Firefighter Simulator Ps4 Review
Brian
Firefighting Simulator: The Squad PS4 Review Firefighting is a noble profession. In-between the long periods of crushing tedium sat around playing tiddlywinks and soggy biscuit, there are high octane missions to extinguish perilous fires and rescue cats from trees. The firefighters are up against burning houses filled with toxic smoke, industrial units where explosive materials may be bubbling ready to go off, and forests ablaze after a careless smoker has failed to extinguish his Embassy No.1 in the dry brush. Danger lurks around every corner for the firefighter and this new console release from German simulator specialist Astragon Entertainment aims to give the great unwashed a taste of charred plasterboard splashed with scorching testosterone.
While there have been quite a few firefighting games in the past or varying quality, Firefighting Simulator: The Squad has multiplayer teamwork as its USP. Up to four players can team up online to work together on each mission, and any rogue players can be booted off by the team leader who chooses each mission. Otherwise, solo players can use the relatively simple shortcuts to assign roles on the fly to the AI team members who then get to work on your behalf. More on both of these mechanics later.
Firefighting Simulator: The Squad has significant flaws with the single player AI who are practically useless at anything other than menial tasks, and there's a distinct lack of urgency involved in the missions once you realise the people inside can't die and the building never razes itself to the ground. Despite these glaring issues, it's actually a really enjoyable and rewarding experience with a zen-like quality akin to vacuuming a filthy carpet. There's a great deal of satisfaction to be had in extinguishing the wide variety of different fires across the city map, and completing the objectives with friends (or strangers) online only enhances the sense of achievement.
The shorthand to this review is that it doesn't. The game retains a lot of what made the PC version work, as you are playing firefighters who get called out to various emergencies and will use the equipment provided to you on each job to assess the situation, save people who may be in danger, and then put out the flames as best you can to salvage as much of the property as possible before the flames overtake the place. The graphics definitely got a downgrade as the building looks okay at best, while the fire and smoke look like they were made ten years ago. There is a definite downgrade in how the water responds as well, as I felt like I was playing a PS2 title. I don't complain about the Switch that often when it comes to this kind of stuff because I acknowledged long ago it's not a PC. But unless the team just decided to sacrifice graphics for content, this is absolutely a hindrance due to the console's capabilities.
Being a video game firefighter sounds very exciting in theory. You'd have lots of exciting gadgets to play with, lots of bright and colourful flames making soothing crackling noises, lovely thick smoke to wander through, and a big hose to spray water everywhere. That sounds great!
Sadly more sim-y than the colourful wonderland I'm imagining, Firefighters 2014 was released this week. It's made by a German studio so you know it takes this simming seriously, while if I'm honest I'd probably be happy spraying a garden hose around some shrubs while listening to The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. That may be my plan for this weekend, actually.
Firefighters 2014 covers the full spectrum of German firefighter duties from forest to city. As well as putting out the fires one would expect, they also get to cut people out of wrecked cars, pump out flooded basements, and--I do so very much hope--rescue cats from trees. It's all an excuse to play with cool gadgets and drive fancy vehicles bristling with water cannons and ladders really, isn't it.
Steam player reviews make it sound pretty buggy and a bit wonky, though I've always assumed that was a given with sims. As they try to cram in so many exciting things they don't have the time or budget to do many of them well, was my understanding. Would-be players hardly have the pick of a dozen different woodcutting simulators each year, so they need to either swallow their lumberjack dreams or gulp down the distasteful game soup and this mixed metaphor works so poorly I'll quickly end it and we'll all pretend this didn't happen.
Every little boy wants to be a firefighter when they grow up, but how about an airport firefighter? No? Nowhere is as dangerous and at risk to fire than a modern airport; you wont find more travellers in as close proximity to such highly flammable fuel amongst other hazardous materials, and it actually makes a fairly good open simulator.
