Newsgroups: comp.ai.games
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!fas-news.harvard.edu!newspump.wustl.edu!news.ecn.bgu.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!mr.net!news.sprintlink.net!news-chi-13.sprintlink.net!mv!usenet
From: hodsdon@scoot.netis.com (Steve Hodsdon)
Subject: Re: Multiple Objects (was: Tank - 2 Objects)
X-Newsreader: Anawave Gravity v1.10.556
Organization: Pragmatic Designs
Message-ID: <MPG.d6eba70f9d5d7f7989685@news.mv.com>
References: <32ff20b5.314908945@timrgate> <5do82d$jd9@news1.mnsinc.com> <33008f99.63823541@timrgate> <5dqhag$cvi@news1.mnsinc.com> <3301F0AE.794B@mitre.org> <MPG.d6bf29bb0765f98989682@timrgate> <33034ED7.41C6@mitre.org>
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: scoot.netis.com
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 02:36:46 GMT
Lines: 76

In article <33034ED7.41C6@mitre.org>, cburke@mitre.org says...
> Steve Hodsdon wrote:
> 
> I'm pretty sure that the CCSIL message sets are not publicly releasable,
> although you could submit a request to DMSO (? I think they're the

I have.  Since I'm not a "government sponsored corporation," it's no 
dice.

> responsible agency).  The problem with releasing the message sets is
> that
> there may be information there that we wouldn't want potential enemies
> to read.  They aren't _classified_, but they are controlled.

Just call me nosey!  :)

> You wouldn't really want those messages for a PC game, anyway; there are
> a lot of different needs that the messages support that you just don't
> have.

That's what Jim told me.  Way to much detail for a lowly PC game...

> What _is_ important is the idea of defining how your entities
> communicate
> and building messages that will contain the information you need.
> 



> If you really want to use the real military as a model, a lot of
> DOD documents are freely available on the web.  There are several
> repositories, and I don't have the addresses handy right now, but
> AltaVista searches for Army Regulations or Field Manuals should get
> you started.  An important manual for overall concepts is FM 100-5,
> "Operations".  Many of these documents are going to be fuzzy and
> high-level, but they may help your thinking.

I've found 100-5, also 100-5-1.  Sitting over on my shelf is the Marine's 
Warfighting book.  All interesting.

I've been following the "digital battlefield" links of the past week.  
This really helps the creative juices to flow.

> 
> In CFOR, the messages are transmitted by radio, just as in the real
> world; you may want to find a simpler way to handle that in your game.

I can see a simulated radio net.  This way, a unit can easily be out of 
C2.

> (If you wanted a game that could be configured for different eras, you
> could build a communications layer that would support sending messages
> by radio, courier, voice, etc.  That's a project in itself.)

It is an idea for the file, tho...

> 
> > > Breaking up your AI into individual agents should be a reasonable
> > > approach; whether you can run them fast enough on a 200MHz Pentium
> > > (a good target for a next-generation game) is an open question.
> > 
> > My target machine is a 486-66...  It's what *I* have and it's what I'll
> > have for at least another year...  (It's a *big* step up from the 386-33
> > that was my development system just six months ago, but I digress.)
> 
> I feel your pain. :)
> 
Yeah, since my son just called me to let me know of his P200...  Arrggh!!

Steve
-- 

I eat my peas with honey.  I've done it all my life.
It makes my peas taste funny.  But it keeps them on my knife.

mailto:hodsdon@scoot.netis.com
