Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!dali.cs.montana.edu!milton!hlab
From: bmo1@ra.MsState.Edu (CrayDeath)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: Questions about BattleTech
Message-ID: <1991Apr26.065950.13131@milton.u.washington.edu>
Date: 25 Apr 91 19:29:34 GMT
References: <1991Apr25.080804.14090@milton.u.washington.edu>
Sender: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu (Human Int. Technology Lab)
Organization: University of Washington
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NOTE: I am not an employee of FASA or the Battletech Center, and therefore
nothing I say here is "official FASA information."  However, I have been to the
Battletech Center several times and have played the game, so I am familiar
with some aspects of the setup.  All information which I am posting comes
from my own experience and from my conversations with employees and with
other patrons.

Battletech is a trademark of the FASA Corporation, and refers to both a 
science-fiction wargame/roleplaying system and a "virtual reality" game 
based on the wargame.  This article refers to the latter.

crispin@csd.uwo.ca (Crispin Cowan) writes:

>The game I'm asking about is called BattleTech.  According to the moderator,
>(contrary to my impression) it is an arcade game (I had thought it was
>a building-sized getup, reminiscent of Photon).

Calling Battletech an "arcade game" is a vast oversimplification, but what do
you expect from someone who has probably never heard of "Virtual Reality" in
any other connection?  At the present, there is only one Battletech instal-
lation in operation (although they may be interested in opening other 
franchises).

The Battletech Center is located in the North Pier shopping center in downtown
Chicago, near the Navy Pier.  While hardly a "building-sized getup," it is not
just a few machines set up in an arcade with other games either; they have a
trained staff on hand to make reservations, answer questions, maintain the
simulators, etc.  The Center consists of a large room containing sixteen
simulators (each slightly larger than the average arcade cockpit-style game)
and the staff-used computers which set up 'mech assignments, simulator
conditions, etc., as well as waiting and observation areas and the reservation/
merchandise counter.

Each simulator unit is a cockpit of a thirty-foot-tall walking tank called
a battlemech ('mech for short).  The cockpit contains two screens (one for
front view and a secondary screen usually used for radar), a throttle and two
foot pedals to control movement (DO NOT attempt to steer with the joystick),
a joystick with three buttons used to aim and fire weapons, and a lot of 
buttons and rocker switches to control various options (which trigger fires 
which button, infrared on/off, etc.).  The displays are controlled by Amiga 
graphics chips.  

The simulators are divided into two groups (Alpha and Omega) of eight
cockpits each, with a different game in each group.  The simulation for each
group is controlled by a main computer.  The staff can set different options
for each game: which 'mechs the players are using, starting locations, whether
the game is played in teams or free-for-all, whether firing weapons builds up
heat (not overheating is important), and various environmental conditions
(rain, darkness, visibility, etc.).

>The radio article I heard specifically described fighting with other
>players instead of the machine.  Would this imply some sort of LAN
>connecting player boxes in an arcade?  Is "Joe's Pin-ball" really up
>to LAN management 1/2 :-)?

The Battletech Center is NOT a mom-and-pop operation, and the simulators are
not designed to be used in the corner arcade; maintenance and operation
require a trained staff on hand.

Send me e-mail if you would like any further (unofficial) information about the
Battletech Center.

>Crispin
>-----
>Crispin Cowan, CS grad student, University of Western Ontario
>Phyz-mail:  Middlesex College, MC28-C, N6A 5B7
>E-mail:     crispin@csd.uwo.ca          Voice:  519-661-3342 
>"If you want an operating system that is full of vitality and has a
>great future, use OS/2."  --Andy Tanenbaum
-- 
CrayDeath                     |
mka Brennan M. O'Keefe        |       This mind intentionally left blank.
internet: bmo1@ra.msstate.edu |