War Thunder Dev Apologises After Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster Imagery Surfaces

F**king hell that’s dark. Don’t even know how that could have snuck by.

Use stupid AI, win stupid prizes.

Maybe there should be a complete blanket ban on all things in video games that depict real life disasters or traumatic events to avoid offending anyone. No more ww2 games or anything to do with atomic bombs etc. On a more serious note if there is a valid reason for this being depicted then exactly what is the issue? It's not a 100% accurate depiction of the challenger disaster it just has a slight resemblance so it's not even attempting to exploit it for a more salacious agenda. Are we going to stop using atomic bomb explosions in games because they all look the same and might draw comparisons to hiroshima etc? It's a tough topic for sure but we can't just stop using things to depict something because it's similar to something that happened.

@Northern_munkey Completely agree. Those who don't learn from history are destined to repeat it, so trying to erase horrible events or things that resemble said events is a great way to forget about and repeat them...

Obviously this still image isn't even that, it just looks a bit similar is all.

Maybe AI used this and now the human in the loop has said “noooo..”.

Idk why are people so touchy about Challenger, yet nobody ever mentions Columbia.

Plus either of em wasnt a “disaster” or “accident” it was both huge NASA f-up out of hubris and incompetence that needs to be remember and avoided for the future!

I mean presumably other images in an air explosion pack also contain moments of tragedy...just less well known.

They clearly used AI for the key art. I wonder what other corners have been cut in the game to avoid paying talent?

@Northern_munkey I think there is a little more nuance because there are excellent games like Valiant Heart that do touch on the World War with dignity and respect. But, yeah the weird online Tea Bagging Multiplayers where you call white phosphorus while dressed like a character from Fallout should be looked at with more scrutiny.

Also Games like Cod that straight up attempt to re-write history as a form of soft propaganda for the US military should absolutely not be allowed.

I was one of the elementary school kids who watched the Challenger live on television that day. It’s one of those memories that sticks with you for a lifetime.

@8bit4Life I remember watching it on TV. I was 14 years old and it's never lost its impact.

@8bit4Life Agreed. That was a day I will never forget, watching what happened. I was in fifth grade and was freaked out.

@species Challenger had a member of the public onboard, a school teacher. She was selected and thousands of schools around the world were watching and being taught all about the mission throughout the school term.

The explosion didn't kill the crew. It was the impact with the water 2 minutes 45 seconds later, at 200mph. The investigation revealed this and they were likely unconscious.

@GrimWillows correct. Plus it wasn’t an explosion anyway 🙂

Aerodynamic breakup after the tank failed and the rapid expansion of gas caused the orbiter to yaw and pitch off axis into the air flow.

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Seriously as I said yesterday - who even noticed without being told, and who was seriously offended?

I doubt even surviving family members play this game, and wouldn’t have noticed unless some outrage baiting “journalist” told them.

@CrashBandicoat The real danger is that, in a few years, conspiracy theory numbnuts will probably claim it as photographic proof that Challenger was shot down.

Almost too perfectly replicated and also if they used aerial explosion references… is it safe to assume the other clouds of smoke used is from other tragedies in their artworks?