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Playing a First-Person Shooter Using Real Guns

Blake writes "A group called Waterloo Labs rigged up a few accelerometers to a large wall and projected a first-person shooter onto it. Using some math, they can triangulate the position of impacts on the wall, so naturally they found someone with a gun and bought a large case of ammunition. Even cooler, this group usually posts a 'how we did it' video a few weeks after a project's debut, including source code."

225 comments

  1. Does the wall... by MichaelSmith · · Score: 3, Funny

    shoot back?

    1. Re:Does the wall... by galaad2 · · Score: 5, Funny

      more importantly, is there a respawn location available?

      --
      root@127.0.0.1
    2. Re:Does the wall... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      omg, labview is the biggest piece of crap ever!

      why in the hell are they using that? its like sticking rusty nails in your ears canals.

    3. Re:Does the wall... by Lillebo · · Score: 1

      How come it's now all about showing off our geekyness these days? I mean.. I actually laughed when I read the parent comment, but then I realized it really wasn't funny. It's just a lame reference to Star Wars, and the reason I laughed was because I felt good about knowing that. I was kinda proud, and satisfied of catching an internal joke for geeks. A part of my ambition is apparently to conform to a group that is supposed to represent my social configuration, where the definition of my so called configuration should be directly "anti-conformist" - thus making me reflect on whether or not I'm betraying my true nature with these ambitions. Because if you think about it, if our group now takes joy in its move towards being more exclusive - we are inevitably doomed to force others into the same state of alienation which drove us to create this little elite group of ours in the first place.

      But then again, I've just smoked alot of weed - and this may perhaps just be the paranoia. So, let's sleep on it...

  2. Guns? by acehole · · Score: 4, Funny

    Real guns or not, iddqd and idkfa is all i need baby.

    --
    Be you Admins? nay, we are but lusers!
    1. Re:Guns? by pinkushun · · Score: 3, Funny

      idclip would just cause headaches, unfortunately

    2. Re:Guns? by tom17 · · Score: 1

      fuck it, go all the way. idspispopd

  3. can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...for the rocket launcher mode for zone damage

    1. Re:can't wait... by Fallen+Kell · · Score: 2, Funny

      But what about Rocket Jumps? I think right now you can only do one. After that things don't work so well....

      --
      We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
  4. For their next project by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For their next project they can work on not being so fucking annoying. Either that, or go stand in front of the screen for the ultimate realism in FPS technology.

    1. Re:For their next project by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ++

      My thoughts exactly.

  5. Source code by xerent_sweden · · Score: 3, Funny

    I sure hope it's bullet proof!

    1. Re:Source code by sadness203 · · Score: 0

      If it's not going to at least absorb the impact, I fear the players are going to be calling "Meeeeedic" soon enough when the bullets ricochet. I didn't see if it was blank bullet in TFA, or if they could use maybe airsoft gun, but probably since they use shovel at the end.

    2. Re:Source code by Alarindris · · Score: 1

      You couldn't use blanks, there is no projectile.

    3. Re:Source code by koolfy · · Score: 1

      You couldn't use blanks, there is no projectile.

      Yes you could, using the orientation of the barrel in space and math, instead of impact points.

      --
      Segmentation Fault in "Life, Universe and Everything" at line 42. Don't Panic.
    4. Re:Source code by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      You've never shot a gun, have you?

    5. Re:Source code by Alarindris · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You could also use a broom, but the whole point of this was using a projectile.

    6. Re:Source code by palegray.net · · Score: 1

      Just run it on Unbreakable Linux.

      /me goes back to his Debian rig...

    7. Re:Source code by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which is specifically what they're NOT doing in TFA. Then you've pretty much got another lightgun game.

    8. Re:Source code by temojen · · Score: 1

      Real bullets, a big dirt berm behind the particleboard wall. The sad thing about the video was that they used a fully suppressed pistol so it didn't have the sound you'd expect from such a venture (nor the attention of police, I suppose). They also tried shovels near the end.

  6. Sadly... by Pvt_Ryan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This will only encourage those idiots that say games are simulators for killing people.

    On a brighter note it was still a pretty cool idea.

    1. Re:Sadly... by Annwvyn · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Eh... no one pays attention to those people anyway. They have a right to an opinion just as much as I have the right to own my gaming systems as well as a real firearm. If they REALLY don't like it they can always start one of those online petitions (because from what I hear they are SO influential... *sarcasm*).

    2. Re:Sadly... by Pvt_Ryan · · Score: 0, Redundant

      er wtf how the hell is this flamebait?

    3. Re:Sadly... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      are you kidding me? Fox news is the 'news' channel with the highest ratings. People eat garbage scare pieces like video game violence up and then beg for more.

    4. Re:Sadly... by Annwvyn · · Score: 1

      It is okay. I don't pay attention to politicians. :)

    5. Re:Sadly... by Yvanhoe · · Score: 5, Funny

      And they demonstrated it works fine while hitting the damn wall WITH A SHOVEL ! That was the greatest part. Forget the Wii, I want the next zombie game to be played with a wall of concrete and a shovel.

      --
      The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
    6. Re:Sadly... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      I wish someone would prove it using them as the display...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    7. Re:Sadly... by gijoel · · Score: 2, Funny

      Forget the shovel I want a cricket bat

    8. Re:Sadly... by Desler · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, because we all know that Jack Thompson was a noted liberal! Oh and that channel 'Fox News' that would continually have him on as a 'video game violence' expert is also well-known as being the most liberal channel on all of US cable!

    9. Re:Sadly... by amateur6 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually, this will make the games more like simulators for killing people. Hell, I played a (crappy) sniper game for an hour and then walked out of the arcade onto a catwalk above a food court... and couldn't help picking out targets. Mentally, of course.

      In this case anyone playing will learn that you can't reload just by firing off-screen, and that real guns are loud, kick, eject shells... and they'll get used to it. I'm not saying that it will turn an ordinary person into a killer, but there is an argument to be made, and it does get stronger in this case.

    10. Re:Sadly... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Zombies are squishy. Tie a thick wet sponge to the back of the shovel to improve the haptic immersion (and reduce the stress on your hands and arms).

    11. Re:Sadly... by FlyingSquidStudios · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yes, but the difference between you and a crazed shooter is that they aren't just mentally picking out targets. Charles Whitman didn't need video games.

    12. Re:Sadly... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Yeah except the real shooting simulators don't use bullets because the whole point of the simulator is to save the expense of actual bullets.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    13. Re:Sadly... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Add the chainsaw arm and you got yourself the next Evil Dead. Now that's gaming.

    14. Re:Sadly... by Teresita · · Score: 1

      Yeah except the real shooting simulators don't use bullets because the whole point of the simulator is to save the expense of actual bullets.

      In Soviet Russia, simulator shoot YOU, then bill family for bullets.

    15. Re:Sadly... by bgillespie · · Score: 5, Funny

      "I'm not a crazed gunman, Dad, I'm an assassin! The difference being, one is a job and the other's mental sickness!"

    16. Re:Sadly... by brainboyz · · Score: 1

      Not necessarily. Cops use something similar with a modified 9mm round (plastic projectile) to train. Some simulators are meant to be realistic to provoke some of the same responses by injecting the same stimulus (vision, sound, tactile response from the gun, real muzzle flip, real flash, real bang, etc); price be damned they want the closest thing to being in the field.

    17. Re:Sadly... by selven · · Score: 1

      "I'm not a crazed gunman, Dad, I'm an assassin! The difference being, one is a job and the other's mental sickness!"

      Did you mean that respectively?

    18. Re:Sadly... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This will only encourage those idiots that say games are simulators for killing people.

      On a brighter note it was still a pretty cool idea.

