Army's MMO Game Sim Details Discussed 28
Thanks to HomeLan Fed for their interview with Robert Gehorsam of There Inc. regarding their U.S. Army-funded 'virtual world' project, as previously mentioned on Slashdot. This extension of an the existing There Inc. MMO title will apparently "enable a commander of an [Army] unit to say, 'Hey, my unit needs to train for its upcoming peacekeeping duties in Kumar.' He works with a trainer to develop a specific environment and scenario (or better yet, modify an existing one out of a repository), figures out who is going to play the bad guys, the civilians and the 'others' -- like the Red Cross, the UN, etc. -- and then prep his unit for the exercise." However, when asked about the types of features MMOG fans might recognize, Gehorsman suggests: "Guns? I'll admit, however, that the magic system is not particularly robust."
Realism (Score:5, Interesting)
Sounds pretty neat to me. I don't recall if their America's Army improved your shooting skill or not, but that game was fun and challenging. It doesn't sound like they are sure if they'll release it to the masses though.
"HomeLAN - Is there a chance that this game will be released in modified form as a commercial project?
Robert Gehorsam - That's a very interesting question, and I bet a commercial MMP exploring conflict in today's world would be pretty amazing. And useful, perhaps, to the Army itself, as civilians played roles -- like terrorists or other shadowy movements -- that it's hard to get people to play for real training. But ask me again in about a year."
That would be a shame if we didn't get to play it.
Re:Realism (Score:5, Interesting)
Even though AA has "levels" in the form of Honor points, the only time they help you out is in weapon selection. Higher Honor players tend to get first pick of weapons in a scenario. They do not adjust your accuracy or give you any other benefit.
It doesn't sound like they are sure if they'll release it to the masses though.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if they used the work they do for the Army as the foundation for another game, but i doubt we'll get to play alongside the actual Army guys who are doing their training.
Now that i think about it though, it would probably be a good idea for the Army to hire some 31337 AA or Counterstrike players to play the bad guys, and maybe some deep roleplayers from some MMORPGs to fill in other parts.
Now that brings up some ethical quandries! I won't work for defense contractors IRL for ethical reasons, but would i work for the Army as an NPC/trainer in their MMORPG if the job was offered? On the one hand, i'd get paid to play a game - sweet gig. On the other hand, it's still working for the Army.
I guess it would depend on what kind of training i'd be doing. If i could help them learn to resolve more disputes non-violently, then that's a net positive, but if i'm just helping them learn to intimidate and kill more effectively, then that would be not cool.
Re:Realism (Score:1)
"Yeah, I'm studying the use of speech recognition and synthesis in the new UT2k4 demo, boss. It's...uh...similar to what we want to use..."
Not magic. Luck (Score:4, Interesting)
Gehorsman suggests: "Guns? I'll admit, however, that the magic system is not particularly robust."
While magic may not play a part in this I would expect that random elements of good and bad luck will.
Even with people behind the opponents of the team in training, every war has soldiers who have stories about experiencing lucky and unlucky coincidences.
Re:Not magic. Luck (Score:2, Insightful)
Au contrare! It's onlyExactly Where They're At Weapons of Mass Destruction"
Other magic items will include: The Magic Flight-Suit of Re-election Ads: with this authentic U.S Navy flight suit, fortunate sons who managed to avoid real wars in Vietnam get to declare wars they instigated to avenge Daddy to be over! The magic lies in glossing over the ensuing casualties during the "peace", which will actually
Re:Not magic. Luck (Score:2, Redundant)
Whoops, I munged the second paragraph. It should be:
Au contrare! It's only by means of magic that you'll ever find the fabled Mysteriously Non-Existent but War-Justifying Nonetheless because, Dear U.N., We Know Exactly Where They're At Weapons of Mass Destruction"
Re:Not magic. Luck (Score:1, Flamebait)
You sir a piece of shit in the truest sense of the word.
Lord Kril (Score:4, Funny)
Lord? I think not! (Score:1)
is wrong. I watched TLS a lot when I was little)...unless he received a posthumous rank or something from whatever the bits and pieces of the Armada remained after all that last starfightering went down :)
Peacekeeping in Kumar? (Score:3, Flamebait)
Oddly enough, "Kumar" is the name given to a thinly fictionalized Saudi Arabia in the favorite escape from dreary Bush-redux reality of U.S. liberals, TV's The West Wing.
So is Robert Gehorsam (to paraphrase Baroness Thatcher's accusation to Neil Kinnock) a "crypto-liberal", or does Saudi Arabia have some "regime change" heading its way?
Re:Peacekeeping in Kumar? (Score:3, Informative)
Brilliant Troll! (Score:2)
Re:Peacekeeping in Kumar? (Score:1)
Magic system not robust (Score:3, Interesting)
They are candid and upfront when asked questions, unusual for a group affiliated with a government. Is it a recruiting tool? Of course it is. Can you be a wizard? No, magic isn't in the current build.
It's simply refreshing to think a house can be a affiliated with the government, yet build and maintain a project superbly, while offering no spin and good humor as PR.
Re:Magic system not robust (Score:2, Insightful)
With these Army games coming out (Score:3, Insightful)
Freaking Cool (Score:2, Interesting)
Ok imagine the scenario, you get in and check your e-mail. It's from *@army.us.gov, it asks if you would be available at 9:14 for insertion. You say sure, so 9:12 rolls around and you head in and wait in the waiting room, they have a couple extra guys waiting in case someone messes up then based on ping and mission performance they let you in.
Before you'd been training