Your first shift will even see you get a guided tour of the station and the airport from your superior, who can swagger like the best of them. Be forewarned, the walking animation on all characters in the game is very... unique. The tour will get you up to speed with the areas that you will be covering, its semi-tutorial nature makes a fantastic addition to the simulator genre that generally likes to leave their fans in the dark with a few quick text boxes explaining how to play. The tour also lets you in on your first responsibility as a new recruit; checking the outer perimeter fences for holes.
The Fire Operations Division of the Saginaw Township Fire Department is supervised by the Assistant Chief of Operations and is responsible for incident responses and scene operations, equipment and facility maintenance, and staff training and readiness.
The department provides fire suppression, extrication, hazardous materials response, ice and water rescue, and special rescue services (high angle, trench, and confined space). Services are delivered from three fire stations, utilizing 11 apparatus, to approximately 800 calls annually. Staffing is provided by a cadre of 60 professionally trained and certified call-paid firefighters and officers.
Equipment and facility readiness is achieved through regular apparatus and equipment inspections conducted by call-paid firefighters. These inspections and functional tests ensure that all apparatus and equipment are maintained in a fully operational condition.
The Training section is directed by the Training Officer in coordination with the Assistant Chief of Operations. The training section is a key component for STFD personnel to maintain their readiness and develop new skills. Personnel are required to participate in twice a month, three-hour training sessions. Some of the training topics include vehicle extrication, hazardous materials, SCBA (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus), fire suppression, flashover simulation, Blue Card Command, firefighter mental health, RIT (Rapid Intervention Team), apparatus and pump operations, Incident Command System, equipment competencies, and ice/water rescue. The purpose of the training exercises is to introduce new and emerging topics, as well as review basic core competencies; the training sessions include classroom and/or hands-on, practical exercises.
The July 23, 2018, fire that resulted in the LODD of Firefighter Flynn occurred in an 8,400 square foot single-family residence. ATF personnel utilized field fire testing, large-scale laboratory fire testing, advanced computer fire modeling and electronic data sources to assist with determining the origin and cause of the fire, the route of fire spread throughout the structure, and the events that led to the firefighter mayday and LODD.
Forensic data was compiled to generate a comprehensive video fire timeline, including forensic lightning strike data, 911 calls, fire dispatch/operations audio, mayday audio, forensic Apple Watch GPS/movement/biometric data, electronic self-contained breathing apparatus data, portable radio movement/channel data, advanced computer fire modeling, field fire testing, large-scale fire testing, 3D building measurement scans, drone footage, and incident photographs/video.
This timeline video concludes with 5 specific educational points that were developed because of the ATF analysis, including a side-by-side comparison of similarities between both line-of-duty incidents.
In these separate incidents, both Firefighter Flynn and Captain Laird were suppressing flames on the first level when the floor beneath them collapsed, causing them to fall into the burning basement and crawl space below. The floor collapse occurred above the location of the CSST gas line. Both firefighters immediately transmitted mayday calls for assistance, however, they were unable to self-extricate. The time frame and circumstances of both LODD incidents are similar and warrant review to prevent future similar incidents.
With the support of Celeste Flynn and the HCDFRS, the ATF Video Timeline LODD Analysis of Firefighter Nathan Flynn is offered as an educational tool for the fire service and fire investigation community.
Firefighting is a dangerous gig by nature, so training is particularly important. But training can be just as dangerous, not to mention costly and time-consuming. To help train firefighters more often and more easily, a new virtual reality simulator called the FLAIM Trainer has been developed, made up of an HTC Vive VR headset, haptics systems and a vest that tracks the trainee's vital signs.
And that's where the FLAIM system comes in. It was first unveiled back at CES 2017, as one of several use cases of HTC's then-new Vive Tracker accessories, which can track the movements of whatever they're attached to and replicate them in a virtual world. In this case, the Tracker is attached to the end of a firehose, allowing trainee firefighters to extinguish virtual fires with real-world equipment.
The window into this virtual world is the tried-and-true HTC Vive headset, complete with a custom breathing apparatus kit for authenticity. A detailed haptic feedback system in the hose also simulates the force of the water flow, while the protective clothing worn during the training has heat packs embedded into it, which warm up when the wearer is facing the virtual fire.
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