STATE-OF-THE-ART VIRTUAL BATTLEFIELD SIMULATION TECHNOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
"The use of technological innovations, such as personal computer (PC)-based wargames, provide great potential for US Marines to develop decision making skills, particularly when live training time and opportunities are limited. Policy contained herein authorizes Marines to use Government computers for approved PC-based wargames."
General Charles C. Krulak, Marine Corps Order 1500.55, "Military Thinking and Decision Making Exercises,"
Networked video games such as Falcon 4.0 are emblematic of the calculated emergence of a military-entertainment complex but also of the fusion of the digital and the real happening around us. It is hardly surprising that US Air Force Officer Pete Bonanni not only helps adapt the video game to military training needs but also writes a regular column for the www.falcon4.com website on tactics and has designed several of the 31 pre-built training missions included with the game. He is co-author of two best-selling books on Falcon 4.0, one with colleague James Reiner, also an F-16 instructor pilot and graduate of the F-16 Fighter Weapons School, and like Bonanni a consultant on the game. Beginning with some basics on the game and the various gameplay options, Falcon 4.0: Prima's Official Strategy Guide gives readers a guide to instant action missions, multiplayer dogfights, and full-fledged campaigns. The book is a serious no-nonsense manual, devoting separate chapters to laser-guided bombs and even the AGM-65 Maverick missile. Bonanni’s second book, Falcon 4.0 Checklist, is scheduled to appear soon and is already high on the Amazon.com sales list before it has even hit the bookstores. Recalling that Ender’s Game has been taught in flight schools, would-be Falcon pilots will probably want to add a copy to their Amazon.com shopping cart for inspirational reading.
The success with a Doom-based simulation led the US Marine Corps to look ahead to the next step in commercial war gaming. Discussions with MÄK (pronounced "mock") Technologies (Cambridge, MA), a commercial game manufacturer specializing in network simulation tools for distributed interactive simulations, lead to the design of a tactical operations game built to Marine specifications. According to the contract the Marine Corps would help develop the software code and in turn would receive a site license to train on this game, while MÄK would sell it commercially as an official Marine Corps tactical training game. This from-the-ground-up development would eliminate all of the nuances of the other adapted games that are not particular to Marine combat.
CONCEPTION OF THE SOFTWARE FOR VIRTUAL BATTLEFIELD SIMULATOR
The software team is currently working in the development of the Jet Thunder: Falklands/Malvinas project, an inovative flight simulator aimed at the entertainment market, but with a high-degree of realism and accuracy demanded by this niche, showcasing the company's technology in all its branches, fully integrated in a single product:
● Proprietary 3D engine, with accurate terrain system based in SRTM data* and size depending only of storage space
● Proprietary physics system, strongly focused in flight dynamics/flight modeling, but also capable of other applications
● virtual cockpit system technology with complete flight instruments, including HUD and MFD, and capable of 6DOF and supporting head-tracking devices
● Complete artwork and content creation, with virtual representations of vehicles, enviroments, architecture and characters accurately based in their real-life counterparts
● Artificial Inteligence (AI) routines, able to coordinate attacks, navigate, take-off, land, retreat, etc.
● Client/Server based networking capabilities
● Multi-station vehicles simulation (a bomber plane can have its pilot station, gunner stations, etc, all networked in the same virtual battlefield)
MORE FEATURES OF THE SIMULATION SOFTWARE AND ACCURATE 3D MODELING TECHNOLOGY:
● Threat analisys and familiarization through true-to-life 3D models and camouflage schemes:
MiG-21 Bis in the virtual enviroment
- it's still one of the most widely spread fighter jets.
● Avionics ("glass cockpits" - MFDs) familiarization and training with inexpensive in-class operation
● Complete mission planning and waypoint evaluation with air defense ranges, comms and EW added to the equation
