Frag Out! Magazine

Now, VBS3 virtual environment is the most common software for tactical simulation and a main simulator of the tactical operations of the U.S. Army, which decided to use this software for the next five years. In Poland, there were also developed the further commercial versions of the advanced training centres in which is applied VBS – they are widely used in the civil issues, too. VBS3 is based on the compounds of the Real Virtuality engine in version 3 and 4. New possibilities of the engine enable imaging objects with a high level of detail. It was also extended a model of illumination and dynamic imaging of reflection on the water surface. There were also added dynamic streams and creeks and a simulation of the underwater operations, with an animation of the seabed and surface of the water. In the latest version of VBS3 simulation system mechanisms which enable generating procedural biotopes for a concerned map were made available. This solution allows for preparing of variants of the map for the needs of the trainees with regard to the variable flora, according to the current season or a training scenario. An advantage of this solution is also a lack of the necessity to use specialist tools for developing maps, and a generated map is significantly smaller in terms of volume because there is no need to record a position of each tree in the map file – it is of the significant importance, because a VBS system generates maps with a surface of hundreds square kilometres, on which can be placed a few million tree. Figure 3 presents the same piece of the map with the dynamically generated procedural biotopes. A new feature which appears in the latest version of VBS3 is an opportunity of applying the algorithms of the snow falls, a so called procedural snow layer. The algorithms of the procedural snow layer are not related only to the imaging, but also simulate an impact of the snow falls on the objects which move on it. Snow is build- up in layers and determines a movement velocity of the simulated vehicles, their thermal signature and fatigue of the simulated figures.'= Considering a great requirement of using huge areas in VBS3 during the exercises it was shared a possibility of developing maps with the dimensions of 2200 x 2200 km. Figure 5 presents an exemplary map in the large size. In the scope of the objects there were extended features of the vehicles with regard to their technical condition and generally accepted efficiency. Now, it can be defined a few vehicle factors which can be a subject of failure and can be repaired in real time. In the simulation there are mapped failures of the relevant sub-assemblies, possibilities of their repairing and an estimate time remaining to fix it. A new element is a possibility of the full simulation of the www.fragoutmag.com

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