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Xbox Gets Military Tactical Planning Software
Thanks to The Baltimore Sun for their article discussing possible military applications of videogame technology, specifically referencing the Trex visualization tool from joint government training and videogame developer, BreakAway. According to the article: "In about a year, if all goes according to plans, soldiers flying to an overseas mission will play Trex on the Microsoft video-game system Xbox to familiarize themselves with actual streets, buildings and terrain before setting foot on foreign soil." The piece reveals that Trex "...will use satellite data to digitally replicate 3-D images of cities such as Kabul, Mogadishu or Baghdad", and the website explains that the software can be "...used to create tactical simulations for en route training." A different army tactical training simulator developed by Pandemic Studios, Full Spectrum Warrior, was highly acclaimed as a videogame at this year's E3 trade show in Los Angeles.
if our troops can know the streets of mogadishu after a week like i know the streets of vice city - they'll be a hell of a lot better off i'm sure.
i really don't know how to consider this as anything other than a 'good thing'.
more knowledge + better visualization = less accidents = less senseless death.
if it takes an xbox to pull it off, more power to it.
Unless this is some Microsoft-funded promo stunt, why would they use the XBox? I'm aware that a standard unit makes a convenient smallish and cheap PC, but the difficulty of publishing titles to non-dev boxes in a hurry would be a larger issue than the extra money it would take for a Shuttle-cased PC, surely? I can't see why they wouldn't just do this on a PC, rather than a closed-down console, particularly if they used joypad to USB converters to make the interface simpler.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
Why not? Like all game consoles it's homogenous. That way you don't have to deal with the hardware failures, bug fixes, and licensing issues. You should be asking why they aren't using a PS2 or Gamecube, but that's their decision, isn't it?
It's bulletproof!
And if the XBox ever breaks it can be used as an impromptu club or shield thus further aiding our forces!