Method and systems for anticipatorily updating a remote repository

A method for supporting an interactive computer simulation system that executes an interactive computer simulation, wherein the interactive computer simulation executes on a first simulation station allowing one or more users to interact in the interactive computer simulation for controlling a simulated vehicle in a computer generated environment thereof, the method comprising:

• providing access to a central repository comprising an environment database that comprises data for a plurality of geographically-located terrain skin representations of the computer generated environment of the interactive computer simulation;
• at a remote data management system, computing a plurality of expected geographical positions for the first vehicle being simulated by the first simulation station based on a present geographical position of the first vehicle, the first simulation station allowing one or more users to interact in the interactive computer simulation for controlling a first vehicle in the computer generated environment;
• and
• from the remote data management system, anticipatorily updating, via the network, a subset of the environment database stored in a remote repository, distinct from the central repository and remote therefrom, with a supplemental subset of the environment database corresponding to one or more of the expected geographical positions, the supplemental subset of the environment database including data for expected geographical positions.

An interactive computer simulation system for executing an interactive computer simulation of a simulated vehicle, the interactive computer simulation comprising a central repository, a remote data management system, a remote repository and an interactive computer simulation station interconnected via a network, wherein:

• the central repository comprises an environment database that comprises data for a plurality of geographically-located terrain skin representations of a computer generated environment of the interactive computer simulation;
• and
• the remote data management system is configured to maintain the remote repository comprising a subset of the environment database accessible to the interactive computer simulation station, the remote repository being distinct from the central repository and remote therefrom;
• the interactive computer simulation station is configured to:
• send, over the network, a data request for one or more geographical locations from the environment database for rendering images for the interactive computer simulation;
• and
• allow one or more users to interact in the interactive computer simulation for controlling the simulated vehicle in the computer generated environment, wherein a present geographical position of the simulated vehicle is determined by the one or more users in the interactive computer simulation station without being predetermined by the interactive computer simulation;
• and
• the remote data management system is configured to:
• compute a plurality of expected geographical positions for the first simulation station interactive computer simulation stations, wherein the plurality of expected geographical positions is computed in relation to the present geographical position of the simulated vehicle;
• and
• anticipatorily update, via the network, the subset of the environment database stored in the remote repository with a supplemental subset of the environment database corresponding to one or more of the expected geographical positions, the supplemental subset of the environment database including data corresponding to expected geographical positions.