      Yeah, but didn't you hear, guns don't kill people . . .

    19. Re:Sadly... by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      If you noticed, they were using a .22 pistol. Even today .22 ammunition is dirt cheap. I just bought a brick of 500 rounds for $11.95.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    20. Re:Sadly... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I'm not a crazed gunman, Dad, I'm an assassin! The difference being, one is a job and the other's mental sickness!"

      Both of them could be jobs - I hear the teabaggers are hiring...

    21. Re:Sadly... by temojen · · Score: 1

      It would also add the possibility of moderating the force of an in-game hit by moderating the real hit... which might add a new dimension to the game play... only hit the zombies hard enough to stop them or you'll get tired and not be able to hit later ones hard enough.

    22. Re:Sadly... by niko9 · · Score: 1

      You can counter their[1] arguments by saying that this will eventually be used to train police officers. Can also be used to train citizens who have concealed handgun permits.

      [1] The same people who were, in the late 70's, against police officers having bullet proof vests becuase they claimed it would make them more reckless in their actions.

    23. Re:Sadly... by Fulcrum+of+Evil · · Score: 1

      I'm not saying that it will turn an ordinary person into a killer, but there is an argument to be made, and it does get stronger in this case.

      So building a shootout simulator using a FPS makes the murder simulator argument stronger? I don't think so.

      --
      "We returned the General to El Salvador, or maybe Guatemala, it's difficult to tell from 10,000 feet"
    24. Re:Sadly... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the whole point of the simulator is to save the expense of actual bullets.

      The whole point of a simulator is to avoid the problems of doing this for real, like people dying.

    25. Re:Sadly... by abbyful · · Score: 1

      How's that any different from the people that go to a shooting range or go hunting frequently? Or those that shoot competitively, such as trap/skeet shooting or on a competitive pistol team? They are used to real guns.

      Now I personally think that using real guns for video game entertainment is a bit silly, but I don't think it's something to be concerned about the people turning dangerous.

    26. Re:Sadly... by gknoy · · Score: 1

      I think it would actually be kinda neat for implementing accuracy drills for fencing. :D

      That, and playing a zombie game with real shovels/bats/etc would lend a certain degree of realism and physicality that would likely be very cathartic.

    27. Re:Sadly... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, how much do gunmen make per hour? Any benefits? Do you have to start fully crazy or can a half-crazy person get in on this gig?

  7. Been done... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    This type of thing has been done at shooting ranges around the world. Usually it involves laser modules added to a weapon, but some of them allow use of actual munitions without modifications.

    Most are hunting or self-defense simulations.

    1. Re:Been done... by lewko · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, but it hasn't been done for about five bucks worth of parts.

      Those simulation systems are aimed at government or military budgets, and are well outside the reach of hobbyists, or small security and law-enforcement agencies.

      Admittedly Quake and Doom aren't useful training tools for real world combatives, but it's a start...

      --
      Do you or your partner snore? - Visit www.snoring.com.au
    2. Re:Been done... by matt_martin · · Score: 1

      Dunno, the shooting range up the street has a CCW class which includes time in a simulator... heard it is realistic enough to get your adrenaline flowing!

      --
      Lurking in the desert
    3. Re:Been done... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait, you're saying quake and doom ARE NOT good simulators of actual combat? What, you prefer HEXEN? COME ON NOOB!

  8. Doesn't sound the same by oodaloop · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Shooting at a close wall representing a target far away, and shooting at a target far away are not the same thing, ballistically speaking. Depending on the angle, a shot taken might have traveled past the intended target and missed if it were for real. Also, a closer shot means you don't have to adjust for windage or elevation, or at least as much. In Marine Corps boot camp, we fired at man-sized targets at 500 yards outdoors, which is not easy. I knew someone in the air force who said they did the same thing - little targets much closer indoors. Not surprisingly, he thought it was easy.

    All that being said, this sounds pretty cool. It might liven up range time if nothing else.

    --
    Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    1. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Annwvyn · · Score: 1

      That is true... I wonder if there is away to simulate that similar to the way the indoor driving ranges work (with wind, trajectory, and velocity altering the destination of the ball)? I would be impressed if they can do a sniping simulation that takes into account all of the ballistics considerations that you just mentioned. If someone said "hey, try this out!" though, I would probably still have some fun with it. :)

    2. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      True story: in boot camp, on pre-qual day I was platoon high shot, with a 242/250. On qual day, I fell to a 237 (choked under pressure) and someone else stole high shot.

      Later, in the fleet, we were going to be tested, right? So, the knuckleheads in the butts thought they'd be funny, and they gave me crap windage data, flagging me as a total miss on half my shots. I KNEW I was hitting, so I blew it off, even though it meant I couldn't log any windage data for qual day.

      So that night, this wise ass in my platoon said I was going to go unq, and I bet him 20 bucks that not only would I qualify, I'd kick the whole platoon's ass in doing so.

      The next day, every target had an officer monitoring the marking and scoring. I was platoon high shot. The guy tried to get out of the bet, saying I was a "ringer". He ended up buying me a pint of schnapps instead (I was underage, so I was ok with that).

      Did you know the army gets tested by shooting at sheet metal signs 300 yards away? If the sign goes "Ding" they get marked down as a hit. No scoring! No competition targets! It's amazing they ever hit ANYTHING in the field...

      MY rifle instructor taught us how to evaluate the wind speed and correct with the windage dial (1 click = 1 inch per hundred yards, for you non-hackers out there). None of this "Kentucky Windage" crap. Ah, the good old days! I wonder what happened to SSGT Hawkins? I bet he still shoots in competition...

      I'm thinking about getting a modern, American manufactured SVD and trying it out in marksmanship competitions... I get chills just thinking about it.

    3. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Yvanhoe · · Score: 4, Funny

      Ssshhhh, any FPS player knows that bullets travel in infinite straight line at the speed of light.

      --
      The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
    4. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Though it's not the same, shooting at small close range targets does get you to learn the basics of firearms. That's the basis of the Appleseed Project, and it's turned out many fine long range shooters.

    5. Re:Doesn't sound the same by shoemakc · · Score: 1

      Makes sense, but what about zombie-sized targets?

      --
      --an unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys--
    6. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. Unlike light itself, even.

    7. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      How many FPS games do you know that adjust for wind, elevation (ok, a few have that to a minuscle degree on sniper guns and the like) and other physical effects? We might see them in the near future, but that's hardly a feature of contemporary games.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    8. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All of that can be taken into account by the computer calculating the point of impact. If you shoot from a fixed distance with a known gun and projectile, then the trajectory beyond the wall can be extrapolated to the distance of objects in the virtual environment, with gravity, air resistance and wind affecting the bullet. You can use shutter glasses and a DLP projector with a high refresh rate to create a realistic depth impression.

      On the other hand, besides the cool factor, why would anyone do that? Mount an infrared laser on the gun and shoot blanks. Much safer and just as realistic and fun.

    9. Re:Doesn't sound the same by oodaloop · · Score: 1

      I managed a 221 in boot camp (220 is minimum score for expert). Without glasses. Somehow I missed the eye exam and should have gotten glasses. At the 500 yard line, the target was a little gray blur inside a little white blur, so I just aimed at the center of the blur and got 7 out of 10.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    10. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Ironsides · · Score: 1

      Well, not so much for wind, but Unreal adjusts for elevation in most of the weapons.

      --
      Fly me to the moon Let me sing among those stars Let me see what spring is like On jupiter and mars
    11. Re:Doesn't sound the same by KDR_11k · · Score: 4, Funny

      Did you know the army gets tested by shooting at sheet metal signs 300 yards away? If the sign goes "Ding" they get marked down as a hit.

