GeoEye's $100 million dollar commercial-use satellite imagery system will serve as the backdrop for Ubisoft's upcoming air-combat title, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. The Washington D.C.-based company -- that supplies data for Google Earth, among others -- allowed Ubisoft access to satellites 423 miles high to photograph real-world locations for the game's multiple missions. How powerful can a 423 mile high satellite be? The GeoEye-1 satellite that launched in September has the capacity to see objects on the ground that are just 16 inches long.
VP of communications at GeoEye, Mark Brender, told Venture Beat that using such a sophisticated technology to map H.A.W.X. will help in "immersing the player in the experience" rather than using "cartoon maps." So, a South Park, Colorado, mission cannot be confirmed at this time.
Reader Comments (60)
Posted: Feb 27th 2009 10:33PM (Unverified) said
I don't think you'll see Shadow Moses in the game either
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Posted: Feb 27th 2009 10:33PM (Unverified) said
I had fun with the demo. Yes, it sounds funny, but I do indeed mean sexually.
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Posted: Feb 27th 2009 10:38PM (Unverified) said
"423 miles high"
that's 680 km for everyone living in 2009
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that's 680 km for everyone living in 2009
Posted: Feb 27th 2009 11:25PM LaughingTarget said
That's 1,488,960 cubits for those living in the Old Testament.
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Posted: Feb 27th 2009 11:49PM (Unverified) said
"423 miles high"
That's like bigger than your house dude for all the potheads.
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That's like bigger than your house dude for all the potheads.
Posted: Feb 28th 2009 2:49AM (Unverified) said
Man, there's something so cool about being snobbish about a unit of measurement.
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Posted: Feb 28th 2009 2:07PM Istari Spartan said
That's like 680 752 512 millimeters for all the engineers out there.
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Posted: Feb 28th 2009 3:05PM (Unverified) said
That's 101000100100110111010110000000 binary millimetres for anyone who doesn't care.
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Posted: Mar 1st 2009 4:23AM (Unverified) said
actually anonim, i lied.
432 miles is 680.752512km making spartans comment valid.
ps: i probably should have put a ":p on my first comment to show i was speaking in jest, no need to bite my head off guys...
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432 miles is 680.752512km making spartans comment valid.
ps: i probably should have put a ":p on my first comment to show i was speaking in jest, no need to bite my head off guys...
Posted: Feb 28th 2009 6:33PM Xav de Matos said
Not going to lie, I was going to write "That's what she said" in the post after that line.
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Posted: Feb 28th 2009 3:29AM (Unverified) said
Can it see why us kids like Cinnamon Toast Crunch so much?
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Posted: Feb 28th 2009 12:08AM Saria the Cat said
All I can say is that stuff like GoogleEarth give me a nerdy hard-on.
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Posted: Feb 28th 2009 8:01AM (Unverified) said
@anticrawl
Don't tell her to go fuck herself, she might be able to do that.
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Don't tell her to go fuck herself, she might be able to do that.
Posted: Feb 28th 2009 2:10PM Istari Spartan said
What about the people who are born with neither sex organs?
Now that's weird to a whole 'other level.
I guess you can give them names like Chris, Tony, Sandy...
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Now that's weird to a whole 'other level.
I guess you can give them names like Chris, Tony, Sandy...
Posted: Feb 28th 2009 12:54AM (Unverified) said
What would be cool if a satellite could read height as well and generate heightmaps to go along with those textures. Then they could generate real height for the ground for more realism.
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Posted: Feb 28th 2009 4:33AM WiredKnight said
There are faster, more accurate, and cheaper ways to do exactly what you've described. Why would you use something 423 miles above the ground to measure something right under your feet?
I believe the US Geological Survey handles all of that information. For the US, anyway.
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I believe the US Geological Survey handles all of that information. For the US, anyway.
Posted: Mar 2nd 2009 3:38PM redjack said
You can extract digital terrain models from imagery though the most accurate way is hooking a million dollar laser rig onto a plane and having it fly around the area. Like what was said before USGS has elevation data of the entire US but on the other hand its still not very accurate. Free to use though.
I've seen demos of aerial photography being mapped over 3D models extracted from a height model in a photo and they are quite impressive. Have to see where that goes in the future.
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I've seen demos of aerial photography being mapped over 3D models extracted from a height model in a photo and they are quite impressive. Have to see where that goes in the future.
Posted: Feb 28th 2009 12:40PM danijami23 said
somehow I don't think ubisoft are paying a hundred million to borrow a $100million sattelite...
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Posted: Feb 28th 2009 4:01AM (Unverified) said
Holy freaking smokes, GeoEye!
I don't mean to boast, but I through an internship with The Aerospace Corporation, I helped with some systems engineering work for the Delta II GeoEye sattelite launch! Neat to see something that I had a (very) small hand in putting up being used in a game =)
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I don't mean to boast, but I through an internship with The Aerospace Corporation, I helped with some systems engineering work for the Delta II GeoEye sattelite launch! Neat to see something that I had a (very) small hand in putting up being used in a game =)
Posted: Mar 2nd 2009 2:21AM (Unverified) said
shame they didn't teach you how to spell " satellite "
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Posted: Mar 2nd 2009 2:29AM (Unverified) said
Ha ha, spelling? We're engineers! What's that for?
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Posted: Mar 2nd 2009 9:57AM (Unverified) said
Well, I'm an engineer too, (electrical, Tufts Alum), and not even a native speaker.. just thought when you work at a satellite company, you should know how to spell it: ) but whatever, I will always have great respect for fellow engineers. holla
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Posted: Feb 28th 2009 8:33AM sear said
It's amazing how much effort they're putting into a game like this... I couldn't imagine being one of the guys who sits there modeling all those cities as accurately as possible. Ubisoft must have some labour-saving technologies up its sleeves... maybe the same stuff Google use to get 3D buildings in Google Earth?
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Posted: Feb 28th 2009 8:37AM (Unverified) said
The demo really surprised me, epic dogfighting the way games should be, top fun.
Ace Combat best be afraid, its gonna get its arse handed to it.
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Ace Combat best be afraid, its gonna get its arse handed to it.
Posted: Feb 28th 2009 8:38AM sketchlayerJosh said
"So, a South Park, Colorado, mission cannot be confirmed at this time"
There is an actual South Park in Colorado. And, unlike the cartoon, it does indeed have a Pizza Hut.
However, considering that it would take about one tench of a second to fly over the entire town, I don't believe that there will be any exciting flying missions taking place there.
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There is an actual South Park in Colorado. And, unlike the cartoon, it does indeed have a Pizza Hut.
However, considering that it would take about one tench of a second to fly over the entire town, I don't believe that there will be any exciting flying missions taking place there.
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