Talk:JFK: Reloaded
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[edit] Older Comments
how does this game have a mature rating? I don't think it was submitted to the ESRB or the Canadian or European counterparts. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by CaptainAmerica (talk • contribs).
Has Traffic Games really folded or is this blind speculation? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 62.3.225.150 (talk • contribs).
[edit] Traffic Games Status; Comment on Game
The last I heard, they were planning on coming out with a driving simulator next. However, I don't think they released anything since this game came out. If you go to the JFK reloaded website, it just has a single frontpage which comments on 'history' being made on November 2004 (when they released the game) and also about the "legacy" of JFK.
I have to say -- this game sickens my heart. It really does. I realize the importance of free speech, free press, free thought, free assembly, etc. I suppose that extends to computer games as well. But ... I'm literally sad inside just writing this. I think a lot of the commentary that came out on this game wasn't from people who were even alive when the assassination happened.
The loss of the President of the United States. The loss of John F. Kennedy. The loss of the "Kennedy" years.
Each of these was and is a tragedy. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 141.161.161.22 (talk • contribs).
- You should play it. As much as it may sicken you, you should try to realise that this is emphatically not designed to be fun. JFK Reloaded is far from a trivialisation of the events of November 22nd 1963, and to describe it as a "game" is stretching an already abused word too far. Rather, it is a complex ballistics simulator, designed to teach the "player" one thing: The official explanation of Kennedy's assassination is, if not physically impossible, so hard to reproduce as to be practically impossible. I admit, I'm only 25 and I'm not a US citizen, but I am interested in history and human rights, and no-one can deny Kennedy's massive influence as a force for good in the world, and the magnitude of his assassination in global terms. JFK reloaded is designed to allow the curious to investigate this seminal historical event more fully. YourMessageHere 18:51, 10 June 2006 (UTC)
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- On the contrary, I find it quite fun (as did most of the other people at the forum where I got it). It's a very well designed given how limited it is, and there's a fair degree of humour to be found in the erratic AI behaviour. I actually wouldn't mind seeing a sort of "snipers of the world" expansion with multiple scenarios. Bear in mind I'm not an American and don't care much about JFK. ShardPhoenix 12:43, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
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- I had thoughts similar to that of the first poster before I played the the game, but its no more than a historical study tool, me thinks. Sure, some werid people can (excuse my language) 'get off on it' but to normal people, I think its just a historical simulator. When the game first booted up, and the screen said "Dalley Plaza, November 22rd, 1963" I got chills down my spine, and again when the motorcade came around the building. Its an absolute creepy and bizarre feeling. -- CaptainAmerica
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[edit] Purpose?
According to the company, the primary purpose of the game is to help prove that the Warren Commission's theory is correct, and to debunk all of the alternate theories.
That's wierd, I would think their purpose would be the exact opposite, given how hard it is to replicate the actual shots. No one won the contest, right?
Not only did nobody win, it's actually impossible-even though Traffic Games actually CHEATED to make it easier. It's impossible to die just from a high number of wounds-you have to actually hit in a critical point. Bullets riochet more easily than they do in reality. The scope is not mis-calibrated, as Oswald's was.
how was oswald's scope mis-calibrated? he was shooting down...
[edit] Non-neutral P.O.V.?
The part about Lee Harvey Oswald being kennedy's supposed assassin?
- He never went to trial, therefor, he never was convicted guilty in a court of law. He died an innocent man. He is the alleged assassin. - CaptainAmerica 04:06, 27 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] The FAQ from JFKReloaded.net
Hopefully this might answer some questions people have about the game. You can see the original site (www.jfkreloaded.net) at www.archive.org. Johnny "ThunderPeel2001" Walker 14:27, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Assumptions
[edit] The Zapruder film is accurate.
We have used 1963-era maps of Dealey Plaza, Dallas and the timing of events indicated by the Zapruder film to build all objects and movements in the JFK Reloaded 3D model.
