JWARS was an amazing simulation system that the US defense department had in the 1990s. They could simulate entire theaters of war down to individual soldiers at 10000x speed.
The problem with good, accurate simulations in the defense department, is that higher-ups who do not like the results that come out of them will have them killed politically. This is what happened to JWARS. (This is also what happened to the war game where a 3rd rate power sank a US aircraft carrier. http://wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/3793 )
Reminds me of what I read about pre-WWI. The German army used to stage huge tactical mock battles. The only rule was the Kaiser's side had to always win.
Well, if you keep losing your war games, you should probably keep playing until you win.
I recall reading a story where someone kept winning against the US side in a war game, and instead of changing tactics, the guys running the US side just kept adding more and more restrictions to what the opposite team was allowed to do, until they finally lost. (Wish I had a link to the story. [EDIT: jmhobbs has it, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6770236)
Huh, kind of like Ender's Game, except for the loss part.
> the US side just kept adding more and more restrictions to what the opposite team was allowed to do, until they finally lost.
I just finished watching a documentary about a German "aggressor" squadron that inherited a bunch of Mig-29s through the reunification of Germany. When they take part in exercises, they generally have lots of restrictions placed on them. (To make sure the students can "complete" a full course of scenarios.)
I would love to know more about this. Do you have any resources for me to look at? I haven't found anything good, just short mentions of JWARS and a very long video lecture of a terrible production quality
In the war game where the US carrier was sunk, no one expected one side to switch off their electronic communications and go back to motorcycle couriers.
Apparently your friends are nerdier than mine. I'm 34 and that post would be a spoiler alert to all of my friends. Somehow Ender's did reach a huge swatch of my generation.
Not everybody has read the book (or heard of it), but may have been exposed to marketing for the movie and be interested in watching it (or reading the book first). I think it's fair to show a spoiler warning for a movie that came out just this month.
IMO that's only if you know about the book. If I hadn't read the book I would consider it as a statement showing the seriousness of their training (i.e., "this isn't a game, we're training you for a war, so don't fool around and please take this seriously.)
Ironically, after seeing the trailer, that poster, and even the comment above with the spoiler alert, your comment right here is the thing that just made me think, "Ohhh, the kids in the movie are fighting a war WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING IT?"
So, you know, whatever, but yeah I think it's a spoiler.
Agreed. Just watched the latest trailer a couple of days ago and it was absolutely clear that the kids were fighting a real war. Quotes like "we have to tell them the truth" make that totally clear imo
Perhaps you're unaware that new humans are added to the world every day. I sure wish I hadn't known the ending to Planet of the Apes, just because it was released before I was born.
Well thanks for fucking ruining Citizen Kane for me.
But seriously, Frodo getting to Mount Doom is not a spoiler because it's expected. Vader being Luke's father is unavoidable in popular culture because people quote it all the time.
Ender's Game on the other hand has a huge twist and is obscure enough that it can remain hidden. It went unspoilt for me for probably 25 years, and it's not like the book was unknown to me during that time (I probably heard of it in 1993, but only read it in 2008).
Whoops. I'm not so sure a Robin Williams based RTS would sell. (Though he's been in enough movies, you could probably have 3 entire factions based on his characters.)
They sure are. They're being enlisted to fight aliens with a remote control starfleet, and somehow the space opera elements are least implausible part of the whole scenario :)
I think the point is more that "heavy" is relative. It feels heavy in his hands, not that it's heavy compared to a bunch of stuff that he doesn't know about.
I count it as being ridiculously heavy compared to what it could and ought to be.
Sure, it's not a 9.5 pound WWII era M1 "Get Off My Lawn" Garand, or the 12.5 pounds almost a machine rifle the Swiss adopted in the last '50s, but it could sure go on a diet, especially with all the stuff people want and need to hand off of it, like quality optics. For less than a pound more I could get a FN SCAR in 7.62 NATO, and its got a much fancier standard stock and plenty of accessory rails; not counting sling attachment points, it's pretty close to being a semi-auto Scout Rifle.
42 comments
[ 3.9 ms ] story [ 95.6 ms ] threadThe problem with good, accurate simulations in the defense department, is that higher-ups who do not like the results that come out of them will have them killed politically. This is what happened to JWARS. (This is also what happened to the war game where a 3rd rate power sank a US aircraft carrier. http://wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/3793 )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Challenge_2002
I recall reading a story where someone kept winning against the US side in a war game, and instead of changing tactics, the guys running the US side just kept adding more and more restrictions to what the opposite team was allowed to do, until they finally lost. (Wish I had a link to the story. [EDIT: jmhobbs has it, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6770236)
Huh, kind of like Ender's Game, except for the loss part.
I just finished watching a documentary about a German "aggressor" squadron that inherited a bunch of Mig-29s through the reunification of Germany. When they take part in exercises, they generally have lots of restrictions placed on them. (To make sure the students can "complete" a full course of scenarios.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQByetpFgKM#t=104
Who would have guessed that a small band of Islamic fundamentalists would
- overstay their (legal) visas
- do some flight training
- hijack commercial aircraft to use as giant suicide bombs
In hindsight, it looks logical, but on Sept 10, 2001, who was thinking of this?
http://wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/3793
I'm guessing, however, this was not part of mainstream military doctrine or scenario planning.
Children are being tricked into unknowingly fighting wars for the US military? Really?
Additional spoilers for you:
* Vader is Luke's father
* Frodo makes it to Mt Doom
* Rosebud was the sled
Not everybody has read the book (or heard of it), but may have been exposed to marketing for the movie and be interested in watching it (or reading the book first). I think it's fair to show a spoiler warning for a movie that came out just this month.
Want to know how I know this?
http://joyhog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Enders-Game-pos...
"This is not a game."
Right there, on the poster, is literally the "twist".
They wrote the movie assuming you read the book. Sorry, but this isn't a spoiler.
So, you know, whatever, but yeah I think it's a spoiler.
* Jesus dies, but gets better.
But seriously, Frodo getting to Mount Doom is not a spoiler because it's expected. Vader being Luke's father is unavoidable in popular culture because people quote it all the time.
Ender's Game on the other hand has a huge twist and is obscure enough that it can remain hidden. It went unspoilt for me for probably 25 years, and it's not like the book was unknown to me during that time (I probably heard of it in 1993, but only read it in 2008).
Sure, it's not a 9.5 pound WWII era M1 "Get Off My Lawn" Garand, or the 12.5 pounds almost a machine rifle the Swiss adopted in the last '50s, but it could sure go on a diet, especially with all the stuff people want and need to hand off of it, like quality optics. For less than a pound more I could get a FN SCAR in 7.62 NATO, and its got a much fancier standard stock and plenty of accessory rails; not counting sling attachment points, it's pretty close to being a semi-auto Scout Rifle.
"I almost think it’s passé at this point ... Ender’s Game is happening. It’s already done."
The technology is not what I remembered Ender's Game for.