Ladic Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3507531.stm The US Army is building a second version of Earth on computer to help it prepare for conflicts around the world. The detailed simulation will be drawn from a real-world terrain database and will be drawn to the same scale as the original. The software Earth is being created for the US Army by gaming company There, which is currently working on a virtual world for gamers. The first version of the virtual planet should be finished by September. Big picture The ambitious project aims to help the US Army plan future conflicts which are unlikely to involve set-piece battles and instead be smaller in scale. Details of the project were revealed by Robert Gehorsam, a senior vice president at There, during a lengthy interview posted on the Homelan Fed gaming website. Mr Gehorsam said the world being created will not be a game but instead will be a "massively multi-user persistent environment" that will model real world physics as closely as possible. The emphasis in the artificial Earth will be on human interaction rather than conflicts involving lots of military hardware. He said combat will be a part of the game but it is also intended to let the Army simulate intelligence work as well as patrols, planning and working with indigenous populations. Also included will be lots of tools that help trainers and pupils work out how they did and review their progress during and after a simulation exercise. There is planning to model the entire planet at the proper scale so it would be possible to walk across the United States if participants wanted to. However, currently the virtual Earth is almost bare as the only thing modelled in any detail is part of Kuwait City. He said There was working with the US Army researchers to ensure that existing models of the way that things such as crowds and vehicles react can be included in the simulated planet. In spring a group of sergeants and junior officers that have served in Iraq will become the first soldiers to try out the virtual Earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anubis Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 Combined with our AI robotics thread, we all know where this is leading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druna Skass Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 Oh man that have to port that over to console or PC sometime... Make that into some massive online game, where you can try to become a drug lord, over throw a country... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent ONE Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 Awesome! I more effective killing machines! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentrandude Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 looks cool and can be used for tons of things. only thing i see wrong it will always be inaccurate to the real earth since it changes all the time. from urban renewal projects and enviromental changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vostok 7 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I dunno... this is kinda scary. I mean, I've been involved with deals like this before (Active Worlds) but this is almost getting Matrix like... Vostok 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imode Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I think the GI's would have more fun with a bunch of Xbox's and Halo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXO Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 (edited) oh man.... I would love to hack that with my virtual Death Star! ADD: I wonder what the virtual me will look like... I hope 30 lbs less. Edited February 24, 2004 by >EXO< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchVile Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Now just imagine if they tracked everybody and put them on the program. That would be creepy but highly unlikely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentrandude Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Now just imagine if they tracked everybody and put them on the program. That would be creepy but highly unlikely. not sure about creepy but with all internet games im sure the common phrase would be "bah this lag i cant move in my alternate reality with i use to escape real reality" or "bah this lag i can't track them pixels" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stamen0083 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 (edited) Now just imagine if they tracked everybody and put them on the program. They already do. Everytime you handle a penny, the government gets hold of your information. Why do you think they keep them in circulation? Edited February 24, 2004 by Stamen0083 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel's Fury Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Combined with our AI robotics thread, we all know where this is leading. Leading to what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noriko Takaya Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Anyone remember what happened to Rimmer when he ended up playing "Better Than Life" with Lister, Cat, and Holly? And Angel's Fury, it means that it will lead to more realistic porn fantasies for those people refusing to go out and get a real life. After all, porn is a 10 billion dollar a year industry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel's Fury Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 And Angel's Fury, it means that it will lead to more realistic porn fantasies for those people refusing to go out and get a real life. After all, porn is a 10 billion dollar a year industry... He! He! He! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefox Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 In future we all live in Matrix kind of world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isamu Atreides 86 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Oh man that have to port that over to console or PC sometime...Make that into some massive online game, where you can try to become a drug lord, over throw a country... Freedom for the Proletariat! freedom! horrible freedom!! "tea and cake or DEATH!!" its a brave new world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anubis Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Combined with our AI robotics thread, we all know where this is leading. Leading to what? Matrix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy438 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Come on guys, nobody needs to worry about this getting to matrix levels, it's being built by the US Army That means it'll barely get off the ground and remain in "testing" for 25 years until it's finally killed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91WhiskeyM6 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Don't be talking smack about my branch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yohsho Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Man. Those US army guys shoulda stuck with the CS or Halo than spend money on doing this. This is asking for ppl to hack in and create stuff and go vs. the army. If anything I would go in go akimbo and hope for unlimited ammo, then go katana on them. Hey if we get a copy of this someone try to get a valk into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stamen0083 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Man. Those US army guys shoulda stuck with the CS or Halo than spend money on doing this. This is asking for ppl to hack in and create stuff and go vs. the army. If anything I would go in go akimbo and hope for unlimited ammo, then go katana on them. Hey if we get a copy of this someone try to get a valk into it. You make this US military product sound like it's a Microsoft operating system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentrandude Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 (edited) Man. Those US army guys shoulda stuck with the CS or Halo than spend money on doing this. This is asking for ppl to hack in and create stuff and go vs. the army.  