Multiplayer training
for the French Navy

Jeff at the French Navy

From March 7 to 10, I gave a training course for the French Navy on Multiplayer management to create immersive and collaborative training experiences with Unity.

4 days of intense training given at the Pôle écoles Méditerranée (PEM) on the Saint Mandrier peninsula near Toulon to a very welcoming team of Unity developers, with rich and varied backgrounds, who I felt were passionate about the subject!

It's an unusual experience that I'm delighted to share with you, and whose roots go back to just under a year ago: it was at a trade show that I first came into contact with the French Navy's Digital Production, Simulation & Innovation Department. Our virtual reality training demonstrations attracted attention for their collaborative, multiplayer and educational aspects.

In fact, the PEM was looking to train its staff in the highly technical field of multiplayer development. One of their latest achievements: the Rondier Sécurité application. A Virtual Reality simulator to ensure safety on board a building and carry out rounds correctly.

See their video shared on Facebook: https: //fb.watch/cUEoiwj-cz/

PEM VR Simulator

PEM Saint-Mandrier © Marine nationale

On board ship, many operations and procedures have to be carried out in pairs. Multiplayer management would therefore be an undeniable added value.

At Numix, we have solid experience in multiplayer development, with several projects completed using our DeepTwin technology and Unity software :

Multiplayer brings many advantages, such as the ability for students and trainers to interact in a much more natural way. Actions can be carried out in pairs, whether you're in the same place or on the other side of the world. Remind you of the Metaverse? Well, yes, that's exactly what it is! Here's a concrete example of what the Metaverse can do for training and the transmission of knowledge and skills.

After a few exchanges, I received the training program requested by the French Navy. I immediately sensed a high level of expectation, with very specific needs linked to their use of VR. Off-the-shelf, general-purpose training in video games? don't bother. What we' re looking for is customized training that's akin to a real technology transfer. Suffice it to say, the standards will be high!

Here's an interesting challenge that will take me out of my comfort zone!
So I'm taking the plunge and proposing a tailor-made training program. This will involve the creation of a complete Unity Multiplayer project, which will then be realized together with the students during the training.

All in all, it will take me almost 12 days to finalize the preparatory work for this training course: this includes developing the example Unity project, creating the training materials and I'm also taking the opportunity to test my training during a workshop with the whole Numix team of developers. It's an opportunity for us all to refresh and compare our experience.

marine-formation

 And here we are, on March 7, for 4 intense days of training! I'd been looking forward to this moment for a long time. Apparently, so have my students! The day before, they all tested the Unity project I'd sent them. Oh dear! My surprise effect failed 🙂 But I can see that they seem motivated, which is reassuring.

I meet the team on site, very welcoming and with diverse backgrounds: some are military or ex-military, others are in civilian life. Very different life paths, all leading to a common passion: Unity development and real-time 3D.

The training goes off at a good pace. Sometimes a little too fast. I then adjust my pace and I'm delighted to see that all the trainees are extremely involved, asking lots of questions and making visible progress.

multiplayer

As well as tackling the subject of Multiplayer, I'm also taking the opportunity to add a few little extras, sharing best practices and programming techniques such as Scriptable Objects and event-driven programming, which promote generic code that's easier to maintain and evolve.

At the end of the 4 days, we were able to complete the entire training program, and the feedback has been very positive. I feel I've contributed to the team's progress on Unity and multiplayer management. Of course, there's no secret to it: to keep progressing, you'll need to maintain this skill through practice.

I wish them all every success in their future developments on Unity and sincerely hope that this training has been useful to them. For my part, it was a very enriching experience and I felt very welcome in the team.

Jeff Sebrechts

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