The Virtual Battlespace (VBS) concept was initially conceived in 2001 as the result of a business decision made by Bohemia Interactive Studios (BIS) and David Lagettie. The company Bohemia Interactive Australia (BIA) was formed and work commenced on the first version of VBS1.

VBS1 is based upon the popular computer game Operation Flashpoint (OFP). OFP was a very advanced game for its time - large scale terrain areas with very high levels of detail, a fully functional command and control system for small teams, the flexibility of the engine (easily customised with an inbuilt mission editor), an integrated topographic map, compass and even GPS gave the computer game obvious military potential.

VBS1 was therefore developed as the military alternative to OFP (OFP is licensed only for entertainment). BIA was given the task of converting the product, and this work commenced in mid 2001.

The first military customer for VBS1 was the United States Marine Corps (USMC), who were provided VBS1, a USMC addon pack and MOUT training facilities modelled to a high level of detail in late 2001. The majority of development work was carried out by BIA, with distribution and limited development conducted by Coalescent Technologies.

In 2002 further development of the product commenced, which resulted in the first versions of the VBS1 After-Action Review (AAR) and Observer being developed by BIA for the USMC. The Real Virtuality engine was upgraded to version 1.94 in order to output data as required by the AAR system.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) began conducting trials with VBS1 in 2003, and a large amount of work was conducted by the Virtual Environments and Simulation Lab (VESL), part of the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy. VESL conducted (for the ADF) the Virtual Infantry Section Experiment (VISE), which was the first analytical use of the product by a military organisation.

The AAR 2 and Observer 2 were developed in 2003 in order to record the large quantities of data generated during VISE (previous versions were unable to handle more than a few squads in the one scenario), and the engine was updated to version 1.99. This gave VBS1 an inherent and powerful data recording and mission playback capability.

VBS1 was refined and improved and underwent limited public release on May 21st 2004 (previously the product was only released to military (or similar) organisations). The release occurred primarily to increase awareness of the product and foster a user community. Exclusive distribution rights for VBS1 to North America was given to Coalescent Technologies, with BIA and BIS distributing to the rest of the world via the online shop.

The ADF conducted trials of VBS1 in November 2004 as part of the Virtual Immersive Combat Environment (VICE). The trials resulted in VBS1 being recommended as a suitable training tool for a range of military purposes - from Infantry Minor Tactics through to combined arms operations. The results of the trial are summarised in the VESL paper Proficient Soldier to Skilled Gamer: Training for COTS Success.

The ADF provided a large amount of feedback regarding the product and this resulted in engine updates and improvements to the AAR and Observer. The VBS1 2.07 patch was released in mid 2005 and also AAR 3 and Observer 3. In accordance with ADF requests, the VBS1 Instructor Interface and also numerous convoy training enhancements were implemented. The ADF used these new features as part of pre-deployment training for the Al Muthanna Task Group 2 (AMTG2), who were to deploy to Iraq in late 2005. BIA developed the town of As Samawah (as part of Terrain Pack 3) in VBS1 to a high level of detail from photos and maps, and also a 50 x 50km Al Muthanna terrain area.

Recently the computer game Operation Flashpoint was used by the US based company BBN to create DARWARS Ambush!, a commercial military training product developed as part of the DARPA DARWARS program. More information on the use of BI technology within DARWARS Ambush! can be found here.

VBS1 continues to mature in accordance with user feedback. The product is now HLA/DIS compliant (sponsored by the Australian Defence Simulation Office), and VBS2 is currently under development.

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