Men used to go to war. Now they simulate war in their living rooms using increasingly elaborate setups that utilize VR headsets, Volkswagen steering wheels and a hydraulic cylinder that serves as the tank’s barrel, all so they can play World of Tanks.



The video above was originally shared to the Chinese platform bilibili, but quickly spread to English-language sites like Reddit and Twitter, where it went viral as people marveled at the dedication and commitment required to create a setup this complex just to play World of Tanks.


In the video, we can see that the group is using a Volkswagen steering wheel to drive the tank, while another is loading bottles into a homemade hydraulic cylinder that acts as the barrel. A third is using a mysterious swirling device to aim the barrel and fire. In addition, they’re also using a VR headset as a periscope, just like the one they’d have if they were in a real tank.



Although some pointed out that the setup isn’t that good considering one of the devices breaks in the middle of the video, others, including a former Marine, argued that it was better than the simulators being used by the USMC.




Matthew tweeted, “This is very funny to me because the tank simulator i had in the marine corps was a plywood box painted to look like the inside of a tank and then you used your imagination while some sergeant screamed at you to imagine faster.” He even included photos of a typical simulator setup used by the USMC, and it’s undoubtedly significantly less impressive than the one in the video.


Maybe all of the commenters suggesting the U.S. government hire these guys to build simulators for them are right, though there might be some difficulty convincing them to work for a government that dislikes their own. But who knows — maybe the idea of turning traitor just to spend their lives building tank simulators will appeal to them.