Creating and Playing Back VRSG Scenarios

In MetaVR™ Virtual Reality Scene Generator™ (VRSG™), you can create and record animated characters sequences through controls on the Scenario tab of the VRSG Dashboard. These scenarios contain network traffic (PDU) logs of user-created animation sequences. Using VRSG First Person Simulator™ (FPS), which works similar to a traditional first person shooter, you create scenarios first by acting out a first person shooter sequence while recording it. You can then build up more complex scenarios by iteratively recording additional sequences while interacting with the character scenarios that you have just created. These scenarios can be played back in standalone or DIS network exercise mode. The Afghanistan scenarios that are delivered with VRSG were built using this feature.

The ability to record and play back character movements is useful in training settings; you can record deterministic character behaviors as animations in FPS and then play them back so that trainees can learn to identify specific behaviors. For example, this feature is valuable for training UAV operators in a classroom setting to identify such activity as ditch digging alongside a road, which could indicate someone burying an improvised explosive device (IED).

A scenario can simply be one PDU log of a single character, or a set of multiple PDU logs of complex character interactions along with scenario-specific viewpoints, events, and cultural features. The characters and animations used in scenarios can be the ones that are delivered with VRSG or your own character models (in MetaVR's model format) and custom BVH animations. VRSG is delivered with a substantial model library of characters and weapons in MetaVR’s runtime model format. Scenario creation supports the seven DIS basic animations states that are defined for characters. Additionally, you can use the BVH animations delivered with VRSG or your own custom animations to create more elaborate character behavior.

Playing a scenario

Using controls the VRSG Dashboard’s Scenario tab, you can play one or multiple scenarios concurrently on a given UTM database using familiar start, stop, pause, restart, and fast forward controls. Scenarios can be played locally or on the DIS network.

Broadcasting a scenario on the DIS network is similar to playing the scenario locally except that you need to supply information about the DIS network before you load the database.

VRSG is distributed with a database and scenarios for that given database that you can play immediately so you can review a sample of VRSG features in action. The activities of the characters in MetaVR’s Afghanistan and Baghdad scenarios were recorded using this scenario creation feature.

Recording character activity

Adding a character to a scenario involves instantiating an FPS character, changing its appearance, and optionally providing the character with a weapon. Next, you record the character and control the character's movements and animated behaviors using a joystick while the scenario plays around you. You can then play back your scenario which now includes the added character. You record scenarios by using controls on the Scenario tab on the VRSG Dashboard.

Recording multiple characters entails repeating the steps above for each character. Because recording a character also entails playing back the current scenario from the beginning, the previously recorded character(s) appear as you record the new character. Your new character can then interact with, or pass by, the previous character(s). For example, in the two scenes below, after the first character was recorded, subsequent characters were recorded in relation to the position of the previous character(s).

Recording characters with custom animations

When you record a character in FPS, any of the seven appearance-based animations you use through the FPS joystick functions will be automatically recorded. You can also explicitly record a character with custom BVH animations, such as with the BVH animation files that are delivered with VRSG. For example, the Afghanistan UAV scenario uses an animation of insurgents digging dirt to bury an IED, as shown in the image on the right. This animation was created expressly for this scenario.

Recording network traffic for a scenario

In VRSG you can also record external DIS PDU to logs that can be used in a scenario. For example, you could have one or more DIS PDU sources on the network spewing out data, and have VRSG capture the DIS data into logs while you record a character in FPS mode. VRSG is delivered with a utility, PlayBack, which logs and plays back traffic on the network. When the PlayBack utility is on while VRSG is running, the utility records all the network traffic and writes the PDUs to a log file.

Generally, this utility is useful for recording full DIS network exercises. In the context of creating scenarios, it is useful for:

• Recording a single entity, such as an aircraft or UAV, to add later to a scenario.
  
  
• Recording an exercise or scenario to play back on a set of Metadesic terrain tiles. Currently, scenario recording is available in VRSG for MDX databases only. You can, however, record the playback of a scenario using Playback.exe and then play back that recording on Metadesic terrain.