Second Life Forums Archive

Kris Ritter

paradoxical embolism

Join date: 31 Oct 2003

Posts: 6,627

02-23-2004 05:08

From: someone

The US Army is building a second version of Earth on computer to help it prepare for conflicts around the world.
The detailed simulation will be drawn from a real-world terrain database and will be drawn to the same scale as the original.

The software Earth is being created for the US Army by gaming company There, which is currently working on a virtual world for gamers.

The first version of the virtual planet should be finished by September.

etc etc (read the article!)

Wheee! So the Us Army are gonna train by racing 'There Buggies' round the entire planet. Can I play?! Can I?

_____________________

Kex Godel

Master Slacker

Join date: 14 Nov 2003

Posts: 869

02-23-2004 05:28

Wow. The Snow Crash fiction is becoming reality one step at a time... =)

From: someone

From Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
There is something new: A globe about the size of a grapefruit, a perfectly detailed rendition of Planet Earth, hanging in space at arm's length in front of his eyes. Hiro has heard about this but never seen it. It is a piece of CIC software called, simply, Earth. It is the user interface that CIC uses to keep track of every bit of spatial information that it owns - all the maps, weather data, architectural plans, and satellite surveillance stuff.

Chip Midnight

ate my baby!

Join date: 1 May 2003

Posts: 10,231

02-23-2004 06:17

Good. Maybe they can have all their wars there and leave the rest of us alone

_____________________

My other hobby:
www.live365.com/stations/chip_midnight

Oz Spade

ReadsNoPostLongerThanHand

Join date: 23 Sep 2003

Posts: 2,708

02-23-2004 10:31

What I don't get is, how can There work on both There and Earth? They just laid off a bunch of people.

Unless they get some government workers in there too.

I thought of that too Kex, Neal should sue for copyright.

_____________________

"Don't anticipate outcome," the man said. "Await the unfolding of events. Remain in the moment." - Konrad

Edav Roark

Bounty Hunter

Join date: 4 Sep 2003

Posts: 569

02-23-2004 11:28

Oz, I'm sure the Department of the Army is doing most of the work on it.

P.S. I bet it will have Havok 2 in it

_____________________

Garoad Kuroda

Prophet of Muppetry

Join date: 5 Sep 2003

Posts: 2,989

02-23-2004 11:38

Heh, we'll see what happens. Wouldn't doubt that it fails completely or just runs into some big problem.

_____________________

BTW

WTF is C3PO supposed to be USEFUL for anyway, besides whining? Stupid piece of scrap metal would be more useful recycled as a toaster. But even that would suck, because who would want to listen to a whining wussy toaster? Is he gold plated? If that's the case he should just be melted down into gold ingots. Help the economy some, and stop being so damn useless you stupid bucket of bolts! R2 is 1,000 times more useful than your tin man ass, and he's shaped like a salt and pepper shaker FFS!

Aliena Serpentine

Senior Member

Join date: 13 Sep 2003

Posts: 91

02-23-2004 13:14

We can only hope that they do not run it like they have nasa.

For some reason this reminds me a bit of terminator 2 (I was forced to sit through it but the special effects were nice)

I am getting visions of Arnold racing in to shut down There before they take over the world and force us to wear poorly textured clothing and run over us with buggies.

On a political note...I am increasingly wary of the state of affairs in our government if they choose to use a benign VR like there when sl is far more advanced.

However, if SL was given the option...then kudo's to them for turning it down...I would hate to think that big brother was over my shoulder in my second life.

_____________________

Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it.-- William Durant, founder of General
Motors

Garoad Kuroda

Prophet of Muppetry

Join date: 5 Sep 2003

Posts: 2,989

02-23-2004 13:17

Since There was selected over SL, it's probably partly because it supports a very large number of clients, or avatars, or whatever (I don't know specifically) better than SL does.