      That's nothing, the Bundeswehr practices by shouting "bang" and politely asking the target to fall over.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    12. Re:Doesn't sound the same by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Pfft, most games make you use a sniper rifle on anything further away than 50 meters.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    13. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      :D

      A few years ago I was at Markham Park in S. Florida introducing a friend to shooting. Though I have the technique and terminology down pat, I'm not really a good shot (lack of practice mainly). I can hit an 8" target pretty consistently at 125 yds though (yes, is pretty pathetic but I'm damned proud of it).

      So I was standing there explaining how to load, how to unload, what to do when the "all clear" blows, etc.. My friend was picking it up. In the next lane was a guy dressed in full camo. He had some elaborate looking weapon that was about as tall as I was. He has a stand, sighting scope, some sort of navigation looking equipment. I figure the guy really knows what he's doing. When he prepares to fire, I tell my friend to look.

      So the guy sees us and starts firing. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Loud ass weapon. I take my own scope and look at his target. He misses every single shot. He curses. Adjusts. Switches magazines. Squeezes off another bunch of shots. Misses everything. Curses again.

      There used to be another guy there that I saw quite often. He was missing his pointer finger and pulled the trigger with his index finger. If there was a stereotypical ornery, ex-military guy, he was it. He didn't talk much. In fact was pretty rude to me a few times, but he could hit just about anything. He fired pistols, rifles, pretty much anything that had a trigger. He's the kind of guy I'd want on my side in a war.

      Anyway, point of this is that every ex-military guy at that range shot at a completely different level than those who didn't have that training. I didn't see a lot of police officers, but I'd expect they would be similarly proficient.

      Oh last story:
      Another friend was with me one time at the range. Before the all clear was called, he started walking out to collect his target. Next thing we hear on the loudspeaker, "Hey, dumbass in 15. What the hell are you doing? Hey everybody, check out the moron in 15. Yes, I'm talking to you.." and kept on going for another minute or so...

    14. Re:Doesn't sound the same by NekSnappa · · Score: 1

      Yea man. Center mass is what it's all about at 500 meters. Even though I had 20/20 back in the day that strategy usually gave me 7-8 shots in the black from 500m.

      Unfortunately I never shot expert until just before I got out when I finally got to use the M-16A2. With the added .75" in the length of the stock I no longer had the rear sight assembly smacking me in the eyebrow with every shot from sitting position (which accounted for 20 out of 50 rounds.)

      by the end of the week I looked liked I'd been in a prize fight. Still managed to qual as a sharpshooter my whole tour despite flinching on almost half of the shots I fired.

      --
      I want to shoot the messenger!
    15. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Nimey · · Score: 1

      Red Orchestra: Ostfront makes you correct for range with all weapons, and individual rounds are simulated. No wind in-game, though, and you need a mod to simulate penetrating walls.

      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
    16. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Hijacked+Public · · Score: 1

      The problem is less a matter of doing the math to figure in wind and more a matter of giving the player realistic information to make wind calls. As in really shooting a real rifle over a long distance, the hardest part is figuring out what the wind speed(s) actually are. Sure you can hold up a Kestrel and know what the wind is right where you are, but what about the angle? What about gusts? Is it the same speed 400 meters away? 800 meters? That would be even better to know, since your bullet will have slowed down quite a bit by that time.

      Just simulating all of the environmental variables involved in maiking a wind call would be a computationally intense task. Leaves and grass and brush and mirage and such, along 1200 meters.

      --
      "Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
    17. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Irish_Samurai · · Score: 4, Informative

      The guy in camo is what competition shooters call a mall ninja. He can't shoot, was never in the military, but wants to be a bad ass. That's why he had a big elaborate gun, he bought his way in. You see them at competitions wearing shirts that say "Blackwater" and hats that say "C.I.A".

      Bunch of damn tools.

    18. Re:Doesn't sound the same by oodaloop · · Score: 1

      Yea man. Center mass is what it's all about at 500 meters.

      Which I'm sure sounds easy to the non-Marines here. Never mind the little gray blur is smaller than the front sight post.

      I've heard the M16A4 is so much better that Marines are taking regular shots at 800 yards in Iraq at point targets.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    19. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Dracker · · Score: 1

      There was a scene in Call of Duty 4 single player where you had to take a VERY long distance sniper shot to assassinate someone. It had severe wind and elevation effects. It's not common in most games, but is present in a few.

    20. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it would be pretty much trivial for the game to adjust for distance, not all targets need to be right on the wall, that's just the point where the game determines the direction of the shot.

    21. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unless you're playing Sniper Elite, that is...

    22. Re:Doesn't sound the same by PPH · · Score: 1

      I didn't see a lot of police officers, but I'd expect they would be similarly proficient.

      Don't count on it. Where I live, the cops have to pass an annual proficiency test. A passing grade requires that they hit a target (probably a standard pistol target) with 70% of their rounds. Not the bullseye, the target. At 25 yards. The public range I practice at has a policy (for civilians) that; if one is not capable of placing all of their rounds on the target, they may ask you to leave the range.

      The local law enforcement groups take over the range once a year for qualification shooting. This includes the county sheriff, a few city police departments, border patrol, FBI, etc. On one "cop day", I decided to watch the shooting. The range is closed to the public but their security cameras are accessible on the web if one knows where to look. I can guess why its closed. They don't want to kill innocent bystanders. Some of their undercover cops (I'm guessing, judging by their dirt-bag looks) even shoot "gang style" (holding their pistol sideways).

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    23. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He was missing his pointer finger and pulled the trigger with his index finger.
      Amazing. He used his missing finger to shoot with?

      Index = first finger.
      I'm sure you meant he was missing his first finger, and had to use his second finger (aka bird finger, fuck finger) to shoot with.

    24. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I didn't see a lot of police officers, but I'd expect they would be similarly proficient.

      I have shot along side police officers at a range before in my old hometown. They were all terrible shots.

    25. Re:Doesn't sound the same by blackbear · · Score: 1

      ...ballistically speaking. Depending on the angle, a shot taken might have traveled past the intended target and missed if it were for real.

      Good point, but it would be fairly easy to account for this, as well as windage in software. The computer knows where the target is relative to you (give or take a bit) and can easily calculate where your bullet would have hit based on the load data.

      That said, bullet drop isn't an issue until the zero point anyway.

      You could also load rubber bullets and simulate any round that you wanted.

    26. Re:Doesn't sound the same by gknoy · · Score: 1

      While the ballistics of a 10m shot vs a 100m or 500m shot are very different, in that you have noticeable bullet drop, the key is that in most close quarters combat (which most video games simulate), the encounter distance is short. The distance between your aiming point for a 50m target and where it would hit glass 10m away is relatively small. So, this project is a great representation of a close quarters fight, and is not so good for sniping or long distance shooting... which is not all that surprising.

    27. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well the camo guy must have been in SOMETHING to carry a fully suppressed firearm. That's class C, bub.
      You don't just walk into a store and ask for a silenced handgun. Well, some people do I suppose.

      You're absolutely right about the blackwater tactical tools with their ninja watches and infrared underwear.
      We should make up a secret militia as a prank and send them elaborate invitations. Post on youtube.

    28. Re:Doesn't sound the same by jockeys · · Score: 2, Informative

      not really. suppressors are perfectly legal in some states, I know several people who have them. it's pretty easy, you pay for the $200 stamp from BATFE and turn in your paperwork and wait a few months, no big deal.

      --

      In Soviet Russia jokes are formulaic and decidedly non-humorous.
    29. Re:Doesn't sound the same by abbyful · · Score: 1

      Some of their undercover cops ... even shoot "gang style" (holding their pistol sideways).

      And this is why I take responsibility for my own protection....
      (I'm not putting down all police, I have friends that are cops and are great at what they do. But there's also some cops that I wonder how the heck someone decided to let them in.)

