HTC Vive as Tactics Training Simulator?

[zacbol]

Not sure how many people are into computer games, but I just received my HTC Vive preorder this week and having played with it a bit now, it struck me as a potentially powerful training tool. If you're not familiar, it's a virtual reality headset that allows roomscale tracking, i.e. you can walk/move and it tracks it. Here's a video if you haven't heard of it (Though without using it it's really hard to convey how *real* the experiences feel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYfNzhLXYGc

Two games I've been playing, the Brookhaven Experiment and Zombie Training Simulator, both involve shooting. Brookhaven actually elicited a fair bit of stress in me (more than I feel during simunitions/airsoft) due to the setting/gameplay and the shooting mechanics of Zombie Training Simulator were good enough it felt almost like practicing dry fire. Specifically, proper sight alignment/etc allow you to make good hits. I played a third game called Vanishing Realms, which is more of a D&D thing, but has several parts with archers where you can hunker down and use cover. These experiences one after another made me think there are some pretty great possibilities for more realistic training simulations.

One constraint would be movement. Many games use a 'teleport' mechanic since you only have a limited space to walk in before you bump into stuff. I guess that could still work and you could teleport through empty areas and then pie corners, etc. The shooting though, other than the lack of recoil, seems like no issue. The controllers aren't exactly gun shaped, but you kind of forget after a bit at least I have in the shooting games I mentioned. I guess some people are actually worried about hte divergence, but I don't see it being that big of a deal (maybe I'm being dumb) and this is really focused on just shooting, whereas I'm thinking of broader possibilities.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/commen...es_it_affects/

Anyway, anyone tried the Vive and had similar thoughts?

[BehindBlueI's]

Probably the next generation of FATS. FATS was real enough for me I had the instructor yell at me to break me out of it when I went forward to cuff someone on the screen. I'm not sure if I'd still react the same these days as I did as a rookie, but I still think it was an invaluable tool.

Your lizard brain has no idea it's a simulation. I've no doubt the fear and arousal is very real, even if your forebrain is completely aware it's all fake. It might make for a decent stress inoculation as well. I know just seeing the advertisement on youtube you posted and seeing the giant spider had me in "nope nope nope" mode.

[TheRoland]

I've been thinking roughly the same thing since trying Brookhaven and Hover Junkers, a game largely about using cover well.

There's very little software for it yet, but what there is really proves the tech is capable of fooling your brain into thinking it's real during stressful moments.

[zacbol]

Your lizard brain has no idea it's a simulation. I've no doubt the fear and arousal is very real, even if your forebrain is completely aware it's all fake. It might make for a decent stress inoculation as well. I know just seeing the advertisement on youtube you posted and seeing the giant spider had me in "nope nope nope" mode.

Yes, it's pretty weird. For example, I've encountered several parts of games in which I'm standing on a ledge (one on top of a mountain) and just as a test I've tried to step off. It takes me quite a bit of will power to do it, because my brain is screaming at me 'You're going to fall to your death'. Damnedest thing.

[zacbol]

I've been thinking roughly the same thing since trying Brookhaven and Hover Junkers, a game largely about using cover well.

There's very little software for it yet, but what there is really proves the tech is capable of fooling your brain into thinking it's real during stressful moments.

Have not picked up Hover Junkers as I'd read it can be hard to find people to play with. You like it?

I like the idea of using the thing as a cover simulator, more so than shooting. Though the really cool thing would be simulations. Walking down a dark alley, perhaps some people are benign and some are good. With scenario type training, the one thing I think it fails is you know almost always something is going to go down. You're biased. I like the idea that it might actually just be a harmless hobo, not one that will magically turn violent because the scenario will be boring if not.

IT'd be cool to have those type of situations, use of cover, room clearing, shooting. Then perhaps some type of analysis or recreation so you can observe what you did, replay parts, etc.

[Drang]

The CP Journal (by the authors of Left of Bang) published a blog post the other day that may be relevant: Three Ways Virtual Reality Can Be Used In The Military - The CP Journal.