VBS3 is the third major version of the Virtual Battlespace software series, developed by Bohemia Interactive Simulations. VBS3 is a desktop tactical trainer and mission rehearsal software system in use by major military organizations including the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, UK MOD and others. Several major updates have been released since its launch, with the latest version VBS3 v18.2, released in June 2018.
Video VBS3
Uses
VBS3 simulates any environment for military training so users can learn how to think, communicate and make decisions in a wide range of scenarios. The Virtual Battlespace series is the "flagship training game" of the U.S. Army's Games for Training Program of Record and its predecessor VBS2 has been used by the majority of NATO partners for more than five years.
The software is primarily used for tactical training and mission rehearsal, though VBS3 can be used for a wide range of training tasks. The U.S. Army has accredited VBS3 for training on more than 100 combined arms tasks. These tasks include entering and clearing a building, conducting an attack, conducting convoy security and more. The U.S. Army also is incorporating VBS3 into other simulators including its Close Combat Tactical Trainer simulator and Dismounted Soldier Training System. In addition to its use for combined arms training, VBS3 has been integrated into other training solutions such as System Technologies' PARASIM for virtual reality parachute safety training and Meggitt Training Systems' FATS100MIL for small arms collective training. The U.S. Air Force Academy uses VBS3 for training cadets on air power and unmanned aerial vehicle use.
Maps VBS3
Components of VBS3
VBS3 comes equipped with several built-in applications that support development training capabilities. These include the following: mission editors, which allow users to add, modify or delete objects before and during game play, and an after-action review module, which allows administrators and users to conduct post-training analysis with the ability to fast-forward or rewind to events; a full development suite, allowing users to create buildings, edit terrains and convert 3D models to the VBS3 simulation environment; a 3D model content library, including more than 10,000 entities; an HLA/DIS gateway that connects VBS with other military simulations, or interconnects many VBS servers together; a voice communications and radio simulation system; and a mission planning tool that allows users to add military symbols to both the 2D and 3D maps as well as draw lines or add text.
Features in VBS3
VBS3 introduced a number of new and enhanced features and capabilities, according to John Matthews, project director for Army Games for Training at Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI). These include personalized avatars, more varied terrains and added interoperability.
Fast-air performance
The performance of VBS3 is an improvement on VBS2. With VBS3, the developers implemented new object aggregation technology and smarter object fading to enhance the software's fast air performance capabilities.
Multicast system
VBS3 is optimized to allow for more participants in larger, more complex scenarios. VBS3's multicast system helps prevent data bottlenecks and delays, reduce the server load and provide faster performance over a local area network. Multicast refers to sending data across a network to several computers at the same time, greatly optimizing the performance of VBS3. With the new multicast system, hundreds of participants can take part in virtual scenarios.
Terrain development
Using on-the-fly procedural generation, terrains can leverage biotopes, which are groupings of trees, rocks and other vegetation, ultimately enabling faster performance. Terrain features are created by the engine as they are needed rather than storing billions of objects with other terrain data. VBS3 v3.6 can handle large paged terrains of 2,000 km by 2,000 km with faster loading times for massive terrains. VBS3 v3.6 also supports high-detail insets.
Physics capabilities
Using Nvidia's PhysX, VBS3 supports physics-based destructible buildings. Any building in VBS3 can have multiple destruct states and VBS3 also supports component destruction.
Support for large models
The VBS3 engine has been optimized to support the creation of extremely large models with hundreds of rooms, such as the Royal Navy's Type 45 Destroyer.
Command and control
In VBS3 v3.5, introduced the capability to build order of battle (ORBAT) command hierarchies in the VBS mission editor and command units can be given movement orders which will move the entire formation.
Helicopter mission simulation
Simulation of the ARH Eurocopter Tiger flight model was improved in VBS3 v3.4 and 3.6. These include improvements to the cockpit system, forward air refueling points, and weapon simulations.
Support for virtual reality hardware
With the release of VBS3 v3.9.2 in October 2016, Bohemia Interactive Simulations announced that VBS3 supports Oculus Rift CV1 and HTC Vive head-mounted displays. In February 2017, with the release of VBS3 v17.1, Bohemia Interactive Simulations announced that they added support for Open-Source Virtual Reality-based VR devices to be integrated with VBS3.
References
Source of article : Wikipedia