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Press Release
Bohemia Interactive to demonstrate Virtual Battlespace (VBS) at ITEC 06
Australia - 27th April 2006
A pdf version of this press release is available here.
Bohemia Interactive shall be attending the ITEC conference this year and will be demonstrating the VBS product range. ITEC is to be held at ExCeL in London from May 16 - 18, 2006. Bohemia Interactive will be located at booth 268, co-located with our HLA/DIS integration partner Calytrix. Registration to access the exhibition is free - see http://www.itec.co.uk.
The past 12 months have seen major improvements in VBS1, with product development sponsored by customer organisations such as the Australian Defence Force (ADF). VBS1 was major component of the simulation stand for a number of different mission rehearsal exercises, and VBS1 has been rolled out across Australia and New Zealand under an Enterprise License arrangement. VBS1 was integrated with the constructive simulation JSAF via HLA, and further developed as a convoy trainer with numerous vehicle enhancements and the integration of the VBS1 Instructor Interface. VBS1 development continues, with a New Zealand Defence Force and UK Forces modules, a Loadmaster Virtual Reality Simulator and further HLA integration on the way.
At this point VBS1 is a mature, proven product and is of course available right now from the VBS1 online store at http://www.virtualbattlespace.com. VBS1 will be fully supported by Bohemia Interactive for years to come. Bohemia Interactive is prepared to offer a free trial license of VBS1 to any organisation, please contact our staff at ITEC or via email to vbs@bistudio.com if this is something you may wish to pursue.
High Fidelity Military Simulation - Affordable COTS Technology
Bohemia Interactive has spent the years since the release of the Operation Flashpoint (OFP) conducting rigorous R&D, refining and developing what was an already outstanding product. Today, the Real Virtuality simulation engine represents the cutting edge of COTS simulation technology, and includes a wide range of graphical and functional improvements to suit the demands of both the entertainment and military markets. Our core simulation has undergone rigorous improvement and optimization, and our latest engine will represent a similar milestone to that represented by OFP back in 2001.
The VBS2 engine, due for release in Q3 this year, is being developed in accordance with the user requirement of customer organisations based upon their experiences with VBS1. Designed to provide more than simply a virtual environment, VBS2 aims to provide a ‘virtual tool kit’ incorporating the synthetic environment, model and world editing tools as well as comprehensive scenario editing and after-action review capability.
"The fundamental difference between VBS2 and similar COTS products is that we want to allow the customer to quickly develop high fidelity, large scale geo-typical terrain areas based upon data they already have, without needing to use a 3rd party company or pay large sums of money."
- David Lagettie, Managing Director of Bohemia Interactive Australia
VBS2 will allow a user to develop very large (over 100 x 100km) terrain areas (at any terrain resolution), populate the terrain area with hundreds of thousands of objects in accordance with VMAP shape data, and then texture-map the entire representation with high-resolution satellite imagery or aerial photography. All that is required is the VBS2 toolset, a standard GIS application and training.
Once the terrain representation is exported into VBS2, the Real Virtuality engine will provide a life-like simulation of the real world, incorporating moving trees and grass, ground clutter, ambient life (birds, animals), shadows, dynamic lighting, weather and time of day. New streaming capability provides a very efficient means of loading complex terrain areas - object and texture data is processed only when required, allowing for large, high-fidelity virtual environments. View distances are now typically 5 times greater than in VBS1 (depending on processor speed) - level of detail culling has been improved to allow attack helicopters and armoured vehicles to engage at realistic ranges, and forward observers to call fire from greater distances.
Functionality Improvements
VBS2 provides a range of functionality improvements specifically developed for the military market. Visit the Bohemia Interactive booth at ITEC for a comprehensive listing. New features include:
Real-Time Mission Editor. The VBS1 Observer, Instructor and After-Action Review playback interfaces are replaced by a single system in VBS2 known as the Real Time Mission Editor. Doubling as a command and control interface, this editor allows an administrator to modify all scenario components in real time, allocate tasks to agents or teams (such as squads or platoons), pause the simulation, save the current state of the mission to a new scenario, respawn units, modify weapon and ammunition load outs, view in-game participants from multiple perspectives - this powerful and easy to use system is highly configurable and extendable (you can even script your own AI using the new graphical task-editor).
Improved Simulation of Weapon Platforms. The fidelity of vehicle mounted weapon systems is being vastly improved for VBS2. Armored vehicles are being improved to provide a gunnery simulation that can be easily customized to suit specific weapon platforms. Multiple vehicle turrets (multiple machine guns mounted on a tank turret for example), commander override, highly detailed weapon effects and correctly modeled ballistics, the capability for fire control system simulation (lase, lead lock etc) will enable VBS2 to perform as an effective crew procedural trainer.
Improved Simulation of Urban Areas. VBS2 provides improved simulation of complex urban areas, including dynamically destructible buildings (ask for a demonstration at ITEC), round penetration through walls and operable doors that can be destroyed. The particle system has been optimized allowing for large amounts of dust, smoke and haze for more realistic combat environments. Tracers are improved and now ricochet off objects and the ground in a realistic fashion. Collision detection and engine physics have been vastly improved, allowing participants to smoothly control entities within built up areas and around buildings without collision problems.
HLA and DIS compliance. The VBS1 HLA/DIS gateway is being updated and improved for VBS2, which contains highly improved network code and support for many more players than previous products.
We look forward to your visit to the Bohemia Interactive booth (#268) at ITEC, where you will be able to view a demonstration of both the VBS2 product and the As Samawah terrain area (including UK forces models) in VBS1. Please ask our staff about a demonstration version of VBS1 that your organisation may trial, and also ask to be included on the VBS2 newsletter that will commence in early June.
More information about VBS can be found at http://www.virtualbattlespace.com, or contact vbs@bistudio.com.
About Bohemia Interactive
Bohemia Interactive is an independent game development company, with studios in Czech Republic and Australia, founded in 1999, that focuses on developing state of the art computer software and the research of advanced real time 3D graphics, artificial intelligence and physical simulation technologies for real-time interactive environments. For more information about the company visit http://www.bistudio.com.
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