Entries tagged with flight simulator - Channel 9

Brian Beckman: The Physics in Games - Real-Time Simulation Explained

Charles — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 01:53:00 GMT

Ever find yourself wondering about the math behind your favorite simulation game? Did you know that the motion physics of a car are much more complicated than the those of an airplane?

Brian Beckman, physicist, programmer and Channel 9 celebrity (he's been on C9 a few times...), sure does. Besides spending time innovating programming languages and tools, Brian spends time working on the mathematics behind real-time physics simulation. Most recently, he worked on the math behind the tire physics of the popular racing game Forza.

Simulation, by definition, needs to be accurate. Otherwise, well, it's not simulating reality, really, which is of course the idea of simulation. Games like Forza in fact simulate real physics of racing in a predictable and highly mathematically precise manner. That's exactly why Forza is a real-time automobile racing simulation game.

The past, present and future of computer simulation of real-time physical events, or simply computer-based simulations that involve highly accurate representations of things moving/changing in space and time that are precisely affected by multiple variables like wind, rain, gravity, mud, oil, planets, waves, etc are very fascinating topics for gamers(many may not realize this explicitly, but they sure experience it!), mathematicians, programmers and physicists alike. Heck, any body who thinks about the thinking behind things that they experience in a simulated environment should watch/listen to this interview (available in podcast form as well as video).

Towards the end of this conversation, Brian mentions Rigs of Rods and Plasma Pong. Check out the Rigs of Rods simulation demo at 00:58:11!

Our sister site, Channel 10, has a great Forza piece.

Tune in. Learn (alot).

The Voice of Support - Show 008: A look at supporting Games for Windows

gsamedia — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 17:39:54 GMT

Welcome to the eighth installment of The Voice of Support!

This week, we sat down with Mark Auld, Senior Support Program Manager here at Microsoft, to discuss Games for Windows support, and some past impressions of upcoming technology and titles featured a while back at E3.

Throughout the month of November here, we will be focusing on some really exciting products and devices, including some more shows on the Xbox 360. These will be released on a weekly basis, as we have a LOT of content - so stay tuned!

While we certainly have a lot of support-related content ideas to bring you, we really hope to hear from you, our listeners, about the specific topics you'd like to hear about in future sessions! Please use our Ask for It form to let us know what you think!

LINKS

Download the Transcript

-->Microsoft Support WebCasts

Mike Gilbert - Demonstration of Flight Simulator 2004

The Channel 9 Team — Tue, 26 Oct 2004 23:32:21 GMT

We didn't realize it, but Flight Simulator is 25 years old. We don't know whether its birthday was in October or November, but Bruce Artwick started Flight Simulator as his master's thesis project back in 1979. Here's a picture of all the different Flight Simulator box designs over the years.

But, back to our little tour of the Flight Simulator team. Today Steve Lacey takes us into the office of Mike Gilbert, lead program manager, where he takes us into the clouds.

Why the clouds? Well, it wouldn't be "as real as it gets" if the clouds didn't look good, would it?

He also shows us how the DC-3's navigation panel (the one that was purchased on eBay) was used in the latest Flight Simulator.

If you want to see how far Flight Simulator has come in 25 years, check out the Flight Simulator History site. 25 years ago that beautiful sky was just a single line.

Steve Lacey - Tour of the Flight Simulator team

The Channel 9 Team — Mon, 25 Oct 2004 21:39:39 GMT

Flight Simulator is one of Microsoft's coolest products. After all, what's cooler than being able to fly a Boeing 747 around the world?

It might not sound geeky enough for Channel 9, but there's a lot of technology in Flight Simulator.

And, there's a sizeable team of developers and testers who work there. Steve Lacey, Software Architect, on the Flight Simulator team gives us a tour to meet some of the geeks and hear some of the stories behind the development of the world's best-known simulator.