[Opensim-dev] thinking about a viewer

[Diva Canto]

On 8/13/2014 7:33 PM, Mister Blue wrote:
> Now, talking about Diva's challenge...
>
> The problem with creating such a solution is that the existing tools 
> are welded together -- 3d renderer is embedded into an app that 
> presents a pre-defined UI, chat system, camera system, ... It is all 
> or nothing.

Assuming we'd develop a WebGL viewer more or less from scratch, this 
wouldn't be a problem [for the WebGL viewer]. We can separate protocol 
from rendering engine from [programmable] UI.

Being able to use the Linden viewer as a collaborative authoring system 
for multi-user 3d content for the Web would be super cool. [Note to 
patent trolls lurking on this list: I said it here first]

> Systems like RealXtend try to solve the changeability problem by 
> making everything programmable. So there, an author has to program and 
> deal with the interaction of all the parts.
>
> What is missing is an 'authoring language'. What is the 'language' 
> (and I use that term for a solution loosely) that a scene author can 
> use to create the challenge scene. Technically, the parts should be 
> separate and composable. From the author's point of view, the world 
> should only consist of the actors and the interactions desired.
>
> There are scenario editing and interaction 'languages' available. The 
> Unity graphical state system is cool. I'd like to see others that were 
> more scene or world oriented. The underlying tech would be of 
> composible pieces that supported the construction of the desired world.

Yes, Unity3D is definitely a good reference point. I find it lacking on 
only two things that I think are superior in the Linden system: (1) ease 
of creation: prims are easier for simple things; (2) collaborative 
authoring: creating a complex scene/game with multiple developers in 
Unity3d is a pain in the neck. So, we could borrow a few ideas from 
Unity3D and add them to the Linden viewer -- things like specifying 
camera movements, controller objects, 2D UI, etc. Even if these things 
are not runnable in the Linden viewer itself, they would run in the 
WebGL viewer. So while developing, we could run both the Linden viewer 
and a web browser pointing at the sim.

I want this to happen. I just don't know anything about rendering, so 
I'm useless wrt developing a WebGL renderer, and I'm waiting for the 
hero who does that in open source. But you can count on me (and I'm sure 
others here) to jump in on everything else -- protocol, authoring 
language, etc.