From: redsim!jason@texsun.Central.Sun.COM (Jason Rice)
Subject: A calmer post
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 91 18:14:19 CDT




The same interconnection, interactivity and scene complexity problems plague 
us (the sim biz) because we have to run EVERYTHING in real time.

We have indeed spent a bundle of money on it for several years.
Ah, but alot of that money was government money (I would hope some
one hundred little light bulbs just went off) and consequently
fully and publicly documented. 

Yes, you've already paid for it, you might as well use it.

>if we could actually benefit from any of that experience, we might
>appreciate it.   (Mike Nemeth)

sic.

A good place to start might be the proceedings from the 
Interservice/Industry Training Systems Conference (I/ITSC) held each year
by the American Defense Preparedness Association.

	American Defense Preparedness Association
	2101 Wilson Blvd, Suite 400
	Arlington, VA 22201-3061

The IMAGE Society is a graphics group devoted mainly to real-time
graphics for simulation with newsletters, conference proceedings et al.  

	IMAGE Society Inc.
	1308 E. Greentree Drive
	Tempe, Arizona 85284

ITEC, the International Training Equipment Conference has very good
coverage too, but I can't find a recent mailer from them.  
I can find it if needed.

Don't worry, you could contact them under an assumed name or take the
book to the other side of the library and hide it behind a Playboy/Playgirl
and no one would ever suspect...  Or you could just photocopy it.
The back cover says duplication for unlimited distribution is permitted. 
Go figure.

I don't recommend buying them.  They're expensive and pretty industry
specific.

--- chat line:  The following are just comments. You've got the grist ---

Seriously though, the bulk of desired simulator business is commercial.
You know, the friendly skies, gets you there, doing what we do best.
They're usually standard configuration, assembly line type construction.

Most military is one-of custom jobs with E-N-O-R-M-O-U-S overhead.
Like journalism to a writer - military will starve you to death,
but keep you alive while you're doing it.  But alot of innovation
comes from them.

A prime example of the precarious nature of simulation in the VR and
graphics worlds was the Electronic Theatre screening I attended this 
summer at Siggraph.  

A thirty second clip by Grumman Data Systems showing nothing but some 
simple terrain in the middle of nowhere and a fire billowing some darned 
nnice smoke (Battlefield Obscurants) met a torrent of hisses and boos
despite the imaginativeness of the algorithms.  

O.K. write that off to collegiate pacifism.

But oddly enough the very next clip, "Operation C" depicted an animated 
G.I.Joe/Rambo derivative shooting holes in gooey monsters and blowing up 
tanks and buildings and trees and little birdies and lots of other 
"politically incorrect" destruction/explosion/mayhem in a maelstrom of fire... 

and got cheered?

Oh... that's for entertainment.  Hmm.

The same sorts of things happened all day in the VR papers.

Moral : 
		Tell them it's a game. 		(Ender's Syndrome?)

Resulting Problem : 
		That's all it will ever be.

If you want VR to end up the graphics/multimedia whipping boy that 
AI became to general computer application programming, then a self-pious
superior separatist attitude is perfect. Viva Nintendo!


Jason Rice 
Hughes Training Inc.


 - The ideas expressed are mine if they cause any trouble -
 - and my employer's if they make any money.              -