First-Person Shooter Modified For Fire Drill Simulation 158
Hugh Pickens writes "Researchers at Durham University have modified a video game and turned it into a fire drill simulator using the Source engine (the 3D game engine used to drive Half-Life 2), and created a virtual model of one of the university's departments. Dr. Shamus Smith said that although 3D modeling software was available, modifying a video game was faster, more cost effective, and had better special effects. 'We were interested in using game technology over a customized application and the Source Engine, from Half-Life, is very versatile,' said Smith. 'We used the simulation to see how people behaved in an actual fire situation and to train people in "good practice" in a fire.' The team says the virtual environment helped familiarize people with evacuation routines and could also help identify problems with a building's layout. One problem, however, was that while the simulation worked for most people, those who played a lot of video games did some unusual things when using the simulation. 'If a door was on fire, [the gamers] would try and run through it, rather than look for a different exit,' said Smith."
This makes me wonder to what extent entertainment software will fill the role of non-entertainment software as the tools and engines become more and more powerful. Ars mentions related news that the US Dept. of Naval Research is dumping millions of dollars into "virtual reality-like simulations of small-scale urban conflicts." It's unclear whether this is related to the US Army's similar program.
Mods (Score:5, Funny)
'If a door was on fire, [the gamers] would try and run through it, rather than look for a different exit,' said Smith."
You need the firesuit mod for that perk.
'Carry over ' relexes happen in real life too (Score:5, Interesting)
Reminds me of the story of the airline pilot who, late at night and after a long transatlantic trip, smashed into the back of a car at a red lght. When questioned, he swore that his first relex was to pull back on the steering wheel and fly over the obstacle rather than brake...
Getting back on topic, why not? Simulation programs have traditionally been bespoke, hugely expensive and frequently less 'rich' than some games. Also, actually doing a fire drill in a large complex is not without risk and expense.
Re:'Carry over ' relexes happen in real life too (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:'Carry over ' relexes happen in real life too (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:'Carry over ' relexes happen in real life too (Score:4, Funny)
I can believe that, though he should really have been driving so as not to be that close in the first place. I rode horses most of my life, and when I came to learn to drive I found it very unsettling indeed not to have the ability to push the car sideways with my leg. Also, driving without wearing a helmet of some kind made me feel kinda naked.
Um, you can wear a helmet in a car if you really want to.
Re:'Carry over ' relexes happen in real life too (Score:5, Funny)
> First-Person Shooter Modified For Fire Drill Simulation
Fire Chief: Look at all these dead bodies. >:( You guys are in a lot of trouble!
Building Owner: Well, our simulation analysis showed you could easily escape by just rocket jumping out the window...
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Actually in most states wearing a helmet in the car is illegal.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Well, I was with you 100% until 'helmet' came up...WTF??? (yes, I had horses many years before I got my first bicycle)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Ahh!Different culture.
"Beyod that, I imagine you'e from the US, and didn't regularly wear a hat for riding." Yes, from the US,(Oklahoma) and never been worried about whether I had on the 'right' hat to ride on a horse. I just jumped on the critter and rode.I had horses many years before I was introduced to a bicycle. Never worried about putting on a fashion show first.
"...not wearing a hat is like showing your grandma your cock; it's considered bad form."
Well, I would not deign to go about flashing my cock
Re: (Score:2)
Ah..
Then ignore my previous reply[check time stamp].
My apologies! Really.
I grew up on a ranch, and had my own horse since I was 3 years old, (yes, I was dumb, awkward, unknowing, and unaware-but I learned quick)
We focused more on 'getting the job done' than protocol, but yes, I understand and respect it. Traditions and customs, right, mate? (no sarcasm intended-it really provides a solid foundation for everyone to work from)
Again, I apologize for my over-board reply. No good excuse! :-)
*feels 1 cm tall!*
I am an idiot... (Score:2)
Please ignore my unfounded aand pointless ravings. :-)
I had totally misunderstood your point of view, smashed my nose from knee-jerking, and made a total arse of myself.
You have my sincere apologies!