    30. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Ezel · · Score: 1

      The angle aspect might be quite hard to compensate in software, but wind and elevation-drop should be quite easy to fix in the client software.
      In this demo they only use some flash-version of halflife2, but with custom software one could quite possibly compensate for those parameters so that a hit direct on the visual target doesn't count as a kill, but a hit a bit on the side and above the target registers as a kill.

      --
      Prosp long and liver.
    31. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can't get out of the sling, grab a round, adjust the rear sight, get back into the sling, and reattain your natural point of aim before that gusty wind is doing something different. Kentucky windage FTW! Oh, and better watch the grass over the full 500 yards rather than depending on a wind sock at one location...

    32. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

      Shooting at a close wall representing a target far away, and shooting at a target far away are not the same thing, ballistically speaking. [details deleted]

      But you can use the same sort of code with, say, eight (or fewer) microphones and locate the gun muzzle in three-D at the moment it discharges. With the two locations you can compute the full trajectory.

      Yes they didn't do that here - because they were working with an existing game that only understood the point of aim being at the screen plane, even if the target was rendered in 3-D. But there's no reason a future game/simulation couldn't be written to do the full and correct computation.

      You'd also need a head-locater so the image can be corrected for the shooter's eye position. Then it becomes a pseudo-3-D window on the scene.

      Meanwhile, since the shooter had an uncorrected view of the scene (which effectively corresponds to being at a known location with respect to the scene) the error from correct trajectory could be adequately approximated (and the game, designed for a player in front of a screen, may already do that).

      --
      Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
    33. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bet he didn't compensate for ANYTHING and just put the bullseye in the middle of his crosshairs.

      People that grew up playing FPS games don't realize that shit like wind and even your gun can screw up your aim.

    34. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Pharmboy · · Score: 1

      Keep in mind, for the purpose of war making, a hit is just as good as a kill, and sometimes even better. (Yes, I'm a military vet) The reasoning is simple: A dead man gets left on the ground until they have to retreat, but a wounded man must be attended to, meaning you just took TWO people out of the business of shooting at you.

      This is one reason why they train you to shoot upper torso and never, ever try for a head shot. (and about 4 inches higher than where most people think the heart is, you shoot for the upper heart/lung area, as you know) A wound is always better than a miss.

      A marksman isn't someone who kills someone every time they fire a round, it is someone who simply HITS the target on most every shot.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    35. Re:Doesn't sound the same by scottyokim · · Score: 1

      I was surprised that if I did *exactly* what the rifle range instructors at Parris Island told me to do, I could hit 9 out of 10 at the 500-yard line. M16A2, open sights. I had never shot a weapon before, but the 500-yard line always helped my score a lot.

    36. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well the camo guy must have been in SOMETHING to carry a fully suppressed firearm. That's class C, bub.
      You don't just walk into a store and ask for a silenced handgun. Well, some people do I suppose.

      You're absolutely right about the blackwater tactical tools with their ninja watches and infrared underwear.
      We should make up a secret militia as a prank and send them elaborate invitations. Post on youtube.

      Who said he had a suppressor?

      So the guy sees us and starts firing. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Loud ass weapon.

    37. Re:Doesn't sound the same by hawk · · Score: 1

      Police shooting training is changing, too.

      They've come to realize that when a cop actually has to use a gun, it's at extreme close range.

      hawk

    38. Re:Doesn't sound the same by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You are aware that the wind in this scene (I happen to know it) was predetermined, along with its effects on your bullet? You had a set position for the sniper, a set position for the target and a scripted sequence that happened exactly the same every time you played it.

      Now try the same for arbitrary positions of sniper and target at some arbitrary moment in a game with random wind effects.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    39. Re:Doesn't sound the same by alexo · · Score: 1

      Some 15 years ago, a friend who at the time was a sniper in the IDF infantry unit told me the following story.

      He just finished the sniper training (about a month long), they had a free weekend and the guys wanted to celebrate before going back to their respective units. One had a relative in the administration of a big amusement park and offered to get them discounted (or possibly even free, I don't recall the exact details) tickets.

      So, on the designated day, those that lived reasonably close (almost everybody, we aren't talking USA distances) and didn't have other plans, as well as an assortment of girlfriends, met at the entrance and proceeded inside to have fun. Even the fact that the person who arranged the tickets was unable to attend due to some unforeseen circumstance didn't spoil their enjoyment.

      After several hours of rides and attractions, one of the girls spotted a booth where one could get prizes (mostly stuffed animals of various sizes) for hitting a small target from an air gun and demanded "the big pink gorilla" from her boyfriend. His feeble protests that the sights are misaligned were met with a scoff and, when another member of the group suggested he'll do it for her if her "loser of a boyfriend" is not up to the challenge, things were about to get ugly. Fortunately, one of them suggested a plan...

      The group remained some distance from the booth. Three pairs casually approached with the girls visibly nagging the seemingly reluctant guys. The guys paid for the tickets, picked up the guns and proceeded to miss their shots (the sights were indeed misaligned). The booth operator, thinking that the 18-19 year-olds would be easy to goad, "convinced" them them to try again but this time they already knew how to compensate for the bad alignment and did much better. Handing them their prizes, the operator expected them to move on but they unanimously declared they want to continue. And so they did, putting every shot dead center. After some time, the operator realized that something is not exactly kosher here and refused to let them continue playing. Not a problem, they went to their friends (struggling under the bulk of the prizes) and explained what adjustments to make when aiming each gun. The remaining guys started lining up...

      It took the operator less than half an hour to close the booth.
      According to my friend, although only 2 people were in the car, the drive back was very crowded.

  9. Family Guy did it by erroneus · · Score: 1

    Just saw that last night in one of their patented "off the wall tangent" clips. They were playing paintball in the house and realized they didn't have paintball guns, so they decided to use real guns.

  10. System by TerraGreyling · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When I was in the ARMY we trained on a video game system that had normal ar15's connected to gas lines that would simulate a round being fired. The whole wall in the trailer would be the target zone, close and far distances. This would also have wind, barometric pressure, and temperature so you know how to adjust your fire. And this was back in 2003, so how exactly is this new? This system would also use live ammo, but the ballistics gel isn't a fine surface to project onto.

    1. Re:System by Annwvyn · · Score: 1

      You are right, the sensors aren't terribly new, but it isn't so much that ballistics mixed with electronics is new. What is the nifty part is that they took the sensors used and integrated them into a FPS. I could have some fun with their setup and CS 1.6 AWP Map.

    2. Re:System by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's funny. When I was in the local conscription army, we practiced by running in the forest and shouting to tell others we were shooting at them. And we learned to fight just as well as you stinking rich Americans do.

    3. Re:System by nurb432 · · Score: 1

      Only new because the average joe is doing it with off the shelf components?

      --
      ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    4. Re:System by lordandmaker · · Score: 1

      And we learned to fight just as well as you stinking rich Americans do.

      This is likely not something you want to boast about.

    5. Re:System by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Especially considering the average American Slashdot reader's ability to fight.

    6. Re:System by jittles · · Score: 1

      I went to IITSEC last year and used an AR-15 simulator there that was similar, only you fired actual blanks. It was pretty fun.

    7. Re:System by RegularFry · · Score: 1

      It's new because:

      a) Live ammo. Different technology.
      b) It's *fun*, and put together by a bunch of students, not a defence contractor.
      c) Dirt cheap. I mean, really - the most expensive part of the rig is probably the LabView license.

      --
      Reality is the ultimate Rorschach.
    8. Re:System by Atrox666 · · Score: 1

      I don't know MILES Gear seems better for training. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_Integrated_Laser_Engagement_System That's what I used in my day. Personally I prefer paintball because there is more viceral feedback if you get hit.

