$35 Million Simulator

[Ghostrider]

Game Simulates Future of Urban Warfare

By JACK DORSEY, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 23, 2006

SUFFOLK - In a $35 million experiment that uses a computer game with 1,200 players, the military is studying the war of the future.

At 19 bases around the nation, the players are studying how to handle the urban combat threats they might face by year 2015, using a simulation of downtown Baghdad.

The computer-driven war game has U.S. and allied forces facing insurgents with advanced tools including satellite intelligence, unmanned aerial vehicles and the ability to disrupt the military's computer networks.

Called Urban Resolve 2015, the experiment is coordinated by the Joint Forces Command's Joint Futures Lab facility here. It began in August, runs through October and is in the second of three phases that use virtual experiments.

American citizens of Iraqi descent, retired generals, defense analysts, role players and representatives from 13 nations are among the participants.

Computers linked from around the United States, along with software developed by Perdue University called Synthetic Environment for Analysis and Simulation, or SEAS, add realism.

"We are trying to find ways to operate more safely and more effectively in that very complex terrain called the urban environment," said Rear Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., the director of Joint Concept Development and Experimentation with the Joint Forces Command.
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About 100 military and civilian employees operate a Joint Operations Center that reacts to batt le conditions.

For eight hours a day, the war is on.

In a rare glimpse of the program Wednesday, a blue minivan raced through Baghdad, carrying three insurgents who fired five rocket propelled grenades and fled.

What should friendly forces do?

Blow up the minivan, possibly hurting innocent people nearby? Or wait, follow it to a hideout and capture the occupants there, but risk losing them?

In another scenario, a truck loaded with chlorine is highjacked, said Army Col. Mike Postma, the experimentation leader.

"Should the mayor of Baghdad say, 'Evacuate?' That turns out to do more harm because people get into contaminated areas," he said. "So we stop the bad guy from blowing it up."

Three-dimensional, computer-generated maps of Baghdad, along with SEAS, have been valuable, Winnefeld said.

SEAS allows players to take an action, or simulate the enemy taking an action, such as exploding a roadside bomb. It predicts the population's attitudes toward the government of Iraq, he said.

Winnefeld said you can ask SEAS " Where should I put the lion share of my resources? Should I repair and try to maintain the electric power grid in Baghdad? What kind of impact will that have on the attitudes of the population?"

# Reach Jack Dorsey at (757) 446-2284 or jack.dorsey@pilotonline.com.

Source: http://www.military.com/earlybrief/0...b3a6a9602790aa

A realistic military simulation with up to 1,200 simultaneous players.

Discuss

-Ghost

PS: We can all start crying right about....now

[Viper5]

ASide from the fact that they spelled "Purdue University" Incorrectly, it looks pretty cool. Like a 1200 person PRMM Server

[GoodFella]

That is not good in any way! hint:

Threats they might face in 2015, simulated in downtown baghdad.

Which means that the military obviously does not expect this war to be over by then!

[Ghostrider]

Please don't go off-topic. I'm trying to get you guys to make a technology-related discussion

-Ghost

[Cerberus]

Sounds neat

[trogdor1289]

sounds like I am crying.

[Crawley]

Can i be apart of this!!!!

[[R-MOD]Dylan]

That sounds like a real mans game to me.

[[R-MOD]Bob_Marley]

I wonder how much nade/prone/rocket spaming they get.

[[R-MOD]Dylan]

haha, realistic bunny hopping, nade spamming, rocket whoring, blind firing madness. I actually wonder if they modeled penetration for buildings, as that would be almost nesicary if your making a game to simulate live firing.