Re: (Score:2)
It's not so much an etiquette or custom thing as simple safety - trailing around a ranch isn't the same thing as galloping flat out across unknown country while fox-hunting, and your head does tend to be the first thing to hit the ground when it does go wrong . And I'm certainly not going to slag off American horsemanship - some of it is very fine indeed.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
As fo
Re: (Score:2)
Simulators can give you some insight, but it is far different then actually doing it in a physical environment. Ever drive a racing car game? It's a bit different then driving a racing car - hence why you smash into the wall all the time in the game. For this it would be great to learn the routes, but they need to introduce stress into the situation. At the very least the game, while designed to look like the building, will not look just like it (cartoon pixels of a wall do not look like a wall). As for gamers doing things that someone normally one would not do, how about doing a triple twist jump while putting two shots into the heads of your classmates and landing safely on the other side? :)
Sorry, bunny hopping, martyrdom and last stand will get you banned from the office.
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed - depending at what point in a takeoff/landing roll something like that happened the appropriate solution would be to go full throttle and try to get over it. Big jets have long breaking distances (especially during takeoff when weight is maximized and the engines take seconds to spool down). Past a certain point the only reason they would hit the brakes at all is that fewer people would die when you hit whatever is past the end of the runway than if you were to try to take off and come crashing ba
Re:Mods (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Mods (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Mods (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Get the rocket launcher and make your own exit ?
If they made their fire drill look and act like a game, that's their own damn fault. Real people don't strafe-jump down the stairs either. In fact, real people tend to just stand around staring at each other, complaining about how the alarm makes it difficult to work and how some people take these drills too seriously. After a few minutes they start asking "Should we leave ?" as their cube neighbour shrugs "I dunno, let's go raid the vending machines!".
Peop
It's meant to be humour, folks! (Score:2)
While you raise some interesting points(and truthful, IMO), this one is easy to figure out for the veteran FPS player:
Frag EVERYONE, they will only get in your way.
Make sure you teabag your PHB! (this is important for gaining XP and leveling up)
When you get safely outside, SPAWN CAMP FTW!!!
Grenades are your friend.
Oh yeah, loot the CEO's corpse for the BFG9000 and his Golden Parachute!
Mine and booby trap EVERYTHING!!
Have I overlooked anything?
Re: (Score:2)
Well the strafe jump is a problem of design, not inherent of the game engine. Those variables can be adjusted and you can remove the ability to move about as if you were playing TF2.
Also player collision should be implemented so people cant run through each other. Bots can be used to simulate the other people so you don't need the whole school to simultaneously join a single server. Players that jump through fire should "die" in a non violent manner such as instantly turning into a spectator. Then display a
I've solved that problem (Score:4, Funny)
"It's not the drill procedure itself that's so terrible, once people are moving, they will continue following whoever's in front of them. It's getting them to start moving that's the hard part."
I am on the emergence response team, so when the bell goes off Scream "Oh dear God!", jump up, and run screaming to the exit.
I use to just fire a few round in the air to get people moving, but the 7th story start complain about bullet holes in their floor...whiners.
Re: (Score:2)
> I am on the emergence response team, so when the bell goes off Scream "Oh dear God!", jump up, and run screaming to the exit.
Also, I learned from the Simpsons that the first person out should bolt the door shut from the outside.
Strafe-jump ? Real people? don't? (Score:2)
What, exactly is strafe-jumping down the stairs that "real people" don't do?
I remember in a real emergency, I was out of my 2nd story office and in the front parking lot in about 17 seconds. :-)...amazing what adrenaline can do when it kicks in.
That was after about a 5-7 second pause before deciding it was the real thing and the building might not be left standing. I'm pretty sure I went down the stairwell and not out the window...
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I wish more places would have two-phase alarms. An intermittent alarm means there *might* be something happening somewhere in the building and you should prepare for an evacuation, but there's no need to actually evacuate. A full alarm means that you're actually in confirmed danger and should evacuate.
The last place I was that had a two-phase alarm randomly set off the phase one alarm every 6 weeks or so, but it meant that when the alarm actually went to phase two we all evacuated because it was a "confirme
Re: (Score:2)
So when the second alarm fails, everyone will turn up their TV volume and burn to a crisp while watching The Hills, because "it's just a phase one fire" ?
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Unless the fire spreads to a volatile area like a kitchen or chemical storage area (cleaning products), goes boom and reminds you how lightweight cubicle materials can quickly become high-velocity shrapnel.
Not all buildings are hyper-designed pinnacles of safety. Contractors don't live in the building, they aren't afraid to cut corners if they can get away with it.
Re:Mods (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Let's hear it for the Marsupial Insurgency and ROFLCopter simulations!
Re:Mods (Score:5, Informative)
Also, I'm a ball licking spammer and my company steals CC# and identities.
Lisa11
Local SEO [youtube.com]
But, but... (Score:3, Funny)
video games are dangerous!