    9. Re:System by greyhueofdoubt · · Score: 1

      >>c) Dirt cheap. I mean, really - the most expensive part of the rig is probably the LabView license.

      The most expensive part of the rig is probably the ammo. .40 s&w sells for over 50 cents/round most places. 9mm is not much better.

      -b

      --
      No offense, but I've stopped responding to AC's.
    10. Re:System by greyhueofdoubt · · Score: 1

      The field exercises were going very well. The colonel watched his men run around shouting "bangity bang bang!" at each other while maneuvering through the battlefield. Suddenly all the men started retreating, the fear vivid on their faces. Behind them, a solitary soldier slowly came towards them. "Tankity tankity tank."

      -b

      I suck at telling jokes.

      --
      No offense, but I've stopped responding to AC's.
    11. Re:System by nrjyzerbuny · · Score: 1

      They were using a Ruger .22, suppressed to be easy on the ears (no need for hearing protection). Assuming that subsonic ammunition would cycle the firearm, and keep everything quieter, you can pick up 500 rounds of .22 subsonic for less than $40. If they didn't want to use subsonic, it's less than $20 for 525 rounds. Fairly inexpensive on the whole, since the system doesn't care what you hit the target surface with.

    12. Re:System by SheeEttin · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that was the first thing I thought of when I was this, too. I used one installation on a field trip to the local Air National Guard base (Pease ANGB). It was equipped with one M16, one M9, and one shotgun (all tethered to compressed air), as well as several Bluetooth-based M4s. (Unfortunately, the last people to use the M4s didn't plug them back in, so we couldn't use them.) All simulation weapons were converted from actual service weapons.

      You could use it with pre-generated scenarios (a string of live-action video clips)--one scenario was a fight in a bar--or a dynamic 3D environment (very simple graphics, don't get excited). The entire thing was controlled from a PC. (Unfortunately for us, the sergeant in control neglected to mention we could give instructions to the video (e.g. "drop the weapon"), and the other two people ended up opening fire on an old man. :(

      Oh, and it's called the FATS system. The company's site is here. The Bluetooth-based system was called BlueFire.

    13. Re:System by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I suck at telling jokes.

      Well, it's true it probably were funnier if he'd said, "Tankity tank tank."

  11. Screw the game they are playing by sadness203 · · Score: 1

    And gimme Duck hunt!

  12. I thought you said Friendly Fire was off! by IronDragon · · Score: 1

    This actually sounds fun - but its going to make the physical brutality (exercise!) of certain Wii games look like a walk in the park (also exercise).

  13. Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by EWAdams · · Score: 0

    That's real helpful when you're at 38,000 feet and Mach 2.3, and your target is somewhere over the horizon. Yet another example of government waste.

    --
    I piss off bigots.
    1. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by dunkelfalke · · Score: 4, Informative

      bullshit.
      all soldiers (and yes, airforce pilots are also soldiers) undergo the same basic training so if the pilot cannot fly he still can shoot at the enemy or defend himself after ejecting.

      this is not a fucking team fortress, real humans are universal.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    2. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Martin+Foster · · Score: 1

      Not necessarily. Who does security of the perimeter around the air base? Who would defend the air base in war time conditions when the marines and army are out there holding the line?

      Knowing how to defend your colleagues, the installation and yourself is not a waste of money. It's not like they are in a low risk job and will never be deployed overseas.

      Of course if their training is almost meaningless and treated as a joke by those doing said training. Then I agree with you.

    3. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by oodaloop · · Score: 1

      That was years ago, so I guess. But today there are many airmen serving on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, the AF has increased combat training in boot camp because of that.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    4. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps helpful if you have to eject above enemy territory?

      Yet another example of human waste.

    5. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Annwvyn · · Score: 1

      You do know that Air Force has support ground elements, correct? And what if a pilot gets shot down in enemy territory? What is he going to defend himself with?

    6. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by El+Torico · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not everyone in the Air Force is a pilot or weapons officer. I know Air Force security personnel who had to "knock doors" in Iraq.

      --
      In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is usually crucified.
    7. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by langelgjm · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I guess you've never heard of pilots landing in enemy territory?

      --
      "Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
    8. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Broken+scope · · Score: 5, Interesting

      A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

      -Robert Heinlein

      --
      You mad
    9. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by calmofthestorm · · Score: 1

      Dude, have you *seen* Stargate?

      --
      93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
    10. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by palegray.net · · Score: 1

      You're either a troll or completely retarded. Allow me to enlighten you: most personnel in the Air Force don't serve in planes.

    11. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by coolmoose25 · · Score: 1

      When my dad was in the Army Air Corp in WWII, his training group was almost done and were getting ready to fly their B-17's across the ocean. There was a hitch though...

      Seems that no one had arranged for their firearms training. They had to complete that before they could ship out. So they were all loaded onto trucks and brought to a deserted part of the Jersey shore (they were stationed in Atlantic City at that point - the hotels had all been converted to barracks)

      They were each given a rifle, and they had to shoot three rounds. They told them to shoot at the ocean. Training completed, they flew off for Bangor, Me, and then made the perilous trek across the Atlantic (Halifax, Goose Bay Labrador, Iceland, etc.)

      --
      Brawndo: It's what plants crave!
    12. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      You're either a troll or completely retarded. Allow me to enlighten you: most personnel in the Air Force don't serve in planes.

      ... they are shot out of catapults

    13. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And yet Heinlein's specialty was writing.

    14. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe during a military regime, but otherwise specialization is what lets us survive,. If everyone does their own work well, it turns out efficient overall, if everyone does [everything] "decently" we end up with crap.

      Military wise - you want a pilot who's good at flying and not getting shot down in the first place. Good accuracy/stamina are secondary in this situation. Similarly a SWAT team member shouldn't need to know how to "sorta" fly a plane.

    15. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Whorhay · · Score: 2, Informative

      Are you kidding me? Chairforce... erm Air Force pilots do not under go the same kind of small arms training that a Marine does. Every branch of service has their own basic training courses. When I went through basic we spent most of one whole day learning about the M16A2 and got to shoot about 100 rounds at the range. The targets were all at simulated range. Meaning that it's a big sheet of paper with targets of varying size and shape.

      I knew a girl who enlisted in the army to drive trucks and even she had an entire month of weapons training, some of which was with a .50 cal machine gun. The only people I am aware of in the Air Force that do anything more than qualify with small arms are Security Forces, Para Rescue and Combat Controllers,

      All that said I'm not sure that adjusting for shots past 100 yards is something that anyone but snipers need to worry about in todays typical fighting environment.

    16. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      And yet Heinlein's specialty was writing.

      From various biographical material, it seems that Heinlein demonstrated all those abilities except "plan an invasion" (he was in the Navy between wars) and "die gallantly" (he died of old age).

      Edward.E. Smith probably could have pulled all those things off as well (in his case, probably including "plan an invasion")...

    17. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Not all members of the air force are pilots. Even the guy driving the truck with the spare fuel is probably a soldier in the air force and he better knows how to shoot when some guys try to ambush him.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    18. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your post is an excellent example of why we need a "-1 Dumbass" mod option.

    19. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Hawthorne01 · · Score: 1
      --
      "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
    20. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The same basic training? Not even close. Each branch of the American military runs its own basic training programs, and they emphasize quite different things. Ask a Marine and an Air Force guy how much range time they got, with what, and at what ranges. Ask an Army guy and a Coastie how much swimming and firefighting training there was.

      Humans are universal, sure. But military services are not---which is why we have several of them.

    21. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      it is the versatility of humans that helped the species not only to survive but to get on the top of the food chain.
      because no one is irreplaceable, because everyone can learn new things, because people have to invent new stuff.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    22. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal

      He forgot "wash hands."