_____________________

BTW

WTF is C3PO supposed to be USEFUL for anyway, besides whining? Stupid piece of scrap metal would be more useful recycled as a toaster. But even that would suck, because who would want to listen to a whining wussy toaster? Is he gold plated? If that's the case he should just be melted down into gold ingots. Help the economy some, and stop being so damn useless you stupid bucket of bolts! R2 is 1,000 times more useful than your tin man ass, and he's shaped like a salt and pepper shaker FFS!

Loki Pico

Registered User

Join date: 20 Jun 2003

Posts: 1,938

02-23-2004 13:38

Where do we sign up to beta test Earth? It sounds like an interesting place.

Oz Spade

ReadsNoPostLongerThanHand

Join date: 23 Sep 2003

Posts: 2,708

02-23-2004 16:56

Lmao... Aliena thats great.

As for signing up for beta test... http://www.army.mil maybe?

Actualy the Army gets you into "beta" faster than There ever would.

The only reason I can think of why There would be chosen over SL is because they use their own Physics engine I believe and also probly because you can see further with less lag due to it not being as streaming as SL is.

Also their avatar animation is a little smoother, which pays off for training in "reading" people.

_____________________

"Don't anticipate outcome," the man said. "Await the unfolding of events. Remain in the moment." - Konrad

Bino Arbuckle

Registered User

Join date: 31 Dec 2002

Posts: 369

02-24-2004 14:06

The U.S. Army contract with There is not for combat training. The military already has plenty of good systems for that with their vehicle simulators, MILES gear, and such.

The trick to the There contract is humanitarian situations, such as crowd control, food distribution, etc. Things where there need to be a lot of people (avatars) in one place that is reasonably responsive.

You're not going to have people driving tanks on the water, or crap like some people have been decrying the There/Army contract with here.

I have never tried There, but, I have read the articles regarding this contract.

Ah, here, found the link I was looking for, from the original Terra Nova post I saw in January.

http://www.mt2-kmi.com/articles.cfm?DocID=358

Karma Satyr

Little Tea Pot

Join date: 8 Jan 2004

Posts: 88

02-24-2004 15:10

hell lets buy a sim and make our own "earth" military simulation. Show them what they missed.

