"Force Feedback" taken to new heights

[Tovarish 0]

Coming soon: a PC combat game that shoots back

Quote[/b] ]A combat simulator developed for the US military that "shoots" back, delivering an electric shock strong enough to knock down players, could be the next big thing for home-computer games.

A Texas-based company, VirTra Systems, is selling the combat simulator to military and police forces around the world. Its spokesman, Steve Haag, said Australian armed forces had expressed an interest in getting one.

Players enter a platform with a 360-degree screen that shows scenarios such as freeing hostages, street gun fights, taking out suicide bombers and team attacks on enemy positions. And VirTra takes the simulations a step further by enabling the computer game to "shoot back".

If a player fails to kill an enemy in time and the enemy is able to shoot back, the simulator delivers a powerful electric shock through the player's hips. You definitely know you have been hit," Mr Haag said. "It has the same power as a stun gun. It knocks you down.

"You have to continue to work through the pain and keep on fighting, as that is what you need to do - to keep on fighting even when wounded.

"You have to regain your composure, shake your head, and get back in the fight as your life and your unit's life depends on it."

Those who play on PCs would love a game that shot back, said David Wildgoose, editor of the game magazine PC Powerplay.

"People are already talking about something like that," he said. "It is possible, and is just waiting for somebody to really integrate it into a game."

Wildgoose has noted that there are already controls that shake and hum as players drive or fly, and a few years ago a company sold a vest that vibrates as things happen on the screen.

Mr Haag said the US military had embraced the technology as trainees were getting rapid heart rates, sweaty palms and fear during the simulation, just like they might get if they were shot.

The US military had used the simulator at fairs as a recruitment tool, he said.

In a promotional video on VirTra's website, a TV reporter trying out the simulator yells: "Hey, shooting people is fun."

Mr Haag said it was only a matter of time and demand before the system could be sold to the public as a computer game.

"This is ultimate shooter video game," he said.

"We use real actors, not computer graphics, and when you shoot them they fall, but if you don't get them properly they will keep coming.

We can put in smells and vibrations."

[Daddl 10]

This will never be released the way it's described: just imagine little fatty Joe playing with his new toy, getting a sting and his parents sueing the company for some big money...

[Colossus 2]

lol how shocking

I am not gone shock my self just becouse of a game.

I'll just stick to this instead

[Acecombat 0]

It might just be what those arcade gamers (CS,Battlefield,GR and etc etc) need , all of their communitys will be dead within a 24hr period from shocks .

The idea is good but i'd rather that the player penalty on dying be something else , other then an electric shock , how about rubber bullets .

[BlackScorpion 0]

A mini-minigun shooting 20mm soft rubber balls it is then?

Anyways, I saw a, PS I think, controller that gave you little electrical shocks, not that big tho (only few volts), but that you'll feel it or even have to let go off the controller! I saw it on a game mag...

Anyway, luckily it's not area concentrated... Imagine if it would, I wonder how many MP guys would aim to... ahem... lower midbody...

[Balschoiw 0]

I only hope that the freaks who will use this while playing OFP2 online will not have their voice activation running on Teamspeak

All that screams would be really disturbing.

I prefer a solid "2 is down"

[Silent N Deadly 0]

HAHA, imagine a bug where it keeps shocking the user.

Software gone wild.

I don't know if I wanted this on my computer...I don't want to get shock to death each time I get shot.

[cozza 24]

Imagine getting shot by a minigun with one of those on. It'll kill the person

[DracoPaladore 0]

HAHA, imagine a bug where it keeps shocking the user.  

Software gone wild.  

I don't know if I wanted this on my computer...I don't want to get shock to death each time I get shot.

Maximum Overdrive: OFP

*corpse lying on floor, wires strapped on body. Corpse is fried, sizzling, and has greyish black smoke rising from its twisted form*

[shinRaiden 0]

1 ) this system is not at all realisticly portable, it consists of up to 6 60deg angle projector screens plus effects and other equipment. not something you just slap together and run with.

2 ) this was featured on an MSNBC spot last Thanksgiving at ITTSEC. A typical mission (breaching/clearing) is measured in seconds, not minutes.

3 ) There's quite a bit of infrastructure, so setup and maintanence per session could take a while.

4 ) The imported video restricts flexibility and expansion, limiting to effectively a jumbo version of "House of the Dead", "Time Crisis", or "Area 51" type repetitious arcades. "Hmm, a box... pop-up man behind box, repeat..."

5 ) The other drawback is that each module or resource has to be videotaped and digitized, you can't just swap weapons back and forth between people, since they're video - not models.

[gandalf the white 0]

Admit: it would be scary as feck, who hasn't experienced running like feck to cover 20M away with half an enemy squad firing at you? scared? the knowledge you could be actually hit makes it 10 times scarier!

It sounds cool, but I think that only goverment will purchase it, to use it with VBS1 and those VR goggles... yeees, they have the money

[Antichrist 0]

Sounds great, but I am not sure if I will get the first generation of those things (if they are ever released to the public). First I will wait till they fix all the glitches with it and then get gen 3 or something...

[Bernadotte 0]

I suppose shock output levels can be adjusted just like a game's sound output levels.  In fact, I suspect an audio glitch through headphones could have the potential to damage your hearing a lot faster than this gear.

[theavonlady 2]

In fact, I suspect an audio glitch through headphones could have the potential to damage your hearing a lot faster than this gear.

Anyone who played the Retalliation Campaign's original demo mission knows what real ear pain from sounds through headphones can be.

There's a point there where, if you've successfully played through the mission to a point, a script will simulate a grenade blowing up next to you.

I recall literally tossing my headphones off in an involuntary reflex. I was left with a ringing pain in my ear for quite a few minutes.

I do not recall if they left this in the campaign's first mission or not. If you want to experience it (you loonies!) you can download the Retalliation Campaign Demo Mission from the MOM section at The FAQ. The name of the mission is "The Peacekeeper". Note my bottom-line warning at the end of the mission's review page.

[stevevcb 3]

I was left with a ringing pain in my ear for quite a few minutes.

Why does that remind me of the last time I saw Motörhead live?

I don't know if I want my PC to shock the shit out of me because I got hurt in games. If I wanted bullets to hurt me, I'd be wearing a tin helmet and walking around Basra.