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.
{ Feb 27th 2009 at 10:20PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
CJ @ Feb 27th 2009 10:28PM
I
Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Taylor Swift Defense Force, Gobot in disguise) @ Feb 27th 2009 10:33PM
I don't think you'll see Shadow Moses in the game either
Einhanderkiller @ Feb 27th 2009 11:08PM
Is that an I or an l?
Tiptup300 @ Feb 28th 2009 1:49AM
he said I "heart" [something] if you put the 90 degree carrot key, it cuts off the rest of your post. But this opens up a wide area for jokes
captainking @ Feb 27th 2009 10:28PM
Why would you want to bomb South park?
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 27th 2009 11:47PM
Kenny needs to die.
Hunter @ Feb 27th 2009 10:33PM
I had fun with the demo. Yes, it sounds funny, but I do indeed mean sexually.
dynnnbag @ Feb 27th 2009 10:38PM
"423 miles high"
that's 680 km for everyone living in 2009
Fx.Dr @ Feb 27th 2009 10:58PM
"423 miles high"
That's 3,380 furlongs for everyone living in 1909
LaughingTarget @ Feb 27th 2009 11:25PM
That's 1,488,960 cubits for those living in the Old Testament.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 27th 2009 11:49PM
"423 miles high"
That's like bigger than your house dude for all the potheads.
WRE @ Feb 28th 2009 2:49AM
Man, there's something so cool about being snobbish about a unit of measurement.
Linkario @ Feb 28th 2009 7:31AM
That's 6,700,320 "hands" if you are in the horse measuring business.
Josh @ Feb 28th 2009 8:29AM
"423 miles"
That is like 423 miles for us normal people.
Spartan @ Feb 28th 2009 2:07PM
That's like 680 752 512 millimeters for all the engineers out there.
Sam @ Feb 28th 2009 3:05PM
That's 101000100100110111010110000000 binary millimetres for anyone who doesn't care.
dynnnbag @ Mar 1st 2009 4:23AM
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...
rTwelve @ Feb 27th 2009 10:46PM
"The GeoEye-1 satellite that launched in September has the capacity to see objects on the ground that are just 16 inches long."
I had better put some pants on then.
XGM @ Feb 27th 2009 11:05PM
Aww damn someone stole my joke already, so ill answer with "Thats what she said"
Saria the Cat @ Feb 28th 2009 12:06AM
Nice.
engadget.mlc @ Feb 28th 2009 5:06AM
I came here for the penis joke, and I leave satisfied.
- That's what she said.. right... right..
Xav de Matos @ Feb 28th 2009 6:33PM
Not going to lie, I was going to write "That's what she said" in the post after that line.
BxGT @ Feb 27th 2009 10:49PM
But can it see when duke nukem forever is coming out?
XGM @ Feb 27th 2009 11:06PM
Never ?
DBuck_Eye @ Feb 27th 2009 11:23PM
Yeah, You don't need a $100 Million satellite to see that.
Dave @ Feb 28th 2009 3:29AM
Can it see why us kids like Cinnamon Toast Crunch so much?
BlaqueBeird @ Feb 28th 2009 11:50AM
@DBuck_Eye
You might.
BxGT @ Feb 28th 2009 12:49PM
Silly dave, trix are for kids.
KarlW @ Feb 28th 2009 7:01PM
Nope, but if it can see things 16 inches long, you can probably see when I dropped my towel. I actually pass out when aroused, the blood demands are that high.
BigD145 @ Feb 27th 2009 11:55PM
Single images typically run for under a grand. This isn't THAT impressive.
Saria the Cat @ Feb 28th 2009 12:08AM
All I can say is that stuff like GoogleEarth give me a nerdy hard-on.
Anticrawl @ Feb 28th 2009 12:28AM
Hermaphrodite?
DP @ Feb 28th 2009 1:51AM
Well, technically...
playwhutyalike {luvs me some Fallout 3} @ Feb 28th 2009 8:01AM
@anticrawl
Don't tell her to go fuck herself, she might be able to do that.
Hyams @ Feb 28th 2009 10:42AM
I've always wondered if a hermaphrodite would be able to impregnate him/her self.
Would the child be, like, a clone of the mother/father?
BigD145 @ Feb 28th 2009 1:19PM
They tend to be sterile, so NO.
Spartan @ Feb 28th 2009 2:10PM
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...
Evan @ Feb 28th 2009 12:54AM
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.
WiredKnight @ Feb 28th 2009 4:33AM
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.
redjack @ Mar 2nd 2009 3:38PM
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.
-Vexx- @ Feb 28th 2009 2:57AM
Like they will make that money back.
Dani Reader @ Feb 28th 2009 12:40PM
somehow I don't think ubisoft are paying a hundred million to borrow a $100million sattelite...
Nicko @ Feb 28th 2009 4:01AM
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 =)
devil @ Mar 2nd 2009 2:21AM
shame they didn't teach you how to spell " satellite "
Nicko @ Mar 2nd 2009 2:29AM
Ha ha, spelling? We're engineers! What's that for?
devil @ Mar 2nd 2009 9:57AM
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
sea @ Feb 28th 2009 8:33AM
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?
JoeTheBlow @ Feb 28th 2009 8:37AM
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.
Josh Anderson @ Feb 28th 2009 8:38AM
"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.
Beastage @ Feb 28th 2009 8:54AM
I'm sooo gettting this game, I been dying for some air combat on PC.