If anything I would go in go akimbo and hope for unlimited ammo, then go katana on them. Hey if we get a copy of this someone try to get a valk into it. You make this US military product sound like it's a Microsoft operating system. so it would be constantly hacked, have more viruses than a bar near a militiy base, and is overpriced. guess 1 more and welcome to the world Order of MS. Edited February 24, 2004 by Zentrandude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druna Skass Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I think the GI's would have more fun with a bunch of Xbox's and Halo. What about SOCOM? As far as addictions go my brother has a SOCOM addiction worse than Bling-Bling's (the crackhead in Bumfights) crack addiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anubis Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 We're all joking here. It's not like we really mean all the matrix jokes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSW Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Wonder how detailed and accurite it could be? will it have the model of the model with in the model of the model that exists in the model of the model inside the model in the model of the model in the model of the model of the model of the earth for the sake of accuricy and all that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californium Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 An entire world of recursive computer models. Wow. "Can't...move...my person......... Too...many...polygons!" Dateline: Second Earth 1255^2 picoseconds AR (After Reboot) The US Army's plans to alleviate world population pressures and avoid future conflicts by storing major population segments electronically ran into great difficulty earlier today when the Windows operating system crashed. The Secretary of Defense declined to comment on whether or not backaups had been made of the last 4.2 million SE occupants to have been added to the program, but he did admit, "Yes, their meat selves had been destroyed already. We thought, you know, they wouldn't be needing those anymore, and maybe they didn't. We'll check on that." One Army technician who asked not to be named stated: "Yeah, they got hosed out of it. Blue screen of Death. Literally. What can you do?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-ZeroOne Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 (edited) Anyone remember what happened to Rimmer when he ended up playing "Better Than Life" with Lister, Cat, and Holly? Dwayne Dweebly? DWAYNE DWEEBLY?!! Of course, it could already have happened, and we're just all virtual avatars unsuspecting of the real battle being fought out there... ...just a thought, neh...? Edited February 24, 2004 by F-ZeroOne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anubis Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I'd be kind of wierd if it ended up looking like a 3D virtual the Sims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerwalker Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 This reminds me a very short stroy from J.L. Borges (quoted from the Wikipedia Wikipedia: Map-territory relation article): In "On Exactitude in Science", Jorge Luis Borges describes the tragic uselessness of the perfectly accurate, one-to-one map: In time, those Unconscionable Maps no longer satisfied, and the Cartographers Guild drew a Map of the Empire whose size was that of the Empire, coinciding point for point with it. The following Generations, who were not so fond of the Study of Cartography saw the vast Map to be Useless and permitted it to decay and fray under the Sun and winters. In the Deserts of the West, still today, there are Tattered Ruins of the Map, inhabited by Animals and Beggars; and in all the Land there is no other Relic of the Disciplines of Geography. In spanish (for those of us who love the complete originals...) Del Rigor de la Ciencia ...En aquel Imperio, el Arte de la CartografÃa logró tal Perfección que el mapa de una sola Provincia ocupaba toda una Ciudad, y el mapa del Imperio, toda una Provincia. Con el tiempo, esos Mapas Desmesurados no satisficieron y los Colegios de Cartógrafos levantaron un Mapa del Imperio que tenÃa el tamaño del Imperio y coincidÃa puntualmente con él. Menos Adictas al Estudio de la CartografÃa, las Generaciones Siguientes entendieron que ese dilatado Mapa era Inútil y no sin Impiedad lo entregaron a las Inclemencias del Sol y de los Inviernos. En los desiertos del Oeste perduran despedazadas Ruinas del Mapa, habitadas por Animales y por Mendigos; en todo el PaÃs no hay otra reliquia de las Disciplinas Geográficas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prowlus Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 don't they know that the answer is "Forty-Two"? (guess why i said that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronocidal Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Well, everyone knows that.. but the problem is no one knows the question to that answer. Maybe they're taking a hint, and instead of using the REAL Earth to calculate the question to the ultimate answer, they're creating a simulated Earth to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel's Fury Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 We're all joking here. It's not like we really mean all the matrix jokes. Who's gonna be our Neo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaine23 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 The US Army is building a second version of Earth on computer to help it prepare for conflicts around the world. The detailed simulation will be drawn from a real-world terrain database and will be drawn to the same scale as the original. The software Earth is being created for the US Army by gaming company There, which is currently working on a virtual world for gamers. The first version of the virtual planet should be finished by September. Big picture The ambitious project aims to help the US Army plan future conflicts which are unlikely to involve set-piece battles and instead be smaller in scale. Details of the project were revealed by Robert Gehorsam, a senior vice president at There, during a lengthy interview posted on the Homelan Fed gaming website. Mr Gehorsam said the world being created will not be a game but instead will be a "massively multi-user persistent environment" that will model real world physics as closely as possible. [computer voice, circa 1983] "Would you like to play a game?" [/computer voice, circa 1983] Yeah. Weird isn't it? Love to. How about Global Thermonuclear War. [computer voice, circa 1983]Wouldn't you perfer a nice game of chess? [/computer voice, circa 1983] David Lightman: Later. Right now lets play Global Thermonuclear War. [computer voice, circa 1983]Fine. [/computer voice, circa 1983] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel's Fury Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Those lines are from a movie! Damn, I can't remember for the life of me what movie it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anubis Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 We're all joking here. It's not like we really mean all the matrix jokes. Who's gonna be our Neo? Agent One? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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