    23. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by lazyforker · · Score: 1

      That's real helpful when you're at 38,000 feet and Mach 2.3, and your target is somewhere over the horizon. Yet another example of government waste.

      How stupid are you? How many people are in the Air Force (any Air Force)? How many of those actually fly 'planes? It takes an enormous number of personnel to support each pilot/plane and they are ground-based. So teaching them how to defend their bases seems like a good idea to me. Plus if infantry suddenly needs reinforcement where do you think that should come from? Civilians? Even with 100% conscription it would take time to induct, train, equip and deploy them.

    24. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, that was his talent or gift. The thing in which he excels. He could still make a bowl of cereal in the morning.

    25. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by russotto · · Score: 2, Informative

      Before Heinlein was a writer, he was an officer in the Navy, having been through the Naval Academy. Which suggests he probably could take and give orders, co-operate, act alone, conn a ship, fight efficiently, and plan an invasion.

      I'd guess that he could also change a diaper, pitch manure, butcher a hog, build a wall, set a bone, balance accounts, and comfort the dying, all of those being skills someone of his background would have picked up one way or another.

      The only building I know of he "designed" was the one in "...And He Built A Crooked House"; that one probably doesn't count.

      The only one of those I'm sure he failed to do is die gallantly.

    26. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Pentium100 · · Score: 1

      If everyone does their own work well, it turns out efficient overall, if everyone does [everything] "decently" we end up with crap.

      You should be able to do your work well and things related to it decently. If your specialty is programming, you also should be able to see that the PC does not turn on because the cable is unplugged. If you drive a car, you should also know how to change a tire or a battery - you may do it slower than a professional, but it will be faster than waiting for that professional to arrive.

      A SWAT team member is unlikely to need to fly a plane, however, a pilot might be shot down and land in enemy territory, knowing how to defend himself outside of a plane should help.

    27. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by LearnToSpell · · Score: 1

      Canada?

    28. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by xxuserxx · · Score: 1

      You obviously have not been in the Military. Boot Camp in the Core is nothing like Air Force Boot Camp. Pilots are not soldiers, sure they may wield 9mm side arms but you will never see them marching on the front lines.

    29. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      Okay, let me rephrase it: all soldiers are supposed to get the same basic training.

      Anyway, you are wrong. My grandfather was at VVS (soviet airforce) in the WW2. He was an aircraft mechanic for Il-2 ground attack aircraft. But more often than not he was supposed to fly as the rear gunner (because of the high death rate of rear gunners) and in the fight for Berlin he was at the front line serving as an infantryman.

      In a real war shit happens and often people have to improvise. That is how naval infantry came to existence in first place.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    30. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by bughunter · · Score: 1

      Enlighten yourself: Tactical Air Control Party ("Tack P.") Not all USAF personnel are jet jocks in socks, my friend.

      --
      I can see the fnords!
    31. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_basic_training#United_States (sorry I don't know html)
      no. airforce pilots are airmen, not soldiers. And the military branches do not undergo the same basic training.

      Every branch has it's own training standards and even more so the standards can be different depending on career field within the branch.

    32. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by lwsimon · · Score: 2, Funny

      "in the Core"?

      As in, in the "Marine Core"?

      Wow. I guess those Air Force pukes just aren't hardcorps enough for that kind of training.

      --
      Learn about Photography Basics.
    33. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And then the two guys held down the whole local police, until they get rescued by Chuck Norris?

      Watch less TV.

    34. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by ShakaUVM · · Score: 1

      Shame he didn't include "get along with people". His family didn't get along with him.

    35. Re:Air Force people learn to shoot guns? by MBraynard · · Score: 1

      Brilliant. And I know he's a brilliant man. Citation?

  14. Monitors can not be used this way. by sgt+scrub · · Score: 1

    I've tried. They just stop showing the pretty pictures.

    --
    Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
  15. In before... by rekenner · · Score: 1

    Jack Thompson! Sigh. Hopefully he or someone else like him does not see this.

    1. Re:In before... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jack Thompson! Sigh. Hopefully he or someone else like him does not see this.

      I'm impressed - I thought you'd be hoping he was in the room at the time.

  16. Konami did it already by davidbrit2 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Granted, their version used something like Airsoft pellets rather than live rounds, but the idea was the same. Kind of a fun game, if you ignore the pellets that keep bouncing off the target and hitting you in the face...

    Some info on the game.

  17. MUhahaha.. M4 Carbine vs Controller by C_Jax · · Score: 4, Funny

    Finally, a chance to level playing field against all the smack-talking 13 yr olds playing COD on Xbox live, Say hello to my M203

    1. Re:MUhahaha.. M4 Carbine vs Controller by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just wait till they get frustrated and start TK'ing...

  18. Wrong approach... by denzacar · · Score: 1

    Live ammo is actually irrelevant part of the project.
    It would have been far cooler if they played the fact that ANYTHING thrown at the wall registers as the accelerometers they've placed in the wall measure impact of practically anything.

    As can be seen at the end of the video - it is far more fun to hit zombies with shovels than to shoot them.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    1. Re:Wrong approach... by Annwvyn · · Score: 1

      I think a little bit of both would be fun. :)

  19. Found someone with a gun? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Found someone with a gun? Makes it sound like it was a challenge. I keep mine close to my bed, Most of my friends have safes full of guns. The challenge would have been picking the coolest gun in the bunch to use!

  20. As the vile Brooks&Dunn put it by __aarzwb9394 · · Score: 1

    Only in America

  21. techies outthinking the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the same was thought when fighters were
    designed for viet nam. it turned out to be
    a very expensive mistake it's possible to
    carry many more bullets than missles.

  22. Guns are OK, but *shovels*? Now we're talking! by Elphin · · Score: 1

    I preferred the bit at the end where they start dispatching the bad guys with shovels.

    Now I want to play Left 4 Dead with a shovel!

    1. Re:Guns are OK, but *shovels*? Now we're talking! by oodaloop · · Score: 1

      You got something against chainsaws?

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    2. Re:Guns are OK, but *shovels*? Now we're talking! by BassMan449 · · Score: 1

      Forget Left 4 Dead. As a proud TF2 soldier, I can say I'm quite excited about the prospect of actually getting to hit my enemies in the face with a shovel.

    3. Re:Guns are OK, but *shovels*? Now we're talking! by TommyTumult · · Score: 1

      You got something against chainsaws?

      Bruce Campbell: "I've gotten a lot of use out of chainsaws over the years. Killed a lot a zombies, saved a lot of lives, but at the end of the day when push comes to shove... they're just too damn heavy. "

    4. Re:Guns are OK, but *shovels*? Now we're talking! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This one time in Thunderdome...

    5. Re:Guns are OK, but *shovels*? Now we're talking! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I want to get a rapier, or wooden equivalent, and load up Dark Messiah, and this system.

  23. Or they can just move to my country... by codeButcher · · Score: 1

    ... where walls, accelerometers and all that fancy stuff is optional.

    --
    Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
    1. Re:Or they can just move to my country... by codeButcher · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Where I live there's an indoor shooting range with a projection system. I remember one afternoon in the late nineties when a couple of us went and had a huge amount of good, clean, violent fun with the street battle scene from the movie Heat - must have been a year or two after it was released.

      After that I've often wondered how one could go about creating a 3-D projection system for total immersion. One of the walls I ran into was the problem of running onto a wall :-) And then soon after, paintball took off....

      --
      Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
    2. Re:Or they can just move to my country... by silanea · · Score: 1

      Wait, what? The Combine have taken over? Oh dammit, I should spend less time in the basement.

