When growing up watching Star Trek: Next Generation they introduced us to the world of the Holodeck, a room where the show could take a person anywhere they wanted to go, and do whatever they wanted. This of course is the dream of mixed realities which are starting to gain traction, with the first one being the Virtual Reality. While we’ve had attempts on believable VR for years, the technology has been in its infancy and not really convincing. Things are changing now, and believable worlds are becoming virtually real. With powerful devices like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, as well as more mainstream
VR Becoming a Professional Simulation Tool?
Approximately 20 years ago, first simulators based on computer games appeared on the market. Falcon 4.0 by Microprose was considered so realistic that the U.S. Army ordered a professional version to be developed, giving a troubled game developer and publisher much needed wind in its sails. Unfortunately, its racing simulator didn’t do as well, ultimately ceding the market to ISI, which developed racing games for Electronic Arts. The business expanded and gaming companies which got dumped by large publishers became experts in racing simulations. Those simulations expanded from being simulations running on a PC into simulations that run on servers, split into physics and graphics. While a
