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XBox (Games) Entertainment Games

Xbox Gets Military Tactical Planning Software 40

Posted by simoniker from the live-and-direct dept.
Thanks to The Baltimore Sun for their article discussing possible military applications of videogame technology, specifically referencing the Trex visualization tool from joint government training and videogame developer, BreakAway. According to the article: "In about a year, if all goes according to plans, soldiers flying to an overseas mission will play Trex on the Microsoft video-game system Xbox to familiarize themselves with actual streets, buildings and terrain before setting foot on foreign soil." The piece reveals that Trex "...will use satellite data to digitally replicate 3-D images of cities such as Kabul, Mogadishu or Baghdad", and the website explains that the software can be "...used to create tactical simulations for en route training." A different army tactical training simulator developed by Pandemic Studios, Full Spectrum Warrior, was highly acclaimed as a videogame at this year's E3 trade show in Los Angeles.
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Xbox Gets Military Tactical Planning Software More

Xbox Gets Military Tactical Planning Software

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  • Please tell me these maps will be available to us normal folk. Sure would be a dissapointement if there's yet another 3d replica of giant cities we couldnt shoot at each other in :)

    • Re:Please... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by presearch ( 214913 )
      Don't worry.
      The way things are going, you'll soon get your chance to do it for real, in a city near you.

      We'll be fighting in the streets, with our children at our feet,
      and the morals that they worship will be gone.

    • hello......it's an xbox, not exactly the most secure mini pc in the world, i'm sure we'll be fraggin' on these maps in minutes thank god for hackers and p2p :)
    • I dunno... don't you think that would give the 'bad guys' the same advantage we're gaining? In theory they know the place better than we do in the first place but, when the bad guys are moving 'troops' around I could see the U.S. wanting to keep any advantage to themselves. All the same, I imagine copies of the game would pop up on Hong Kong streets in a week (or a week before release).

  • soldiers flying to an overseas mission will play Trex on the Microsoft video-game system Xbox to familiarize themselves with actual streets, buildings and terrain before setting foot on foreign soil.

    For the Civilian bosses of the soldiers may I recommend Civilization, Alpha Centauri, SimIraq, and other "God Game" titles .....

  • well heck (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    if our troops can know the streets of mogadishu after a week like i know the streets of vice city - they'll be a hell of a lot better off i'm sure.

    i really don't know how to consider this as anything other than a 'good thing'.
    more knowledge + better visualization = less accidents = less senseless death.

    if it takes an xbox to pull it off, more power to it.
    • Very good point. I estimate that in about two weeks, I'll be able to find my way around Los Angeles with the help from True Crime.
      • Remember: The old adage "fight fire with fire" does not apply to non-metaphorical fires.
        dont firefighters do controlled burning to stop uncontrollable forest fires?
    • I can see our soldiers working with/killing different iraqi factions, having sex with prostitutes in humvees, and raqueteering for personal gain already.

      Operation Grandtheft Auto:Agrobhad City

  • Seems an odd choice, unless MS pays (Score:3, Interesting)

    by iainl ( 136759 ) on Monday December 29, 2003 @11:53AM (#7827797)
    Unless this is some Microsoft-funded promo stunt, why would they use the XBox? I'm aware that a standard unit makes a convenient smallish and cheap PC, but the difficulty of publishing titles to non-dev boxes in a hurry would be a larger issue than the extra money it would take for a Shuttle-cased PC, surely? I can't see why they wouldn't just do this on a PC, rather than a closed-down console, particularly if they used joypad to USB converters to make the interface simpler.

    • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday December 29, 2003 @01:06PM (#7828256)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • The reason it is using the Xbox is because the xbox got a major plug in that on various US military bases, in places like Europe and the middle east, they are setting up game rooms with Xboxes where you can play against local players and other people on other bases.
        They charge a few dollars an hour, and have a decent collection of games, all designed for multi-player and network player. Also the rooms have nice seating and setup, with a so-so decore.
        As for why the xbox was picked instead of the PS2 this
    • that Microsoft can do right? I mean, I dislike windows as much as the next guy, but if the Army wants to use the Xbox to produce their simulations then it must be because they feel it's the best way to train soldiers to the environment. I'm for anything that involves our troops landing on the ground in such a way that they can lay the smackdown on a bunch of terrorist thugs without taking casualties. And if that involves Microsoft, then good for them, good for us, and awesome for everyone.
      • Don't get me wrong, if its useful then its a good idea; I just got the impression that this was designed for a quick-to-battlefield solution. In which case, getting your code signed and copy-protected (unless they are using chipped XBoxes, which I can't find Microsoft being keen on) is a step in the way that using a normal PC (running Windows if it keeps Gates happy) wouldn't have.
    • i've got a brother who works on a naval cruiser, and he says pretty much it's the box of preference for the guys. there's at least one in each of the lounges.

      besides, i'd think it'd have to do with the good tools and good performance with very little console-specific coding.

      you gotta have an experienced ps2 developer to pull out the graphics a dime-a-dozen pc developer can do on the xbox.

      and the xbox is a sealed unit. it isn't going to be a security risk, it isn't going to be a maintenance draw, it isn't

    • Well, duh. (Score:2, Funny)

      by CSZeus ( 593470 )
      It's bulletproof! [slashdot.org]
    • Why use the Xbox? 1. It's ready out-of-the-box, easily acquired anywhere. Not so with Shuttle cased PCs. 2. You drop the software in the drive, turn it on, and it starts. Not so with Shuttle cased PCs, without some tinkering. 3. It's more powerful than the other consoles. Not necessarily more powerful than the PC, but it's a hell of a lot simpler logistically. 4. It's easily developed for. It uses DirectX just like any Windows-based PC.
  • I hope this gets released to the public.

    Irony of ironies that a microsoft system could help people take over the world.
    • There's no new technology here. In fact if it runs on Xbox it's probably old stuff. All you have to do to have the same thing (essentially) on your PC is to come up with some maps for your favorite games, based on actual real-world geometry.
  • OK, I can see the cost savings of using off-the-shelf standardized hardware for this, but isn't the display resolution of NTSC video just too low for something like this?

    I mean, think about how detailed the map of your average metropolitan area traffic report looks like on the TV news. Here in New York, it's completely unreadable, and that's only with the most major roads.

    How much readable TYPE can you even fit on a TV? Not enough for this application.

    Even a relatively high-res mapquest map pales next
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • 1080i + double the frame rate at half res, no? I thought that was only for applications where smooth motion was the most important visual feature (i.e. sports broadcasts).

      My point is that the cost savings of using a xbox vs. a is entirely negated by needing an HDTV to view the thing rather than a PC monitor, so the whole concept seems flawed from a cost perspective.
  • Oh yeah?! X-box can render full cities?! Well the GameCube has the ability to render an entire planet!!! So hah! Ok, that sucked.
  • And if the XBox ever breaks it can be used as an impromptu club or shield thus further aiding our forces!
  • Am I the only one who thinks this is a dangerous idea? If anything, video games should be moving away from reality, not closer to it. I would never advocate censorship, but where is the line to be drawn? Perhaps when you can freely download floorplans to any major bank?

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