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Google Earth As a Game Engine For Ship Simulation
dinther writes "Yesterday the program Ships was released. Ships is significant because it is the first serious application that uses Google Earth as a game engine. In Ships, you take control of a selection of ships and drive them around the world (if you have that much time). Building games around Google Earth is now viable, thanks to its ever-increasing level of detail. From a technical standpoint, the Google Earth browser plugin has proven to be quite a capable platform to work with. Further tech details about the application are available as well."
The Google Earth Plugin is currently only available on Windows and Mac OS X 10.4+.
Well, that's the first browser-based game I've tried to play that isn't cross platform.
finally a game that SHOULD account for piracy.
THL phish sticks
Subs?
There are AIS feeds for live ships at sea, it's only available when the ship is near a land receiver but for the ports that update, all the actual current positions of working vessels could be included in a 'sim'.
But pirates would be more fun.
Ports of Call 2009? :D
SeqBox
wouldn't this type of game cause an exponential increase of load on Google's servers??
Imagine if you could play GTA but across the whole world, dealing with drug cartels in Columbia and making weapons trades with the Russian mafia. Or recreate a WW2 battle. Google earth could become a platform for any game that is based in real world geography.
The API may not be robust enough and the detail may not be comprehensive enough to do this yet, but it seems like it could be done in short time if Google so wished.
The platform could become a general gaming engine as well, where you could select a universe (real world / Star Wars World / J.R.R. Tolkien world, etc) and visit other planets.
I suppose google could call this Google Universe, a MMO engine based in GIS technology, with one of the Universes being managed by google based on real data, and any others being created by 3rd party developers.
The potential is pretty exciting...
LS
There is a fine line between being a cultivated citizen and being someone else's crop. - A. J. Patrick Liszkie
Introducing GTA: Earth!
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
Is it me, or are there far too many headlines regarding games on Slashdot recently?
My web domain.
Collision detection leaves a lot to be desired. However it is kinda cool to driver a cruise line up Rotterdam high street.
But all in all I'll stick to ShipSimulator 2008
Choose your allies carefully, it is highly unlikely you will be held accountable for the actions of your enemies
congratulations! you've made the world's most boring game!
coming next from the studios of dull-o-game are more tedious job with so sense of achievement related titles:
canning factory tycoon. you work in a canning factory, making sure the machine that puts the labels on doesn't run out of labels. 70,000 hours of gameplay.
night time security guard simulator. you play a guard in an office complex where nothing ever happens. walk around on the hour registering your prescense at various parts of the building. go home. do the same thing tomorrow.
the sims 3. sit in filth and squalor because you don't have enough time to wash and clean because you are making some poxy computer character wash and clean *his* virtual place.
The only winning move is not to play.
How about a nice game of chess?
I think it's time for a zombie outbreak game that is based on the real world, with totally open gameplay. It's time to find out if malls really are the best place to take shelter or not, and settle a bunch of other zombie based issues once and for all!
you are not a real nerd if you do not like simulator games. this game fuckin' rocks. TOOT TOOT
only problem is that sometimes the keyboard controls don't work and you end up moving the map instead of turning the steering wheel.
I am not sure if this plans to be done or if it's possible but what would be VERY cool for a game like this is if the color pattern of each building could be inspected in real time and a model of that building generated based on the shape and material of that building (e.g. a copper roof of an L shaped building). They could do the same for grass, rocks, trees, etc as well. The only guesswork would be what the rest of the building looks like but that could easily be rendered with a more generic set of textures (as long as the building looks the same each time you visit it). That would be about as close as you can get to having a virtual simulation of the real world without having to worry about making the game hundreds of GBs in size (just need a set of textures for each material).
This could give a whole new meaning to big maps in Civ.
Imagine if you could play GTA but across the whole world, dealing with drug cartels in Columbia and making weapons trades with the Russian mafia. Or recreate a WW2 battle. Google earth could become a platform for any game that is based in real world geography.
The potential is pretty exciting...
Sounds like a harsh realm to me.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
It's actually pretty cool - just tried it out with XP, Vista: IE, FF / OS X: Safari, FF, Opera (slow day...). Obviously, loading a layer on top of Google's API, because the best part is you can "sail" over/through anything! I chose the Container Ship (very slow maneuverability) and inadvertently "sailed" over land, then right through downtown Rotterdam. Also dragged the anchor across land - didn't seem to slow me down. The horn and anchor don't work in all browsers...
All ships are defaulted to Rotterdam, so that's the only point of origin.
Here's the direct link to load the "game" - requires GoogleEarth browser plug-in. http://ships.planetinaction.com/
How much trouble it would be to add the ability for a game's level editor to grab info from Street View and then extrapolate the Street View data into a realistic 3-D environment? I would gladly pay a subscription for this level of functionality if I could play a FPS level that looked just like my neighborhood. My side hedges would make an excellent place from which to snipe.
Make love, not reality television.
However, at your discretion, you may also use GoogleNukewords to sell advertising space on the side of the missiles.
One customer, Lockheed, has been making quite a bit with their "If found, please return for repair and recycling" ad.
For all I know, the ships I steer in this game could be real ships using Google Earth, GPS, etc to do their navigation. I could wipe out an entire species in the guise of playing a game.
Hmm... 275 points for running a tanker aground in Prince William Sound? I'll get right on that!