There is a battlefield. And tanks. The multiplayer is local, and you use a wheel controller, a headset, and a monitor. But this is unlike anything else you might've seen before.
Welcome to the world of real-time remote controlled tank warfare. RC tank battles are held all over the world, but the Panzer Warriors RC Tank Club in Tokyo looks to be something special.
"Our battlefield was created based on 'first person view' tank battle fighting," writes Panzer Warrior organizer Masamichi Mori. "All our tanks have cameras mounted on them and when we play, we are located in rooms separated from the field."
The group, which meets monthly, was established in 2005 and has a 56 square meter indoors arena. The tanks use an infrared system with sensors and lasers. Direct hits stop the tanks dead, ending the five-minute battles.
According to Panzer Warriors' official home page, "Our facility is the world's first tank simulator system based on the real time video feed of the wireless cameras mounted on RC tanks, which is similar as the one being used in US Army for tank crew training."
Since players must rely on the low-res tank mounted camera feeds, it takes skill and communication to win as you can see in this battle:
Different members of the tank crew—the Driver, the Gunner and the Commander—communicate via mic and headset.
The battle field sometimes is covered in smoke. And sometimes, there are night battles.
With robots.
The group says that anyone can participate, regardless if you have an RC tank or not. "If you are good at playing combat games, we encourage to come and take a challenge," says the site.
"Of course, we welcome novices who do not have RC tank or video game experience."
And how much does it cost to participate? It's free, apparently.
Welcome to Panzer Warriors RC Tank Club![Panzer Warriors]
Photos: Masamichi Mori
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