Jump to content

Video Thread


DemolitionMan

Recommended Posts

  • Members
Regarding he gunner simulator: they couldn't come up with a better idea than using string to move the target?

In a way, I'm glad they did.

When we visited our first major army customer to see what the situation of their training was (so we could judge whether adding Steel Beasts to their training tools would promise success) the gunnery training consisted of small caliber in-bore devices and old track pads drawn on a string in a sandbox as their "moving gunnery simulator".

It was easy to compete with Steel Beasts even in its then "SB1" state (plus, the then new rendering engine, years before the first release of the Personal Edition).

Had their gunnery training been much better, maybe we wouldn't have had it so easy. For them, there was very little to lose and a lot to win, so they dared to try out something entirely new - using a game for training. We still had to de-game things like substituting the regular strings.txt with a more professionally worded pstrings.txt (so, that's why it has this cryptic name), and later to add more and more functionality. But getting the real control handles to work on a PC was the breakthrough, and having that training situation was instrumental for our market entry. So, don't knock it. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Not when you consider the driver sim setup.

A highlight of "pre CGI age" simulator technology in the 1970s.

Computers simply couldn't deliver the terrain rendering back then. So, using some endoscopic camera setup with tilt and roll angle sensors coupled to a moving platform in a static sand table was the best you could do. Plus, you could have a "Tarantula" scare prank by putting a big spider on the road.

:luxhello:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was complementing the driver sim in regards to what Sean Pat said. That was no simple solution. I was impressed with the novel solutions they came up with and the degree they went to reproduce a functioning tank for each of the crew stations. This equipment is not like some technology from the same era that are immensely LOL'able nowadays, like 8 tracks... except the one thing that used technology no more advanced than a cat toy. That was the only thing I was knocking because it deserved to be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A highlight of "pre CGI age" simulator technology in the 1970s.

Computers simply couldn't deliver the terrain rendering back then. So, using some endoscopic camera setup with tilt and roll angle sensors coupled to a moving platform in a static sand table was the best you could do. Plus, you could have a "Tarantula" scare prank by putting a big spider on the road.

:luxhello:

LOL, I would have loved to see that played out on such a vintage simulator.

You could bring the kids toys in and set them up for similar fun.

df6bb4dbf48f17637dc7ce50363c0f6b.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...