[edit] It is safe to leave out elements with no bearing on the assassination.
In order to run the simulation at an acceptable frame-rate and to keep the file download size reasonable, we have omitted non-essential items that were present on the day but were immaterial to the assassination. This includes crowds, certain buildings and other minor objects.
[edit] Acknowledged departures from Warren Commission data
[edit] The Warren Commission did not conclude the first shot missed. Why do I have to miss with my first shot?
Although there was no definitive conclusion from the Commission on which of the three shots that were fired missed the President, we have had to make a decision which allows a consistent scoring basis. This decision was based on our reading of the evidence presented to the Commission, coupled with the advantage that we are able to re-create the events of the day repeatedly through our simulation and come to a ‘most likely scenario’ interpretation of that evidence.
[edit] Why don’t I need to ricochet a shot to hit bystander James Tague?
The Commission records that a ricochet may have hit a bystander, James Tague, because there is strong evidence that James Tague was slightly injured in the face by a flying piece of debris during the shooting. However, this was a ‘random’ occurrence – clearly Oswald wasn’t intending to injure Tague. To expect the player to reproduce this chance occurrence would be unfair, to say the least.
[edit] Why do none of the crowd appear in the reconstructed Dealey Plaza?
All the surviving photographic, film and testimonial evidence attests to the fact there were large crowds of people watching the motorcade pass. Many of those members of the public gave evidence to the Commission. However, for JFK Reloaded it was necessary to limit the size of the downloadable data for customers with slower internet connection speeds and also to render acceptable frame-rates on typical PCs. This meant making decisions about what to include or exclude from the scene. As the Presidential motorcade is the central critical focus of the ‘re-enactment’, this was felt to be the most important element to include in the simulation. Note that key members of the crowd who recorded the events in photos, film or testimony are acknowledged in the action-replay section of the simulation, where the player can select significant locations from which to view the action, corresponding to where the witnesses were standing at the time – for example, “Zapruder’s View”, “Nix’s View”, etc.
[edit] I read that Oswald’s rifle scope was not set up correctly, and he could not have hit the President if he’d used the scope to aim.
The FBI investigation of the rifle and scope concluded that in firing the rifle at a target 100 yards away, the shots hit the target “a few inches high and to the right” of the aiming point. However, they could not determine when this defect in the scope’s setup had occurred, and confirmed that any shooter who knew of the defect could have compensated for it. Therefore, we decided not to add an approximated amount of mis-alignment to the rifle in JFK Reloaded. Instead, the rifle scope has been set up such that it is accurately zeroed for a target at close range, which means that the firer must aim further above the target progressively in the vertical plane, the further away it is. This results in a predictable amount of compensation being required to hit a target, and thus demands practice, skill and judgement. Couple this with the accurate ballistic physics modelling of the bullet behaviour, which will drop and slow at a realistic rate during its travel, and the result is a challenge more closely related to the real-life experience than anything before. There was a fresh breeze that morning. Would this not affect each bullet’s path? It is very unlikely that the amount of breeze in Dealey Plaza that morning would have had any appreciable effect on rifle bullets travelling the relatively short distance they did, given the power of the rifle and the caliber of bullets it fired.
[edit] Why can’t I see Lee Harvey Oswald?
You can – but you will need to set the Display Quality option (in the Options section, accessible from the main menu) to “Best”. You will then see Oswald through his window, and you can even place the camera right on the window-ledge and watch him during action replay!
[edit] Are all the people and vehicles correctly modelled?
Because of scarcity of reliable data on who was in each vehicle, we have concentrated on getting the lead vehicles and their occupants correct and made a best-guess as to how many people were in the less prestigious vehicles in the motorcade. However, the correct number and models of cars have been built in to the JFK Reloaded reconstruction, and the relative positions, paths of travel and speeds of the vehicles have been plotted to be in keeping with the evidence (based primarily on the Zapruder film and spectators’ photographs).