How are we supposed to ban them now?
Re: (Score:2)
Don't worry, someone will certainly use the map for CS. Then just wait 'til someone starts shooting someone somewhere and this will be used as the example why it is BAD, BAD, BAD.
Re:But, but... (Score:5, Funny)
Don't worry, someone will certainly use the map for CS.
Hmmm. Just imagine the look on your coworkers' face when you whip out an AK-47 when you hear a fire alarm.
Re:But, but... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Because it's wrong that the take-away lesson seems to be that you're alone and you should open all possible doors?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed. Wasn't there a student suspended for creating a DOOM map that looked like a school (where you can go around and... [gasp] shoot things?)
The difference (Score:3, Funny)
I'm pretty sure I'd also run through the fire, at least a few times or until video-game-death, just to see what happens..
Obligatory XCKD link [xkcd.com]
Oh the irony (Score:2)
Sounds a bit like having their cake and eating it, too.
On a more humorous note, I wonder if any of the players tried strafe-jumping down the hall to exit the building faster!
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I can't really see this *not* happening: someone taking one look at the map for their (school|place of work) and saying to themselves, "gee, this would make for a fun after-hours match map..." This has been done since the days of Doom.
Re: (Score:2)
Now someone just needs to hack the game, start out with a gun, and shoot up the students during the drill so he can get out faster.
Re: (Score:2)
No, it sounds like you are creating a false dichotomy of us and them. There isn't a them that's out to get us.
There is just people doing what people do. Some are idiots and refuse to look at anything critical(J.T.)
Other sue the tool too suit their goal.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Oh the irony (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the availability of firearms is allegedly the cause for the school shootings, not just video games.
No. That kid who shot people. He was the cause.
Re:Oh the irony (Score:5, Insightful)
"25 States allow anyone to buy a gun, strap it on, and walk down the street with no permit of any kind: some say it's crazy. However, 4 out of 5 U.S. murders are committed in the other half of the country: so who is crazy?" - Andrew Ford
Re:Oh the irony (Score:5, Interesting)
Is this because 4 out of 5 people live in the 25 states where you do need a permit?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Uh, Michigan requires a permit to purchase a handgun.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh, I forgot. California doesn't require a purchase permit but they do require all handgun transfers to go through an 01 FFL which means a background check. Pretty close to a "permit" if you asked me.
Nevada doesn't require a permit, but in Cook County, where Las Vegas and I believe the majority of their violent crime is, you have to register your handguns.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I agree with you, but that quote is just plain stupid.
In my home we don't have any firearms, and no one has ever been killed, clearly not having firearms is safer.
See why the quote is stupid?
Add to that you should only be looking at people murdered with firearms when comparing firearm murders, not all murders.
No, I am not anti-gun, I am anti-stupid logic.
As a reminder it was box cutters and a bomb.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I'd say the cause is a bit more complex than just, "this kid's bad".
I didn't say that. All I tried to say was that it's not very helpful to blame guns, video games, Santa Claus, whatever.
I wonder (Score:5, Funny)
does diviant behaviour include looting the corpses of my co-workers in between running up to all the walls looking for the secret doors?
Re:I wonder (Score:5, Funny)
Oblig. (Score:2)
'Tilde'
Console: Godmode
[enter]
'Tilde'
Console: Allweapons
[enter]
Buaahahahaha!
Sorry. Really. It had to be done. :P
Strat
(Yes, I know they aren't really valid commands, but they make the point.)
Re: (Score:1)
Sadly, they ARE the actual commands in most games these days. I'm not sure what happened to IMAGINATION...
I know what DQD stands for... and I've played SPISPOPD
Re: (Score:2)
I'm not sure what happened to IMAGINATION...
Me either. I can't even conceive of the idea...
Strat
Re: (Score:2)
Does your mommy know you're on the internet unsupervised?
Urban Navies? (Score:5, Funny)
US Dept. of Naval Research is dumping millions of dollars into "virtual reality-like simulations of small-scale urban conflicts."
Mainly they've found they can't fit a battleship down small side streets...
Re: (Score:2)
Where is (Score:2, Insightful)
Seriously though, I am certain he is going to point to this as conditioned behavior caused by gaming, cause, you know, gamers will jump through an actual flaming door, despite the heat and all. A message for ya, Jack: Gamers may be conditioned by games, but only when actually playing games.
