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First-Person Shooter Modified For Fire Drill Simulation
Hugh Pickens writes "Researchers at Durham University have modified a video game and turned it into a fire drill simulator using the Source engine (the 3D game engine used to drive Half-Life 2), and created a virtual model of one of the university's departments. Dr. Shamus Smith said that although 3D modeling software was available, modifying a video game was faster, more cost effective, and had better special effects. 'We were interested in using game technology over a customized application and the Source Engine, from Half-Life, is very versatile,' said Smith. 'We used the simulation to see how people behaved in an actual fire situation and to train people in "good practice" in a fire.' The team says the virtual environment helped familiarize people with evacuation routines and could also help identify problems with a building's layout. One problem, however, was that while the simulation worked for most people, those who played a lot of video games did some unusual things when using the simulation. 'If a door was on fire, [the gamers] would try and run through it, rather than look for a different exit,' said Smith."
This makes me wonder to what extent entertainment software will fill the role of non-entertainment software as the tools and engines become more and more powerful. Ars mentions related news that the US Dept. of Naval Research is dumping millions of dollars into "virtual reality-like simulations of small-scale urban conflicts." It's unclear whether this is related to the US Army's similar program.
'If a door was on fire, [the gamers] would try and run through it, rather than look for a different exit,' said Smith."
You need the firesuit mod for that perk.
The opposite of progress is congress
video games are dangerous!
How are we supposed to ban them now?
Reminds me of the story of the airline pilot who, late at night and after a long transatlantic trip, smashed into the back of a car at a red lght. When questioned, he swore that his first relex was to pull back on the steering wheel and fly over the obstacle rather than brake...
Getting back on topic, why not? Simulation programs have traditionally been bespoke, hugely expensive and frequently less 'rich' than some games. Also, actually doing a fire drill in a large complex is not without risk and expense.
I'm pretty sure I'd also run through the fire, at least a few times or until video-game-death, just to see what happens..
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does diviant behaviour include looting the corpses of my co-workers in between running up to all the walls looking for the secret doors?
US Dept. of Naval Research is dumping millions of dollars into "virtual reality-like simulations of small-scale urban conflicts."
Mainly they've found they can't fit a battleship down small side streets...
----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
I think the availability of firearms is allegedly the cause for the school shootings, not just video games.
No. That kid who shot people. He was the cause.
Jack Thompsonwhen you really need him!?
Seriously though, I am certain he is going to point to this as conditioned behavior caused by gaming, cause, you know, gamers will jump through an actual flaming door, despite the heat and all. A message for ya, Jack: Gamers may be conditioned by games, but only when actually playing games.
Cliffs and ponds are far more common than building fires and we don't see crumpled or floating bodies of gamers beside these natural hazards despite their low danger level in video games.
public void karmaWhore(String url){addSlashdotComment(fetchContent(url));}
I'm not a fire expert by any means but several things really annoyed me about the video linked to on the BBC article. Mostly about the realism of the situation and several to do with "training" people to do things correctly.
First - WHY DON'T THEY SHUT THE DOORS THAT LEAD TO A FIRE... chances are opening those doors where a fire was on the other side would probably have killed you quite quickly anyway, but for God's sake, SHUT THE DOOR, if you're not going that way to reduce the available oxygen. It's an FPS engine so you should be penalising people for not shutting the damn fire-doors after them.
Second - Why are the doors just "flung" open without checking - what happened to all the training I had as a child to put the back of my hand on the door, open it slowly etc. in case the fire was on the other side of the door I'm opening. You have an FPS engine, this should have been put in as your only "weapon".
Third - Why were there fires on metal stairs, and why only halfway up the staircase and WHY, when going into a stairwell which is obviously on fire within mere feet of the "down" stairs, do they continue to use the stairwell to go down? Abandon the attempt and back off if you don't want to die.
Fourth - No smoke. Fill the burning rooms with smoke, so that you can only just see the exit signs or, indeed, the fire. Much more realistic and useful (I can find my out of any building in broad daylight - that's not the problem you're testing here).