[edit] Bullet and Character Behavior
[edit] How accurate is the bullet performance?
The ballistics in JFK Reloaded are significantly more advanced than those present in traditional “shooter” video games. This is in keeping with JFK Reloaded’s status as a true simulation of the events in Dealey Plaza in 1963. For example:
* The bullets travel through the air at the correct speed – they don’t instantly reach their target. Therefore you have to shoot in front of moving targets (“aim off”) in order to hit them. * As the bullets travel they are subject to gravity, and thus travel in a curved path – the further away the target is, the higher you have to aim. For example, if you shoot at the bridge, you will see the point of bullet impact quite far below the cross-hair point; shoot at the (closer) Stemmons Freeway sign, and you’ll see the impact point has dropped less. * When bullets hit objects, they react according to the material they hit. For instance, they will pass through glass and upholstery unhindered; pass through flesh with some deflection; and either glance off or pass through bone, depending on the angle of impact. * Angles of ricochet and internal body deflection are highly accurate simulations, based on the laws of physics. * The bullets have a certain amount of energy. As they penetrate and/or ricochet, they lose this energy as appropriate. So for instance a bullet that has already gone through a human head has very little energy left, and will tend to lodge in the next thing it hits. * Bullets can travel complicated paths, bouncing around from object to object (within the limitations of their energy, see above). It is even possible to take ‘bank shots’, by intentionally ricocheting bullets off buildings.
[edit] How detailed and realistic is the computer modelling
JFK Reloaded utilises a highly developed simulation engine based around a physics model that has been coded from first principles, which results in highly realistic object-to-object behaviour. Vehicles, characters and street furniture all have realistic weight, collision shapes and properties. The actors in the scene are fully skinned 3D, which as well as having sets of animated responses, will also react with ‘rag doll’ animation in certain circumstances, such being shot off a motorcycle or involved in a heavy vehicle collision. The realistic physics environment is coupled with AI that follows a set of behavioral rules – they react to what they see happening around them. This means that there are endless unscripted, unpredictable things that can happen in Dealey Plaza, particularly if the player decides to deviate from, or fails to replicate, taking the shots as the Warren Commission reported them. The way the events unfold can be further influenced by the player in the Options screen, where the level of AI reaction to what happens can be altered.
[edit] Why are some of the VIPs occasionally out of position during Ballistics Analysis?
The ballistics screen sometimes does not show dead characters that have “rag-dolled.” This can lead to the occasional strange-looking result, such as when the secret service agent climbs onto the back of the limo and can end up inside the vehicle and taking bullets. This leads to seemingly incorrect reports in ballistics. In fact, the reports are quite correct – it’s just that the victims are not being displayed.
[edit] In a Ballistics Analysis, one of my bullets entered and exited the same person more than once. How can this happen?
In addition to more obvious trajectories that cause injuries in more than once place (such as through an arm then through a leg), the character-modelling in JFK Reloaded is so detailed that the analysis will even trace bullet paths as they pass through folds of skin. This would explain why you may see the path of the bullet simply passing through a body part, but the analysis states that it entered and exited more than once. Although the program could remove these references, this would sometimes result in insufficient information being displayed, so the ballistics screen displays these extra lines for completeness – and they are, in any case, authentically deduced bullet trajectories.
[edit] Why does the view through the scope wobble between every shot?
The Mannlicher-Carcano rifle used by Oswald was a bolt-action weapon. After every shot has been fired, the firer must operate the bolt at the side of the weapon’s receiver in order to:
* Eject the empty shell case of the bullet just fired * Chamber the next round to be fired
The motion of operating the bolt (“cycling the action”) would cause the rifle to move slightly. This movement will be exaggerated by the view through a scope, meaning it would be impossible to maintain a steady view between shots – hence the movement shown and the sound of cycling the action in JFK Reloaded. Note: The sights always return to the point at which they were aiming before the shot was fired, as long as you do not attempt to “correct” for the movement during the reload cycle.
