The invention provides, in some aspects, systems for interaction with a control environment that includes controlled equipment along with control devices that monitor and control that controlled equipment. According to some of those aspects, such a system includes first functionality that generates output representing an operational status of the controlled equipment, as well as second functionality that generates output representing an operational of one or more of the control devices. An engine coordinates the first functionality and to the second functionality to generate an operational status of the control environment. A virtual reality environment generates, as a function of that operational status and one or more physical aspects of the control environment, a three-dimensional (“3D”) display of the control environment. The virtual reality environment is responsive to user interaction with one or more input devices to generate the 3D display so as to permit the user to interact with at least one of the control devices and the controlled equipment at least as represented by the 3D display of the control environment. The engine applies to at least one of the first and second functionality indicia of those interactions to discern resulting changes in the operational status of the control environment. It applies indicia of those changes to the virtual reality environment to effect corresponding variation in the 3D display of the control environment—i.e., variation indicative of the resulting change in the control environment.