I loaded this onto my system yesterday and am pleased with it so far. I agree with the approach taken to include only a few elements of 'realism' to begin with, but look forward to options to increase the diving challenge as the game progresses. I'm glad the focus is on the enjoyable aspects of diving, with just some of the more overarching reality constraints included. I really don't care to have the game constantly reminding me to click on a button to pop my ears every 6' down or so, or to have to stop and clear a leaky/foggy mask every so often. Been there / done that diving, and while having to do so certainly won't deter me from diving, I see no value to adding such elements to a leisurely sim.
The sim runs without a hitch at maximum settings on my system and looks quite pretty, imho. Lighting and visual effects are good at this point (I didn't try the sim when it first came out back in March and so can't say how much it may have progressed in that time...). Is it the most graphically stunning software I've seen? Well, it would be hard to say 'yes', but it really is pretty good considering this is a $10 release. I've been waiting for a half decent sim about diving for a long time and this is way better than the cartoony jokes I've seen until now. I could list lots of little things to add/improve, but I would consider those all to be details for the evolution of the sim rather than glitches or flaws in the current release. (eg: add an option to use a male diver - my wife thought it a bit odd that I selected a curvy young lady as my character). As for options to turn on water current and buoyancy control effects, yes I look forward to those as well, but agree that they should be options - the devs do need to sell this game to non-divers as well... Doing safety stops and modelling decompression stops for repetitive dives could be an option I suppose - but really, is anyone actually going to turn off their computer for 8 hours to lower their residual nitrogen between dives? No, on second thought I don't see much game merit to that (though something inside me forces me to do my safety stop in the game regardless - well ok, I actually swim around at 10' for 2-3 mins, but same thing...). More interesting perhaps would be the single dive constraints of advanced technical diving (gas mixes, tank swaps, 2-tank harnesses/regulators, etc) but I still don't think I'd put that ahead of releasing additional dive locations, enhancing the variety and behaviour of the sea life, and generally focussing on the 'sport diver appeal' of the sim.
Overall, great job! For the modest sum of $10 I am not disappointed at all. I look forward to seeing this evolve further.