      --
      Rudolf Hess edited Mein Kampf. He was the very first grammar nazi.
    3. Re:Or they can just move to my country... by codeButcher · · Score: 1

      I must confess that as I'm not a Half-Life gamer, I had to refer to Wikipedia. Quoting:

      • The Combine consist of alien,... Nigerians and Zimbabweans - Check.
      • synthetic ....Yep, fakes and frauds all the way from the top down.
      • and human elements. Hmm, not sure. Some do however look remarkably like humans.
      • The Combine are frequently shown as harsh rulers over the citizens...., suppressing dissent with brutality, policing using violence... Unreservedly check
      • using invasive surgery... Nah, nothing of the sort. Oh wait, does bilateral lobotomy via government-owned broadcaster count?
      • to transform humans into either soldiers or slaves. No, no soldiers.
      • The atmosphere generated by the dystopian Combine state has been praised by reviewers... Yep, favourite fawning fodder for foreign media for some time.
      • although the artificial intelligence of the transhuman Combine characters was thought to be inferior to that of other characters... Check

      Let's just say the resemblance is eerie....

      --
      Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
    4. Re:Or they can just move to my country... by lewko · · Score: 1

      Running into walls?

      You should have been standing still. Were you trying to create a projection system, or a Holodeck?

      --
      Do you or your partner snore? - Visit www.snoring.com.au
    5. Re:Or they can just move to my country... by silanea · · Score: 1

      Now I am the one who had to refer to Wikipedia. I take it you are talking about South Africa, then?

      --
      Rudolf Hess edited Mein Kampf. He was the very first grammar nazi.
  24. FPS and space shooters by GNUThomson · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ssshhhh, any FPS player knows that bullets travel in infinite straight line at the speed of light.

    Unless you use lasers in space shooters. Contrary to a popular disinformation spread frivolously by those lousy physicists, lasers are actually very slow. With a proper engine upgrades, you can outmanuver them easily.

    1. Re:FPS and space shooters by rjhubs · · Score: 2, Funny

      Dammit, now i'll never be able to enjoy wing commander again

  25. Crazy by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I'd be really concerned that a player, even temporarily, forgets that the gun is real (since he's also playing a video game), and carelessly shoots someone with his "controller".

    Wouldn't this me just as fun with blanks?

    1. Re:Crazy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd be really concerned that a player, even temporarily, forgets that the gun is real (since he's also playing a video game), and carelessly shoots someone with his "controller".

      Wouldn't this me just as fun with blanks?

      If you enjoy never actually hitting your target, yes.

      And I don't think this game is intended for 12 year olds anyway.

    2. Re:Crazy by SupplyMission · · Score: 1

      Did you even watch the video?

    3. Re:Crazy by navygeek · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Shootin' blanks is never fun. Your wife gets all pissy cause you can't have kids, gotta drink herbal teas to boost your count, you feel like less of a man... Wait, what were we talking about again?

    4. Re:Crazy by lewko · · Score: 1

      This should not be marked as flamebait and raises a very genuine problem.

      Live and 'simulation' weapons training should always be quarantined to prevent disastrous fuckups.

      I cannot STAND it when indoor firearms ranges have a coin operated shooting game. It's just begging for someone to pull out a real gun, out of habit.

      --
      Do you or your partner snore? - Visit www.snoring.com.au
    5. Re:Crazy by lewko · · Score: 1

      Watch the video.

      Next time your wife gets pissy, use the shovel.

      --
      Do you or your partner snore? - Visit www.snoring.com.au
    6. Re:Crazy by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 1

      Did you even watch the video?

      No I didn't. I was short on time, and assumed that the summary captured the essence of the story. Was I mistaken?

    7. Re:Crazy by PPH · · Score: 1

      You must be new here.

      The essence of a Slashdot discussion is how far the summary is from reality.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    8. Re:Crazy by justinlee37 · · Score: 1

      Personally, I am very worried that the sky is falling, aren't you? I don't think anybody is going to misunderstand that this is NOT a toy gun.

    9. Re:Crazy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow... What no-sense-of-humor having asshole modded that as Offtopic? Probably some limpdick that really IS shooting blanks.

  26. Why is idiocy a tag? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Science and firearms are fun you liberal douchebags!

    1. Re:Why is idiocy a tag? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I find the addition of "liberal" interesting as I would assume "liberals" would be pro-gun ownership. Individual responsibility, freedoms and all that jazz.

    2. Re:Why is idiocy a tag? by Estragib · · Score: 1

      You must not be from the US, same as I. I found this very confusing until I understood that the term liberal has been hijacked by a not so liberal group.

  27. Whats old is new.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    This is a recent twist on something that has been going on in Firearms training since (at least) the 1970's.
    My father, who was an LE firearms trainer for 20 years, would setup a sheet of drywall and movie projector and play "home movies" of car stops and building entries filmed in the first person. The student would fire live ammunition at the "screen" and the projector would be paused at the moment that the terminal force decision was made/executed.

    Discussions would then be carried out about the shoot out and then the next guy would go (with a new clip, of course).

    Low tech? Sure, but not bad for some rural cops 25 or 30 years ago...

    Having said that... This is an amazing idea and I would very much like to build one of these for myself. I always wanted to play Redneck Rampage with my USP45. :)

  28. Interesting by Kranerian · · Score: 1

    An actual use for Arisoft guns.

    --
    Do you have any idea how long it takes to dig graves for twenty-three oak trees?
  29. Backwards by Jeppe+Utzon · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's funny how they were able to think up this quite cool technology use but then manage to get their explanatory graphics wrong. At 0:40 in their Youtube clip, they show the shockwaves travelling out from the sensors and then intersect at the impact location. That is, of course, the exact opposite of what is really happening.

  30. They are missing the point by hubert.lepicki · · Score: 1

    The whole idea of playing Half Life is not to go outside with real guns and kill aliens, but to sit in front of your laptop and killing them with mouse clicks.

    If I wanted to kill aliens with real guns, I could do that without starting my PC... right?

    1. Re:They are missing the point by KevinKnSC · · Score: 1

      Yes, but you'd need to fire up your Mac in order to upload a virus to the mothership.

  31. multiplayer version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    in other news, the ministry of defense announces they already have a multiplayer version available.
    Colonel W.A.R. Monger said, "Our version is not only multiplayer, we were finally able to eliminate the need for convulated electronic equipment. We can do without it now!"
    The Colonel refused to elaborate on how exactly they accomplished this feat, stating the fierce competition in this business as the primary reason. However, the 2 demonstrations given so far, in their testing centers in Iraq and Afghanistan, were very convincing.
    The Colonel also said "We have good hope that before the end of 2010 we can reduce the dependency on expensive equipment by 90%, leaving only people and cheap guns, vastly reducing the costs of playing our MMO's. We expect a significant advantage over our competitors from this."

  32. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  33. Hardly improves on an old method by El+Cabri · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Reminds me of basic training in the army in the 70s. A projection screen is rolled around two rotating vertical cylinders, one on the left and one on the right, therefore forming a "double layer screen". A movie is projected on the front of the screen and light also shines from the back. The trainee shoots at the screen, where the movie representing the advancing enemy is running. At the "bang", the movie projector freezes the frame and we can see light shining from the back through the two aligned holes in the front and back screens. The instructor can determine whether it's a hit and then the cylinders are rotated so that the front and back holes are not aligned anymore and the impact disappears, and the exercise continues.

  34. reloading by WAG24601G · · Score: 2, Funny

    Do not shoot off screen to reload!!!!!

    --
    Everything is easy when you don't understand the problem.
    1. Re:reloading by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've seen this posted several times in this discussion. How the hell does one even do that in an FPS? I've been trying this for hours now and every single shot I fire goes on the screen!

