Firefighting Sim?

That could be cool. The idea of driving the truck around sounds fun. =) Some of the aspects might be a tad technical (layering of flammabale materials and stuff) but that doesn't mean that can't be fun also. The idea sounds like it could have some merit. Perhaps think of throwing in some non-fire scenarios: car accidents where you need the jaws of life, medical emergencies, natural disasters.

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Original post by Stonicus That could be cool. The idea of driving the truck around sounds fun. =) Some of the aspects might be a tad technical (layering of flammabale materials and stuff) but that doesn't mean that can't be fun also. The idea sounds like it could have some merit. Perhaps think of throwing in some non-fire scenarios: car accidents where you need the jaws of life, medical emergencies, natural disasters.

Oh definitely! Most calls are medical anyway, and I would definitely want to put a natural disaster in there.

Oh, here's what thermal layering means: Heat rises to the ceiling, right? So a compartment fire is hottest at the ceiling and coolest around the floor. This is how the heat flows, and that's called thermal layering. Now if you blast some water up at the ceiling where it's hottest, steam will be produced that will come down and burn you or someone else. This means that a FF in a structural fire has to really think about where he's shooting that water. (It's also why you should spray a fire at its base when using an extinguisher.)

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Original post by Benjamin Heath (It's also why you should spray a fire at its base when using an extinguisher.)

No, :P you spray at the base because THAT is where the fire IS, flames you see are mostly byproduct of the fuel combusting, cut them off from the fuel source, and flames go out.

But if you really want to do a good job at research, walk down to your local firedepartment and talk to them about it. You might even get to join them in training if you ask nicely.

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Original post by Talroth Quote: Original post by Benjamin Heath (It's also why you should spray a fire at its base when using an extinguisher.) No, :P you spray at the base because THAT is where the fire IS, flames you see are mostly byproduct of the fuel combusting, cut them off from the fuel source, and flames go out.

That is another reason, yes.

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But if you really want to do a good job at research, walk down to your local firedepartment and talk to them about it. You might even get to join them in training if you ask nicely.

You're right, I should do that. :P

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Original post by Talroth But if you really want to do a good job at research, walk down to your local firedepartment and talk to them about it. You might even get to join them in training if you ask nicely.

Oh, sweet irony. For Talroth does not seem to know that Ben Heath is a firefighter...

You should have a Splinter Cell-style multiplayer mode with arsonists vs. the brave firefighters. You could brutalize arsonists with your fire axe, strangle them with the hose or just shove them into the fire and beat them.

That said, there are a few commercial firefighting simulators out there. I remember reading an issue of Linux Journal that explained how a fire department in California had developed a multiplayer firefighting sim using OpenGL and a special controller.

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Original post by Oluseyi Quote: Original post by Talroth But if you really want to do a good job at research, walk down to your local firedepartment and talk to them about it. You might even get to join them in training if you ask nicely. Oh, sweet irony. For Talroth does not seem to know that Ben Heath is a firefighter...

Yeah, well, how was I suppose to know if he was a fireboy, or just a guy that likes firefighting?

Besides, maybe someone else wants to make a game like this, :P I posted it for completness of the thread.


Are there many sims used in real training these days? or are they mostly done the old fashion way of setting a controled fire and knocking it down?

How much will it be different from Emergency response?

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Original post by eedok How much will it be different from Emergency response?

Also, if you're interested in learning more about that game, I believe TANSTAAFL worked on it [grin]

There was a firefighting games. Must be a few years old, but it sucked [grin]

Firefighter Command: Raging Inferno. You might want to give it a try.

There is a proof-of-concept shipboard firefighting training demo using the Delta3D engine here. I've never tried it but thought you might be interested in it.

It seems like the interface would be a bit tricky. In FPS games, certain environments make me feel like I'm trapped in an invisible cylindrical shell. When I walk at a wall, I don't bump my nose, I stop precisely 17.5 inches away from it; as I slide down it, I encounter no friction. When I crouch, my cylinder shrinks from precisely 6.5 feet to precisely 3.5 feet, and then I cannot stand up at all until I have 6.5 feet of headroom. Most damningly, I can easily get through corridors that are 3.52 feet in height, but I bounce off corridors that are 3.48 feet in height. Navigating difficult terrains is sometimes a matter of trial and error, figuring out where my invisible cylinder will fit. That's fine when you're just running down corridors, but perhaps when you're surrounded by fallen beams and rubble the feedback and control need to be modified?

I remember Sega produces an arcade cabinet fire fighting game shortly after Silent Scope was released. It had a fire hose attachment and it was basically a light gun type game like Silent Scope or Time Crisis but with streams of water instead of bullets. I played it once, it was hard, and I'm pretty good at light gun games.

Well, I do have concerns. I feel that when more than one entity is playable in a game, each playable entity should have similar controls. This has effects all over the program: Obviously, controlling the engine company that deploys water would be very different from controlling the ladder company that does forcible entry. One solution there would be to just not bother with the engine company, aside from actually driving the engine (and even that could be dissolved into a cutscene). It's all about simplicity, just trimming the fat.

Ya know, if it's my project, then I'll just put in what I actually want to put in, based on what I actually enjoy about the job. That's not arrogance, either; I'm willing to hear other opinions. I figure, though, that if I actually have fun with some particular aspect, I'll be much more happy and willing to put that in the game.

It'll be alright.

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Original post by Talroth Are there many sims used in real training these days? or are they mostly done the old fashion way of setting a controled fire and knocking it down?

Many? Well it might be used somewhere, but continued academic education, maybe some controlled fires, smoke rooms, and on-the-job experience are more widely used. I don't see a point in such a virtual simulation unless there's some far more advanced training that needs to be practiced. (And you most certainly won't find that in a small-town department.)