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Well, after a few attempts I finally got Multiplayer working using a second laptop on the home wifi network and was able to tow the other vessel on the other instance of Bridge Command. There were a few configuration issues (for instance the throttle and wheel controls on one PC controlled both vessels simultaneously and I was in constant collision) but eventually I got it working somehow. I am not sure I fully understand how lines work as they seem to get messed up when the angles are not straight and for instance sometimes cross over each other if two are used in an alongside tow whereas real lines would never do that.
Anyway, I now do have a way of towing so will work on fine tuning to make it as realistic as practical. Maybe keep lines shorter-more experimenting necessary.

If, as mentioned above, that own ship can be towed.......is a possible solution to allow an additional "own ship" in the scenario ?

Any update on this request?
It would be a very useful training feature if own ship could pass lines to a disabled vessel (long or short tow, tug-tow alongside with breast and spring lines) for our rescue organisation. As we would never tow a vessel with its own propulsion, certainly engines off would be what is required. There only needs to one such disabled vessel in the scenario, with the abilty to tow it, manoeuvre taking into account the relative sizes and weights, drag, wind and tidal stream etc, and be able to bring it alongside a jetty or wharf.
I have not tried networking another PC yet. Do I understand that an own-ship on that computer could be towed by own-ship on the first PC, or is that not currently possible either?

Yes it does. Change the data field then hit Change Leg then hit Save and the appropriate ownship.ini file is modified accordingly. So the only real issue is the default value when the new scenario is created. I have checked briefly and the default decimal value of 6961384356225895000000000000000000.000000 doesn't seem to be a convenient binary (all 1's) or Hex (all F's) number so would be curious to discover where it comes from?

If I open the Scenario Editor and Create a New Scenario, the Speed of Own Ship is a ridiculously large number (  InitialSpeed=6.96138e+33  ). The Course is 0.

When I change the speed to zero and save the scenario, it does NOT save the new speed. If I go to the ownship.ini file I can see the huge number. If I edit the ini file using notepad then save it is all OK. when I reopen the Editor----but still doesn't save any subsequent changes properly.

In fact, if I change the course to something other than 0.0, the scenario editor does not save that either. It does save a new position if I move ownship so the save function partially works.

Note, with this huge speed in the new scenario (before I discovered this issue),opening the Bridge Command gave very weird results--unsurprisingly !

Hello Admin,

OK, makes sense.

I am just starting with Bridge Command. So far I have been trying to use (simple) greyscale .png files for height. I am having difficulty getting realistic shorelines--getting the slope right is hard and I usually end up with cliffs because I have the greyscale gradient too steep. To manually edit a large map has consumed many hours late at night already.

One question, for an 8 bit 256 level greyscale, is zero (water level) represented by 127 or half way between Max Height and deepest depth in the terrain.ini file?

There is obviously a lot of clever programming behind Bridge Command and I do have an electronics and programming background so I understand, but yes, I would think a "tweek" of azimuth drives would be one way to go. Just allow reverse thrust same as shaft drives but limit the rotation angles like rudders. The drives would have to be placed at the stern, but I see you already have parameters for the drive location.
In our case we have two outboard (on a rescue vessel) cross connected and steered from the one helm. I imagine both azimuth drives could be connected to the same joystick input so they turn together, just with separate throttle input for each.

In the Terrain.ini files I see this-----TerrainHeightMapSize----but it is not listed in the relevant documentation. At least I cant find it.
Where is this defined please?

Hmmm, just thinking and working my way through the file specs. I suppose if I use normal twin shaft propulsion and  if I deliberately increase the rudder effectiveness in Astern, that would have a similar effect as an outboard-IE it would "pull" the stern sideways? The big difference is that in real life, a rudder usually only has much effect if the vessel is making way whereas an outboard will turn the vessel "on the spot" as soon as revs increase and well before the vessel starts to move sternways through the water. Similar with ahead engaged too I suppose!

Thoughts anyone?

How would I model twin outboards? I thought perhaps I could use Azimuth drives but they do not go astern and have to be rotated 180--not realistic for normal outboard operation.