[edit] Sometimes, I shoot into a vehicle and it speeds off across the grass, occasionally with a crash. Why does this happen?
You shot the vehicle’s driver. The model assumes that when a driver is shot (either killed or injured), then he will either slump back into his seat, or forwards onto the steering wheel. If he slumps forwards, then there is an additional random risk that he will hit the gas and be out of control. Therefore, cars occasionally leave the road.
[edit] Why is there a “Motorcade Behavior” option?
JFK Reloaded uses a complex traffic modelling system which attempts to give each vehicle in the motorcade a degree of autonomy. There are rules about their initial position in the motorcade, but it is inevitable that sometimes the motocade is stopped (such as by the death of its driver), and so there needs to be a system to allow other vehicles to react. JFK Reloaded implements a system of “driver self-preservation” to cope with this, with each vehicle’s driver given a likelihood of either behaving extremely calmly, or beginning to panic and leave the scene. Because each user of JFK Reloaded will have their own view on the likely reactions of drivers under stress, we’ve left it up to the user to select the level of motorcade behavior.
[edit] Repeating Lee Harvey Oswald’s fatal shots - hints & tips
[edit] Can you give me some background information on the role I am playing?
The core of JFK Reloaded is that it recreates the events unfolding in Dealey Plaza at 12.30 on November 22nd 1963, as seen through the eyes of Lee Harvey Oswald. The Presidential Motorcade has traveled from Love Field Airbase, through the crowds lining the streets of downtown Dallas, en route to the President’s lunchtime engagement at the Trade Mart. The motorcade is now arriving at Dealey Plaza, passing from Main Street onto Houston and then left onto Elm Street, which will take it onto the Stemmons Freeway for the final part of the journey. You are viewing the action as Lee Harvey Oswald, through the sights of a Mannlicher-Carcano sniper rifle, from a window on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building. You have the freedom to take as many shots as you need, whenever you choose. But note that as soon as you have fired your first bullet, you have an envelope of one minute in which to take your remaining shots. Oswald had to take his shots, and then make good his escape from the Texas Schoolbook Depository building. He could not afford to stay at his vantage point shooting for any longer than was necessary to ‘get the job done,’ as it would have meant the risk of being caught red-handed at the scene of the crime. Similarly then, your time at the window is limited. We recommend that you do some background research into Oswald’s actions. High scores will come from replicating the timing and accuracy of Oswald’s shots as reported in the Warren Commission’s report into the assassination. You will find a large volume of Kennedy assassination material online, and we have listed a number of web sites on the Links page that should provide you with useful information.
[edit] Why don’t I hit what I can see in the cross-hair?
JFK Reloaded uses an accurate physics model for the trajectory of Lee Harvey Oswald’s bullets. Gravity and air-resistance make the bullets drop to the ground as they travel towards the target. This means that the cross-hair must be slightly above and ahead of the target, with the effect amplified as the target travels further from the gun.
[edit] How can I improve the timing of my shots?
In order to accurately replicate Lee Harvey’s shots, we recommend that you study the numerous photographic and video footage of the day. Many elements in JFK Reloaded reflect those in the real events – road-signs, trees etc. – and can be used to work out the correct time to shoot. Check out our links for more detailed information on the events.
[edit] What happens if I don’t try to follow Lee Harvey Oswald’s exact moves?
While you’re free to experiment with the number of shots fired and what you shoot, your forensic score will be reduced each time you deviate from the Warren Commission’s reported facts.
[edit] What is the Chaos Meter?
JFK Reloaded is an interactive reconstruction based on real events. By default we have restricted the behavior of the underlying physics framework for maximum realism. Increasing the level of chaos allowed in the system will chiefly affect the level of panic amongst the vehicle drivers, and should bring some surprises – especially when not attempting to mirror Lee Harvey’s shots!