Cliffs and ponds are far more common than building fires and we don't see crumpled or floating bodies of gamers beside these natural hazards despite their low danger level in v
Re: (Score:2)
Captain Ahab Jack only chases after the Take2 white whale.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
who here believes Counter Strike really teaches gamers how to be (counter)terrorists?
I know that to defuse a bomb, you press the 'e' button on it.
Also, I know that you want to plant the bomb either in the counter-terrorists home, or some unrelated other country.
Oops, did I just politicize my joke? ;-)
Re: (Score:2)
Chances are, when the gamer is in the position of a fire he will act like any other 8 year old school girl...scratch that, the 8 year old school girl will do what her training in school taught her (walk out calmly in line), while the 35 year old gamer will run around screaming or stay huddled in a corner "oh god my life is flashing before my eyes and I realized I wasted it on computer games". Same thing in a gun situation - who here believes Counter Strike really teaches gamers how to be (counter)terrorists?
It doesn't. BUT, it teaches basic Fire and Manouver,Stealth, field of vision, use of terrain, plus unpredictability. Or at least it does to people whose fragrate is over 1.
People who are scared will remain so. all the others will learn the basic tenets of all FPS games: staying in one place too long will get you killed, and ears can work concurrently with eyes even in a noisy environment.
Slow down, cowboy (Score:2)
It may not be that simple.
The small house fire generates and contains an astonishing amounts of slate gray and very toxic smoke.
I had a sampling of that once - twice - in the real world.
You are blind.
You are disoriented.
You will pr
Game moddability (Score:2)
I may as well ask here... I'm looking for a 3D engine to make a game that's not a FPS, more of a creatures game like Nintendogs or The Sims.
What game engines are the most suitable for that kind of modding, and are there any F/OSS 3d engines that are good? I'm thinking in terms of AI programmability, ease of creating models and levels, etc.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:1)
Okay, (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not a fire expert by any means but several things really annoyed me about the video linked to on the BBC article. Mostly about the realism of the situation and several to do with "training" people to do things correctly.
First - WHY DON'T THEY SHUT THE DOORS THAT LEAD TO A FIRE... chances are opening those doors where a fire was on the other side would probably have killed you quite quickly anyway, but for God's sake, SHUT THE DOOR, if you're not going that way to reduce the available oxygen. It's an FPS engine so you should be penalising people for not shutting the damn fire-doors after them.
Second - Why are the doors just "flung" open without checking - what happened to all the training I had as a child to put the back of my hand on the door, open it slowly etc. in case the fire was on the other side of the door I'm opening. You have an FPS engine, this should have been put in as your only "weapon".
Third - Why were there fires on metal stairs, and why only halfway up the staircase and WHY, when going into a stairwell which is obviously on fire within mere feet of the "down" stairs, do they continue to use the stairwell to go down? Abandon the attempt and back off if you don't want to die.
Fourth - No smoke. Fill the burning rooms with smoke, so that you can only just see the exit signs or, indeed, the fire. Much more realistic and useful (I can find my out of any building in broad daylight - that's not the problem you're testing here).
Fifth - That CS department modelled is really crap in terms of signposting the fire exits and I only saw one fire extinguisher on the entire three floors the character went through (though I might have missed one because it only occurred to me halfway through that I didn't rememeber seeing one). Stop making simulations and sort the real situation out if that model is any reflection on the actual physical location.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Stair well door can not auto lock in a fire any more after the cook county building fire.
The fire code says the door must auto unlock.
ALSO WHERE ARE THE others people trying to push there way out at the same time?
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Okay,... my score was 3 extinguishers (Score:2, Funny)
Fifth - That CS department modelled is really crap in terms of signposting the fire exits and I only saw one fire extinguisher on the entire three floors the character went through (though I might have missed one because it only occurred to me halfway through that I didn't rememeber seeing one).
I counted 3 Fire Extinguishers... is this part of the game?
[Video = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7867851.stm ]
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
What struck me was the the blasted character was BLOODY ALONE! When they make this a multiplayer simulation that supports 500 users in such a way that people die from the bottlenecks of egress and dead ends then I'll believe that it's useful.
Also, modeling smoke would have been very useful, too.
Also, once kids pass this "fire drill simulation" they should do what they did on the episode of the Office that aired after the Super Bowl on Sunday. :)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Fourth - No smoke. Fill the burning rooms with smoke, so that you can only just see the exit signs or, indeed, the fire. Much more realistic and useful (I can find my out of any building in broad daylight - that's not the problem you're testing here).