Welcome to the Second Life Forums Archive

Second Earth

Second Earth
Kris Ritter paradoxical embolism Join date: 31 Oct 2003 Posts: 6,627	02-23-2004 05:08 US military creates second Earth From: someone The US Army is building a second version of Earth on computer to help it prepare for conflicts around the world. The detailed simulation will be drawn from a real-world terrain database and will be drawn to the same scale as the original. The software Earth is being created for the US Army by gaming company There, which is currently working on a virtual world for gamers. The first version of the virtual planet should be finished by September. etc etc (read the article!) Wheee! So the Us Army are gonna train by racing 'There Buggies' round the entire planet. Can I play?! Can I? _____________________
Kex Godel Master Slacker Join date: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 869	02-23-2004 05:28 Wow. The Snow Crash fiction is becoming reality one step at a time... =) From: someone From Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson There is something new: A globe about the size of a grapefruit, a perfectly detailed rendition of Planet Earth, hanging in space at arm's length in front of his eyes. Hiro has heard about this but never seen it. It is a piece of CIC software called, simply, Earth. It is the user interface that CIC uses to keep track of every bit of spatial information that it owns - all the maps, weather data, architectural plans, and satellite surveillance stuff.
Chip Midnight ate my baby! Join date: 1 May 2003 Posts: 10,231	02-23-2004 06:17 Good. Maybe they can have all their wars there and leave the rest of us alone _____________________ My other hobby: www.live365.com/stations/chip_midnight
Oz Spade ReadsNoPostLongerThanHand Join date: 23 Sep 2003 Posts: 2,708	02-23-2004 10:31 What I don't get is, how can There work on both There and Earth? They just laid off a bunch of people. Unless they get some government workers in there too. I thought of that too Kex, Neal should sue for copyright. _____________________ "Don't anticipate outcome," the man said. "Await the unfolding of events. Remain in the moment." - Konrad
Edav Roark Bounty Hunter Join date: 4 Sep 2003 Posts: 569	02-23-2004 11:28 Oz, I'm sure the Department of the Army is doing most of the work on it. P.S. I bet it will have Havok 2 in it _____________________
Garoad Kuroda Prophet of Muppetry Join date: 5 Sep 2003 Posts: 2,989	02-23-2004 11:38 Heh, we'll see what happens. Wouldn't doubt that it fails completely or just runs into some big problem. _____________________ BTW WTF is C3PO supposed to be USEFUL for anyway, besides whining? Stupid piece of scrap metal would be more useful recycled as a toaster. But even that would suck, because who would want to listen to a whining wussy toaster? Is he gold plated? If that's the case he should just be melted down into gold ingots. Help the economy some, and stop being so damn useless you stupid bucket of bolts! R2 is 1,000 times more useful than your tin man ass, and he's shaped like a salt and pepper shaker FFS!
Aliena Serpentine Senior Member Join date: 13 Sep 2003 Posts: 91	02-23-2004 13:14 We can only hope that they do not run it like they have nasa. For some reason this reminds me a bit of terminator 2 (I was forced to sit through it but the special effects were nice) I am getting visions of Arnold racing in to shut down There before they take over the world and force us to wear poorly textured clothing and run over us with buggies. On a political note...I am increasingly wary of the state of affairs in our government if they choose to use a benign VR like there when sl is far more advanced. However, if SL was given the option...then kudo's to them for turning it down...I would hate to think that big brother was over my shoulder in my second life. _____________________ Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it.-- William Durant, founder of General Motors
Garoad Kuroda Prophet of Muppetry Join date: 5 Sep 2003 Posts: 2,989	02-23-2004 13:17 Since There was selected over SL, it's probably partly because it supports a very large number of clients, or avatars, or whatever (I don't know specifically) better than SL does. _____________________ BTW WTF is C3PO supposed to be USEFUL for anyway, besides whining? Stupid piece of scrap metal would be more useful recycled as a toaster. But even that would suck, because who would want to listen to a whining wussy toaster? Is he gold plated? If that's the case he should just be melted down into gold ingots. Help the economy some, and stop being so damn useless you stupid bucket of bolts! R2 is 1,000 times more useful than your tin man ass, and he's shaped like a salt and pepper shaker FFS!
Loki Pico Registered User Join date: 20 Jun 2003 Posts: 1,938	02-23-2004 13:38 Where do we sign up to beta test Earth? It sounds like an interesting place.
Oz Spade ReadsNoPostLongerThanHand Join date: 23 Sep 2003 Posts: 2,708	02-23-2004 16:56 Lmao... Aliena thats great. As for signing up for beta test... http://www.army.mil maybe? Actualy the Army gets you into "beta" faster than There ever would. The only reason I can think of why There would be chosen over SL is because they use their own Physics engine I believe and also probly because you can see further with less lag due to it not being as streaming as SL is. Also their avatar animation is a little smoother, which pays off for training in "reading" people. _____________________ "Don't anticipate outcome," the man said. "Await the unfolding of events. Remain in the moment." - Konrad
Bino Arbuckle Registered User Join date: 31 Dec 2002 Posts: 369	02-24-2004 14:06 The U.S. Army contract with There is not for combat training. The military already has plenty of good systems for that with their vehicle simulators, MILES gear, and such. The trick to the There contract is humanitarian situations, such as crowd control, food distribution, etc. Things where there need to be a lot of people (avatars) in one place that is reasonably responsive. You're not going to have people driving tanks on the water, or crap like some people have been decrying the There/Army contract with here. I have never tried There, but, I have read the articles regarding this contract. Ah, here, found the link I was looking for, from the original Terra Nova post I saw in January. http://www.mt2-kmi.com/articles.cfm?DocID=358
Karma Satyr Little Tea Pot Join date: 8 Jan 2004 Posts: 88	02-24-2004 15:10 hell lets buy a sim and make our own "earth" military simulation. Show them what they missed.