Fifth - That CS department modelled is really crap in terms of signposting the fire exits and I only saw one fire extinguisher on the entire three floors the character went through (though I might have missed one because it only occurred to me halfway through that I didn't rememeber seeing one). Stop making simulations and sort the real situation out if that model is any reflection on the actual physical location.
If you can code with C, try Cube - otherwise you might want to look into the (now long-in-the-tooth) Adobe Director - the language (you can use Lingo or a Javascript-esque version of Lingo) is a bit odd sometimes, and your games will most likely come out looking like something from 1999 rather than 2009, but it's good for people who really don't want to code much. With the added bonus that you can run Director apps in Browsers using the Shockwave plugin.
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
Somebody once created a complete level of our faculty building for a 1st person shooter, and we got to play it in the computer room (really play the game, not fire drill, with 30+ people). It was awesome...
But most impressive was that I actually got lost really easily in the game, whereas I never got lost in reality.
Is someone with lots of spare time, and I'm sure there's many, planning on modding the fire escape game with a realistic simulation of S11 where you have to escape the building? Or how about the Titanic disaster or other disasters for that matter? Coz you know how sick people are, they're play it just to see if they would make it and probably pay money for it too. If it worked for Leisure suit Larry this one's a winner.
Analytic & algebraic topology of locally Euclidean meterization of infinitely differentiable Riemmanian manifold
And you'd expect a University to have sprung for the health and power stations.
does the FPS trained soldier just run into middle screaming LEEEEEEROY JENKINSSSSSS!!!!!!! ?
Fifth - That CS department modelled is really crap in terms of signposting the fire exits and I only saw one fire extinguisher on the entire three floors the character went through (though I might have missed one because it only occurred to me halfway through that I didn't rememeber seeing one).
I counted 3 Fire Extinguishers... is this part of the game?
[Video = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7867851.stm ]
There will always be ways for bad people to do bad things. I seem to remember back in 2001 a handful of folks caused a lot of trouble using only boxcutters. You can't keep bad people from being bad, but you can make it so the good people can control the damage.
"25 States allow anyone to buy a gun, strap it on, and walk down the street with no permit of any kind: some say it's crazy. However, 4 out of 5 U.S. murders are committed in the other half of the country: so who is crazy?" - Andrew Ford
Georgia Tech's Department of Architecture IMAGINE lab has been doing similar simulations for awhile.
See here. :D
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I would swing the fire with my crowbar until it went out. Either that or some annoying person.
Is this because 4 out of 5 people live in the 25 states where you do need a permit?
-Rob
Biblical fiscal responsibility
Is that most games don't allow for real-world techniques. Case in point, Call of Duty 4. The first problem I have with this is it doesn't let you lean out from behind cover so you only expose your head and weapon. No properly trained person would expose his whole body. Second, you can't climb stuff you would normally be able to. Third, there is an exponential component to racking up kills. Once you get to call in air-strikes and helicopters, you usually rack up enough kills to get more air-strikes and helicopters. And since when to .223 rounds not blow through body armor at close range? And finally, a simulation only would be effective if you can't play it anymore once you're dead.
The quote from Andrew Ford is misleading for today's gun control. From gun violence statistics and gun laws, leaders in per capita gun homicides, such as Maryland, Arkansas, California, parts of Nevada, and Michigan, require no such permit to purchase firearms.
Remember the story of the kid arrested for "terrorism" for making a game of his school for Counter-Strike?
I bet porting these maps to CS-Source would be trivial...
INSTA-TERRORISM!!!
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In a fire, the best way to evacuate the building is simply to quickload from when you were about to enter the building, and not enter at all. Duh.... Oh, and if anyone gets critically wounded, just run up to them and hit them with your shock paddles. They can instantly heal bullet wounds, shrapnel, burns and broken limbs (at least, that's what it does in battlefield. That's accurate, right?). Just go around reviving ppl and you'll definitely get the gold star that round!
"It's not the drill procedure itself that's so terrible, once people are moving, they will continue following whoever's in front of them. It's getting them to start moving that's the hard part."
I am on the emergence response team, so when the bell goes off Scream "Oh dear God!", jump up, and run screaming to the exit.
I use to just fire a few round in the air to get people moving, but the 7th story start complain about bullet holes in their floor...whiners.
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