courses designed to force sailors to use the

racing rules of sailing and local environmental changes

to gain an advantage over each other. In contrast

to offshore races that can take days or weeks to

complete, inshore races can be over in minutes.

SailX is designed to ‘game’ the mental aspect of

inshore racing. This is achieved by stripping out the

sport’s physical complications (boat handling, sail

handling, etc) to focus on the deceptively simple

decisions a racing sailor has to take on a continuous

basis as they race around a small course in close

proximity to other boats: where should I start?;

should I keep going or should I turn now? Should I

sail high or low? etc.

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3SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator

SAILX PUTS THE GAMER IN THE POSITION OF BEING

able to issue simple instructions to a virtual sailor

onboard their race boat. Because the virtual sailor

carries out all instructions perfectly, the gamer

wins or loses purely because of the quality of

instructions given.

These instructions are very simple (tack, gybe, etc)

yet the rationale behind them is based on the same

complex strategic and tactical considerations that

exist in real-world racing. Because of this (like chess

or checkers) the game is simple and addictive for the

‘newbie’ and, at the same time, extremely challenging

for the advanced user and real-world sailor. SailX races

last 5-10 minutes each and take place continuously,

24/7. Users can race as few or as many as they like.

SailX is currently used by schools, universities,

clubs, National Federations and Boat Shows plus

is used as an interactive training tool for top-level

sailors (Olympians & World Champions) and ISAF

International Umpires.

CURRENT STATS

countries

(boats per year)

A True Skill Game

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4SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator

Watch videos of racing at www.youtube.com/user/SailXRacing/featured

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5SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator

Accurate Sporting RepresentationIN SAILX, BOAT PERFORMANCE, BOAT INTERACTION

and environmental variations are modelled very

realistically but time is accelerated to force

players to make decisions approximately every

Racing is controlled by an advanced automatic rules

engine in strict accordance with ISAF Racing Rules

of Sailing. The SailX rules engine has taken fi ve years

to develop and now interprets sailing incidents in

the game with approximately 95% accuracy. As

an indication of this accuracy, the new ISAF rules

were tested in SailX before they were applied in

real racing and in response to feedback from the

SailX community, some of those new rules were

subsequently modifi ed.

In order to deal with inevitable disagreements, SailX

also features a fully moderated protest room with

incident replay. A typical protest procedure involves

closed discussion between those involved for a

defi ned period of time; then open discussion in the

community; and fi nally if the protest is a particularly

complex one, a ruling by a SailX Administrator or a

(retained) ISAF International Jury member.

FACTS

match racing

incidents / year

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6SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator

A Vibrant Social CommunitySAILX IS DESIGNED TO BE A FULLY SOCIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC TOOL I.E. TO PROVIDE FREE ACCESS

to the widest possible number of users regardless of age, sex, language, ability, boat ownership,

club membership, hardware platform, network access, etc.

Users are provided with the following suite of tools to encourage interaction and the building of a vibrant

community both in and outside of the game:

link to friends, etc)

IM or voice

skill and performance

competition formats

The SailX environment is fully moderated with a

‘zero tolerance’ policy. Both personal and racing

behaviour is monitored to ensure the strictest

adherence to a policy of tolerance and fair play.

FACTS

over 7hrs / month on Facebook.

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7SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator

Multi-platform, Scaleable & UniversalSAILX CAN BE PLAYED ON A PC OR MAC VIA ALL

popular web browsers or via a downloadable

‘standalone version’ of the game that provides

an improved experience. SailX can also be played

on iPhone, iPad, Android, etc - all valuable entry

points for convenience, but most users prefer a

laptop or desktop interface.

The game can handle any number of simultaneous

players – the only limit being server size. Once a fl eet

size hits a predetermined maximum (e.g. 25-30 boats)

it is automatically split into the appropriate number of

smaller fi elds keeping gamers of similar ranking or skill-

implies longer races that are, in general, less interesting

for gamers.

In order to make SailX as widely playable as possible

it has been designed with minimum user hardware,

software and communication requirements in mind.

At the same time the game sets out to deliver a high-

quality real-time and truly global game - meaning the

software architecture, the hardware architecture and

the communication protocols are relatively advanced

and effi cient.

FACTS

backup servers in Vancouver, Rotterdam,

New York, Panama, Dallas and London.

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11SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator

EndorsementsSAILX WAS BORN AS A TECHNICAL TOOL TO HELP

sailors better understand the strategies, tactics

and rules of racing. For this reason we have

and professionals involved in the sport.

In November SailX won US SAILING’s One-Design

Creativity Award, for “outstanding creativity

and contribution in the year’s most innovative

one-design event of national or international

Sailing’s Chair of the One Design Council, Chair

of the Multihull council, past President of US

Sailing and current nominating Chair of the

House of Delegates.

SailX has collaborated with sailing’s world

governing body, ISAF and also with the RYA and

the Spanish, Australian, Finnish and Estonian

Sailing Federations. In addition SailX has

also worked with the 29er, Hobie Cat, Flying

Associations.

“I have been working with a number of Olympic sailors who have responded well to the training programmes I have developed, especially where this incorporates SailX into their tactics and strategy training. I think that there are big opportunities for sailors to improve their thinking game using the tool.”

Hugh Styles, UK Olympic Coach

“Our favourite sailing simulator by far is the excellent SailX. Unlike any of the others, SailX is all one-design windward-leeward races that take about 10 minutes, with up to 25 boats racing at one time in either skiffs, A-cats, Lasers, big boats, or team boats. There are also match races or team races but the bulk of the action is in fl eet racing. You have instant control over your boat, and you win races by staying in clear air, planting good lee bows, and working the shifts and current better than the other guy. An effi cient rules engine decides most of the boat on boat fouls using the RRS, and a busy forum-driven protest room allows resolution of fouls the programme miscalls or misses completely.”

Review in Sailing Anarchy (a leading sailing website)

WINNER 2011 One-Design Creativity Award

Real Federación Española de Vela

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12SailX: The Inshore Sailboat Racing Simulator

User comments:

“This is more than a game. It’s more like the personal racing coach only Olympic sailors can afford.”

“This game provides 80% of the reason I love to race sailboats. And, it sure is a lot less expensive than the hundreds of dollars per day it costs to operate a life size sailboat.”

“A few months on SailX have re-taught me as much as four years of top intercollegiate racing.”

“I have competed in several World Championships and Olympic Trials and thought I knew the racing rules pretty well. SailX has taught me far more than most accomplished competitors know about the rules.”

“I’m playing SailX for 3yrs. I began knowing very little of racing tactics, and nothing about the racing rules. SailX has taught me so much that I’m now a qualifi ed National Umpire.”

“2 years ago, I had absolutely no knowledge of any rule. SailX taught me everything i know, and I am now confi dent with using rules to my advantage around the course.”

“This game truly helped me improve my sailing knowledge, and also to make my self more capable to race on international regattas.”

“It taught both my son and I the Racing Rules of Sailing. An excellent teaching and training tool, as well as a lot of fun.”

“Most in-depth and real-world skill-based game I have ever played, in any category. Teaches the RRS and how they apply to the race course.”

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Contact us

John [email protected]+44 7990 588 338

Amando [email protected]+34 659 915 642

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