  35. Military would love this. by EvilBudMan · · Score: 1

    I have seen lasers and blanks with rifles and differing scenarios for military use, but real bullets would make it even more real since you would get the kick, muzzle rise etc. This would be more realistic than blanks and a laser. So IMO this is really cool and I want one.

  36. Lag? by Nerdposeur · · Score: 1

    I wonder how this affects lag? Sure, a bullet will get to the wall pretty quickly, but in some games, there is basically zero lag between firing and hitting the enemy. Here you fire, the bullet hits, the computer calculates, and then the avatar shoots, right?

    1. Re:Lag? by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      You are the avatar; there'd be no reason to include an on-screen avatar in an immersion simulation. All the computer has to do is calculate the (x, y) of the impact and then check to see if an enemy is currently drawn over that location.

      The only lag would be due to the shock waves not being instantaneously received by the sensors, but since those travel at the speed of sound and there's relatively little distance involved I don't think it would be noticeable.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    2. Re:Lag? by temojen · · Score: 1

      In real life (and even paintball), at those distances there is basically no perceptible lag.

  37. Next one, playing porn games with real actresses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well I can dream, can't I?

  38. They've already got this for Archery . . . by ensiferius · · Score: 0

    it's awesome.

    You shoot arrows (with blunt tips) at a screen onto which they project video of fearsome beasts, like bear, deer, elk, wood chucks and fluffy bunnies.

    At the end it tells you how many kill shots, wounding shots, and misses you had.

    After they had me arrested at wild-life safari, I had to find something to do . . .

    --
    "Oh drat, these computers, they're so naughty and so complex." Marvin the Martian
  39. Old News - been there done that (TrueFire) by NATP · · Score: 1

    Worked for a company (Advanced Interactive Systems) in the late '90s that had a system to track real bullets from real guns, with the bullets passing through a self-healing screen. System could track anything from a single shot from a .45 to every round out of an AR-15 at full auto, etc. Was the basis for FPS and other apps for indoor shooting ranges and an option for the PRISim system for police & military training.

    From their website, it looks like this 'lives on' in some of their current products.

  40. And not always brilliant at it, either. by EWAdams · · Score: 1

    I loved Heinlein as a kid. My respect for him plummeted when he had a female character that we were supposed to identify with marry a guy who had raped and tortured her ("Friday").

    --
    I piss off bigots.
    1. Re:And not always brilliant at it, either. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey dumbass, try reading the book for comprehension next time.

  41. Re:Old News - been there done that (TrueFire) by NATP · · Score: 1

    re -- "Shoot back?" comment above -- the answer for PRISim was "yes, it did shoot back and yes, it could shoot first." Used to teach LEOs proper use of cover -- but the rounds are 'toned down' a bit -- just left a bruise. "credible threat of pain" really puts your head in the game !

    However - slightly off topic since this was not sold with the live fire system. The purpose was to provide the trainer with a means of forcing the user to make their mistakes in the sim, not the field. Mistakes w/ live ammo "would be bad"

    [disclaimer - worked for them]

  42. I want to hit them with a shovel by VIPERsssss · · Score: 1

    It's a neat idea, but Holy Crap that video was annoying.

    --
    We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion.
  43. Not a FPS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This was not an FPS; this was a shooter on rails.

    This is not new; gun ranges have been doing this for years, I believe with a big specialized rubber sheet. What may be new is they're using sensors attached to a sheet of drywall to do this, and they did it themselves (vs. a commercially-designed system that I shouldn't doubt is much more complex).

  44. Nothing like adding a little realism to a game by gral · · Score: 1

    You know, like ricochet off the wall.

    --
    Scott Carr
  45. Certainly not! by EWAdams · · Score: 1

    90s-era American science fiction movie starring Kurt Russell? Hardly!

    --
    I piss off bigots.
  46. Ah, Americans. by EWAdams · · Score: 0, Troll

    Irony 1, Yanks 0. As usual.

    --
    I piss off bigots.
  47. What do these scores mean? by JavaManJim · · Score: 1

    What's "expert"? The list of qualifications. Then more please on your 221 and 7 out of ten experience. 7 out of 10 what's?

    For example in my little world of high power rifle.

    A Individual classification
        High Master 97% or above
        Master 94%-96.99%
        Expert 89%-93.99%
        Sharpshooter 84%-88.99%
        Marksman below 84%

    B targets and sizes

        200 yard target
        Aiming black
        x ring 3"
        10 ring 7"
        9 ring 13"
        Rings in white
        8 ring 19"
        7 ring 25"
        6 ring 31"
        5 ring 37"

        300 yard target
        Aiming black
        x ring 3"
        10 ring 7"
        9 ring 13"
        8 ring 19"
        Rings in white
        7 ring 25"
        6 ring 31"
        5 ring 37"

        600 yard target
        Aiming black
        x ring 6"
        10 ring 12"
        9 ring 18"
        8 ring 24"
        7 ring 36"
        Rings in white
        6 ring 48"
        5 ring 60"

    What are your target values, the size of the 10, 9, 8, etc rings?

    Thanks,
    Jim

  48. Re:Wash hands by Dareth · · Score: 1

    "pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal"

    Yeah, definitely needs to wash hands before cooking. Computers are dirty!

    --

    I only look human.
    My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
  49. Actually... by dazedNconfuzed · · Score: 1

    What's described is little different from firearms training systems such as CAPS, which project live-action video onto a life-size shoot-thru screen - allowing training with full-power live-fire in realistic situations. Police, military, and citizens* have been using this technology for more than a decade (albeit perhaps not quite as technically sophisticated).

    (* - some of us realize that the police & military won't be there for us when their job needs to be done.)

    --
    Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
  50. Yeah, but ... by troll8901 · · Score: 1

    idclip would just cause headaches, unfortunately

    ... you'd get to use it at banks, safes and shower cubicles of the opposite gender.

    When used together with idbehold-i, it'll be perfect!

  51. Add in a treadmill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Imagine if they hooked up something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQw1tsgrJOs

  52. Very similar to archery targets by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Just browsing the summary, but this sounds very similar to some of the archery systems they have set up at hunting stores.

    A woodland scene is projected on a screen, and you actually fired your own arrows (points replaced with a blunted tip) onto the screen. It would mark where you hit, and then 'score' your performance based on where it felt the best position to shoot the animal was.

    --
    Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
  53. halucinations are better by kalirion · · Score: 1

    Just play enough CS, and you'll start hallucinating. More realistic too.

  54. Why not? by SilverHatHacker · · Score: 1

    A friend of mine does this with golf. Makes a pretty good living off it too. (Golf is significantly less dangerous though.)

    --
    Funny may not give karma, but +5 Informative never made anyone snort coffee out their nose.
  55. But... by DRAGONWEEZEL · · Score: 1

    Does it work w/ an engineer's wrench? Those things are brutal 8'). What about an Axe wrapped in Barbed wire?

    --
    How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
  56. No crowbar? by Radical+Moderate · · Score: 1

    Just sayin', I mean they did use Halflife for the demo.

    --
    Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.
  57. A supressed Ruger .22 auto by lee+n.+field · · Score: 1
    [sigh]

    I hate Illinois.

    (No Class III here. For those of you outside the United State, that's the fun stuff like full auto, short barreled weapons and "silencers". Heavily regulated since the 1930s, completely verboten in the benighted province of Illinois.)

  58. I used to Play a First-Person Shooter w/Real Guns: by Hasai · · Score: 1

    It was called combat.

    And I am utterly mystified as to why anyone in their right mind would consider it "fun."

    --

    Regards;

    Hasai

  59. Really, not new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're absolutely sure? So when exactly was this knowledge passed on to the public so that they could create a similar setup that could be used with video games?

  60. Remind me not to try this with my .44 by Quila · · Score: 1

    The game wouldn't last too long.