[Opensim-dev] Mega Regions and PAL support in OpenSim?

Thu Oct 1 00:24:02 UTC 2009

> What are your thoughts about implementing PAL into OpenSim?
>
>
>
> The Physics Abstraction Layer <http://pal.sourceforge.net/> (*PAL*)
> provides a unified interface to a number of different physics engines. This
> enables the use of multiple physics engines within one application. It is
> not just a simple physics wrapper, but provides an extensible plug-in
> architecture for the physics system, as well as extended functionality for
> common simulation components.
>
> *PAL* provides a number of benefits to game and simulation developers.
> First of all *PAL* is very*easy to use*, so you can easily integrate
> physics into your application. Secondly, it does not restrict you to one
> particular physics engine. This gives you more *flexibility*, allowing you
> to easily upgrade your physics system if you decide to pursue a commercial
> engine, select different engines for alternative platforms, or swap to
> another engine if the physics engine developers stop development and support
> for their engine. This flexibility allows you to choose the engine that
> gives you the best *performance* for your application. Finally, *PAL* has
> an extensive set of *common features* such as simulating different devices
> or loading physics configurations from XML, COLLADA<http://www.collada.org/>
>  and Scythe <http://www.physicseditor.com/> files.
>
> *PAL* makes physics development *FLEXIBLE, FAST and EASY*.
> PAL supports a large number of physics engines<http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html>.
> It provides a unique interface for:
>
>    - Physics Engines
>       - Box2D <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#box2d>
>        (experimental)
>       - Bullet <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#bullet>
>       - Dynamechs <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#dynamechs>
>       (deprecated)
>       - Havok <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#havok>
>        (experimental)
>       - IBDS <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#ibds>
>        (experimental)
>       - JigLib <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#jig>
>       - Meqon <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#meqon>
>       (deprecated)
>       - Newton <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#newton>
>       - ODE <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#ode>
>       - OpenTissue <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#ot>
>       - PhysX (a.k.a Novodex, Ageia PhysX, nVidia PhysX)<http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#novodex>
>       - Simple Physics Engine<http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#spe>
>
>       - Tokamak <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#tokamak>
>       - TrueAxis <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/engines.html#trueaxis>
>    - File Formats
>       - Collada <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/benchmark.html#COLLADA>
>       - Scythe <http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/benchmark.html#Scythe>
>       - PAL XML(deprecated)
>    - Collision subsystem
>    - Solver subsystem (Multithreaded / Hardware acceleration)
>    - Bodies (Static and Dynamic)
>       - Box
>       - Capsule
>       - Compound Bodies
>       - Convex
>       - Sphere
>    - Geometries
>       - Box
>       - Capsule
>       - Convex Mesh
>       - Concave Mesh (Terrain)
>       - Height field (Terrain)
>       - Plane (Terrain)
>       - Sphere
>    - Links
>       - Spherical (Ball and Socket) Link
>       - Revolute (Hinge) Link
>       - Prismatic (Slider) Link
>       - Generic 6DOF Link
>    - Sensors
>       - Contact
>       - Compass (Angular position)
>       - GPS (Global Positioning System - Position)
>       - Gyroscope (Angular velocity)
>       - Inclinometer (Angular position)
>       - PSD (Position Sensitive Device - Ray casting)
>       - Sonar (Ray casting)
>       - Velocimeter (Linear velocity)
>       - Transponder (Distance between two objects)
>    - Actuators
>       - Force actuator (Generic)
>       - DC Motor
>       - Servo Motor
>       - Hydrofoil
>       - Propeller
>       - Spring
>    - Fluids
>       - Particle Fluids (SPH)
>       - Grid-Based Fluids (Dampened Shallow Wave)
>       - Buoyancy Force
>       - Drag & Lift Forces
>    - Vehicles
>
>
>
> Physics Abstraction Layer:
>
> http://www.adrianboeing.com/pal/index.html
>
>
>            Mark
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 7:10 PM, Mark Malewski <mark.malewski at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Toni,
>> With the "MegaRegions" support it allows regions that are 8,192m x 8,192m
>> (instead of 256m x 256m), which would be great for vehicles and boats.
>>
>> The new "MegaRegions" is the equivalent of up to 1,024 of the old size
>> regions!
>>
>> So I think that is a VERY decent size, and that would solve the
>> "handshake" problem between the old small 256m x 256m regions.
>>
>> The new larger MegaRegions would eliminate the current border crossings
>> problem.
>>
>> MegaRegions seems to be in the OpenSim Trunk right now.  A 1,024 region
>> system (8,192m x 8,192m) would only require about 5GB of memory to host.
>>  You can make regions any size (it's only dependent upon the amount of ram
>> the server has).
>>
>> So I think this is a great idea, and I can't imagine anyone wanting to
>> host more than 1,024 regions on a single server.  I have dual quad-core
>> XEON's (8-cores) and 32GB of ram, and I think this would be great for
>> hosting a single 1,024 region RealXtend demo region!
>>
>> Is there any possibility we can get this new MegaRegions feature
>> implemented and to work properly with OpenSim/ModRex?
>>
>> Also, what are your thoughts of replacing the OpenSim/ModRex Physics
>> subsystem with PAL?
>>
>> Using PAL (Physics Abstraction Layer), it is an OpenSource wrapper for
>> several physics engines (allowing for seamless integration of Bullet,
>> JigLib, Newton, ODE, nVidia PhysX, Tokamak, and TrueAxis).  PAL also has
>> experimental support for Box2D, Havok, IBDS, OpenTissue and Simple Physics
>> Engine.
>>
>> But if we implemented PAL into RealXtend, at least we could have seamless
>> integration of multiple Physics engines (including PhysX), and with PhysX we
>> could have hardware accelerated Physics, and if you have a server with a
>> GeForce 8000 series card or higher then the graphics card would perform all
>> the Physics calculations, thus taking the load off of the CPU (greatly
>> reducing the lag).
>>
>> If we get into a sim with racing or boating, we definitely want
>> hardware-accelerated physics, or at least something better than what ODE can
>> handle.  The use of the Physics Abstraction Layer would definitely open up
>> new possibilities and streamline the physics code (allowing various physics
>> engines to be used).
>>
>> PhysX and Havok are free for personal use.  What are your thoughts on
>> implementing PAL into RealXtend/ModRex, and implementing the OpenSim
>> MegaRegion support into RealXtend/ModRex?
>>
>> I believe these are the only three major hurdles that we have left (the
>> Naali Viewer, MegaRegion support, and PAL support).
>>
>> What are your thoughts on this?
>>
>>                   Mark
>>
>
>
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