The U.S. Navy has a new tool in its war against piracy on the high seas: MMOs. Specifically, the Massive Multiplayer Online WarGame Leveraging the Internet, or "MMOWGLI" if you like your awkward acronyms. Developed over several years to bring war simulations to the next level, MMOWGLI will go online May 16th and be used by civilians and military to figure out new ways to combat Somali pirates.
This unique MMO was developed by the Office of Naval Research to be used as a flexible training platform. Under the watch of a control team, players will secure and arm ships, plan for a variety of pirate attacks, figure out hostage situations, and raid pirate camps. There's no word on whether these raids will be 10, 20, or 40-mans.
ONR's Dr. Larry Schutte looks forward to seeing if this simulator will result in better preparedness: "We hope MMOWGLI will help us to understand what happens when your insights are combined with the observations and actions of another player -- will that fusion result in a game-changing idea or solution, or will the MMOWGLI platform teach us something about our traditional thought processes?"
Reader Comments (29)
Posted: May 11th 2011 9:22AM Greyhame said
That's kind of cool.
Posted: May 11th 2011 9:28AM Skeanthu said
Sweet the droid fighting forces moved to the masses.
Posted: May 11th 2011 9:31AM Elikal said
Brilliant. How could we (the Germans) ever try to conquer the world without training it in a MMO simulation! Oh yes, I will suggest that to the Chancellor for the next try. The wonders of modern technology...
/sarcasm off
/sarcasm off
Posted: May 11th 2011 9:36AM (Unverified) said
Okaaaaay...............
Posted: May 11th 2011 9:37AM Scuffles said
What about the age old practice of commissioning privateers ?
Posted: May 11th 2011 9:38AM Germaximus said
lol Wow, i wanna play!
Posted: May 11th 2011 9:38AM Heraclea said
Will we get to play the pirates?
Posted: May 11th 2011 9:58AM cored said
Just wait till MMOWGLI meets BAGHEERA...then those pirates are done for.
Posted: May 11th 2011 10:12AM Ithkrul said
So they are going to put the Navy against AI, which is generally always worthless. Sounds like a rehash of the Millennium Challenge 2002
Posted: May 11th 2011 10:19AM JuliusSeizure said
Well, at least it's not a WoW clone. *ba-dum-tish*
Posted: May 11th 2011 10:24AM DevilSei said
Huh...
Too bad NCIS already beat them out on that idea...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCIS_%28season_1%29#Episodes
The Immortals
Too bad NCIS already beat them out on that idea...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCIS_%28season_1%29#Episodes
The Immortals
Posted: May 11th 2011 10:53AM Saker said
It would be wise if the "pirates" were other players, rather then a.i..
Posted: May 11th 2011 10:53AM FrostPaw said
"be used by civilians and military to figure out new ways to combat Somali pirates"
So.... the real world is going to be using video game strategies because the real military/law enforcement is out of ideas?
I duhno about how you play your video games, if they used my strategies in the real world a lot of people would be throwing their lives away. There isn't a reload/restart button see....
So.... the real world is going to be using video game strategies because the real military/law enforcement is out of ideas?
I duhno about how you play your video games, if they used my strategies in the real world a lot of people would be throwing their lives away. There isn't a reload/restart button see....
Posted: May 11th 2011 10:59AM JuliusSeizure said
@FrostPaw
The point isn't to just copy what players do. It's to analyse data and see what patterns tend to produce the best results, then apply tactical thinking and logic to see if there's any real world merit in refinement of current strategies based on that data. I mean, obviously.
Military strategy is nerdy as Hell.
Reply
The point isn't to just copy what players do. It's to analyse data and see what patterns tend to produce the best results, then apply tactical thinking and logic to see if there's any real world merit in refinement of current strategies based on that data. I mean, obviously.
Military strategy is nerdy as Hell.
Posted: May 11th 2011 11:12AM Sonoran said
Is the Navy ready for the inevitable parade of: forum haters, griefers, demands for more content, complaints about how things don't work like , Society drama, screams about OP ships and classes, QQing about the nerf bat.
I think the pirates might look tame compared to running an MMO.
I think the pirates might look tame compared to running an MMO.
Posted: May 11th 2011 11:31AM Jade Effect said
The pirates are out of reach in their lawless haven. The current solution of patrolling warships is inefficient: they cost too much tax money, catch only a few pirates, and doesn't provide a long-term solution.
The warships can't sail up and down the coast and babysit those sea-lane traffic forever. These are expensive weapons to fight high-tech wars and guard the naval sovereignty of nations, not catch some moron on a skiff armed with a AK-47.
Perhaps the US Navy simply need to do nothing. Let the private sector figure out a solution instead of looking to the government to save their bacon.
The warships can't sail up and down the coast and babysit those sea-lane traffic forever. These are expensive weapons to fight high-tech wars and guard the naval sovereignty of nations, not catch some moron on a skiff armed with a AK-47.
Perhaps the US Navy simply need to do nothing. Let the private sector figure out a solution instead of looking to the government to save their bacon.
Posted: May 11th 2011 4:40PM Kaoy said
@Jade Effect Right, because the best solution is obviously to allow industrial corporations to form militant sects for fighting off pirates. If that doesn't sound like the stupidest idea you have ever heard, you clearly need to brush up on your alt-history and sci-fi.
Reply
Posted: May 11th 2011 11:29PM Jade Effect said
@Kaoy
Why do you jump immediately to the idea of militant sects? Can you not think beyond the obvious solution of killing the pirates?
The aim is to stop, or at least reduce to a manageable degree, ships/cargo/passengers getting hijacked by pirates. Confining yourself to the idea of "kill the baddies" put blinders to other kinds of solutions. It's like saying "kill all the criminals you catch to solve crime". Simplistic and useless solution.
Reply
Why do you jump immediately to the idea of militant sects? Can you not think beyond the obvious solution of killing the pirates?
The aim is to stop, or at least reduce to a manageable degree, ships/cargo/passengers getting hijacked by pirates. Confining yourself to the idea of "kill the baddies" put blinders to other kinds of solutions. It's like saying "kill all the criminals you catch to solve crime". Simplistic and useless solution.









