You are about to enter the Gallipoli Peninsula at Z Beach

May 3, 2009 11:21 PM

Gallipoli: The First Day [flash] An ABC documentary site about the WW1 ANZAC landing at Gallipoli, on 25 April 1915.
posted by tellurian (12 comments total)

And no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda.
posted by m-a-s-o-n at 11:24 PM on May 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

For the benefit of our friends overseas, the ABC is the government TV & Radio network: the Australian Broadcasting Cobbers.
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:49 PM on May 3, 2009

And no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda.

I wonder, are there other famous historical battles so closely associated with a particular song? Whenever there's a Gallipoli-related thread, the song is usually mentioned or quoted or linked to. I know cause I've done it at least a couple of times!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:12 AM on May 4, 2009

that's a nice question for the green.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:17 AM on May 4, 2009

oops! I didn't intend to derail!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:20 AM on May 4, 2009

"A for effort" but the ship models (or lack thereof) in the opening were bitterly disappointing. Naval war and the challenges of ship / sea state rendering is my personal bugbear.

I really dug the 3D modelling of the battlefield terrain, even if it looks a little vertically exaggerated.

That's the future of wargaming.

I've used Google Map's terrain feature to closely examine some of the Vietnam battlefields that interest me and enjoyed seeing "with my own eyes" in 3D instead of abstract overhead military maps.

Presentation was kinda half-baked though, no attempt to display actual positions and the location of actualy companies, and they should have animated all artillery fire in arcs and not just flat on the map.

Next I want to see Guadalcanal! Hell, if I thought there'd be a market for this I'd do it myself for xbla.
posted by mrt at 1:31 AM on May 4, 2009

What I'd like to see is a chilling CGI reconstruction of bogans in flag-capes sucking piss in a Turkish graveyard. How Aussie's that?!
posted by Gamien Boffenburg at 2:24 AM on May 4, 2009 [3 favorites]

even if it looks a little vertically exaggerated

idunno. i visited gallipoli / gelibolu*, and the landscape is indeed freakishly steep.

shame that the landing fucked up & went off course, because the spot where i think they intended to land opens out into a nice, broad & flat valley right across the peninsula to the dardanelles.

where they ended up landing was a very different matter - a tiny beachhead, then hills rising at something like a 60 degree angle for hundreds of feet.

* though most definitely not at the annual backpacker pissup for anzac day
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:57 AM on May 4, 2009

This was linked to in comments of the Anzac post of the 25th, but I'm really glad it made it as an FPP.

I was gobsmaked to be reminded that that front lines didn't change from the first day till the last. Also, the Nec, what a fucked up nasty shitty little comedy of errors that was.

Re the presentation- comes down to time and budget. For the limited resources the ABC has, this was pretty good, and they will get better. Also, most Australian's internet is a pretty piss poor dialup or ADSL - so that would have been a consideration in the development.
posted by mattoxic at 5:52 AM on May 4, 2009

If you don't have the recommended 2G of memory, the site amounts to a denial of service attack.
posted by 3.2.3 at 6:37 AM on May 4, 2009

To experience Gallipoli: The First Day in 3D you'll need:

* ADSL2+ Internet connection
* 2GB RAM on your computer
* Speakers or headphones
* Minimum 1024x768 screen resolution
* Close other large applications
* Flash Player 10, download it here

Well, I probably do (except for Flash 10), but crikey! 2 Gig of ram? For a web page? Fair suck of the sav, etc. (One might add a "tell him he's dreaming" too, if one were inclined).
posted by GeckoDundee at 6:38 AM on May 4, 2009

Attacking uphill usually doesn't go well.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:46 AM on May 4, 2009