Fire evacuation strategies for large buildings depend on getting people out before the smoke becomes dense enough to see (institutional smoke detectors are typically pretty sensitive and checked regularly). This is wise, because smoke is really dangerous (toxic gases it contains are the big problem) and is why, when that alarm goes off, you should make sure you evacuate yourself safely; you should have plenty of time, and if you do so you (and everyone else) will be safe. If you wait, you greatly increase t
Tea time (Score:1, Funny)
digital running in our faculty building (Score:4, Interesting)
Somebody once created a complete level of our faculty building for a 1st person shooter, and we got to play it in the computer room (really play the game, not fire drill, with 30+ people). It was awesome...
But most impressive was that I actually got lost really easily in the game, whereas I never got lost in reality.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It's a lot of fun to play with friends/coworkers in a game map based off of a real place you are familiar with. I regularly play on a couple maps I've made of my old high school and house in Counter-strike:source.
Some pics too in case anyone's interested.
High school:
http://www.putfile.com/album/122640 [putfile.com]
House:
http://www.putfile.com/album/78469 [putfile.com]
Zombie mod in high school ftw.
September 11 or real disasters mod? (Score:5, Insightful)
Is someone with lots of spare time, and I'm sure there's many, planning on modding the fire escape game with a realistic simulation of S11 where you have to escape the building? Or how about the Titanic disaster or other disasters for that matter? Coz you know how sick people are, they're play it just to see if they would make it and probably pay money for it too. If it worked for Leisure suit Larry this one's a winner.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Architects and disaster investigators already have far more realistic simulators that they use for this purpose. In the case of major disasters like 9/11, I'm sure they write custom simulators. I've seen documentaries showing the simulators for 9/11 that do exactly the two things you just described (plane impact angle and fire escape sizes). Of course, in the real world of forensic science these simulations are far more scientific and far less flashy looking than games. There is no reason for the specia
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
If it were realistic, that would be one boring game. Real life is rarely as "exciting" as the movies tell us. If there were something "dynamic" that those people could have done to save themselves, don't you think they would have? A realistic simulator of either event would probably involve your character trapped, unable to move, in a crush of people until the building falls down or the ship fills with water. Anything more exciting would be pure fantasy built, disrespectfully, in the trappings of a real
And if the insurgents are shooting at you... (Score:4, Funny)
does the FPS trained soldier just run into middle screaming LEEEEEEROY JENKINSSSSSS!!!!!!! ?
IMAGINE Lab (Score:2, Informative)
I prefer Dwight's method. (Score:3, Funny)
See here [clearspring.com]. :D
Freeman = fireman (Score:3, Funny)
What's really wrong with the concept... (Score:2, Insightful)
Is that most games don't allow for real-world techniques. Case in point, Call of Duty 4. The first problem I have with this is it doesn't let you lean out from behind cover so you only expose your head and weapon. No properly trained person would expose his whole body. Second, you can't climb stuff you would normally be able to. Third, there is an exponential component to racking up kills. Once you get to call in air-strikes and helicopters, you usually rack up enough kills to get more air-strikes and
Re: (Score:2)
Hrm, if I really stretch my imagination I can see how things like leaning out of cover and climbing might be usefull in real life. What I don't understand is why you'd need to simulate air-strikes and the body armor penetrating power of .223 rounds in a fire evacuation simulator. What college do you attend that makes those things common enough occurences to require routine drills? University of Baghdad? University of Kabul? Seriously though, everything you mentioned would be easy to implement in the So
Re: (Score:2)
Is that most games don't allow for real-world techniques. Case in point, Call of Duty 4. The first problem I have with this is it doesn't let you lean out from behind cover so you only expose your head and weapon. No properly trained person would expose his whole body. Second, you can't climb stuff you would normally be able to. Third, there is an exponential component to racking up kills. Once you get to call in air-strikes and helicopters, you usually rack up enough kills to get more air-strikes and helicopters. And since when to .223 rounds not blow through body armor at close range? And finally, a simulation only would be effective if you can't play it anymore once you're dead.
both can be included in the game. In many servers, you can't call more than one airstrike, or helo, and in "search and destroy" mode, once killed, you stay killed. the side with more survivors wins.
Arrested for this? (Score:3, Interesting)
Remember the story of the kid arrested for "terrorism" for making a game of his school for Counter-Strike?
I bet porting these maps to CS-Source would be trivial...
INSTA-TERRORISM!!!
Quickloading in RL (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)