14 DAY TRIAL // The Ministry of Defense in the United Kingdom is looking for solutions when it comes to the virtual training models for their soldiers, because gamers in the Army have become so accustomed to the graphics of Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 that they can no longer engage with the Bohemia Interactive made Virtual Battlespace 2.
Andre Poulter, who is the technical team leader at the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory inside the Ministry of Defense, told Gamasutra that, “Back in the 1980s and 1990s, defense was far out in front in terms of quality of simulation. Military-built simulators were state of the art. But now, for £50 ($77), you can buy a commercial game that will be far more realistic than the sorts of tools we were using. The truth is, the total spending on games development across the industry will be greater than spending on defence.”
Virtual Battlesapce 2 was introduced back in 1997 and has not received significant updates since then, making it trail behind modern first person shooter releases that are now on the market, especially when it comes to graphics.
The defense establishment cannot use the games that are now on the market, mainly because their portrayal of war is oriented more towards spectacle than realism, but could take the core structure and modify it for their own needs.
Poulter added, “The weapons need to be credible. If they fire a rifle and the bullet travels three and a half miles, then that is not right. If they are steering a vehicle, then that has to be right too. Realism is more important than entertainment.”
The United States is at the moment investing in a new virtual training program for its infantrymen that is based on the new CryEngine 3 technology from Crytek.
The new simulator will not be made available to the public.